Where do words Hindu, “Hinduism”, “India” come from? The Hare Krsna's are NOT Hindu

AncientMariner · July 22, 2008

"Those [emmigrant Hindus] will examine and report their approval of Srila Prabhupada's work. They will acknowledge that any bonefide Sadhu/Swami/ Sannyasi who can/has created "Hindu Vaishnavas" out of melechas must be applauded for his 'Un-precidented' success."

I have had a few good experiences in this regard. Talked to Hindus that were amazed that an idiot westerner like myself had any understanding at all of Krishna Consciousness and they praised Srila Prabhupada and were amazed.

bhaktajan · July 22, 2008

"Those [emmigrant Hindus] will examine and report their approval of Srila Prabhupada's work. They will acknowledge that any bonefide Sadhu/Swami/ Sannyasi who can/has created "Hindu Vaishnavas" out of melechas must be applauded for his 'Un-precidented' success."

I have had a few good experiences in this regard. Talked to Hindus that were amazed that an idiot westerner like myself had any understanding at all of Krishna Consciousness and they praised Srila Prabhupada and were amazed.

Me too!

They look me up and down and think, "How could this fool know sastra & sing bhajan, and send chills up my back?"

I remind them of 'Karma'.

Then they say, "If this can read sanskrit and remind me of what my Uncle Gupta was always saying, maybe I should investigate."

I love it.

Also, I remind them that It's difficult to find East-Indians.

Nowadays, it's everybody is West-Indian. Yaa maan!

So you see there's affection & lamentation & seperation and Krishna prema --exploding like sparks and fireworks--all done without fire-extinguishers nearby.

So stand-back, or, get certified to "wow them with amrita".

Pankaja_Dasa · July 22, 2008

Mahabharata full cd set rs3000 or £35/$70, India. I got it, total bargain.

bhaktajan · July 22, 2008

Funny then, that the topic of Hindu definition was posted here by Hare Krishnas

I have for years said this to people when I explained that I am "Hare Krishna-Hare Ram People".

When a Hare Krishna says to a westerner, "Hindu-(ism) is not a Sanskrit word" --the reason for mentioning it, is to stress that so much of what is known of Hindu culture is off-the-mark, watered-down, poly-theistic and provintial-- where in reality it is of the highest level of Intellectual & Human culture.

Hare Krishna's are saying in this regard that, Indian/Hindu culture must be learnt from othodox sources--if a westerner thinks they can go to India, find god, Dharma, Sastra & Self-realization--they are right, they can find these things in India. But, you must be educated first [othodox sources] before embarking on such a journey.

Hinduism is a polyglot of influence--Sanatana-Dharma has been overshadowed by Industrial pursuits for millinea.

We want Hindus to be learned in expecting First-rate presentations to the world of their homeland Sastra.

bhaktajan · July 22, 2008

Mahabharata full cd set rs3000 or £35/$70, India. I got it, total bargain.

When I watch this for the first time I'd sometimes watch 6 hours at a time.

I would tear-up with cold tears in my eyes so often--that I prayed that I may stop crying long enough to watch the Video with out having to constantly rewind the scene I missed due to my emotional tears.

raghu · July 22, 2008

Wow, here is brilliant Hare Krishna "logic" at its finest.

On one hand, the Hindus are ignorant of Vedic culture.

Yet on the other hand, these insecure Hare Krishna converts find vindicating that the ignorant Hindus praise them for their "knowledge."

I am just speechless.

bhaktajan · July 22, 2008

Yet on the other hand, these insecure Hare Krishna converts find vindicating that the ignorant Hindus praise them for their "knowledge."--that they are fortunate & intelligent enough to seek out and be interested in INDIAN SASTRA, instead of going to the cinema in their spare time.

Also, "their knowledge" --is INDIAN SASTRA.

Listen. As soon as you eliminate the bandits, daicoits, miscreants, Terrorists and bone throwers, let me know so I can visit India With out carring a concealed Machetti--then your Brahmins can do tapasya & yajnas to their hearts content.

In the meantime we all be working on the other side of the planet to keep Mac Donald french fries out of dinner menus--thanks to our higher taste given to us by none other then A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Hey Home boy!

Yall gotz ta be livin wit da besst High-brow peeps

to be dissing the thugs thats

just round the corner of everyone else try'n to getz by in life.

raghu · July 22, 2008

Yet on the other hand, these insecure Hare Krishna converts find vindicating that the ignorant Hindus praise them for their "knowledge."--that they are fortunate & intelligent enough to seek out and be interested in INDIAN SASTRA, instead of going to the cinema in their spare time.

