Guest guest Posted August 30, 2002 Report Share Posted August 30, 2002 A couple of issues have been mixed:- 1. Philosophical separation of religious texts 2. Ethnicity 3. Politics The definition of minority religion in the constitution is entirely ethnicity based and has very little to do with faith. Common ethnicity derives from shared beleifs, history,prejudices and endogamy. This can make ethnicity quite complex as religion overlaps all these boundaries. Marriages between Iranian Zoroasterians and Muslims were common until recent times. This does not make Islam and Zoroasterianism same. Christians and Muslim Palestinians fight together a religious battle against Israel, this does not make them same. Koreans and a number of other orientals follow multiple religions, Confucianism, Christianity and Buddhism. While Laity is same priests are different. In past entry to Buddhism has been limited and restricted for laity. Laity in many buddhist countries have practiced mixture of animism and indigenous faiths like Shintoism. To an extent Islam is the only complete relgion covering practices of family and state. In contrast Confucianism and Shintoism govern only the relationship between the citizen and the state. Sikh desire to see themselves as a separate ethnic group has largely to do with politics and casteism. In 1900s censuses Sikhs usually identified them selves as Hindus. It is the `Martial Race` concept introduced as a qualification for jobs in army, that was the driver to differentiate from Hindus. The Akali movement started by by Master Tara Singh, himself a convert from Hinduism, was the next. Politicians driving a gradual Schism between Hindus and Sikhs were however overtaken by Partition. Caste aspects of Khalistan movement should not be missed. Khalistan movement and most of the militants were almost entirely Jutts. Scheduled Caste Sikhs, usually Congress supporters were both the victims and opponents of the Khalistan movement. Most of the Khalistanis in Canada and UK are Jutts, few belong to Scheduled Castes. ( Many muslim fanatics in Pakistani Punjab, Sikh fanatics in Indian Punjab and Hindu fanatics in Haryana, have been Jutt-Jats). What has drived the separation from Hinduism is an exclusive faith in a guru, who himself might not have advocated a new religion. Unlike Sikhism or Budhism in new religions, Rama Krishna Mission and Arya Samaj the wishes of the founders are quite authentically recorded. Minority status accorded by the constitution have been a driver to even Arya Samaj and Rama Krishna Mission to declare themselves as non- Hindus. The Supreme court judgement in case of Rama Krishna Mission declared that its separation from Hinduism has nothing to do with the wishes of its founder! Swami Vivekananda represented Hinduism in the same Parliament of religions, where a relation of Gandhi represented Jainism. Any offshoot of Hinduism bound by a common religious book and gurus, will be different from it. Mainstream Hinduism not lacking both gurus and religious books, has rejected fixation of faith across space and time. This flexibility has been the a very much centripetal aspect of Hinduism, Muruguan a tribal deity became an incarnation of Vishnu. Naryana also follows a similar cultural trajectory. The issue should be how much the faith in Vedas is core to the definition of Hinduism. Founders of Arya Samaj, Brahmo Samaj and Rama Krishna mission, as a matter of fact did not deviate from this definition, but reinterpreted Vedas. The very definition of religion along Prophets, faith and religious books is of Levantine Origin. Active prosetlyzation introduced by the Levantine religions have always created a situation of conflict with religions, which do not accord it a religious duty. While Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism are open to converts, but not actively advocate it. Indians and Hindus need not copy these prejudices. Modern Hindus need to define ethnicity more along the shared heritage of the classical languages Tamil, Pali and Sanskrit, enshrining the heritage of our ancestors than their prejudices. Raja Rammohan Roy to introduce reforms had to lie that he was following Vedas, future reformers need not do that. Jai Akhanda Bharat INDOLOGY, "ymalaiya" <ymalaiya> wrote: > V.V. Raman wrote: > > Some Thoughts on the Links between Sikhism and Hinduism > > V.V. Raman's thoughts on the two perspective are interesting. > > Whether someone is or is not a Hindu depends on the definition of the > word Hindu being used. If "accepting the authority of the vedas" is a > requirement for one to be Hindu, then the Sikhs would not be Hindu. > But this definition of a Hindu is new one and appears to have been > influenced by the definitions of Christianity and Islam, which are > book-based religions. > > Historically Hinduism has accepted "converts". Many Yavanas > (IndoGreeks) of Takshashila and Bactria were Vaishnavas, as we learn > from the Heliodorus column in Vidisha and coinage of Indo-Greeks. > Hinduism was quite popular in Cambodia, Champa and Indonesia only a > few centuries ago. The Hindu "ban" on conversion appears to have been > a result of Islamic ban on reconversion of people to other faiths. > > In Sikh tradition, most of the Gurus are indeed consider descendants > of Lord Rama. In his autobiographical "Vichitra-natak" Guru Gobind > Singh himself describes the Bedis (Guru Nanak's clan) and