What is Hinduism? A Personal View

Urstruly,

The fundamental problem with hindu conversion, the so called defining features of any religion, is problematic for hinduism, what will be the caste of the convert.

Ary samaj, that formalised the conversion ceremony, calls the new hindus caste as " arya samay" caste/

Who is a Hindu?

To understand the concept of ‘Hindu Rashtra’, we first need to understand the meaning of the two words contained in it, ‘Hindu’ and ‘Rashtra’. We begin by understanding the meaning of the word ‘Hindu’.

The origin of the word ‘Hindu’ is purely geographical. The name Sapta-Sindhu is found in the oldest records of the world itself - the Rig-Veda- as an epithet applied to Vedic India. It is well known that the syllable ‘S’ in Sanskrit is at times changed to ‘H’ in some of the Prakrit languages and even in European languages. The ancient Persians referred to the people inhabiting Vedic India as Hapta-Hindus and later on the word ‘Hindu’ was used for the same purpose by all nations flourishing at that time.

As we can see, the word Hindu has a geographical history and does not mean a religious faith like Islam or Christianity. There are some instances which illustrate the use of the word Hindu.

When the Shahi Imam of Jama of Delhi went to Mecca on a pilgrimage, a local resident asked him, “Are you a Hindu?” The Imam was startled by this question and replied, “No, I am a Muslim.” When Imam Saheb asked him the reason for calling him a Hindu, he replied that all Hindustanis were called Hindu there.
Late Sri Mohammed Carrim Chagla, the former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court and Education Minister in the Central cabinet wrote that he is a Muslim only by religion but by culture and race he is a Hindu and all Muslims of this country are Hindus.
The word Hindusthan and Hindu are often used with a national connotation only. For example, the first nationalist daily from Chennai, started in the last century, was named ‘The Hindu’. Many public sector industrial units are named Hindusthan Aeronautics, Hindusthan Photo films, Hindusthan Machine Tools, etc. The sea to the south of our country is called Hind Mahasagar.
Mohammed Iqbal, the famous Urdu poet has sung Sare Jahan Se Achha, Hindostan Hamara — Note Hamara Hindusthan, i.e., Our Hindusthan.
The word Hindu thus connotes not a particular sect, a religion or a faith, but the people, the culture, the tradition, the way of life of the people inhabiting this part of the world from times immemorial. Before the advent of the British, Bharat was known as Hindusthan and all the nationals as Hindus. Only the British gave the new name India and the word Indian came to be used in place of Hindu.

http://www.hinduyuva.org/tattva-blog/2008/02/hindu-rashtra-explained/




http://mutiny.in/2008/02/02/what-about-the-indian-rashtra/

Very interesting points of discussion. I agree I’m a Hindu by culture, Hinduism to me is a way of life. I never considered it ‘Hindu’ but the way we live our lives. If this Hindu Rashtra concept really necessary to keep our country united? Isn’t our current constitution enough?

I don’t have a problem with that - but - I consider myself more an citizen of the Republic of India than the RSS’s definition of the Hindu Rashtra. Does that make me less Hindu or Indian? To me there was no India before 1947. I was a subject of the Royal Kingdom of Travancore. To me it’s the Indian constitution that keeps us together.

So why Shobhit, force an RSS idea on us? Especially from far away Seattle? Does ones Hindu-ness make you more or less an Indian?

Chittagong,

Names undergo changes & so does connotations. Hindu in those means just Indian but now Hindu mean diff things to diff ppl.

Gandhi and Godse are both Hindus but their appraoch to religon is totally opposite.

If we can make a comparison, there cud be a religion by name Chinese. Like in India, China use to have multitude of gods, mode of worship is common across China. Unfortunately no foreginer called it a Chinese religion.

Hindu by definiton as a 'way of life' is utterly meaningless (& I still dont understand how Supreme Court gave such verdict), coz every religion & culture (other than Hindu) also had a way of life.

RSS always say that Hindu is not a religon but they always think & act as if Hinduism is a religion.

in those days..

Re: # 187 urstruly
[...I am still clueless as to what Hinduism as a religion is...]

that's a pity, particularly one claims to be a "suryavanshi"... but if it's any consolation, i have no clue waht islam is either, in particular - why young and able people killing themselves and others over it...

