Ambedkar and the Hindu culture

The Indian Neo Buddhism has aroused a movement since the 50s, which propa-gates Buddhism as the top form of the Indo-genous dharma. - The vast majority of that new religious movement belongs to the Dalits [1], people whose en-dogamous communities have been excluded from the varna system [2a] since centuries. The varna system is the traditional hierarchic structure of the relation-ships of those Indian communities who mutually acknowledge themselves as constituent members of their society. These varna jatis established a social class of people devoid of any basic social right. Declared as 'Untouchables' these peo-ple lost all human substance in the eyes of the varna jatis. Yet, that social degra-dation didn't primarily spring from racial, religious or even cultural reasons but from economic ones. When the old Indian agrarian production became a little more productive the division of labour was established as basic structure of the society; but in India the productivity remained on a low level during centuries so that the new non-productive jatis had to keep down the costs of the material pro-duction and the necessary services; they needed cheapest labour.Die indischen Neo-Buddhisten, die auch Ambedkariten genannt werden, haben seit den 50er Jahren eine Bewegung entfacht, die den Buddhismus ihrer Deutung und Praxis als Höchstform der indogenen Kultur, des Dharma, versteht. Wegen der Aktualität der Dalitfrage [1] spielen diese Neo-Buddhisten in der gegenwär-tigen Politik Indiens eine gewichtige Rolle; und für den indischen Buddhismus haben sie nicht nur wegen ihrer politischen Aktivitäten an Bedeutung gewonnen, sondern einfach auch deshalb, weil sie, überwiegend der Mahar-Jati [2] zugehö-rig, inzwischen die Mehrheit der indischen Buddhisten bilden. Die Neo-Buddhisten gehen auf den sog. 'Vater der Indischen Verfassung' Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Sakpal, gen. Ambedkar (1891-1956) [3] zurück. Dieser indische Politiker entstammte der Mahar Jati [4] Maharashtras, die zu den höherrangigen Kasten der Unberührbaren zählt. Im Gegensatz zur Masse seiner Jati-Genossen war es Sakpal mit Hilfe seines brahmanischen Schullehrers Ambedkar, der ihm auch seinen Namen lieh, gelungen, eine akademische Karriere zu beginnen. Auf Grund eines Stipendiums des Maharajas von Baroda konnte er 1912 in Bombay den Grad eines Bachelor of Arts erlangen. Ein Staatsstipendium des Fürstentums Baroda ermöglichte ihm ein Studium an der Columbia Universität in New York, wo er 1915 den Grad eines Masters of Arts erwarb. In London erlaubte ihm ein Stipendium des Maharajas von Kolhapur Jura zu studieren und als Barrister-at-Law abschließen. Außerdem erwarb er noch den Doktorgrad in Ökonomie. Am-bedkar hatte damit auf Grund brahmanischer und fürstlicher Protektion eine bei-spiellose Karriere begonnen, die ihn befähigte, sofern moralisch gefestigt, die Lage der Dalits zum öffentlichen Thema in Indien zu machen

Religious conversion : historical aspects and modern perspective

Religious conversion has become a dangerous social and individual problem. In Latin America, a traditional Catholic area, Protestant sects are successfully con-verting more and more Catholics into their own communities. Therefore the Pope demands a strict control of these activities. In India e.g., the Catholic hierarchy is critizising the Indian governments which have forbidden conversion on non-spiritual reasons. Hindu organizations have started even very successfully to re-convert Indian Christians particularly of Dalit and tribal background. Buddhists are very successful in indirect and even direct conversion of many Westerners. Wah-habit missionaries spread their Neo-Islam in the Muslim societies and get more and more even non-Muslim converts. We should add the forcible and sometimes ex-tremely cruel conversions the atheistic states had executed since the last century. ..

The religion of the ISKCON Vaishnavas in the perspectives of diacritical theology

