May Catholics celebrate the harvest festival of Pongal?

 



FEBRUARY 2015/FEBRUARY 6/7/13/20/APRIL 10/SEPTEMBER 24, 30, 2016

 

May Catholics celebrate the harvest festival of Pongal?

 

Christian missionaries target every single component of Hindu society

http://www.hindujagruti.org/news/36329.html
EXTRACT

By B.R. Haran, January 25, 2015, Magh shuklapaksha Saptami, Kaliyug Varsh 5116

 

In 2007, the Karunanidhi government changed the Tamil New Year from the month of Chithirai to Thai through an ordinance. In the same year at the same time, the DMK government inaugurated a government sponsored festival by name “Sangamam” conceived by a Christian NGO by name Tamil Maiyam founded by Father Jegath Gaspar Raj and Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi. This festival would start with Christmas and end with Pongal. The government roped in all the folk arts and folk music into the Sangamam festival notwithstanding the inclusion of classical music and dance.

A new concept called
“Samathuva Pongal” (Egalitarian Pongal) was introduced in which, Pongal was celebrated within the church premises, wherein people from all religions were made to participate.

Though a few Muslims participated in such festivities, they never yielded to the idea of making Pongal inside the mosques. Even the Christian clergy allowed the celebration only within their premises and not inside the church.

 

Are Catholics celebrating Pongal as claimed by the Hindu organisation?

Yes, they very much are. Pongal is the harvest festival of Tamil Nadu, and of Puducherry and of Tamilian-settled areas overseas, extends over four days and includes “Mattu (cow) Pongal” and “Surya (sun) Pongal”.

The festival has a religious background in Hinduism:

 

The two most popular legends of Pongal are stories related to Lord Shiva and Lord Indra
According to a legend, once Shiva asked his bull, Basava, to go to the earth and ask the mortals to have an oil massage and bath every day and to eat once a month. Inadvertently, Basava announced that everyone should eat daily and have an oil bath once a month. This mistake enraged Shiva who then cursed Basava, banishing him to live on the earth forever. He would have to plough the fields and help people produce more food. Thus the association of this day with cattle. 
Another legend of Lord Indra and Lord Krishna also led to Pongal celebrations. It is said when Lord Krishna were in his childhood, he decided to teach a lesson to Lord Indra who became arrogant after becoming the king of all deities. Lord Krishna asked all the cowherds to stop worshiping Lord Indra. This angered Lord Indra and sent forth his clouds for thunder-storms and 3 days continuous rains. Lord Krishna lifted Mount Govardhan to save all the humans. Later, Lord Indra realized his mistake and divine power of Krishna. 

 

According to Hindu mythology, this is when the day of the gods begins, after a six-month long night. The festival is spread over three days and is the most important and most fervently-celebrated harvest festival of South India. A special puja is performed on the first day of Pongal before the cutting of the paddy. Farmers worship the sun and the earth by anointing their ploughs and sickles with sandal wood paste. It is with these consecrated tools that the newly-harvested rice is cut. 
Each of the three days are marked by different festivities. The first day, Bhogi Pongal, is a day for the family.
Surya Pongal, the second day, is dedicated to the worship of Surya, the Sun God. Boiled milk and jaggery is offered to the Sun God. The third day of Pongal, Mattu Pongal, is for worship of the cattle known as Mattu. Cattle are bathed, their horns polished and painted in bright colors, and garlands of flowers placed around their necks. The Pongal that has been offered to the Gods is then given to cattle and birds to eat.

Source: http://www.pongalfestival.org/history-of-pongal.html

 

 

Many (if not all) parish churches celebrate Pongal as noisily and as extravagantly as any Hindu temple.

In my parish, it was impossible — from the tempo of the drum beats and decibel levels — to distinguish whether we were on the premises of a temple or in a church compound during the cultural festivities.

During a Holy Mass, on a Sunday in proximity to Pongal (which is celebrated January 14), a number of people kept trooping in to deposit vessels of boiled rice at the base of a statue of St. Lazarus, ostensibly with the prior clearance or instruction of the parish priest, as a red-coloured carpet had been laid out and the first pew pushed back from its normal position.

 

YouTube video of Pongal Celebration by Anbiyam (Small Christian Community) members of St Jude’s Church

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO7sfuYwf0M
15:54

January 16, 2012

 

Pongal in the Catholic Church

http://docchris.blogspot.in/2012/01/pongal-in-catholic-church.html

By Dr. Chris Anthony, January 13, 2012, Malaysia

In many churches this Sunday, Pongal will be celebrated on a very grand scale. The church will be decorated with traditional items like banana trees, leaves, kolam and so on. Milk will be boiled in earthen pots, allowed to spill over and Pongal rice will be cooked. The congregation will shout “pongolo pongal” when the milk spills over. Men and women coming for mass will be clad in colourful traditional Tamil attire. After mass there will be special “pongal games” and sumptuous meals.