But let's first address your problem. here is hinud 101 for you:

Hinduism has 3 gods in the sky, unlike one allah for you. The holy trinity: Brahma, the creator, Shiva the destroyer, Vishnu, for lack of a better english word, the keeper of entire living world, humans and animals included.

Now - Brahma dude is never worshipped directly, he made some mistake and somebody cursed him [yes, in hinudism, mere mortals can curse their creator,literally]...he has four heads, so that he can have a 360 degree view - suppose that helps the creator - helps to have a FULL picture,so to speak. He has one wife.

Shiva - he is the destroyer of bad and evil. He moves around with a snake around his neck, with a trishul(pitchfork)in his hand, he is literally homeless... he gave up all his worldly possessions to somebody - that's a long story. But the dude is kind, supposed to be handsome, favourite with lady worshippers even though he is penniless. He is a very interesting character. we can talk days on his bullsh!t... He has one wife.

Now the main guy - Vishnu, he is the president of the trinity. He has two wives and lives in an island in the middle of the ocean - yeah, he has an ocean in the sky... He has a big snake, an anaconda with a million heads to protect him...

Now this dude has a lot of work, he keeps an eye on the state of the creation... when he feels Dharma of the creation going astray, there is too much sin down here, he makes a trip down here, in form of a messenger, a prohpet if you will.we call it an Avatar.

so far - he has taken 10 avatars... Ram and Krishna - they are his two most famous and worshipped ones. Ram's story is mentioned in Ramayan. Krishna's story is given in Mahabharat. Krishna also narrated a big lecture on his philosophy in Gita, that's one of the holy books.

Does it make some sense now?

Re: # 179 Maha Arjun:

After publication of these cartoons, be careful about your life! You are in the Cross-Hairs of some Jihadist.
Change your name, get away from town or do something change your identity or visit a plastic surgeeon to get things done. You are doomed my friend. No one will you protect at this rate.

Kamath

#198 Posted by Kamath on February 3, 2008 6:30:54 am

I offered to meet anyone who wants to meet me at a public place...the pakis all chickened out..typical..

islamofascism...

Female Muslim medics 'disobey hygiene rules'

By Julie Henry and Laura Donnelly
Last Updated: 2:36am GMT 03/02/2008

Muslim medical students are refusing to obey hygiene rules brought in to stop the spread of deadly superbugs, because they say it is against their religion.

Women training in several hospitals in England have raised objections to removing their arm coverings in theatre and to rolling up their sleeves when washing their hands, because it is regarded as immodest in Islam.
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Universities and NHS trusts fear many more will refuse to co-operate with new Department of Health guidance, introduced this month, which stipulates that all doctors must be "bare below the elbow".

The measure is deemed necessary to stop the spread of infections such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile, which have killed hundreds.

Minutes of a clinical academics' meeting at Liverpool University revealed that female Muslim students at Alder Hey children's hospital had objected to rolling up their sleeves to wear gowns.

Similar concerns have been raised at Leicester University. Minutes from a medical school committee said that "a number of Muslim females had difficulty in complying with the procedures to roll up sleeves to the elbow for appropriate handwashing".

Sheffield University also reported a case of a Muslim medic who refused to "scrub" as this left her forearms exposed.

Documents from Birmingham University reveal that some students would prefer to quit the course rather than expose their arms, and warn that it could leave trusts open to legal action.

Hygiene experts said last night that no exceptions should be made on religious grounds.

Dr Mark Enright, professor of microbiology at Imperial College London, said: "To wash your hands properly, and reduce the risks of MRSA and C.difficile, you have to be able to wash the whole area around the wrist.

"I don't think it would be right to make an exemption for people on any grounds. The policy of bare below the elbows has to be applied universally."

Dr Charles Tannock, a Conservative MEP and former hospital consultant, said: "These students are being trained using taxpayers' money and they have a duty of care to their patients not to put their health at risk.

"Perhaps these women should not be choosing medicine as a career if they feel unable to abide by the guidelines that everyone else has to follow."

But the Islamic Medical Association insisted that covering all the body in public, except the face and hands, was a basic tenet of Islam.

"No practising Muslim woman - doctor, medical student, nurse or patient - should be forced to bare her arms below the elbow," it said.

