Some doubts-Hinduism

[Guest guest]

om Namo Narayanaya!!

 

Hi Veena,

A very good one indeed. I especially like the section where you say " What

can we do? "

Start with myself. As you say, instead of complaining, we need to work

individually as well

as a community to strengthen the Santana Dharma [Hinduism being a later version

of the

same]. This is best done by asking the questions that you have posed, to our

ourselves.

The best way to bring about a change in the society is to bring about the change

in each

individual self. We have to set an example for others to follow. For example, if

we pray to

God three times a day no matter what our schedule is, children will learn by

looking at us.

It might not be an immediate change. But surely, someday in their life they will

do the

same. Also, as a community, we should attend and help organize satsang or group

prayers, etc. It surely benefits you, but it should also benefit others who have

not yet

reached the ladder of spirituality that you have reached. By such activities,

you are just

returning to the society what you have learnt from it to get where you are now.

You are

also increasing the awareness among people. It is our duty to do so.

 

Also, the question that Balagopal has asked, " Can an Atheist practise

Hinduism? " , is an

important one. Since, the concept of God has evolved much later, the Santana

Dharma is

more a way of life than a religion. Please can some knowledgeable person throw

some

light on it.

 

 

guruvayur , " Veena A. Nair " <veeus18 wrote:

>

> Om Namo Narayanaya.

>

> Balgopalji has raised very valid questions and I would be interested to see

what other

members think. Especially in the context of mails of late that have expressed

concerns

over the conversions. Some thoughts:

>

> 1) To my mind all religions preach the existence of a God and most religions

teach

compassion, fatherhood of God, brotherhood of Man etc. So what is it that marks

out

Hinduism from other religions?

>

> a) aim of Man should be to realize God; know that God is within you and make

attempts

to understand and identify with that divinity.

>

> b) Hinduism has given us the concept of Karma; also the idea that we will

take many

births or janmas in which we need to exhaust these Karmas until we reach the

final goal

>

> c) unlike other religions we do not have a concept of hell; we do not have a

concept of

Judgement Day; we are not going to be judged for our actions at the end of this

life. Every

day is a judgement day; as I sow, so shall I reap; every action has a reaction;

every breath I

take, every thought I think, every action that I do will have its effect; and I

alone have to

bear the consequences of these thoughts and actions, not my friend or parent or

spouse.

> d) From © it follows that I need to act so that every action takes me

closer to the goal

which is achieving oneness with God

> e) and for that Sri Krishna provided us with a practical handbook for living

- the

Bhagavadgita.

>

> Another very Hindu aspect is our large number of Gods and the answer that

satisfies me

the most is the question: Why do we cook 4/5 different types of dishes-- avial,

elsheri,

pulsheri, sambar, and chor etc. We can just eat rice and daal every day. So the

answer is,

each eating what he or she likes the best. Each cooking what he or she knows in

the best

possible manner and satisfying our palates. Similarly in the worship of God: I

choose the

form most appealing to me, the one that I am comfortable with. If Guruvayurappan

is my

favorite form, then I can choose to see Him as my parent or bestest friend or

child, all

depending on what form fills me with the utmost affection for God.

>

> Now the fears for Hinduism:

>

> Historically, since centuries, India and Hinduism has been subjected to every

possible

invasion: Persians, Moguls, British to name a few. Hinduism has survived every

onslaught,

although it has been through some terrible times. When the traditional rituals

were being

abused and violence became a common affair, we needed the Buddha to show us the

way

of compassion. When rituals were being practiced mindlessly, we have

Shankaracharya

reviving the Vedas and carrying its message to the common people. But again

Hinduism

has SURVIVED and although we may think that routine clashes in the name of

religion have

become the order of the day, there are many many groups with large number of

people in

each group, in India and abroad, who are striving to spread the message of the

Vedas and

guide people in the practical ways of the Hindu life. And as history has shown,

if we feel

threatened by groups, if we fear for our legacies, then the solution is to take

up the very

ideals that our

> rishis preached and carry them to as many people as we can. But a

stone-for-a-stone

and a tooth-for-a-tooth has become the order of the day and by doing this, we

are only

going away from the very ideals that we need to live by; then what is the

difference

between a Hindu and any other non Hindu?

