Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 18

Thread: Hindus speaking at Pagan Convention

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    St. Augustine, FL, USA
    Age
    50
    Posts
    254
    Rep Power
    360

    Hindus speaking at Pagan Convention

    http://www.hafsite.org/Hindu_America...antheaCon_2011

    At the Pagan "PantheaCon" convention recently, the Hindu American Foundation sent a delegation to discuss issues with the Pagans.

    Here is an audio presentation which includes some of these speakers: http://www.thorncoyle.com/podcasts/E...ndu_030811.m4a

    At 6:00, Easan Katir begins with a prayer and then a discussion on Pluralism, and the connections between European Paganism and Hinduism, mostly in ancient history.

    At 12:45, he is succeeded by Dr. Mihir Meghani, and then there are presentations by a couple different Pagan speakers, and some dialogue between the Hindus and Pagans.

    Any thoughts?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    September 2007
    Location
    Canada
    Age
    70
    Posts
    7,191
    Rep Power
    5038

    Re: Hindus speaking at Pagan Convention

    Vannakkam Bryon:

    I think it was a good example of interfaith dialogue where minorities working together can have more impact than working alone. The problem is that the people who need to attend to this the most simply don't. Here in the west there are all kinds of small by population faiths that can be exemplars in dialogue and tolerance. I'm glad to see such co-operation, but still see the problem with "My way is the Only way' thinking. I have no idea how one can break into that.

    Aum Namasivaya

  3. #3
    Join Date
    January 2010
    Location
    tadvishno paramam padam
    Age
    38
    Posts
    2,168
    Rep Power
    2547

    Re: Hindus speaking at Pagan Convention

    I listened to the whole thing, it's very interesting to hear about the pagan and Hindu conversation and possible cooperation. I am all for religious pluralism, but not for radical universalism where concepts like we are all the same and all paths lead to the same goal are shoved down people's throat. In the beginning they talked a little about this idea which is spread by Hindu parents. Later in the convention in my opinion, things started to get polically correct/ diplomatic when an audience member asked what about those Christians who try to live by the word of Jesus? Here they really needed to talk about how Christianity is fundamentally against pluralism and religious tolerance. It's useless to say that there are good Christians and bad Christians, there are good and bad people everywhere. We need to make clear that the bad Christians are in fact motivated by the words of the bible and their sampradaya of Churches. They talked about providing liberal reinterpretations of the Bible and the Koran, this is just sticking your head in the sand and ignoring what the Abrahamic religions are really about. The violence and disrespect against pagans, heathens and kafirs are inherit traits of the abrahamic religions, not misinterpretations. This is not demonising Christianity, but just calling a spade a spade.
    Last edited by Sahasranama; 12 March 2011 at 01:38 PM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    September 2007
    Location
    Canada
    Age
    70
    Posts
    7,191
    Rep Power
    5038

    Re: Hindus speaking at Pagan Convention

    Quote Originally Posted by Sahasranama View Post
    Later in the convention in my opinion, things started to get a little polically correct/ diplomatic when an audience member asked what about those Christians who try to live by the word of Jesus? Here they really needed to talk about how Christianity is fundamentally against pluralism and religious tolerance.
    Vannakkam Sahasranama: Which is why its so very difficult. If you say what you really think, the Christian just heads to the door, and makes a proclamation that there is no tolerance of their right to be intolerant, or some silly thing. At least the person was in attendance. The real fundamentalists never go to such places or events for they would be going to the halls of the devil, in their opinion. When it gets to that point where one side can't listen there just is no dialogue. Thank goodness we have great tolerant religions like ours, so those of us who can see beyond some narrow box have a place to go.

    Aum Namasivaya

  5. #5
    Join Date
    January 2010
    Location
    tadvishno paramam padam
    Age
    38
    Posts
    2,168
    Rep Power
    2547

    Re: Hindus speaking at Pagan Convention

    Yes, that's the whole purpose of diplomacy, but I was looking for more straight forward answers.

    Q~ What about those Christians who try to follow the words of Jesus? Why are they being demonised?

    A~ Have you read the supposed words of Jesus in the Bible, they are the cause of all these problems of evangelism, missionaries and violence and hatred against Pagans/Hindus.

