What Caste Are You?

[mblova]

Since i am new to the forums i wanted to put up a poll but i dont know how so im just going to start a thread.

What Caste are you from?
Has it ever had an effect on your life and did your parents influence you to do the things expected of the caste and marry within.

Im just very curious to see where people are from on this board and use this as an introduction.

[satay]

I am a shudra born in a Kashtriya family. You?

[mblova]

Kashmiri brahmin or son of kp pandit family and a little punjabi brahmin in me. basically im 50-50

[satay]

nice to see another punjabi here.

[Ablaze]

Can't answer. Like many of the westerners on this forum, I was born outside the caste system.

[mblova]

Yup I'm Half Kashmiri and Half punjabi. Good mix to have.

Ahhh a westerner. Its good to know some "whitefolk" if i may say are converting?? right??

If so can you just gimmie some background on yourself? I'm just very curious as i know of a guru who is a westener who converted here on the east coast.

[orlando]

Can't answer. Like many of the westerners on this forum, I was born outside the caste system.

Neither I can answer!

[Ablaze]

Ahhh a westerner. Its good to know some "whitefolk" if i may say are converting?? right??

Yeah, I am a white convert to Sanatana Dharma.

If so can you just gimmie some background on yourself? I'm just very curious as i know of a guru who is a westener who converted here on the east coast.

well, I'll try to give a brief summary.

At 17 I had a spiritual awakening, where I realized I was not this body, I was an eternal soul. Although I had believed this in my head growing up, I never had any profound realization of it. When this realization came to me, my life and outlook totally changed. I realized everything in this world was temporal, and I should dedicate myself to Self-Realization and God-Realization.

I started studying many different metaphysical books, religions, etc. I realized that the exoteric dogmas of the Abrahamic religions were not the eternal truths that I was realizing within. Although at first I only had a basic realization that I was a soul (not this body), my understanding advanced, and I came to understand karma, the pre-existence of the soul, reincarnation, Samsara, etc. I also learned about the astral/causal planes, our subtle bodies, chakras, Kundalini, and so on.

I found one tradition brought all this esoteric knowledge together, and that is Sanatana Dharma. All this metaphysical knowledge was spoken about by Hindu Gurus in their books I was reading. Many of the non-Hindu writers were speaking about these same things in their books, but not with the depth and realization of eastern masters.

Also a big difference is non-Vedic traditions often do not emphasize moksha. They may speak about reincarnation, or karma, but nothing is ever mentioned how liberation can be attained.

Reading the universal message of the Bhagavad Gita was life-changing. When I read the Gita I realized it was talking to me, and all incarnated Jivas. Following the directions of Sri Krishna, was what I needed to do to make spiritual advancement. It had nothing to do with whether I was indian, italian, etc.. the Atman has no race.

You'll find several westerners, who have come to some inner realization and are karmically inclined have been drawn to Sanatana Dharma in the past 100 yrs. Many Gurus from various Hindu sects, have come to the west (or westerners have travelled to India) and initiated western devotees - from Swami Vivekananda, Sri Yogananda, Shree Maa, and the list goes on.

anyway, I don't want to ramble.. but I've spent over 10 yrs on the spiritual path so far. That's a little of my background above.

[satay]

Yeah, I am a white convert to Sanatana Dharma.

You mean you are HINDU.
There is no such thing as white hindu or westerner hindu. If you follow sanatana dharma you are hindu. Period. :1cool:

well, I'll try to give a brief summary.

Your story is very inspiring indeed. I love reading these types of stories of personal realizations.

For me personally, 'hinduism', karma etc. are all inborn as if they are in my genes...even when I was an atheist I still didn't renounce karma/reincarnation. I only renounced GOD. This feeling of 'hinduism' is not in my head or not even in my heart but I feel like I was born with it. (is that possible?)

But I always wonder how the journey of transformation starts in a person who is born outside of india, outside of the culture and totally outside of the 'dharmic' ideas. There must be something inside of us that we are born with (I mean all 'hindus') all over the world that no matter where we are born, somehow when the karmic forces are in line that we are awaken to our destiny and realize hey, wait a minute...I am not this body!

[Sudarshan]

At 17 I had a spiritual awakening, where I realized I was not this body, I was an eternal soul. Although I had believed this in my head growing up, I never had any profound realization of it. When this realization came to me, my life and outlook totally changed. I realized everything in this world was temporal, and I should dedicate myself to Self-Realization and God-Realization.

What did you mean by spiritual awakening? Is it just used as a metaphor or as some kind of real out of body experience?

I started studying many different metaphysical books, religions, etc. I realized that the exoteric dogmas of the Abrahamic religions were not the eternal truths that I was realizing within. Although at first I only had a basic realization that I was a soul (not this body), my understanding advanced, and I came to understand karma, the pre-existence of the soul, reincarnation, Samsara, etc. I also learned about the astral/causal planes, our subtle bodies, chakras, Kundalini, and so on.

I found one tradition brought all this esoteric knowledge together, and that is Sanatana Dharma. All this metaphysical knowledge was spoken about by Hindu Gurus in their books I was reading. Many of the non-Hindu writers were speaking about these same things in their books, but not with the depth and realization of eastern masters.

Cool. Jesus spoke quite a bit of vedanta, for which he was misunderstood and crucified. Here we never crucify people even when we disagree with each other.

Also a big difference is non-Vedic traditions often do not emphasize moksha. They may speak about reincarnation, or karma, but nothing is ever mentioned how liberation can be attained.

Moksha is emphasised by all religions, they call it by different names. Christianity is at perfect peace with say the principles of Srivaishnavism ( I had a long dialoge with some Christians on this), because of considerable emphasis on accepting one's own inability to work for salvation and falling prostrate at God's feet. But I found the Christian unable to come out of what we call as nAmarUpa, name and form. Except that particular affinity to Jesus, Christianity can be at peace with some sections of Hinduism like Srivaishnavism. But too much emphasis on the death and reserruction of Jesus and how only the beleif in this myth can lead to moksha, makes Christianity incompatible with all other religions.