Maybe everyone is brainwashed by the parents to follow their religion or way
of life;When they grow up their influence is replaced by the persuasion of
peers to veer away
On Wednesday, 26 July, 2023 at 11:49:39 pm IST, Rajaram Krishnamurthy
<[email protected]> wrote:
A wisdom paradox had written these as thinking he was hitting the Brawn
in the grinder which is empty I think: What do you think?
RIDDLENo. 1
THE DIFFICULTY OF KNOWING WHY ONE IS A HINDU
India is a congeries of communities. There are in it Parsis, Christians,
Mohammedans and Hindus. The basisof these communities is not racial. It is of
course religious. This is asuperficial view. Whatis interesting to know is why
is a Parsi a Parsi and why is a Christian a Christian, why is aMuslim a Muslim
and why is a Hindu a Hindu? With regard to the Parsi,the Christian and the
Muslim it is smooth sailing. Ask a Parsi why he callshimself a Parsi he will
have no difficulty in answering the question. He willsay he is a Parsi because
he is a follower of Zoroaster.Ask the same question to a Christian. He too will
have no difficulty inanswering the question. He is a Christian because he
believes in Jesus Christ.Put the same question to a Muslim. He too will have no
hesitation in answeringit. He will say he is a believer in Islam and that is
why he is a Muslim.
Now ask the same question to a Hindu and there is nodoubt that he will be
completely bewildered and would not know what to say.
If he says that he is a Hindu because he worships thesame God as the Hindu
Community does his answer cannot be true. All Hindus do not worship oneGod.
Some Hindusare monotheists, some are polytheistsand some are pantheists. Even
those Hindus who are monotheists are notworshippers of the same Gods. Some
worship the God Vishnu, some Shiva, some Rama, some Krishna. Somedo not worship
the male Gods. They worship a goddess. Even then they do notworship the same
Goddesses. They worship differentGoddesses. Some worship Kali, some worship
Parvati,some worship Laxmi.
Coming to thePolytheists they worship all the Gods. They will worship Vishnu
and Shiva, alsoRama and Krishna. They will worship Kali, Parvati and Laxmi. A
Hindu will faston the Shivaratri day because it is sacred toShiva. He will fast
on Ekadashi day because it issacred to Vishnu. He will plant a Bel tree
becauseit is sacred to Shiva and he will plant a Tulsi because it is dear to
Vishnu.
Polytheists among theHindus do not confine their homage to the Hindu Gods. No
Hindu hesitates toworship a Muslim Pir or a Christian Goddess.Thousands of
Hindus go to a Muslim Pir and makeofferings. Actually, there are in some places
Brahmins who own the office of ahereditary priesthood of a Muslim Pir and wear
a Muslim Pir's dress. Thousands of Hindus go to make offeringsto the Christian
Goddess MantMauli near Bombay.
The worship of the Christian or Muslim Gods is only onoccasions. But there are
more permanent transfer of religious allegiance. There are many so-calledHindus
whose religion has a strong Muhammadan content.Notable amongst these are the
followers of the strange Panchpiriyacult, who worship five Muhammadan saints,
of uncertain name and identity, andsacrifice cocks to them, employing for the
purpose as their priest a MuhammadanDafali fakir. Throughout India many Hindus
makepilgrimages to Muhammadan shrines, such as that of SakhiSarwar in the
Punjab.
Speaking of the Malkanas Mr. Blunt says that they are converted Hindusof
various castes belonging to Agra and theadjoining districts. chiefly Muttra,
Ettah and Mainpuri. Theyare of Rajput, Jat and Baniadescent. They are reluctant
to describe themselves as Musalmans,and generally give their original caste
name and scarcely recognize the name Malkana. Their names are Hindu;they mostly
worship in Hindu temples: they use thesalutation Ram-Ram: theyintermarry
amongst themselves only. On the otherhand, they sometimes frequent a mosque,
practice circumcision and bury theirdead: they will eat with Muhammadans if
they areparticular friends.
In Gujarat there are several similar communities such asthe Matia Kunbis,who
call in Brahmans for their chief ceremonies, but arefollowers of the Pirana
saint Imam Shah and his successors, and bury their dead asdo the Muhammadans:
The Sheikhadas at theirweddings employ both Hindu and a Muhammadan priest, and
the Momans who practicecircumcision, bury their dead and read the
GujaratiKoran, but in other respects follow Hindu customand ceremonial.
If he says that"I am a Hindu because I hold to the beliefs ofthe Hindus"
hisanswer cannot be right for here one is confronted with the fact that
Hinduismhas no definite creed. The beliefs of persons who areby all admitted to
be Hindus often differ more widely from each other than do those of Christians
andMuhammadans. Limiting theissue to cardinal beliefs the Hindus differ among
themselves as to the beliefs which arc of cardinal importance. Some say that
all the Hinduscriptures must be accepted,but some would excludethe Tantras,
while others would regard only the Vedas as of primary importance; some again
think that the sole essential is belief in the doctrine of karmaand
metempsychosis.
A complex congeries of creeds and doctrines is Hinduism.It shelters within its
portals monotheists, polytheists and pantheists; worshippers of the greatGods
Shiva and Vishnu or of their female counterparts, As well as worshippersof the
divine mothers or the spirits of trees,rocks and streams and the tutelary
village deities;persons who propitiate their deity by all manner of bloody
sacrifices, and persons who willnot only kill no living creature but who must
not even use the word 'cut '; those whose ritual consists mainly of prayers
andhymns, and those who indulge in unspeakable orgies in the name of religion;
anda host of more or less heterodox sectaries, many of whom deny the supremacy
ofthe Brahmans, or at least have non-Brahmanical religious leaders.
