I am Hindu, and very proud to be one .. but I have often wrestled with that question. What does it mean to be a Hindu?
I have spoken to some of the best minds, the most spiritual minds. I have journeyed to many places in my quest. and I have to come to believe that the best way to describe Hinduism is to say what it is not. For how do you describe a ‘teaching’ that encompasses all possibilities and all of eternity, refusing to describe the infinite in finite terms ? That describes all of life and all thought as both illusion and reality at the same time ? There is no science , no thought, no possibility that Hindu thought does not embrace ? So there is only one way to describe Hinduism for me – although it may mean many things to other people – is that Hinduism is a search, a yearning, to find that which is infinite within ones own self, a yearning to experience that which is Eternal…
…So what is Hinduism not ? It is not centralized, it not an organization, it is not political. It can never be. For every time there has been an attempt to organize Hinduism as a political force, it becomes by nature a finite structured force that bears no relationship to the idea for a search for the infinite.
So to those people that ask why we cannot declare India a Hindu state I ask them to understand and trace back to what a Hindu state is ? And they will soon realize they are looking for an identity. And the very basis of Hinduism negates the idea of identity. For it is a search for ourselves beyond that which is called ‘Identity’.
Which begs the question, why we cannot accept our identity as just Indian ?
I wish partition wasn’t our history chapter
🙁
hi shekhar,
i read your blog entries often. this one is also quite interesting.
take a look into my blog in your freetime.
my blog : http://www.smilingcolours.blogspot.com
a blog entry : a future painted in(blood)red ? written on my thoughts on religion.
i hope you like it.
thank you. have good days ahead.
hemashree
Hey Shekhar,
If you look at the History of the world, you will realise that every religion is used as a tool to control people by those claiming to be the caretakers of that religion ( Pandits, Maulavis, pope/church etc) with this we can conclude that the blind faith in religion often misguided and used as a weapon by these. Anyways, Now I am a bit of a conspiracy theorist and a sci-fi geek, If I remember correctly you were making a sci-fi movie with Aamir on time machine, but evidentaly it went out of production. I wonder will a great director like you take such a chance and make a movie in 15 yrs, and if it turns out to be a movie based on time machine and he wanted his actor to genuinely look old when he meets his younger self in a scene shot 15 yrs ago?
Did you catch my drift ?
Man it will be awesome if ur doing that.
cheers
Sir, ur understanding of Hinduism and specially spiritualism is truly commendable. Hinduism can never be finite nor can there be a hindu political identity. But I still cant believe that hindu ‘terrorism’ is possible. Nevertheless government shd come hard on these violent rioters and peace shd be ensured. But to ensure peace on a permanent scale some of the churches will have to be more responsible on their part as well. Hinduism is not in an insecure religion and it will happily embrace all other religions if they operate within their space.
As uncanny as this revelation may be for a blog spot, I am at quite an advanced spiritual level..and the reason i am here is because of the priceless teachings of the Hindu sages, and the grounding peace and indepth wisdom that it has offered to me.
The problem with most other religions is that they have been quite corrupted along the way..e.g Christianity has more to do with Constantine than with Jesus, and Islam was bended into pusing people into war and expansionism against the Crusaders. And so these religions have been craftily altered to exclude several original teachings such as reincarnation, vegetarianism, and other such indepth things that we find in Hinduism. Because of the wide span of Hinduism, it has not been possible to alter it or corrupt it much except here and there..but most of the Hindu teachings can be found as they were handed down from Vedic times. So one has to keep in mind that to allow the propagation of these newer religions is to allow the spread of half-truths and fear-mongering concepts of hell, satan, etc. and other mind-control tools from the dark ages.
THE PRICLESS CONTRIBUTION OF HINDUISM IS ITS CONSTANT EMPHASIS TO FIND DIVINITY WITHIN.
Even though it is comprehensive in its wisdom about the practical aspects of almost all domains of life, and it encourages worship and devotion of a multitude of Gods..in the end its essence is to gain Self-Realization. And it is a widely known fact that India has been mother to thousands of sages who have attained the ultimate communion, and no other land comes close. It is almost as if, in the end everyone has to come into Hinduism. Also almost all the brightest minds as Einstein to Openhiemer humble themselves before Hindu wisdom..and it is no secret that a good portion of the world is awakening to this after being disgruntled with other belief systems.
So even though what you say about Hinduism is true, it is a mistake to be too passive in allowing unethical conversions and such activities in India. But in the end, whatever is designed will happen.
Hi Shekar,
As we know ‘Hindu’ is a term coined n by the Britishers but actually the sages of the yore called it ‘Sanathana Dharma’ or ‘Universal Truth/rightiousness’ Am unable to find a perfect transalation for the word ‘Dharma’
The ideal of ‘Sanathana Dhrama’ was to live life the highest possible way with highest or best ideals on can visualize. They focussed in celebrating life. God is the highest possible ideal in our ‘Sanathana Dharma’.
