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Thread: What is Hinduism different from Islam??

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    What is Hinduism different from Islam??

    Namaste everyone,

    I don't know other members here has the experience like me that when someone knows me Hindu. Some of them always has the question "Oh bro, what is the different from Islam?" I usually answer "That's totally different. We have different concept. Hinduism worships god in many names. Islam worships god that they call Allah" And everyone who knows the fact. They are surprised that is different! I also continue describe to add more information to them get understandable. "Do you know Lord Ganesh? Lord Brahma? Lord Narayana? If you know, they are the deity in Hinduism. So then, everyone who is Thai understands what is Hinduism image. ( I still don't describe in philosophy but if they need to know more. Exactly, I will describe to them )

    I wonder when I see other people know my faith. And they have question and also a little surprise to me

    Do you meet this situation or similarity in yourself?

    Om Shanti,
    Om Sri Saraswatiya Namah

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    Re: What is Hinduism different from Islam??

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff08 View Post
    Namaste everyone,

    I don't know other members here has the experience like me that when someone knows me Hindu. Some of them always has the question "Oh bro, what is the different from Islam?" I usually answer "That's totally different. We have different concept. Hinduism worships god in many names. Islam worships god that they call Allah" And everyone who knows the fact. They are surprised that is different! I also continue describe to add more information to them get understandable. "Do you know Lord Ganesh? Lord Brahma? Lord Narayana? If you know, they are the deity in Hinduism. So then, everyone who is Thai understands what is Hinduism image. ( I still don't describe in philosophy but if they need to know more. Exactly, I will describe to them )

    I wonder when I see other people know my faith. And they have question and also a little surprise to me

    Do you meet this situation or similarity in yourself?

    Om Shanti,
    Vannakkam: Your average westerner knows very very little about any of the world's faith's besides their own. It's a them and us mentality of bad and good. So they lump everything except their own together. I've encountered this too, and I think it stems from the geographic closeness of India and Pakistan. But like you, I make a point to let them know there is a huge difference.

    Aum namasivaya

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    Re: What is Hinduism different from Islam??

    Namaste.

    Agree with EM.

    But I do see one change on the near horizon. The bad behaviors of one "religion" or another can put a face, whether justified or not, on a particular religion.

    That is why I am careful about the reputation of Hinduism. Hindus have a good reputation.

    In the 1950s, most Americans had no thoughts one way or another regarding Islam. It just wasn't on their mind. If anything, thanks to the movie "Lawrence of Arabia", they sort of had a romantic view of Islam if they had any opinion at all.

    In 1968, Presidential candidate Bobby Kennedy was shot (assassinated) in the Ambassador Hotel in LA, I was up late watching this primary election campaign event since I supported Bobby Kennedy, and I observed the murder.

    We soon found out the assassin was Sirhan Sirhan a Palestinian who hated Israel and Bobby's support of Israel. It turned out this Palestinian was some member of a small Christian community but had connections to Islamic terrorist groups. We were introduced to Islamic terrorism pretty much for the first time.

    Very public bad behaviors from Islam then started to come, one after another. The Olympic Palestinian terrorist incident, car bombs, soon the term "truck bomb" became linked in the minds of Americans with Islam.

    It's not that Americans had any interest in Islam, it is Islam demanded the attention of Americans. You scream at people "death to you" and other bad behaviors from one side of a soccer field, well you are going to get the attention of those you are screaming at from the other side of the field.

    Frankly, today most Americans do not like Islam, in fact there is hate.

    Over time, behaviors make a difference. You are the ambassador of your religion. I always keep this in mind, because most people are simple, and simple impressions have good or even devastating consequences rightly or wrongly. Simple people. Simple people. So keep it simple. For peace.

    Honestly, Islam is becoming clearly defined into certain expectations that do not bode well for it's long term future. Soon there will be no confusing the differences between Hinduism and Islam, and even if the bad reputation of the later isn't indicative of all Muslims, it is probably too late for them because they didn't do enough to stem the bad behaviors of some in their own fold. Silence can also make you accountable, and only your own can change your own, not others.

    Om Namah Sivaya
    Last edited by ShivaFan; 04 May 2013 at 01:03 PM.

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    Re: What is Hinduism different from Islam??

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff08 View Post
    everyone who is Thai understands what is Hinduism image. ( I still don't describe in philosophy but if they need to know more. Exactly, I will describe to them ) Om Shanti,
    How one can explain Hinduism in nutshell, hmm, a tall order for anyone indeed. I will try but I know my take is not perfect , it goes this way. The core doctrines remain same no matter which way one looks at it: Dharma or righteous action, Karma or fruits of action, rebirth or reincarnation of atman, and moksha which is salvation for atma . Artha (work and earning) and Kama ( sexual purity/ celibacy within a matrimony and not becoming a philanderer) are components of the dharmic life.

