"Before and after July 3" – the day of Feast of Thomas!: Tamil people, our "Udan pirappugal" (brothers born with us) and "Rattathin rattam" (the blood of blood i.e., dearest of dearest) may not be knowing as to why our Kalainjar accepted to inaugurate the movie on July 3. But now news is coming that it was the day of Feast of Thomas which was liked by Karunanidhi, as he hates only panchangam and not almanac. That is why he changed the "New Year" for Tamils, but he would adhere to their "panchangam"! So after prayer and speeches of others, Kalainjar was so moved to declare that "God has accepted him"! As Deccan Chronicle[1] reports:"Donning the believer"s mantle, the normally atheist chief minister said, "Whether I am accepted by God is more important than whether I accept God. I have to help humanity for being accepted by God. The audience applauded when he said this statement, which he had also made in the presence of Sai Baba last year."

Really, the "miracle of Casper" works! He is above God, so Jesus has to accept him and he / He would recommend Jehovah to accept!

Kalanjar, the historian propounds new hypothesis: He has not only become an official inaugurator of the "mythical Thomas movie", but also donned the role of "doubting Thomas historiographer"! The chief minister said the martyrdom of St. Thomas had inspired him in many ways. Drawing a parallel to King Pari of the Sangam age, who was also killed by the conspiracy of several kings, he said, "History remembers those who were killed by conspirators. St. Thomas was also a victim of conspiracy.' Mr Karunanidhi launched the film by operating the movie camera." The Express reported of saying, "…history chose who to highlight, and St. Thomas was one such a noble soul. 'We remember the man who was murdered St. Thomas, but not the one who killed. History shows who is to be remembered", he announced!

The confession that he was influenced by the "martyrdom" of "mythical Thomas" has been revealing! While "Pari Magalir" suffered a lot, the apocryphal Thomas too made many women suffer. Good historiography in deed, as he has shown the way to read Apocrypha to know more about the myths of Christianity, Christ, Mary, Mary Magdalene etc. The killer, conspiracy, martyr, etc., are interesting and Indians have to respond for such utterances. Particularly, the historians of all the so-called TNHC, SIHC, IHC etc., should come out.

Thus, Ishwar Sharan[2] asks pertinently as follows: "The Roman Catholic bishops in India owe Hindus an abject apology and crores in reparations for the Church’s crimes in India over the centuries, not a mega movie of a fictitious Apostle of India. But if they insist on the Rs 30 crore movie, are they going to tell the public the following facts about Judas Didymus Thomas as recorded in the Acts of Thomas that:

• Thomas was the look-alike twin brother of Jesus; (i.e, one more son to Mary?)
• Jesus sold Thomas as a slave for thirty pieces of silver; (slavery practiced, therefore no humanity, equality etc)
• Thomas deceived the kings of Parthia-"India" who gave him respect and hospitality; (mythical Thomas was a deceit, cheat and fraud)
• Thomas was a thief; (no explanation is required, as Acts of Thomas says)
• Thomas abducted and locked-up women; (abductor of women, womanizer)
• Thomas engaged in various forms of black magic (sorcerer, exorcist competing with Jesus); and
• Thomas was executed by a Zoroastrian king who had initially shown him mercy and asked him to repent of his crimes and leave the country." (but created all nonsense)

As Kalainjar has donned the role of "Thomas historiographer" or "the super hagiographer", he would suitably reply covering the points raised. Dr. Paulraj Lourdusamy and chief researcher and scriptwriter of the film may learn a lot from the Kalainjar!

Dr. Paulraj Lourdusamy, "the Church researcher": He is an ordained minister of the Catholic Church and is a priest of the archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore, India. He has doctoral degrees in the fields of Theology and Sociology and three doctorates earned from various foreign universities spending one year in libraries across the world to find the existing literature on St. Thomas. A Gold Medalist of the Madras University, he has also conducted doctoral research in the Educational Sciences. He is the author of the trilogy: Meditations on the Forty Names of Jesus, The Forty Parables of Jesus and The Forty Miracles of Jesus [3]. As the director of the venture, he clearly pointed out that the movie is being sponsored by the Madras archdiocese, with Vatican support, on a comparatively modest budget of $12 million. So Indians are fools to expect that such a man with many multi-degree, multi-doctorate, multi-lingual genius should know the Arulappa-Acharya Paul, etc.

