Hello

[hanumansolo]

Hello,

I am a new member. I am based in TamilNad. I am not exactly a Hindu but am trying to understand it. That's all for now.:)

Solo

[Believer]

Welcome to the HDF Solo.
Hope you find everything you are looking for.
What exactly are you, if not a Hindu? Just curious.

[hanumansolo]

Welcome to the HDF Solo.
Hope you find everything you are looking for.
What exactly are you, if not a Hindu? Just curious.

Thanks for the welcome, B.

What I mean is currently I am not ready to call myself anything - I am still seeking and yet to find. So it won't be appropriate to call myself Hindu (or Muslim or Buddhist or any religion). If any label would suit me, it could be 'Gandhian' since I believe in social democracy, pacifism, simple living, self-perfection, village-centric economy, and so on.

[Eastern Mind]

Vanakkam Hanumansolo: Welcome to these forums. You are fortunate to live in Tamil Nadu. Surely there are plenty of opportunities there to learn more about Hinduism, by watching if nothing else.

This place (HDF and the internet in general) does have its advantages, I suppose, as answers are close at hand.

Best wishes in discovery.

Aum Namasivaya

[Ramakrishna]

Namaste hanumansolo,

Welcome to HDF. I wish you the best of luck in your journey.

Jai Sri Krishna

[sunyata07]

Namaste Hanumansolo,

Welcome to the forum. There's plenty to discuss here, so stick around and you'll never be in want of learning something new. Btw, I don't suppose there's a Star Wars reference in that username somewhere, is there?

Om namah Shivaya

[hanumansolo]

Thanks for the welcome, everyone.


Btw, I don't suppose there's a Star Wars reference in that username somewhere, is there?


All I can say is ;)

[Believer]

....I believe in social democracy, .....
May I request you to define and elaborate on this term 'social democracy'?

[hanumansolo]

May I request you to define and elaborate on this term 'social democracy'?

In a word, nationalization of industries. I believe this was Gandhi's and Nehru's vision for India: the poor are protected when the greater good is kept in mind, unlike private ownership where profits are the sole concern.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Believer: Just to add some information, many western countries, especially in Europe, like Sweden, Denmark are considered social democracies. So is Canada in fact. I would definne it more a s a democracy where the government keeps all people in mind, including minorities. So we pay higher taxes, but often get free education, and health care, etc.

Aum Namasivaya

[Believer]

In a word, nationalization of industries.
The nation started out with all industry and banks having Govt. ownership. Since they were poorly run and kept losing money for decades, the Govt. started selling them to private investors, who were able to turn them around to profitability. The Govt. is in the business of foreign policy and defense. Should it manage business enterprises when it continues to lose money either because it has incompetent sarkari babus running them, or because of political decisions made to control these operations? I am all for taking care of the little guy. Nothing would please me more than to see a smile on the face of every citizen of that blessed land. But what has Nehru/Gandhi dynasty done for the poor except raising garibi hatayo slogans? What did the other political parties do when they were at the helm of the national Govt.? In one word - NOTHING!

This utopian concept of village based economies lifting the country out of poverty has not worked. How many people would be willing to wear clothes made from the yarn spun on Gandhi's charkha? It is time to be pragmatic and try something else. It pains me to see cities like Seoul, sqeaky clean and vibrant after 60 years of civil war and devastation, whereas India, after 60+ years of independence is still a third world country. Just by Obama making flattering statements like, 'India has emerged' does not make it so. One has to travel outside of India to be able to compare it with the progress being made in other countries, and to realize that a large majority of my fellow countrymen are deluded and living in a dreamlike state.

I realize that this write-up will not change any minds because of our inherent ego/inexperience/national pride. Also, we are deviating from the topic of this part of the forum. So, I will desist from making any more posts on this thread.