Refuting the Dogma of Reincarnation

From here.
------------------------------------

Fr. ANTHONY ALEVIZOPOULOS
Dr. of Theology - Dr. of Philosophy
Refuting the Dogma of Reincarnation

The Foundation of Reincarnation

If we want to determine the premise of reincarnation, we need to make reference to its dogma that every person, according to their innermost self, is eternal and subject to the eternal law of cause and effect, called karma. This law pushes the person into consecutive births after each death. A basic cause which makes up the 'fuel', so to speak, for the continuous movement of this wheel of deaths and births is a person's attachments and desires in connection with external reality. Each and every thought, word or deed returns to that person during his new incarnation. His new life composes a living movie, and he is now called to be like a perfect actor to reenact this 'drama' on the new screen. 

According to this concept, a basic aim becomes the passage through all the hardship and experiences corresponding to the accumulated karma and the effort put into restricting these activities and attachments, so that new karma accumulation can be avoided. 

A final objective is one's 'liberation' not only from death but from life as well.  

In contrast, the 'western version' of reincarnation views this belief as potential for a better, future life on earth, as a course leading to continuous greater advances of development, reaching the level of a super-being. 

Both perceptions on reincarnation are based on the holistic theory of the world, forming an anti-Christian worldview. 

According to the Christian faith, man is not uncreated and eternal, but a creation: not a result of God's substance, but the fruit of divine will and love. In the Old Testament the distinction between the Maker and his creations is underlined, between the human and the rest of creation. Only the human being is made 'in God's image'. His position in God's world is a position of authority, which according to God's plan translates into a position of responsibility and love on man's part towards all of God's creation. 

There is no single 'evolutionary scale' between the human and the rest of beings. The human as 'according to the image' of the personal God, who is a communion of persons, meaning freedom and love, is not determined according to blind laws, but he himself participates in determining his course. Following God's plan and God's path in respect to human existence and the meaning of his life, he remains in communion with God and becomes a bearer of God's benefaction. 

Man was created as a psychosomatic entity from the beginning; his body is not evaluated negatively but is a blessing. This is why man's hope rests not in 'liberation' from the body, but the resurrection,  imperishability and immortality of the body. 

Interpretative Deadlocks

  

If we accept the view that life inside the body is a fall and a state of punishment, with the aim of instructing the soul, this creates for the faithful person, who accepts the Scriptures as divine revelation, interpretative deadlocks.  

The Holy Scriptures tell us that God made man as a psychosomatic entity and gave him His blessing and the commandment to be fruitful and multiply and 'fill' all the earth. If this life inside the body is a 'curse', God would not bless man. It would not be God's will for man to be fruitful and multiply and fill the world with 'cursed' beings. 

If again, we assume that Adam, in a state of pre-existence sinned, and that is why he was incarnated ― to be punished and instructed ― then why should the same thing happen to all the other souls, and how could the protoplasts 'multiply' as psychosomatic entities, actually taking this multiplication as a blessing? If Adam sinned, then only he should become incarnate and not all people. 

But the Scriptures mention that God placed man in paradise and not in a 'state of hell'. The place that God gave man as a residence was a place of 'delight' and not punishment. That is why man is called to serve God's paradise, preserve it and not eliminate his relation with it (Gen. 2:15). 

The Holy Scriptures underline that punishment for man is not life in the body, but exactly the contrary. God warned man that his biological life would end if he sinned but not so if he remained faithful. If this life was a result of 'karma' and a negative stance of man in the state of a spiritual being, then sinners should live and the righteous should die, since this life would be considered a curse and not being released from life. 

Denial of Salvation in Christ 

The dogma of karma and reincarnation nullifies the mystery of salvation in Christ. The incarnation of the Son and Word of God constitutes the foundation of the Church and is linked with the mystery of man's salvation (Math. 16:17-18, 1 Tim. 3:16). His 'taking on' the whole person, not only the soul but also the body, constitutes the manifestation of God's glory (John 1:14, Hebrews 1:1-3). It cannot be considered negative. But these grounds for salvation are canceled when we accept the beliefs of karma and reincarnation. 

Christ conquered death, not through the liberation from the body, but through the resurrection and incorruptibility of the body. This change in a person's life does not come through continuous births and deaths, but 'in a moment', during Christ's second coming. For the Christian, there are no repeated judgments, which define the 'quality' of a new life each time, but only one biological life and only one judgment, which will take place in front of Christ's judgment seat. In front of the eternal Judge man will stand not only as a soul but also as a body, to answer for his deeds, which occurred by way of this body. 

This state of 'new creation', of incorruptibility, is lived by the Christian already in this life during the Holy Eucharist. The teaching of reincarnation, which regards the body negatively, not only nullifies the Christian's hope in Christ but also the meaning of divine worship, the primary purpose of the Holy Eucharist. 

Pedagogy Requires the Feeling of Responsibility 

The dogma of karma and reincarnation interprets this life's negative situations with acts which took place in a supposed previous life. For those acts, man is called to punishment, so as to erase his 'karma' and his attachments, aiming at complete 'liberation'. 

But man is not conscious of this fact. He does not remember those deeds that supposedly 'drove' him to a new reincarnation and to those difficulties he is now going through. He does not remember committing those deeds, for which he is supposedly being punished. When we accept that man is punished for things he is unable to remember, the significance of 'pedagogy' is abolished. When there is no memory, then punishment does not have an educative end. It could be a result of a blind law, which nonetheless rejects the existence of a God, who directs the course of history, who is a communion of persons ― that is, freedom and love. 

'Gospel' of the Serpent 

According to the Christian faith, man is not autonomous. He is by nature 'according to the image of God', and therefore, communion and love defines the person's life and corresponds to his real nature. However, man was made autonomous, following the serpent's advice, that is, a 'different gospel'.  

The teachings of karma and reincarnation are another expression of that same 'gospel', not of the gospel of freedom and love in Christ. 

The changes that take place within a person and the 'evolutions', as they are perceived by the followers of this dogma, occur without contact with the absolute existence, without communion with a personal God, Who is love. Man becomes completely autonomous. He is not conscious of the existence of a God, which can intervene in his life. He does not seek a god outside of himself. When he is happy, he attributes this happiness to himself and is confined within himself. When he is unhappy, he is led into passiveness; he does not seek a way out. Nor does he seek help from anyone outside of himself. 