Like S. Rajamanickam S.J., R. Daniel Jayakumar questions theology: Though, Chinnappa has been trying to hush up the theological difference, Rev. Dr. R. Daniel Jayakumar of Kondu, Cuddalore, points out, "…….questions on certain gray areas like celibacy and vegetarianism still need convincing answers", though Lurdusamy anticipated that Thomas' encounter with the "reported animal and human sacrifice in the Chennai of first century" may create some controversy once the film is ready for release in 2010. Drawing reference to Deivanayagam, he notes that, "About three decades ago Dr M. Deivanayagam, a doctorate from Madras University and an authority on Tamil and early Christianity in India raised the pertinent question whether Tiruvalluvar was a Christian or not. Based on his thorough analysis of the biblical truths and profound wisdom found in the Thirukkural he concluded that he was." Kamatchi Srinivasan [6] and Arunai Vaivelu Mudaliar[7] have already exposed the hollowness in such interpretation.

Vegetarianism, Celibacy etc., do not bother Christians: Christians, like Buddhists, have been eating flesh and they are not strict "vegetarians" and therefore, it is a myth that Christianity is against "animal sacrifice" and so on. Moreover, the fundamental "Eucharist" exposes such myth, as a true Christian believes that the bread and wine are turning into the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ that would cleanse his / her sins. Arnold Toyanbee, Will Durant and other world great historians have pointed out that this "Eucharist" belief has been remnants of "cannibalism" of tribes, later converted into ritualization. Biblical references have been plenty to prove how the Christian heroes and heroines or gods and goddesses eat meat of all varieties. As far as celibacy is concerned, again Christians have no proof to that effect. As here, they depend upon apocryphal bibles, Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene lived together, raised children (Grail legends may be referred to). The "Thomas myth" was developed only as a duplicate of "Jesus myth" as pointed out by many western historians and scholars (as pointed out by Ishwar Sharan above). The International Institute for Tamil studies that published the book of Deivanayagam disowned and declared his work as "not based on research".

"St. Thomas Apostle of India Trust" produces "mythical Thomas" film: The film is to be produced in the name of "St. Thomas Apostle of India Trust" which has Archbishop A. M. Chinnappa, Deputy Archbishop Lawrence Pius, Treasurer of the diocese Mr. Ernest Paul and Dr. Paulraj as office-bearers. Of course, the Vatican would fund has been already accepted. Thus, it is clear that the Vatican tries hi-tech extravagancy for harvesting, as they have found out how the Indians have been addicted to movies. The next attempt would be depicting all apostles playing cricket with Jesus Christ as an umpire and Mary, Mary Magdalene and others watching from the stadium! The "Trust" formed is to escape from all legal wrangles as happened in the case of Arulappa vs Acharya Paul and thus, the money given would not be subjected to any controversy!

"Kalainjar was blessed with success" film: The Holy Spirit had descended on that day and blessed Kalanjar for victory in elections! Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has asserted that the DMK-led alliance would sweep the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state. "Mr Peter Alphonse wished me success in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls. His wishes will come true". So Kalainjar knows that elections are coming and Peter knows that his wish would be fulfilled!

It is pre-ordained and the chosen people would get what they want. He can only give what they want and in turn, they can only give what he wants! However, all may not tell always what they received every time!

Archbishop, Vatican, funds, script, studio, etc., resemble the past events: Archbishop Chinnappa, Vatican support for the project, the same research, the same theme, but only evidences differ, as times have changed.

