Jesus Sahasranama: Another hilarious attempt of Christian conversions

The conversion mafia (also called Christian missionaries) are infamous for adapting to the region-based needs of the gullible populace to convert them. In Punjab, the likes of Prophet Bajinder Singh use Yesu Namaskar while others on the Ghats of Varanasi use Bhajan like songs that praise Jesus. However, a peculiar development has emerged from the South of India, which may surprise many. Reportedly, the Christian missionaries have corrupted the ‘Sahasranama’ and included Jesus in it to sway the people towards conversion.

Appropriating the element of Pagan culture, Jesus Sahasranama was composed by a Christian Sanskrit scholar K.U. Chacko in Kerala in 1985, and since then, the missionaries across the southern region espouse that Jesus has been mentioned in the verses.

Also read: Sidhu and Channi’s mysterious Christian connection and the menace of conversion in Punjab

Chacko’s plagiarism slowly got mixed into the Hindu context in local Kerala temples and soon the missionaries pounced on the opportunity.

It is pertinent to note that Sahasranama is a Sanskrit term which means “a thousand names”. It is also a genre of stotra literature, usually found as a title of the text named after a deity, such as Vishnu Sahasranama, wherein the deity is remembered by 1,000 names, attributes or epithets.

Entire website of dictionaries attributed to Jesus Sahasranama:

A website going by the name “Jesus Sahasranama” has manufactured an entirely new story of the origins of the Sahasranama and conveniently tied it to Vedic hymns.

The opening page of the website reads, “Jesus Sahasranama has its roots in the Syriac prayers of primitive Christians. Its form is derived from the Vedic hymns. Every epithet of the Divine contains quantum of ‘esse’ and the recital of holy names is conducive to mystical experience. Chanting of Jesus Mantra, enables the chanter to attain his/her cherished hope and desire. Jesus mantra is a new level in the branch of Christology.”

There are entire videos where the corrupted hymns are chanted and conveniently dubbed as an intricate part of the Catholic culture.

It may look like an innocuous plagiarism attempt at the moment, but a few decades down the road, it will be claimed that ‘Sahasranama’ was written exclusively for the Abrahamic faiths. Even Islamists might jump on the bandwagon.

The unique and unethical antics of missionaries:

Reported by TFI, YouTube personality and a self-professed healer Prophet Bajinder Singh runs a massive network of conversions in plain sight. While these videos are mostly comical in nature because of the content, effects and background music, they highlight the underlying threat of conversions through deceit.

It is pertinent to note that Bajinder is the same guy whose ‘Yeeshu-Yeeshu’ video became a meme material, all over the internet. Moreover, Bajinder was reportedly arrested in 2018 on charges of raping a woman who was part of his security team.

Also read: Sonu Sood and CM Channi quit ‘Prophet’ Bajinder Singh’s event after massive backlash

A recent video that went viral on the realms of social media showed a Christian televangelist curing a man of AIDS by simply evoking Jesus and chanting ‘Hallelujah’.

Lately, actor Johnny Lever has also transformed into a preacher. Fondly known as ‘Brother Johnny Lever’, he claims to have cured Hrithik Roshan and his father Rakesh Roshan of liver ailments, merely by enunciating few chants.

The threat of missionaries is bigger than ever. Reports suggest that missionaries were able to convert as many as 1,00,000 people to Christianity amidst the lockdown last year. Further, missionaries also planted several churches all across India, using them as a shot in the arm for their predatory proselytisation.

Also read: More conversions amid the pandemic than in the last 25 years – Christian missionaries expose themselves

Hinduism is an in-depth way of life, a philosophy that has survived millenia and may survive the onslaught of missionaries as well. However, the government and the larger Hindu society needs to saddle up and stop such fanatics from using the Hindu faith and its teachings to lure innocent and poor people.