KOCHI: ”Ghar Wapsi becomes meaningful only when people understand the concept of religion,” Dwarka Peeth Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati has said. “Muslims and Christians learn about their religion in schools and places of worship, but not Hindus. Unless a person understands the Hindu religion, there is no point in converting to Hinduism. Just by putting Ganga jal on their head, they don’t become Hindus,” he said.
Speaking to media in Kalady on Wednesday, the Shankaracharya said, “We should be teaching them Hinduism and then see how many are changing their religion”.
“The Hindus should also learn about The Gita, Mahabharata and Ramayana which will help them understand the importance of their religion. “Once they do that, they can decide whether or not to convert,” he said.
He also said that converting to religion to get an economic benefit should not be encouraged.
“We need people who have faith and belief in the religion,” he said. The Dwaraka Seer was in the state from March 11 to 18. He had undergone treatment at the Vaidyaratnam nursing home in Ollur, Thrissur. The seer, who was a state guest, was given state car during his stay.
In agreement with the Centre’s thinking on banning cow slaughter he said: “In Kerala, a ban should be imposed on killing of cows. There is no logic in saying that the Muslims like beef. In olden times during the origin of Islam, people ate mutton and camel meat. There were no cows. They started eating beef once the conversion began”.