WHO IS A HINDU
A Hindu is someone who practices Hinduism, a religion with no formal
conversion or excommunication process: (KR: WEST DEFINITION; NOT BY
SANATANA DHARMA)
Birth: A person is considered a Hindu if they are born into a Hindu family
and practice the faith. (KR: WEST DOES NOT KNOW THAT ALL WHO ARE BORN ON
THIS EARTH IS SANATANIST @HINDU)
Declaration: A person can also declare themselves a Hindu. (west thinks
there isa declaration which is not there; can adopt others and walk back
even without squealing)
Upbringing: A person can be considered a Hindu if one of their parents is
Hindu and they are raised in a Hindu family. {again the west assumed so;
brought up is not ; birth is not wholly; no declaration needed; needs your
own adoption)
Hinduism is the world's third-largest religion, with over 1 billion
followers. It is a compilation of many traditions and philosophies, and
there are no specific founder or history to trace. Hindus worship many gods
and deities, and celebrate with a variety of holidays and customs. Some
common beliefs include: {KR again erraneous presumptions; 3rd is right; are
there many compiliations different? what are the different compiliations?
NO FOUNDER SPECIFIC IS TRUE. THERE ARE NO MANY DEITIES ONE ONLY; BUT IF THE
WEST CALLS IT AS HINDUISM WELL ; IF CALLS IT BUDDISM WELL; IF SOME NAME AS
CHRIST OR ALLAHA WELL; SO MANY FUNCTIONS OF A MALE PERSON CANNOT SHOW HIM
AS MANY PERSONS WHICH WEST FEIGN TO UNDERSTYAND}
The universe is God's, and everything in it is God. (true statement)
The Brahman, or Divine, is always present in the universe in different
forms. (now understood but why contradicting above?)
Self-realization takes many lifetimes. (truth)
Actions contribute to the soul's journey in the next life. (absolute truth)
Some well-known Hindu festivals include Diwali and Holi. Divali is a
festival of lights that honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good
fortune. Holi is celebrated by throwing colored paste and water on people
walking around. (does not know much about anything properly or speaking
with the vested interests)
THEN WHO IS A HINDU?
Hindu is not originally an Indian word. It is a word given by the Greeks,
then the Persians, to refer to the land and peoples beyond the Indus (or
Sindhu) River. The term “Hinduism” came into common use only in the 19th
century. Again, the term was used originally by outsiders to describe the
“ism” of the Hindus and, eventually, by Hindus to differentiate themselves
from Muslims and others. At best, it describes a complex and dynamic
pattern of life and practice. The Hindu tradition is more an ethos than a
set of beliefs; it is a complex social system and an elaborately
articulated religious sensibility.
The peoples who today call themselves “Hindus” have many forms of practice,
both in India and around the world. The brahmins of Banaras and the
businessmen of Boston, the ascetics and yogis of the Himalayas and the
swamis of Pennsylvania, the villagers of central India and the householders
of suburban Chicago—all have their own religious ways. {KR: independence
and liberty) There are Vaishnavas who honor Lord Vishnu or Lord Krishna,
Shaivas who honor Lord Shiva, Shaktas who honor the Goddess. On the whole,
none considers the other a heretic. {KR: In short, Vedic way of living
appreciate the people going against the Vedas, prohibition is not
forcefully enforced; diversity away from Vedic living like saivism,
Vaishnavism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and atheism and so many others)
While there has occasionally been conflict between people of different
religious ways, for the most part, all worship in one another’s temples.{KR
REAL UNITY IN DIVERSITY} Indeed, some of today’s newest temples, whether in
New Delhi or Nashville, include the whole spectrum of Hindu deities under
one roof. {KR YES T IS NOT A RELIGION BUT ONLY TEACHING HOW TO LEAD A LIFE
WITH THE TRUTH)
Despite the sectarian diversity, there are Hindu assumptions about life
that do have common, although not universal, currency: the universe is
permeated with the Divine, a reality often described as Brahman; the Divine
can be known in many names and forms; this reality is deeply and fully
present within the human soul; the soul’s journey to full self-realization
is not accomplished in a single lifetime, but takes many lifetimes; and the
soul’s course through life after life is shaped by one’s deeds. (THE
CONTENT OF VEDIC LIFE IS WELL DISCUSSED IN BHAGAVAT GEETHA KR)
SO, WHO IS A HINDU?