Its very sad to see the caste system today. However if we look back, the caste system never meant upper or lower of anybody. We should also keep in mind that then there was neither Islam or Christ here in India.
The concept of a higher or lower in Sanathana Dharma was based on ‘KNOWLEDGE’ alone and nothing else definetely not based on ones birth. Veda Vyasa was born to a fisherman. many great sages were not from what today we call Higher caste another famous sage is Valmiki, he was a forestman, a hunter.
Knowledge is the basis – He who is the knower shall be respected and the the person who does not know shall be humble towards the knower to gain knowledge and this Knower was known as Brahman or a learned man.
The Caste system of the Sanathana Dharma did not have any upper or lower. The teacher who is a knower was known as Brahman. the protector who protects was known as Kshtriya and the feeder who rises crops was known as sudra. Sudra is not a vulgar or lowly word as it is popularly conveyed in todays world.
Here is a story from Bhagavatam:
According to Hindu mythology, there are four yugas or eras: the Krita, Treta, Dwapara and Kali Yugas.
Kali the last of the eras is said to be full of evil. We are living in that era.
This Kali took the form of a low-bred person dressed as a king and was beating a cow and a bull, when Parikshit saw him.
(Low bread person is one who usurped the rights of a knower. like one who does not know anything about Law will be in the Law making body)
Concept – Right person for right job!
This is what our Sanathana Dharma actually meant.
The bull had but one leg and the cow looked famished.
The cow was no other than Mother Earth and the bull, Dharma or moral law.
Unable to bear the pain, the animals shed tears.
Parikshit at once knew who all three were.
He said to the bull, “O Dharma, in the past you walked on all your four legs which were Tapas (penance), Soucha (purity),
Daya (mercy) and Satya (truth). You are now left only with the last leg. Even that this evil man wants to break. O, Mother Earth! Do not grieve. I shall punish the evil-doer and protect you both.”
So saying Parikshit stringed his bow and pulled out an arrow to fight Kali.
Alarmed at the action of Parikshit, Kali said to him “O king! Do not kill me. I won’t trouble these animals any more.
Only permit me to live in some corner of this world, your kingdom, and I shall stay there always in fear of your bow and arrow.”
Withdrawing his bow, the compassionate king said, “All right, you may stay; but you can live only in certain places I mention.
They are: the gambling dens, drinking bars, houses of ill-fame and slaughter houses.”
Kali said, “Please give me some more places to live.”
Parikshit said, “You may also live where there is gold, untruth, pride, lust, envy and enmity.”
From that time Kali continues to live in those places even today.
Rest in next.
Regards,
And even though you think that Caste System was evil..it just might be the other way around. How would one run a business? Would you want the peons and clerks to make sophisticated management decisions? Aren’t all the businesses in the world functioning with some kind of a hierarchical structure? This was the initial basis of the Caste System..with a lot more juice to it. The Rishis knew the indepth functionings of the Universe as reincarnation and genetics..and as such they had a much broader perspective of things, and did not limit a human’s identity to one lifetime. The Brahmins were conditioned in diet and other practices to fine tune their intellect and inner connection, just as the Kings were conditioned in administration and war. They knew that a low caste Shudra would eventually get his experience upgraded into one of the upper castes in a lifetime or few. And this was out of wisdom and compassion..not out of an oppressive intent. This is the problem with pseudo-secular and pseudo-intellectuals..they cannot fathom the whole picture. What has happened now is equivalent to anarchy in a business..as such people have difficulty finding their place.
However, I do agree that corruption did set into this Caste System..but its basis was quite sound.
shekhar, based on the wider philosophy……. muslims, sikhs, christians etc are hindus too as the religion accepts ALL but as usual it is the smaller minds that segregate people in order to politicise and dominate……..and cause the havoc that is going on !
today times have gone way beyond these narrow parameters and they call the entire world ‘A GLOBAL VILLAGE’ based on mutual interactions and inter dependancy for the growth and progress of science, the arts, discoveries in outer space…….name it and you have a cross section of people from the entire world who are good at what they do irrespective of ‘cast’ ‘community’ and similar stupid segregations.
then why are our narrow minded destructive politicians out to destroy the growth and progress achieved so far in our country as well as the peace and security of our own people ?
And I agree and will add to what else Hinduism is NOT:
– Gujrat riots (Terrorism)
– Babri Masjid (Terrorism)
– BJP,VHP,Bajrang Dal (completely misled self appointed representatives of Hinduism)
– In short any ideology that fragments and divides minds.
What it embodies amongst other things
– Self Empowerment (union with consciousness)
– Civic Empowerment (eg:Panchayati Raj)
– Nature and all life
– Grand Equalizer (re-birth, circle of life,individual accountability)
Hi Shekhar,
Being Hindu is being in complete awareness.
Are we today?
