Aneesh's Hinduism thread

[puglover]

I'll ask a few.

What is a Hindu expected to do in this life?

You don't have to answer this one if you feel it's too personal, but why are you a Hindu?

Whats wrong with the number 420?

It's a corruption of the answer to life, the universe, and everything?

 

[GenMarshall]

Is Hinduism Polytheistic or Monotheistic?

 

[FreeTerminus]

Hi

I know a Hindu couple down the street and I asked them once about the monotheism vs. polytheism question. They said that there is one supreme God, but that all the other Gods are actual beings that are subservient to the one supreme God.

Do a lot of people in India hold this view?

 

[GenMarshall]

Now I am starting to get confused about the Hindu concept of their Monotheism as one supreme God but rather has subordanate God. To me It sounds like Polytheism, then again I am a Roman Catholic who believes that there is one God with three devine persons (Known as the Holy Trinity).

 

[ybbor]

This is another thing about Hinduism - it gives religious leaders it trusts the power and anthority to reform the religion . No one book is binding on the reformer , and thus he can do his work unshackled .

what checks are in place to stop Hindus from following a man rather than god?

 

[allhailIndia]

Whats wrong with the number 420?

That has to do more with the INdian Penal Code than Hinduism. S.420 of the IPC punishes the offence of 'cheating' and consequently, cheats came to be referred to as '420s' in popular culture...No connection with Hinduism per se.

Another of Lord Macauley's unintended consequences

 

[allhailIndia]

Now I am starting to get confused about the Hindu concept of their Monotheism as one supreme God but rather has subordanate God. To me It sounds like Polytheism, then again I am a Roman Catholic who believes that there is one God with three devine persons (Known as the Holy Trinity).

It is also important to remember that Hinduism should not be understood as a religion in the same manner as Christianity or Islam;

Hinduism started off as being a polytheistic religion in the same mould as the Greek and Egyptian pantheon of gods, but over time, and in somewhat of a response to the rise and spread of Buddhism, incorporated elements of monotheism into it, which had previously been restricted to philosophical discussions.

Essentially, Hinduism states that God can be found everywhere, in every single atom, particle of every object. All of it is He and He is all of it. Therefore, you can entirely choose what you want to worship, and in what manner you choose to worship, since you are ultimately worshipping Him. So, you can choose to worship one of the myriad forms of the divinity that most appeals to you, that you find embodies the characteristics you want to most apply in your life and you are still worshipping Him.

 

[FreeTerminus]

So do Hindu's have a problem, say, worshipping in a Christian temple or whatnot? Since worshipping Christ or God or whatever would still be the same..?

 

[allhailIndia]

How does hinduism view the non-hindu world?

What I mean to say is, how do hindus account for all the non-hindus in the world? For eg, I know that jews beleive themselves to be the chosen people of god, christianity/islam take a evangelical view (they have the answer, its thier job to spread it to the world), while buddhism seems to take the view that the world is thus, and buddhism is just a way of explaining the cycles of life,. (sorry for the terrible oversimplification of religions, I just wanted to get a point across!)

Do hindus beleive that god has a special connection to the people india/the ganges? Do they beleive they have a duty to spread hinuism? Or do hinus not worry about the rest of the world so much?

Actually Hindus didn't bother about much of the world outside the Himalayas and beyond the Seas. As far as Hindus were concerned, they were living in the most enlightened and advanced country in the world and everyone else was a godless heathen. Somewhat similar to the Chinese outlook.

However, the invasion of the Mughals and, later colonization of the British brought about a gradual, but significant change in this attitude. It was no longer a sin, demanding ritual purification, to leave the borders of India and go abroad.

There has been no 'evangelical' aspect to Hinduism, although there is only one instance in the mythology of a sage 'spreading' Hinduism to South India from the North.

 

[aneeshm]

How does hinduism view the non-hindu world?

What I mean to say is, how do hindus account for all the non-hindus in the world? For eg, I know that jews beleive themselves to be the chosen people of god, christianity/islam take a evangelical view (they have the answer, its thier job to spread it to the world), while buddhism seems to take the view that the world is thus, and buddhism is just a way of explaining the cycles of life,. (sorry for the terrible oversimplification of religions, I just wanted to get a point across!)

Do hindus beleive that god has a special connection to the people india/the ganges? Do they beleive they have a duty to spread hinuism? Or do hinus not worry about the rest of the world so much?

To be frank with you , Hindus are almost completely unconcerned with other religions as long as they do not try to encroach on Hinduism . They are happy to live and let live . Quoting the Vedas :

The truth is one; the wise know it by many names .

