Aneesh's Hinduism thread

[aneeshm]

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?

That view is a bit misleading . All lower gods are mainfestations of the one supreme consciousness , not absolutely independent entities .

 

[aneeshm]

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).

The subordinates are not absolutely independently existing entities . They represent attributes of God , in a form easy for the lay worshipper to grasp and relate to .

 

[aneeshm]

How do people convert to Hinduism?

There is no formal conversion procedure . If you want to become a Hindu , then you are one - simple as that . You just start living it . Some sects do have formal conversion ceremonies , such as the Arya Samaj , but that is more for people who want a formal ceremeny . There is no declaration as in Islam , no baptism as in Christianity . It is not necessary to change your name . Disruption in the convert's life is kept to a minimum .

 

[silver 2039]

What does Tan-Satanisim have to do with Hinduisim and what exactly is the "Dark Tempal" in Madras and the Himilayas? And the Dark Docterine? My friend keeps going on about this.

 

[Steph]

Hindus have nothing against the left hand per se , but it is considered ritually impure because it is used to wipe the arse ( for a left-handed person , correspondingly , the right hand will be ritually impure ) .

You mean right hand people wipe themselves with the left hand??

 

[Che Guava]

thanks so much for answering my questions, guys. I think hinduism is probably the most misunderstood and misinterpreted faiths of our times (although with the recent influx of trashy pop-culture 'non-fiction' books on religion, I think islam and catholocism are making a run for the title....)

 

[aneeshm]

You mean right hand people wipe themselves with the left hand??

That is how it usually is , yes .

 

[Steph]

Well, it doesn't seem it is so usual.
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=172769

Or is it an Hindu custom?

 

[aneeshm]

Well, it doesn't seem it is so usual.
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=172769

Or is it an Hindu custom?

It's an Indian custom .

 

[Che Guava]

Is there a hindu apocalypse or similar end-of'the-world scenario?

 

[allhailIndia]

Is there a hindu apocalypse or similar end-of'the-world scenario?

According to Hindu mythology, Bramha creates the universe when he awakes, i.e., during the 'day', but all of its gets destroyed as Shiva begins his Tandava dance. Shiva's Tandava also co-incides with Brahma's long sleep or 'night' and the cycle is repeated endlessly when Brahma awakes again.

Surprisingly, the length of the 'day' of Brahma is about 4,320,000,000 years, which is quite close to the accepted age of the Earth, 4.5 billion years, but not so very close to the age of the universe, i.e, 16 billion or so years. When Brahma begins his long sleep, the waters rise and drown everything in the universe and all of creation is destroyed. However, Vishnu will arrive in an avatar and preserve the Vedas, seven rishis and their wives from whom humanity will rise again, and all the sacred animals and herbs. These people will be cast adrift on an ark-like boat for 4,320,000,000 years until Brahma wakes again and begins his creation. The night of Brahma is called the 'Pralaya'. Hindus use this word to describe especially strong floods or a disaster of a great magnitude.

This story is told in the one of the ten 'avatars' of Vishnu where he appears as a rapidly growing gigantic, golden fish to warn the seven rishis of the impending doom, at the same time preserving the knowledge of the Vedas as they start to slip out of the memory of Brahma. He then brings a gigantic ark for the seven rishis and their wives, the herbs, the animals, etc. and guides them through the primeval waters till Brahma awakens. In the meantime, he also passes the knowledge of the Vedas to the rishis and thereby giving humanity the knowledge of these things.

It must also be noted that each 'day' of Brahma is divided into cycles of four yugas (or ages of man). There are 71 cycles of these four yugas, where the subsequent yuga is shorter than the previous, and the people living born in it, less spiritual. The present yuga, is obviously the kali yuga, when people are barely aware of divinity in its full meaning and have succumbed to magic and superstitition in thinking these are signs of the Supreme.

The Kali Yuga began with the end of the Mahabharata, i.e., the death of Krishna and the Pandavas and will end when Vishnu will come in his last and most terrible form, as a horseman impending the doom of the world. He will cleanse the world of all the sinners and usher in a the Satya yuga (the age of truth) once again, beginning another cycle of yugas. It is supposed to last 432,000 years, but then again, we don't know when the Mahabharata took place...

 

[Che Guava]

wow! that's pretty intense!! Something that perked my ears a little:

Surprisingly, the length of the 'day' of Brahma is about 4,320,000,000 years, which is quite close to the accepted age of the Earth, 4.5 billion years, but not so very close to the age of the universe, i.e, 16 billion or so years.

