Hinduism.....

August 5, 2009

Found it very interesting:Four years ago, I was flying from JFK NY Airport to SFO to attend ameeting at Monterey , CA An American girl was sitting on the rightside, near window seat. It indeed was a long journey - it would takenearly seven hours.

I was surprised to see the young girl reading a Bible unusual of youngAmericans. After some time she smiled and we had few acquaintancestalk.I told her that I am from India

Then suddenly the girl asked: 'What's your faith?' 'What?' I didn'tunderstand the question.

'I mean, what's your religion? Are you a Christian? Or a Muslim?'

'No!' I replied, 'I am neither Christian nor Muslim'.

Apparently she appeared shocked to listen to that. 'Then who are you?''I am a Hindu', I said.

She looked at me as if she was seeing a caged animal. She could notunderstand what I was talking about.

A common man in Europe or US knows about Christianity and Islam, asthey are the leading religions of the world today. But a Hindu, what?

I explained to her - I am born to a Hindu father and Hindu mother.Therefore, I am a Hindu by birth.

'Who is your prophet?' she asked.

'We don't have a prophet,' I replied.

'What's your Holy Book?'

'We don't have a single Holy Book, but we have hundreds and thousandsof philosophical and sacred scriptures,' I replied.

'Oh, come on at least tell me who is your God?'

'What do you mean by that?'

'Like we have Jesus and Muslims have Allah - don't you have a God?'

I thought for a moment. Muslims and Christians believe one God (MaleGod) who created the world and takes an interest in the humans whoinhabit it. Her mind is conditioned with that kind of belief.

According to her (or anybody who doesn't know about Hinduism), areligion needs to have one Prophet, one Holy book and one God. Themind is so conditioned and rigidly narrowed down to such a notion thatanything else is not acceptable. I understood her perception andconcept about faith. You can't compare Hinduism with any of thepresent leading religions where you have to believe in one concept ofgod.

I tried to explain to her: 'You can believe in one god and he can be aHindu. You may believe in multiple deities and still you can be aHindu. What's more - you may not believe in god at all, still you canbe a Hindu. An atheist can also be a Hindu.'

This sounded very crazy to her. She couldn't imagine a religion sounorganized, still surviving for thousands of years, even afteronslaught from foreign forces.

'I don't understand but it seems very interesting. Are you religious?'What can I tell to this American girl?

I said: 'I do not go to temple regularly. I do not make any regularrituals. I have learned some of the rituals in my younger days. Istill enjoy doing it sometimes..'

'Enjoy? Are you not afraid of God?'

'God is a friend. No- I am not afraid of God. Nobody has made anycompulsions on me to perform these rituals regularly.'

She thought for a while and then asked: 'Have you ever thought ofconverting to any other religion?'

'Why should I? Even if I challenge some of the rituals and faith inHinduism, nobody can convert me from Hinduism. Because, being a Hinduallows me to think independently and objectively, withoutconditioning. I remain as a Hindu never by force, but choice.' I toldher that Hinduism is not a religion, but a set of beliefs andpractices. It is not a religion like Christianity or Islam because itis not founded by any one person or does not have an organizedcontrolling body like the Church or the Order, I added. There is noinstitution or authority..

'So, you don't believe in God?' she wanted everything in black and white.

'I didn't say that. I do not discard the divine reality. Ourscripture, or Sruthis or Smrithis - Vedas and Upanishads or the Gita -say God might be there or he might not be there. But we pray to thatsupreme abstract authority (Para Brahma) that is the creator of thisuniverse.'

'Why can't you believe in one personal God?'

'We have a concept - abstract - not a personal god. The concept ornotion of a personal God, hiding behind the clouds of secrecy, tellingus irrational stories through few men whom he sends as messengers,demanding us to worship him or punish us, does not make sense. I don'tthink that God is as silly as an autocratic emperor who wants othersto respect him or fear him.' I told her that such notions are justfancies of less edu cat ed human imagination and fallacies, addingthat generally ethnic religious practitioners in Hinduism believe inpersonal gods. The entry level Hinduism has over-whelmingsuperstitions too. The philosophical side of Hinduism negates allsuperstitions.

'Good that you agree God might exist. You told that you pray. What isyour prayer then?'

'Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,'

'Funny,' she laughed, 'What does it mean?'

'May all the beings in all the worlds be happy. Om Peace, Peace, Peace.'

'Hmm ..very interesting. I want to learn more about this religion. Itis so democratic, broad-minded and free' she exclaimed.

'The fact is Hinduism is a religion of the individual, for theindividual and by the individual with its roots in the Vedas and theBhagavad-Gita. It is all about an individual approaching a personalGod in an individual way according to his temperament and innerevolution - it is as simple as that.'