    It's not really our job to turn all Christians into liberals, even though the liberal Christians are not our enemy. Christians can always use as an excuse that those are the bad apples in the tree while ignoring what's fundamentally wrong with Christianity itself. Our strongest weapon against evangelism is to point out that Christianity is fundamentally flawed, pointing out the bad apples in the tree is fighting the symptoms instead of attacking the cause of the disease.
    Last edited by Sahasranama; 12 March 2011 at 02:11 PM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    November 2009
    Age
    39
    Posts
    839
    Rep Power
    1029

    Re: Hindus speaking at Pagan Convention

    So I'm all for tolerating everyone. But am I the only one here who is disturbed by the idea of taking made-up religions like paganism seriously? My problem here is that in very recent times (i.e. the last fifty years or so) some Westerners have decided that they want a spirituality other than Christianity, and they've created their own. This to me is about as legitimate as the people who try to combine Hinduism and Christianity, whom we denounce on this very forum. I'm certainly in favor of a live and let live approach, and I'm not out to criticize these people for doing what they want. But I wouldn't personally take their "faith" as a serious religion.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    St. Augustine, FL, USA
    Age
    50
    Posts
    254
    Rep Power
    360

    Re: Hindus speaking at Pagan Convention

    Quote Originally Posted by sanjaya View Post
    So I'm all for tolerating everyone. But am I the only one here who is disturbed by the idea of taking made-up religions like paganism seriously? My problem here is that in very recent times (i.e. the last fifty years or so) some Westerners have decided that they want a spirituality other than Christianity, and they've created their own. This to me is about as legitimate as the people who try to combine Hinduism and Christianity, whom we denounce on this very forum. I'm certainly in favor of a live and let live approach, and I'm not out to criticize these people for doing what they want. But I wouldn't personally take their "faith" as a serious religion.
    It depends on what you are referring to as "made up." There are many different "types" of "Paganism," encompassing everything from the more "made up" flavors, like Wicca...to the "Reconstructionists," like Greek Polytheists, Asatruars, and practitioners of the Religio Romana...all of which are based on the ancient texts and religious practices of "real" belief systems.

    I certainly feel a little embarrassed by being associated with some of the "fruitier" elements of modern Paganism...but there are also many serious people and academics involved with it...though they are largely associated with the Reconstructionist elements.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    November 2009
    Age
    39
    Posts
    839
    Rep Power
    1029

    Re: Hindus speaking at Pagan Convention

    Quote Originally Posted by BryonMorrigan View Post
    It depends on what you are referring to as "made up." There are many different "types" of "Paganism," encompassing everything from the more "made up" flavors, like Wicca...to the "Reconstructionists," like Greek Polytheists, Asatruars, and practitioners of the Religio Romana...all of which are based on the ancient texts and religious practices of "real" belief systems.

    I certainly feel a little embarrassed by being associated with some of the "fruitier" elements of modern Paganism...but there are also many serious people and academics involved with it...though they are largely associated with the Reconstructionist elements.
    You're right; I should clarify what I mean a bit.

    So on the topic of Wicca, to me it seems patently obvious that the religion exists solely to be the "un-Christianity" for Westerners. But the religion finds its origins in the twentieth century. I'm sure it's based on some ancient European tradition of some sort, but you won't find pre-Christian Europeans who practiced Wicca. The problem for me here is the arbitrariness of the whole thing. What's to stop anyone from inventing a belief system, mixing in something from other faiths, and calling it a new religion? If we hold to any notion of absolute truth, then we can't believe that such religions have any real spiritual value. Hence why I believe that Wicca should be taken as childish play rather than a real religion.

    Now as for the Greek polytheists, I certainly wouldn't classify ancient Greek spirituality as an invented religion. That said, the spirituality of the ancient Greeks died out a long time ago. The culture is gone, and there's a limit to how well their spirituality can be replicated by simply reading literature from classical Greece. Hinduism has continuously existed from ancient times until the present; we have an established religious culture and we know how to perform Hindu rituals properly. I'm fairly certain that any worship of Greek gods which exists today would be alien to a classical Greek. That's why I think there's no real value in pretending that one is a worshiper of Greek gods.

    In any case, I'm certainly willing to tolerate these guys and let them worship whatever or however they like. But I don't personally believe that what they're doing has any spiritual value, or that they are communicating with God via their ridiculous practices.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    January 2010
    Location
    tadvishno paramam padam
    Age
    38
    Posts
    2,168
    Rep Power
    2547

    Re: Hindus speaking at Pagan Convention

    I definitely admire the western pagans for reconstructing their spiritual heritage and positioning themselves against Christianity. Hindus can learn from this, because the Indian reformers and modern saints have done the exact opposite and have tried to conform to Christian and Muslim standards. Whether it's made up or not, of course I believe in the truth of Hinduism, but even the other religions can have some value to them. The opening prayer for example sounded a lot like a Hindu prayer. In abstact notions they may come close to Hinduism, but the concrete aspects of their religions are different. I respect these differences and I do not trivialize them as being less important than the abstract notions which is what universalists do.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    September 2010
    Posts
    1,064
    Rep Power
    1014

    Re: Hindus speaking at Pagan Convention

    Wise words everyone.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •