The third International Hindu- Christian dialogue will be held at Tirupati, India from December 17-19. The topic this year is “Saints, Sages, Preceptors, Prophets and Reformers†and the presenters are from the Christian Organizations, Rev. Dr. Selvam Robertson (Protestant), Dr. Vincent Shekhar (Catholic), Rev. Fr. Joseph Varghese ( Orthodox, USA), and from the Hindu Organizations, Dr. Jagannivas Palety (Sri Vaishnava), and Shaunaka Rishi Dasa (Chaitanya Vaishnava).
Tirupati, India, is a temple town out in the middle of the plains of Andhra Pradesh. From those plains seven hills arise, green and cool, all the more powerful with their craggy cliffs. At the top of the hills — the Tirumala, holy mountain — sits what is said to be the most popular temple in India, and the wealthiest religious site (“second only to the Vaticanâ€), the site known at Tiruvenkatam, the holy place of Lord Venkateshvara. Praised in poetry for at least 1300 years as a Vaishnava Hindu site of particular importance, it is here that the chief Vaishnava mystic poet (alvar), Shatakopan (Nammalvar, our alvar) surrendered completely to his God.
The ISKCON, who are the Co- sponsors of this dialogue,would be hosting an interreligious dialogue will seem surprising to many. After all, when the founding swami, Swami Prabhupada, arrived in New York in 1965, he preached an exclusive devotion to Krishna, by whose name alone one is saved. ISKCON is in turn rooted a very old Vaishnava tradition of Bengal, such as manifests a similar theology, “Krishna alone.†It has been, at times, a quintessentially exclusivist tradition. Many members even today remained disinclined toward dialogue and yet, over the decades, some influential leaders in the community have urged dialogue, and stressed that the very universality of the Krishna faith makes dialogue not only permissible but advisable. It was refreshing then to be invited to a dialogue meeting initiated by its Hindu members, not the Christians in attendance.
This year’s dialogue is very much important especially in the current political atmosphere of India, said Fr. Varghese, representing the Orthodox Churches. There are certain elements in the ruling political party which hijacked the Hinduism for their political interest and spread havoc, otherwise peaceful coexistence of all religions in India, Fr. Varghese observed. Such dialogue is required to alleviate any fear among the minorities especially the vulnerable Christian populations in India’s North and East. Also it will open up closer understanding of one another in a tumultuous and chaotic political world.
( Father Joseph Varghese is the Executive Director, Institute for Religious Freedom and Tolerance, New York)