He who believes in karma and reincarnation sinks into his misery and does not hope. He does not seek a God, nor anyone from his surroundings. He is expected to passively accept his state without 'attachment'. He cannot experience faith and gratitude for God's presence in his life. Even if he refers to 'a law of grace', it is aimed at  mechanistic and automatic consequences of a blind law, and this is why he is called on to act without internal involvement, without 'attachment', as he claims. Nevertheless, man is by nature a communion of persons. This is why the complete loneliness in which the dogma of karma and reincarnation immerses its believer constitutes an 'unnatural' state. 

On the contrary, the Christian believer accepts with gratitude all states in life and seeks a solution that is external to himself. He seeks God's face and the communion of love with Him. This gives him a deeper meaning in life. He feels that God does not abandon him and resides close to him, even if he faces negative situations. For the believer, sorrows and pain hold a deeper meaning. There are no unchangeable situations for him in life, an unalterable 'destiny', which is determined through a blind law. A person's will and God's grace can alter the spiritual state and life of that person. A Christian does not face anything passively but responsibly and with awareness of God's presence in his life. The Christian has undoubtedly abandoned the path of being distant and autonomous and follows the path of the 'new creation' in Christ, that is, the path of gratitude, love and hope. 

The dogma of the pre-existence of the soul and of reincarnation has been condemned by the Church as foreign to the Christian faith. Still there are guruistic, neognostic, theosophic, occult groups which claim that the dogma of karma and reincarnation was an integral part of Christ's teachings and of the first Church. 

These views rely on occult sources and are a result of para-psychological and spiritual practices and 'experimentation'. This means that they are the fruit of religious convictions from a sphere outside Christianity. 

The occultists project examples of 'memory' and use 'recollection' techniques. But if they do not concern situations which can be interpreted in a different way or cases of conscious deceit, we still find ourselves in front of 'phenomena' and 'testimonies' that are of no scientific, but only religious value. In order for them to be accepted, one must abandon the spiritual sphere of Christian faith and move to the sphere of Asian spirituality. 

Even people within the sphere of orthodox Hinduism, who believe in reincarnation, when referring to the phenomena of so-called 'spontaneous memory', underline that they pertain to 'demonic seizures', meaning demonic states. 

There is no Continuation in the Life of Personality 

The followers of reincarnation claim that on the path to 'liberation' there exists an intermediate state in the 'cosmic spheres' of the spiritual world. In this state, the personality of the previous life is dissolved and disappears before the soul is reborn into a new body. However, if the soul completely rejects its previous earthly personality, then, when it returns to life in a new reincarnation, it does not involve the same being, but another. 

So with reincarnation there is no continuity between successive lives. The destruction and disintegration of personality of every human after death does not differ so much from the atheistic conviction regarding man's extinction. In reality, the only thing that gets reincarnated is karma that is broken away from the body. This conviction has as a consequence that the being, who receives a new body, does not have, and cannot have any memory of a former existence, so that it can then achieve correction of its life and perfection during the coming lives.  

Consequently, it is possible that 'momentarily' the reincarnation theory satisfies some, offering an explanation for injustice and inequality, but in essence, it does not solve the problem, since man's personality dissolves and the being that is reincarnated does not have the required memory of those crimes for which it is being asked to pay. M. Albrecht brings up as an example the case of Joseph Stalin. The reincarnation of this dictator could suffer for Stalin's terrible crimes, without retaining any memory that indicates to him that he is Joseph Stalin. Besides, there is no indication that it is possible to ensure the 'evolution' of Stalin's new reincarnation; he could just as well increase his 'bad karma', instead of living a life that would drive him into 'evolution' into a new reincarnation.

But since one's personality dissolves and there is no ontological connection between the two beings, the possibility of 'another chance' proves ungrounded.  

The 'Cosmic Game' 

According to the views of the Theosophical Society, faith in divine providence leads the Church into desertion. To regain lost ground, the Christian Church needs to replace this faith with the belief of karma and reincarnation, which completely satisfies the evolved intelligence of modern man, argues Cooper. 

But this belief constitutes a religious conviction which 'exceeds' any possibility of guarantee in the human intellect. This is accepted in the areas of guruistic – occult groups that preach reincarnation as a 'key solution' for man's and the world's existential problems. 

The teacher of the 'harmonious life', following guru Sai Baba's steps, referring to 'the creation of the world' and the soul's 'involvement' in karmic relations and 'tendencies', writes:   

 
“The question comes to mind as how this cosmic game got started. How and why was the first samskara (impression or tendency) developed.” “The origin of the universe has been a question which has enticed the human mind into reflection ever since we've existed on this planet.” (Robert Najemy, Universal Philosophy, p.142,90).  

Najemy makes reference to various religious groups, which each “offers their own creation stories”, but that are “beyond the capacity of our limited mind to understand” (Universal Philosophy, p. 90). The teacher of 'harmonious life' presents as his own answer the belief in reincarnation: 

“The idea is that the spirit, for some reason, has separated from its perfect eternal state of union with God and is experiencing life in the physical world. Although the Spirit, in reality, remains perfect in its union with God, its projection on the earth plane, that is, the soul in the incarnated body, loses its awareness of that divine state. The soul then begins to experience and experiment with the physical world by entering into physical vehicles. 

“At first the soul could manifest itself only through very simple vehicles such as one-celled organisms like amoebas. Eventually as the soul has more and more contact with the physical world, through repeated birth and death of these various simple forms of life, it gradually develops the ability to incarnate into more advanced physical vehicles, such as plants, fish, insects, animals, primates and finally human beings”. (Robert Najemy, The Mystical Circle of Life, p. 140-141).

How is it possible for the soul, which is a 'projection' and 'reflection' of the Absolute, to lose consciousness of its godly state and start wandering about in the material world, to obtain something that evidently it did not have, the experience of matter? How is it possible for the perfect Spirit to be 'trapped' in matter? How and why did it have to be firstly reincarnated into 'inferior entities', such as is the amoeba, before it begun the 'evolutionary course' upwards? Wouldn't it be more natural to pass through in a contrary stream towards the bottom, from a manifested spirit to be embodied into the entity of man and then to fall further down, to become humanoid, animal, fish, plant, amoeba, mineral, since it 'desired' to experience all levels of matter? 

We see that the belief in reincarnation does not at all satisfy the 'evolved mind of contemporary man'. In this Robert Najemy also agrees. He writes:
 

“Because our conceptual ability and language are limited by the concepts of time and space, there is no way we can understand the final truth about creation with words or the rational mind. The answer to this question lies within the higher mind which is able to transcend time and space and realize the answer through direct experience of the process of creation itself. That answer is, of course, incommunicable as our language does not offer the necessary terminology”. (Universal Philosophy, p. 90)
 

The 'mind' belongs to the 'world of dualism', says Najemy. So, to arrive at an 'experienced' answer to the problem of creation, we must 'overcome' the world of 'dualism'. “However, even if once you have experienced the answer, you cannot communicate it because it is beyond duality and beyond the comprehension of the mind. Accepting that it has started in some way...” (Universal Philosophy, p. 142-143).  
 

