How did hinduism survive

[prisha]

Namaste to all my SD followers,

i am a hindu by birth and by faith. i have this question which is haunting me for some time actually it started with my dad. he is a retired govt doctor in AP and a very gentle honest person. we were reading about the frenzy of conversions happening in AP due to our govt and he asked me with sadness, will there be any hindus left in india in a few years. i was startled and did not know how to answer. then i wondered how did my Sanathana Dharma (SD) survive the onslaught of islam and xianity for nearly 2000 years as them ruling over us. what is your impression. where ever these i&x went they wiped out the religions and converted whole nations say like romans, greeks, egyptians, pagans etc. what stopped us from becoming i&x. i am proud of my ancestors who stuck to their guns and never left their faith. i am very fond of hinduism for all its quirks and freedom.

when some one asks me what are my faith's rules i tell them it is KARMA and DHARMA. as long as i follow my dharma, my karma will let me traverse through the path of my life. i am not a scholar but when i saw lot of people making claims in their sites with anti-hindu propaganda i was shocked. people like zakir naik doing so much propaganda and there is not even a single site which is refuting all this trash in strong words made me wonder will we be there in 100 years. as people mentioned will the lives of 80 to 100 million hindus who died instead of converting be in vain. to have survived thousands of years and vanish in this age of communications just because we cannot communicate with each other about the greatness of our faith. what do we need to get out of this rut my belief is we need some one like adi shankara + chanakya combined persona. Adi shankara who revived hinduism from jainism and buddhism (i do not care dvaita or advaita or visistadvaita, they are trivial to me i care only about my dharma) and chanakya who was instrumental in creating kingdom which could reverse the onslaught of mlecchas. i pray to my krishna to provide an answer.

[sarabhanga]

people like zakir naik doing so much propaganda and there is not even a single site which is refuting all this trash in strong words

Namaste Prisha,

Some considerable effort towards such a refutation has been made on this very site, in the Islam (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=24) forum.

Especially see the God in Islam (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=509) thread.

[devisarada]

Namaste Prisha,

I too, want to give you some historical reasons for optimism. Yes there are a lot of conversions taking place, but I don't think the majority of them will "stick" over time.

IMHO, here are the reasons:

Hinduism has existed, for almost 5 -10,000 years. It has withstood many onslaughts from other religions, and they have "won" for a time. But Sanatana Dharma has always shown its resilience and recovered. This may have taken centuries in some cases.

The reason for this is that Sanatana Dharma was not created by any one person, it is knowledge that was (and is) directly experienced by many Rishis and Munis, and they all had the same experience, and the same knowledge. Sanatana Dharma is not only a religion, not only a way of life, but a way of directly understanding Truth.


Until recent times, our scriptures were handed down not in writing, but through exact recitation. The reason for this is not illiteracy, but practicality. Books can be destroyed, and they can be altered. But a system whereby certain scriptures would be directly memorised to assigned groups, using an exact pronunciation and chanting method, ensured that our scriptures were handed down as they were originally without any change. Vedic chanting is an efficient and effective way of ensuring the survival of our scriptures. This tradition continues today and will always continue. It will be the litmus test if there are any disputes as to the accuracy and authority of any written scriptures.

In addition to that, the scriptures are now available in print and on the internet, so that many more people have the opportunity to read and contemplate. This is bringing more people from outside India to become Hindus, by choice, not by subterfuge or strong persuasion. These people recognise the Truth when they come across it.

During the British Raj, many Hindus fell under the spell of the power of the British, and some may have even "converted" to gain the favour of the rulers, but in their homes and in their hearts they remained Hindu.

In the colonies, there was much pressure on Hindus to become Christians, but most resisted. My husband is from what used to be British Guiana. His Hindu great grandparents came there as indentured servants and ended up staying. I have contemplated on the fact that black people from Guiana are 99% Christian, whereas East Indians from Guiana are 98% Hindu.

This, in spite of the fact that Hindu marriages were not recognised, and children of Hindus were thus considered to be "illegitimate" and therefore could not inherit their parent's wealth. If you became a Christian, you got a better job, your children received a better and free education. Hinduism was regarded as ignorant superstition, idolatry, you name it. Yet the Guyanese Hindus remained true to Sanatana Dharma.