>

> So what can we do?:

>

> Start with myself:

> 1) am I living the Hindu way of life?

> And what is the Hindu way of life? :

> a) Know that God is the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-seeing cause and

effect

pervading this world and my aim is to become one with that Spirit. In practical

terms what

does that mean? Know that the same God who created and sustains this world is

also

within me and ALSO in the person beside me; when that is accepted, why should I

fear/

hate the other person? Instead I learn to love him/her, accept him/her. Do unto

that

stranger what I would do for my own mother or brother or closest friend.

>

> b) saying (a) is easy. How do I actually do it? Read the Gita, read what

Krishna said about

devoting actions to Him --Devote your mind and intellect to Me, and know that

you will

always reside in Me (Geeta 12.8--'mayyev man aadhatswa'---).

>

> Also Know that we work for God, and focus on the work without worrying about

the

result. This is a very difficult thing to do, but we need to have faith and the

least we can do

is to try.

> And then there is the concept of a 'balanced' mind - One who is not disturbed

when

struck by grief and is also not elated when a joyous event occurs, one who is

free from

attachment, fear, and anger - such a person is a sage of steady/balanced mind

(Geeta

2.56, 'dukheshva anudwigna manah...)

>

> c) Another important way to live the Hindu way of life is to observe the

different steps to

discipline our lives; and for that we need to engage in regular satsang, learn

from

knowledgeable devotees; if we have the grace of God, we'll probably be blessed

with a

Guru.

>

> 2) Then ask myself what am I doing to uphold the Hindu way of life?

>

> a) I think the greatest need for our times is for us to take up the Geeta and

its message

and make sure we live by it; if even half the Hindus did that, we would be

better off. How

many of us read the Geeta on a daily basis? How many of us ask our children to

know the

Geeta? How many of us tell our children that praying three times a day is a

must, no

matter what their schedule, no matter that they have school followed by tuition

followed

by dance class etc etc. We would rather react to someone's actions and ease our

anger

than go through the painful process of controlling our anger and cultivating

patience. At

this point, I am sure people are saying, here we go again--the Hindu style of

patience and

tolerance is what got us into trouble! I would say, the un-Hindu style of

reacting rather

than acting, of violence (in thoughts if not in actions), of a mechanised, robot

style

observance of rituals without understanding the significances are some things

that are

getting us

> into trouble. We need to pause and ask ourselves why we celebrate the

different

festivals, what are their significances?.

>

> " God is one, is the creator and sustainer of the Universe " is the universal

message of all

religions. What characterizes Hinduism is the belief that realizing that God is

the ultimate

goal of a human life and the concept of karma and re-births are but means to

that.

>

> Pranams.

> Om Namo Narayanaya.

>

>

>

> balagopal ramakrishnan <rbalpal wrote:

> HARI AUM

>

> From the postings I have noticed that there is quite a

> lot of interest in matters relating to conversion,

> protection of Hinduism etc.

>

> Can we try to understand the story better? I think by

> seeking answers to questions like:

>

> (Not forgetting the fact that the focus of the forum

> is to be on our Bhagavan and matters directly linked

> or connected to him)

>

> What is Hinduism? Does it restrict on any specific

> Gods and Goddesses and /or practices?

> Can an Atheist be a Hindu?

> Who is a Hindu?

> Does it need protection? If so of what kind?

> Who is the authority? Who should listen whom?

> Historically has Hinduism been under siege? Who

> protected it? Who were the attackers? How did it

> survive?

> Is Hinduism something that can be brought down and

> annihilated and wiped out?

> Who is trying to control? Whom? And what?

> Why the fear psychosis? Are there any beneficiaries to

> these issues?

>

> Regards

>

> Balagopal

>

> NARAYANA NARAYANA NARAYANA

>

>

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