Jeffery D. Long
02 January 2013, 07:51 PM
Namaste!
I jumped into this forum a couple of weeks ago without ever properly introducing myself. I apologize for that, and for any misunderstanding that might have resulted.
My name is Jeff (Jeffery D. Long). I was not born Hindu (in this life at least) and am not of Indian descent. I grew up in a small town in Missouri and was raised to be religious, but also independent-minded. My father died when I was twelve years old, due to a terrible accident from which he had suffered a year and a half earlier. I already found religion and philosophy interesting, but the loss of my father sparked an intensive quest for the meaning and purpose of life, especially with regard to the nature of suffering and the question of the afterlife. I had been introduced by the religion of my upbringing to the idea of a loving Supreme Being, which I found deeply comforting. But I found Christian thinking on the topic of the afterlife to be deeply unsatisfactory. I was also repulsed by the bigotry I saw in the belief that only Christians could achieve salvation. The Bhagavad Gītā came into my life when I was thirteen and, from the moment I started reading it, I could not put it down. Here, I found, was the worldview that I already held (though I had not really had the words for it before that time). I began a lifelong study of many religions and eventually took up a career as a professor of religious studies, but it was always the Hindu worldview that seemed to me to be the most comprehensive: to have the answers that I found in bits and pieces of the other traditions, but all together in one highly logical and compelling package in Hinduism.
All of this would simply make me a westerner from a Christian background with a Hindu philosophy; but I have also had the good fortune to marry into a Hindu family. I lived in India for two years and return there every year to visit with my wife's relatives and to participate in both spiritual and academic events. We have been active members of our local temple for the last thirteen years (as long as we have lived where we currently do). We meditate twice daily and do weekly puja at home, as well as Satyanarayana Puja every Purnima (full moon day).
I know that this last part is controversial on this forum, which is more traditional and less "neo" Hindu, but we are also devotees of Sri Ramakrishna. Our diksha guru is a respected monk of the Ramakrishna Order and, while I know there is far more to Hinduism than only their teachings, the particular tradition with which I identify is that of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, which has enriched my spiritual life immeasurably.
I am not on this forum to proselytize for my particular form of Hinduism, though, but to learn and to understand as wide a range of Hindu perspectives as possible. I am a member of several online Hindu forums that encompass myriad points of view. This is the one that has challenged me the most, and is therefore the one to which I am most attracted!
I hope to learn from all of you and I hope that I have not unintentionally aggravated anyone too much from the time that I joined.
With pranams and best regards.
I jumped into this forum a couple of weeks ago without ever properly introducing myself. I apologize for that, and for any misunderstanding that might have resulted.
My name is Jeff (Jeffery D. Long). I was not born Hindu (in this life at least) and am not of Indian descent. I grew up in a small town in Missouri and was raised to be religious, but also independent-minded. My father died when I was twelve years old, due to a terrible accident from which he had suffered a year and a half earlier. I already found religion and philosophy interesting, but the loss of my father sparked an intensive quest for the meaning and purpose of life, especially with regard to the nature of suffering and the question of the afterlife. I had been introduced by the religion of my upbringing to the idea of a loving Supreme Being, which I found deeply comforting. But I found Christian thinking on the topic of the afterlife to be deeply unsatisfactory. I was also repulsed by the bigotry I saw in the belief that only Christians could achieve salvation. The Bhagavad Gītā came into my life when I was thirteen and, from the moment I started reading it, I could not put it down. Here, I found, was the worldview that I already held (though I had not really had the words for it before that time). I began a lifelong study of many religions and eventually took up a career as a professor of religious studies, but it was always the Hindu worldview that seemed to me to be the most comprehensive: to have the answers that I found in bits and pieces of the other traditions, but all together in one highly logical and compelling package in Hinduism.
All of this would simply make me a westerner from a Christian background with a Hindu philosophy; but I have also had the good fortune to marry into a Hindu family. I lived in India for two years and return there every year to visit with my wife's relatives and to participate in both spiritual and academic events. We have been active members of our local temple for the last thirteen years (as long as we have lived where we currently do). We meditate twice daily and do weekly puja at home, as well as Satyanarayana Puja every Purnima (full moon day).
I know that this last part is controversial on this forum, which is more traditional and less "neo" Hindu, but we are also devotees of Sri Ramakrishna. Our diksha guru is a respected monk of the Ramakrishna Order and, while I know there is far more to Hinduism than only their teachings, the particular tradition with which I identify is that of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, which has enriched my spiritual life immeasurably.
I am not on this forum to proselytize for my particular form of Hinduism, though, but to learn and to understand as wide a range of Hindu perspectives as possible. I am a member of several online Hindu forums that encompass myriad points of view. This is the one that has challenged me the most, and is therefore the one to which I am most attracted!
I hope to learn from all of you and I hope that I have not unintentionally aggravated anyone too much from the time that I joined.
With pranams and best regards.