Hi Shekhar,
Being a Hindu is, being in complete awareness or attempting trying to become one.
Are we?
@Brahmastra-The very first line of your comment was so disgusting that had to really press myself hard to continue reading your comment hopelessly expecting that you will eventually come to something else. But Alas!!! Now let me tell you why it was wrong – it was wrong because it was forced. The son of a cobbler had to be a cobbler even if he was intelligent enough to be an administrator. That my dear friend was the problem.
its true that kaliyug is to be blamed for the gradual degeneration of society.
during satyug, truth was at peace and respected by all and accepted as a standard to be mantained. goodness vibrates at a different frequency.its voice is gentle…….unlike the roar of evil.
during kaliyug :
who listens to the murmur of a brook (goodness and decency )
when the storm ( evil ) speaks…….?
hey…..we are still luckier by far ! the next few 100 years are gonna be filled with midgets with even meaner souls ( so says mythology )!
I am not an expert of Hindu history but here is what my understating of caste system is. Sabri was an outcaste but Ram insisted on visiting her. (Ramayan is a pretty old text…so caste system was denounced so early in Hinduism). Karan was believed to be a shudra but was made a king by Duryodhan and a was a warrior by his actions not by birth. Caste system was actually a division based on profession and not necessarily by birth. But just like everything else it was defaulted that a cobblers son will be a cobbler. Personally i dont believe caste system had anything to do with religion, except for purohits who had to be brahmins. It was a social evil not a religious one. Everything that happened in India doesnt necessarily mean it was bcos of hinduism.
its regrettable or if i can say that its no surprise that you carry the same baggage the people associated with the media carries…on the caste system
I suggest humbly that you do spend some time to understand what ails this society… and read your history books which are not colored by rag tag leftists…
Stop parroting the statement that Caste system is the bane to this nation…
if so from 700 CE onwards this nation is ruled by non hindus… why did this oppressed call or the so called low caste not convert enmass… to either one of the religions of peace…
no present day hindu organisation was there to reconvert people.. still why did such a small amount of conversion happened…
if caste system was the bane.. why didnt the so called lower cast adopt to christanity in Goa during the infamous inquisition?
The point I’m making has no relevance as to why I’m or not a hindu but to give some clarity on what and how the caste system is a bane. Its not bane to extent of popular belief of oppression but something more systemic or larger… the regimentation getting stricter over a period of time that the common (whether a brahmin or a vaishya or a shudra) man was not bothered about politics or who was ruling them and the entire nation had to depend on a few kshatriya who had to defend the nation… for the rest of them the business was as usual. I dont remember reading in the last 20 years or hearing that as a entire kingdom we ever was at war…
this is what is even today the reality… I’m not absolving the crimes that are committed in the name of caste system… which is far higher in the last 50 years then the last 500… so read the independent history books to understand things better and not what we were dished out by NCERT.
would certainly like to engage with you or anybody who visits your blog on what being a hindu means..
Hey buddy Brahmastra,
R u comparing today’s corporate business establishments with the working of that crappy old management systems based on caste system?
I agree that people like clerks and peons cannot make managerial decisions, but they have the power and right to sue their C.E.O.’s if they feel they r being abused because of caste, gender, race reasons. The Shudras could not do so. They had no right. The today’s hierarchical structure of business u r talking about is totally based on individual qualification. The shudras were never being given any opportuinty to raise their qualifications and were forced to do the same work as their predecessors. So, Bro I think u r trying to give a total new dimension to term called “caste system” which SUCKS. R U favouring it?
The bottomline is caste system and all the related systems including racial and gender discrimitation SUCKS.
Dollar_bill
dear shekhar, the very fact that the name ‘hindu’ was given to us by muslims who were making a referral to people living across the ‘sindh’ river (and they pronounced ‘s’ as ‘h’) says it all.
yes it can never be summarised, as it is not dogmatic, and its all encompassing
however whether one reads the vedas or the mythological scripts, there are a few things that stand out, in my opinion
1) god is within us, listen to him
2) this world is maya, see beyond it
3) karma spares no one
and then there are various prescribed ways to live life and realise god, but one has to find one’s own way as the trajectory of every soul is different…….
another strong emphasis is on dharma/duty and if we can remember it in the work place and in the family, so many problems can be solved
and last but not the least, shiva asked us to play and krsna was a player (of sorts)
love, shivani
@ Deepshikha
I wonder what you find so disgusting about the first line? The Caste System was followed during the times of Rama, Krshna and in ancient Vedic India. Are you telling me that you have a better understanding of things than them and all the Rishis and Sages who fully endorsed it in those days? Life is tough..its not perfect..there may have been some element of human corruption to the Caste System in the later years, but for a long long time it was an extremely effective tool for social functioning..so far unparalleled in its utopian output. Utopia doesn’t mean ego gratification for all..it means being aligned and humble with whatever human role you are given..be it a cobbler or a king.
