WHY I AM A HINDU-MUST READ Four years ago, I was flying from JFK NY Airport to SFO to attend a meetingat Monterey , CA An American girl was sitting on the right side, near windowseat. 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 acquaintances talk.Itold 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, as they arethe 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 thousands ofphilosophical 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 (Male God)who created the world and takes an interest in the humans who inhabit it.Her mind is conditioned with that kind of belief. According to her (or anybody who doesn't know about Hinduism), a religionneeds to have one Prophet, one Holy book and one God. The mind is soconditioned and rigidly narrowed down to such a notion that anything else isnot acceptable. I understood her perception and concept about faith. Youcan't compare Hinduism with any of the present leading religions where youhave 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 a Hindu.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 after onslaughtfrom 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 regular rituals.I have learned some of the rituals in my younger days. I still enjoy doingit 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 of convertingto 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 Hindu allowsme to think independently and objectively, without conditioning. I remain asa Hindu never by force, but choice.' I told her that Hinduism is not areligion, but a set of beliefs and practices. It is not a religion likeChristianity or Islam because it is not founded by any one person or doesnot have an organized controlling body like the Church or the Order, Iadded. There is no institution 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. Our scripture, orSruthis or Smrithis - Vedas and Upanishads or the Gita - say God might bethere or he might not be there. But we pray to that supreme abstractauthority (Para Brahma) that is the creator of this universe.' 'Why can't you believe in one personal God?' 'We have a concept - abstract - not a personal god. The concept or notion ofa personal God, hiding behind the clouds of secrecy, telling us irrationalstories through few men whom he sends as messengers, demanding us to worshiphim or punish us, does not make sense. I don't think that God is as silly asan autocratic emperor who wants others to respect him or fear him.' I toldher that such notions are just fancies of less educated human imaginationand fallacies, adding that generally ethnic religious practitioners inHinduism believe in personal gods. The entry level Hinduism hasover-whelming superstitions too. The philosophical side of Hinduism negatesall superstitions. 'Good that you agree God might exist. You told that you pray. What is yourprayer 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. It is sodemocratic, broad-minded and free' she exclaimed. 'The fact is Hinduism is a religion of the individual, for the individualand by the individual with its roots in the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita. Itis all about an individual approaching a personal God in an individual wayaccording to his temperament and inner evolution - it is as simple as that.' 'How does anybody convert to Hinduism?' 'Nobody can convert you to Hinduism, because it is not a religion, but a setof beliefs and practices. Everything is acceptable in Hinduism because thereis no single authority or organization either to accept it or to reject itor 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 the next. For a real seeker, I told her, the Bible itself gives guidelines when itsays ' Kingdom of God is within you.' I reminded her of Christ's teachingabout the love that we have for each other. That is where you can find themeaning of life. Loving each and every creation of the God is absolute and real. 'Isavasyamidam sarvam' Isam (the God) is present (inhabits) here everywhere - nothingexists separate from the God, because God is present everywhere. Respectevery living being and non-living things as God. That's what Hinduismteaches you. Hinduism is referred to as Sanathana Dharma, the eternal faith. It is basedon the practice of Dharma, the code of life. The most important aspect ofHinduism is being truthful to oneself. Hinduism has no monopoly on ideas.-It is open to all. Hindus believe in one God (not a personal one) expressedin different forms. For them, God is timeless and formless entity.. Ancestors of today's Hindus believe in eternal truths and cosmic laws andthese truths are opened to anyone who seeks them. But there is a section ofHindus who are either superstitious or turned fanatic to make this anorganized religion like others. The British coin the word 'Hindu' andconsidered it as a religion. I said: 'Religions have become an MLM (multi-level- marketing) industry thathas been trying to expand the market share by conversion. The biggestbusiness in today's world is Spirituality. Hinduism is no exception' I am a Hindu primarily because it professes Non-violence - 'Ahimsa ParamoDharma' - Non violence is the highest duty... I am a Hindu because it doesn'tcondition my mind with any faith system. A man/ woman who change 's his/her birth religion to another religion is afake and does not value his/her morals, culture and values in life. Hinduismwas the first religion originated.. Be proud of your religion and be proud ofwho you are. Om Namo shiva....... (From a friend, Dilip Shah - ex IBM) . __,_._,___ Get your own website and domain for just Rs.1,999/year.* Click here! Get your own website and domain for just Rs.1,999/year.* Click here! _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live™ Hotmail®…more than just e-mail. http://windowslive.com/howitworks?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_t2_hm_justgotbetter_howitworks_012009 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/thatha_patty?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