Sodhis > (Guru Gobind Singh's clan) as being descendants of Lord Ram. The two > other Gurus are considered to be descendants of brothers of Lord Rama. > > Sikhism rejects the view that a group can be higher simply because of > the birth. Sikh texts do accept the four varnas on the basis of > karma. I think Sikhism also accepts the social groups, all the Gurus > were married only within their Khatri community. Modern Sikh > interpretations may be different due to the impact of M.A. McAuliffe > and the Singh Sabha movement in the early 20th cent. > > Sikh have intermarried with Hindus, and fact Sikh rules still allow > Sikh men to marry Hindu girls (but not the other way). Sikhs always > had a significant shortage of women, they still do. The last Guru had > translated durga-saptashati from Markandeya Purana. The translation > is called Chandi di Vaar and a part of it is a part of the ardaas, > the Sikh prayer. > > Yashwant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sikh Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 :smash::smash:: Dear Topic Starter , Why you have been trying to be so hard to do such shits thing , which can't be accepted to any Noble human . You limited knowledge has show unpredictable Jealousy for others religions . Instead of comparing the religion on the bases of the your stupidity , why not you generalized the religion and the Diving messages especially from SIKH. I bet you will blown out your head , when you overcome the fake values of Hindus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kavitatul Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Dear Learned Gentlemen, I add my thoughts with all modesty without any offence to any religion or any human being. Religion is a term used to divide humanity - if I say I am a Budhist I am dividing myself or segregating myself from people who do not call themselves followers of Budhism. It is a set of beleifs, traditions and practices. For most of us religion is what our parents call themselves as following, and they also follow it as their parents followed it. For e.g. If my parents are Hindus then I call myself Hindu, and my parents are hindus because my grandparents were hindus. If you try this hypothesis on yourself then you will see most of us will answer yes to this. Only a very few learned human beings will say no to this - and they are the ones who studied different religions and finally chose what they thought was the best one. Again in olden days due to illitracy or non dispersal of knowledge - Religion was necessary as Parents had to pass on some values to you and that was in form of Religion. This practice has gone on without any thought for it's necessity as these are passed on to us in our childhood without any questions asked ( as we all have only a kid's intelligence level) and then it becomes our beliefs. IT IS JUST LIKE WE CAN SAY MOST OF US ARE MEAT EATERS IF OUR PARENTS ARE MEAT EATERS OR VICE-VERSA. But in today's times there is enough knowledge to be shared with books, internet etc., so one can study each school of thoughts to start following his own set of beleifs. WE SHOULD ALL EXPLORE ALL RELIGIONS IF POSSIBLE TO ADOPT THE BEST RULES AND PRINCIPLES - FROM ALL RELIGIONS AFTER PONDERING OVER THEM AS TO THEIR MEANIGFULNESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS AND ADD THEM TO THEIR SET OF BELIEFS. And then it is ones duty to share that beleif with others without enforcing these on that person. I want to quote the Learned one's comments - J. Krishnamurti on religion Krishnamurti: Sir, what is religion? Actually, what is religion? First of all to find out what is religion we must negate what it is not. What it is not; then it is. It's like seeing what is not love. Love is not hate, love is not jealousy, love is not ambition, love is not violence. When you negate all that, the other is, which is compassion. In the same way if you negate what is not religion then you find out what is true religion; that is, what is the truly religious mind. Belief is not religion, and the authority which the churches, the organized religions assume, is not religion. In that there is all the sense of obedience, conformity, acceptance, the hierarchical approach to life. The division between the Protestant, the Catholic, the Hindu, the Moslem, that's not religion. When you negate all that, which means you are no longer a Hindu, no longer a Catholic, no longer belonging to any sectarian outlook, then your mind questions, asks what is true religion? This is free from their ritual, without their masters, without their Saviour; all that is not religion. When the mind discards that, intelligently, because it has seen that it's not religion, then it can ask what is religion. Religion is not what I think, but religion is the sense of comprehension of the totality of existence, in which there is no division between you and me. Then if there is that quality of goodness which is virtue, real virtue not the phony virtue of society, but real virtue, then the mind can go beyond and find out, through meditation, through a deep, quiet silence, if there is such a thing as reality. Therefore a religious mind is a mind that is constantly aware, sensitive, attentive, so that it goes beyond itself into a dimension where there is no time at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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