Posted on 11/22/2020 3:31:12 PM PST by ebb tide
ASSISI, Italy (ChurchMilitant.com) - A key speaker at Pope Francis' Assisi-based "Economy of Francesco" conference has compared the pontiff's 2015 eco-encyclical Laudato Sí to Hindu Vedic texts.
Vandana Shiva at a "Global Catholic Climate Movement" event
Dr. Vandana Shiva, who has been labeled a "pseudoscientist," said she felt she "was reading our [Hindu] Vedic texts, especially the Atharvaveda on our duty to have reverence for the Earth and all her beings" when she read Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Sí.
In a Thursday interview with Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, the Indian eco-feminist, who has been criticized by leading scientists for her "anti-scientific and unethical" dogmas, quoted the first mantra of the [Hindu] Isavasya Upanishad: "The Universe and the Earth are permeated by the divine and are for the benefit of all beings."
The Isavasya Upanishad is one of the principal texts of the Hindu canon and begins with the fundamental Hindu doctrine of God being within ourselves — creation is an illusion (maya) and human beings achieve salvation (moksha) through self-realization that we are god.
"At their core, all religions teach us to take care of creation, of each other. No religion says destroy the earth, let your neighbor starve. The stories of creation might be different, but the duty to creation is common," Shiva said.
"The best economic principle is only what St. Francis gave us: 'It is only in giving that we receive,'" Shiva said at the online "Economy of Francesco" symposium Friday.
Shiva slammed capitalism for "taking from nature without giving back, taking from societies without giving back."
The leftwing activist blamed the Wuhan virus pandemic, poverty, hunger, diseases and the "polarization of society on the basis of economy, as well as divisions around race and gender and religion" as "rooted in the idea that nature is dead, people are raw material to be used and exploited" as "inputs to the money machine."
She is blinded by her ideology and her political beliefs. That is why she is so effective and so dangerous.Tweet
Echoing Pope Francis' views against property ownership, Shiva also asserted that private property of farming land should not exist. Rather, there should be only the "right to use" small portions of land.
"The smaller the farm, the more it produces. On one acre you can have a good life," she insisted. "Large farms are highly unproductive and there's no limit to how much you will invade the Amazon for greed.
Vandana Shiva giving a presentation at the "Economy of Francesco" conference
Quoting the pontiff's polemic against a "deified market," Shiva attacked India's famed "green revolution," claiming the proponents of genetically modified crops were among those who "kill Mother Earth with violence."
Scholars questioned Shiva's Hindu-based propositions about creation and suffering.
Shiva refers to her scientific credentials in almost every appearance, yet she often dispenses with the conventions of scientific inquiry.Tweet
"In classical Hinduism, only Brahman is the ultimate reality; the world is maya [illusion]. God as creator is irrelevant in Hinduism," Dr. Joshua Iyadurai, Director of Marina Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Religion, told Church Militant.
"All suffering is because of one's karma; one is supposed to endure it because suffering is the result of the deeds one did in the previous birth," Iyadurai explained. "By fulfilling karma in this life, one may elevate his/her rank in the cycle of birth. Offering a solution to suffering would amount to interfering with one's karma."
Pope Francis claims St. Francis as patron of "integral ecology"
Earlier this year, 90 scientists and biotechnology experts from around the world wrote to Stanford University and University of California-Santa Cruz protesting invitations extended to Shiva to speak on "equitable and sustainable" farming.
The letters stressed Shiva's "constant use of anti-scientific rhetoric to support unethical positions" slamming "her astonishing tendency to nonsense" and "her proclivity to offend by "comparing farmers, who grow crops which are scientifically and legally recognized as safe, to rapists."
The scientists also blasted Shiva's "rejection of technologies which help farmers (mostly women and children) to alleviate the painful, back-breaking labor of hand-weeding" and pointed to factually incorrect statements in her writings.
The letters also dismissed as "ridiculous" Shiva's attacks on fertilizer. In 2011, the social justice warrior called for a ban on fertilizer, saying it " should never have been allowed in agriculture" as it is a "weapon of mass destruction" because "it came from war."
"Dr. Shiva is known for requiring large honoraria for dispensing her mendacious and antisocial opinions: We would like to know how much Stanford University is going to pay for her appearance," one of the scientists asked.
Shiva's claim to be a "quantum physicist" — reiterated in her Vatican interview — has also been discredited, as her doctorate is in the philosophy of science.
"Shiva refers to her scientific credentials in almost every appearance, yet she often dispenses with the conventions of scientific inquiry," notes Michael Specter, adjunct professor of bioengineering at Stanford University.
All suffering is because of one's karma. Offering a solution to suffering would amount to interfering with one's karma. Tweet
"When I asked if she had ever worked as a physicist, she suggested that I search for the answer on Google. I found nothing, and she doesn't list any such position in her biography," he adds.