Because of civil war and corruption, most Hindus have now left Guyana. But you will find them here in Canada practicing their Sanatana Dharma, and teaching their children to do the same. In Guyana, Hindus are being murdered in their beds, but they continue to practice their Dharma.

Hindus are not "in your face" about their way of life. They practice it quietly, but steadfastly. Usually, you would not recognize a Hindu home from the outside. But now and then you will see a home with prayer flags in the yard.


Some converts from Hinduism are already realising the fallacy of the Abrahamic religions, and the dark motives of the missionaries. They have chosen to once again practice Hinduism while facing difficult opposition. The strength, steadfastness, determination and courage of Sanatanists never ceases to amaze me.

Here is a youtube videos which demonstrate my point:

http://youtube.com/user/stfrancis123

True Hindus do not impose their beliefs on others. They have no need to. Truth speaks for itself.

[Ganeshprasad]

Pranam

Sanatan (Hindu) Dharma can never parish because it is eternal, our ancestors against all the odds kept the torch burning, this torch can never be extinguish but can only loose its glow, if we let our insatiable material desires take over.

There is another danger which worries me which may or may not materialise is the over running of Hindu majority by uncontrolled Muslim birth rate. This in itself is not a problem if there is a mutual respect.



True Hindus do not impose their beliefs on others. They have no need to. Truth speaks for itself.

A true Hindu indeed.

Jai Shree Krishna

[Brahmanyan]

In the words of HH Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi Swamigal of Srineri Mutt "Hinduism is the name which has now been given to our system. But its real name has always been Sanatana Dharma or the eternal law. It does not date from a particular point of time or begin from a particular founder. Being eternal it is also universal. It knows no territorial jurisdiction. All beings born and to be born belong to it." (Ref: Dialogues with The Guru.). I feel that is the strength of our Dharma.
Regards,
Brahmanyan.

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~

Namaste,
I just wanted to thank Ganeshprasad & Brahmanyan for their wise words.
Even when this good earth parishes ( pralaya¹), sanatana dharm will still not be snuffed out. It is firmly established in akSara ( अक्षर ) the imperishable , the unalterable Absolute.

pranams



1. pralaya - from lI or ली - to melt , liquefy , dissolve; disappear , vanish; + pra or प्र - forth , away; Hence, to vanish or disolve away.

[atanu]