• Now, there are no manuscripts, though studios are there;
• Script is there, but no writing letters;
• No photography of manuscripts manufactured in studio, as cameras would come out and shoot;
• Instead of going to Vatican, the Vatican itself supports the project:
• Indian Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of Faith, supports the project along with the bishops in Tamil Nadu, media said quoting Archbishop Chinnappa; thus, there is no Retzinger, of course, now he is the Pope;
• Now the inaugural or symbolic shooter has been "Kalainjar". Thus, the whole events make one remember the past events. That is why Dr. R. Daniel Jayakumar of Kondu, Cuddalore subtly questioned the theology drawing attention to the work done by Deivanayagam three decades back. Yes, now we do not have any K. P. Sunil to bring out his account in "The Illustrated weekly of India", as we do not know where K. P. Sunil is and the journal died already! Ironically, Arulappa and Acharya Paul – the main actors -- also are not with us. Now, they cannot pressurize through Fr. Mariadas of Sri Villiputhur, as "Dr. Paulraj Lourdusamy, "the Church researcher" is there with many degrees and three doctorates! And he would take care of it all!

Would Ganesh Iyer alias John Ganesh alias Acharya Paul would get resurrected to question them on the Day of Judgement before 2010? Next to Sivadhama[8] and Ganapathy Upadhyaya[9], Ganesh Iyer has been the most and worst oppressed, suppressed, harassed and exploited human being by the Church. He was given the money to fabricate and manufacture evidences to prove the fraudulent research of "Arulappa" and " Deivanayagam" research of bringing mythical Thomas beyond Mesopotamia, down south to Madras, making him to meet Tiruvalluvar, Tiruvalluvar getting knowledge from Thomas and started writing Tirukkural, later the Saiva Siddhantis were enlightened by the Holy Spirit and becoming Siddhantis and so on! So now, the picture is completed:

• Hollywood stars are coming;
• Superstars are engaged;
• Ajith, Salini are contacted;
• Perhaps Namita, Sakila would follow, as the film is in all languages and there are many songs!

So, what Ganesh Iyer alias John Ganesh alias Acharya Paul would do, if he is resurrected according to the principles of Christianity? As an exorcist, anyone - Chinnappa or Paulraj or Kalainjar himself, in his new role of master of martyrology, hagiography, etc., - would do it!

No conversion motive – another big lie from Chinnappa: Dr A.N. Chinnappa of Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore declared that "It is not an attempt to convert people to our faith but to convey the message of this great saint". If that is the case, the crores or million of dollar money could be straight away given to the "poor Christians" or the so-called "Dalit Christians" instead venturing into this type of extravaganza, because, the amount would benefit them immediately. Moreover, the Church has already promised houses etc., for the Tsunami victims and the work is pending. Already Madras High Court has passed strictures against Seventh Day Adventists for building poor quality houses. Thus, under the circumstances, these learned and divine representatives could think about those poor souls also.Thus, they are having some hidden agenda as, otherwise, he need not say that "It is not an attempt to convert people to our faith but to convey the message of this great saint". Thus, naturally, other Indians, secular Indians, etc., have to be concerned about the movie and its implications.

Why already proven fraudulent myth is selected for the movie theme?: It has already been pointed out many times that unimaginable fraud has been committed in the name of "doubting Thomas", "mythical Thomas", "apocryphal Thomas", etc. About the legal wrangle of "Acharya Paul-Arulappa", the details came in the press in 1980s. Arulappa had to save his face by having a "compromise settlement" with his agent Acharya Paul. Therefore, the repetition of such theme would amount to perpetuating the fraud. So, all the connecting people, personalities and experts would be treated as aiding and abetting the fraud and treated accordingly. So suppressing the facts or talking advantage of short memory of public or proceedings as that "it is only a story and not history" as T. Dayananda Francis[10] had done it in the case of "Thomas Vanthar" – dance drama held in Krishna Gana Sabha. Therefore, the responsible Indians should take note of the frauds repeated in the different guises, as the theme has been the same.

