Hindus ask apology from Church of Scotland for labeling their deities as 'false idols'

23 May, 2012

Hindus have strongly objected to Hindu deities being reportedly referred to as 'false idols' on the opening day of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland on May 19 in Edinburgh in the United Kingdom.

THIS “false idols” reference was reportedly made while discussing allowing of use of hall of Queen's Cross Parish (QCP) Church in Aberdeen, a Church of Scotland parish, by Hindu community. General Assembly continues till May 25.

A registered charity, Aberdeen Hindu Association (AHA), whose objectives include “promotion of religious harmony", conducts three-hour pooja first and third Sunday of the month besides discourses and satsangs at QCP Church where Reverend Scott M. Rennie is the Minister and whose website says that its facilities are available for hire. Dr. Balasubramaniam Vijayan, Dr. Pradeep Kumar and Dr. Senthil Ragupathy are President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively of AHA; which was launched in 2010 and whose “ultimate goal” is “to have a place of worship (temple) for ourselves in the Northeast of Scotland”.

As is apparent from pictures posted on AHA website, during fortnightly pooja, statues and pictures of Hindu deities are placed inside the hall; with fruits, flowers, leaves, incense sticks and other pooja material placed before the images of deities, giving it the appearance of a sanctuary. Many of the devotees attend the pooja in traditional Indian dresses and scriptures are also brought in. Central to the Church of Scotland, majority church in Scotland, is “worship of God through following the teachings and examples of Jesus Christ”.

Hindu temples in Scotland include Edinburgh Hindu Mandir & Cultural Centre (EHMCC) in Leith, Hindu Temple of Scotland (HTOS) in Rutherglen, ISKCON Karuna Bhavan in Lesmahagow, Tayside Hindu Cultural and Community Centre in Dundee and Hindu Mandir Glasgow. EHMCC was reportedly a Presbyterian Church before it was acquired in 1986. Former Wardlawhill Church in Rutherglen, affiliated to Church of Scotland, was reportedly renovated and refurbished and converted into what is HTOS now. Annual Mela Indian festivals are held in Glasgow and Edinburgh and Bollywood box-office hit "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" was shot in Loch Lomond and Tantallon Castle.

Around 400 CE, St Ninian began the first large-scale Christian mission to Scotland, and now Church of Scotland, which calls itself “Reformed and Presbyterian”, has over 500,000 members and around 1,200 ministers. Headquartered in Edinburgh, Right Reverend Albert Bogle is the new Moderator, while Reverend John Chalmers is the Principal Clerk. Moksh (liberation) is the ultimate goal of Hinduism.