Certainly, today those who describe themselves as Hindu in all likelihood
will do so to indicate their adherence to Hinduism as a religion, albeit
that ambiguity and ambivalence have not been eliminated entirely. Some
contemporary Hindu nationalists are reviving the idea that Hindu and Indian
are interchangeable (as did Hindu nationalists in the first half of the
twentieth century), so counting adherents of Indian-origin traditions such
as Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs as Hindu, while rejecting Muslims and
Christians as Indians. Some religious groups cross the boundaries between
communities for example some Punjabi groups (such as the Valmikis) that
challenge the division of Hindus from Sikhs. ISKCON devotees have been
divided on how the Society should be positioned, as separate from or part
of Hinduism, though many would accept the label Hindu while also
emphasising their Vaishnava allegiance. The position of some minority
‘tribal’ groups in India can also be ambiguous.
In most cases, self-identified Hindus are born and brought up in Hindu
families, in India or of Indian descent in diaspora, settled in other
countries. Many would maintain that to be a Hindu you have to be born into
a Hindu family but there are exceptions or at least qualifications, with
Westerners (and others) joining Hindu and Hindu-related movements in
addition to participating more generally in Hindu religious life whether or
not the label Hindu is applied to or adopted by individuals.
Nevertheless, an antipathy towards conversion as neither karmically
appropriate nor ethically acceptable together with the absence of
definitive criteria for establishing what is and what is not Hinduism make
it more difficult to establish a Hindu religious identity independent of an
ethnic basis. {KR: The confused mind of divided hindus as on date without
any coordination; one of the main causes is those who divided us under
hinduism itself; like saiva nayanmars (partially they adopted the vedas);
vaishnavaites (adopted some of the vedas but subsituted with vigour,
NARAYANAN as BRAHMAM; buddha, nanak, maha veer, heads of atheism
etc}{externally English split us writing treatise on our scriptures, where
thwe Indian writers wrote more about west quotes than Indian rishis who
wrote treatise in Sanskrit which were not read bu those indian
intelligence, since did not read sanskrit At all but acted as if the great
Hindu philosphers}. SO, THIS IS TODAY HINDU.
THEN HOW WE WERE CALLED?
The popularly recited Hindu invocation demonstrates this concern for
universal kinship and well-being:
*Om sarve bhavantu sukhinah. Sarve santu niraamayaah. Sarve bhadraani
pashyantu. Maa kaschid dukhbhaag bhavet.*
“May all beings be happy. May all beings be healthy. May all beings
experience prosperity. May none in the world suffer.”
Against the backdrop of this understanding of equality and unity, the Hindu
world has been able to embrace the reality of diversity through its
philosophy of pluralism. Every being, with their varying likes and
dislikes, their unique personalities, and their different cultures, not
only connect with one another in their own unique ways, but connect with
the Divine in their own individual ways.
As such, Hindus understand the Divine (existence, pure being, light of
consciousness) to : 1) Manifest in different forms; 2) Be understood and
worshipped by various means; 3) Speak to each individual in different ways
to enable them to not only believe in the Divine, but experience and know
the Divine.
This embrace of pluralism has contributed to the incredible spiritual and
religious freedom one witnesses within Hinduism — in its many deity
traditions, paths or yogas, schools of thoughts, saint traditions, ways of
worship, etc.
The worldview of pluralism is not just applicable to Hindus, but to all
members of this universal family. Accordingly, Hinduism acknowledges not
just the possibility, but also the existence of more than one path
(religion) or way of relating to Truth (God).
This true, unadulterated pluralism is captured in the ancient Sanskrit hymn:
*Ekam sat vipraha bahudha vadanti.*
“Truth is one, the wise call it by many names.”
