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In Hinduism, there is no proselytism – it is true. Hindus do not believe in compelling others to have faith in the Eternal Reality. Compulsion becomes a necessity where intellectual conversion is not possible. Since Hindus have a completely logical and entirely convincing philosophy, which can generate in them the faith in the Ultimate. Compulsion is no more needed. Hindus worship Brahman or the Supreme Soul present in all animate and inanimate. Human intellect has intrinsically such an honesty of conviction, that once it has understood some way –of –life, and has accepted certain values of life as a result of its understanding, it cannot but lives its own convictions. It is only in this sense that the Hindu Philosophy and our ancient teachers discarded proselytism and forceful conversion as barbarous methods not fit to the dignity of any spiritual system. Unfortunately, this glorious creed has been so thoroughly misunderstood in India that we have long ago stopped our missionary work in propagating the immortal truths of inimitable culture. Since the Christian Missionaries act with a sole ambition of conversion, the educated Indian in his thoughtless has from his childhood on, associated these two ideas together in his mind. When he has understood the saner idea that proselytism is a crime against man and God, he seems to understand that the Rishies or Gurus never contemplated missionary work. It must also be noted here that after independence Muslims have never attacked Hinduism and its beliefs and teachings. (I am not talking about riots created for political and personal needs.) But Christian missionaries have been attacking Hinduism and its teachings and at times have even made mockery of Hindu Gods. Muslims have never done this. “If I were asked to define the Hindu creed, I should simply say: search the Truth through non-violent means. A man may not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu. Hinduism is a relentless pursuit after truth.” Mahatma Gandhi
The Ethics of Outsourcing Surrogate Motherhood to India
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