A Troubling Question

[Guest guest]

Hello, everyone

 

Very recently, I have been going over a troubling question and would

like to ask what the members of the list think. Is Shiva - and, perhaps

more importantly - Hinduism (that is, all the religions and sects that

fall under this catch-all phrase) a God and religion that is available

to all peoples of the Earth? Does a white woman from Australia - whose

ancestors came from Europe and probably had no contact with India or its

many great religions - have any right to say that she began her path

towards enlightenment because Shiva was a constant, almost unbearable,

presence in her life for six months until she accepted him and began to

worship him?

 

My understanding of Hinduism has always been that it is accepting of

many paths - all paths are equally important - and of the many spiritual

aspirants walking them - that no one aspirant is more important than the

next. Is my understanding wrong?

 

(The white woman used as an example is, obviously, me. I literally had

no rest during those months - my thoughts revolved around Shiva and only

Shiva to the point that it distracted me from my daily activities. It

was not until I began to worship him in one of his many forms that this

stopped.)

 

Sincerely

Casey