If he says thathe is a Hindu because he observes the same customs as other
Hindus do hisanswer cannot be true. For all Hindus do not observe the same
customs.
In the north near relatives are forbidden to marry; butin the south cousin
marriage is prescribed, and even closer alliances aresometimes permitted. As a
rule female chastity is highly valued, but somecommunities set little store by
it, at any rate prior to marriage, and othersmake it a rule to dedicate one
daughter to a life of religious prostitution. Insome parts the women move about
freely; in others they are kept secluded. Insome parts they wear skirts; in
others trousers.
Again, if he saidthat he is a Hindu because he believes in the caste system his
answer cannot beaccepted as satisfactory.It is quite true that no Hindu is
interested in what his neighbour believes,but he is very much interested in
knowing whether he can eat with him or takewater from his hands. In other
words, it means that the caste system is anessential feature of Hinduism and a
man who does not belong to a recognizedHindu Caste cannot be a Hindu. While all
this is true it must not be forgotten thatobservance of caste is not enough.
Many Musselman and many Christians observecaste if not in the matter of
inter-dining certainlyin the matter of inter-marriage. But they cannot becalled
Hindus on that account. Both elements must be present. He must be aHindu and he
must also observe caste. This brings us back to the old questionwho is a Hindu?
It leaves us where we are.
Is it not a question for every Hindu to consider why inthe matter of his own
religion his position is so embarrassing and so puzzling? Why is he not able to
answer so simple aquestion which every Parsi, every Christian, andevery Muslim
can answer? Is it not time that he should ask himself what are thecauses that
has brought about this religious chaos?
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KR KR A parsimay say Followers also believe in angels, heaven and
hell, God and Satan, animmortal soul and the last judgement. Priesthood is
hereditary inZoroastrianism, and all religious ceremonies are led by priests.
Both male andfemale followers are initiated into the faith through the Navjote
ceremony.Initiated adherents have to follow a dress code of the faith.
Shenshani, Qadimiand Fasli are three major denominations and the three
calendars that followersof the Zoroastrian faith use. When each significant day
is celebrated orcommemorated differs depending on which denomination and
calendar adherentsfollow.There are divisions between the Mumbai and the
Pakistanis.
Though thetwo main sects within Islam, Sunni and Shia, agree on most of
thefundamental beliefs and practices of Islam, a bitter split between the two
goesback some 14 centuries. The divide originated with a dispute over who
shouldsucceed the Prophet Muhammad as leader of the Islamic faith he introduced.
Islamic schools and branches have differentunderstandings of Islam. There are
many different sects or denominations,schools of Islamic jurisprudence, and
schools of Islamic theology, or ʿaqīdah(creed). Within Islamic groups
themselves there may be differences, such asdifferent orders (tariqa) within
Sufism, and within Sunnī Islam differentschools of theology (Atharī, Ashʿarī,
Māturīdī) and jurisprudence (Ḥanafī,Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī).Groups in Islam
may be numerous (the largest branchesare Shīʿas and Sunnīs), or relatively
small in size (Ibadis, Zaydīs,Ismāʿīlīs). Differences between the groups may
not be well known to Muslimsoutside of scholarly circles, or may have induced
enough passion to haveresulted in political and religious violence (Barelvi,
Deobandi, Salafism,Wahhabism) ] There are informal movements driven by ideas
(such as Islamicmodernism and Islamism) as well as organized groups with a
governing body (Ahmadiyya,Ismāʿīlism, Nation of Islam). Some of the Islamic
sects and groups regardcertain others as deviant or accuse them of not being
truly Muslim (forexample, Sunnīs frequently discriminate against Ahmadiyya,
Alawites, Quranists, andShīʿas). Some Islamic sects and groups date back to the
early history of Islambetween the 7th and 9th centuries CE (Kharijites, Sunnīs,
Shīʿas), whereasothers have arisen much more recently (Islamic
neo-traditionalism, liberalismand progressivism, Islamic modernism, Salafism
and Wahhabism) or even in the20th century (Nation of Islam). Still others were
influential in their time butare not longer in existence (non-Ibadi Kharijites,
Muʿtazila, Murji'ah).Muslims who do not belong to, do not self-identify with,
or cannot be readilyclassified under one of the identifiable Islamic schools
and branches are knownas non-denominational Muslims.
It is importantto explain that many sects—including Salafi, Deobandi, and
Wahabi—do notbelieve in Ahadith and Sunnah but rely solely on the Quran. They
believe thatany individual can translate the Quran. The Sunni, Sufi, Shia, and
Berelvisects believe the contrary.
Christianityis divided between Eastern and Western theology. In these
two divisions thereare six branches: Catholicism, Protestantism, Eastern
Orthodoxy,Anglicanism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and Assyrians. Restorationism is
sometimesconsidered the seventh branch.
Followers of Jesus span the globe. But the globalbody of more than 2
billion Christians is separated into thousands ofdenominations. Pentecostal,
Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Apostolic,Methodist — the list goes on.
Estimations show there are more than 200Christian denominations in the U.S. and
a staggering 45,000 globally, accordingto the Center for the Study of Global
Christianity. So why doesChristianity have so many branches?
A cursory look shows that differences in belief,power grabs and corruption all
had a part to play.
But on some level, differentiation and varietyhave been markers of Christianity
since the very beginning, according toDiarmaid MacCulloch, professor emeritus
of church history at the University ofOxford in the United Kingdom. "There's
never been a unitedChristianity," he told Live Science. KR IRS 27
7 23
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