You are a mere mortal..if a God tells you that, you need to be humble and accept it until you evolve until you are a God yourself. That’s the way it is..show humility and accept it. What has happened is people have lost that sense of humility and deeper understanding of things. And, the Caste System also got totally exploited by people as yourself in a reverse way such that you started putting emotions of victimization into the lower castes when it was not there, and it got the face of a political tool to divide people. You keep telling the lower castes that they are oppressed, and all their troubles are because of their caste..you make things worse by such pseudo-liberalism.
@ Deepshikha
To add..you may not realize this but many dogs are happier and at peace than humans. The Self is the same in all. You think you are being very nice and good by trying to speak up for some cobbler..but the fact is there may be many cobblers who are happier and peaceful than you or most managers. The problem arises when you tell them that they should NOT be at peace with their destiny because they are being oppressed. So its a double-edged sword is all i’m saying.
i feel hinduisum is not what Brahmastra describe it as and true hindu is not what he sounds like.
i read blog very regularly and u are one of the most negative, pessimistic, full of hate.
sorry i am pointing fingure at u but i am aware 4 are pointed towards me. self check and soul search is what hindhusium all about
Dear Shekhar,
I lived close to the banks of the Ganges river in a town that was 99.5% Hindu but I never really gave a definition of what being Hindu was. For me it was just a way of life – celebration every few days for something – full moon, new moon, natratras, Holi, Diwali, Shivratri, but I lived in the campus of a big industrial company so the experince was quite objective. I was learning english literture at school and you got 2km and all you hear in Gayatri Mantra, Sadhus teaching and pilgrims from all places – some great sweets and Kachoris that I truly liked. It was the only thing there and I couldn’t define it. But one thing was sure that it is a way of life that does not force you to do any thing i.e. if I do not fast on Shivrati it is not a big deal – the teachings are very open and not subjected to a particular group, like lord Krishna’s or Rama’s can be applied to everyone and I liked that. Being a Punjabi(the most liberal of all Hindus I can say) it was much easier as the community likes to work hard and stay merry, giving religion the due importance but never overdoing it. So I liked it a lot – my city was very peaceful, school was great, parents were great – there was all to like. In all I still can’t define it but I do feel very close to the Gods and the Ganges that I love so much.
Best Regards,
Himanshu
Sanathana Dharma (Hindu) only had “Varnashrams” and not “Caste system”
One has to make his own life. If one chooses to be idiot he will be seen as an idiot and if one chooses to lead a life of greatness he will be held great. This is the ground reality irrespective of what one is. The so called upper or lower can both be idiots or greats and thats evolution.
@ruchi,
You are a kid. A lot of Indian youth are stuck in some individualistic fantasy duality land these days trying to be pseudo-modern and wannabes. You must be one of them..if you have not been able to comprehend the depth of my posts, it is your loss, not mine. What I am is way above your reach for now. Your deluded sense of do-goodership does more harm than good. Reality is not that easy to be cozy with.
@ Dollar_bill,
To be redundant, an efficient Caste System was followed during the reign of Lord Rama, Lord Krshna and through out most of vedic India. All the great sages such as Vishwamitra, Parasurama, Bharadwaja, Agasthya etc. endorsed the Varna System. Ignorant Indians like you do not know the full glory and magnificence of Vedic times..your current management stuff is a piece of crap in comparison.
So are you telling me you are superior and wiser than all the people I mentioned above? If so, then you need to learn some humility..and be a little more trusting of our ancient founding fathers because of whom India is what it is, not because of any democracy or political government.
Religion was to make peace, and it made war, any religion if we really look into…buddhism to a point is still a calm religion, but somehow, been to the best monasteries, and I know the dirt beneath this so called buddhism too…
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usually more focused on westerners, who have more money to give, its like a racket for me, but difference of opinion could be there
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Religion never mattered to me though
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religion for me is like medicine shoved down the gullet, walking so ahead in life, I realised when i walked without these webs of religion, social system, conditioned factors, I am a more balanced and happy person, many a times Im unable to fathom are we humans living or we fighting our conditioned factors non stop!!
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hey Hiya Shekhar
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smiles
brahmastra,
I’d like to understand more wrt to your view here:
“So even though what you say about Hinduism is true, it is a mistake to be too passive in allowing unethical conversions and such activities in India. But in the end, whatever is designed will happen.”
Why does your spiritual awakening lead you to think it is ‘necessary’ to confront ‘unethical conversions’. Hinduism is all encompassing and does not really need to prove anything, how has your learning so far convinced you of a ‘need to preserve it’ then? It should be above and beyond machinations of world by definition isnt it? – Get this right, I am not being cynical of your views here. I am keen to understand what about your hindu spiritual journey brought you to this conclusion?
brahmastra dont assume i am a kid and i have no experience of reality and don’t assume your reality is true reality.