That which the 'harmonious life' offers as an answer to the problem of how the first 'impression or tendency' (karma) developed, and of how the soul lost 'consciousness of its godly state', constitutes a religious view, which belongs within the sphere of Asian perception, external to the Christian sphere. This is how this religious view is expressed:
 

“The stance of Universal Philosophy is that creation is not an event that took place millions of years ago but rather a process that is eternally happening every second.” ... “There is a void, an infinite non-physical, unchanging, unmanifest Reality from which creation is constantly being projected somewhat in the way that an image is projected onto a screen by a projector.” (Universal Philosophy, p. 90)
 

A similar religious approach is attempted by so-called 'Esoteric Christianity'. According to the 'Esoteric Orthodoxy' of Boris Mouravvief “Orthodox Tradition teaches that the Universe was created by a sacrifice of God...God's sacrifice is Self-limitation by manifestation.” “...life in the Universe is nothing but a perpetual process of creation in every domain, on every plane, and at every step.” (Boris Mouravieff, Gnosis, Volume 1-Exoteric Cycle, p. 70,75)
 

D. Dorizas of 'Esoteric Christianity' expresses this referring to man's purpose in life: “You will be able to be diffused in the same way within forms and within the Formless and Non-manifested Essence, that exists and governs the Infinite Universes. A purpose and aim is to become Exhalation, and exhalation is the Word. And the Word is Flow, which is continuously recycled and perpetually transmits consecutively in a movement and vibrations so fast, that it seems not to palpitate or vibrate. When you become Exhalation, the Word, the Endless Flow of the Universe, you will be absorbed into the Formless, unifying with the Formless, but without losing the possibility to manifest yourself in Infinite ways...” (D. Dorizas, 2001, p. 84 [translated from Greek text]).       
 

These beliefs move externally to Christian faith, are anti-Christian teachings, which project absolute monism and the cyclical outlook of history, meaning a pointless 'cosmic game':
 

“Although this physical creation is in a constant rhythmic process of creation and destruction, this Ultimate Reality (as Spirit or Consciousness) cannot be created or destroyed. All of creation alternates between expansion, manifestation and contraction then back into the latent unmanifest state. Just as we have the rhythmic cycles of night and day, summer and winter, we have the cycles of creation and reabsorption of the universe back into the Unmanifest.” (Universal Philosophy, p. 91)    
 

This endless 'cosmic game' of continuous alternation between 'expansion towards manifestation' and 'contraction towards absence, into a latent unmanifest state', the continuous recycling of all, cannot possibly provide us with a satisfactory answer to the question for a deeper meaning of life. It's a religious view that does not offer solutions but leads to dead ends. It sinks a person into an endless loneliness.
 

Based on this perception, man is indeed doomed to loneliness. He is deserted to his 'destiny' helpless. Nobody can change his fate, not himself, nor another person, not even God. He has substituted Divine Love and Divine Providence with karmic plans, which define events in his life just like episodes of a movie, which are projected from a machine onto a screen. In the end, what is written in the movie will be screened, irrespectively of how philanthropic or horrific the scenes of the 'movie' are which are played in each life.   
 

According to the perception of the teachers of reincarnation, one must not even try to change the 'scenario' of his life. But even if he did try, it would be in vain, as the 'movie' will be played in any case. What one is called to do is to 'play his part' without 'identification [with things]' and without 'attachment'. It does not matter what the role is, if it is the role of a robber or of that being robbed, a criminal or a victim!  
 

The behavior of others towards him is also a result of 'karmic stipulations'. The same applies to relations formed with one's relatives, school, profession. The 'roles' change continuously from life to life. In one life one is a mother, in another one is a father, in the next a spouse, in another they afflict him, torture him, treat him unjustly, rob him, lead him into wretchedness and death. Under no circumstances is there the element of responsibility for one's fellow human or the concept of injustice. There is no God-lawgiver, who institutes ethical laws and calls on man to follow God's path, who will lead him into the fulfillment of the meaning of man's life, according to God's will. Man is only subject to karma's blind law and will not have to explain himself to anybody for his actions. He is submerged in complete loneliness.     
 

What is important is not what one does, but if he does it with 'attachment' or without identifying with what he does. It does not matter if his action is considered good or bad, but if he feels it is helping him in happiness and 'evolution'. “We want to see what’s useful for our evolution and not get caught up in concepts of sin, guilt” (Universal Philosophy, p. 207). For teachers of absolute monism, every action, regardless of whether it's considered good or bad, “is equally an expression of the one Universal Consciousness and thus, each deserves the same respect and love independent of what he or she does or does not do on the external levels.” (Universal Philosophy, p. 71)
 

If someone is strong, and considers it 'useful' to oppress someone weak, he may do it, 'without attachment'. If someone else is weak and is oppressed, he must also endure 'without attachment' or 'empathy'. Both deserve the same love and respect, regardless of whether they are oppressors or oppressed. Nobody wrongs anybody. The ones who perceive things differently are moving in the level of 'dualism' and are at a low evolutionary level. This is the theoretical foundation of ethics based on reincarnation.  
 

There is no injustice in reality. The ones who 'do us injustice' as we think, are only carriers of actions that, according to the 'scenario' of our life's movie, must take place, for our evolution's sake! If we endure without protesting, we will have learned our 'lesson' and in a future life we will advance in evolution! (self-evolution).   
 

It becomes obvious that the precept of karma and reincarnation does not lead to the development of man's personality, but to its destruction; it does not nurture relations of mutual responsibility and love between people, but the maggot of ego centrism. This faith does not know mercy and threatens the pillars of our whole society and civilization.  

The belief of karma and reincarnation means a reversal in the evaluation of our society. Any form of sociability is negatively evaluated, because the aim is not the development of society in all its expressions, but abstinence from every active and essential participation in social relations. Every such participation and relation is considered 'empathy' or 'attachment', which creates 'karma', and leads a person to be bound to the endless wheel of samsara, to the continuous 'torture' of successive births and deaths. This 'cosmic game', in which man also takes part, does not at all make sense.       
 

Nobody doubts that each person has the right to make his religious choice, to keep his faith in the resurrection and hope in Christ or to become a follower of reincarnation. But this choice must take place freely. That is why, one must realize that both of these are incompatible with each other. One cannot believe in reincarnation without denying the hope of resurrection. He cannot say, “I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come” (The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed), and at the same time confess belief in karma and reincarnation.    
 