This attitude has historically led to Hinduism being quite tolerant of dissent ( in the sense that dissenters are not persecuted ) . Dissenters , however , were often requested to engage in debates , with the condition that the loser would accept and become the disciple of the winner . If they refused , it was considered an act of cowardice , and if they accepted and won , then it meant that the dissenter was correct , and therefore there was no harm in accepting his point of view . This is how intellectual life was kept alive .

The "converting" religions did not fit into this picture . The Islamic invaders believed in conversion at the point of the sword , and put to death a lot of the intellectual elite who refused to convert . The Christian missionaries in India even now are not above using such catastrophes as the tsunami to further their ends of conversion . Even then , Hindus are not concerned with how these religions behave outside India's borders , but their behaviour in the Hindu homeland has not been above criticism . Had the Muslims or Christians not tried to convert Hindus , Hindus would not have given a damn about what they did outside India .


As for the special connection - the Ganga is a sacred river , but it is sacred for anybody - a Muslim , Christian , or Jew is free to come and reap the spiritual benefits of bathing in the Ganga if he so wishes . There is no duty to spread Hinduism , but there is a duty to maintain the Hindu character of India's culture . Thus , Hindus should make it a priority to re-convert the Christians and Muslims who are in India , Indonesia , Pakistan , Afghanistan , Malaysia , and Cambodia ( all the parts of the world which were part of Greater India ) , but should not bother about these same people outside these regions .

 

[.Shane.]

If a Hindu came to my door to convert me, how would he/she dress?

 

[allhailIndia]

So do Hindu's have a problem, say, worshipping in a Christian temple or whatnot? Since worshipping Christ or God or whatever would still be the same..?

It would depend on the individual Hindu I guess... Although there is no injunction as in Christianity or Islam about there being only One God and One Name of the One God...


'Conversion' is also a tricky issue, since the matter has often been 'complicated' by the large flow of funds to such activities from the US and oher European countries. It is not so much personal conversion that has caused problems, but the so-called 'mass conversions' where entire villages are converted by missionaries.
While no doubt some missionaries have done yeoman service in building schools, hospitals, etc. in rural India, there are also those who have used monetary and other inducements to get converts and thereby get more funding since they can show x no. of people were 'saved'.

A bit of personal experience, may not be totally representative.
My dad was engaged in a medical study involving the elderly in slum areas of Bangalore and other such parts in the State, and he used a missionary run elderly home in this particular slum as a temporary base for collecting data. As the data entry operator was taking down the names of the elderly, one of the elderly women gave her name, but was instantly corrected by the social worker (presumably Christian), who pointed out that that was her old name, and she should give the 'new' anglicized version of the name now. Clearly, this old woman had little idea what was Christianity and being completely under the care of the missionary run institution, I don't know how 'free and conscientious' her conversion was. I found out from my Dad that this was not an aberration, and there were other such incidents in missionary run institutions...

Now I was educated in a (Protestant) Christian institution where the study of the Bible was compulsory at all levels and also a subject to be tested for. Morning prayer was compulsory for all, irrespective of religion, and I'm sure it is prety much the same in many other Christian and missionary run institutions. There were almost equal no. of Christian and non-Christian students, though almost all the faculty was Christian. I do remember various teachers who would look at all the non-Christians in class and promise us a place in hell 'if we did not accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour'..You can imagine the effect this would have on kids and while preaching itself may not be that bad, such 'methods' were 'problematic' at best.

The new conversion laws, passed in some states with a significant tribal population, seeks to prevent people from being converted through force or monetary inducement or even saying you will go to hell if u don't convert. Doesn't prevent preaching or teaching a religion or personal voluntary conversion, which basically means the Pope did not read those laws fully before he decided to make an international incident out of it...

 

[allhailIndia]

If a Hindu came to my door to convert me, how would he/she dress?

You are probably referring to the members of the ISKCON sect, better known as the Hare Krishnas, one of the very few sects who actually engage in 'conversion' in Hinduism. Apart from them I don't think Hinduism cares much about conversion enough to turn up in front of peple's door trying to get you to read the Gita and tell you the horrors of Hell awaiting your unsaved soul..

AFAIK they don't undertake door-to-door campaigns, but then they don't need to convert people in India do they

 

[GenMarshall]

How do people convert to Hinduism?

 

[aneeshm]

1. Are untouchables (Dalit) considered Hindus? If not, does this mean they can assume any religion they like since they aren't Hindus?

