Fundamentalists and their victims..who wins ?

Last Thursday Islamist militants attacked Garissa University College in Kenya, killing dozens of Christian students.  As week after week Christians are targeted by the Islamic Militia in Africa and the Middle east..History would prove that when ANY religion or faith is under attack..it actually grows stronger and not weaker..and when it seems totally helpless in the face of brute force..spiritual faith and power emerge from the ashes and the religion that is attacked actually  becomes more powerful.

In one of his lectures Swami Vivekananda the world renowned monk who founded the Ramakrishna Mission..once quoted the ancient Vedic scriptures and described how at the time of creation the universe was infused  with the spiritual truths and laws and secrets..Anyone who was tuned in..could understand them and that is why the world over ALL the great religions of the world..actually speak of the same principles of God.The prophets an incarnations of all great faiths said the same thing..yet .it is we who fight against the people of other faiths..claiming that only our way is right..when actually the pure truth is the same in every way..It is some corrupt people in power in all religions who changed the Divine laws and brought in their own pollution to the Pure words of  peace in the original faith..A fundamentalist is a fundamentalist even if their only  crime is to verbally attack other faiths from a pulpit or a TV screen. If you listen carefully their agendas are always political, power grabbing, money making and divisive. None of these preachers give an 'Ants Pants" about your spiritual well being. They either use honey laced lures of money, financial benefits, super natural or miraclulous claims to get the unsuspecting or take to the sword..in the end it's all about some kind of geographical territory somewhere in the world they are talking about..not God.

In another place and another time the Himalayan land of Tibet which is sacred to not only Buddhists but to Hindus , Jainism and other faiths of the East since ancient time came under severe attack from the Chinese government. In a recent interview with CNN The Dalai Lama exiled  leader of the Tibetans made a very interesting remark and provided some deep insight. He said that ironically those faiths and people who come under the attack of fundamentalists or governments or forces that seek to destroy them actually make them stronger . how is that possible?



When the communist government of China attacked and began to destroy Tibetan places of worship and the followers of the faith. The faith became more spiritualized said the Dalai Lama. From rituals such a ringing of bells and burning incense the followers became masters of meditation and learned their scriptures by heart and  reserved their precious relics and treasures with more care. The people grew closer to each other and become more tight knit and  a stronger society.
From just being known as yet another spiritual leader the Dalai Lama became one of the best known  figures in the world and till today is considered to be one of the most influential living people. ( Times and Newsweek) All this thanks to Chinese attacks on their faith and people.if they had left Tibet alone..who knows what would have happened ?.
In simple words.This is how it works.There is one place the sword and the threats and the attacks of the fundamentalist cannot reach and that is the deepest corner of your heart...the sacred spaces of your mind and thoughts..Even if your sacred  images, and pictures and symbols and scriptures and life is destroyed..who you call on ( Your chosen deity) and how you call on him is between you and your God and when you are attacked..your faith and meditation will become deeper and more embedded until you are always one with your God..and that is the ultimate goal of all true  faiths..to be one with God..it is those who have never seen or understood him that cry and shout and kill others claiming that their way and name is the only true way..but finally they ( The fundamentalists ) drive those they attack closer to their own path of God. Only Love attracts..not hate..not vengeance.

In a mixed marriage where two people of different faiths come together because of their mutual Love..what happens? Many beautiful things..especially Spiritually,
First and foremost..when couple of different faiths and different races come together they have already demontrated that they have an open mind and are tolerant and not afraid to Love and experience the unknown..they are already way ahead of many other people they are not limited within narrow walls of convention or differences such as color, creed,race,or caste which means a great deal to those who have nothing else to base their self worth upon.. 

Their faiths mingle . In Truth they understand that the essence and the spiritual qualities of both their paths are actually the same :Goodness,Truth, Pure Love, unselfishness, service to the others and each other and above all Faith. Forgiveness and faithfulness come with Faith in God and their marriage becomes the path that takes them to God. 

It does not matter what you call them. What name you give their faith. How much you oppose them.and sneer at them. If their relationship is based on a deep foundation of Love and respect and understanding then  in their inner most hearts together they will make their spiritual journey an unique one... 

Like the meeting of two great streams..their thoughts and views and ideas merge..what emerges is a beautiful and deep River . Even if by chance under the belief that it is very beneficial to all if one of the partners  imposes his/ Her religious views on the other. The other partner will seek the truth deep into their hearts and actually that seeking without props or rituals....brings them face to face with the real truth and one realizes real Love and real union with God and then..all dogmatism is dissolved...if Love is true..then Spirituality becomes a living force in the marriage of a couple from different faiths....

Swami Kipamayananda Maharaj the head of the Vedanta Society of Toronto Canada often says..remember Love  and respect..all paths..but deep in your heart be faithful to your own ideal ( ishta" )which means your ideal. For a Christian his ideal ( ishta) is Christ..For the Vaishnava: Krishna..for a Shakta Durga for the followers of Sri Ramakrishna..it is Thakur and Sri Ma themselves...

This " ishta Nishta " that Swami Kripamayananda Maharaj speaks about is powerful. It is Like the Pole Star that guides and leads a ship in the dark and turbulent Oceans of life..where ever you are your Ishta Nishta will lead you...So as the immortal words of the vedic scriptures says.."Like Rivers flowing into the ocean..all true paths lead to the same one God"

.Swami Ranganathan Maharaj the late president of the Ramakrishna Mission once said that a spiritual person is simple..honest..happy..unselfish..cares deeply about others and serves all as his own..
A person who is demonic will be self centered..egoistic..enjoys hurting and harming others , is driven by jealousy and competition and basically lives only for themselves..The Universe revolves around them..not others..

