What the heck do we know about Hinduism??

[Devibhakta]

Namaste to all!

As people who have only recently realized our identities as Hindu, and who have declared ourselves so, we probably have mostly arrived at this point in our lives by focussing on some very particular aspect of the infinite varieties of what has for (western?) convenience been gathered in under the one name, Hinduism, and may be very ignorant of religions and philosophical schools that we did not happen to study in arriving at our self-declaration, but which are basic to a better understanding of where we are now, spiritually. I would like to dedicate this thread to those who have extremely basic questions and those who are disposed to help with answers. My first question, to start the ball rolling, is:

What is a Hindu?

Eagerly awaiting, Devibhakta

[satay]

Namaste to all!


What is a Hindu?

Eagerly awaiting, Devibhakta

Now, that's a million dollar question, isn't it! I have been asking myself this question ever since I "became" a hindu...

I think literally, "hindu" means a person living on the other side of the river 'sindhu'.

Seriously though...to me, a hindu is someone who:
1. believes in the authority of the vedas.
2. aspires to get Brahma Gyana.
3. practices a dharmic code of life i.e. doesn't perform unneccesary himsa, performs tapas, dana all that nice stuff.

[Singhi Kaya]

Means different things to lot of people. Though born a hindu brahmin I came to hinduism only recently~and consider myself just starting on my journey~this life. Hindu is a cultural identity for us Indian's. For non indians universal spirituality may be the focal point. My understandung till now:-

1. Belief in an impersonal, unborn, eternal and transcendental god.
2. The cosmos(not just the physical one) is Brahma's manifestation and not creation, but brahma is beyond his this particular manifestation.
3. 2 automatically imples god is in us as in all other beings live or inert. For dvaitins this has to be specifically assumed. Even if you believe god is eternally seperated from us, we are still his own parts.
4. Human births (many of them) are sacred~purpose is to develop towards perfection~god realization=>Not a heaven , however mysterious.
5. experience, analysis and agama(proof of sruti) are 3 ways of God realization. Hinduism places emphasis on agama, because our own expereinces can be partial~and full knowledge and perfection is judged as per the knowledge of the original seers. there are many outward paths to experience, but internally we are travelling the same path*. So the concept of many paths only applies to the experience part of the dharma. Truths is however one~"sruti"
6. finally Hinduism is a complete way of life (not in the rigid rule by rule sense) in the sence it guides in all 4 meanings of life and dharma is not just individual spirituality. Gita is the nectar of entire sruti~the place to start understading all the aspects of dharma. It's also the ultimate wisdom.

* same internal path~it's the chakras in yoga and tantra, the granthis or the 5 basic deities (Ganesh, Surya, Vishnu, Shiva, shakti) elsewhere. Whatever may the outward rituals look like in Sanatan dharma from outside and what ever deity one considers as the ultimate~one develops to perfection by overcoming the limitations of the same points in mind. Also not all of us are standing at the same point of development to start with. So even in experience we are travelling the same path from various directions. It is not like not many paths suddenly taking one to bramha through it's own curve in hyperspace all of a sudden.

[Devibhakta]

Namaste and thank you Satay and Singhi.

Of course, I had done some research and wanted to know if I was on the "right path", and what you have offered confirms my confidence. The right path is, indeed, a wide one, so wide that we can all see the same objects, but from differing perspectives (points of view). As I was looking, however, I discovered that such a question can have hot political ramifications because on the one hand, the definition can be so vague as to include all of humanity by way of the heritage of the Vedas (universal spirituality, as you said, and which is how I feel), and on the other hand, more restricted but including groups such as Buddhists, Sikhs, "Indian pagans", who don't want to be counted as Hindus, to those who believe that non-Hindus can never really become Hindus.

Could some-one address the last point, the belief that non-Hindus can never really become Hindus?

Thanks again,

Devibhakta

[satay]

Could some-one address the last point, the belief that non-Hindus can never really become Hindus?

Thanks again,

Devibhakta

This in my opinion is a pure propaganda spread by some asuras. The fact is that "all" humans are hindu by birth!

To address your point, it is not true that non-hindus can never really become hindus. sarabhanga and bhakti yoga seeker (two members of this forum) are a living proof (among the thousands) of that fact.

[Devibhakta]

That's how I saw it too, that all humans are originally Hindu. This is the religion that dawned with the dawn of human consciousness and has never disappeared. It is what the rishis saw when the human mind was still clear and before it became fogged with all kinds of junk and delusion. The Vedas are the original revelation and teaching, and can never have lost their authority as such. They precede all other scriptures, books, revelations, etc.

There are trees whose roots extend far away from the tree underground, and at some point sprout a new tree out of a root. Although they seem to be 2 distinct trees, they are from the same roots. The mother tree is India, and in India as was said, Hinduism is a culture as well as a religion, but there are other trees that receive the same spiritual essence if not the culture. I can feel that I have found those roots, even though I'm in a different tree.

[satay]

very nice message.

[Namo Narayana]

Hinduism is universal. it would be wrong to call it a religion thus narrowing its applicability. Scholars often call it way of life. for it encompasses many paths of life and every human being willing to perceive a way of life with truth, tolerance and justice can find his dharma in Santana Dharma. The world religion itself is a misnomer for hinduism because we have seen the religions of abraham have shown that only one way is possible.

But hindu dharma recognises every single way. like all roads lead to dharma. so any human being born in this world is a follower of dharma and hence a fellow hindu.

hinduism is not patented or a monopoly entity. hence there would be no indian hindu would be able to bar anyone who wants to follow dharma. your question is common among western hindu wannabe folks. but if you trace back history there are plenty of western hindus who have mastered their knowledge in hinduism and sanskrit and other indian languages and produced literature that are held equal to the literature of india born dharma icons.

[Devibhakta]

I agree with Namo Narayana, that's more of what I was trying to say in a different way.

Part of the problem with languages is that often there is not a word-for-word, concept-for-concept relationship between the words. So, when a westerner says "religion" he probably means something very different from the understanding of an easterner for the same word -- or sometimes there is no corresponding word or concept. In fact, for much of the world so-called religion means to live in and with nature, in harmony with the universe, and is not restricted to a particular philosophy or once-a-week practice. For one person, religion may be reading his Bible, for another it may be breathing air mindfully. One can stop reading at some point, the other cannot stop breathing!

Peace, Devibhakta

[satay]

Everyone is born a hindu but due to 'environmental' reasons and past karma some choose different paths this includes the atheists and everyone else who practices a different 'religion'.