Hari Om
~~~~~
Namaste,
I just wanted to thank Ganeshprasad & Brahmanyan for their wise words.
Even when this good earth parishes ( pralaya¹), sanatana dharm will still not be snuffed out. It is firmly established in akSara ( अक्षर ) the imperishable , the unalterable Absolute.

pranams


Namaste Yajvan/Ganeshprasad/Brahmanyan,

Excellent. May I be allowed to add a bit?

Even when this good earth perishes ( pralaya), sanatana dharm will still not be snuffed out. It is firmly established in akSara ( अक्षर ) the imperishable , the unalterable Absolute, who Himself is eternal Dharm and who is its protector.

Om

[Ganeshprasad]

Pranam Atanu ji and all


Namaste Yajvan/Ganeshprasad/Brahmanyan,

Excellent. May I be allowed to add a bit?

Even when this good earth perishes ( pralaya), sanatana dharm will still not be snuffed out. It is firmly established in akSara ( अक्षर ) the imperishable , the unalterable Absolute, who Himself is eternal Dharm and who is its protector.

Om

That is for sure but just as the monkeys did their bit in defeating Ravan and even sparrow help build the bridge, we must also do our bit.

Jai Shree Krishna

[atanu]

Pranam Atanu ji and all

That is for sure but just as the monkeys did their bit in defeating Ravan and even sparrow help build the bridge, we must also do our bit.

Jai Shree Krishna

Namaskar Ganeshprasad ji

Yes. We must play our roles. A treasurer does not grieve or is not elated when he pays out a large sum or he receives a large sum. Gurus say that all actions should be such -- dedicating to God and without expectation of any return.

And without the belief that "the unalterable Absolute, Himself is eternal Dharm and its protector", the dispassion and karma yoga may be hard to attain.

Regards,

Om

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~


That is for sure but just as the monkeys did their bit in defeating Ravan and even sparrow help build the bridge, we must also do our bit.
Jai Shree Krishna

Namsate Ganeshprasad, atanu ( et al.)

Yes we do our part as this is both practice and duty ( dharma); yet I think of Krsna and his actions at Govardhan hill.

Krsna picks up the mountain¹ and holds it with one hand, one finger ' as a child would pull out a mushroom'. Yet, as the story goes, the Vrindavan devotees come and help with their sticks to help prop up this large mountain.

Like that, Hari is most capabile of fulfilling the Dharma of this total creation, yet we are there with individual dharma ( from dhr some prefer writng dhR धृ , that which upholds, to hold , bear or maintain, preserve or keep ) to assist.

http://www.matchless-gifts.com/pictures/poster-015.jpg



pranams



1. Srimad Bhagavatam 10th khanda, 25th valli. It is interesting to note that if one reads this chapter, there is little talk of the devotees assisting Krsna with sticks. Perhaps the 'sticks' are part of another encounter.

[prisha]

Devi Sharada,

Thank you. actually i have made same kind of observation regarding hindus from other parts of world (like guyana, mauritius, fiji) whose practices are little simple and not so complicated, may be due to the conditions for its spread like indentured hindu labor, who had simple practices but strong belief. may god bless all those folks and all their ancestral gods have mercy on them.
My main question what are we going to do in refuting clowns like Zakir Naik who has become the ultimate scholar to muslim zealots and fundamentalists. i would like to see many of our hindu sites just condemning the trash just to show that real hindus do not believe what he is saying is truth.

[RamaRaksha]

Very optimistic posts from some of the members but we should also not underestimate the threat. These people have lots of money which they will use relentlessly to convert people. I heard recently that the AP govt has set aside some money so christians can visit thier holy places around the world. Poor farmers are committing suicide in AP and this is what they think is important. We need to do more, raise our voices.

The best thing we can do is to promote hinduism. Hinduism is a tolerant, inclusive, liberal and democratic faith. We need to write letters to newspapers and magazines all over not only India but all over the world!. Thanks to the internet now we have that power, let's talk about and promote hinduism!

What we need to do is to talk about many of the positives of our faith, our enemies are relentlessly talking about our faults.

First let's talk about why Hindu India is a shining democracy while Abrahamic Pakistan lurches from one despot to another. It is a fact that hinduism promotes democracy while Islam like the other abrahamic faiths is an intolerant, autocratic faith.

We differ in our view of God. We are God's children, they view God as a master, King. They fear God. Who fears God? Slaves, servants and subjects fear their masters and Kings. We need to stress that we are God's children, we view God as a parent, a Mother and Father, not a king or Master. Viewing God as a master you come up with fear and sin and punishment. They go down on their knees to their master. Slaves and servants.

Most hindus when they visit the temple are either standing up or sitting down, this is the right position. some people prostrate themselves, which is incorrect, that is the position of a slave, a servant. We need to discourage that, tell them that we are in a higher position. We are God's children, not his servants.

Another thing we need to stress is the fact that only hindus will be reborn. xtians and muslims do not believe in rebirth, hence once someone converts, he or she will not be reborn. They lose the gift of being reborn, given another chance to relive, to do the things that they could not do in their previous life.

[TatTvamAsi]

We differ in our view of God. We are God's children, they view God as a master, King. They fear God. Who fears God? Slaves, servants and subjects fear their masters and Kings. We need to stress that we are God's children, we view God as a parent, a Mother and Father, not a king or Master. Viewing God as a master you come up with fear and sin and punishment. They go down on their knees to their master. Slaves and servants.

Most hindus when they visit the temple are either standing up or sitting down, this is the right position. some people prostrate themselves, which is incorrect, that is the position of a slave, a servant.

While I agree with the intent of your post to some extent you are gravely mistaken about the purpose of prostrating oneself in front of one's parents, the priest at the temple, or the gods. It is an act of selflessness; that shows the lessening of the ego. It takes a real man (sometimes women! ;)) to prostrate oneself towards anyone else, even the statues of the gods.