In short it will be a day of celebrations and rituals to thank God for his rewards He bestowed upon us and our family. But do we need to go to such an extent of elaborate celebrations to thank God? I may be old fashioned and outdated but is this the right way to thank God? Then why do we need the mass?

 

In our parish too, Pongal is being celebrated in a very large scale. The prime-time English mass is shifted to an earlier slot to make way for the celebration of Pongal, the harvest festival of the Tamils. Wouldn’t it be unfair to the non-Indians who are so used to attend the English mass?
So much time and money is being channeled to make this celebration a success. Wouldn’t it be better to utilise the money help the parishioners in need? Shouldn’t the money be used to compensate a poor woman like our former sacristan, Bernadette Lau? Aren’t there many other desperate and impoverished parishioners who may need the money more urgently?

It is deeply disturbing that the Indians and Chinese keep celebrating their respective cultures in the Church, more so incorporating them into the Eucharistic service. By doing so not only the sanctity of the mass is lost but such activities continue to divide the already racially polarized congregation.
Yes, my dear parishioners, racism is very real in our Church and what is most disturbing is that our own priests are initiating, encouraging and promoting it. Witnessing all that is going on, I am beginning question whether Jesus really is in our church. Very, very sad!!!

The following is a brief write-up about Pongal for the benefit of the non-Indians.

 

Pongal – A Tamil thanksgiving Event

Malaysian Tamils celebrate Pongal on 15 January 2012.Thai Pongal, as it is called because it marks the beginning of the Tamil month of Thai, is a harvest festival originally celebrated by Tamils in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. It was one of the most important festivals among peasants in villagers who tilled their land and reared animals.

Today it has evolved into a cultural festival of Tamils all over the world, including those who know nothing about farming. Pongal was traditionally dedicated to the Sun God Surya. Tamils thank the solar deity for the good harvest and consecrate the first grain to him.

Pongal in Tamil means “boiling over or spill over.” The boiling over of milk in the clay pot symbolizes material abundance for the household. Thai Pongal, celebrated at harvest time on the first day of the Tamil month of Thai, is traditionally intended to thank the Sun God and farmstead livestock that helped create the material abundance.

The saying “Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum” meaning “ the commencement of Thai paves the way for new opportunities” is often quoted regarding the Pongal festival. The festival usually occurs from January 13 — 15 i.e. the last day of the Tamil month Maargazhi to the third day of Thai.

 

In short Pongal celebration is a thanksgiving event for the abundant harvest in the preceding year.

Pongal is celebrated for three consecutive days.

The first day it is celebrated for the harvested crops and shared with friends and relatives. The main feature of this festival is the boiling of milk in a clay pot until it overflows when the family members gathered round the pot shouting “Pongalo Pongal” then add rice to it. They offer the pongal rice to Surya, the Sun God to thank him for the abundant harvest.

 

The second day known as Mattu Pongal, cows are adored and given the offerings. This is the time when villages decorate the cows and also the elders seek God’s blessing for their children. The cows are given a bath, their horns painted and they are decorated with garlands.

 

And on the third day known as Kanni Pongal is dedicated to young virgins. Young women pray for a good life and a dashing great husband. The young unmarried ladies wearing new clothes, gold and silver ornaments will have special prayers for their future marriage. Virginity is a sign of purity to which great importance is attached by the peasants.

 

 

 

Significance of boiling over of spilt milk

The spilling of milk means prosperity and if the milk spills as the sun rises, it is a good sign for the family.

Half of the boiled milk is then scooped for offering to the departed parents and ancestors and remainder for the family and friends to drink. Then sweetened rice is added for cooking. As the sweetened rice is about to cook, a spoonful of ghee is added. Once the sweetened rice is ready, an offering is made to the ancestors and the remainder shared with neighbors.

 

Pongal and its relevance to us

Traditionally Pongal used to be a harvest festival of peasants in villagers, who plough their land, plant crops and rear herds of cattle. Today it is being celebrated by everyone, even those residing in urban areas in high rise buildings and who have nothing in common with those villagers to whom pongal was such a meaningful festival. To many today in urban areas Pongal has become a symbol of their culture and tradition which they want to uphold for fear they may soon be forgotten by the future generations.

 

Pongal and Christianity

When we were children, in the sixties and seventies, we never celebrated Pongal as we were told it is a strictly a Hindu festival, whereby the Sun and Cow were being worshipped as gods. But today after 30-40 years, the Church seem to have taken a totally different stance. It encourages its followers to actively celebrate the festival, as it contends that is more of a Tamil culture, which all Tamils must uphold. Why this change by our church?

A festival that the church forbade some 30 years ago is being actively celebrated in the church today. In fact in many parishes, it has taken over the Eucharistic celebrations of mass on Sunday. Why such over-enthusiasm? Is it right to incorporate an ethnic culture totally into our Sunday mass attended by many races to the extent of driving away many to other churches for Sunday mass? Wouldn’t this massive infiltration of cultural elements into mass distract the minds of the congregation away from Christ who should be focus of our attention during mass?

