Bhagavad Gita faces 'extremist' branding, ban in Russia

[Windjammer]

Indian politicians forced parliament to close on Monday in a protest against a Siberian trial calling for a version of a Hindu holy book to be banned.

Indian protesters gathered outside a Russian consulate to condemn the case, which if successful, would place the Bhagavad Gita on a list of banned literature alongside Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.

The case filed by state prosecutors in the Siberian city of Tomsk claims that a translation of the Bhagavad Gita is extremist because it insults non-believers.

The book takes the form of a conversation between Hindu god Krishna and a prince called Arjuna prior to a battle. Its philosophical insights form a bedrock of the Hindu belief system and were praised by Albert Einstein.

India and Russia enjoy close diplomatic ties, and prime minister Manmohan Singh returned from an annual visit to Moscow at the weekend. Lawmakers demanded to know if he had raised the trial with Russian officials.

The translation cited in the trial is central to the global Hare Krishna movement. Its members link the case against the text to the Russian Orthodox church, which they claim wants to limit their activities.

During the protest Hare Krishna worshippers in orange robes shouted slogans and danced outside the Russian consulate in Kolkata. Parliament was adjourned for several hours by the house speaker, after ministers began shouting: "We will not tolerate an insult to Lord Krishna."

A petition against the trial has been signed by 20,000 people and the word "Gita" was one of the main trends on the Indian version of Twitter on Monday.

Last year Russian prosecutors banned Hitler's 1925 semi-autobiographical book Mein Kampf in an attempt to combat the rise of far-right politics.

Post-Soviet Russia recognises freedom of religion and namesRussian Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism as the nation's main religions. Other beliefs, particularly sects or groups that try to convert people, are sometimes subject to pressure such as court cases, efforts to break them up and limits on gatherings.

India's foreign minister will address parliament on Tuesday to clarify the government's position on the Bhagavad Gita case.
Bhagavad Gita trial in Russia closes Indian parliament | World news | guardian.co.uk

 

[Roybot]

Already posted. As if it didn't pop up in the similar threads feature.

 

[BLUE_ Pheonix]

a******e dont even have read the gita. freakin christian extremist.

 

[Windjammer]

I find the whole affair scandalous.....no one is compelled to read it, at the end of the day it's an individuals choice there after they can believe what they want and feel.

 

[Lyrical Mockery]

Religion is indeed poison.

 

[harpoon]

India should stay out of this 'mess'.

 

[blackops]

Have read it there is nothing in it infact in many holly places i see whites taking more intrest in them than indians

 

[Harry_Thomason]

Gita wont be banned IMO, there is nothing extremist about it, just timeless knowledge.

 

[LaBong]

Bhagwad Gita controversy: Russia expresses sadness - The Times of India

 

[indiatester]

Their country, their wish. It would be interesting to find what they find offensive in Bhagavad Gita though. Will they also take the same process for other religions?

 

[Kalyugi Mirza]

The case, which has been going on in Tomsk court since June this year, seeks to get a Russian translation of 'Bhagvad Gita As It Is' written by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), on the Hindu religious text banned in Russia and declaring it as a literature spreading "social discord", apart from rendering its distribution on Russian soil illegal. """""""""""""""

Is something different in this from original scripture ?
'Bhagvad Gita' faces 'extremist' branding, legal ban in Russia | ISKCON Times: Journal of the Hare Krishna Movement

 

[foxbat]

Some idiot in Russia lodges a court case and 100's of idiots on Internet forums jump at a chance of jumping with jubilation which provides a welcome relief from daily bad news about their country ...

welcome to the age of social media

 

[kingkobra]

yesterday i saw few ISKCON people selling bhagavadgita on a stall at one railway station in mumbai.....one of them was a white guy...there are many non-indians who have become active part of ISKCON...this ban on gita is nothing but attempt of christian missionaries to stop ISKCON movement in russia.

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

yesterday i saw few ISKCON people selling bhagavadgita on a stall at one railway station in mumbai.....one of them was a white guy...there are many non-indians who have become active part of ISKCON...this ban on gita is nothing but attempt of christian missionaries to stop ISKCON movement in russia.

True christian missionaries are getting very agressive these days !!!
ISKCON have made many personalities their new converts and they missionaries don want it, plus they have lot of monies from western countries !!!
Bhagavad gita should be declared along with ramayaana as national book they had its origin n written in india !!!

 

[Harry_Thomason]

The case, which has been going on in Tomsk court since June this year, seeks to get a Russian translation of 'Bhagvad Gita As It Is' written by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), on the Hindu religious text banned in Russia and declaring it as a literature spreading "social discord", apart from rendering its distribution on Russian soil illegal. """""""""""""""

Is something different in this from original scripture ?
'Bhagvad Gita' faces 'extremist' branding, legal ban in Russia | ISKCON Times: Journal of the Hare Krishna Movement

Nothing different from old-school Indian tradition, Bhaktivedanta Swami's ISKCON is singled out because only his movement is preaching Indian philosophy in Russia.