Yes , former untouchables are Hindus .

2. Recently there have been some laws passed in preventing mass conversions of people to other religions. Is there a significant amount of intolerance for peoples of other religion in India?

Laws preventing mass conversions are to protect tribal and uneducated people converting due to force or fraud . There have been cases where , once a village becomes majority Christian , the remaining inhabitants are driven out . This is the extreme example , but conversion activities funded by foriegn institutions , which use natural disasters , ignorance , lack of education , and poverty to convert people ( by offering monetaty inducement , or threats ) are a problem .

As for intolerance - by and large , people tolerate others who are willing to tolerate them . We cannot afford to be intolerant with a 13 % Muslim population .

 

[aneeshm]

Do all Hindus use the opposite hand to wipe their arse?

I don't

They're supposed to use one hand for wiping , and the other for eating , rituals , etc . This practice stems from the time when hygeine was not as easy to maintain as it is today .

 

[Flak]

*deleted*

Ten characters

 

[aneeshm]

I'll ask a few.

What is a Hindu expected to do in this life?

There are four aims/principles in life :

Dharma : Living your life according to Righteousness
Artha : Acquisition of material prosperity and wealth
Kama : Sexual and other pleasureable fulfilment
Moksha : Release from the cycle of birth , death , and rebirth

There are four stages to life :

Brahmacharya : Age 0 to 25 : Childhood , education , acquisition of knowledge , and building of character
Grihasthashram : Age 26 to 50 : The life of a married householder , the goal of this stage being artha and kama
Vanaprasthashram : Age 51 to 75 : The life of a retired elder , who provides guidance to the next generation , and is overall engaged in social service
Sanyasashram : Age 76 to infinity : The spiritual life . The sole goal in this stage is Moksha

What I like about this system is that money and sex are not considered evils , they are considered essentials in this life .

You don't have to answer this one if you feel it's too personal, but why are you a Hindu?

A number of reasons :

a) It is the religion with the richest philosophical tradition
b) It is the only religion where an honest agnostic will be accepted
c) I am proud of its achievements and history
d) I was born into it

 

[aneeshm]

'Conversion' is also a tricky issue, since the matter has often been 'complicated' by the large flow of funds to such activities from the US and oher European countries. It is not so much personal conversion that has caused problems, but the so-called 'mass conversions' where entire villages are converted by missionaries.
While no doubt some missionaries have done yeoman service in building schools, hospitals, etc. in rural India, there are also those who have used monetary and other inducements to get converts and thereby get more funding since they can show x no. of people were 'saved'.

A bit of personal experience, may not be totally representative.
My dad was engaged in a medical study involving the elderly in slum areas of Bangalore and other such parts in the State, and he used a missionary run elderly home in this particular slum as a temporary base for collecting data. As the data entry operator was taking down the names of the elderly, one of the elderly women gave her name, but was instantly corrected by the social worker (presumably Christian), who pointed out that that was her old name, and she should give the 'new' anglicized version of the name now. Clearly, this old woman had little idea what was Christianity and being completely under the care of the missionary run institution, I don't know how 'free and conscientious' her conversion was. I found out from my Dad that this was not an aberration, and there were other such incidents in missionary run institutions...

Now I was educated in a (Protestant) Christian institution where the study of the Bible was compulsory at all levels and also a subject to be tested for. Morning prayer was compulsory for all, irrespective of religion, and I'm sure it is prety much the same in many other Christian and missionary run institutions. There were almost equal no. of Christian and non-Christian students, though almost all the faculty was Christian. I do remember various teachers who would look at all the non-Christians in class and promise us a place in hell 'if we did not accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour'..You can imagine the effect this would have on kids and while preaching itself may not be that bad, such 'methods' were 'problematic' at best.

The new conversion laws, passed in some states with a significant tribal population, seeks to prevent people from being converted through force or monetary inducement or even saying you will go to hell if u don't convert. Doesn't prevent preaching or teaching a religion or personal voluntary conversion, which basically means the Pope did not read those laws fully before he decided to make an international incident out of it...

On the issue of conversion - I have heard praise of Arun Shourie's "Harvesting our Souls" . He has done a lot of research on this topic . I have purchased the book , but am yet to begin reading it . I'll get back to you when I have read it .

 

[aneeshm]

Is Hinduism Polytheistic or Monotheistic?

Hinduism is neither . It is pantheistic . During time when the earlier parts of the Vedas were composed , Hinduism was polytheistic . Later , it became monotheistic . Finally , it arrived at pantheism , and has stayed there since .