Namaste members,
The God Project: Hinduism as Open-Source Faith
Viraja
Namaste members,
The God Project: Hinduism as Open-Source Faith
Viraja
Last edited by Viraja; 06 June 2015 at 06:28 PM. Reason: Changed the content within the quotes for better readability.
jai hanuman gyan gun sagar jai kapis tihu lok ujagar
Namaste,
The folks at Huffington Post must like this article which was originally published in 2010, very much as they keep recycling it over and over. Here is some discussion on the subject when it came up last....
http://hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?11685-Hinduism-as-Open-Source-Faith
Pranam.
Last edited by Believer; 08 June 2015 at 08:53 AM.
Namaskaram
I think this was a very nice article, thankyou Viraja.
To some extent, I have similar views about Hinduism, and I feel it's healthy to acknowledge it as a religion (which isn't really an appropriate word given its association with the Christian and Muslim concepts of religious belief and organisation within the Anglosphere) which has changed and mutated constantly and considerably.
Hinduism is essentially a pagan tradition, at the end of the day, just one which has had the time to develop and mature, and achieve great insights into reality. I am sure parallel insights have emerged in other traditions, but have not been preserved, studied and built upon as in Hinduism. Hinduism, in its practice, will continue to change. Deities have risen and fallen in popularity over the millennia, and their attributes in the eyes of their devotees have changed. A natural process. Just like a language changes, a religion changes. It describes the same things, but in different words.
I enjoyed the article. I happen to identify politically as an anarchist. When I took my first tour of the mandir near my work (which includes 21 different shrines) a few months ago, I was struck by how much of an open faith Sanatana Dharma is when our guide explained that the reason there are so many different gods, so many different practices, is because people are free to practice however they like. She said nobody is going to tell you what or how you should believe. It's one of the things that has drawn me back into studying, and now practicing.
From the article, "That Shiva, for instance, could simultaneously be the light of ultimate consciousness and an ash-smeared madman who frequents cremation grounds is a delight to us spiritual anarchists, while mind numbing to most western Theologists."
Tasmācchabdārthacintāsu na sāvasthā na yā śivaḥ
Whether in word, or object, or thought, there is no state which is not Shiva -- Spanda Karikas II.4a
Vannakkam Richard: This can become a slippery slope for some. Although in belief we have great variety, there is still a great deal of ethics running though Hinduism. Sadly, some interpret it as 'we can do whatever the heck we want, and still be Hindu. How great is that! No discipline required. I can smoke, drink, do drugs, commit adultery, steal, curse at the baker, and hey, it's all good.'
Obviously, that's not the intention.
Aum Namasivaya
Namaste,
Well said EM.
Many people interpret 'open source' as everything goes. That is 'jiggery pokery' as the good Supreme Court justice Scalia would say.
One of my pet peeves is that lot of native Hindus with scant knowledge of their faith become self professed expert guides/commentators and disseminate unadulterated hog manure as the gospel.
1. Hinduism does not have multitudes of gods; it is one Divine in different forms. So, we choose the form in which we want to worship Him.
2. Those who really want to follow it to elevate themselves spiritually, do follow a regimen of puja, chanting, meditating and observing the necessary dietary restrictions.
3. Since it is not an organized religion, HINOs (Hindus In Name Only) do all kinds of weird things and claim scriptural backing for their actions. Case in point is certain sects of Shiva bhagats in Northern India and in Nepal who smoke weed to be 'one with Him'.
The list goes on....
One can practice as much or as little of Hinduism as one desires. But to claim that everything is permitted in Hinduism and no discipline is required is merely self-serving utter nonsense and not worthy of any meaningful discussion.
Pranam.
Namaste,
I think a lot of people get confused about Hindu Culture and equate tolerance and acceptance as the same thing. But it does seem that the level of tolerance has reached its limits and many Hindus have said enough is enough. It does seem to be a culture that is struggling to find its identity in a fast changing world. Keeping ones cultural identity is a very big challenge and no easy answers, part from example and personal responsibility to follow ones own way in accordance with their tradition.
The majority of Hinduism which is such a vague term, is actually very conservative and well defined within each sect or aspect of Sanatana Dharma, not all aspects even agree with each other, its been like that for a very long time, but that has great advantages when looked at in a positive way of freedom of inquiry, in the classical sense all the Siddhantas compliment each each other and try to realign the transcendent reality through Dharma in a relative world without compromise.
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