Ask a Hindu/Ask an Indian

[aneeshm]

~ What beliefs / expectations / limitations / traditions etc does your family hold with regard to the person whom you will marry?

To be frank - absolutely none. They've be quite happy if I married a Hindu Maharashtrian Brahmin, but there is no person they would actually object to me marrying. Unless I were gay - then they'd be very unhappy. Thankfully, I'm not gay, so that's not a concern.

If I married a Christian, nobody would mind, because one of my mother's sisters married a Christian, and she was almost disowned because of it, but later forgiven, and my mother stuck with her the whole time, so she won't mind at all.

If I married a Muslim, they'd tell me to be careful, because inter-religious marriages can cause trouble if the Muslim community does not like it.

If I married a Jain or a Buddhist, no problem at all.

If I married a lower caste person, they'd tell me to be very sure and to be very careful to make sure the person was "sound".

They have this confidence in me because I hold strong views, and I am not likely to be influenced by even marriage, to there is no danger of me converting to any other religion, or losing my way of life or my values. They know that if anyone is going to change, it will be my (hypothetical) spouse.

~ Wasn't Krishna just the pimpest of all of Vishnu's avatars? If you don't think so, which of his incarnations most appeals to you?

I've been reading the Ramayana, and the sheer humanity of Rama, his emotions and fears, his struggle to overcome them, and his nobility and glory, appeal(s) to me. IMO, Krishna, though quite appealing in his own way, is too much an image of perfection and godliness - not very human. Rama is someone you can sympathise with, someone whose joys and sorrows you can take to heart, someone who is just like you.

Of course, I have Krishna as my avatar on CFC because his appeal is very wide - everyone interprets him in their own way, so he can be taken to be whatever you want him to be.

~ Do you like cricket?

A bit. India-Pakistan matches are the best to watch - nerves taut, complete tension. And I try to watch India's matches in the world cup.

 

[aneeshm]

How do you feel about Pakistan/Pakistanis?

I completely hate Pakistan with every fibre of my body and every thought of my mind.

About Pakistanis - I feel deeply pained for them and their plight, and also a bit angry about their incompetence in controlling their own government.

 

[Phlegmak]

Will India "take care of" China for the US, sometime in the future? Hint, hint.

 

[aneeshm]

Will India "take care of" China for the US, sometime in the future? Hint, hint.

The first point - we don't do anything for anybody except ourselves. So we're not going to be "taking care" of anyone for anyone's sake.

As to the future - I see that an Indo-China competition is inevitable, but whether or not it will be in the realm of trade or in the realm of a cold war is not yet known. Our best hope is that China goes down due to its internal problems - IMO, they're too big to be dealt with by anybody - and nobody else is hurt.

 

[silver 2039]

What role do these so called "god men" and preists have in the Hindu religon?

You still haven't answered this...

Also what do you think of the illegal immigaration by Bangladeshi's into India?
Do you think border security and immigaration restrictions should be tightened?

What role do you think India should play with regards to its smaller neihbors such as Nepal and Sri Lanka in particular, India has not intevevened in the Sri Lankan civil war or in Nepal when it faced Maoist insurrection and later when the king took absoloute power. Do you believe it should have?

 

[Swedishguy]

What do you think about Great Britain?

 

[bhsup]

If I married a lower caste person, they'd tell me to be very sure and to be very careful to make sure the person was "sound".

I thought the caste system was abolished. How do you tell what caste someone would have been in?

 

[silver 2039]

fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

 

[aneeshm]

What role do these so called "god men" and preists have in the Hindu religon?

Sorry about not answering this earlier - I missed it.

God men have a large role to play in Hinduism. In fact, Hinduism is reliant upon them to fit the old message to modern needs. Without them, we'd be long dead and gone.

Their job is three-fold:

a) To contribute intellectually to the religion's corpus of knowledge, and to add their own wisdom to it.
b) To evaluate prevalent customs, and to remove or minimise the undesirable ones.
c) To adopt old institutions to new needs, or to create new institutions when needed.