Brahmastra, why dont you just stop writing all these disgusting stuff? Just because your butt is not kicked by kind Shekhar till now, you think that people are taking you seriously?
You have become a laughing stock here and it’s better you go to some other forum to shoot your crap. We pity you.
what a shame, what a shame
Bro brahmastra,
All i want to say is that this crappy cast system of ur’s that led to evils like untouchability and bonded labour SUCKS. And all the great personality u mentioned above, if they felt likewise ( which i don’t believe) then they SUCK too. Caste system is a similar system to the racial systems started by the white people. How would u feel though if a white person calls u BLOODY BLACK INDIAN? They use to consider all black and Indian people in the same way as shudras were considered by the upper castes. I wish u were born as a SHUDRA to feel all the humiliations.
So the bottomline line is if u keep on favouring this evil shit called caste system then bro u SUCK too.
Dollar_bill.
are kyaa yaar. definition pe lad rahe ho sab?
yahin pe maat kha jaate hain hum ….aur bahar se log aa aa kar humein ghulam banaa lete hain.
om shanti.
Great Post, Shekar!
It’s time to forget -isms and be human being and not human doing.
🙂
yesterday i saw a really wonderful b&w film called dharam putra…i recommend to all the writers under this blog title.
Since there are so many scholars here who have been imaginative and sincere to their religios understanding, Id like to put forward a simple question, now it doesnt pertain to a single religion or sect it goes to all those who believe;
Our sages/ maulavis/ churches they tell us to pray, they tell us to worship our Gods or bad things will happen to us, so, do you think that an all powerful humble spirit of a God has any kind of insecurity about his status amongst us that leads him to expect prayers from us to him?
On a lighter note will like to share this para with you from Douglas Adams ” Hitch Hikers guide to the Galaxy” read through its quiet interesting:
“The Babel fish,” said The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy quietly, “is small, yellow and leech-like, and probably the oddest thing in the Universe. It feeds on brainwave energy not from its carrier but from those around it. It absorbs all unconscious mental frequencies from this brainwave energy to nourish itself with. It then excretes into the mind of its carrier a telepathic matrix formed by combining the conscious thought frequencies with nerve signals picked up from the speech centres of the brain which has supplied them. The practical upshot of all this is that if you stick a Babel fish in your ear you can instantly understand anything said to you in any form of language. The speech patterns you actually hear decode the brainwave matrix which has been fed into your mind by your Babel fish.
“Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mindboggingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see it as the final and clinching proof of the non-existence of God.
“The argument goes something like this: `I refuse to prove that I exist,’ says God, `for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.’
“`But,’ says Man, `The Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn’t it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don’t. QED.’
“`Oh dear,’ says God, `I hadn’t thought of that,’ and promptly vanished in a puff of logic.
Deepak Ravindra
I’ve already answered that question in gist in my original post.
To elaborate, first of all you yourself need to make an honest attempt to understand the comprehensive nature of Hinduism and the Vedas. Apart from all the colourful stories we are accustomed to, the core teachings of Hinduism such as astrology, yoga, kundalini and chakras, pranayama, reincarnation, tantra, and the highest of all teachings on earth: the advaita (non-dual) teachings as expounded by various sages from Vasishta, the guru of Sri Rama, to Adi Sankara to Ramana Maharshi to HWL Poonjaji are unparalleled in their clarity and energy in embarking a Jiva atma towards the final stage of Moksha or Self-Realization.
It is the power and grace of the truth in these teachings that have allowed it to survive the numerous fanatic invaders who have made every attempt to destroy these priceless teachings but failed so far to completely extinguish this light of wisdom.
The revelationary or newer religions have mostly been altered and corrupted by the various political interests (Christianity was established by a war mongerer called Constantine) because of their very cryptic and vague nature to instill fear into people of an extreme kind so they can become easy tools for manipulation..and they basically promote a comparatively dualistic mindset as good and bad, heaven and hell, god and satan, etc. etc. and worst of all they have removed the concepts of reincarnation, meditation and such from their teachings so it becomes difficult for their followers who try to fit this vast design into a single lifetime which leads to a very uptight judgemental mentality, and fanaticism. For example, you cannot ever judge a person from just one lifetime of activities, and a 5 yr old piano playing prodigy has carried over his experiences from previous lifetimes.
I’m not saying all who follow other religions are wrong. They have their own destiny, and ultimately the only way for everyone is to delve within..so the light of Hinduism needs to rekindled and kept bright for the benefit of the world. And that is the basis of my argument that Hinduism needs to be conserved..and your ultra-passive nature may do more harm than good. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that Hinduism is everything and blah blah..there are some concrete differences in its teachings and philosophy as compared to other religions.
Hi Shekhar ,
What a storm you brewed with this one ! By the way , nice to run into your blog , after many months. Greetings to all.
I want to say a few things about the question Shekhar posed : what does it mean to be a hindu ? – which somehow always ends up with the other famous tag to hinduism – its ‘caste system’.
