Greetings...

[Atheist Guru]

Nice to join these forums...

[ShivaFan]

Namaste Atheist Guru

I am neither an atheist nor a Guru. But I certainly welcome you.

Guru is very, very, very special. Though some proclaim to be one but are not.

Om Namah Sivaya

[Arjunesh]

Namaste!

Welcome Guru - wish you all the best here.

[Atheist Guru]

Thanks Arjunesh + ShivaFan for the namastes and warm welcomes. Much appreciated!

ShivaFan As an aside, my screen name is intended as satire, as the term 'guru' is generally used for a person of faith and with me being Atheist, well you get the idea... So don't read too much into it.

Just the same though, while I respect the discipline it takes to master one's area of expertise in most walks of life, including faith - I don't consider 'gurus' to be anything particularly special. Unless of course, you're willing to accept that Stephen Hawking and Richard Dawkins too, are very very very special by virtue of being 'gurus' in their respective fields.

Perhaps we can pick this up in a different forum?

Peace,
AG

[sanjaya]

Hi Atheist Guru, nice to meet you.

The term "guru" is a Hindu term referring to a spiritual teacher. We've got a few on this forum that I'd consider worthy of the title, though I am not one such person. However, as far as I know the word doesn't necessitate theism. The Nastika school of thought Hinduism, in which the authority of the Vedas is not recognized, is roughly equivalent to an atheist branch of our religion. I suppose in theory this school of thought could have its own gurus, and thus there could indeed be an atheist guru.

In any case, glad to have you here. I'm always interested in the atheist viewpoint on things. Having never been an atheist in my life, it's a point of view I can't always relate to, so it's good to have someone around to explain the atheist perspective.

[devotee]

Welcome AG !

OM

[Twilightdance]

Welcome. Indian culture always had good representation atheistic opinion even atheist evangelicals, and most of so called astika systems except Vedanta are either atheist or only paying lip service to theism. But you will find very difficult to find support of atheism in present hindu civilization soaked in vedanta, puranas and bhakti.

[wundermonk]

Well, WELCOME to this abode of (mostly) believers!

the term 'guru' is generally used for a person of faith and with me being Atheist, well you get the idea... So don't read too much into it.

The term "guru" has pretty specific connotation within Hindu philosophy and the "guru" is held in a very respectable position in a Hindu's life. In fact, one saying goes "Thank the people in the following order of priority

Matha (Mom), Pitha (Dad), Guru (Teacher), Daivam (God)"

God himself is the greatest imaginable teacher and it is via the benevolence and tireless work of ancient Hindu Gurus and Acharyas that we Hindus have a vast amount of breathtaking philosophy/theology to immerse ourselves in and seek inspiration from.

That being said, it is quite untrue that "you being Atheist" have no faith. Atheism rides as much on faith as theism.

[Atheist Guru]

Twilightdance,

...But you will find very difficult to find support of atheism in present hindu civilization soaked in vedanta, puranas and bhakti.

Thanks for the welcome.

Yes, I would agree that it would be hard to find much support of atheism in a religious philosophy that has a god at its very epicenter.

Wundermonk,

Thanks for the welcome - good to be here!

That being said, it is quite untrue that "you being Atheist" have no faith. Atheism rides as much on faith as theism.

I disagree. Atheism is, by definition is the absence of faith / belief. However based on your statement, I'm curious - according to you: What do atheists supposedly have faith in, that equates to theistic faith?

Peace,
AG

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namast�

From a ~word~ point of view we have the following:
āstika is believing, pious, or faithful. This comes from asti , 'there is or exists' . Now let's look at the opposite:

nāstika is 'unbelieving, atheistic, or unfaithful' = 'an unbeliever' or atheist. It is made of na+ astika or 'it is not so' .

This does not = mleccha which means any person who does not speak saṃskṛtā and does
not conform to the usual Hindu ( I prefer to say sanātana dharma ) institutions.

iti śivaṁ