'How does anybody convert to Hinduism?'

'Nobody can convert you to Hinduism, because it is not a religion, buta set of beliefs and practices. Everything is acceptable in Hinduismbecause there is no single authority or organization either to acceptit or to reject it or to oppose it on behalf of Hinduism.'

I told her - if you look for meaning in life, don't look for it inreligions; don't go from one cult to another or from one guru to thenext.

For a real seeker, I told her, the Bible itself gives guidelines whenit says ' Kingdom of God is within you.' I reminded her of Christ'steaching about the love that we have for each other. That is where youcan find the meaning of life.

Loving each and every creation of the God is absolute and real.'Isavasyam idam sar vam' Isam (the God) is present (inhabits) hereeverywhere - nothing exists separate from the God, because God ispresent everywhere. Respect every living being and non-living thingsas God. That's what Hinduism teaches you.

Hinduism is referred to as Sanathana Dharma, the eternal faith. It isbased on the practice of Dharma, the code of life. The most importantaspect of Hinduism is being truthful to oneself. Hinduism has nomonopoly on ideas.- It is open to all. Hindus believe in one God (nota personal one) expressed in different forms. For them, God istimeless and formless entity.

Ancestors of today's Hindus believe in eternal truths and cosmic lawsand these truths are opened to anyone who seeks them. But there is asection of Hindus who are either superstitious or turned fanatic tomake this an organized religion like others. The British coin the word'Hindu' and considered it as a religion.

I said: 'Religions have become an MLM (multi-level- marketing)industry that has been trying to expand the market share byconversion. The biggest business in today's world is Spirituality.Hinduism is no exception'

I am a Hindu primarily because it professes Non-violence - 'AhimsaParamo Dharma' - Non violence is the highest duty. I am a Hindubecause it doesn't conditions my mind with any faith system.A man/ woman who change 's his/her birth religion to another religionis a fake and does not value his/her morals, culture and values inlife. Hinduism was the first religion originated. Be proud of yourreligion and be proud of who you are.

.

Gopu

August 5, 2009

Dear all,Radhe Krishna!A very interesting dialogue presented by Shri. Gopa Kumar. I wish everyone reads it.LoveKVG.On Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 2:28 PM, GOPA KUMAR <gop_god wrote:

Found it very interesting:Four years ago, I was flying from JFK NY Airport to SFO to attend ameeting at Monterey , CA An American girl was sitting on the rightside, near window seat. It indeed was a long journey - it would take

nearly seven hours.

I was surprised to see the young girl reading a Bible unusual of youngAmericans. After some time she smiled and we had few acquaintancestalk.I told her that I am from India

Then suddenly the girl asked: 'What's your faith?' 'What?' I didn'tunderstand the question.

'I mean, what's your religion? Are you a Christian? Or a Muslim?'

'No!' I replied, 'I am neither Christian nor Muslim'.

Apparently she appeared shocked to listen to that. 'Then who are you?''I am a Hindu', I said.

She looked at me as if she was seeing a caged animal. She could notunderstand what I was talking about.

A common man in Europe or US knows about Christianity and Islam, asthey are the leading religions of the world today. But a Hindu, what?

I explained to her - I am born to a Hindu father and Hindu mother.Therefore, I am a Hindu by birth.

'Who is your prophet?' she asked.

'We don't have a prophet,' I replied.

'What's your Holy Book?'

'We don't have a single Holy Book, but we have hundreds and thousandsof philosophical and sacred scriptures,' I replied.

'Oh, come on at least tell me who is your God?'

'What do you mean by that?'

'Like we have Jesus and Muslims have Allah - don't you have a God?'

I thought for a moment. Muslims and Christians believe one God (MaleGod) who created the world and takes an interest in the humans whoinhabit it. Her mind is conditioned with that kind of belief.

According to her (or anybody who doesn't know about Hinduism), areligion needs to have one Prophet, one Holy book and one God. The

mind is so conditioned and rigidly narrowed down to such a notion thatanything else is not acceptable. I understood her perception andconcept about faith. You can't compare Hinduism with any of thepresent leading religions where you have to believe in one concept of

god.

I tried to explain to her: 'You can believe in one god and he can be aHindu. You may believe in multiple deities and still you can be aHindu. What's more - you may not believe in god at all, still you can

be a Hindu. An atheist can also be a Hindu.'

This sounded very crazy to her. She couldn't imagine a religion sounorganized, still surviving for thousands of years, even afteronslaught from foreign forces.

'I don't understand but it seems very interesting. Are you religious?'What can I tell to this American girl?

