Arya Samaj

Shishya · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:50 pm Post subject: 100 People Return To Hinduism

100 People Return To Hinduism
December 29, 2006
Daily Pioneer
Pioneer News Service | Phulbani [Orissa]

A total of a hundred people of Balliguda and Phiringia in Kandhamal district have been reconverted to their original Hindu religion at Jagannath temple at Balligudaand Maa Pitabali temple at Phiringia. The local VHP and Bajrang Dal units organised yajna and prabachan during the re-conversion ceremony. While 55 members of 18 families at Balliguda and 45 members of 11 families at Phiringia reconverted to Hinduism, at Phiringia out of the 11 families, 29 members of six Muslim families were converted to Hinduism. President of Arya Samaj of Raikia, Sudam Chandra Behera, Achudananda Kar, Binayak Senapati, Ganapati Sahu and Surendra Kanhor organised the re-conversion meeting.

(Source)

Mitra · Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 3:58 am Post subject:

Namaste,
I wish we could convey our solidarity with these people working at the roots and making a difference. There should be greater recognition for the activists involved in this so that we too can learn from their experience and alos expand their work.
I also think that it in the remote villages of India people are still connected to our culture. The rural areas which are still not infiltrated by christians are strongly Hindu. I know of prosperous villages in Maharashtra where the locals have put up such a strong front against the missionaries that they do not enter the area,because they have a strong commerce,political power organization and confidence.
At the same time we have respond to this need for spiritual and cultural guidance and organization in other places. If a vacuum exists in the form of lack of Purohits or mandirs or motivated and organized people all sorts of elements gain ground .
In the cities hardly anyone cares about religion and everyone is caught up more in bolstering their egos.
If AryaSamaj gave the Shudhi Pravachan to this part then Bajrang Dal must have given the Muscle. But in many places we have repeatedly seen the Samaj being overtaken by RSS zealots after slowly snaking in to our institutions. That distrust still shades my thinking.
But if it is the locals involved in this who are responding to their immediate problems and not some outsider elements trying to further their political careers and agendas , then I would say this cooperation is good.
_________________
Namaste
Manurbhava