The mass is a very solemn celebration where we should seriously listen to the word of God, witness the transformation of His body and blood, subsequently receive Him in Holy Communion and then go forth to share His love with others. Other cultural activities, singing, dancing and various performances should be held outside the mass so as not to allow them to divert our focus from Christ who should be centre of our Eucharistic celebrations.

 

Tamil culture and Hinduism

Pongal had been celebrated much before Christianity came to India. Obviously looking at the way had been celebrated, it is obvious that it is basically a Hindu festival. It is easy to understand that as the Tamils were all Hindus and the vast majority of them continue to be so till today. Tamil culture is so inter-twined with Hinduism that it is difficult to separate one from the other.

Being traditionally a Hindu festival, is it wrong for Tamil Christians to celebrate? Is it wrong to thank the Sun, the greatest gift of God to man, without which no life would never exist? Is it wrong to appreciate and adore the cow, which provided for all the needs of the peasants?

Regardless of one’s religion I see why we cannot adore the marvels of God and pay tribute to His creations that provide us with all our daily needs. While it is not wrong for Christians to celebrate Pongal, we should not overdo things so as to mask the presence of Christ at mass which all excessive cultural activities do.

While we go about celebrating Pongal as our right, we must be aware that there have been fears expressed by fellow Hindus that this change of mindset of the Church in going all out to adopt Pongal and certain other cultural practices by the Indian Christians may be part of its tactic of “inculturation,” aimed at getting Christianity to appear less Western and more Indian thereby more appealing to them to embrace it. It is our duty to allay such fears among our fellow Indians from the Hindu faith as it would be morally wrong to convert someone from one religion to another.

 

Thanking Mother Nature for the abundant harvest that gave the peasants and their families good life is indeed a noble one. Sharing their harvest with neighbors is of greater nobility which we should all emulate regardless of our own faith or culture.

 

We should take Pongal as an opportunity to thank the Almighty for the abundant blessings we received either overtly or in disguise. Often these blessings come in disguise, which we only realize much later when we overcome the various crisis that come our way. It is in sharing our blessings with our neighbor will we be rewarded with more.

 

Dr. Chris Anthony is critical of the celebration of Pongal during the Eucharist and admits that it is a Hindu festival during which creation (cattle, the sun) is worshiped but he is ambiguous in his conclusions.

Catholics do not “thank Mother Nature” (emphases his). New Agers and pagans do. Christians thank God.

For the discerning and orthodox Catholic, it is not difficult to answer the question in the title of this article.

It may also be noted that there is superstition involved in the allowing of the boiling over or overflowing of milk. Many Catholics will not occupy a house or flat without allowing the boiling over of milk to ensure prosperity. Superstition is a sin that violates the First Commandment.

 

1 comment by Pauline De Cruz:

Excellent! Thank you for sharing this. I used to wonder the same thing why it’s been celebrated.

 

 

 

 

Catholic Church Includes Hindu Festival Offering At Mass

http://www.ucanews.com/story-archive/?post_name=/2007/01/24/catholic-church-includes-hindu-festival-offering-at-mass&post_id=6765

January 24, 2007, Sri Lanka

Father Anthony Marcelliar led the offertory procession carrying a hot earthen pot blackened by smoke and placed in a cane basket. The pot contained cow´s milk with brown sugar, lentils, plums and cashew nuts. The sweet dish had been prepared at the entrance of his church before Mass to celebrate a Hindu festival.

The festival, Thai Pongal, whose name comprises the Tamil words for January and boiled rice, respectively, a harvest celebration that heralds the start of the Hindu year. It was celebrated on Jan. 14.

Oblate Father Marcelliar, parish priest of St. Philip Neri’s Church in Toppuwa, 35 kilometers north of Colombo, told UCA News that the local Tamil community celebrates the festival every year.

“It is a thanksgiving festival to the sun god,” he explained, adding that youths in his parish organized the celebration. “Tamil and Sinhalese youngsters worked together to make this festival meaningful.”

Before Mass, Catholics gathered at the church entrance. All helped prepare the Thai Pongal dish together, offering thanksgiving for the harvest and praying for a better one in the new year. The meal was shared by all at the end of Mass in a festive mood.

Father Marcelliar observed that as Tamil Catholics or their forbears converted from Hinduism at some point in time, it is normal for them to mix with Hindu relatives at the festival. Sometime after the Second Vatican Council (1963-65), he continued, the local Church gave a Catholic color to the festival by introducing a special Pongal liturgy.

Sinhalese, concentrated in southern Sri Lanka, form about 74 percent of the country´s estimated 20 million people, and Tamils about 18 percent. Members of both communities are among the country´s 1.3 million Catholics, about 60 percent of whom live in the Colombo area. Many Tamil Catholics are among them.