I was wondering if there is something of a 'creationist' movement within hinduism. What kind of relationship does hinduism have with science? Do people try to use science to 'prove' certain aspects of faith, like christian archeologists trying to find the ark on mt Ararat or contesting theories on teh age of teh earth, for eg.

 

[aneeshm]

wow! that's pretty intense!! Something that perked my ears a little:

Another thing which is interesting is that the ten avatars of Vishnu correspond loosely to human evolution . The first is a fish , the second an amphibian ( turtle ) , the third a mammal ( a boar ) , the fourth a half-human ( narasimha ) , the fifth a dwarf ( vamana ) , and all the rest humans . This also has a bearing on your next question .

I was wondering if there is something of a 'creationist' movement within hinduism. What kind of relationship does hinduism have with science? Do people try to use science to 'prove' certain aspects of faith, like christian archeologists trying to find the ark on mt Ararat or contesting theories on teh age of teh earth, for eg.

The reverse , actually . Fundamentalist Hindus believe that all fundamental science is contained in the Vedas , and that it is lost due to lack of people capable of correctly interpreting them . Needless to say , I do not subscribe to this view , but the Vedas do contain an amazing amount of astronomical data which is quite a bit ahead of their time ( one of the most glaring being the Vedic pronouncement that the sun wears a sacred thread of beads , whereas in fact the Earth's sun actually does have a series of spots in a line which resembles a sacred thread of beads ) .

 

[Bigfoot]

Thanks aneeshm, this is quite an interesting thread. In some respects Hinduism reminds me of Unitariaism. They both posit the existence of just one God, and they share the belief that there are multiple paths to understanding God / Truth. Or am I getting it wrong? I must confess to some ignorance regarding Hinduism, up to this point I thought of it is a polytheistic belief system.

One thing I wish to understand better, why is there so much conflict between Muslims and Hindus in India? Is it a manifestation of historcial circumstances, or are there deeper theological reasons for the conflict?

 

[aneeshm]

Thanks aneeshm, this is quite an interesting thread. In some respects Hinduism reminds me of Unitariaism. They both posit the existence of just one God, and they share the belief that there are multiple paths to understanding God / Truth. Or am I getting it wrong? I must confess to some ignorance regarding Hinduism, up to this point I thought of it is a polytheistic belief system.

That is quite similar to Hinduism , but I cannot say for certain , as I know nothing about Unitariaism .

One thing I wish to understand better, why is there so much conflict between Muslims and Hindus in India? Is it a manifestation of historcial circumstances, or are there deeper theological reasons for the conflict?

It is a thousand year long , violent , bloody , and sad story . The reasons are both historic and theological . For the Hindu critique of Islam from a historic point of view , let me point you to The Story of Islamic Imperialism in India , and these books ( Book One and Book Two ) . For the Hindu critique of Islam from a theological point of view , I recommend you read this , and also a book by Arun Shourie , "The World of Fatwas" .

 

[Che Guava]

What are the major divisions within Hinuism at present? When we think of christianity, we tend to divide into catholic, protestant and orthodox. If so, who traditionally belongs to each sect? (ethnic groups, south vs north india, class, etc)

 

[Bigfoot]

^ Thanks, I will read these materials over.

 

[Xanikk999]

You mean right hand people wipe themselves with the left hand??

Umm i do that and im right handed. Is that uncommon?

 

[allhailIndia]

What are the major divisions within Hinuism at present? When we think of christianity, we tend to divide into catholic, protestant and orthodox. If so, who traditionally belongs to each sect? (ethnic groups, south vs north india, class, etc)

There are too many divisions to count. There is no one 'dominant' form of Hinduism which pervades all over the country, but various forms with some kind of commonality, so there are no broad divisions. There are lots of local divisions based on which of the many Gods in the pantheon one chooses to worship and sometimes followers of a certain 'Guru' form a separate sect practicing a slightly different version of Hinduism as taught by the Guru...so there is no broad division in Hinduism.

I wouldn't classify caste as 'religious' differences (except some Dalit scholars who assert that Dalits (or untouchables as they were referred to) were never Hindus) as these have more to do with societal and economic differences than any disagreements on theology.

 

[spankey]

Umm i do that and im right handed. Is that uncommon?

Count me in too. Maybe we are outliers