But there’s a big difference between eating beef and being allowed to eat beef, right? Or are you saying the Hinduism they follow doesn’t forbid it? I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised, Hindusim comes in as many colors as the rainbow.
Don’t be worried about confusing the issue.
You are right about the multiple definitions of dharm. It’s not easy to translate. It is also Arjun’s dharm & duty to fight his cousins because it’s the right and moral thing to be doing.
However, I can’t believe karm is the path to salvation (moksh) simply I don’t believe in moksha.
In the US, our current president and several congressional leaders make government decisions according to their Christian beliefs. If these folks were Hindu instead, how would the government be different?
For example: Our AIDS-in-Africa program has gone from condom distribution to abstinence education. Our policy on gay marriage is based on Christian morality. Our leaders would prefer to outlaw abortion, and some of them want to restrict contraception. Some of our military leaders seem to see the Iraq war as Christianity vs. Islam.
How would these things be done if these guys were Hindu?
But then this still begs my previous question, “why is Hinduism a religion rather than a philosophy?” I realize that the boundary between the two is fuzzy with much overlap, but I still tend to associate “Religion” with “Belief in a Supreme Being”
I have a feeling that there is a semantic divide here. We just aren’t using the same words in the same way.
Anaamika, when you say that you are “culturally Hindu”, how much of this cultural identification is actually with Hinduism as a philosophy/religion and how much of it is with India as a place and a culture? I know that as a (cultural, ethnic) Jew and an Israeli I often find myself hard-pressed to tell the difference between the two!
Dani
I don’t know the answer to this question, although it’s a good one. And the reason I don’t know it, is it would be easy for me to answer from a neutral “This is Hinduism” standpoint, but from what I gather, the government in India intreprets it fairly strictly. I’d have to ask someone who lives in India and has a feel for the government there to answer how these questions have been addressed there, if at all.
Where did you hear this? Hindus are not supposed to eat beef, that’s it. Brahmins are the ones who take vegetarian vows, and that’s a tiny % of Hindus. In addition, some Brahmins in Northern India, North-East, and in Kashmir eat meat.
It is a philosophy because you can follow the tenets without ever believing in a god. I don’t know how much clearer I can make it than that, really. What’s still confusing about it?
Take a look at Buddhism. It has certain tenets but no god. I take Hinduism in the same way. I don’t know how to make it clearer.
When I say I am culturally Hindu, I guess I mean several things. I identify more strongly with my home country than many other Indians. I also still identify with my religion strongly…this part has been growing in strength more and more in the past few years. As I go back to my books and re-study my religion, I find answers to ways of living, even though I’m not looking for a god. I find explanations of politics, motives, etc.
So mostly I think of my country, but the other side is growing, too.
Very well then. I heard it from no less than several priests, my own family, and my mom. However these are all anecdotal and I have no evidence to back it up, so I’ll retract my statement.
Where?
Replace ‘Supreme Being’ with ‘Higher Order’ and both styles can be accomodated. All religions are philosophies. The axioms may be different.
Yeah. I didn’t really see where you were being dogmatic, either.
Ramachandran seems to be tackling the concept of bodily Self, not Self as the owner of consciousness.
Do you drink alcohol?
How many people do you know who would find the sentences “Hinduism is a religion.” or “Buddhism is a religion.” to be semantically problematic? Words just mean what people think they mean. Obviously, the English word “religion” is broad enough to encompass these “philosophies”.
Yes I do, and it’s not forbidden either, as far as I know. Not supposed to drink to excess, but I have never heard it was forbidden.
Correct me if I am wrong, but the Atma is the manifestation of the Brahman within the individual.
All threads of Hinduism aim at attaining the ultimate goal of uniting the Atma with the Brahman. One may spend one’s lifetime following rituals and worshipping idols, or may indulge in the deeper study of the philosophy of existence, the ultimate goal remains the same.
That seems a dubious claim. Eating beef is anathema to anyone who follows the ritualistc tenets of Hinduism, and I haven’t heard of any sects that indulge only in the philosophical aspects of it. The Rg Ved prohibits killing of cows and the Vishnu Puran says eating beef will send one to hell (someone might verify this). I will try to look up the verses myself.
Correct. They are not identical concepts.
For those people who identify following a religion with believing in a higher being, I might be able to provide some explanation.
Being a good Hindu does not entail that you believe in any of the philosophies of Hinduism. It says (in my interpretation) that you should perform your duties and be a good citizen, whatever that may entail for a person in your situation. Whether you believe in a Supreme Being is immaterial.
Personally speaking, I do not believe in God. I am scientifially trained and hence consider all doctrinal and ritualistic religions (which are pretty much all religions, including Hinduism) a complete waste of time. On the other hand I do not believe that what we see and hear is all there is to this universe. Hinduism gives me a way to define the intangible aspects of the cosmos and the urge to further understand the essence of life. It enables me to investigate avenues of finding those other planes.
I know this sounds like mumbo-jumbo, but it is not. Unfortunately, it is hard to find words to describe these thoughts. Nonetheless, the point I am trying to make is that it is possible to be spritual in Hinduism without resorting to the tired cliche of Spiritualism = belief in some form of God.
What’s the general view on the spread of Hindu symbols and figures? Gwen Stefani gave up the bindi a few years back, but I still see shops selling finger puppets of Siva, Kali, G’nesha, and Garuda as well as Krisna lunchboxes. Apu still has his little shrine to G’nesha on the counter.
How are other religions/philosophies viewed?
Can you recommend a translation of the Mahabharata? I’m looking for something that doesn’t censor or change things, but hasn’t been rendered into dry and boring english.
About how many flavors, sects, or what ever the correct term is are there?
Here
Oh?
That’s not how I read it. YMMV.