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India is
presently facing great communal disharmony, especially
(though not only in) Orissa. During this volatile time,
Anand Mahadevan, the editor of Outlook Business, wrote
with great boldness and honesty about his conversion to
Christianity.
Greatly edified by his story & his convictions
especially given the
scenario, Mr. Mahadevan to share some more details with
our readers:
During this time of great communal disharmony, fuelled
by Hindu extremists
claiming forced conversions to Christianity,
what made you speak out about your own conversion from
Hinduism to Christianity?
First, I would choose not to use the words `Hindu
Extremists.' I would prefer to refer to them as my Hindu
friends, no ma tter
how they act. I hope they see that violence and
unlawfulness finds no place in the Hindu dharma. Two
things made me speak up. First, there was a wrong
perception that the poor, illiterate and backward caste
people were being tricked or financially induced into
converting. By speaking out, I wanted to break this myth
and show that the rich, educated and the upper caste
also chose to follow and worship Jesus. It is a personal
choice. And both rich and poor, educated and uneducated,
upper caste and lower caste and all mankind has a moral
and constitutional right to choose their faith. Jesus
came to take away the sin of all mankind. Second, I was
moved by passages from the Bible about Nicodemus. He
first came to meet with Jesus in secret; in the dark of
the night. But later, he stood up and acknowledged
Jesus, first amidst the Pharisees and he also came with
Joseph of Arimathea to claim the body of Jesus after his
crucifixion. I was inspired by Nicodemus and his
decision to go public with his faith.
Many of the comments on your article at Outlook are anti
what you wrote. Has writing the article changed you in
anyway?
One of the joys of knowing Jesus is that it becomes
easier to love. I have seen the many comments that have
criticized me, my faith, my conversion and my decision
to speak out. I respect all the people who have
criticized me. I respect their right to hold their point
of view. I respect their right to criticize me. Writing
the article has not changed anything. What I wrote was
heartfelt. I wrote it in faith. And I will stand by what
I wrote in faith.
I love the fact that you specifically
differentiate between your national identity as an
Indian and your belief in God, when you speak about
retaining your name & giving your children Indian names.
Would you expand on this line of thinking?
Not just Indian names. I deliberately chose to give them
Hindu names to my children. Because culturally, I am
still a Hindu. That will never change. I still love and
cherish the many values of Hinduism love, peace,
tolerance, the desire to seek and know God, justice,
charity, the pursuit of holiness etc. These are Hindu
values and I share all of these values. Just because I
follow Christ does not mean that I have to call myself
John or Mathew. My national identity is Indian; my
cultural identity is Hindu; my spiritual identity is
Christian.
Your grandfather was a Tamil Brahmin Priest. Has your
conversion caused any friction within your extended
family?
My parents did not like my change of heart. But they
respect my choice. They still love me. And I still love
and honour them. That too will never change.
You talk about Jesus as “a dear friend to whom I
pray and talk to every dayabout my career, my dreams,
successes, failures, finances and even my sexuality”.
Would you share a personal testimony on how He has made
an impact in any of these areas of your life?
In all of the above areas, be it finance, career or
sexuality, the natural inclination of my heart is to
sin. And I do struggle with daily temptations in all of
these areas. And I do slip every now and then in the
areas of pride, selfishness, lust etc. But I always go
to Jesus with my struggles and my failures. And He
always helps me. He empowers me to live a life that is
worthy of the gospel. He works in my conscience leading
me to repentance. And over the years, he has taught me
how to overcome each of these struggles.
Since you ask specifically about sexuality, let me
address that issue. Before I became a follower of Jesus,
I did not have any value system in expressing and
enjoying my sexuality. But now, the teachings of Jesus
have helped me develop a Biblical value system within
which I express and enjoy my sexuality. And honestly, in
a time of free and abundant sexual opportunities, it is
not easy to live within this value system. I have
occasionally struggled and failed. But I am not
characterized by failure. By talking to Jesus every time
I have failed, I have learned to overcome these
temptations. I am still tempted. I still struggle. But I
also overcome, because Jesus enables me to. I can say
that I have submitted even my sexuality to the Lordship
of Christ.
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