We, the dharmic people of the HDF, conduct many discussions on various topics. There are some rules of engagement, which if followed would make you come out on top in any debate that you choose to take part in. Here are some guidelines:
1. ALWAYS quote a seer, a scripture or a random Sanskrit verse in support of your position **. By doing this you are deflecting others from arguing against you; instead you are pitting your opponent against the Acharyas/Shastras of his own faith. That will surely make his knees weak, and you will prevail. ( If you are a Universalist, a verse from scriptures of other religions may also be used)
2. Try to show phony affection for others by using words like, "my dear xxx", "with love", "my humble obeisances", "warm regards" etc. This will make others feel like you really care about them and they will acquiesce.
3. Don't be bashful. Be condescending as much as possible. Pretend that you are the 'high priest' and are talking to a bunch of 5 year olds.
4. Use tags like "shrill", "shallow", "unsupported", "hearsay", "baseless canards", "unholy" etc., when describing your opponent's position. This invalidates anything meaningful that they might be saying.
5. In order to be a moving target, be vague; never summarize your position in a short paragraph. Instead, provide half a dozen links in your post. First thing, it shows that you are well read. Secondly, they will spend 2 hours reading the stuff in the links, which may be totally unrelated to the topic, then get bored/frustrated and throw in the towel.
6. If you want attention drawn to something dear to your heart, inject it into an ongoing heated discussion. Some people may take the bait and digress and start discussing your topic, which otherwise might go unnoticed in its own thread.
7. If you are currently in India, make sure you let that be known to everyone. Your physical proximity to seers and famous temples adds to your credence.
8. Be gullible. Always take the position that anything goes in Hinduism, that it is all encompassing, that what made it strong is its encouragement of non-sensical open ended discussions, and that Hindus believe all paths lead to God.
9. Take the moral high ground. Be a secular pacifist. That way your opponents appear to be saffron terrorists. You can let your imagination run wild and even liken them to Hitler.
10. Never consider Hindu unity to be a factor in your discussions. Spew out ego fueled raw garbage against the sampradayes that you are not part of. Remember, what makes you feel good and enforces least number of restrictions on your lifestyle is the best sampradaye to latch on to; and that is the only one worth protecting.
There are probably other strategies too, but I ran out of room on my stone and am limiting the list to ten commandments.
To reiterate, you don't have to be right, just tricky enough to come out on top. Your aim is not spiritual advancement or increasing your scriptural knowledge, but to score points by overpowering others in a debate. At the end of the year, member with the most points gets an all expense paid trip for two (you can only bring a person of the opposite sex please), to Disneyland, California, USA. Good luck only to all Sanatan Dharmic contestants.
** No disrespect is meant to our revered Gurus, past and present; to our sacred scriptures or to the pristine Sanskrit verses full of knowledge. This point is to emphasize the twisting of information from these sources to match one's personal POV.
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Originally Posted by Believer
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