Dr Majid Katme, the association spokesman, said: "Exposed arms can pick up germs and there is a lot of evidence to suggest skin is safer to the patient if covered. One idea might be to produce long, sterile, disposable gloves which go up to the elbows."

Re: #200

Your post is as irrelevant as this

TORONTO: Amit Kumar, the alleged kingpin in the massive kidney racket, had been leading a lavish life while posing as a heart surgeon in Canada and had told his neighbours that he wanted to migrate to the country after winding up his "business" in India.

Kumar, against whom an Interpol red corner notice was issued after his illegal kidney selling network was unearthed, his "wife" Poonam Ameet, and their two sons, 5 and 4, moved into their Brampton home last April and the children attend a local private school, his neighbours said.

Except Kumar, the rest of the family remains barricaded behind security doors at their home, Toronto Star reported on Sunday. The couple bought the four-bedroom home in the predominantly Indian neighbourhood of Bovaird Dr. and Airport Rd. in April 2007 for USD 610,000, it said adding the kidney scandal had shocked the quiet neighbourhood.

Kumar reportedly told neighbours that he was a cardiovascular surgeon with clients around the world, but he never once mentioned anything about kidneys, it said.

Kumar, who Indian police say is not a surgeon, was last seen in Brampton before Christmas driving a leased USD 65,000 Lexus 350 SUV. While some found him "standoffish," others said he seemed to be upfront and candid.

"I'm absolutely in shock," said the neighbour, calling Kumar a "gem of guy" who brought him gifts from his trips to India. "This is strange. I'm baffled. I feel so let down."

Kumar told him he was going back to India to wind up his businesses, which he said included a hotel, a hospital and several clinics.

Kumar planned to open a hotel in Canada upon his return and was going to live and work here permanently, he said.

Interpol last week issued a rarely used "red notice" warrant for his arrest.

Mian Arjun,

Before you embark on your cut & paste routines, visit the following sites.

Get your facts before you proceed to twist & distort them.

http://jawaharlalnehru.rediffblogs.com/


http://in.answers.yahoo.co m/question/index?qid=20080121154502AAqH0ww



On the second site you may have to click on "read more" for the juicy details.

And now, kambakht, STOP Islam bashing. Let us all live in peace....

Re: #200

This post is also as irrelevant as your post . This doctor claims "Doctors don't have germs"

Jayant Mukundray Patel (born April 10, 1950) is a surgeon who found himself at the centre of a scandal in early 2005 when he was accused of gross incompetence while working at Bundaberg Base Hospital in Queensland, Australia. He has been nicknamed "Doctor Death" in Australian media, particularly newspapers such as News Ltd's The Courier-Mail.
Patel was born in Jamnagar in Gujarat, India. Whilst the vast majority of his training was conducted from within the US, he first trained at the M.P. Shah Medical College at Saurashtra University, and obtained a master's degree in surgery. After graduation he moved to the United States where he received further surgical training at the University of Rochester School of Medicine as a surgical intern and resident of surgery. Patel first began to raise alarm bells in 1984 at a hospital in the city of Buffalo where New York health officials cited Patel for failing to examine patients before surgery. Patel was fined US$5,000 and was placed on three years' clinical probation. In 1989, Patel moved to Oregon and began working for Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Portland. Medical staff alleged that he would often turn up, even on his days off, and perform surgery on patients that were not even his responsibility. In some cases, surgery was not even required, and caused serious injuries or death to the patient.
After a review, Kaiser restricted Patel's practice in 1998, banning him from doing liver and pancreatic surgeries and requiring him to seek second opinions before performing other surgeries. Further, after reviewing four cases in which three patients died, the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners made Patel's restriction statewide in September 2000, and New York State health officials forced him to surrender his license in April 2001.
After this, Patel decided to leave Oregon for Queensland, Australia. Queensland Health employed him without conducting any due diligence (regarding his qualifications and experience) and allowed him to become director of surgery at Bundaberg Base Hospital in 2003, under the "area of need" program, which hires overseas trained doctors for regional areas. His unprofessional behaviour continued, with his surgical work being described as "antiquated" and "sloppy", and some nurses even claimed that they hid their patients from him when they knew that he was in the hospital. He was referred to as "Dr. E. coli".[1]
Patel is also alleged to have shown a poor regard for hygiene with claims that he responded to a nurse's concern over his unwashed hands with "doctors don't have germs". Overall, Patel is linked to at least 87 deaths out of the 1,202 patients he treated between 2003 to early 2005, 30 of whom died while under his care in Bundaberg. Hospital staff have also accused Patel of altering medical records to hide mistakes.
On March 22, 2005 Stuart Copeland, the Queensland Shadow Minister for Health, first raised the issue of Patel's clinical practices during Question Time in the Queensland Parliament. Two days later, Rob Messenger, the National Party Member of Parliament for Burnett also raised the matter of Patel's alleged incompetence in a speech to the Legislative Assembly and called for his suspension.
Journalist Hedley Thomas of The Courier-Mail, who won a Walkley Award for his part in uncovering Patel's past,[2] gave attention to these allegations, and soon the newspaper and other media outlets were flooded with patient claims of incompetence, injury and death caused by Patel's poor clinical standards.
Patel soon left Australia using a business-class air fare paid for by Queensland Health[3] and returned to his luxury home in Portland, Oregon, where he has recently[when?] been filmed by the Nine Network's current affairs program, 60 Minutes.
A warrant for Jayant Patel's extradition is being sought following his escape to the United States. A magistrate was asked on 22 November 2006 to issue a warrant for Dr Patel's arrest. It is likely that he will be charged with three charges of manslaughter, five charges of causing grievous bodily harm, four of negligent acts causing harm and eight charges of fraud. If issued, the warrant will allow the Federal Attorney-General's office to consider if extradition is appropriate