1)About what it means to be a Hindu :
————————————-
I forget how many times i have repeated this to everyone , but here goes , one more time ( we need to remind ourselves all the time ):
‘Hindu’ is a corrupted word coined by the Islamic Invaders – for them the river Sindhu was ‘Hind’ and the land beyond that ‘ Al Hind’ or Hindustan later. So when the european could not phonetically stress ‘H’ , it became ‘Industan’ , the river ‘Indus’ and hence ‘INDIA’ – and its Vedic Culture and Indic Religions one simple word ‘Hinduism’. It cant get more stupid than that.
The question you pose is a the result of our McAulean Education system ( a carry over from Brit Colonialism, where we were designed to be Brown outside , but replace all Indian Cultural roots with European values ). So the confusion is understandable.
If the word Hindu itself ,is not understood , how can anyone understand ‘ Hinduism’ ? For a start though – If you think your home ( physical ,emotional and spiritual) extends between Himalaya(including Tibet) and the Sethu (of Sri Rama ), and from Sindh in the west to the
Naga Desh( northeast), and if the soil is holy for you as are the mountains and rivers and its holy people , then you are a Hindu . The hindus , buddhists , jains , sikhs all can say ‘YES’ to that.
That is what differentiates Hinduism and what it means to be a Hindu and other religions that came with invasions and colonialism.
2) About the Caste System:
——————
The Indian Consul General( I wont mention the name) was once talking in San Francisco on a seminar ‘India Shining or Whining’ and was confronted by a lady about the caste system – and shckingly , the Indian Consul- apologised and blamed Hinduism for it ! This is what I wrote to him then :
Mr.Consul general of India,
You are a product , like many in your
generation and like many of us ‘educated’ classes in
india , of that perfidious and devious McAulean
Education system.
You are so apologetic about your culture , natiional
genius that you dont deserve to be a diplomat in the
first place. But i wont blame you , since , we have a
political class dominated by an Italian mafioso queen
and with critical beurocrats and politicians on KGB or
CIA rolls. So it doesnt surprise me at all.
Without learning Sanskrit , without recognising that
Snatan Dharma is the Genius of india , without
distorting and softening the blow to truth , without
feeling proud of our scientific , metaphysical ,
sociological genius , we cannot even have chins up.
yea ! what we need is chins up ! Varna Ashrama Dharma
is not an evil thing , as is made out. There is no
need to be apologetic about the so-called caste system
. this is due to the following reasons :
1) there is no such thing called ‘ caste ‘ , it is an
english word and an english creation.
2) Indian Socilogical genius organised itself so ,for
vocational and spiritual upliftment of the masses. Job
losses or being ‘Bangalored’ just would not be.
Next time someone asks you about caste system – tell
them in their face . Caste system was created by the
british – invented and spinned in fact.
Varna Ashrama dharma is a sociological wonder , that
provided stability and spiritual progress for
millenia.it is also in the nature of things. It was
never birth based – but ability based.
it became rigid during the mughal times. Most of the
kings of Yester India belonged to the OBC castes!!
Brahmins were soft or spiritually fiery people , but
never violent as a people. we owe Brahmins our
national genius. A country that doesnt respect its own
elders and philosophers , is bound to ruin…which is
what we see.
As a first step , learn to respect Brahmins , and let
everyone try to live up to the ideals of brahmin hood
, if not , kshatriyahood , else , vaishyahood , lese
shudrahood. These ideals are described in the Bhagawad
Gita .
Now do you have the patience to read through Bhagawad
Gita ? do You ?
If not , you are not or cannot be a true Indian
Diplomat worthy enough to represent India.
———
I think as children of India and unofficial ambassadors , that goes for all Indians too !
Regards
Rudra.
Ok brahmastra, what I was hoping to see was an explanation from ‘your’ personal account of spiritual journey since you do say you have travelled the path quite a bit.You seem to say how inspite of ‘invasive forces’ Hinduism has survived, but still continue to beleive active propogation is necessary for it to be re-kindled.
What I was after is NOT a re-iteration of your opinion on/’knowledge’ of:
-why other relgions are less effective or corrupted.
-Depth and importance of ancient Hindu knowledge.(I do not need convincing here, and you are assuming a lot on my part and others as well)
‘Knowledge’ by itself has its place, but if still firmly rooted in the ego,becomes an instrument of power and corruption like religion itself. You become possessive of it, angry and judgemental when others do not comply with its structure as you see it. I am interested in hearing not about the knowledge itself, but in seeing what it does to you when you really ‘realise’ it. In your case I see a lot of angst,dismay,aggression,fierce protectiveness (on the blog atleast) making me question it.Are you not a more effective agent of change if you are genuinely living it?