I said: 'I do not go to temple regularly. I do not make any regularrituals. I have learned some of the rituals in my younger days. Istill enjoy doing it sometimes..'

'Enjoy? Are you not afraid of God?'

'God is a friend. No- I am not afraid of God. Nobody has made anycompulsions on me to perform these rituals regularly.'

She thought for a while and then asked: 'Have you ever thought ofconverting to any other religion?'

'Why should I? Even if I challenge some of the rituals and faith inHinduism, nobody can convert me from Hinduism. Because, being a Hinduallows me to think independently and objectively, without

conditioning. I remain as a Hindu never by force, but choice.' I toldher that Hinduism is not a religion, but a set of beliefs andpractices. It is not a religion like Christianity or Islam because itis not founded by any one person or does not have an organized

controlling body like the Church or the Order, I added. There is noinstitution or authority..

'So, you don't believe in God?' she wanted everything in black and white.

'I didn't say that. I do not discard the divine reality. Ourscripture, or Sruthis or Smrithis - Vedas and Upanishads or the Gita -say God might be there or he might not be there. But we pray to that

supreme abstract authority (Para Brahma) that is the creator of thisuniverse.'

'Why can't you believe in one personal God?'

'We have a concept - abstract - not a personal god. The concept ornotion of a personal God, hiding behind the clouds of secrecy, tellingus irrational stories through few men whom he sends as messengers,

demanding us to worship him or punish us, does not make sense. I don'tthink that God is as silly as an autocratic emperor who wants othersto respect him or fear him.' I told her that such notions are just

fancies of less edu cat ed human imagination and fallacies, addingthat generally ethnic religious practitioners in Hinduism believe inpersonal gods. The entry level Hinduism has over-whelming

superstitions too. The philosophical side of Hinduism negates allsuperstitions.

'Good that you agree God might exist. You told that you pray. What isyour prayer then?'

'Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,'

'Funny,' she laughed, 'What does it mean?'

'May all the beings in all the worlds be happy. Om Peace, Peace, Peace.'

'Hmm ..very interesting. I want to learn more about this religion. Itis so democratic, broad-minded and free' she exclaimed.

'The fact is Hinduism is a religion of the individual, for theindividual and by the individual with its roots in the Vedas and theBhagavad-Gita. It is all about an individual approaching a personal

God in an individual way according to his temperament and innerevolution - it is as simple as that.'

'How does anybody convert to Hinduism?'

'Nobody can convert you to Hinduism, because it is not a religion, buta set of beliefs and practices. Everything is acceptable in Hinduismbecause there is no single authority or organization either to accept

it or to reject it or to oppose it on behalf of Hinduism.'

I told her - if you look for meaning in life, don't look for it inreligions; don't go from one cult to another or from one guru to thenext.

For a real seeker, I told her, the Bible itself gives guidelines whenit says ' Kingdom of God is within you.' I reminded her of Christ'steaching about the love that we have for each other. That is where you

can find the meaning of life.

Loving each and every creation of the God is absolute and real.'Isavasyam idam sar vam' Isam (the God) is present (inhabits) hereeverywhere - nothing exists separate from the God, because God is

present everywhere. Respect every living being and non-living thingsas God. That's what Hinduism teaches you.

Hinduism is referred to as Sanathana Dharma, the eternal faith. It isbased on the practice of Dharma, the code of life. The most important

aspect of Hinduism is being truthful to oneself. Hinduism has nomonopoly on ideas.- It is open to all. Hindus believe in one God (nota personal one) expressed in different forms. For them, God is

timeless and formless entity.

Ancestors of today's Hindus believe in eternal truths and cosmic lawsand these truths are opened to anyone who seeks them. But there is asection of Hindus who are either superstitious or turned fanatic to

make this an organized religion like others. The British coin the word'Hindu' and considered it as a religion.

I said: 'Religions have become an MLM (multi-level- marketing)industry that has been trying to expand the market share byconversion. The biggest business in today's world is Spirituality.

Hinduism is no exception'

I am a Hindu primarily because it professes Non-violence - 'AhimsaParamo Dharma' - Non violence is the highest duty. I am a Hindubecause it doesn't conditions my mind with any faith system.

A man/ woman who change 's his/her birth religion to another religionis a fake and does not value his/her morals, culture and values inlife. Hinduism was the first religion originated. Be proud of yourreligion and be proud of who you are.

.

Gopu

August 5, 2009

Dear Gopu,This is very good. I always wondered what should I tell about, when some asks what is Hinduism.SreenivasRAMANATTUKARAVAYANASHALA From: gop_godDate: Wed, 5 Aug 2009 01:58:03 -0700[Guruvayur] Hinduism.....