| Discarded Hindu Religious Statues at Auckland Beaches Raise Concern |
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NEW ZEALAND, March 11, 2019 (NZ Herald): Statues of Hindu Gods, Goddesses and Deities are being discarded at Auckland beaches as part of a religious practice – but concerns are being raised about it posing a risk to beachgoers and wildlife. An Auckland mother who has been cleaning beaches from Okahu Bay to Glendowie says she has been picking up statues and shards of broken pieces – mostly at Biddicks Bay and Mission Bay. Auckland beaches are already facing a dangerous litter problem with broken glass, syringes and dumped asbestos among the rubbish picked up. AUT University Professor of Diversity Edwina Pio said usually after a religious festival or celebration, such as Vinayaka Chaturthi which celebrates the birth of Hindu Deity Ganesha, statues were ”released” into the sea or lakes.
Pio said the practice among Hindus originated with clay statues painted with vegetable dyes, but many statue makers now used non-biodegradable material like plaster of paris, paints and dyes which are not soluble and can cause harm to the environment. ”Casting away statues is also a stark call for religious leaders, communities, local and government bodies to quicken the pace of framing appropriate guidelines,” Pio added. An Auckland Council spokeswoman said it was working with the Hindu Council to develop recommendations on how statues and cultural offerings could be immersed in an eco-friendly manner. Hinduism is the second largest and the fastest growing religion in New Zealand, with more than 90,000 followers according to the 2013 Census.
| Why Christianity Poses a Clear Threat to India |
INDIA, May 18, 2015 (India Facts by Rakesh Simha): If you could sum up the history of Christianity in India in one word, that word would be ingratitude. Among the earliest refugees to arrive in India were the Syrian Christians, who were facing persecution in their native lands in the Persian Empire in the fourth century CE. The Syrian Christians sought refuge in India. Kerala’s Malabar coast attracted them because they had heard of an ancient community of Jews who had been living there since the first century CE, having also fled the turmoil of the Middle East.
How were these Syrian Christians – or Nasaranis as they are still called by the locals – treated? ”The Indian king received them with great kindness,” George David Malech writes in History of the Syrian Nation and the Old Evangelical-Apostolic Church of the East.
”At the Kotem school in Malabar there are still some copper tablets in existence on which there are written messages from the king to the Christian leader, permitting him and his followers to settle in some places and recommending them to neighboring chiefs.”
Around the time (1498 CE) when the Portuguese marauders led by Vasco Da Gama arrived in Malabar, the Syrian Christian community was thriving, with at least 30,000 members. Now, here’s how they repaid India’s generosity. When Da Gama returned for the second time in 1502, he was met by a delegation of Syrian Christians: ”They identified themselves, surrendered their ancient honors and documents, and invited him to make war on their Hindu kings,” writes Ishwar Sharan in The Myth of Saint Thomas and the Mylapore Shiva Temple.
The writer goes on to say why he believes Indian Christians are still a threat to India in this interesting and politicized article at ”source” above.