(I decided to give it one more try before concluding I am barking up the wrong tree)
Hey Shekar,
interesting Post. The purpose of religion is leave religon ulimately. I think all religons are good and we need more religons (maybe one for milk drinkers) but I think, ultimately all regions take us to the same place. If we agree to this we will accept all religons as one .Whatever religon one follows it teaches us to accept all religon as one.
For those who want to know more on the system please follow follow the link below
http://www.kamakoti.org/newlayout/template/hindudharma.html/3/1/hindu/The+Vedic+Religion+And+Varna+Dharma
Dollar_bill
It is the nature of the monkey human mind to stereotype different issues. The racial system of the whites has nothing to do with the Varna System of hindus. The white racial system is based on colour of the skin, and let me tell you that such a racist theory is one of the most deluded ones. I do not consider whites to be superior at all. There are as much variations in them as any other race. But let me tell you that I do consider the eastern countries especially India, Japan, etc. to have a larger content of older souls..
The only supremacy that exists at the manifestation level is that of the age of a soul..all beings are like robots you see..they gain experience over several lifetimes, and as such you see varying levels of intelligence and depth in people. Now with this basic theory, you can derive your own conclusions as to who is superior. This was also the basis of the Caste System..the Brahmins and upper caste were considered superior because they had already gone through lower caste lifetimes in previous births, and through all that, their wisdom was upgraded. All this is very simple if you are open to it. A person can’t go to 5th standard before he goes through 1st, 2nd and so on..and you would always like your teacher to have at least passed 5th standard.
People were considered untouchables because they ate meat, and had some sub-human tamasic tendencies which, like it or not, does create a different energy or aura field..even though at the innermost level all is one.
However, all this does not have a stamp of permanency to it. The only constant is change, and as per design, this rigid caste system was to be dissolved as it got corrupted and misused. All I’m saying is it was sound in its origin at the time..even in marriages, you have so many cases of abuse all over the world..that does not mean that the institution of marriage is faulty (or is it? LOL)
And if you think those people I mentioned “suck”, then you have to wait until you feel otherwise..until then, go stick yourself into a stripper’s thong..LOL..you are a Dollar Bill aren’t you?
@ Rudra,
Alas!! Someone with a tangible view in this newer breed of brown sahibs and pseudo-intellectuals. Except I don’t know how much fact there is to your claims of KGB and CIA agents in the Indian bureaucracy.
@ Deepak Ravindra,
“Are you not a more effective agent of change if you are genuinely living it?”
That is a vague question. I have nothing to change..i go with the flow..whatever it is. If you are looking for a definition or a code of behaviour for spiritual advancement, you ain’t gonna get one. FYI, the preservation of Hinduism also composed of the Shivajis, Rajput Kings and several pro-active Hindu sages. Arjuna and Gandhi are both instruments of God. The powerful teachings of Hinduism grasped me and put me where I am today which is above most of this world..trust me or not..you can consider yourself quite lucky to communicate with me. However, i haven’t attained the ultimate, and since you seem like one of the wiser ones around here, you may be right about the element of ego. And i’m going through an intermediate cleansing process..hence the angst and stuff..plus many of my posts here are after watching some crappy news channels..
Brahsmastra..your posts are entertaining and informing..keep it up – cheers for showing where the Dollar Bill belongs – in some sweaty , smelly place like a stripper’s thong – had me in splits –
cheers mate !!
he he he he brahmastra,
U sound to me like a character that came straight out of a comic book or an egg shell. U r one who stereotyped different issues by comparing corporate system with the caste system. and now ur comparing institute of marriage with it.LOL. Bro, while refering racial systems i never meant the reasons but wut i meant was the treatment. The treatment met by blacks and Indians at the hands of whites and shudras at the hands of Brahmins and upper castes. U don’t believe in the superiority of whites but u believe in the superiority of brahmins and favour the treatment of lower castes by upper castes. Double standards !
And wut a crappy piece o shit is this ! …the Brahmins and upper caste were considered superior because they had already gone through lower caste lifetimes in previous births…. And now u will say that the whites were black and Indians in their previous births. Well, this means that whites r superior now in this birth coz they were upgraded from being blacks and Indians.As a matter of fact, nobody considered Brahmins to be superiors but they themselves only and they were the one who started considering shudras as lower castes and this system carried on for many centuries and generations until a period came when the brahmins themselves didn’t know that they had become oppressors and shudras didn’t know that they were the oppressed. They carried on doing so because they fathers and grandfathers did the same. Well about meat eating stuff! Bro, hell lot o Kshatriyas ate it too then why they were not considered as Shudras?
Ur right bro that people can’t be admitted to 5th standard before passing 1st, or 2nd or 3rd. But wut about the people who were not allowed to enter even the Nursery class because they were not born as upper castes? they were not allowed to touch vedas coz they were shudras. There are instances in history when the hands of shudras were cut-off just because they touched Vedas and other books of learnings.
And stripper’s thong….. lol…. Bro Dollar_bill knows that guys like u have sort o erection problem. So Bro u very much need me to buy VIAGARA….. LOL.