Would Tiruvalluvar be crucified? The Church would not faithfully record in the film all the frauds committed that have been on the official records; it is going to be partial rehashing the myth with meaningless and baseless imaginary hypotheses; of course, it could pressurize or purchase scholars, historians, politicians, etc., with promotion, foreign travel, donation, etc., but the truth remains. as they have enough time, it is better think carefully, before they proceed and produce. Already, they watered enough for the media to thrive on such fantacies –

• If Rajini dons Tiruvalluvar, who would be Vasuki?
• Yes, Kushubu or Namita would be and they would be dancing with vulgar dress.
• So through Rajini or Kalainjar, if they want to crucify Tiruvalluvar, let them crucify!

The whole world knows the sins of the Church, massacres of Crusaders, blood spilt by the holy wars; whether Indians know or not, the Goa Inquisition would be remembered. The millions of slaves exported out of India would be remembered; lakhs of Indian women tortured on the fields in Malaya, Mauritius and South Africa would be remembered; lakhs of Indian children orphaned, because of the above, and died and killed, would be remembered.

Now Kalainjar would be known. We do not know whether Tiruvalluvar would ressurect and curse, or Vasuki. He (Kalainjar) has asserted earlier that as he has / had three wives, he would understand women better. So let us see whether he would understand Vasuki.

VEDAPRAKASH
07-07-2008

[1] The news item published under the caption, "We"ll Sweep Polls: CM," Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle 3 July 2008[2] Ishwar Sharan is the author of "The Myth of St. Thomas and the Mylapore Shiva Temple", and the entire book and other details can be accessed from: www.hamsa.org[3] http://www.llumina.com/store/fortynamesofjesus.htm[4] S. Rajamanickam in a paper presented in a Tirukkural conference, he refuted Deivanayagam's hypothesis that Tirukkural was a Christian book, Tiruvalluvar Christian, etc. It is published in the "Conference Malar" edited by N. Subbu Reddy.

[5] Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle 4 July 2008

[6] Kamatchi Srinivasan of Madurai Kamaraj University has also extensively refuted his baseless interpretation questioning his understanding of Tirukkural, etc., in 1979 itself.

Kamatchi Viswanathan has already brought out a book "Trukkuralum Viviliyamum" criticizing Deivanayagam in 1979 itself. She has recorded:

"M. Deivanayagam and the others who belonged to him (the group) give meanings to many couplets in such a way that they have been totally different from that of other commentators"[1]……………………."A doubt arises after reading the books of M. Deivanayagam as to not only whether he has understood the Tirukkural properly, but also to what extent he has learned about the Christian religious history"[2]……………"Dr. S. Rajamanickam S. J., another Christian Tamil scholar, in his paper, "Tirukkuralil Christtavam" has refuted the works of M. Deivanayagam."[3]

[1] Matchi Srinivasan, Kural Kurum Samayam, Tirukkural Chair, Publication No. 7, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai – 625 021, 1979, p.215.

[2] Ibid, p.216.

[3] Ibid, p.217.N. Subbu Reddiyar (Ed.), Tirukkural Karuttharangam Malar, 1974, pp.87-92.

[7] Again, in 1987, the senior Tamil scholar and Saiva Siddhanta exponent Sri Arunai Vadivelu Mudaliar has exposed Deivanayagam on many accounts – lack of Tamil language, grammar, syntax, understanding, interpretation, etc., in his book, Viviliyam-Tirukkural-Saiva Siddhantam-Maruppu Nul (Bible, Tirukkural, Saiva Siddhanta – A Refutation) published by Mayiladurai Adhinam.

[8] Roberto de Nobili "raped" him like anything, getting all work done though him.

[9] Bathalomeo Ziegenbalg had done it with Ganapathy Upadhyaya.

[10] I went to Krishna Gana Sabha on that day (in 1989, immediately after the publication of my book. As I sent copies to all including him, he must have chosen the Krishna Gana Sabha), T. Dayananda Francis allowed me to watch the drama and during the interval, he announced that it was only a drama for entertainment and not based on any history or authentic.