Should I totally give up on our Hindu religion ?
I have been a devout Hindu since I was born. Throughout my life, I have done nothing but follow our religion and help other people , no matter what my situation was. I helped people that came to me for business advise, food, money, or any kind of help, day and night I went out of my way to help them . I would put my own work aside and help them. Now those same families are millionaire and don't have a second of time for me !.
After 23 years in my IT job, the company downsized and I lost my job, so we started a small business with what we had, once again no one helped us not only financially but even to take five minutes of their time to advise us as they were in the same business for last 20 years and these are the same people that I had helped.
In my business, we helped everyone , the staff found out that we were kind at heart and they all took advantage of us and started stealing from us. When the economy turned, things got worse and the staff and all the people that were around our business took full advantage of us . Everyday we would have some problem and it got to a point that we lost everything, all our life saving was gone !. As people found out that our business was in trouble, they took full advantage of us , pretending that they are there to help, and ended taking over the business and putting us out !.
Every corner we turn, there is a problem, no matter what we do, we just can't seem to make any progress. We were very involved with the local Sanatan Mandir, the Hindu priest there is a part of our family, in fact we helped him to come to USA !. Every time we bring this problem to him or anyone else, their standard answer is that it's " kalaug " and this well happen and brush it off !. The other famous answer is that " oh well you are suffering because of your past life and no one can help you ! " .. and so on and on ... with no real solution !.
We are so fed up that at this age of retirement that we have to extend our hand to our only child for help !.. By doing everything according to our dharma and being a good person at all times and praying everyday.. is this our punishment ?.. people around us are so selfish and egocentric and these are the families that we helped settle here and no matter what they do and how they treat people, everything falls in their laps.. is this fair ?..
We do not want any money, we just want guidance where we can make a little money to support my wife and myself, without going to our child for every dollar !.. does anyone know how demeaning that is !.. because of all this, I believe that there is no god and all these stories of how god is fair and help people who are good and honest is just a fantasy !..
Should I totally give up on our religion ?
Re: Should I totally give up on our Hindu religion ?
namaste,
Welcome to the forums. Your post is interesting and something has compelled me to reply.
You blame your failure in business on Hinduism? Where does it say in Hinduism that you should go bankrupt in order to help others? Running a business is a commercial activity with the main aim of generating capital unless you were running a charity business. So not sure how you are linking helping others, your financial situation and hinduism.
Don't to be mean but yes, maybe you should give up on your religion.
Re: Should I totally give up on our Hindu religion ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
satay
namaste,
Welcome to the forums. Your post is interesting and something has compelled me to reply.
You blame your failure in business on Hinduism? Where does it say in Hinduism that you should go bankrupt in order to help others? Running a business is a commercial activity with the main aim of generating capital unless you were running a charity business. So not sure how you are linking helping others, your financial situation and hinduism.
Don't to be mean but yes, maybe you should give up on your religion.
Namaste Satya,
Thank you for taking the time to reply. I agree that no where in our religion it says that I have to do business and if it fails, I blame god !. It's not only that, I have friends that are same like me and they feel left behind also, while people that are mean, dishonest etc.. move on..... we have to answer this one question.. and it's not tied to one single religion, because this is going on in every faith and I have seen it over and over .. the one question is :
" WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE ? "
namaste !
Re: Should I totally give up on our Hindu religion ?
Namaste Jaypee,
It's funny how you want to give up on Hinduism. Meanwhile, as a Westerner, I'm trying to embrace it, because it helps me overcome the depression and anxiety I face in everyday life trying to struggle against the same things you do. Perhaps not to your same degree, but everyone suffers (I know that's the First Noble Truth of Buddhism, but still...).
Re: Should I totally give up on our Hindu religion ?
I understand entirely, and I have seen others undergo this cycle and especially since my entire life has been in IT and have seen the horrors of downsizing many times, incredible in that I came through every single time, I have also played no small part in interviews where others were trying to "get in" and I am listening and reading their resumes and no small part having the final yes or no call.
Many Hindus I helped hire, and not because they were Hindu but the most qualified, skilled and experienced and educated. We have many Hindus where I am retiring from.
Most were great assets, a few huge disappointment only for themself and not the business. You will find that everywhere, it is not just a Hindu disappointment.
Right now my Mother In Law may have cancer. We do not know yet, a biopsy has been taken and is being checked. We do not abandon our relations and relatives. It is not part of our Hinduism to do so. We will be there. No matter what.
But yes, some Hindus forget their father or mother or relations. If this is your case, I pray they see the light soon, because they will suffer, too.
While I was well paid, I did not make my money from salary. I made millions from investments, at risk but smart, intelligent, calm, worthy. Never, never, never be a servant of a "company" but only to the Lord. You must do it yourself by investments or your own business. But now you are in retirement, as I will very soon be. You know, you can still make some gains - stop and think. I will pray Devas and Devi give you the way. Try.
If I were not going away from my profession, I might have even thought of helping you in a job for example. But who knows, I was thinking of doing some "side job" in retirement (eBay biz? Maybe?) and may check back and you never know who might join in. But that is in the future.
Keep us updated, I really feel for your story and believe you. I pray Lakshmi come soon. Also do not blame Hindus, but do not assume they are all good or even intelligent. Your vision.
Re: Should I totally give up on our Hindu religion ?
You live in a "culture". A culture is not a national border, these boundaries change, a "culture" can overlap these, or reside in pockets surrounded by a different "culture", this pocket like an island or "colony" far from a large continent of the shared culture of that island.
Some do not understand the vital importance of the Great Epics such as The Ramayana, or the importance and purpose of the Puranas.