Eh.... Unlike iskcon devotees? Most Hare Krishnas that I know happily watch television and cinema in their spare time, including many of the rabid fanatics who post on this forum.

And since you obviously didn't grap what I was saying, let me simplify it. IF Hindus are ignorant, then so what if they respect you? It makes no sense to criticize them for their ignorance and then praise them because they like you.

Have you not yet grasped the simple, elementary point, that it is only the IGNORANT Hindus who think that hare krishnas represent Vedic culture? THe intelligent ones that know how to think for themselves never stay associated with hare krishnas for long -they look for authentic Vaishnavism elsewhere. At least, this has been my observation for the past 15 years.

Of course, there are some ignorant people who leave Hare Krishnas too, probably because they can't stand the hypocrisy, double-standards, etc.

raghu · July 30, 2008

Eh.... Unlike iskcon devotees? Most Hare Krishnas that I know happily watch television and cinema in their spare time, including many of the rabid fanatics who post on this forum.

And since you obviously didn't grasp what I was saying, let me simplify it. IF Hindus are ignorant, then so what if they respect you? It makes no sense to criticize them for their ignorance and then praise them because they like you.

Have you not yet grasped the simple, elementary point, that it is only the IGNORANT Hindus who think that hare krishnas represent Vedic culture? THe intelligent ones that know how to think for themselves never stay associated with hare krishnas for long -they look for authentic Vaishnavism elsewhere.

So... no comment, eh?

srikanthdk71 · August 11, 2008

Srila Prabhupada - “The Americans are very intelligent and qualified boys and girls so they understand the principles as genuine and thus they accept them. They understand that Krsna Consciousness Movement is neither Indian nor Hindu, but it is a cultural movement for the whole human society although of course because it is coming from India it has [an] Indian and Hindu touch.” Los Angeles, July 16th, 1970,

This paragraph tells that by saying so, SP is trying to sell his ideas to the Intelligent Species unlike Indians(Hindus) who believes in all forms of God. Americans believed in only the Christ Theory(One God) which was given a shape to show them their god. He clearly says it is neither Indian nor Hindu but asserts immediately that since it is from India, it has a flavour. Shame on the Americanised Organisation.

RadhaMukunda · August 12, 2008

Hindus are ignorant in general, especially in the west. They forget so much about there culture. When someone presents himself as learned to tell an ignorant Hindu some theory on Hinduism, he will get instant praise for his knowledge. It would really benefit Hindus to become more orthodox. Instead of believing everything westeners say about chakras and tantras, thinking ISCKON has decoded the Bhagavad Gita, or praising Vivekanda for his knowledge on Vedanta, or thinking the Arya Samaj is a scientific religion. Hindus should look up their roots.

Hindus are generally very critical of people presenting themselves as sadhus. But when someone like Paramahansa Yogananda or Maharshi Mahesh Yogi becomes popular in the west, they are instantly recognised as realised souls. I am not an anti western terrorist. Some western "gurus" that I respect for their devotion and knowledge are Jagatguru Shivaya Shubramanya Swami from the himalayan academy and David Frawley. Srila Prabhupada is praiseworthy for turning hippies into Krishna Bhaktas. I do respect him for that. Other gurus just teach people new agy that has nothing to do with hinduism.

suchandra · August 16, 2008

I have for years said this to people when I explained that I am "Hare Krishna-Hare Ram People".

When a Hare Krishna says to a westerner, "Hindu-(ism) is not a Sanskrit word" --the reason for mentioning it, is to stress that so much of what is known of Hindu culture is off-the-mark, watered-down, poly-theistic and provintial-- where in reality it is of the highest level of Intellectual & Human culture.

Hare Krishna's are saying in this regard that, Indian/Hindu culture must be learnt from othodox sources--if a westerner thinks they can go to India, find god, Dharma, Sastra & Self-realization--they are right, they can find these things in India. But, you must be educated first [othodox sources] before embarking on such a journey.

Hinduism is a polyglot of influence--Sanatana-Dharma has been overshadowed by Industrial pursuits for millinea.

We want Hindus to be learned in expecting First-rate presentations to the world of their homeland Sastra.