For these beliefs to be taught as Christian, using Christian terminology and using the Holy Scriptures, is a pitiable error ‒ if, of course, this does not occur on purpose ‒ otherwise it is dishonest. Either way, it causes confusion and prevents unsuspecting people from having a free choice.      
 

If someone wishes to choose to believe in reincarnation, they must beforehand know that apart from the fact that this path is anti-Christian, they are not led to a 'better life' or to the 'development of man's abilities'. Because the final aim, according to the principle of karma and reincarnation is not a better life, but the termination of life, the 'absorption' into an impersonal 'Universal Reality'.
 

On the contrary, the Christian faith, according to which God, out of love, created the world and created man 'according to His image and to His likeness', not as a result of His divine substance, but His divine will and freedom. It offers an answer to the question of creation and deeper meaning in man's life. This meaning does not end in an 'absorption' of a person into the 'Universal Reality', but into his participation in God's life 'in Jesus Christ', with the eternal communion of love with the Holy Trinity (for more information, please see our book The Orthodox Church: Faith-Worship-Life, Preveza 1991).   

Fr. ANTHONY ALEVIZOPOULOS
Dr. Of Theology - Dr. Of Philosophy
REINCARNATION OR RESURRECTION: AN ORTHODOX OUTLOOK ON EVIL

Translation by: Holy Monastery of Pantokrator

Yoga and Meditation

From here.
-------------------------------------

Monk Arsenios Vliagoftis, Graduate of Theology and Philosophy,
Commissioned by the Sacred Metropolis of Cassandria on matters of heresies


Source:   "DIALOGOS" magazine, issue No.22 (2000)

http://www.oodegr.com/english/anatolikes/boudismos/yoga_meditation.htm

"....They are contrary to, and irreconcilable with, Orthodox Christian ascesis, especially with Prayer..."

Our times are times of extreme spiritual confusion and apostasy from the Will of God. The father of this condition is the devil, who uses the people that he seduces into fallacy in order to succeed in his homicidal plan. This confusion is cultivated mostly by groups belonging to the so-called "New Age of Aquarius". Their basic dogma is that "all religions are the same; all of them are paths that lead to the same objective" - so they say.  However our Lord Jesus Christ Himself refutes them, when He says in the Gospel: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6).  Consequently, the paths to salvation are not many, but only one alone: Christ and His Church.

These heralds of confusion identify Christian prayer with yoga and meditation, which are techniques of oriental religions and occultism. With what will follow, I believe that this confusion will be cleared.

 

Ascesis has been legislated by our very Lord Himself, in the sacred Gospel.  Ascesis is the means for reaching the purpose of Christian living, which is to rid oneself of passions and become united with God (theosis by Grace).  Among the kinds of ascesis are fasting, night-vigils, prayer, sincere repentance and confession, humility; the severing of one's own will by being obedient to the will of God; by  not trusting our own nonexistent powers but only God's power; by attributing to God all good things and whichever progress we make on the path of virtue while putting the blame on ourselves for our sins. Along with these, we should add the study of God's word and the conscientious participation in the Sacraments of our Church - especially in the Sacrament of repentance and confession and the Sacrament of the Divine Eucharist.  Ascesis is not only for monks and clergy, but for every Christian, as clearly observed in the sacred Gospel and the lives of the saints of our Church.  This path of ascesis was the path followed by the millions of saints of our Faith.

Essentially, ascesis is Man providing the "I want to" from his part; the "I can" is provided by the Almighty God from His part.  In this way, the ailing person is cured of sin. This kind of healing is achieved only inside the spiritual hospital called "Church".  For the cure to be achieved, ascesis is imperative.

Within the Orthodox tradition of therapy, ascesis is not seen as a technique. It is not a sum of practices either.

On the contrary, it is our sincere response to God's love. In other words, to do what is humanly possible to cleanse the inner self, so that the Grace of God might come to reside within us.  After all, it is God Who makes the first move to meet Man, and not Man who seeks to find God. And so, we now come to a crucial point.

There are certain similarities between Orthodox ascesis and the ascesis practised in the non-Orthodox sphere, which can impress someone who stops at the apparent similarity of trees with regard to their foliage, but cannot see the differences in their trunks, their roots, and especially their fruits.

Prayer is the soul conversing with God. One that is very familiar to the monastic tradition is the Jesus Prayer ("Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me"); it has been cultivated and is still being cultivated by all God-loving souls, and not just by monks.

The external similarities of the so-called psychosomatic method of mental prayer with the techniques of meditation have given rise for much to be written on the topic, especially in recent years.  We should not forget here, that it is the fraudulent article that always mimics a genuine one.  The devil is able to transform himself even into an angel of light for the sake of misleading...

So, what is the so-called "psychosomatic method" generally comprised of?  Basically, the following:  The individual is seated on  a low stool with his head bent forward so that he can focus on a spot on the chest, slightly below the heart, and then tries to coordinate his breathing with the Jesus Prayer, on whose words and meaning he tries to focus his mind and warm his heart with them. However this is not suggested as a recipe - whether by all the teachers of the mental prayer, or by all those who would like to study it.

(We must also not forget that although the Prayer is of help, it is not an end on its own.  However, this detail will be tackled further along.)

On the other hand, meditation is defined by the Hindu guru Sathya Sai Baba as "the method from within which the mind learns to concentrate" (Sri Sathya Sai Baba, "Meditation", Sri Sathya Sai Publications, Athens, 1984, p.8, as quoted by the late fr. Anthony Alevizopoulos in his book "Meditation, or Prayer?", p.56).

 

In this relating of the mental prayer to meditation, a dishonest attempt is observed. It is the attempt to make it appear as though we have two paths - albeit different - but deep down closely related, which lead to the same objective - that we supposedly have two different traditions which however essentially describe the exact same experience. Unfortunately, even professors of Orthodox Theological Schools - as for example prof. Savvas Agourides - maintain this view (see article titled "The experience of divine light by Orthodox Hesychasts and enlightenment in Zen Buddhism" - an introduction to the Conference on God and God's Equivalents, organized by the Council of the World's Religions in Assisi, Italy, on the 16th May 1990).  The explanation is that Mr.Agourides is unfortunately a member of the "Unification Church" of the Korean pseudo-Messiah, Sun Myung Moon.