Luxumi Jesuthasan, a Hindu convert from a parish near Colombo, recalled, “Before I was married to my Catholic husband I celebrated Thai Pongal with my Hindu parents and relatives, worshipping the sun god.” But after seeing the Thai Pongal ceremony in church, she directed her prayers to “God in heaven.”

At St. Lucia’s Cathedral in Colombo, 40-year-old Gerard Peiris said his Sinhalese friends come with him to attend the Thai Pongal Mass even though they do not understand the Tamil language. “They are very eager to know the meaning of each ceremony conducted during the service,” he said.

“I am happy the Church organizes this thanksgiving feast with the minority Tamil community in the country,” Peiris told UCA News after the Thai Pongal Mass his cathedral parish celebrated on Jan. 15. […]

 

Catholics in Singapore celebrate Pongal in Church

http://www.ucanindia.in/news/catholics-in-singapore-celebrate-pongal-in-church/23530/daily

January 21, 2014

 


Our Lady of Lourdes Church

 

http://catholicnews.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1881:pongal-festival-at-church&catid=111:february-2007&Itemid=79


The Pongal was carried in procession to Mass, January 14, 2007

 

 

PAGAN FESTIVALS STOLEN BY CHRISTIANS (PONGAL ALSO STOLEN) 

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.religion.hindu/SsmGhJuG-ik
EXTRACT

By G. Subramaniam 

Christianity is stealing Pongal. Pongal is a Tamil Hindu festival in honor of the Sun God 
In order to make converts among illiterate people, the
 church is celebrating Pongal as a harvest festival 

UPDATE FEBRUARY 6, 2016

PONGAL CELBRATIONS IN MY PARISH

The images and information below are from the local weekly MYLAPORE TIMES (MT):

 



 

TOP LEFT: “Community celebration at 2nd Cross Street, Mandavelipakkam“, MT January 23-29, 2016.

A Catholic priest is seen, right of centre.

TOP RIGHT: “Pongal at Our Lady of guidance Church, R. A. Puram“, MT January 23-29, 2016

There was also a picture of Hindus “adorning the deity at Sri Velleswarar Temple, Mylapore”.

The women in the saffron saris gathered around the Pongal pot are Catholic nuns.

 

The two photographs provoked a response from a Hindu gentleman, MT January 30-February 5, 2016:

Your coverage of various Pongal events in Mylapore in Mylapore Times was good but the only jarring note was the photograph of the Pongal event at a local church.

Thai Pongal is a Hindu event with no links to Christianity in any way.

Pongal is a Hindu festival that follows a solar calendar and is celebrated on the fourteenth of January every year.

Pongal has astronomical significance as it marks the beginning of Uttarayana, the sun’s movement northward for a six-month period. In Hinduism, Uttarayana is considered auspicious as opposed to Dakshinaayana or the southern movement of the sun. All important events are scheduled during this period.

What have churches got to do in celebrating Pongal? –Chandrasekhar Sridhar, Mylapore

 

The following week, a Catholic challenges the above letter, MT February 6-12, 2016:

In his letter while Chandrasekhar Sridhar has highlighted the significance of Pongal, he also lays bare a streak of intolerance. His observation on Pongal celebrations in churches smacks of narrow-mindedness.

The church prays for farmers on such occasions and encourages its community to host events like kolam design in keeping with the local ethos.

Pongal cuts across religion. And festivals must foster brotherhood in our communities. –Vimala Padmaraj, San Thome

 

Surely one can pray for the farmers (as we do for our enemies) without doing the things that they (people of other faiths) do. Surely Christians ought to be seen to be ‘different’.

In the book of Deuteronomy, the Lord God says (New American Bible)

12: 29-31:

… Be on your guard! Otherwise … you will be lured into following them. Do not inquire regarding their gods, “how did these nations worship their gods? I, too, would do the same.” You shall not thus worship the Lord, your God …

18: 9:

… When you come into the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you, you shall not learn to imitate the abominations of the people there.

In the Indian Church today, the line between Hinduism and Christianity is blurred and indistinguishable with evangelization substituted by interreligious dialogue, Catholic clergy and religious practising yoga and even venerating pagan deities, and bindi-wearing Catholic women (priests too!) doing the arati and Bharatanatyam dance during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in dwaja sthambam (temple flag-pole) decorated churches that equate the Eucharist with Hindu prasada. Leave Pongal alone. Even the festival of the elephant-god Ganesh is being celebrated all across the Catholic Church in India:

 

 

UPDATE FEBRUARY 13, 2016

A local Hindu reader responds to the above letters, MT February 13-19, 2016:

Is Mylapore Times propaganda material for Christians?

While I appreciate the broadmindedness or the vasudeva kutumbakam attitude shown by the two people who replied to Sridhar Chandrasekhar’s letter on churches celebrating the festival of Pongal, I am disappointed that they call him intolerant and accuse him of dividing communities.

Tolerance has its limits. One can be tolerant so long as the other party concerned does not indulge in anything to hurt either physically or emotionally.