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Ratha-yatra, Jagannath Puri 2008

According to Krishnadas Kaviraja, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu used the word ‘Hindu’. In the Caitanya-Caritamrita Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu refers to Hindus as followers of the Vedic injunction against cow-killing: ‘vede kahe go-vadha nisedha ataeva hindu-matra na kare go-vadha’ (Adi-lila 17.159). In the ensuing conversation the Kazi makes numerous references to Hindus - one is when he says ‘Hindu krsna krsna bali’: ‘Hindus chant Krsna Krsna’. Krishnadas Kaviraja wrote this account around 1620. He used the word Hindu in the context of relations between Muslims and Hindus.

bija · August 17, 2008

....thinking ISCKON has decoded the Bhagavad Gita by radhamukunda

Srila Prabhupada is praiseworthy for turning hippies into Krishna Bhaktas. by radhamukunda

Firstly I would like to make a small comment here. Bhagavad Gita As It Is, is not the sole property of Iskcon institution, many outside of that group take shelter in that translation of Gita.

Years ago the Gita As It Is was a book I admired, but had prejudice in my heart that the translation was limited in some way. So I eventually applied intelligence and decided to do an in depth study of the book. Rather than make commentary from the position of here-say, ignorance and thwarted ego. Presently that thwarted ego still dominates - it will never win out:eek4:.

For the last 12 months, desiring to simplify and become a servant, I have been reading one or two verses and purport perday, meditating and applying intelligence on that daily reading. Praying to God for self-realization of the subject matter. I have realized one very small thing during this last 12 months. And it is this....the content in this Gita As It Is is realized content, a very clear purport of the Gita's inner (internal) meaning...and very beneficial to awaken a living entity to higher truth of the self and consciousness.

I have several Gita versions, and find them all beneficial...but personally this Gita As It Is will remain a solid foundation for me of what it means to be a living entity in, all possibility of service mood.

Gradually the soul will realize that 'the misconception of - controlling mood' is the root of all suffering and the potential cause of great evils and attrocities in this world, what to say of day to day selfishness. And for those conditioned souls who which to exercize 'dominating mood' the wall of the Lord's external energy captivates them and eventually vanquishes them to lower and lower states of consciousness. This can be seen if we analyze this world with intelligence and thoughtfullness. The glory of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, is that it shows the potential for each living entity to escape this false identification as 'controller'. And shows the living entity its true constitutional nature. 'Serving mood'. Bhakti yoga to the core - Reality the Beautiful. The treaure gems of the middle six chapters of the book, beautified on both sides by six chapters each. Making the book a wonderful treasure chest of complete truths. Truly a masterpiece is the Bhagavad Gita, giving us the keys and gift of postive progressive immortality and the ultimate gift of pure personality. To negate these truths limits the Gita in many ways.

In that serving mood we can begin to enter higher plains of conscious awareness....free from the pressing down of the Lord's extremely powerful external energy. Once we realize that this maya is the perfect prison house for grossly rebellious souls, who crave dominating mood...by grace one birth we will become humbled....by the assocaition and grace of sadhu.

Bhagavad Gita As It Is is the personal realizations of a simple, sincere, sadhu in serving mood.

y.s. who is fallen in maya, bija.

bija · August 17, 2008

This Gita As It Is explains eternal truth and religion. Sanatana Dharma.

RadhaMukunda · August 17, 2008

The whole title, the "Gita, as it is" is deceptive. The minute you start reading the book, you'll see it is actually "Gita, according Prabhupada." There are a few thing in the book I don't like. First, the language is unclear and confusing. Second, the constant critising of anything else than Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Even if you follow Gaudiya Vaishnavism this must be annoying. Third, the commentary often forgets original Gita text only to talk about unrelated subjects.

There are a some commentaries on the bhagavad gita that are short and to the point. The authors really put their effort to present the bhagavad gita as it is. One is the translation of Swami Tapasyananda from the Rama Krishna Math. Another is the translation of Swami Ramsukh Dasa from the Gita Press. http://www.gitapress.org/Download_Hin_pdf.htm

bija · August 18, 2008

The whole title, the "Gita, as it is" is deceptive. The minute you start reading the book, you'll see it is actually "Gita, according Prabhupada." posted by radhamukunda

COMPLETE 1972 EDITION
with Roman transliteration of the original

Sanskrit text, English equivalents,

translation and elaborate purports

Collier Books

A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.