Naturally, this attempt to create confusion lies within the syncretistic framework in which the so-called "New Age of Aquarius" envisages things.  As mentioned earlier, they preach that "everything is the same", in order to mislead and proselytize those who lack any support elsewhere.  Deep down however, they themselves do not actually believe in this statement of theirs, because they are convinced that their faith belongs to the New Age, and that consequently they are in a higher, more evolved level than we Christians are. (According to their assertions, we have remained stuck in the Olden Age, that is, in the "Age of Pisces" which was -according to them- the "age of Christianity"!)

We could say many more things about the Christian Orthodox prayer's perception of God, Mankind and the world, on which it is based. On the other hand, we could say equally many things regarding the perception of God, Mankind and the world that Yoga and meditation presupposes. These two perceptions are entirely contrary to each other and entirely irreconcilable.  For us Christians, God is a Person; He created Man out of Love - Man also being a person.  God also created the world out of Love and cares about it, just as He cares about Man, even more so.  On the contrary, according to the religions of the Orient and the "New Age", God is an impersonal hyper-consciousness and identifies with the universe. In other words, we have here a "pantheism".   Likewise, Man is also - according to them - like a drop that needs to be dissolved in the ocean of that impersonal God-universe.  Freedom and responsibility do not exist, according to the anti-Christian perception of the "New Age".  They assert that everything is determined on the basis of the blind law of karma and reincarnation (which of course is not a law, but a religious belief of oriental religions and of occultism). According to this fallacy, the soul after our physical death supposedly enters another body - regardless if it is a human's or an animal's. It can supposedly even enter a plant or a rock, given that everything is the same in its essence, according to their theory.

With the above, we consider this important parenthesis closed.

The Orthodox placement - on the fallacious view that meditation and prayer are supposedly the same - is as follows:  Reading from the book "The Power of the Name" by His Eminence the Bishop of Diocleia, fr. Kallistos Ware, professor of the University of Oxford:

«Besides similarities, there are also differences. All pictures have frames, and all picture-frames have certain features in common; yet the pictures within the frames may be utterly different. What matters is the picture, not the frame. In the case of the Jesus Prayer, the physical techniques are as it were the frame, while the mental invocation of Christ is the picture within the frame. The ‘frame’ of Jesus Prayer certainly resembles various non-Christian ‘frames’, but this should not make us insensitive to the uniqueness of the picture within, to the distinctively Christian content of the Prayer. The essential point in the Jesus Prayer is not the act of repetition in itself, not how we sit or breathe, but to whom we speak; and in this instance the words are addressed unambiguously to the Incarnate Saviour Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary».


And he continues:

The Jesus Prayer is not just a device to help us concentrate or relax. It is not simply a piece of ‘Christian Yoga’, a type of ‘Transcendental Meditation’, or a ‘Christian mantra’, even though some have tried to interpret it in this way. It is, on the contrary, an invocation specifically addressed to another person — to God made man, Jesus Christ, our personal Saviour and Redeemer. The Jesus Prayer, therefore, is far more than an isolated method or technique. It exists within a certain context, and if divorced from that context it loses its proper meaning.

And he continues:

The context of the Jesus Prayer is first of all one of faith. The Invocation of the Name presupposes that the one who says the Prayer believes in Jesus Christ as Son of God and Saviour. Behind the repetition of a form of words there must exist a living faith in the Lord Jesus — in who he is and in what he has done for me personally. Perhaps the faith in many of us is very uncertain and faltering; perhaps it coexists with doubt; perhaps we often find ourselves compelled to cry out in company with the father of the lunatic child, ‘Lord, I believe: help my unbelief’ (Mark 9:24). But at least there should be some desire to believe; at least there should be, amidst all the uncertainty, a spark of love for the Jesus whom as yet we know so imperfectly.

Secondly, the context of the Jesus Prayer is one of community. We do not invoke the Name as separate individuals, relying solely upon our own inner resources, but as members of the community of the Church. Writers such as St Barsanuphius, St Gregory of Sinai or Bishop Theophan took it for granted that those to whom they commended the Jesus Prayer were baptized Christian, regularly participating in the Church’s sacramental life through Confession and Holy Communion. Not for one moment did they envisage the Invocation of the Name as a substitute for the Sacraments, but they assumed that anyone using it would be a practicing and communicant member of the Church. (from the book, pages 66-68).

And to supplement the above thoughts:

Our aim in praying is to communicate with the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ, and this communication certainly cannot be put into molds in order for us to be joined with Him (without this union abolishing our personal otherness), whereas with meditation, the aim is to dissolve the individual Self, like a drop of water dissolves in the ocean of "universal hyper-consciousness", which is not a person.

In meditation, one does not address any specific person that he is linked to with love; instead, one addresses the Self, in the belief that he himself is in essence God.  This of course is a demonic deception and fallacy, which, in the desire to impose it, they have misinterpreted and twisted the very words of Christ: "The Kingdom of God is within us"  (Luke 17:21), regardless that this quote does not imply that Man is God by nature - as the misled New Agers fallaciously believe and proclaim. What it implies is that when one is baptized, the uncreated Divine Grace (the Holy Spirit) resides inside him, and that whoever has Divine Grace inside him, has a foretaste of the Kingdom of God from now.

 

This closes the brief parenthesis.

Meditation therefore is not a move to abandon the self, or a move to be rid of one's egotism - in other words, a move of love; rather, it is a self-centered short-circuiting action.

In meditation, one concentrates on a so-called meditational object.  According to the followers of meditation, this could be the form of Buddha, a candle flame, or any other object (and we might add, why not the form of Lucifer, if that helps to "inspire" and "assist" one's meditation).

When they who exercise meditation approach Christians in order to proselytize them, they tell them that during meditation, they can likewise concentrate their attention on Jesus Christ.  And that is the way they cultivate confusion; they give a different meaning to the term "Christ". To them,  Jesus Christ is not the perfect God and perfect Man as we believe Him to be. They refer to Him as just another one of the many other "great teachers", but above all they claim that He is a "state" within us! They say that we are all "Christs by nature".  But we Orthodox do not believe in the demonic lie that we are supposedly Gods by nature; we believe that we struggle with the help of God to resemble Christ and that we consequently become God-like by God's Grace, the way the Saints are.  The difference is huge.  In the case of meditation, they promote the diabolical lie of self-salvation, as opposed to the case of praying, where a person becomes sanctified within a communion of Love and subordination to the one and only, Holy, Triune God.

The supporters of meditation also make reference to the «surpassing of the meditational object».

 

But this supposed «surpassing of the meditational object», is entirely foreign and irreconcilable to the Orthodox Prayer.  To us, Jesus Christ is not a meditational object, nor is it our aim to surpass Him in order to reach a "state of pure consciousness" or a "deeper awareness of the Self" (also in the book by fr. Anthony Alevizopoulos "Meditation or Prayer?").