There is no dispute that Pongal is a Hindu festival. I hope the Church is not celebrating Pongal with a view to satisfy the converted and also to convert more people.

In its coverage, Mylapore Times also makes Pongal look like a festival of the Christians. Is it acting like a propaganda material for Christians?

I recall an earlier letter in Mylapore Times about dwajasthambhams* in churches.

Why do churches want to copy everything that is Hindu and give a Christian tag to it? –Savithri Kailasanath, Alwarpet

 

 

UPDATE FEBRUARY 20, 2016

A Catholic reader writes, following which the editor closes correspondence, MT February 20-26, 2016:

Pongal celebration in churches; one more viewpoint

As a Catholic and Mylapore Times reader whose ancestors converted from the majority religion I am compelled to share my thoughts on issues raised in this newspaper (regarding churches celebrating Pongal); people who are concerned about the ‘hijacking’ of the Hindu festivals/customs by some church clergy.

The writers failed to mention that Christians have adopted the arathi, Bharatanatyam dance, kuthuvilakku, the Om symbol, Carnatic music and the namaste gesture log ago.

One writer in her letter fears that the churches are adopting these symbols and rituals with an eye on conversion. Not so. We neither proselytise nor evangelise any more. We are Hindu-ising, if I may put it succinctly.

I also disagree with the letter-writer who felt that Mylapore Times is doing propaganda for Christians.

The job of Mylapore Times is to report on local events and the newspaper is doing great on that. –James R. Mascarenhas

Mandavelipakkam

 

 

3 letters to the editor in the Mylapore Times of July 16-22, 2011:

Another example of Christian appropriation of Hindu elements. There is now Christian Yoga, Christian Carnatic music, Christian Bharatanatyam, and now Christian Dwajastambha*!
–Venkat

It was once rightly said by a Hindu leader: If Indianisation of Christianity is done for Christianisation of India, then Hindus have a real cause for worry*.
–Siddharth

Funny the editor calls it Indian-style. Isn’t it Hindu?
–Surya

*Most Hindus are naïve about the true reality. As I have documented in dozens of reports, this is neither the Indianisation of Christianity nor the Christianisation of India but the Hinduisation of Christianity. –Michael

 

 

UPDATE, APRIL 10, 2016

Subject: Re: FROM MICHAEL PRABHU: LATEST FILES FROM THIS MINISTRY

From: antony.vijayendran@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2016 14:04:12 +0530

Bro., Thanks for sharing the latest updates.

In the article “MAY CATHOLICS CELEBRATE THE HARVEST FESTIVAL OF PONGAL?”

In a Tamil Magazine (either Kumudam Reporter or Junior Vikatan) published in January 2016, in an article about Pongal, Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj* expressed his views syncretizing Hindu elements with the Pongal festival.

In the same article Aloor Shah Nawaz (VCK Deputy General Secretary) gave a generous comment: Pongal is a name of a food. Pongal is a secular festival and it should be celebrated without any Hindu elements like offering to Sun etc. which is against the beliefs of Muslims.

Whether Pongal is a Hindu Festival or harvest festival is a debatable topic. But since the inception of the Dravidian Movements, it has been projected as a secular festival and people are encouraged to celebrate it in a secular way detaching the Hindu religious elements.

 

An article from Viduthalai magazine dated 13-10-1970 encouraging people to celebrate Pongal in a secular way:

“Pongal a Nature Fest”

There are no astrological indicators for Pongal festival like day (naal), star (nakshatra), and mythology. Pongal is a festival which is celebrated on the first day of the Thai month. Any person around the world has the right to celebrate this festival. But in other parts of the world, people celebrate on different dates and months. So the idea behind this celebration is agriculture. It is the same what we call the harvest festival in English.

 

 

 

Religious fiction promoted by Brahmins

But the Brahmins created a story linking agriculture, cultivation and harvest to make it a religious one. They linked it with Hindu deity Indran … Then there was fight between Indran and Krishnan … Finally both came to a conclusion … The first day for Krishnan and the second day for Indran as mattu (cow) Pongal. Thus both of them ended the fight. Brahmins created these kind of funny, filthy and foolish stories. And they added a story for the previous day Bhogi, another story for Sankranthi and inserted many foolish superstitious beliefs.

Selfish and the dominative rule of the Brahmins

Brahmins don’t care about others. They want the human race to be barbarians, unthinkable and foolish so that they can live a luxurious life without any physical work and they can be considered as the higher caste in society.

If we want to come out of the domination of the Brahmins and live as humans, then we should celebrate Pongal on the first day of Thai. We should celebrate that day by wearing good clothes, have a good meal, and spend valuable time with the family, and helping others by sharing.

 

I personally believe that no secular festival should be celebrated inside the church/church campus whether it is a harvest festival or Pongal. I don’t like even celebrating the Independence Day/Republic Day inside the church compound.

I walk out. Because the church is a holy place, there is no place for any other celebration. Only the flag of Christ the King should be hoisted there, no other flags should be allowed.

