What is Hinduism? A Personal View

allah ji, there may be something to that, but we can't be much enthused/worried about what ali_1 bhai believes, particularly in this context. He made a reasonable point. I take that on face value and leave the rest.

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hp,

...... i would like to retract my offer to revert to grandpa's gopinath's religion ...... based on the interactions by bonafide hinoos on this board i have come to the conclusion that hindooism is not all that dost-mittar would have us believe ....... like tahmed he seems to be a spin-meister :) ...... i think i will look into kabala judaism ...... alas, my search continues .......

hamdim, now that you mentioned tahmed ji, I would raise a question that always came to mind.

Tahmedji is a true gentleman, knowledgeable, and a real universalist. But I have never met another person (Muslim or non-Muslim) who shares(shared) his understanding/interpretation of Islam and/or the Quran. Yet his enthusiasm for his understanding/interpretation has neither dimmed nor wavered in years.

Is that a true miracle of faith, or are there lots of others who actually do share his views (such as the Quran being the Arabic Quran and others), and one just doesn't see them around much?

(tahmed ji, please ignore this. It is not meant to offend you. If anything, I am very impressed that one person could have such courage of convictions and the strength of character needed to maintain that.)

Hamidm,
Your salvation was so near...you missed it!

I will check back with you in 15 days. I am headed to Karachi on Sunday to ensure free and fair elections and power transfer to the true reps(awami Numainday)...you and me!

Re: # 86

eklavya,

tahmed is an apspiring prophet of islam like mirza ghulam ahmed and akbar before him ...... let's hope he does better than those two ...... i am ready to follow him

of course it's not a religion..it's a cult...like all religions are


cult: small unpopular religion(see mormonism)
religion: large popular cult(see hinduism, islam, catholicism)

Very decent presentation on such a complex religion.

It's impossible to encapsulate all aspects of Hinduism as ther'd be something unsaid abt it even after writing a longest article.

I think it's Lokayata (...such as Buddhism, Jainism and Lokayukta). English translation of Sanskrit names is needed for Pakistanis (not to Shorey), I guess.

Never mind. I am happy that this article is is appreciated by Pakistanis.

Re: # 57

"Hinduism does not need statues at all... God is Omnipresent... you don't need statues in temples or mosques... Some people want to have idols which is fine too..."

Mohar Bhai,

We survived despite demolition of thousands of our temples. We survived depite all those lootings, beheadings and rapes. We survived despite taking our family members, women and little children as slaves back to Arabic lands. We survived because the resilience the spirituality of our faith in our literature, music and language. It would even survive the modern times by merging and adapting with modern cultural practices of Yoga Studios and Art of living. They broke our temples and idols , but they could never destroy our spiritual heritage!!!

Re: # 75

Sindhu sharma ji,

During partition there were a number of reversions back to hinduism - many of them adapted Brahminhood - and there were hardly any issues. Any one is free to take a Brahmin name- you do not require a certificate from me or any one else.

Before Amartya sen wrote about this, I'm sure no on knew about Charvaka or his atheistic philosophy. And now there are attempts to Hinduise atheism.

It is a safe guess to assume that people 2000 years back had the same doubt and beliefs the people have now.

There are religious nutcases / atheists / agnostics / prophet lovers etc.. even then and even now.

it is better not to define Hinduism as a religion or any such dogma lest that people start killing the blasphemers. :-)

slyder#24:

"Hingboos are the last remaining major pagan"

The question you should ask is, why? India is not an obscure corner of the world which was undiscovered by people of so-called enlightened religions. There was no dearth of zealot Muslim rulers or equally zealot Christian missionaries who tried to redeem these souls from their "jahaliat". Even today, there are television channels beaming messages from Christian missionaries and Maulanas on Indian Television, alongwith several others beaming Hindu and Sikh preachings. Why was this pagan religion able to withstand the onslaught of these two prosleytising religions, which overwhelmed other pagan and even non-pagan religions?

One reason, of course, is that all of us are brainwashed into our belief systems before we are able to think for ourselves. Another is that there are substantial psychic and social costs of leaving one's family and community which are tied to one's religious faith. But that reason would have applied equally to other pagan religions which were overwhelmed by proselytising religions.

I think that the answer lies in the bewildering complexity and variety of this belief system. Whatever these other religions brought, the natives could find the seeds of it in the smorgsbord of their own scriptures and sacred books.

To the extent conversions took place, they were for reasons other than the theological attractions of the newer religions. Some coverted to curry favour with the religion of the new rulers and hoped to gain from joining the ruling class by doing so; others joined because the message of the sufis which was tailored to the needs of the locals to such an extent that to some it became indistinguishable from their own bhakti cults and they did not think that they were embracing a new faith; yet others converted to escape the opression faced by them by the religiously sanctioned rigid social hierarchy from which they did not see escape either for themselves or their progeny without moving out of that social order altogether. But others who were not at the bottom of the social order did not and do not find any attraction in other religions and stayed put.

khurram#28:

"I was talking about millions who are not 'true believers' in anything. They are often referred to as 'seculars' , 'humanists', 'free-lance monotheists' or some such term. What has that got to do with hinduism? yet they would fit your definition."

That's a valid observation. My answer is that a Hindu does not need any such label, it is built into the system (not necessarily 'humanist'). It has often been said by Hindu nationalists and even the Christian Sonia Gandhi that India is secular because it is Hindu. Another cliche often used is the sanskrit expression "sarva dharma sambhav" roughly meaning that all religions are the same.

dost Mittar Saheb did a great service of explaining Hinduism. This is to supplement what he rightly pointed out - lack of information on Indian atheistic philosophies: Charvak or Lokayat. Reasons are twofold.
1. As freethinking individuals, they could not come together as a school. They also did not attack/hate others belief systems as they considered it part of individual liberty. As always attacks and battles are remembered and not logical explanantions.
2. Whatever information we have on atheistic current are from their objectors – pundits of cults, who made a living as Kings or Priests. They tried to destroy all philosophical treatises and generate such a psychosis that nobody dares calling himself an atheist. This is true to this day.

However some of what atheists said has survived as an example of ‘Don’t do’s’ in theistic literature. Only one text seems to have come down as authentic writing by Charvaks themselves. Tatvopaplavasimha questions severely all theistic schools of Indian thought. Please sample
“If a beast slain in the Jyothishtoma rite will itself go to heaven, Why then does not the sacrificer (yajamana) forthwith offers his own father?”

A treatise on all schools of thought- Sarvadarsanasamgraha also elaborates Charvak thoughts as reference. However the best manifestations are allegoric in nature in dramas of several authors. One example is Prabodha-candrodaya – Knowledge of Rising moon.

Charvaks propounded that theistic thought and concept of God became Maïa (illusion or Saitan) themselves. They misled in investigation of truth by creating ‘faith’ diversions.