Coincidentally, only recently, I released, online, the first film in my Exploration film series on the Elephanta Caves, one of the significant tourist attractions off the coast of the modern Indian city of Mumbai. Featured prominently in this film, in what some might describe as "a starring role," are several massive, ancient statues (some might say "idols") of the Hindu deity, Shiva.
Now before anyone (in their right mind) alleges that my film is, in any way, a contributing factor to the decline of American Christian faith, let me humbly make some clarifications.
First of all—I know Jon Meacham personally. I attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tn., where I graduated with a Bachelors degree in Physics, around the same time he did, and the last time I met Jon was, if I'm not mistaken, in the 2011 (edited from "2001") Sewanee homecoming at a college fraternity party on campus. So, to ease Jon Meacham's mind, let me assure him that I am a Christian and that my Christian faith continues to inspire me every day of my life. I was, in fact, baptized in the All Saint's Chapel in Sewanee, Tn., and though I do not frequent the church on a regular basis (unfortunately), my Christian faith continues to sustain me as I read Bible verses on a daily basis.
That said, let me continue to discuss my conversion to Christianity. Firstly, I did not convert to Christianity from Hinduism. Many westerners believe that Hinduism is a religion, much like Christianity or Judaism or Islam, in the sense of a clearly defined set of doctrines and practices. In fact, Hinduism is more like a philosophy of life articulated through the metaphorical language of (in my mind excessively) complicated mythology.
So as a converted Christian who grew up in a predominantly "Hindu" nation, let me attempt to dispel some of the myths surrounding popular (mis)conceptions about India and Hindu culture.
Before I became a Christian, I considered myself agnostic. Though I believed in a disembodied, omnipotent spiritual entity I considered to be "God," I believed that any religion was fundamentally misguided primarily because, as any child of moderate intelligence would probably agree, I saw the fundamental absurdity in the idea that any human-created religion could in any way matter to an infinitely powerful God. I figured, "if God is so darn powerful, why would he care about human beings at all? Human beings—mortals—were probably no better than ants in some anthill to God." So I concluded, at the time, that God probably didn't care and, I guess, that man had no real purpose to his life. So I guess my philosophy of life was to not really worry too much about these issues myself, which I supposed to be largely irrelevant to my day-to-day life.
My personal path of discovery that led me to an abiding personal Christian faith was a long and difficult one that involved a great deal of skepticism and soul-searching, culminating in my decision to get baptized during my college years. In no way, incidentally, was this decision an attempt to conform with an Episcopelian Southern culture as I was then, no less than I am now, a pretty notorious (I think) non-conformist. It was a decision I made for myself based on a great deal of intellectual examination, thought and reading, including a reading of the entire New Testament and of a good deal of the Old Testament.
The point here is that even before I converted to Christianity, I, like most of the citizens of modern India, did not really take Hinduism seriously. Hinduism and Hindu culture, like the Sanskrit language of its texts, is long dead—a victim of modernization and the industrial revolution. The idols of ancient India, like the idols of Greece, Rome and Polynesia, are no more than mute artifacts, the remnants of a long past civilization.
And that, in my mind, is tragic. The idols of modern India are not Shiva or Vishnu. They are Bollywood superstars or famous Cricket players. And beyond that, technology and business. No modern Indian businessman or scientist really takes Shiva or Vishnu seriously.
Ironically, though, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the supervising scientist of the Manhattan project and the architect of one of the real idols of modern civilization, the atomic bomb, thought very differently. A scholar with an abiding interest in Sanskrit literature, Oppenheimer quoted the Sanskrit Hindu text, the Bhagavad Gita soon after the first test of the atomic weapon at White Sands, New Mexico:
. . . now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds . . .
referring to the Hindu deity Vishnu's transformation into Shiva, the Hindu deity of chaos and destruction.
Oppenheimer found, in Sanskrit literature, the poetic imagery to express himself in a profound way that, presumably, he could not find in some other text elsewhere. And to this day, the visual power of the sculptures at the Elephanta Caves are undeniable. If they have the power to inspire some pagan religious awe, then one can only attribute that power to the artistic imagination and skilled craftsmanship of the Hindu sculptors who created these undeniable works of art. But no one in their right mind could seriously consider that stone artifacts have any real power other than the power to inspire artistic appreciation.
One of the tragedies of modern India is that the country's real heritage has largely been forgotten in the face of rampant, uncontrolled modernization. The Elephanta Caves, the subject of my film, in spite of having been declared a national monument, lies in a state of dreadful neglect and disrepair. Few of the citizens of modern India have any time for the quaint, old-fashioned artifacts of the remote past—other than in the context of gaudy, trivialized television adaptations of Hindu myths and folklore.
So, in conclusion, to reassure Jon Meacham, if Christianity is waning (which I don't seriously believe), then Hinduism is long since dead! Modern India is a secular nation in a very real sense—as far as I know, Bollywood films and cricket are a far greater influence in Indian culture than Hindu sculptures or Sanskrit texts could ever be! And while Islam remains a religious force to be reckoned with (owing to the unbridled fanaticism of its more radical practitioners), probably the biggest threat to Christianity is general disillusionment and widespread cynicism in the face of the actions of some who call themselves "Christian"—soulless politicians who use religion to further their political agendas, left or right, and whose actions bear no remote resemblance to any principle advocated or action performed by Christ during his entire career, as documented in the Gospels.
Meanwhile, keep on the lookout for the next film in my Exploration film series on the Wine Country of Sonoma County, CA, soon to be released on my website, http://www.explorationtheseries.com.
Wishing you the very best,
Uday Gunjikar,
Founder and CEO,
Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.
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