Hinduism


Feature Writer: Harsh Nevatia
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Starting from its origins in Paganism in the early Vedic era to its evolution as a monotheistic religion with a multitude of deities. Marvel at the mysticism of the Vedas and the Upanishads, listen to the tales from the Puranas and the epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Get immersed in the devotion of the poet-saints like Mirabai and Tulsidas and understand the pearls of wisdom from seers like Ramakrishna and Vivekananda. See Hinduism reflected in the Jyotirlinga temples, in the poetic Geet Govinda of Jayadeva and in the Mewari and Pahari paintings.

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feature articles
Harsh Nevatia

Agni Nakshatram

In: Hinduism (general)

Perhaps the only Hindu festival to be celebrated in May is Agni Nakshatram. This is dedicated to Lord Murugan and is celebrated with pomp at the sacred town of Palani. more...

The Bhavishya Purana

In: Hindu Texts

The Bhavishya Purana presents a picture of the future of "Bharat Varsha". It also deals with Sun worship, temple structure, marriages and other issues. more...

Hindu Temple Architecture

In: Hinduism (general)

From ancient time the construction of Hindu temples has followed a set pattern. What differs is the complexity and the detailing. more...

The Vamana Purana

In: Hindu Texts

Vishnu narrates the Vamana Purana to Bali after vanquishing him. He tells the story of Bali's ancestor Andhak, who was consumed by power but later repented. more...

Rama Navami: The Birthday of Rama

In: Hinduism (general)

The beautiful hymn written by Tulsidas Goswami has become extremely popular. But it points to issues from Hinduism that we seem to have forgotten in our devotional fervor more...

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Harsh Nevatia

May 12, 2008

Indigenisation of Churches

The Vatican has sanctioned the Indianization of churches in India. This will not only benefit Indian Christians but also the larger Indian society.


A gentleman, Pita brought this news item to our notice at a social networking site. The item was posted under the heading “Slokas on the Mount” in India View.

The article says that the Vatican has sanction the ‘inculturation’ of churches meaning the indigenisation of churches through “assimilating local culture and symbols in construction, layout, interior design, …”. This should not have come as a surprise but it did.

It should not have come as a surprise because Christianity itself took roots in an indigenisation process. All major festivals of Christianity coincide with the pagan festivals that were being celebrated by the early Roman society. It did surprise me because after that initial step of ‘inculturation’ Christianity for the last 2000 years has taken a rigid stand in even making minor adjustments to its set beliefs.

The article states that the process will be implemented in the 168 Catholic dioceses in India, and is already under way in 45 churches. One of the obstacles in the spread of Christianity has been its identification as a part of “Western” culture and therefore alien to Oriental indigenous cultures. Hence this move of the Christian Church is welcome. Many Indian Christians have a sense of belonging neither here nor there, and hopefully future generations of Indian Christians will not face this dilemma. The ‘inculturation’ also involves performing aarti in churches and this should go a long way in bridging the artificially created current religious divides.

The article quotes Nitya Chaitanya Guru as saying, “It is not totally baseless if Hindu leaders fear that ‘Indianisation of Christianity’ is meant to bring about ‘Christianisation of India’. I could not disagree with Nitya Chaitanya Guru more. Not only is this statement totally unfounded but it is meant to increase the existing religious divides.

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