O my people, your leaders mislead you, and confuse the course of your paths (Isaiah 3:12)

But we all know that most of the Catholic priests of Tamil Nadu are infiltrated with Hindutva ideas and they always try to syncretize Hinduism and Hindu rituals into Christianity.

And many of them don’t know what is from their culture and what is a Hindu ritual.

When it comes to the question Christ or Culture? our answer should be Christ.

Thanks

Antony Vijayendran

*FR JEGATH GASPAR RAJ-IN PRAISE OF SHIVA-PRIEST INVESTS RS 15 MILLION, FLOATS COMPANY WORTH RS 100 CRORES Concerning Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj, see also top of page 1

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/FR_JEGATH_GASPAR_RAJ-IN_PRAISE_OF_SHIVA-PRIEST_INVESTS_RS_15_MILLION_FLOATS_COMPANY_WORTH_RS_100_CRORES.doc

 

Continued from page 1:

Christian missionaries target every single component of Hindu society

http://www.hindujagruti.org/news/36329.html
EXTRACT

January 25, 2015

This clearly shows their agenda of using the Hindu festival only to convert gullible people. Many Christian organizations like ‘Jesus Redeems Production’ produced documentaries on “Christian Pongal” with traditional Hindu dance forms and distributed them, apart from releasing them on YouTube. (5)

 


“Christian Pongal”

Notes

5.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8AHoIKHGwM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pongal Festival Celebrated in Chennai Santhome Church – Thanthi TV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcIYHNUWTaA
1:51

January 15, 2015

 


 


 

Pongal at a Church in the diocese of Tuticorin


 

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http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_FLAG_POLE_AT_CATHEDRAL_OF_ST_THOMAS_IN_MADRAS-MYLAPORE_ARCHDIOCESE.doc

HINDUS STILL BELIEVE THAT INCULTURATION IS A CATHOLIC PLOY TO CONVERT THEM

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDUS_STILL_BELIEVE_THAT_INCULTURATION_IS_A_CATHOLIC_PLOY_TO_CONVERT_THEM.doc

INDIAN JESUIT THEOLOGIAN FR MICHAEL AMALADOSS UNDER INVESTIGATION BY ROME

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/INDIAN_JESUIT_THEOLOGIAN_FR_MICHAEL_AMALADOSS_UNDER_INVESTIGATION_BY_ROME.doc

INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE 01-POPE BENEDICT XVI

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/INTERRELIGIOUS_DIALOGUE_01-POPE_BENEDICT_XVI.doc

INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE 02-GOA CATHOLICS OPPOSE

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/INTERRELIGIOUS_DIALOGUE_02-GOA_CATHOLICS_OPPOSE.doc

INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE 03-THE FALSE KIND

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/INTERRELIGIOUS_DIALOGUE_03-THE_FALSE_KIND.doc

INCULTURATION OF THE LITURGY AND SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM-JON ANDERSON-AND MY RESPONSE

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/INCULTURATION_OF_THE_LITURGY_AND_SACROSANCTUM_CONCILIUM-JON_ANDERSON-AND_MY_RESPONSE.doc

INDIAN CLERGY OBSESSED WITH THE HINDU DEITY GANESHA

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/INDIAN_CLERGY_OBSESSED_WITH_THE_HINDU_DEITY_GANESHA.doc

IS HOLY COMMUNION EQUIVALENT TO PRASADAM-IS IT SAFE FOR CATHOLICS TO CONSUME PRASADAM

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/IS_HOLY_COMMUNION_EQUIVALENT_TO_PRASADAM-IS_IT_SAFE_FOR_CATHOLICS_TO_CONSUME_PRASADAM.doc

IS THE SYRO MALABAR CHURCH NOW OPENLY PROMOTING ITS HINDUISATION?

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/IS_THE_SYRO-MALABAR_CHURCH_NOW_OPENLY_PROMOTING_ITS_HINDUISATION.doc

JESUS THE YOGI AND THE DANCING JESUS

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/JESUS_THE_YOGI_AND_THE_DANCING_JESUS.doc

KERALA PARISH CELEBRATES CHURCH FEAST JOINTLY WITH HINDU TEMPLE FESTIVAL

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/KERALA_PARISH_CELEBRATES_CHURCH_FEAST_JOINTLY_WITH_HINDU_TEMPLE_FESTIVAL.doc

LOTUS AND THE CROSS-THE HINDUISATION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN INDIA

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/LOTUS_AND_THE_CROSS-THE_HINDUISATION_OF_THE_CATHOLIC_CHURCH_IN_INDIA.doc

MAY CATHOLICS CELEBRATE THE FESTIVAL OF HOLI?

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/MAY_CATHOLICS_CELEBRATE_THE_FESTIVAL_OF_HOLI.doc

MAY CATHOLICS CELEBRATE THE HARVEST FESTIVAL OF ONAM?