    Our body (hunger, fever etc) and mind (joy, anger, depression etc) stop journey at death but atma (none of the above) transcends and takes up a new body many times just as we discard old clothes and put on new ones. (dead)Body is not as precious as for the Abrahamics who count on ascending to heaven with it. Cremation, preferably within 24 hrs, is the norm.

    There is no permanent heaven or hell for hindus (or nonhindus for that matter). Which means hindus will not condemn Christians or muslims to hell if they don’t convert to Hinduism. On the other hand both muslims and Christians condemn hindus to hell for not converting into their faiths.Hindus say BRAHMAN loves all and, condemns none.

    The ONE god for hindus is BRAHMAN who has no form or gender. Who has no beginning, or origin. Brahman is what is all there both in manifest and unmanifest realm. This is where moksha lets atman to disappear into oneness . The gods or deities are all sacred representations (with human forms, genders etc) of Brahman in many forms. The Vedas elaborate, "He is Brahma. He is Siva. He is Indra. He is the immutable, the supreme, the self-luminous. He is Vishnu. He is life. He is time. He is the fire, and He is the moon." The idols don’t have gods sitting in them. Those idols are made of stone as is obvious, but just like some symbols are sacred in other faiths, hindus treat them sacred. These idols may be simple conduits to meditate (pray) on or some devotees may view them lot more seriously. When hindus say Brahman is everywhere then how can only a small stone form confines brahman in finite form, doesn’t sound right. But there are different explanations (bhashyas) I must clarify.

    Vegetarianism is highly encouraged as an extension of ahimsa, but meat eaters are NOT viewed as unhindu by any measure. There are many hindus who eat meat, but the teaching goes that one must remain detached to these pleasure .

    Shastras didn’t shy away from addressing the nature of cosmos and universe, many other faiths didn’t address these areas. The cosmos is infinite and there is advaita doctrine that defines everthing as one single infinite unit. Both the creator and the created are ONE. The cosmic dissolutions and reformations were explained. Huge timescales are defined as Brahma’s (not BRAHMAN !)day and night.

    Meditation/yoga is a strong integral part of hindu practice. Hinduism is not just philosophy, it is a religion fully complemented with rituals and practices to guide one to accomplish religious salvation. Mingling with fellow hindus and attending mandirs are encouraged. Questions are welcome and gurus are always willing to answer them (nowadays it spilled into the web, and that is very good indeed).

    Rebirth over and over isn’t a must, if one is steadfast in ones dharmic path, then in one janma itself on can achieve moksha. Freewill accrues karma. You make your own kriya karma, you wont earn bad karma if the wrong step was not the result of your own well thoughtout course (say an accident).A hindus goal in life is moksha, to put an to the transcendental journey of the atma.

    Vedas, Upanishads, Itihasas and Panchatantras make core hindu texts. AdiShankara propagated advaita philosophy which is over 10k yrs old and originally expounded by Badarayana. Personally my POV is that it is the nondualism that will keep religion viable for all future generations, cause it can never ever be bettered. Hinduism is a path to self realization, it wont serve as a vehicle to heaven.There is mukti but there is no heaven. Knowledgeable members may correct the above opinions which are clearly largely favoring advaita siddanta, no offence will be taken. Namaste.
    Last edited by charitra; 05 May 2013 at 09:28 AM.

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    Re: What is Hinduism different from Islam??

    Quote Originally Posted by charitra View Post
    How one can explain Hinduism in nutshell, hmm, a tall order for anyone indeed. I will try but I know my take is not perfect , it goes this way. The core doctrines remain same no matter which way one looks at it: Dharma or righteous action, Karma or fruits of action, rebirth or reincarnation of atman, and moksha which is salvation for atma . Artha (work and earning) and Kama ( sexual purity/ celibacy within a matrimony and not becoming a philanderer) are components of the dharmic life.

    Our body (hunger, fever etc) and mind (joy, anger, depression etc) stop journey at death but atma (none of the above) transcends and takes up a new body many times just as we discard old clothes and put on new ones. (dead)Body is not as precious as for the Abrahamics who count on ascending to heaven with it. Cremation, preferably within 24 hrs, is the norm.

    There is no permanent heaven or hell for hindus (or nonhindus for that matter). Which means hindus will not condemn Christians or muslims to hell if they don’t convert to Hinduism. On the other hand both muslims and Christians condemn hindus to hell for not converting into their faiths.Hindus say BRAHMAN loves all and, condemns none.