In them, the Devas and Devi in some form are often found AMONG HUMANS. These humans live in a culture, or the Divine mixes with humans in more than one culture that form alliances.
This is important to understand. A culture of the Indian subcontinent for example was developed in the climate of these great Epics. You see not only did the Devas and Devi acclamate THAT culture in those times - think - THE EPICS which are really of human cultural significance, live to TINT WITH THE COLOR OF CULTURE that very culture for the future and by THEM the face, the Eyes of Devi, live, is alive in the culture.
This is the not so hidden but perhaps ethereal NATURE of these Epics. I was thinking of you, actually there is sadness in my heart hearing your story. In these Epics, for me The Ramayana, we see your story too, but a different twist to it in another time or place. So we, when children heard the Ramayana, we were told, perhaps warned if you will, that this exists. Was Rama "happy" when He "left" our World even though Lord is not really gone? Yet, a great culture is in that Epic and is alive.
It does not matter if there is a Hindu temple where you live. I do not know where you live. But my gut is, you need to leave there as soon as possible. Where you should go, I don't know. But oddly, if you read The Ramayana one more time, something seems you will know. It may not be very far away at all. It could be only miles away.
Every temple of Rama has Hanuman. I will wager, where you should go, is to where there is Hanuman. Perhaps that will again take you INTO a culture that will comfort you, and then you can be ok again.
Where ever the Ramayana is read outloud, a SEAT is left vacant for Hanuman. Maybe before you read the Ramayana perhaps again, you put a seat for Hanuman there in that room.
Re: Should I totally give up on our Hindu religion ?
Namaste Jaypee,
If you think all your woes are just because of your being a Hindu, please give it up right now without a second thought.
However, I would suggest that you should analyse the things with a cool mind. What are the ingredients required for being successful ? Please analyse, "Do you have all the ingredients in you ? IT industries business is been in boom time for a long time and is likely remain so at least for another decade. In that environment, please analyse what skills you need to get a descent job. If you don't have the right skills, please invest your time and money to acquire that instead of blaming Hindu Dharma for your trouble. " If you were comfortable once and now you have lost everything ... please read, "Who moved my Cheese ?" which tells us that unless we keep a watch on the changing environment, we are in trouble when the changes really take place. If you are objective, you will certainly find the right answer and your key to success.
Blaming anything external is very easy for all our failures but that exercise take us towards more and more failures and misery. The right approach is to analyse your strengths and weaknesses and work on them to remove your weaknesses and improve upon your strengths. You have to analyse what the business world want from you. Why should they employ you at all ? There is no dearth of job but do your qualifications match the demand of the market ? If not, why not acquire those skills ??
OM
Re: Should I totally give up on our Hindu religion ?
Dear Japee,
Nature gives tests to see whether the intention is genuine or not . If a person wants to reach the top in his chosen field he
has to put extraordinary effort. The same way, if what all you have done is unconditional ,you would be blessed by the cosmic mother in
the sense that would come out of the bitterness and come to terms with the faith of your religion. If what you had done is with an eye on punyam , knowingly or unknowingly, you would reap the fruits in next birth .Like Newton said every action has an equal and opposite reaction in the cosmic Law also .
Re: Should I totally give up on our Hindu religion ?
Namaste,
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jaypee
" WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE ? "
That is an ageless question that I thought you might have resolved by the age of 63.
I am not in your shoes, so I cannot feel all of your pain. But being in the same general age group as you are, I can provide one perspective, however flawed it might be.
As heartless and bitter it may sound, our present condition is based on our cumulative actions, not only of this lifetime but of our infinite past lives too. So, a person who is good now, may not always have been good. Sorry, sounds like the answer you got from your mandir pandit.
Every profession requires some unique qualities. A business requires running a tight ship by monitoring the inflow and outflow of capital and by hiring of ethical, qualified employees. If they don't perform to their desired level, you have to let them go. If those basic charateristics are missing, then the person should not open and run a business. An open invitation to thieves is not a pious act and you cannot blame the thieves for your misery. Sounds harsh, but we have to grow up to take the blame and not assign it to God.
Indian priests are not trained to be family counselors. So, they are not qualified to be of much help in a crises situation. At this juncture, you have to be pragmatic and use common sense; not be a passive doormat and look for who to blame for your misery. If you really have the talents that you claim to have, there must be a job out there that you can handle and make a living. Age 66 (or whatever is applicable to you) is not too far away when you can apply for Social Security and Medicare. So, the issue at hand is to bridge the gap. Do some self evaluation, look hard at what you can really do and find an appropriate job. Granted it is not an easy task, but that is your only way out. Faith is to give you hope and strength to go on with your life and not for tearing into and looking to blame the Divine. So, grow up and take some responsibility!
Pranam.
Re: Should I totally give up on our Hindu religion ?
Vannakkam: Yes, Hinduism has failed you. It has lost the inner sense of letting people know who they really are. It has, sadly, as a religion, become externalised, a religion of meaningless ritual, and poor explanations of what's going on.
The inner part of Hinduism teaches that you are a soul going through experiences, one lifetime after another, along with a great many other souls doing the same thing. You are not an individual human with a name, an ego, ability to suffer, etc. That is all maya ... temporal. The soul will drop off this temporal body, and get another one, so it can continue to evolve. Life in a physical body is an opportunity for spiritual evolution. Whether or not you want to use that opportunity will depend on the maturity of the soul.
I personally feel this very concept (of who we are actually) is what truly separates Hinduism (and other dharmic faiths) from western more emotional religions. That western take is not religion. Even Plato recognised that emotional religion is just a stage on the path, and needs to be overcome.
Even deeper, you're not even this soul body going along evolving, but you're actually God, deep inside, where the knower knows.
Aum Namasivaya