Western Hindu's this threads for you!

[devisarada]

Hari Om
~~~~~



Namaste EM and devisarada,
your points make sense... think of the new folks as those that just stopped smoking. Its a big deal to them, yet to others that have been breathing normally, whats the fuss... like that.
I am happy to have all the converts, and anchor sadhus the world can hold. More sattva, less crime, more of Him/Her being disucssed.
Something to rejoice!

pranams,

Namaste Yajvan,

I like your analogy of stopping smoking and breathing normally. It's true, people get excited and enthusiastic when they discover something new and valuable. And you're right, the more who follow the path of Vedic Dharma, the better.

[ardhanari]

Although I am not formally part of the Hindu fold just yet, I feel the strong pull of Hinduism's mighty grasp over me. I am at present, studying and reading as much as possible on Hindu Dharma, specifically catering towards Chaitanya Vaishnavism and its various flavours.

I have always been quite spiritual, since 5 years old, and being raised a Catholic, I did ask questions. Eventually, I became agitated by the rigidity of Catholic Christianity at 11 years old, that I began finding my spiritual path at that particular age.

From 11-12 years old, I adopted this New Age/New Age Buddhistic philosophy, all with crystals, chakras, Atlantis and UFO's, and it wasn't until my adoption of Wicca at 13 when I established my first true religious identity.

I was eventually converted by my friend to Pentecostal Christianity at 14, but although I was 'slain in the Spirit' and could speak with the gift of tongues, I felt that my cell group in my church rather restrictive. The pressure to only listen to Christian music, only be with Christian friends, etc. caused me to go back into my Catholic background, and in time I received my Confirmation at 17. I was a Bible-reading, priest-wannabe Catholic.

Last year, when I was 18, I talked to a friend who was a staunch atheist and hated all religions, especially Christianity, and especially Catholic Christianity. He got me wondering on the exclusivism on Jesus as the sole way to salvation. Now, the exclusivism does not hinder me much at all, since exclusivism exists in mostly all religions (I am exclusivist when it comes to Krishna), but it was the attitude that Christianity carried in the rest of the world with Jesus that got to me.

At that moment, I have read the Gita several times, but was interested in the Baha'i Faith. On September 28th, 2007, after a week of 'study,' instead of becoming a Hare Krishna, I became a Baha'i.

My love for Krishna never faded in time, and since my birthday passed, my love to serve Him and devote my life to Him had become even stronger, surpassing my love for Baha'u'llah. Although technically I am a Baha'i, at heart, I feel that I am a Chaitanya Vaishnavite. Presently 19 years old, I am fatigued by this constant searching, and now that my heart has felt something for Krishna, it is now merely learning more than searching.

I just am taking the slow road towards the goal, because I am afraid that this emotionalism is brief and passing. I pray that this is permanent, because it is the last line for me. Although I am open to other Hindu denominations and teachings, I remain and will remain a Hindu, a believer of the Vedas (I am reading them at present... very, very, utterly long...). If I am not desperate to leave the Faith now, I hope to be out of the Baha'i Faith around March.

Phew!

Hare Krishna!
Ardhanari.

[devisarada]

Namaste Ardhanari,

I have read your post with some concern about your spiritual development. It seems that you are an earnest seeker who has not yet found his/her place in the cosmos.

I would strongly suggest that that you do NOT commit to becoming a Hindu or a follower of any other faith group officially for some time. Please study and reflect for at least 2 years before making that official leap.

I myself, after much searching started to follow the hindu path about 14 years ago. It was not until 12 years later that I made a formal committment to Hinduism. One can follow the Hindu path and be warmly accepted by Hindus without making that formal committment. Even after 12 years, I made the mistake of accepting a guru who I later discovered was not qualified to hold that position. So, my Dear, be very, very, careful, because dabbling in different spiritual traditions can be extremely dangerous to one's psyche.

I am old enough to be your grandmother, so, please take an elder's advice, and be very cautious. Hinduism is full of rich traditions and much universal ancient wisdom. By their very powerful nature, there are some practices, which, when engaged in prematurely, or with the guidance of an unqualified guru, can cause unimaginable, and sometimes irreparable harm.

Take the time to reflect. After all, we call it Sanatana Dharma. It is Eternal, and it will always be there for you when you know for sure that this is the path you wish to follow.

I wish you good fortune and may Bhagwan/Devi Mata guide you in making the correct and mature decision.

I do not wish to discourage you from following the Hindu path, far from it. For those educated in its intricacies and mysteries, Sanatana Dharma is a powerful force towards inner peace and union with the Supreme Absolute. However, to the uninitiated, it is but superficial magick, with a great potential for one's own psychic destruction.

[ardhanari]

Thank you, mataji. I will definitely follow your advice, for you are the first one to have offered something that I duely needed these past few weeks!

Jaya Radhe,
Ardhanari.

[karun]

dear friends
as a new forum member and western-hindu let me add my personal point of view:

You have an interesting story. I often wonder about how western hindus find hinduism or as you say how hinduism find them. I mean, for an indian it is much easier even if you are atheists or belong to another religion but how does westerners find hinduism. I find the stories of this very insipiring. It truly is linked to your karma in other lives, imho.

