Hi C'da:
>BTW, citing others' dogmas don't make Hinduism's disappear. Besides, the others at least don't >try to insult anyone's intelligence by claiming they have none.
Exactly was my point too.
That's why we are arguing when Barua talked about (see his quotes below, in case you forgot!) Rama and Krishna only, instead of talking about all the "miracles" that people believe that other "Avatars" or "sons of God" created. And God's being partial to Christianity - how?? because of material gains enjoyed by some of these nations in this life??
BTW, in "The Da Vinci Code", did you notice (if you saw the movie) how Sophi Neveu tried to put her feet on the water with a gesture to walk on it and said: "forget it" to Tom Hanks' character?
I personally am a believer of some of these miracles too :), when I am skeptical about something, I forget what religion it came from. Then again, I believe it won't be right if I go down to ridicule and try to force my system of believeing or my skepticism on somebody else. :) :)
>If Rama and Krishna were genuine incarnations of God, they >would have, by this time, established themselves firmly their >positions against Western Christian critics. That they have not >done that, shows that either there is no God or they were fake >incarnations, and guys like you are trying their best to believe >something which is not true.
>What do you say? Do you think God is partial to Christianity?
From: Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Ram Sarangapani" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
CC: "Mohan R. Palleti" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, assam@assamnet.org
Subject: Re: [Assam] Beef eating; Much ado over nothing
Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 12:23:41 -0500
>But telling farmers not to eat beef with a golden goose theory may not have had >much effect. But if the intellectuals did encounch this as "God's will", >people would pay heed.*** Really Ram :-)?I would venture to suggest otherwise. It was probably the Brahmins who, not having to work for a living or grow their own food were the ones who probably had to be told that it was not a good idea to eat their cows.*** All the economic rationale that you and others cite are fine. Not at all hard to understand. But how does that mesh with the assertion that Hinduism is without dogmas, never mind whether you call them 'religious' or otherwise ?And what is beef-eating prohibition ( or for that matter pork, or chicken, or 'xingi-maas' or what have you) if not a dogma? And how do the standard bearers of Hinduttwa , the BJP or its support base, the VHP and RSS, justify attempting to legislate beef-eating prohibition while, at the same time, go waving that no-dogma-in-Hinduism-we accept-everything-and-everyone flag?BTW, citing others' dogmas don't make Hinduism's disappear. Besides, the others at least don't try to insult anyone's intelligence by claiming they have none.At 10:52 AM -0500 6/20/06, Ram Sarangapani wrote:C'da,>That is why I was curious about Mohan's explanation that ">"But >from a certain point in time we don't eat Beef." and how that jives >with Hinduism not having any dogmas.The reason, from what I have read in the past and that which seems most plausible, is that beef-eating by Hindus stopped because during times of famine or drought and when farmers had little else, cattle were slaughtered. The cow, however, was the golden goose (ploughing/milk etc), and the intellectuals wanted farmers NOT to kill them and thus rob them of the only salvation to overcome their plights.But telling farmers not to eat beef with a golden goose theory may not have had much effect. But if the intellectuals did encounch this as "God's will", people would pay heed.Over the centuries, this has become more of a religious frevor and thus the holy cow.Now, lets take other religions: Pigs are banned in Islam. This, I don't think came actually from God, but probably, because pork was a big healh-risk (tape worms etc). The best way to make people avoid eating pork would be to put it in the God context.There are similar things in Christianity. The hatred for snakes in Christianity - goes all the way from Adam & Eve to St. Patrick killing all the snakes in Ireland.
>"Hinduism is not a religion, but a way of life" was a
>non-response to the question of what defines HinduismOK, then can you tell us what defines Christianity or Islam or even Buddhism? I don't think anyone can.I believe Hinduism is considered a way of life, because of one single factor - it is not an 'organized religion' nor does it have one person that the faithful can swear by (Buddha, Mohammad or Christ) - ie no messenger to deliver the celestial message.--Ram
On 6/20/06, Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Sure, C'da. You and Barua could make all the rules, but then it has
>to >ultimately be followed by the masses, don't you think? :-)
*** Hammurabi I ain't Ram. Not into rule making or law-giving. In
fact I am quite the opposite. I would just as soon tear those laws
and rules that rob people of freedoms down. Like the rule about
beef-eating prohibition.
That is why I was curious about Mohan's explanation that ">"But from
a certain point in time we don't eat Beef." and how that jives with
Hinduism not having any dogmas.
You did not answer my question either.
Appears to me, in the absence of a better explanation from someone in
the know, that "Hinduism is not a religion, but a way of life" was a
non-response to the question of what defines Hinduism.
At 9:22 AM -0500 6/20/06, Ram Sarangapani wrote:>I think Mohan's response seems to be the one that makes a lot of
>sense. (BTW: Welcome Mohan to the net)
>
>C'da, I think the 'Hinduism is a way of life' idea was popularized
>by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan in his book ' A Hindu View of Life'
>
> >"Does it therefore mean that one can make one's own RULES
>or >ethos, on the fly, to suit one's need on a given day?"
>
>Sure, C'da. You and Barua could make all the rules, but then it has
>to ultimately be followed by the masses, don't you think? :-)
>
>--Ram
>
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