"Shiva is lionized, particularly in the West, because she presents the romantic view of the farm," observes agricultural ecologist Professor Sir Gordon Conway. "But farming is bloody tough, as anyone who does it knows. It is like those people who romanticize villages in the developing world. Nobody who ever lived in one would do that."
Atheist-pantheist Schellnhuber advises Francis on climate
"She is blinded by her ideology and her political beliefs. That is why she is so effective and so dangerous," remarks environmental activist Mark Lynas, advisor to the Bangladeshi government on eggplant trials.
"She is very canny about how she uses her power," Lynas comments. "But on a fundamental level, she is a demagogue who opposes the universal values of the Enlightenment."
Faithful Catholics have asked why Pope Francis frequently hosts speakers and advisors who hold views antithetical to Catholicism — naming, in particular, climate change alarmist Hans Schellnhuber — described as "the scientific pantheist who advises Pope Francis."
Earlier, eminent Vatican theologian Msgr. Nicola Bux warned that Francis risked "slipping into pantheism without noticing it" as — similar to the views of Shiva — the pontiff described Jesus being "present in a glorious and mysterious way in the river, the trees, the fish and the wind" in his apostolic exhortation Querida Amazonia.
Ping
https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/ron-judds-help-full-guide-to-navigating-our-new-normal/
When I was in Catholic high school, religion classes for 4 years destroyed my G.P.A., because all it covered were papal encyclicals and church “tradition”. Nothing to do with Christianity, and something in me said this was b.s.
Hinduism posits not only that creation is an illusion (maya), but that it was intentionally created to BE an illusion.
The Judeo-Christian understanding is very much the opposite. That God created the heavens and earth and that they display his glory.
Hinduism posits that human beings achieve salvation (moksha) through self-realization that we are god.
Again, Judeo-Christian understanding is very much the opposite. That mankind is not God and is God’s creation, and salvation comes through his holy covenants with mankind.
“It is like those people who romanticize villages in the developing world. Nobody who ever lived in one would do that.”
Hillary, hear that?
Excerpt:
Indian Intelligence Bureau Investigation Edit
In June 2014, Indian and international media reported that Navdanya and Vandana Shiva were named in a leaked, classified report by India’s Intelligence Bureau (IB), which was prepared for the Indian Prime Minister’s Office.[48]
The leaked report says that campaigning activities of Indian NGOs such as Navdanya are hampering India’s growth and development. In its report, the IB said that Indian NGOs, including Navdanya, receive money from foreign donors under the ‘charitable garb’ of campaigning for human rights or women’s equality, but instead use the money for nefarious purposes. “These foreign donors lead local NGOs to provide field reports which are used to build a record against India and serve as tools for the strategic foreign policy interests of the Western governments,” the IB report states.[49] . . .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandana_Shiva
Does not jive with what is actually happening right now which is that India is more capitalist right now than ever since becoming independent in 1947.
And the world’s largest democracy has much more secure elections in that in India you can not vote without the voter ID card issued by central government with photo of voter. I am not sure if Dominion software is used there.
Just judging by this article, this person (I’d never heard of her before) is a full frontal “green new deal” “death to the west” communistically inclined new world order globalist.
That’s only my opinion.
An opinion piece:
The Similarities Of Hinduism And Christianity
By Matt Caron
https://blog.sivanaspirit.com/the-similarities-of-hinduism-and-christianity/
Sorry, but I don't believe you.
Not a Catholic, but suspect that if you ask one they will tell you that they do NOT worship Mary, and do not consider her to be a goddess.
Not a Bible scholar, but don’t recall any instances of reincarnation being mentioned or even hinted at in scripture. As for Origen, he somehow disguised his Gnostic predilections, but was ultimately revealed to be a heretic.
Not a shcolar on Hinduism, but seem to recall that Krishna was merely an avatar of Vishnu. Our Lord is not an avatar of any kind.
I’d like to believe that the author meant well, but his comparisons are nevertheless both spurious and offensive.
Give me time and I can write an opinion piece on:
The Similarities of Jorge Bergoglio, Joe Biden, and Lucifer.
I think you got her pegged.
I wonder if the headline is being demeaning to Hindu Scriptures. But who am I to judge?
I have two quibbles with your post:
“Gods” should be “gods” as the capital gives them too much Creedence: the gods are not on the same plane as God.
I have no idea what is going through the Pope’s head, and am not going to comment on it. I do wish that he would stay away from all forms of Mass media, or anything else, because whatever is going through his head, the optics are, in my opinion, absolutely awful.
And yes, I support turning the idol, or whatever the H*ll it is, into kindling.
And I copied the First Commandment from the Vatican's website:
So that particular quibble of yours is with the Vatican, not I.
So do you wish him to be locked up and isolated until he comes to his senses or succumbs to a natural death?
After all, papal encyclicals are "mass media".
You will note in the link that the capitalization in the “traditional catechetical formula” from which you took your
quote differs from that of the parallel columns that cite scripture.
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