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need great argumentation with them. How do you convert these people? I went to see one conversion. I had to walk twenty-five miles to reach that place, because no road goes there, no train goes there.
How was the conversion being managed? A Christian priest was talking to the aboriginals. I listened, sitting at the back: a cold winter night, so there is a bonfire, and in that light -- that is the only light and the only warmth -- those people are naked and shivering. And the Christian priest takes out from his bag two statues, one of Jesus and one of Rama. Those aboriginals believe in Rama, the Hindu avatara, the incarnation of God according to Hindus.
He has a bucket full of water by his side and he says, "Look, I will do a simple thing for you. This is Rama and this is Christ." Both statues look exactly the same. He puts both the statues in the bucket of water. Rama's statue drowns, of course, because Rama never walked on water. Jesus' statue remains floating and the aboriginals all clap, and they say, "Great!"
And the missionary says, "Jesus saves. How can Rama save you? He cannot save himself. You are seeing it in front of your eyes...."
I had to stand up, and I said, "Wait." I asked the aboriginals, "Have you ever heard of a water test?"
They said, "No."
"Have you ever heard of a fire test?"
They said, "Yes!" The fire test is the only real test. When Rama had to test his wife's purity, she had to pass through fire.
I said, "Okay, the bonfire is there, now bring both those statues." The priest started hesitating. I said, "You stop, and don't try to escape from here. The fire test has to be taken" -- because I can see the statue of Jesus is of wood and Rama's statue is of steel. I threw both the statues in the fire. Of course, Jesus -- poor Jesus! -- burned; Rama came out alive. And the aboriginals were very angry; they were ready to beat the priest. I said, "No, there is no need to beat him."
But poor people, uneducated people, who know no argumentation, are being converted. And they are being told to go on creating more and more children, because there is this politics of numbers. How many Catholics,
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