Over the ages, various schools of theology developed in Hinduism through a
dynamic tradition of philosophical inquiry and debate. From timeless and
universal questions such as the purpose of life to the relationship between
humans and the Divine (existence, pure being, light of
consciousness) emerged many schools of thoughts or darshanas.
*Darshana* literally means “seeing” and relates to the different ways of
“seeing” the Divine and attaining moksha or liberation from the cycle of
birth and rebirth.
Six darshanas are recognized as the most influential:
1. Vaisheshika
2. Nyaya
3. Sankhya
4. Mimamsa or Purva Mimamsa
5. Yoga
6. Vedanta (including Advaita, Dvaita, and Vishishtadvaita)
Hinduism is rich in sources of knowledge and includes an extensive
collection of ancient religious writings. These sacred sources of knowledge
are classified broadly into two categories: *Shruti* and *Smriti*.
The word *Shruti* literally means “heard” and consists of what Hindus
believe to be eternal truths akin to natural law. These sources of
knowledge are revered as “revealed” or divine in origin and are believed to
contain the foundational truths of Hinduism.
The second category of scripture is *Smriti*, which literally means
“memory,” and is distinguished from Shruti in terms of its origin.
Teachings in *Smriti* sources of knowledge are meant to remind adherents
the eternal truths of *Shruti*, and read and interpreted in light of
changing circumstances over *kala* (time), *desha* (land), and* guna *
(personality).
KR THUS FOLLOWERS OF THE SMRITHIS WERE KNOWN AS SMARTHAS. SMARTHAS WERE
VEDIC FOLLOWERS. MANY DEFIANT CULT HEADS CHANGED THE VEDAS ACCORDING TO
THEIR THOUGHTS AS SAIVAS IYERS; VAISHNAVAS IYENGARS; QUALIFIED CASTES;
BUDDISTS; JAINS; SIKHS; ATHEISTS; SO ON SO FORTH. SMARTHAS HAD NO RELIGION
CONSTRICTING THEMSELVES INTO A DICTATORIAL FORMATS. SMARTHAS FOLLOWED THE
VEDA AND DHARSHANAS. CHATUR VARNA AND TRIGUNA IS FACTORS OF UNIVERSALITY.
ANY PROFESSION OF THE EARTH WILL FIT WITHIN 4 VARNAS; AND ALL WILL FIT
WITHIN TRI GUNAS. Hence, as per present definition smarthas may also be
hindus; but all hindus need not be smarthas. There are so many divisions
and mismanagement among the population within India today hence it is not
the British who divided us; we divide ourselves by not being smarthas.
Muslim and christians and Jains, siks buddisa follow their smrithis but we
forget and even if written turn off the pages but talk tall. Thus, where
are the smarthas?
K Rajaram IRS 141124 NB I have not quoted from smrithis in sanskrit
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Narayanaswamy Sekar <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2024 at 10:47
Subject: Fwd: https://akhandaswarajya.quora.com/JAGO-HINDU-JAGO-1
To: thatha patty <[email protected]>
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: N Sekar <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, Nov 14, 2024, 9:14 AM
Subject: https://akhandaswarajya.quora.com/JAGO-HINDU-JAGO-1
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>, Rangarajan
T.N.C. <[email protected]>, Chittanandam V. R. <
[email protected]>, Narayanaswamy Sekar <[email protected]>,
Suryanarayana Ambadipudi <[email protected]>, Mathangi K. Kumar <
[email protected]>, Srinivasan Sridharan <[email protected]>,
Rama (Iyer 123 Group) <[email protected]>, Yeddanapudi Markandeyulu <
[email protected]>, Dr Sundar <[email protected]>, Srinivasan K. S. <
[email protected]>
https://akhandaswarajya.quora.com/JAGO-HINDU-JAGO-1
https://akhandaswarajya.quora.com/JAGO-HINDU-JAGO-1?ch=15&oid=194572465&share=5e3ce589&srid=zW5dG&target_type=post
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