Dollar_bill.
Hey Rudra the fag,
ur right it smells and it sweats just like the thongs of all the close related ladies in ur life. Now can u guess who they r? Let me help u. the letters start with m , s and w. LOL.
Dollar_bill
***Brahsmastra****
I do have no rights to put my feet in, all have a right of expression and opinion..
but
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ye say…
What I am is way above your reach for now. Your deluded sense of do-goodership does more harm than good. Reality is not that easy to be cozy
with.
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i feel i want to say..
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experience does not permit one to have such order of anger and arrogance…humbleness is the result of profound thoughts
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kisi ko samaj na aye tho ye bhi tareeka na hua, apna barapan dikhane ka…hai na?
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aap bharak gaye tho,chotto se kya umeed kar saktein hai?
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aur wisdom comes with experience, pain, loss…zaroori nahi laga ki sab ko wisdom ana chaiye…jo bhi karein khush rahein baas..
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we complicate life for others in the name of wisdom…
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let it be….let it be…let it be!!
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smiles~~~
So you are saying that Hinduism is indescribable, yet you are a crossover filmmaker who makes movies about the British? You are working on comics about Ram Bhagvan, which is absolutely awesome for kids like me who grew up in America. Why cant you represent the Hindu religion as a film instead of the West’s clearly caricatured view of Hinduism? The Bhagvad Gita has so many powerful dialogs and yet you choose to let people mock Indians and our culture. I dont think you understand how powerful the media is as a medium because you could use it to help people better understand being Hindu and Indian. If I had your money and your stature as a director, I would tell the untold stories of Indians worldwide. There are a billion of us and the only thing people know about us is that we charm snakes and we think life is bollywood film. I hope you understand how much of an influence the Media is on people and the garbage it feeds people.
DQ,
Mein apna baddappan sirf ek umeed se dikhla raha hoon ki aap log mere baaton pe dhyaan de..mujhe kuch farak nahi padta..Hindustan doob raha hai aise dhongi secular logon kie vaje seh..angrej chale gaye, aulaaden kaafi chodd gaye..let it be is an inner immobility which might not translate into outer stagnancy and passivity 😉
Dollar_Bill,
Bro, your knowledge on these things is quite immature, and you seem to have an identity crisis as many Indians in the US. If you notice, you show inherent signs of an inferiority complex, and consider whites to be superior, and are weighing all coloured people in the same scale. Let me tell you that it is not so. Ancient civilizations attract older souls..and let me go a step further and say that Indians are the most advanced people on Earth…still with all the crap in India, you will not find the innocence and purity anywhere in the world that we have in India..it is a truly blessed land..and the reason it has been so is because of Hinduism..make no mistake about it..no other spiritual teachings come close to the comprehensive, devotional, knowledgable and benevolent nature of Hinduism. And nothing else has come close in delivering the ultimate promise of Moksha as the 4 paths of Hinduism.
The age of a soul is the only superiority. As a group, IMHO, Hindu Brahmins and some other upper caste are some of the oldest souls on this planet. This vision you can get only when your intellect is sharp enough.
It is true that there have been instances of terrible corruption, and as i’ve repeated several times, that is how the system self-destructed.
However, my basic argument is plain and simple..regardless of caste, put people who have a disciplined sattvic lifestyle comparable to the ancient Brahmins into power, and things may improve..but if you put these buffoons from UPA and Samajwadi Party, etc. you ain’t going anywhere but down. Wouldn’t it be great if our political leaders(kings) worked under the respected direction of people like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar or others like that?? Indians may want to start thinking along such lines instead of acting like beggars in front of pseudo-modern systems.
I really pity some ‘spiritually evolved’ people here. Think of it. Look at their minds. A life, completely sunk, dissolved and wasted in only ‘hatred’. their choice anyway,but how can someone be so ‘evolved’!!!!
I really pity some ‘spiritually evolved’ people here. Think of it. Look at their minds. A life, completely sunk, dissolved and wasted in only ‘hatred’. their choice anyway,but how can someone be so ‘evolved’!!!!
*** Brahmastra ***
Good Evening!
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Aapki baath samaj rahi hu, baddapan tho mehsus ki jaathi hai…
commanding aur demanding mei hi wo anthar hai…
jo na samaj ko samjha de…
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doob raha hai hindoostan, ye samasya har country ki lagti hai kahi…par angrez chale gaye, aulad chor gaye…tho unhe yu chotta banana bhi koi badapan na hua…
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na jaane kyu itna rona dhona hai hindooism ko lekar…
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am a pure hindu…grew up with tibetans, chinese, bhutanese, anglo indians,christians’ nepalese, muslims…aur yakin kariye bahut khoobsoorat hai har culture…dil se unhe chu kar dekhiye unn insaano ko…koi religion hi nahi dikhega aapko…
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sach!!
Smiles~~~