intro

[wcrow]

Hi, my name is Wilfred Hather.
I am not a Hindu, but I have come here to learn more about Hinduism. I hope that this is acceptable. I have been reading some of the threads here and I have learn much, but there are still lots of questions that I have.
I hope my time here is pleasant and constructive.

[devotee]

Namaste Wilfred,

Hi, my name is Wilfred Hather.
I am not a Hindu, but I have come here to learn more about Hinduism. I hope that this is acceptable. I have been reading some of the threads here and I have learn much, but there are still lots of questions that I have.
I hope my time here is pleasant and constructive.

Welcome to the forum !

If you are coming from Christianity, it would take considerable time to have a real feel of Hinduism. So, be patient. There are many divergent paths ... differently philosophies. Read the threads in different forums here & do ask questions. There are many here who can extend help.

OM

[Eastern Mind]

Welcome wcrow: Ask away. You will find lots of good spirit and a variety of people within the religions of Hinduism here. BTW, is your name perchance a reflection of Native American heritage?

Aum Namasivaya

[saidevo]

namaste Wilfred.

Welcome to HDF! Since you might find it difficult to have an overall view about Hinduism from the posts here most of which are rather advanced in nature, I suggest that you try, in addition, the beginner's books I have listed below:

All About Hinduism: sivAnanda |
http://www.sivanandadlshq.org/download/hinduismbk.pdf

Beginners: SR Achari |
http://srimatham.com/srimatham/hindu...rbeginners.pdf

Hindu Dharma: bansi pandit |
http://ikashmir.net/hindudharma/doc/hindudharma.pdf

What is Hinduism?: HA s1 |
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/reso...f/wih_sec1.pdf
2 |
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/reso...f/wih_sec2.pdf
3 |
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/reso...f/wih_sec3.pdf
4 |
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/reso...f/wih_sec4.pdf
5 |
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/reso...f/wih_sec5.pdf
6 |
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/reso...f/wih_sec6.pdf

[wcrow]

Thankyou all so very much for your warm welcomes! The links that saidevo has posted are very informative and interesting!

If you are coming from Christianity, it would take considerable time to have a real feel of Hinduism.
OM

I am actually from a religion called hellenismos, which aims to reconstruct the culture, beliefs and ethics of the pre-christian peoples of Greece. Some people mistake this for Greek (neo)paganism or whatever, but I find that term meaningless and does not describe adequatly my religion.
Actually, I think some of our concepts are quite similar to hinduism, which is one of the reasons why I am interested in learning more. Some of us beleive on reincarnation, and a law of karma-ish. But from what I have learn of hinduism it is nothing like any other religion I have read about, very unique.

BTW, is your name perchance a reflection of Native American heritage?

That is the first time I have heard that! Actually the name Wilfred is an anglo-saxon one, and all my family comes from england, with blood also from spain.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam wcrow: I'm sorry. When I asked about the name, it was the wcrow name, not Wilfred. The Crow are a tribe of native Americans, whose religion also has commonalities with Hinduism, and people often explore that. Just as you are exploring your ancient Greek stuff.

I think your exploration will be fascinating. Is heelenismos alive still? Are there texts, or has much been lost because of Crusades and the like?
When you said karma ish, what did you mean?

So let's continue, please.

Aum namasivaya

[wcrow]

I think your exploration will be fascinating. Is heelenismos alive still? Are there texts, or has much been lost because of Crusades and the like?
When you said karma ish, what did you mean?

So let's continue, please.

Aum namasivaya

No, it was destroyed by the conversion to christianity by the 3/4th centuary AD. So we have to piece it back together - so there is often a lot of reading, especially as the revival has only been going 10 or so years, but it has been "estabished" in greece (so that it is easy for newcomers), the only problem is there aren't good translations in english. So we have to do the work ourselves.
There are plenty of texts about the religion, such as the poets work (illiad, odyssey, hymns) and plenty on the actual cult and practices through archaeology and historical texts.
What I meant by karma is the notion of cause and effect thoughout your life - your Fate is up to the actions you do, though we beleive major events are pre-determined. The idea of Reciprocity and Justice as natrual laws, good gets good, bad gets bad. My understanding of Karma is limited so I may be competly barking up the wrong tree.

[SethDrebitko]

saidevo that pile of links is awesome thanks for dropping it! Also (even though I am new myself) welcome wcrow!