    The ONE god for hindus is BRAHMAN who has no form or gender. Who has no beginning, or origin. Brahman is what is all there both in manifest and unmanifest realm. This is where moksha lets atman to disappear into oneness . The gods or deities are all sacred representations (with human forms, genders etc) of Brahman in many forms. The Vedas elaborate, "He is Brahma. He is Siva. He is Indra. He is the immutable, the supreme, the self-luminous. He is Vishnu. He is life. He is time. He is the fire, and He is the moon." The idols don’t have gods sitting in them. Those idols are made of stone as is obvious, but just like some symbols are sacred in other faiths, hindus treat them sacred. These idols may be simple conduits to meditate (pray) on or some devotees may view them lot more seriously. When hindus say Brahman is everywhere then how can only a small stone form confines brahman in finite form, doesn’t sound right. But there are different explanations (bhashyas) I must clarify.

    Vegetarianism is highly encouraged as an extension of ahimsa, but meat eaters are NOT viewed as unhindu by any measure. There are many hindus who eat meat, but the teaching goes that one must remain detached to these pleasure .

    Shastras didn’t shy away from addressing the nature of cosmos and universe, many other faiths didn’t address these areas. The cosmos is infinite and there is advaita doctrine that defines everthing as one single infinite unit. Both the creator and the created are ONE. The cosmic dissolutions and reformations were explained. Huge timescales are defined as Brahma’s (not BRAHMAN !)day and night.

    Meditation/yoga is a strong integral part of hindu practice. Hinduism is not just philosophy, it is a religion fully complemented with rituals and practices to guide one to accomplish religious salvation. Mingling with fellow hindus and attending mandirs are encouraged. Questions are welcome and gurus are always willing to answer them (nowadays it spilled into the web, and that is very good indeed).

    Rebirth over and over isn’t a must, if one is steadfast in ones dharmic path, then in one janma itself on can achieve moksha. Freewill accrues karma. You make your own kriya karma, you wont earn bad karma if the wrong step was not the result of your own well thoughtout course (say an accident).A hindus goal in life is moksha, to put an to the transcendental journey of the atma.

    Vedas, Upanishads, Itihasas and Panchatantras make core hindu texts. AdiShankara propagated advaita philosophy which is over 10k yrs old and originally expounded by Badarayana. Personally my POV is that it is the nondualism that will keep religion viable for all future generations, cause it can never ever be bettered. Hinduism is a path to self realization, it wont serve as a vehicle to heaven.There is mukti but there is no heaven. Knowledgeable members may correct the above opinions which are clearly largely favoring advaita siddanta, no offence will be taken. Namaste.
    This is nice explanation about Sanatana Dharma. You give me a clearly explanation. Not many non-Hindu know Hinduism in this perspective as the fact of Hinduism. I would like to explain people when they ask me about Hinduism in this way too if I have the opportunity. Especially about concept of God. They usually wonder that why we worship many god. But in fact, we worship ONE god could call in many names.

    Finally, Thank you Eastern Mind and ShivaFan too for share your experience. You also give me a nice one

    Om Shanti,
    Om Sri Saraswatiya Namah

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    Re: What is Hinduism different from Islam??

    Namaste,

    My thoughts would be similar to EM and ShivaFan. People in the west (even non-religious types) are mostly ignorant about belief systems outside the one that their own culture raised them up in. Other than what is heard on the news and from political figures, not a lot would be known about Islam, Hinduism or any other religion, unless someone were interested in spirituality or anthropology.

    The kind of questions I'd typically get from people who hear I'm Hindu is do I worship cows, pray to idols, wear a dot on my forehead, etc.? Outside the crude markers of Hinduism, nobody really seems to know much more about it. If one were to say you were a practising Sanatana Dharmi, even fewer people would have a clue what you were referring to.

    Your method of revealing a little bit more information each time if they are interested is probably the best way to go. Otherwise you might very well spend the whole day and night explaining the minute facet of Hinduism which makes it so much more than it must seem to the casual outside observer.

    Shanti
    Om namah Shivaya
    "Watch your thoughts, they become words.
    Watch your words, they become actions.
    Watch your actions, they become habits.
    Watch your habits, they become your character.
    Watch your character, it becomes your destiny."

    ॐ गं गणपतये नमः
    Om Gam Ganapataye namah

    लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु ।
    Lokaah SamastaaH Sukhino Bhavantu

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    Re: What is Hinduism different from Islam??

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff08 View Post
    Namaste everyone,

    I don't know other members here has the experience like me that when someone knows me Hindu. Some of them always has the question "Oh bro, what is the different from Islam?" I usually answer "That's totally different. We have different concept. Hinduism worships god in many names. Islam worships god that they call Allah" And everyone who knows the fact. They are surprised that is different! I also continue describe to add more information to them get understandable. "Do you know Lord Ganesh? Lord Brahma? Lord Narayana? If you know, they are the deity in Hinduism. So then, everyone who is Thai understands what is Hinduism image. ( I still don't describe in philosophy but if they need to know more. Exactly, I will describe to them )

    I wonder when I see other people know my faith. And they have question and also a little surprise to me

    Do you meet this situation or similarity in yourself?