NEW YORK

Collier Macmillan Publishers

LONDON

To

ŚRĪLA BALADEVA VIDYĀBHŪṢAṆA

who presented so nicely

the “Govinda-bhāṣya” commentary

on

Vedānta philosophy

Foreword

The Bhagavad-gītā is the best known and the most frequently translated of Vedic religious texts. Why it should be so appealing to the Western mind is an interesting question. It has drama, for its setting is a scene of two great armies, banners flying, drawn up opposite one another on the field, poised for battle. It has ambiguity, and the fact that Arjuna and his charioteer Kṛṣṇa are carrying on their dialogue between the two armies suggests the indecision of Arjuna about the basic question: should he enter battle against and kill those who are friends and kinsmen? It has mystery, as Kṛṣṇa demonstrates to Arjuna His cosmic form. It has a properly complicated view of the ways of the religious life and treats of the paths of knowledge, works, discipline and faith and their inter-relationships, problems that have bothered adherents of other religions in other times and places. The devotion spoken of is a deliberate means of religious satisfaction, not a mere outpouring of poetic emotion. Next to the Bhāgavata-purāṇa, a long work from South India, the Gītā is the text most frequently quoted in the philosophical writings of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava school, the school represented by Swami Bhaktivedanta as the latest in a long succession of teachers. It can be said that this school of Vaiṣṇavism was founded, or revived, by Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Caitanya Mahāprabhu (1486-1533) in Bengal, and that it is currently the strongest single religious force in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇava school, for whom Kṛṣṇa is Himself the Supreme God, and not merely an incarnation of another deity, sees bhakti as an immediate and powerful religious force, consisting of love between man and God. Its discipline consists of devoting all one’s actions to the Deity, and one listens to the stories of Kṛṣṇa from the sacred texts, one chants Kṛṣṇa’s name, washes, bathes, and dresses the mūrti of Kṛṣṇa, feeds Him and takes the remains of the food offered to Him, thus absorbing His grace; one does these things and many more, until one has been changed: the devotee has become transformed into one close to Kṛṣṇa, and sees the Lord face to face.

Swami Bhaktivedanta comments upon the Gītā from this point of view, and that is legitimate. More than that, in this translation the Western reader has the unique opportunity of seeing how a Kṛṣṇa devotee interprets his own texts. It is the Vedic exegetical tradition, justly famous, in action. This book is then a welcome addition from many points of view. It can serve as a valuable textbook for the college student. It allows us to listen to a skilled interpreter explicating a text which has profound religious meaning. It gives us insights into the original and highly convincing ideas of the Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇava school. In providing the Sanskrit in both Devanagari and transliteration, it offers the Sanskrit specialist the opportunity to re-interpret, or debate particular Sanskrit meanings—although I think there will be little disagreement about the quality of the Swami’s Sanskrit scholarship. And finally, for the nonspecialist, there is readable English and a devotional attitude which cannot help but move the sensitive reader. And there are the paintings, which, incredibly as it may seem to those familiar with contemporary Indian religious art, were done by American devotees.

The scholar, the student of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, and the increasing number of Western readers interested in classical Vedic thought have been done a service by Swami Bhaktivedanta. By bringing us a new and living interpretation of a text already known to many, he has increased our understanding manyfold; and arguments for understanding, in these days of estrangement, need not be made.

Professor Edward C. Dimock, Jr.

Department of South Asian Languages and Civilization

University of Chicago

http://causelessmercy.com/Bg.htm

Svarupa · August 18, 2008

Quote:

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #666666 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 3ex; BORDER-TOP: #666666 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 3ex; BORDER-LEFT: #666666 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #666666 1px solid" bgColor=#e0e0e0>Srila Prabhupada - “Regarding your questions: Hindu means the culture of the Indians. India happens to be situated on the other side of the Indus River, which is now in Pakistan, which is spelled Indus-in Sanskrit, it is called Sindhu”. Letter to to Janmanjaya and Taradevi in a letter from Los Angeles of July 9th, 1970

Srila Prabhupada – “The Europeans misspelt the sindhu as Indus, and from Indus the word ‘Indian’ has come.Letter to to Janmanjaya and Taradevi in a letter from Los Angeles of July 9th, 1970

Srila Prabhupada – "The Arabians used to pronounce sindhus as Hindus. This [thus] Hindus is spoken as Hindus. It is neither a Sanskrit word nor is it found in the Vedic literatures. ”. Letter to to Janmanjaya and Taradevi in a letter from Los Angeles of July 9th, 1970

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TABLE cellPadding=2><TBODY><TR><TD>The Bhagavad-gita is universally renowned as the jewel of India's spiritual wisdom. Spoken by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead to His intimate disciple Arjuna, the Gita's seven hundred concise verses provide a definitive guide to the science of self realization. No other philosophical or religious work reveals, in such a lucid and profound way, the nature of consciousness, the self, the universe and the Supreme.</TD><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is uniquely qualified to present this English translation and commentary on Bhagavad-gita. He is the world's foremost Vedic scholar and teacher, and he is also the current representative of an unbroken chain of fully self-realized spiritual masters begining with Lord Krishna Himself. Thus, unlike other editions of the Gita, this one is presented as it is--without the slightest taint of adulteration or personal motivation. This edition is certain to stimulate and enlighten with its ancient yet thoroughly timely message.