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the Christians did in the Americas continued a policy of oppression
that began centuries before in Europe. It was not being Western or
European that created this religious intolerance but the kind of
exclusive belief system that mainstream Christianity and Islam
followed. Pre-Christian Europeans like the Celts had more in common
with the Native Americans than with the Europeans colonists who
conquered them. The Celts themselves were earlier victims of the
same aggression that the Native Americans had to face.
Hindu Dharma never sought to
displace native traditions but has honored them and tried to
harmonise with them. It is a natural friend of pagan and native
traditions everywhere. One does not have to give up one’s ancestry
or deny one’s native culture in order to embrace Hindu dharma. One
simply has to be willing to honor all spiritual approaches, along
with freedom and diversity in the spiritual realm.
The Hindu tradition honors the
Goddess, who is important in all pagan traditions and was generally
rejected by the Biblical traditions. It has preserved all the forms
of the Great Goddess from the Earth Mother to the Sky Goddess, from
the Great Mother to the woman warrior. All those seeking to
restore the Goddess religion will find much of value in Hinduism,
which has preserved the full range of human spiritual aspiration.
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