    Om Shanti,
    Namaste.

    The easy answer to this one, is that Islam stems from an Abrahamic faith in the Middle-East (exactly the same as Christianity - and many would persecute me for saying that) and Hinduism stems from Aryan cultures of the Indus/Harappan valley in Pakistan some 10,000 years ago (give or take a century).

    Islam is a relative 'newcomer' in the game, dating back to the times of King Solomon...which produced the 'Keys of Solomon' (lesser and greater...I have read both) leading to the rise of Kabbalistic belief, culminating in the birth of the Prophet Mohammed and the birth of modern Islam with it.

    Some Hindus worship 'many Gods' like you say, but others still worship 'Allah' you know? The Sufi beliefs are very intriguing (and very beautiful).

    If you want to go to the Thai (Hinayana) cultures of Buddhism, one could also say that Lord Buddha was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu...now, whether that was before/after Lord Shiva became an avatar of Lord Buddha, no-one knows...suffice to say, the role religion played in politics was very important back during the Middle Ages....

    I have gone on for long enough now.

    The difference between both religions is geographical (although, not really that way anymore).

    Aum Namah Shivaya

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    Re: What is Hinduism different from Islam??

    Growing up in Bali, it was very strange!

    Indonesia is a mostly Muslim country and Bali is the only Hindu island in the archipelago.

    The Bahasa word for 'God', naturally, is 'Allah' and so, we Balinese Hindus were all worshiping Allah anyway.

    Of course, you would get the occasional youngster coming up and asking 'who is Maha Dewata'? and of course, you would say something along the lines of 'Lord Shiva is Allah'.

    Then you would spend the next week in meditation wondering about how that could even be possible. Strange times....strange times.

    Aum Namah Shivaya
    Last edited by Necromancer; 09 May 2013 at 10:15 PM.

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    Re: What is Hinduism different from Islam??

    Quote Originally Posted by sunyata07 View Post

    The kind of questions I'd typically get from people who hear I'm Hindu is do I worship cows, pray to idols, wear a dot on my forehead, etc.? Outside the crude markers of Hinduism, nobody really seems to know much more about it. If one were to say you were a practising Sanatana Dharmi, even fewer people would have a clue what you were referring to.
    Yes. Questions do come up about faith in our daily life, we have to face it and not run away from the scene. One should try to explain the core doctrines first and avoid religious pracices in the beginning. It is better keep the murti puja for another day or merely state briefly, “Brahman has no physical form, the deities are only many representations or manifestations of ONE god. The murtis help us stay focused in our prayers”. Abrahamics make it look as if Hinduism is full of superstition, which is clearly not the case.

    The other day a middle aged Caucasian handyman asked me,” you are hindus, right?”. He was fixing the basement on that day. He saw all those murthis in my home. I nodded my head confirming his discovery. “you believe in reincarnation!” he exclaimed. This second statement baffled me. A handyman of all the people differentiating his birth faith from ours by bringing up some core hindu doctrine!! That was unexpected indeed. I thought he would remember and bring up some much less important tenet to define Hinduism. Something like cows, monkeys , elephant god or something on those lines. I smiled and explained,” yes we all get more than one chance to live life right”. Next minute he noticed a spider that crawled up on his shoe and he quickly squished it (swa dharma!). Then he continued,” I will become a spider in my next life”. He grinned with some guilt in his eyes . I didn’t know what to say, I haven’t recovered from the reincarnation statement he made by that time.. He continued,” I feel sorry for muslim youth though, they are led in a wrong path”. Interesting. That says it all. It looks Americans are now gaining insights into other faiths, that’s a good thing to happen to Hinduism.

    Hindu immigrants have integrated and assimilated so well, often their presence goes unnoticed in many lands they adopt as their home. The lands wherein hindus are the religious majority , all faiths live well and in harmony. It is no exaggeration to confirm that it is the minorities who start the trouble there in the hindu lands. Americans and many Europeans have realized that fact by now from their own personal experience.
    Namaste.

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    Re: What is Hinduism different from Islam??

    Quote Originally Posted by Necromancer View Post
    the difference between both religions is geographical (although, not really that way anymore).
    I presume you are talking about Hinduism and Buddhism. Buddha was a born hindu and his hindu name was Siddartha Gautama. He is an 'add' on to hindu pantheon of gods. Many hindus don't consider him as a hindu God at all.

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