An excellent example is provided by Swami Ramdev, and his Divya Yoga trust, which is doing a huge amount of work in renewing Yoga. They are also setting up a university, along with many other ventures.

For more detailed information about this, check out these three articles:

Spiritual Renewal the Hindu Way I - The Indian Way of Seeking the Almighty
Spiritual Renewal the Hindu Way II - The Buddha's Garment
Spiritual Renewal the Hindu Way III - Signs of Renewal

 

[aneeshm]

I thought the caste system was abolished. How do you tell what caste someone would have been in?

By their surname.

 

[aneeshm]

What do you think about Great Britain?

Keep friendly relations with, but never trust. And we want our Kohinoor back.

 

[aneeshm]

You still haven't answered this...

Also what do you think of the illegal immigaration by Bangladeshi's into India?
Do you think border security and immigaration restrictions should be tightened?

Absolutely. Throw out those who are already here illegally, and seal the border completely. Use whatever manpower is necessary. Create a special force for that if necessary.

What role do you think India should play with regards to its smaller neihbors such as Nepal and Sri Lanka in particular, India has not intevevened in the Sri Lankan civil war or in Nepal when it faced Maoist insurrection and later when the king took absoloute power. Do you believe it should have?

Intervention will only get us more sorrows. We should protest diplomatically, but if some country wants our help in fighting Communist insurgents, we should help them. In Nepal, we should have volunteered to help in crushing the Maoists, because they are a problem for us too. The Sri Lankan conflict is an ethnic one - best leave it alone.

 

[betazed]

I completely hate Pakistan with every fibre of my body and every thought of my mind.

If you feel like that and arguably Pakistanis reciprocate your feelings, where does it end? How do you solve any problem between you two?

You seem to be a Indian nationalist; obviously you want India to reach great heights. Wouldn't solving the Pakistan problem help in that goal to some measure? How is your attitude towards Pakistan helping in that goal?

 

[aneeshm]

If you feel like that and arguably Pakistanis reciprocate your feelings, where does it end? How do you solve any problem between you two?

You seem to be a Indian nationalist; obviously you want India to reach great heights. Wouldn't solving the Pakistan problem help in that goal to some measure? How is your attitude towards Pakistan helping in that goal?

This is a very nuanced feeling. I hate Pakistan for their policies. If they stopped sending terrorists over the border (very important), agreed to make the LOC the international border, and gave up this unending hostility, I'd have no issue with them.

Another thing is that this hatred does not extend towards the people of Pakistan, and is not religious in nature. On the Pakistani side, however, the people hate Indians (and not just India) because we are najais (dirty) kafirs, for religious reasons. So it is possible for us to stop, but not for them to stop hating us.

 

[bhsup]

By their surname.

Would it be legal, given that the system has been abolished, for someone who used to be of a lower caste to change their last name so as to give the impression of having been in a higher caste?

 

[silver 2039]

On the Pakistani side, however, the people hate Indians (and not just India) because we are najais (dirty) kafirs, for religious reasons. So it is possible for us to stop, but not for them to stop hating us.

That is a grossly untrue sterotype. I know many Pakistani's who don't hate Indians you can hardly say the vast majority of Pakistani's hate Indians. Indeed it is the polticans that create such feelings and foster it but the common man doesn;t care.

 

[Riesstiu IV]

How is the campaign of Alexander the great & ancient Greece being presented in indian schools? (if at all)

I might be a bit late answering but my mom grew up in Punjab, a region that was briefly conquered by Alexander and subsequently ruled by the Indo-Greek Kingdom.

Apparently, many local rajahs, princes, etc would claim to be descendents of various generals or soldiers of Alexander's army or even Alexander himself in order to increase prestige.

Everyone loves ancient Greeks (except for Persians).

 

[Rheinmetall]

Do you have much tourism in India?

 

[Rossiya]

Have you got family in Great Britain?

 

[Swedishguy]

Are you shocked that there was a caste system thirty years ago?