Another point we must stress is that with the techniques of meditation, one elevates the self to extreme heights of pride, whereas with the Prayer, one humbles the self, one does not snub others and in fact, by having succeeded in getting to know one's own self thoroughly well and having experienced the presence of Divine Grace, he will consider himself as the worst person there is - even worse than reasonless animals. "Even lower than all of creation", as we read in the book of Elders (the "Gerontikon").

When the person meditating believes that in essence he is God, he is not in a state that will allow him to utter the words "have mercy on me" - the key words of the mental prayer. In other words, the follower of the dogma of "I want and I can" of the New Age "positive thinking" is unable to humble the self.

Besides, meditation in the long run only leads the one who meditates into a state of self-hypnosis; his perseverance in becoming joined to the object of his meditation (which is the chief aim of meditation) is nothing more than a case of fantasy; a fantasy which - according to the Orthodox ascetic therapeutic regimen - needs to be marginalized.  This movement within the sphere of fantasy (or rather, within the sphere where real and fantastic are confused) can reach the point of generating situations that belong to the area of Psychiatry. An example is the case of a follower who attempted (with his "power of the mind" as he believed) to stop a train. The result naturally was the loss of his life.  There is a plethora of similar outrageous examples.  The demonic element naturally assists in all of these situations.  For an in-depth examination of this "positive thinking" movement, I would recommend the book by the late Fr. Anthony Alevizopoulos, "Self-awareness, self-realization, Salvation".

Ascesis is not a technique. This becomes apparent with the comparison between the mental prayer and meditation. It is not a means by which we can extort God's freedom. Ascesis in the Orthodox tradition is not an end in itself. It is a means. Our aspiration with ascesis is to mortify our passions, and not harm the body. Abba Poemen in the "Gerontikon" had said:  "We were not taught to be body-wreckers, but passion-wreckers" ("Asteras" publications, page 101).

Given that ascesis is not an end in itself - as stressed earlier - that is why the Orthodox do not seek to see lights or visions, or to have 'experiences' or to perform miracles.  Wherever and whenever a case of "vision-worship" or "miracle-worship" appears, we need to know that these are definitely deviations from the Orthodox phronema (conscience) and ethos.  An Orthodox will deny the "experiences" that the devil is ready to offer, "here and now" and without being asked (let alone when asked).

There is a vast gaping chasm between a true prophet (that is, an Orthodox Saint) and an occultist sorcerer, fakir, conjurer, or a psychic/"medium".

To open a small parenthesis here, I would like to briefly quote the basic points of these differences, as analyzed in the late Fr.Anthony Alevizopoulos' book, "Occultism, Guruism, New Age" (pages 282-286):

1.  A prophet, a Saint, is not self-appointed; he is appointed by God.

2.  A true prophet is conscious of his insignificance, whereas a sorcerer, a conjurer, is full of demonic self-importance.

3.  A true prophet does not open a "business for services rendered", nor is he invited by people; he goes to them.

4.  The true prophetic word is usually unwelcome by those to whom it is addressed, and it provokes - not flatters - them, and

5.  The content of the true prophet's message is not new; it is old, and has been forgotten.

So, to return to the matter of visions and "experiences", we might add that:

The Grace of God may of course visit the purified and worthy ones, however and whenever it deems it beneficial either for them or for the edification of the Body of Christ, that is, the Church.  However, these experiences cannot be extorted, nor are they an end in themselves.

The Saints counsel us to seek repentance - which is likewise a gift of God - and which, according to Saint Isaac the Syrian, is loftier than all other virtues, «...for its opus can never be finished; it is befitting to everyone, to both sinners and the righteous, who wish to attain salvation» (Homily55 On Passions, publisher Hieromonk Joachim Spetsieris, p.220). So, it is repentance that we should be seeking, and not the ability to work miracles - which, if we lack humility, can seriously harm us or even destroy us.

 

The manner in which the Saints avoid the temptation to desire "experiences" is by maintaining a humble conscience.

 

In the bios of the late Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain - who was reposed in 1994 - the following incident is mentioned:  One evening as he lay awake praying, he thought that the ceiling of his hut was about to open wide and that Christ was going to appear there and bless him.  "My God, who am I to be so worthy as to behold You?" was the humble thought that immediately came to his mind, upon which, the vision that the devil was preparing to show him vanished like a flash.

The criterion for the verifiability of Orthodox ascesis is that it should be done conscientiously (a detail that the Elder Paisios stressed especially) and with love, with humility and discernment, and without of course following after our personal will - in other words, that it be done with obedience and in fact a "joyous obedience", to remember the words of another great contemporary holy Elder that is now reposed: the Elder Porphyrios.

One may perhaps easily perform five hundred prostrations while preserving his own will, his own opinion, his own judgment, and placing trust in himself.  But, to perform only a hundred prostrations with obedience is far more difficult, because in that case, the evil one places impediments and wages war against him, whereas in the first case, the devil actually empowers and reinforces him.

The difference between Orthodox ascesis on the one hand and the demonic "ascesis" on the other can be seen in the narration of the "Gerontikon" that refers to Abba Makarios the Egyptian. Let's listen to it:

«Once, when Abba Makarios was walking back from the marshes to his cell, laden with palm fronds, he was accosted on the path by the devil holding a sickle.  And although he attempted to strike the Elder, he was unable to harm him.  So he remarked:

"I find a lot of resistance in you, Makarios, making me unable to harm you. And yet, whatever you do, I also do. Do you fast? I too eat nothing. Do you hold night-vigils? I too do not sleep at all. Yet you have one thing that I don't."

"And what is that?" Abba Makarios asked him.

And he replied: "Your humility. That is what incapacitates me!»

(«Gerontikon» in the modern Greek rendition by Vas.Pentzas, ASTERAS publications, p.152).

Of everything that has been mentioned so far, I believe that Orthodox ascesis and especially Prayer, does not have any similarity or affinity in essence to yoga and meditation which are cultivated by oriental religions and the groups of the so-called "New Age of Aquarius".  Those who say otherwise are either misleading people by cultivating that New-Age confusion through heresies, or themselves fall prey to that confusion.  The only safe way for one to not be trapped by heresies is to belong consciously and organically in the Orthodox Church, which is the sole Ark of Salvation for mankind, as it has preserved unadulterated the Gospel and the tradition that the Holy Spirit bequeathed us through the Holy Apostles and their successors. Only then will he be sheltered by Divine Grace, enlightened by the Holy Spirit and guided safely towards Salvation.

Translation by K.N.

What is Theosophy?