All over the world history has shown that those people and faiths that have come under repeated attacks have grown stronger and more protective over the religious beliefs.
The Jews and Israel is one of the best examples. Though Hitler and History has tried unsuccessfully to obliterate them repeatedly today the tiny country of Israel is one of the strongest and smartest in the world and the Jewish people are respected for their intelligence, Their business acumen , their technology and development in all fields and also their military acumen.
Christians in the early days and now again in Africa and the Middle East were victimized , beheaded and even fed to the lions.. today they are spread in every country on the Earth and the great and noble work of missionaries such as Mother Teresa are respected and acknowledged by the people of all faiths. Though there are fundamentalists and haters amongts the Christians too..the overwhelming good done by the likes of Brother Lawrence, St Franscis of Assisi ,the Apostles and many prophets  and true saints dwarfs the evil actions and propaganda of the fanatics in the faith who preach the opposite of what Christ taught.


India has been the hunting ground  of invaders from ancient times and yet this land home of the Vedas of Hinduism and  Buddhism..of Jainism and to the likes of Swami Vivekananda , Sri Ramakrishna and Mahatma Gandhi and some of the earliest spiritual traditions known to the world. India.has withstood attacks time and time again and the ancient faith has grown stronger and not weaker..even when attacked from forces within she has lived on....one such story is that of the legendary Mira bai.

. India will never forget the beautiful and saintly Rajput  Princess Meera who became immortal because her love for her God was so great that no threat of death or earthly shackles could keep her from her love for her God.
Born in about 1498 in Merta , Rajasthan. MiraBai was known as a soft-spoken, mild-mannered, gifted, sweet, and beautiful princess who sang with a melodious voice.
She was reputed to be one of the most extraordinary beauties of her time with fame spreading to several kingdoms and provinces.
When she was just four years of age, she manifested her deep devotion to Krishna. Her spiritual life began in her childhood.
Mirabai was  known for the incomparable beauty of the poems and bhajans she composed and sang in devotion to her beloved god, Krishna. Born in Rajasthan in 1500 AD, she was married against her will to a prince of Chittor, near the fabled city of Udaipur. Her life was marred by persecution as she struggled to manifest her ardent desire to compose, sing and pursue spiritual studies. Though she was renowned for her talent, her family felt she was bringing dishonour by not behaving the way a courtly lady should — and they tried to poison and drown her.

Mirabai escaped and travelled widely, journeying across country to Vrindavan and Mathura, playground of Krishna, and to Dwarka in Gujarat, site of an important Krishna temple. Eventually, a deputation of men from Chittor found her in Dwarka, but before they could abduct her, she disappeared while singing in the temple. All that was found was her sari, draped around the Krishna murti.

Many legends swirl around the myth Mirabai. It was said a sadhu (holy man) gave her a tiny statue of Krishna when she was a child, and that was when her love for the god was born. Her in-laws the royal family did not approve of her piety and devotion when she refused to worship their family deity, Tulaja Bhawani (Parvati). The Godess worshipped by the Warrior clans. She was married to Bhoj Raj,  The king ruler of Chittor. . In 1521, Meera's husband  the king died in a battle.

Her father-in-law, Rana Sanga, respected and protected Meera Bai but died a few years later and Meera was then persecuted by the rest of her in-laws. She found  her God Krishna to be her only support and resisted the wishes of her in-laws to give up her worship. Her grief turned into a passionate spiritual devotion that inspired in her countless poems drenched with separation and longing.

Meera's love for Krishna was at first a private thing but at some moments it overflowed into an ecstasy that led her to sing and dance in public with others who shared her religious zeal. She would quietly leave the Chittor fort at night and join Satsangs (religious get-togethers) in the town below. This did not fit the expected behaviour of a Rajput princess and widow.

Her brother-in-law, the new ruler of Chittor, Vikramaditya, was reportedly a cruel youth and strongly objected to Meera's devotion, her mixing with commoners and her lack of feminine modesty. Vikramaditya made several attempts to kill Meera and her sister-in-law,
There are a number of popular beliefs asserting that Meera's brother-in-law Vikramaditya, , tried to harm Meera :It was said she survived attempts to take her life through divine intervention: poison turned to nectar, a bed of blades turned to petals. It was said Emperor Akbar came to hear her, in disguise as a sadhu.

• She gave up her position as a princess and spent her time in temples of Krishna singing and praying to him and mixing with the poor and ragged followers of her God..

The Royal family again tried to bring her back by force..she begged for a last night in the temple and when they opened the doors the next morning ..she had disappeared forever..
centuries have passed. The cruel Royal family is forgotten but the legend of the saintly princess lives on in India till this day..her songs and hymns are sung all over the land..Today, Mirabai is considered one of the great female saints of India and her songs are still sung. Moreover, there have been hundreds of songs composed in her honour and there are festivals devoted to her that take place around the time of Dusshera in Rajasthan

This finally brings us to the immortal promise of God in the Bhagwad Gita..

  "Think of me...meditate on me...still your self in me and finally you will come to me..

            Thanks to those who hate us..attack us...try to destroy our faith and our sacred monuments.who  try to take away our most loved ones from us...who condemn us because they are afraid of our fearlessness.we will all get to that state of oneness sooner or later !

Acknowledgements : Google images, Wikipedia, CNN, and ISKCON and Divine Life websites.
Also read : http://lipimukherji.blogspot.ca/2014/12/the-power-of-divine-wordsi-am.html

and finally from Learning Mind:
A Thought to Think over