Indian Franciscan Sisters Worship a Hindu Idol

en.news2 years agoedited

Indian Franciscan Sisters Worship a Hindu Idol

The Franciscan Sisters of Coimbatore, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, celebrated the 25th anniversary of the inauguration of the Dhyanalinga Yogic Temple on 24 June.

The ten-hour live-streamed event consisted of chants from various religions for a statue called the Shiva Lingam in the centre of the temple.

The Shiva Lingam is an abstract representation of Shiva, one of the main deities of Hinduism. Depending on the tradition, Shiva is the Supreme Being and the Destroyer.

Shiva Lingam statues usually consist of three elements: a short cylindrical pillar-like symbol of Shiva, a flat horizontal element designed to allow liquid offerings to drain, and a snake.

The column is a phallic symbol of creation, regeneration and "cosmic masculinity".

Christian missionaries in the 19th and 20th centuries were shocked by the iconography of the Lingam, describing the cult as obscene, corrupt, licentious, hyper-sexualised, childish, impure, demonic - producing a culture that was too feminine and licentious.

At the recent interfaith celebration, the cylindrical statue was decorated with flowers and candles.

The nuns performed during a section called "Christian Offering". They sat cross-legged on the floor in their habits and chanted repetitive texts. Meanwhile, some people walked around the Shiva Lingam statue with candles and folded hands.

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Christopher Shahrazade2 years ago

I think Mother Teresa had her sisters sit on the floor to emphasise poverty, not to be like Hindus. These nuns perhaps did nothing wrong, if they were just singing CAtholic/Christian songs. THey are mostly young and wear fairly conservative uniforms. There are a lot of Iddian Orders that have discarded their habits in favor of either saris or Western layclothes. THey are dying out just as fast as the American and European nuns did who went down that road.

Father Karl A Claver2 years ago

This is one reason I did not appreciate Mother Theresa. She ripped apart convent chapels so everyone could sit on the floor, like the Hindus do. V2 said you should mix cultures into the Mass, so this is the mess we have.

Naomi Arai2 years ago

This is what you get when popes, including JPII treat all religions as equal but different.

philosopher2 years agoedited

People who practice this false form of Ecumenism have a weak faith. They are not confident that the Apostolic Faith -the Catholic Church is the true Church!

Sally Dorman2 years ago

@sp2 . . You mean this "statue" represents the marital act?? (or a perversion of it)

Servum Tuum Domina2 years ago

This is what happens when the Post Councillor church want to embrace local languages - it has now gone past local customs and now it's local gods. And in India there are over a few million gods.