From here.
---------------------------

WHAT IS THEOSOPHY?

Theosophy: A philosophic and religious “gnostic” current, a continuation and synthesis of ancient neo-Platonism and gnosticism which, in its newer form, was put forth mainly by the Theosophical Society (founded in 1875) by its founder Helena Petrovna Blavatski, a Russian “medium,” and now offered by the “New (Aquarian) Age” movement.

The main aim of theosophy is, on one hand the, development of a global core of a humanity free of discrimination based on religion, race, sex, class and colour, but on the other hand, in relation to the previous objective, to prove that all the different religious faiths and heresies are substantially the same, with a common beginning and minor variations. Based on these aims, theosophy set out from the beginning to advance “comparative religion” as a means of demonstrating the origin of religions from common primary religious myths. However, characteristic of the theosophic understanding – due to its basically Hinduistic (and Buddhist, as concerns ethics) character – is the belief in rebirth and reincarnation, its denial of the existence of a personal God, spiritual pantheism (and in particular the presence of the divine essence in man; namely, man is in essence a god, a spark and rendering of godly essence with hidden divine powers), “evolutionism,” communication with already advanced beings of earlier periods (Spiritual Hierarchy) through spiritism (“mediumism”) and the expectation of a future teacher “Christ” (Maitreya), “Christ of the Aquarian period,” which will surpass all the previous “teachers” (“Avatars”), even Jesus.

After Blavatski, Annie Besant became the leader of theosophy. She was head of the British sec-tor of the mixed (male and female) Masonic Order “Le Droit Humain” and after her came Alice Baily, who set out to create a particular theosophical group, the “Arcane School” (1923). She created and advanced the familiar modern day “New Age” movement, which has an intense messianic and anti-Christian character. The influence of theosophy on the mystic Masonic religion is evident, the most important characteristic of which is Masonry’s adoption of the theosophic teaching of a future, final “World Teacher.” Based on many writings of Blavatski, the praiser of the Satan-serpent, as much as on the title of one of her magazines “Lucifer,” it evident that the term “theosophy” is derived in truth from the term “θεος-οφις” (Theos-ofis =god-serpent) and not from “θεου-σοφια” (Theou-sophia = Wisdom of God).

One branch of Theosophy, after its breakup in 1913, is “Anthroposophy” (wisdom of man) or “Rosicrusian” Theosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner.

Helena Blavatski characteristically wrote in her work, The Secret Doctrine: “Satan is the angel who was quite proud to believe that he himself was God; and he was quite brave to pay for his independence the price of suffering and eternal torment... Satan, the serpent of Genesis, is the true creator and benefactor, the father of the spiritual humanity... And he who whispered, ‘on the day you eat of it you will be as Elohim, knowing good from evil” may only be honoured under the light of a saviour”….

Books I've Read(or am reading)-Twenty-Two:"Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future" by Father Seraphim Rose

(Click on images to enlarge)



















Front cover: The triumph of the Archangel Michael over the antichrist, who is shown falling into the abyss together with the cities of this world at the end of time. Fresco by Pimen Maximovich Sofronov in the Sepulchre of St. John (Maximovitch) of Shangahai and San Fransisco, below the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Cathedral in San Fransisco.

My stash of completed books has grown in front of my computer waiting for me to post on them. I somehow have managed to fall behind in keeping up with posting on each book as I complete it and now I wish I had commented sooner on this one as its contents are not fresh in my mind and I think this to be an important book for many reasons.

First, in these evil days when the byword is "love" and "tolerance" in all things regarded as "Christian", the tone is refreshingly and shockingly uncompromising which serves as a wake up call when read for no other reason that even if one disagrees with Father Seraphim, one at least is challenged as to why he disagrees and is polarized into a very definite stance. I find this refreshing in an age when every blow, if there is ever a blow delivered, is softened and made to appeal to the vague everyone in effort to not affront anyone. Fire is in these pages and from them a man speaks to us, every fibre of his being warning and admonishing. Warning and admonishing itself is not fashionable in our day but perhaps to be fair they never were fashionable in any age.

To believe with Father Seraphim that the Orthodox Catholic Church is the Church and that outside Her is not the Church is laughable in our day and age when there is in truth no the anything anymore, an age characterized by a relativism all pervasive and rendering even the plausibility of there being a transcendent Truth to be preposterous and anyway, "Just one's opinion."

No idea or principle holds gravity or gains any traction as everything "is just part of the show, folks", entertain me, damn it." "Truth is fine. Give me more of it! (uh, does it pay? is anyone watching me know truth?)"

I also find this book important because it takes serious the belief in wicked spirits and their influence in the affairs of men. As the body may contract sickness and disease why are we not wise according to the spirit also prone to disease and sickness through what it indulges in?

Father Seraphim reminds us that we are not living in Disneyland. There is a deadly seriousness to having being, just existing. He reminds us that the Lord, His Apostles, all the books of the New Testament and the Holy Fathers take very seriously spiritual deception and that as one day is added to another and history moves towards its consummation the Lord draws near.

The Lord will most definitely return. But prior to His most definite return is also foretold by Him and all who speak expressly in the Spirit that most definitely will come this Antichrist.

With Father Seraphim and all the Saints who spoke on these matters and with our Lord, may we admonish one another, saying, "Let us be wise and sober according to our age. We know not the day and time but we are told to observe the season and to notice the leaves on the trees changing color."

Father Seraphim in this book speaks on many subjects but each of the deceptions is understood to have an underlying unifying thread. He gives a thorough treatment on UFO phenomena and parallels the experiences of those who have had "close encounters" with classic demonic manifestation and possession of the previous era. I have had this chapter, actually on my sidebar for quite some time and one may read it here:Father Seraphim Rose on UFOs in "Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future".

This book has had a big influence in Russia and for many gave guidance towards Orthodoxy.

Again, an important book.


READ THE PREVIOUS POST IN THIS SERIES:

Russia—The Country That We Chose To Forget

By Ram Madhav

The Orthodox Church has successfully prevented the Pope from visiting Russia on the ground that he will bring Catholic religion to Russia and encourage proselytisation. But the very same argument is being used to trouble organisations like ISKCON. ISKCON premises in central Moscow were forcefully occupied by the local Government ostensibly at the behest of the Orthodox Church. Subsequent legal battles saw the restoration of the premises to ISKCON. When asked about it, the Church officials argue that they were not opposed to ISKCON building a temple, but the size of it should be in proportion to their influence. ‘ISKCON wants to build a temple bigger than our Church in a neighbourhood which is predominantly Russian Orthodox. We opposed it and said that they can build it outside the city near the airport’, they said.