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/MAY_CATHOLICS_CELEBRATE_THE_HARVEST_FESTIVAL_OF_ONAM.doc

MOTHER TERESA AT PRAYER IN A BUDDHIST TEMPLE

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/MOTHER_TERESA_AT_PRAYER_IN_A_BUDDHIST_TEMPLE.doc

NBCLC-HARBINGER OF THE INDIAN RITE MASS AND LITURGICAL ABUSE

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/NBCLC-HARBINGER_OF_THE_INDIAN_RITE_MASS_AND_LITURGICAL_ABUSE.doc

PAGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH IN INDIA 01

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/PAGANIZATION_OF_THE_CHURCH_IN_INDIA_01.doc

PAGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH IN INDIA 02

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/PAGANIZATION_OF_THE_CHURCH_IN_INDIA_02.doc

PAGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH IN INDIA-RESPONSES

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/PAGANIZATION_OF_THE_CHURCH_IN_INDIA-RESPONSES.doc

PILAR PRIEST FR PETER CARDOZO VENERATES THE HINDU DEITY GANESHA

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/PILAR_PRIEST_FR_PETER_CARDOZO_VENERATES_THE_HINDU_DEITY GANESHA.doc

RANGOLI AND KOLAM DRAWINGS ARE BASED ON SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/RANGOLI_AND_KOLAM_DRAWINGS_ARE_BASED_ON_SUPERSTITIOUS_BELIEFS.doc

RUDRAKSHA BEADS AND THE HINDU DEITY SHIVA

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/RUDRAKSHA_BEADS_AND_THE_HINDU_DEITY_SHIVA.doc

SONIA GANDHI-CATHOLIC OR HINDU?

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/SONIA_GANDHI-CATHOLIC_OR_HINDU.doc

TAMIL NADU CLERGY VENERATE THE HINDU DEITY GANESHA

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/TAMIL_NADU_CLERGY_VENERATE_THE_HINDU_DEITY_GANESHA.doc

 

THE GOLDEN SHEAF-A COLLECTION OF ARTICLES DEALING WITH ECCLESIASTICAL ABERRATIONS

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/THE_GOLDEN_SHEAF-A_COLLECTION_OF_ARTICLES_DEALING_WITH_ECCLESIASTICAL_ABERRATIONS.doc

THE HINDUISATION OF MUSIC IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/THE_HINDUISATION_OF_MUSIC_IN_THE_CATHOLIC_CHURCH.doc

THE HINDUISATION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH-IMAGES

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/THE_HINDUISATION_OF_THE_CATHOLIC_CHURCH-IMAGES.doc

THE ONGOING ROBBERY OF FAITH-FR P K GEORGE

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/THE_ONGOING_ROBBERY_OF_FAITH-FR_P_K_GEORGE.doc

THE PAGANISATION OF THE LITURGY IN INDIA-C B ANDRADE

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/THE_PAGANISATION_OF_THE_LITURGY_IN_INDIA-C_B_ANDRADE.doc

THE PAGANIZED CATHOLIC CHURCH IN INDIA-VICTOR J F KULANDAY

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/THE_PAGANIZED_CATHOLIC_CHURCH_IN_INDIA-VICTOR_J_F_KULANDAY.doc

THE SQUATTING INDIAN RITE MASS

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/THE_SQUATTING_INDIAN_RITE_MASS.doc

THE ST PIUS X SEMINARY CELEBRATES HINDU DEITY GANESH

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/THE_ST_PIUS_X_SEMINARY_CELEBRATES_HINDU_DEITY_GANESH.doc

THE TWELVE POINTS OF ADAPTATION FOR THE INDIAN RITE MASS-WAS A FRAUD PERPETRATED ON INDIAN CATHOLICS?

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/THE_TWELVE_POINTS_OF_ADAPTATION_FOR_THE_INDIAN_RITE_MASS-WAS_A_FRAUD_PERPETRATED_ON_INDIAN_CATHOLICS.doc

VASAI PRIEST FR THOMAS DSOUZA WORSHIPS GANESHA

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/VASAI_PRIEST_FR_THOMAS_DSOUZA_WORSHIPS_GANESHA.doc

WAS JESUS A YOGI? SYNCRETISM AND INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE-ERROL FERNANDES

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/WAS_JESUS_A_YOGI_SYNCRETISM_AND_INTERRELIGIOUS_DIALOGUE-ERROL_FERNANDES.doc

WHAT DOES THE KUTHU VILAKKU OIL LAMP SIGNIFY

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/WHAT_DOES_THE_KUTHU_VILAKKU_OIL_LAMP_SIGNIFY.doc

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NAMASTE AND ANJALI HASTA

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/WHAT_IS_THE_SIGNIFICANCE_OF_NAMASTE_AND_ANJALI_HASTA.doc

WHY INDIAN CATHOLICS DO NOT WANT AN INDIAN POPE
http://ephesians-511.net/docs/WHY_INDIAN_CATHOLICS_DO_NOT_WANT_AN_INDIAN_POPE.doc

YOGA-FATIMA CHURCH IN MADRAS-MYLAPORE ARCHDIOCESE

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/YOGA-FATIMA_CHURCH_IN_MADRAS-MYLAPORE_ARCHDIOCESE.doc

YOGA AT ST STANISLAUS HIGH SCHOOL ARCHDIOCESE OF BOMBAY

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/YOGA_AT_ST_STANISLAUS_HIGH_SCHOOL_ARCHDIOCESE_OF_BOMBAY.doc

 

THE THIRD EYE

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/THE_THIRD_EYE.doc

BINDI OR TILAK MARK ON THE FOREHEAD-INDIAN OR HINDU?