actualy it is very simple. as soon as you understand, that hindu philosophy is mainly about consciousness, you realise it is about YOU. if you think hinduism is about god, i would say: not realy...it is about consciousness of god.

there are more and more western hindus being aware of that. incense, temples and pictures (i love them!!!) might be "indian" but consciousness never is.

when i was young, i had these spontanious experiences of being unbounded consciousness, thou nobody told me about it before. later i realised that hinduism is talking just about that: we are sat-chit-ananda.

regards and looking forward to be in exchange with you all
karun

[devisarada]

If you reduce Hinduism to merely "god consciousness" you are treading on thin ice. "God-Consciousness" is.one of the hallmarks of the New Age movement, the term has also been adopted by certain Christian evangelists to try and woo Hindus, and New Agers.

This next comment is not directed at you Varun.

I know a number of people who call themselves Hindus and IMHO hey are actually more New Age. The know a few mantras and some jargon, but can't tell the difference between Lakshmi and Saraswati Ma.

Being Hindu is a way of living, a way of relating to the world, and even a system of logic that is different from what we Westerners at first think. The more you get into it, the more you realise how little you know.

[MananAtma]

Namaste,
I am also a western Hindu, been going through a lot of soul searching, so I have not been that active here. Hoping to change that. If you want know more about me, my blog is http://360.yahoo.com/mananatma .

Shanti,
Roy

[kd gupta]

My dear friends

Thanks for starting this thread. Our friend Bhairava 108 is a shiva bhakt ,it seems. Pl. change your name from Bhairava 108 to Shiva 108 , as bhairava is not to be prayed. Worship of bhanwan shankar includes , first GANESH , secod PARVATI ,and then bhgwan Shankar.The mantra is..
AUM namah parvatipataye har har mahadeo. It includes all three.
Mantra for bhagwan Vishnu is…
AUM namo bhagwate vasudevay.
There are incarnation of parmatma as great souls, Bhagwan Vishnu as Ramchandra, Krishna and bhagwan Shankar as Hanuman.
According to Vedas parmatma is formless and attains form as great souls. The only truth is parmatma which can be felt with Ananyabhakti and seen even as described in Bhagwatgita and Ramcharitmans , the holy hindu granthas.
Thank you all for having faith in Hinduism.

[Eastern Mind]

My dear friends

Thanks for starting this thread. Our friend Bhairava 108 is a shiva bhakt ,it seems. Pl. change your name from Bhairava 108 to Shiva 108 , as bhairava is not to be prayed. Worship of bhanwan shankar includes , first GANESH , secod PARVATI ,and then bhgwan Shankar.The mantra is..
AUM namah parvatipataye har har mahadeo. It includes all three.
Mantra for bhagwan Vishnu is…
AUM namo bhagwate vasudevay.
There are incarnation of parmatma as great souls, Bhagwan Vishnu as Ramchandra, Krishna and bhagwan Shankar as Hanuman.
According to Vedas parmatma is formless and attains form as great souls. The only truth is parmatma which can be felt with Ananyabhakti and seen even as described in Bhagwatgita and Ramcharitmans , the holy hindu granthas.
Thank you all for having faith in Hinduism.

Namaste KD Gupta:

Hinduism is vast. Very vast. I cannot stress this enough. Here in my home town we have 5 temples, each with its own point of view, and particular style of worship. At the temple I go to, the devotees are many and varied. Worship is in Sanskrit, and the founding community was Sri Lankan Tamil primarily. Now we have Bengalis, Punjabis, Gujuratis, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, western converts, Caribbean Hindus, Fijians, Telugu speakers, Nepalese, Marathi speakers, and Hindi speakers. On any given Sunday there are probably 7 or 8 languages spoken.

Within Hinduism its similar. People worship various forms of Godhead, as they see fit. This temple, being Saiva, built from the Saiva Agama principles, has shrines to Ganapati, Siva, Murugan, a mix in the vasantha mandapam, including Rajarajeshwari, and to Bhairava. There are no main shrines to Hanuman, Krishna, Rama, Durga etc. Other temples in our city have similar variations, excepting that most wouldn't have ashrine for Murugan. (many north Indians I've met don't even know who Murugan is)

I worship Bhairava each time I enter and leave this temple. In my view, He is the psychic guardian of the temple, and I thank Him for allowing me to enter the temple and the Sanatana Dharma. In my view, He is verily God siva Himself. I do not worship Krishna, Shakti, (other than as the Effect principle of Siva) or Hanuman. That's my choice.

What you are stating in the above is your particular take on the Dharma. I beseech you to consider a wider view. Please don't get me wrong. I just find it somewhat Christian like when you for example, suggest someone changes his name. It may well be discouraging to Bhairava 108. I can't speak for him. No one, in my view, has the right to dictate how another person should or should not believe. This is for the sake of humanity. I find the Christians and the Iskconites very similar when they attempt to convert me. Its insulting. I came to my personal viewpoint through many hours of study, meditation, and reflection. I am not saying it is right for you too, just that it's right for me.

What you represent is called ethnocentricity in social science terms. Its completely understandable, yet frustrating for onlookers, on occasion as well. It's when a person sees their village, their religion, their take on their religion, their language, their food, their way of dress, etc., as 'better' than everyone else's.

Aum Namasivasya

[kd gupta]

sorry
o.k., do as you wish..