“Medvedev practises Yoga everyday”, screamed Moscow Times, the prominent English daily of Russia the day I landed in Moscow in mid-April for meetings with various Government and non-Government agencies. Quoting the wife of the 42-year old President-elect the paper went on to add that over 10 per cent Russians have been attracted to yoga, meditation etc.

I remembered a senior ISKCON official in US once claiming that about one per cent of Russians are today the followers of ISKCON and various other Hindu missions. As part of my schedule when I visited the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Culture (JNCC) which is a part of our Indian Embassy activity in Moscow I got to know that the Centre runs courses in various Indian cultural forms like Bharata Natyam, Odissy, tabla, flute, vocal etc which are hugely popular with the Russian youngsters.

Such examples abound

This is the new Russia that many in India didn’t know. We used to be obsessed with Russia in its erstwhile avatar as Soviet Union. Many households including that of mine used to get magazines like Soviet Land regularly. This was the case till the 70s. Things changed with the advent of Islamic terrorism. We got embroiled in Pakistan quagmire which continued till the dawn of the new millennium.

Today, the obsession for an average Indian is no longer even Pakistan. It is China now. Man on the street in India today knows and talks a lot about China. We no longer consider Pakistan as any competition or rival. We think we are much bigger and better. The new competitor is China, the big and mighty Eastern neighbour. We are obsessed with it in many ways—its size, population, development, Tibet, Arunachal, Sikkim, border disputes, incursions—anger, fear, admiration and awe mixed up.

Somehow post-Soviet we forgot Russia. But the Russians didn’t. Their interest in our country is still intact, and the knowledge too. The Hindi Department in the Moscow State University is a standing example. They speak fluent Hindi—students and teachers alike. What is more interesting is the fact that for them learning Hindi is a means to learning about Hinduism. Of course, they are fond of Bollywood… this Khan and that Khan. They now talk not just about Raj Kapoor’s Aawara; they talk about the latest flicks like Jodha Akbar too.

They were curious to know more about Hinduism. In fact, the Russian women like to marry Hindu men because of the strong family values, I was told. Visiting India is an important aspect of life for many in Russia.

My visit to the Russian Academy of Sciences was a revealing one. This Soviet era institution boasts rightly of having world renowned scholars on its rolls. It has numerous institutions and campuses. I was invited to the Institute for Oriental Studies, a premier Institution focussing on the Orient. Its Director is a burly old man, a great scholar himself. The 30-minute time that I spent with him was a memorable one. He informed me that he was a disciple of Ramakrishna Math. He has keen interest in and knowledge of Hindu spirituality.

What transpired in the following meeting was another eye opener. I was invited to address the scholars of the India Studies department of the Institute. About 25 scholars were present and I noticed that I was the youngest among the group. Head of the Institute was a dynamic and scholarly lady who visits India frequently. When I rose to speak I naturally thought that I should start by introducing my organisation. However, before I could complete my first sentence about the RSS one of the senior scholars interrupted to inform me that they knew very well about the history of the RSS as they had been following it for last several decades. This was an indication of how keenly they were watching us right through the Soviet era till now. Before I could restructure my speech he quickly added: ‘We have been studying your organisation although you are the first RSS functionary to visit our Institute. We would like to know more about your organisation’s position on various contemporary issues’. Naturally, that made things easy for me too, the very fact that I was speaking to a group of scholars who know a lot about us.

The discussion that followed reinforced my view that this kind of engagement is necessary in view of the fact that we all live in a media-driven world. Many stereotypes, misconceptions and misunderstandings need to be corrected from time to time.

Another interesting aspect of my visit was my meeting with the senior officials of the Russian Orthodox Church. A very ancient religious institution, this body faced persecution under the Communist rulers. Religion was the opium of masses as per the Communist belief. The Orthodox Church was banned from undertaking religious activity. Its seminaries were closed down, the most prominent among them being the Sergei Passad—a priest-training centre of the Church about 100 miles from Moscow.

Post-Soviet era reforms saw the revival of this Church headed by a Patriarch. Today, it is in a way the official religion of Russia. Russian Orthodox Church is considered the most orthodox and puritanical church. It doesn’t allow ordainment of women priests. It has a strict religious code.

But it has several interesting features that need to be noted by us. One of them is its commitment to non-conversion. The Orthodox Church is opposed to proselytisation. That puts it in conflict with other Christian denominations like the Catholics etc. In fact, the Orthodox Church has successfully prevented the Pope from visiting Russia on the ground that he will bring Catholic religion to Russia and encourage proselytisation.

But the very same argument is being used to trouble organisations like ISKCON. ISKCON premises in central Moscow were forcefully occupied by the local Government ostensibly at the behest of the Orthodox Church. Subsequent legal battles saw the restoration of premises to the ISKCON. When asked about it, the Church officials argue that they were not opposed to ISKCON building a temple, but the size of it should be in proportion to their influence. ‘ISKCON wants to build a temple bigger than our Church in a neighbourhood which is predominantly Russian Orthodox. We opposed it and said that they can build it outside the city near the airport’, they said.

Is the Orthodox Church opposed to other religions? The officials vehemently deny it and say that they have respect for all religions. They organised a conference last year in which representatives from all world religions including Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism were invited.

In Russia four religions have the status of recognised religions by the Government. They are: the Orthodox Church, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism. Practitioners of these religions have been there from a very long time. In fact, a couple of States in South are predominantly Buddhist. Governor of one of the States openly expressed his support to HH the Dalai Lama. The last HH the Dalai Lama visited Russia was in 2000.

Can this status be extended to Hinduism also? The Orthodox Church seems totally opposed to that idea, at least for the present. Their opposition seems partly to be stemming from the fear of losing flock, the same fear that forces them to prevent the visit of the Pope.

The ISKCON is meanwhile trying to overcome the problems. It has a committed group of devotees and Sanyasis. Many other Hindu groups are also active in Russia.

The Indian Embassy in Moscow, the Ambassador in particular, is very keen to improve ties between Russia and India. There is enormous potential too. Russian oil economy is booming. Their cities— Moscow and St. Petersburg etc are full of activity. Infrastructure is very good. Yet, in a world dominated by powers that hate the rise of that country, Russia seems to be losing out on publicity front.

For India, the strategic advantage relationship with Russia offers is immense. Russia is an important country in our vicinity. It is a democracy, however nascent it may be. It is a huge economy. It is also a free trade country. But the only problem is that the political climate in the country is still stifling. Although the Soviet era of Iron Curtain has gone, the climate still smacks of those very days of Big Brother Watching.

SOURCE: