Bhaktisandesam / Who is a Hindu?

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Who is a Hindu?

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from Dr. Frank Morales

 

When the question of who is a Hindu is discussed today, we get a

multitude of confused and contradictory answers from both Hindu

laypersons and from Hindu leaders. That we have such a difficult time

understanding the answer to even so fundamental a question as " who is

a Hindu? " is a starkly sad indicator of the lack of knowledge in the

Hindu community today.

 

Common Answers:

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Some of the more simplistic answers to this question include: Anyone

born in India is automatically a Hindu (the ethnicity fallacy), if

your parents are Hindu, then you are Hindu (the familial argument),

if you are born into a certain caste, then you are Hindu (the genetic

inheritance model), if you believe in reincarnation, then you are

Hindu (forgetting that many non-Hindu religions share at least some

of the beliefs of Hinduism), if you practice any religion originating

from India, then you are a Hindu (the national origin fallacy).

 

The Real Answer:

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The real answer to this question has already been conclusively

answered by the ancient sages of Hinduism, and is actually much

simpler to ascertain than we would guess. The two primary factors

that distinguish the individual uniqueness of the great world

religious traditions are a) the scriptural authority upon which the

tradition is based, and b) the fundamental religious tenet(s) that it

espouses. If we ask the question what is a Jew?, for example, the

answer is: someone who accepts the Torah as their scriptural guide

and believes in the monotheistic concept of God espoused in these

scriptures. What is a Christian? - a person who accepts the Gospels

as their scriptural guide and believes that Jesus is the incarnate

God who died for their sins. What is a Muslim? - someone who accepts

the Qur'an as their scriptural guide, and believes that there is no

God but Allah, and that Mohammed is his prophet.

 

Scriptural Authority

In general, what determines whether a person is a follower of any

particular religion is whether or not they accept, and attempt to

live by, the scriptural authority of that religion. This is no less

true of Hinduism than it is of any other religion on earth. Thus, the

question of what is a Hindu is similarly very easily answered.

 

The Definition

By definition, a Hindu is an individual who accepts as authoritative

the religious guidance of the Vedic scriptures, and who strives to

live in accordance with Dharma, God's divine laws as revealed in the

Vedic scriptures.

 

Only If You Accept the Vedas

In keeping with this standard definition, all of the Hindu thinkers

of the six traditional schools of Hindu philosophy (Shad-darshanas)

insisted on the acceptance of the scriptural authority of the Vedas

(shabda-pramana) as the primary criterion for distinguishing a Hindu

from a non-Hindu, as well as distinguishing overtly Hindu

philosophical positions from non-Hindu ones. It has been the

historically accepted standard that, if you accept the Vedas (and by

extension Bhagavad Gita, Puranas, etc.) as your scriptural authority,

and lived your life in accordance with the Dharmic principles of the

Vedas, you are then a Hindu. Thus, an Indian who rejects the Veda is

obviously not a Hindu. While an American, Russian, Indonesian or

Indian who does accept the Veda obviously is a Hindu.

 

 

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Jai Shree Krishna !