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/BINDI_OR_TILAK_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD-INDIAN_OR_HINDU.doc

DIVINE RETREAT CENTRE ERRORS-04 –HINDU BINDI OR TILAK MARK USED

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/DIVINE_RETREAT_CENTRE_ERRORS-04.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 01-PRIEST WEARS
DOMINIC D’ABREO

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_01-PRIEST_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 02-PRIEST WEARS
ROY MATHEW THOTTAM

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_02-PRIEST_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 03-PRIEST WEARS
CLEOPHAS DOMINIC FERNANDES

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_03-PRIEST_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 04-PRIEST WEARS ANTONY KALLIATH

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_04-PRIEST_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 05-PRIEST WEARS
THOMAS D’SA

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_05-PRIEST_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 06-PRIEST WEARS VALERIAN MENDONCA

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_06-PRIEST_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 07-NUN WEARS
HERMAN JOSEPH

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_07-NUN_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 08-BISHOP WEARS
BISHOP AGNELO GRACIAS

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_08-BISHOP_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 09-BISHOP WEARS
BISHOP HENRY D’SOUZA

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_09-BISHOP_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 10-BISHOP WEARS
BISHOP ALOYSIUS PAUL D’SOUZA

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_10-BISHOP_WEARS.doc

 

 

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 11-CARDINAL WEARS
CARDINAL IVAN DIAS

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_11-CARDINAL_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 12-THE APOSTOLIC NUNCIO WEARS
ARCHBISHOP QUINTANA

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_12-THE_APOSTOLIC_NUNCIO_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 13-THE POPE WEARS
JOHN PAUL II

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_13-THE_POPE_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 14-WOMAN THEOLOGIAN WEARS
ASTRID LOBO GAJIWALA

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_14-WOMAN_THEOLOGIAN_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 15-WOMEN THEOLOGIANS WEAR

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_15-WOMEN_THEOLOGIANS_WEAR.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 16-CARDINAL OSWALD GRACIAS
WEARS

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_16-CARDINAL_OSWALD_GRACIAS_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 17-PREFECT OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH
WEARS

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_17-PREFECT_OF_THE_CONGREGATION_FOR_THE_DOCTRINE_OF_THE_FAITH_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 18-BHARATANATYAM-DANCING PRIESTS WEAR

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_18-BHARATANATYAM-DANCING_PRIESTS_WEAR.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 19-THE VIRGIN MARY WEARS

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_19-THE_VIRGIN_MARY_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 20-THE ARCHBISHOP OF WESTMINSTER WEARS
http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_20-THE_ARCHBISHOP_OF_WESTMINSTER_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 21-JESUS CHRIST WEARS

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_21-JESUS_CHRIST_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 22-THE NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_22-THE_NEW_COMMUNITY_BIBLE.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 23-BISHOP THOMAS DABRE WEARS

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_23-BISHOP_THOMAS_DABRE_WEARS.doc

HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 24-FR JOE PEREIRA WEARS

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_24-FR_JOE_PEREIRA_WEARS.doc

 

CHANTING OF MANTRAS

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/CHANTING_OF_MANTRAS.doc

EXORCISTS WARN AGAINST USE OF YOGA MANTRAS

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/EXORCISTS_WARN_AGAINST_USE_OF_YOGA_MANTRAS.doc

MANTRAS, ‘OM’ OR ‘AUM’ AND THE GAYATRI MANTRA

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/MANTRAS_OM_OR_AUM_AND_THE_GAYATRI_MANTRA.doc



Categories: Hinduisation of the Catholic Church in India

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EPHESIANS-511.NET- A Roman Catholic Ministry Exposing Errors in the Indian Church Michael Prabhu, METAMORPHOSE, #12,Dawn Apartments, 22,Leith Castle South Street, Chennai – 600 028, Tamilnadu, India. Phone: +91 (44) 24611606 E-mail: michaelprabhu@vsnl.net, http://www.ephesians-511.net

EPHESIANS-511.NET- A Roman Catholic Ministry Exposing Errors in the Indian Church

Michael Prabhu, METAMORPHOSE, #12,Dawn Apartments, 22,Leith Castle South Street, Chennai - 600 028, Tamilnadu, India. Phone: +91 (44) 24611606 E-mail: michaelprabhu@ephesians-511.net, http://www.ephesians-511.net

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