For all believers, these texts are sacred: envoy
The court case against a translation of the Bhagavad Gita in the Siberian city of Tomsk is linked to long-running attempts by the Russian Orthodox Church to limit the activities of the Hare Krishna movement, branding it as a totalitarian sect.
Earlier this year, the authorities banned the construction of an ISKCON community village in the Tomsk region. Seven years ago, the Moscow city government did not allow the movement to build a sprawling prayer-cum-cultural complex in central Moscow. Later, ISKCON was permitted to set up its centre in a Moscow suburb.
ISKCON says it has one lakh Russian followers and more than 100 communities but the Orthodox Church claims the number is in a few thousands.
Russian ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin regretted that the case was being heard in the university city of Tomsk, famous for its secularism and religious tolerance, and reiterated the secular credentials of Russia (the Interior Minister is a practising Muslim.)
Mr. Kadakin considered it “categorically inadmissible when any holy scripture is taken to…courts. For all believers, these texts are sacred.”
A second-term ambassador, whose first posting was in India in 1971 and who for years taught about India, Mr. Kadakin said the Bhagavad Gita, along with the holy scriptures of other faiths, was a great source of wisdom for the people of India and the world. “Russia, as is known to anyone, is a secular and democratic country where all religions enjoy equal respect. This is even more applicable to [the] holy scriptures of various faiths, whether it is the Bible, the Holy Quran, the Torah, the Avesta and, of course, the Bhagavad Gita, the great source of wisdom for the people of India and the world,” he said.
“It is not normal either, when religious books are sent for examination to ignorant people. Their academic scrutiny should be done at scientists' fora, congresses, seminars, etc., but not in court. It is strange that such events are unfolding in the beautiful university city in Siberia, as Tomsk…is famous for its secularism and religious tolerance. Well, it seems that even the lovely city of Tomsk has its own neighbourhood madmen. It is sad indeed.”
Keywords: Russia, Bhagwad Gita translation, ISKCON, Lord Krishna, Holy Text, religious freedom, Siberian court, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Indian philosophy
What is a totalitarian sect?
Ukraine: Bill to prohibit totalitarian sects
A law to prohibit totalitarian sects has been submitted to the
Ukraininan parliament and Scientology is named as an example of a
totalitarian sect.
The following article appeared in Russian on the website of news
agency "Russkaya Liniya" on Jan. 14, 2010.
Igor Druz: "This bill is very positive"
Expert Igor Druz fears that, due to instability in Ukraine, deputies
will not have time to adopt the bill prohibiting totalitarian sects.
"This bill is very positive. It was introduced by deputies who have
done a lot for the Orthodox Church," commented well-known Kiev
political analyst Igor Druz during an interview with "Russkaya Liniya"
about the draft law banning totalitarian sects which was submitted to
the Verkhovna Rada [Supreme Council] of Ukraine.
Website sedmitza.ru reports that a bill has been submitted to the
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and that the bill contains amendments and
additions to the "Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious
Organizations" in order to ban the activities of totalitarian sects
(Bill N-5473). The document prohibits religious organizations from
attracting children and minors without the permission of their legal
representatives and prohibits the establishment and operation of
totalitarian religious sects in Ukraine. The authors of this
initiative are deputies Igor Rybakov (independent) and Vladislav
Lukyanov (Party of Regions).
Bill N-5473 proposes to add to the Ukrainian "Law On Freedom of
Conscience and Religious Organizations" a new article 3.1 stating
that: "The establishment and activities of totalitarian sects in
Ukraine are prohibited. The damage caused to a victim by the dangerous
psychological influence of members of a totalitarian religious sect is
subject to compensation in the manner prescribed by the Civil Code of
Ukraine."
The new article also provides an interpretation of the terms it
contains. In particular, "totalitarian religious sect" refers to a
religious organization whose activity is geared toward the violation
of human rights and freedoms through the use of measures that have a
dangerous psychological influence, and "dangerous psychological
influence" means psychological influence and other manipulations of
human emotions and volition, by using emotional and psychological
overload and stress, individual predisposition to suggestibility, lack
of will, lack of intellectual development, and emotional and
volitional immaturity, the result of which is loss of social bearings
or values, lowering of self-esteem, temporary mental disorder.
According to the authors, a consequence of the adoption of Bill N-5473
should be a consolidation of common approaches for the exercise of
citizens' rights to freedom of conscience, and they believe this will
promote public awareness of the activities of certain religious sects
and raise the level of psychological self-defense. To give examples of
such organizations that are based on controlling the behavior of
"zombie persons", the parliamentarians named the Unification Church,
the Church of Scientology, the cult of Satanism, the Transcendental
Meditation Society, and the White Brotherhood.
According to Igor Druz, "Only a few small changes are needed to the
clause which states that 'Attracting children and minors to the
activity of religious organizations without the permission of their
legal representatives is prohibited.' This clause can be interpreted
negatively in terms of attracting children to Orthodoxy."
"Judging from who put the bill before the Verkhovna Rada, its chances
of passing are great, although the Rada Committee on matters of
spirituality, which some opponents of the bill are on, for example,
Volodymyr Yavorivsky, would be against the bill. But the bill could
win full support even from the deputies of the BYuT faction [BYuT =
Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko], not to mention from the Communists, who are
traditionally sympathetic to the Orthodox Church," adds Igor Druz.
"Nevertheless, because of chaos in Ukraine, with the political system
is in a state of semi-disarray, the deputies simply may not have time
to adopt this valuable law", says Igor Druz.
mnql1, Jan 14, 2010 #1
Ogsonofgroo
Member
Re: Ukraine: Bill to prohibit totalitarian sects
Fucking awesome Ukranianfags! (hey I'm biased)
Hope to hell it goes through and the rest of the dissolved CCCP takes
heed.
At the very least they picked some great examples!
Lolol Co$ & thank you so much mnql1, you rock!
Ogsonofgroo, Jan 14, 2010 #2
terryeo2
Member
Re: Ukraine: Bill to prohibit totalitarian sects
BUMP, because this is full of WIN!
Hopefully this little bit of legislation passes...
terryeo2, Jan 14, 2010 #3
Anonymous
Member
Re: Ukraine: Bill to prohibit totalitarian sects
Double edged, it appears that this bill will also cement the orthodox
church as a near state religion.
Strike against cults yes, but also a strike against free speech
mayhaps?
Just the way Orthodox Christians in Russia are feeling threatened by predatory nature of ISKCON, lot of hindus in India feel concerned about predatory nature of christian missionaries of different sects. In India situation is even worse because there are mass conversions.
Its not strange to hear one religion trying to stifle penetration of
another fearing loss of followers.However, a true religion is the one
that assimilates a person's way of life and does not indulge in
counting numbers for followers.May better sense prevail and people
stop indulging in one upmanship of religion.It also shows that what
other religions in India claim as freedom to profess , the same
religion does the opposite in places where they are dominant.May Lord
Krishna instil better sense among all religious followers
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