Why Hinduism doesn’t Fit the Missionary Model

RESURRECTING FAITH - The missionary (pracharak, in Hindi) is a relentless salesman. He sells God. He sells God’s message.

- Devdutt Pattanaik

For centuries there have been Christian missionaries, Muslim missionaries, and Buddhist missionaries. The last century saw the rise of Hindu missionaries. Many of these call themselves sanatani today. But what exactly are these sanatani missionaries selling?

The missionary impulse rose in the ancient Near East, where certain men began to claim they were messengers of the one true god, sent to save the world. They spoke not of metaphors, but of instructions. Their god was not a concept, but a fact. Judaism remained cautious, but Christianity embraced this new idea without hesitation. Jesus asked his disciples to preach to all nations. Paul sailed across the Mediterranean with the conviction that salvation is universal and must be shared. The Christian journey thus became an outward movement, expanding territory, claiming souls, establishing the kingdom of God on earth.