Re: # 191 Dost

I have been following the interacts closely. One thing I am certain of now is that each and every Hindu recognizes that there is One Supreme God but have doubts on Him being Absolute. Once you doubt thhis attribute, that is being Absolute of God, you face a labyrinth of a maze. Every path on this maze leads you elsewhere but to God; every path demands a justification; so when we justify treading on a certain path gods started having children, and father, and wives, and consorts, and friends, and enemies who can render them ineffective. It is my undersatnding that each and every Hindu understands that too.

Now given the choice, every Hindu choses, will refuse to follow One Straight Path to One Absolute God, but instead will chose the paths that lead them astray. If it is not arrogance then what is it? If it is not mutiny against One Supreme God then what is it? Just like the Third Commandment of Moses (pbuh) every Hindu is forbidden to make the idols or "likeness" of Him yet Hindu will do it knowingly?

Re: # 204

urstruly,

..... you are one arrogant son of islam ! "Now given the choice, every Hindu choses, will refuse to follow One Straight Path to One Absolute God, but instead will chose the paths that lead them astray." ..........

........ astray from what ?! ..... the sirat-ul-mustaqeem established by an anbsolutist, hateful, arrogant and vengeful god who is so insecure and unsure of his godliness that he has to threaten people with fire and brimstone and castration if they don't 'believe' in him and pay homage to his mserable soul !

.......... hindoos ! .... carry on, you are on the right path ...... urstruly's camel path leads to death either by homicide or suicide ..........

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I dunno if Sivalingam is the top Valentine's day gift. Perhaps the lingam symbolizes the Heart&Arrow. Penis has been an object of intense study in almost all places of the world. The profile of penis could be a fundamental one. Now, can we say that the design engineers of missiles, rockets, aircrafts drew inspiration from the profile of penis?

Perhaps lingam is a multivalent.

Ali's spiky posts are needed as a comic relief.

Sivalingam is not just Sivalingam but also the lower part (I dont know the Sanskrit name but they call it Panavattam in Telugu) which is the female sexual organ representing Parvati, the consort of Lord Siva. The sexual act of Lord Siva and Parvati is known as the ultimate union of male and female. For the modern man this topic is a no-go subject therefore there's not much literature on the Net abt the complete description of this eternal symbol (Lingam+Panavattam).

It's the sexual act that's worshipped not just male organ symbolised by Sivalingam. Ancient Indian prolly saw it as the central act that brought this mankind into being.

Of all the temples, Ellora cave temple (Kailsanatha Temple) had this as the main deity(?!). One can see the Sivalingam and Panavattam (Yoni) in the Kailasanatha Temple at Ellora at this site:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Kailash-shiva-linga.jpg