During a recent visit to a bhakta’s family, they raised an important and serious issue that has become common among Hindu bhaktas of the Lord who keep away from the traditional church setup. These individuals have come out of the church with a clear understanding that they cannot be both a Hindu bhakta and a Christian simultaneously. They must remember that everyone pioneering a new path often needs to walk alone, ready to pay a price for it.
The main issue they face is missing the ‘physical fellowship’ they used to get in their previous church gatherings. As our numbers are few and we cannot provide that kind of fellowship, it can be a bit of a shock for them. It’s akin to the culture shock an Indian might experience moving to a Western country (particularly places like Canada) where they rarely rub shoulders with others on the street.
Human touch and physical fellowship are essential, basic human needs. The warmth of physical touch speaks more profoundly than other forms of fellowship and communication. When they miss this, they feel uncomfortable and long to have it back. Above all, that fellowship offered an outlet from their routine life at home and provided an opportunity to meet like-minded people and share their faith.
So, the question they asked me was if they could again have some kind of fellowship with a few people from their previous church—not inside the church, but outside, at their homes, etc. I responded that if it could help them, I had no objection, but each should be careful not to revert to Christian technical terms or expose their children to Christian influences.
I also pointed out that while he used to spend from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM every Sunday with his church, now he does not even have fifteen minutes to sit and worship with his own wife, children, and other family members who share his bhakti in the Lord at home every Sunday.
I understood his disappointment with us as we cannot provide the same kind of physical fellowship as his previous church. This is a shortcoming and a challenge in our movement (a wrong word to use), as we are very few and unable to meet regularly. But one thing I cannot understand is why, if he must meet his previous church people, even outside the church in their homes, he cannot do the same with other bhaktas in the same town. Of course, the other bhaktas might be very busy and may not be able to spare much time for him. Anyhow, if he is desperate for fellowship, he can reach out to other bhaktas by visiting their homes on alternate weeks. While one should not impose on others just for their own need, in the body of the Lord, there is mutual responsibility and accountability. By seeking out other bhaktas, one might help them come out of their busy lives and give time to fellowship. How one can do this and should do this needs to be decided by each bhakta who longs for physical fellowship with other bhaktas.
Some people are not good at taking initiative and leadership, so I do not blame him for lacking this. Above all, the church has spoiled bhaktas like him by spoon-feeding, arranging everything ready-made. They received instant solutions for their needs and never thought about taking their own efforts to find solutions, always depending on others.
Finally, even if we assume that his fellowship with other Christians outside their church will meet his physical and spiritual needs, he will soon find that boring as he will miss the larger crowd that provided social fellowship in the past. He might get proper teaching in such fellowship, but this again shows that he always wants others to feed him rather than taking the initiative to learn more about Muktiveda and bhakti himself.
My understanding of fellowship, often insisted on in church gatherings, is that it makes every bhakta always ‘seek something from others. True fellowship, however, should provide an opportunity for us to also contribute’. We should gather not just to seek something but to contribute to others in any possible way. The church gathering often gives the impression of going there to seek rather than contribute. While this can be counter-argued by pointing out that our contribution includes our presence, money, and time, most church gatherings are dominated by a single speaker (pastor) and, after the service, everyone rushes home. I agree that some churches provide a different kind of fellowship by arranging lunch and offering fellowship until evening tea. Hindu bhaktas who miss that kind of fellowship should remember that they are pioneers in providing an alternative model for future Hindu mandalies and should be ready to pay the cost at present.
Before sharing my exchange with Dr. Pennington on this topic, I would like to highlight another artificial, modern trend of *visual fellowship* that some bhaktas, including myself, try to arrange using modern technology—the so-called *virtual meeting* (I find no virtue in it). After several trials and errors, this approach also met its logical end—almost dead. While we can blame social media for making us busy and our inability to participate as committed, I myself tried to create this kind of virtual fellowship for bhaktas in North India, which virtually never got started. Before even being conceived, it was aborted. Knowing time constraints and other demands in life, I suggested breaking it into small groups of two or three families, but no one responded, except for one family with whom I do Satsangh in Tamil weekly.
The main reason for sharing this is not to show how right I am and how others failed. I am part of them and share in the responsibility. Though I never directly influenced or motivated some to leave their Christian identity and return to their birth identity, I contributed indirectly. So, I accept my responsibility. Being single and with my mother gone, I have more time to give and can accommodate others’ needs. However, not everyone has this luxury. Like many issues in life, we know the problem but cannot find and implement the correct solution. What is the solution, then? Fortunately, I alone cannot decide or do that. Despite their weaknesses, Christian churches provide a ready-made solution to cater to the needs of their members by offering physical fellowship, leaving individual members to take advantage of it or not. In our case, it is almost like tending a group of a few cats; tending a large crowd of sheep and goats would be easier. I wonder if this is why the Lord is called a Shepherd. On a lighter note, is there any mention of cats in Muktiveda?
Here is my dialogue with Pennington:
*Dr. Pennington:*
Recently, I was looking at the passages in 1 Corinthians 3 and 6, where believers are called the temple of God or the temple of the Holy Spirit. There are two Greek words that English Bibles translate as “temple.”
Hieron is the whole temple compound with the gates, walls, and inner buildings. Naos, on the other hand, is most often used for the inner building where the image of a god resides or for the Holy Place in the Jewish temple where God was supposed to dwell. This word naos usually meant the shrine that housed a god but could also be the housing in which they carried the god in processions.
Paul uses naos in 1 Corinthians 3 and 6. We are the shrine of the Holy Spirit and the shrine of Jesus. Everywhere we go, we carry Jesus and his Spirit with us in our shrines (bodies). In our hearts, we carry the image of Jesus and live lives of worship to him.
I am just beginning to reflect on these ideas, but being a shrine of Jesus resonates with me far more than being a Christian church-attender. Margaret and I are done with that life. Now we are seeking his direction for how to love and worship Jesus in fellowship with other believers who find that Christianity and church keep them from Jesus, even here in the U.S.
Your reflections on mandali, unity, and mutual life make us long for similar fellowship and community here. We have not found that yet because so many people cannot let go of their church and Christian traditions and meeting-based worship forms. It is coming, but it will take some time, it seems.
*My response:*
Very interesting and important observation. This will help me understand how we are a mobile shrine for the Lord. Those who miss their church fellowship should know this fact, and I will share it with them. Anyhow, those who do any kind of pioneering work are often left alone, misunderstood by others, and lack cooperation from their own. But we need to press forward. Thanks for joining this pilgrimage with me. Though we are separated by space, we are united in spirit. Thanks.
*Dr. Pennington:*
This is a problem that requires careful re-teaching and coaching. I think back to this very concern…
Christians are taught a meeting-centered spirituality that depends on gatherings, even if not much fellowship.
It seems that bhaktas and other Incarnational believers need intentional coaching and help in how to start their bhakta walk without that artificial spiritual stimulation. They need help to learn how to do daily puja at home with Muktinath. Your point is correct about Sundays. They have hours available but have no alternative form or worship tradition to express their love for Muktinath in their homes.
This has struck me as a critical change in spirit and practice for all of us who step away from church to follow Muktinath in Incarnational ways. We are also wrestling with the same.
Revised on 14-7-2024
Gurukulam
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