Introduction

[Totoro]

I just joined so I would like to introduce myself. I'm from Seattle, im 25, and I was raised in a fundamentalist christian family. I had an interest in Hinduism from an early age, but of course I wasn't allowed to pursue it. I kind of forgot about it until my early 20s. I just kind of stumbled into it from researching archaeology and especially the so called "forbidden archaeology". I got really into researching Hinduism and ordered a translated copy of the bhagavad gita and the rig Vedas. At that point they were really hard for me to understand without a cultural context, but lot of what I read about Hinduism resonated with me. I felt like people had beat me to my original thoughts thousands of years ago. That was mildly upsetting but comforting at the same time. The research I did then has shaped how I view the world and the universe in a big way. I don't know that i''ll ever convert completely to a Hindu belief system or any other. I'm more the type to take what's useful and what resonates with me than to submit to a structured system. One of the things I got out of it was to follow your own path, so I think that's a fair thing for me to do. In my sociology class recently, I had to choose religion to write about its relationship in the globalized world, the spread and influence, and unique sociopolitical patterns created by Hindu beliefs. Naturally I picked Hinduism because I already know more than the average american, and it's an opportunity to study it more. Now I'm not asking for help with my homework (unless someone has something they want to share), I just want to make sure I have an accurate and acceptable understanding of what Hinduism is and how it works.

So this is my short analysis I typed up

Hinduism is the oldest living religion in the world, but it is really more of a way of life, or a culture, than a religion. There is some debate on the origins, but the general consensus is that tribes from western Asia invaded the Indus Valley in current day Pakistan where they met the Harrapan civilization and Hinduism developed primarily from these two cultures. They have several texts, but none that hold the absolute or exclusive authority of the Bible or Koran.

Hinduism is extremely complex, it’s monotheistic and pantheistic, and it’s limiting but provides lots of freedom of choices at the same time.

The freedom within Hinduism allows individuals to decide how they will interpret and practice their religion. The freedom allows individuals to choose who and how to worship, how many gods to worship, and weather are not there are many gods or one to be worshipped. Generally, all the deities are considered incarnations of, or creations by one universal deity, Brahma. One explanation will not describe all Hindus, but the general Hindu view of the universe is an ordered one. People are ordered in the caste system which is the limiting aspect of Hinduism. There are four castes, at the bottom are the peasants and servants, then merchants or business people, warriors and royalty above, and finally at the top are the religious leaders. Below the caste system at the lowest levels of society are the “untouchables”, people that survive by doing the dirty work of cleaning streets and toilets. Everyone has their place, purpose, and their goal, to reincarnate into a better life and eventually release from life entirely.

Everyone is probably at least semi familiar with the concept of kharma, and it even has counterparts in the western world. “What goes around comes around” is a common saying; many people believe they will receive what they put out into the world. The Hindu concept of kharma is a little more complex. One gains kharma not only by doing good deeds, but primarily by following their dharma properly, which means to behave appropriately according to the caste one is born into. If you behave yourself and don’t upset the order, you will be rewarded by being born into a higher caste for your next life. After many lives, deaths, and reincarnations in a cycle called samsara, the atman, or soul, is released from the cycle. This is achieved only after it as experienced the world from all perspectives. The many lives are necessary to gain the kharma and wisdom needed to attain moksha; the release from samsara and reunion with Brahma, the creator.

This is not unlike the Abrahamic concept of heaven as a reward for following what Hinduism would call their dharma. Unlike the Abrahamic religions, Hinduism has many paths to God/heaven/moksha. This is the aspect of freedom in Hinduism. Every person has their own dharma; their path. I interpret this more individualistically than what may have been intended (maybe because I am an American and living in the 21^st century), instead of following prescribed paths set by caste or any other social institution, I take it to mean it’s our duty to find our dharma, and live it to learn and experience what we need to.

Thank you for welcoming me into your community! -Totoro

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam, and welcome to HDF. I hope your stay here is fruitful.

Aum Namasivaya

[Ram11]

Namaste Totoro Ji,

Welcome to HDF.

It is a fine article but there are some small errors.

1.We have no invasion theories in the scriptures nor do we call our ancestors invading tribes!
2.Brahma-the creator deity is different from Brahman-The One(I can't define Brahman but Brahman is not a deity).
3.Jati(Caste) and Varna(which you have called as caste in your essay) are two totally different concepts.
4.It is Karma not Kharma.
5.I think there is too much emphasis on Varna and caste system.Also,Jati and Varna relation is more complex than it appears.
6.Rather than 'reunion with Brahman' which seems like the Atman goes to a different world,it would be better if is said as 'realization of Brahman'.
7.It would be nice if you include the importance of Guru,parents,the Purusharthas(the four goals of life Dharma,Artha,Kama and Moksha) and nature in Hinduism.

Overall,it is a good writeup.All the best.

[Believer]

Namaste,

Welcome to the forum.

Regarding your write-up, much of it reflects the Western view of Hinduism, not what it really is. If that is the aim of the presentation, then I guess it fits the bill.

Pranam.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: In my experience of observing westerners taking on Hinduism, it varies a lot, but there are general trends. At first is is from the POV of an outsider looking in. An analogy is someone moving to a new country. It all takes time to adjust, and that varies on the individual. My mother even referred to the 'old country' (England in her case) even though she'd never been there herself. But she got that from her parents, who did refer to the 'old country' a lot.

So it's a process. At some point in time, you realise you're no longer looking at it from the outside, but you're actually 'one of them' and then you're looking at westerners as the 'different ones', the ones to study. Rather than being a 'student of Hinduism, you're a Hindu studying your own religion.

So I think patience is needed on all sides. A born Hindu shouldn't be expecting a newcomer to be familiar with all of our intricacies right away. It takes time. I'm still in the process and it's been a long time. Similarly, born-Hindus who move to the west take on some of the western ways, whether they realise it or not, much of it being irrelevant to religion, but western all the same. There are necessary adaptations, for example, like adapting to a different climate, not one found much in India.

So newcomers shouldn't get discouraged, or receive discouragement from old-timers either. Just be patient, ask questions, try to be humble, and it'll all come about in due process. That is the very nature of the evolution of the soul.

Aum Namasivaya

[Believer]

Namaste,

Perhaps my expectations exceeded the level of the OP's familiarity who after 2-3-4 years (early 20's to age 25) of study presented the antiquated ideas. Contrary to a severe criticism, the reply was a factual statement about the divergence of the offering from reality. It was left to the OP to come back and initiate a dialog about the Hindu view of Hinduism, or be content with the Western perceptions, submit the assignment as is and move on. To me that was showing patience instead of jumping in with guns blazing. Did I exhibit a lack of it? Should I have emulated post #2 in this thread and not said anything at all? Would being mum not be tantamount to an acceptance of what was brought to the forum?

In any event, for the OP, here is a link to what we think of Hinduism, https://www.himalayanacademy.com/view/what-is-hinduism

Pranam.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: Indeed your reply, Believer, was a factual statement. My comments were just general observations, and not directed at you in any way. I just hope our OP returns to say/ask more. There is so much to learn.

Aum Namasivaya