In Germany, theological studies on the Hindu religion of the International Soci-ety of Krishna Consciousness and its Vaishnava theology are still only just be-ginning. Previously this relevant task was left mostly to religio-political polemics, resulting in a politically highly problematic research deficit which seriously impeded the necessary social and clerical confrontation with these new religious impulses in the German society. But theological passiveness and polemic activ-ism actually reduce the chances for religiously relevant analyses and socially acceptable solutions of philosophical and spiritual problems. Ignorance rather than dialogue, and polemics inimical to dialogue, have directly or indirectly stabilised the destructive forces in the new religious communities for decades, and consequently favoured a diminution and isolation of reformative tendencies. Due to an increasing respect for the freedom of religion as a human right, the profane alliance of the aggressive forces of both sides has recently ended, and a public, and differentiating, discussion of participants and persons concerned has cautiously started, reinforcing a freer and more competent inter-civil dialogue about spiritual affairs. Clear signs may be seen, not only of a reform within the ISKCON religion, but also in the churches setting about discussing the multi-religious topic on a higher level. A so-called broader theological research, partly transcending the border-lines of Christianity, is developing in the universities, and the free science of religion in Germany is receiving a surprising impetus. It was the suppression of the science of religion that had been impeding a constructive discussion in society of the new religious situation in Germany. The rejection of an inter-civil dialogue of spiritual affairs, however, contradicts an effective democracy which subsists on the continuous confrontation of free citizens with their common culture, especially with the ultimate questions of human existence. But the success of this inter-civil confrontation is solely guaranteed if the participants in the dialogue respect their mutual freedom as citizens and take the mutual dialogue among citizens for granted. This is the only way to attain a reasonable range of solutions concerning the ends of our existence and its proper means. As a contribution to this inter-civil dialogue a theological analysis is to be made of the religious culture practised by citizens of this country engaged in the ISK-CON religion and from there desiring to exert an impact on our civil culture. I. Subject and Aim of Diacritical Theology Because of the diffuse understanding of theology it is necessary to explain what it is, where it should and should not be engaged. Theology is not a religious ideology of a particular community that argues the interests of social organisations, but a universal science. It is not limited to a certain religious culture or form of society but is committed to its specific subject (1). Such an autonomous theology has the task of discrimen inter legem et evangelium—the diacritical analysis of Law and Gospel according to the description of its function by Martin Luther. We will follow these basic categories of diacritical theology and explain them here (2)

Free love and Bhakti : an inter-religious study on Martin Luther and Shri Krishna Caitanya

Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) and Vishvambhara Mishra (1486 - 1533), known as Shri Krishna Caitanya, have been the outstanding representatives of the great west-eastern religious revolution which shattered the hearts of their societies in the 16th century. They were the spiritual revolutionaries of the modern times. The question may very well be raised if and how these two religious reformers on the edge of modern age share theological commonness, even though they lived wide apart and certainly did not know of each other. We will see: Both Martin Luther and Shri Krishna Caitanya have taught the un-conditioned, Free Love viz. Bhakti. Even if they did it in the tradition of the theological context they were born in they produced a new common setting of religion: the destruction of meritoricly bound religion and its substitution by free religion. The worship of God or charity were no more a mean for but the final state of salvation. Their interpretation of this revolutionary religion has lost nothing of its existen-tial meaning, even though having been twisted often enough to indiscernibility or even to the complete opposite - up to the present day. ..

Nammalvar, god’s decoy : anthropocentric and theocentric soteriology in the Hindu religions of the Tamil Shrivaishnavas

The basic argument the canonical and apocryphic theologies of the South Indian Tamil Shrivaishnavas grow worm over since centuries is the question: Has God set into motion the process of salvation in order to save mankind - the anthropocentric tradition is teaching -, or in order to save himself, the way a theocentric soteriology would teach. To answer this question we have to examine particularly the theocentric religion of salvation because it was held apocryphic by the anthropocentic orthodoxy and has therefore to be reconstructed from sources that are all concealed anthropocentrically. ...Die zentrale theologische Frage der kanonischen und apokryphen Überlieferungen der tamilischen Shrivaishnavas lautet: Hat der Herr den Heilsprozeß in Gang gesetzt, um die Menschen zu retten, wie die anthropozentrische Soteriologie lehrt, oder um sich Liebhaber zu verschaffen, wie eine theozentrische Soteriologie lehren würde? Zur Beantwortung dieser Frage wird die theozentrische Erlösungsreligion im besonderen zu untersuchen sein, weil sie apokryph gehalten wurde und aus Quellen, die allesamt anthropozentrisch überdeckt sind, erst noch rekonstruiert werden muß. .

The privileged religion of Saint Francis of Assisi

The popularity of St. Francis (1182/3-1226) in our days is overwhelming. He has become a modern hero - not only of Catholics but also of Protestants, non-Christians and even atheists. Nevertheless, the question may be raised whether the modern portrayals of St. Francis do justice to the historical person. In order to get a more solid answer we will analyze various documents which were ap-proximately known to and approved by St. Francis himself, particularly his Tes-timony, his Song of Brother Sun, the Unapproved Rule, the Approved Rule, the Admonitions, and the Letter to the Faithful Ones I.[1] We will not even use the legendary reports of his disciples. From the very beginning the devotees of St. Francis made of him a typical convert. This biographic mutilation has remained en vogue until today.[2] - In his Testimony he tells his real story in a few brief words: "While I was in sins it appeared to me extremely bitter to look at the lep-ers. And the Lord himself brought me among them and I gave alms to them. When I was leaving them that what appeared bitter to me was to me exchanged for (converted into) sweetness of the soul and the body. And afterwards I stopped for a moment and then I left the world."[3] Therefore, his life can be divided into three periods: 1) the life in 'sin' or the 'world'; 2) the short period of the conversion, of a short stopping and of the leaving the 'world'; and 3) his exis-tence outside the 'world'. ..