Is there a “defect” in Hinduism, which makes it less “respectable” than Christianity and Islam?

That’ll be going against the core philosophy of Hinduism- find the divinity within you by whatever means. However, the dogma in other religions find a parallel in our Smritis & Sastras wherein strict injunctions on how one should live with odious sanctions for violations are prescribed. Varnasrama division of society is intended to achieve a societal balance & an orderly development of vocations & professions. Such an order was wantonly disturbed & destroyed rendering the remaining Sanatanis headless chicken_, forgetting their roots, hoary past, culture & obligatory observances. Idolatry & festival pomp are the only vestiges, with a handful few struggling to keep the scriptures alive. Returning to our roots will therefore be more fruitful. Bit for their organised church, X-tians faith & but for their prayer regimen & obligatory pilgrimages the Islamic faith have no ground to stand on. So Sanatana Hindus – weigh your options! MW’s article is thought provoking, though!

of course i did not mean that Hindus should be as irrational and cunning

What is lacking in Hinduism is that the Hindus did not follow or understand the words and wisdom of the great rishis, who said only the Brahman is to be venerated; however, the Hindus venerate other spirits, gods and goddesses in place of Brahman, thus disrespecting the rishis and their spiritual path, so they suffer. However, I agree with you on your views of Christianity and Islam. Their views are irrational and not in conformity with the Sanatana principles of spiritual evolution.

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who said scriptures in hinduism are static? only srutis are unchanging. smritis have always been written, rewritten. only after the western education started to rule in india this trend has changed

Pranam Maria, Trust you are fine and doing good.

I read your posts with great interest and with all seriousness and appreciate your deeply researched knowledge and interest in Hinduism and Indology.

In this present post I can understand and highly appreciate your sentiments and hurt that may have drawn you to this. Even I feel so at times. However, that wouldn’t be right and in-tune with the basic tenets of Hinduism itself. Hinduism and also all its roots upto the Vedic philosophy have one very strong basic element of ‘Truth’. Truth, Self and reality are inseparable from Brahmn !!!

The one sentence: ‘If you don’t believe what we tell you, the supreme Divinity will throw you for all eternity into hellfire’.

Is not true.

So it could not be part of any of the Vedic texts nor of any ritual readings or to be suggested in any way.

Have a lot more to discuss with you, may be sometime later we can catch up.

Thanks and very warm regards

Girish vats

Girish Vats Email:girishvats@icloud.com Sent from my iPhone

>

Good article, but what are the amends? Hindus cannot just start saying that we are the best. It is ingrained in the religious philosophy that all are true and as Sri Ramana insisted, there is a gradual evolution in Hinduism from dualism, to qualified monism, to absolute monism. The acceptance or rather looking without any feelings towards other religions has been our undoing. Great piece of writing indeed, and at least thanks to the internet and great writers that the youth are waking up to the greatness of the country and the greatness of Hinduism.

Maria, a great irony, indeed. How absurd it sounds if Hinduism stood for such a nonsense as condemning to eternal hell or not salvation to anyone who did not have the same viewpoint. But as ridiculous as it sounds, it has succeeded throughout the history when the tenet has been defended by those two big religions. Using the rule of fear instead of Truth as a shortcut for getting converts, but at the end all jivas will come back to our Source. Still, we have a Dharma to defend and Dharma asks from us to stand for Truth and fight untruth. And this is what you are doing through your blog and all your involvement in the defence of this Dharma. Helping Hindus waking up and seeing the ABSURDITY of the dogmatic religions may help some of us to start defending more their own value and putting a stop to physical, mental and spiritual INVASIONS that continue till today on the part of those religions who have as their core tenet to DISRESPECT the other, to (try to) convert him/her.

I stand corrected.But then all of us can not be intellectuals. REGDS.

Ok. Admittedly I was hasty. I felt the reply could have been polite. But congratulations on taking up the cause of Hinduism forcefully.Regards.

Bhagwad Gita in the Chapter 18th ,Verse 63 demonstrates a unique magnanimity which no one acknowledges,alas. That is a permission granted to be free from all dogmas and exercise free will.Even atheism is acceptable in Hinduism.However,people want a book,a prophet and straight jacketing .That to them is impressive.

Yet another excellent article by Ms.Wirth.

I wish The Rishis

The question is, would you have taken up Hinduism same as you have done now if it was similar to the one that you left? What I meant to ask was would you have loved it as much as if it was same as Christianity or Islam?

We don’t need numbers, we need quality. If we don’t understand this, then we will never understand anything. This is why we can’t be like them and if that means we are number 3 then we rather be that then Christianity and Islam.

Like you said we would never be like them because we are governed by rationality not fear.

In the beginning of reading I felt like something wrong as it is not a kind of your writing I am familiar with. What a spiritual satire… it is not only enlightening but also entertaining. Just love it. Thank you.

A great read and simple to understand. Looking forward to more articles dripping with sarcasm 😀

Hindus not understanding their own religion is the root cause of all this confusion we were ruled my the Islam and Christian rulers the British on their part while quitting India dished out history books showing Hindus in poor light we still continue to believe all this. We do not have the self confidence in ourselves we are living with inferior complex once we shed all this and start believing in ourselves and our Vedas & Culture only then we will be known as Hindus.

When Germany can proclaim itself as Christian Nation likewise Britain USA they feel proud of themselves like wise we should proud calling ourselves Hindus we should call our Nation Hindustan there is noting wrong calling our nation like this. Of course you will have these left wing groups on their feet once we do this like when Australia introduced common civil code there was hue and cry immediately the PM of Australia told those who are against this can leave this country and go to their choice of nation they prefer immediately all these dissidents agreed.

We must be very firm with our views we do not have to crawl before these so called intellectuals
shouting at the top of their voice to be heard. It is only here that these so called secular voices
who indulge in defaming our Hindu Religion because they want to be seen as crusaders, for many it is fashionable to talk ill about Hindu Religion.

We Hindus have to unite forgetting our caste and raise our voice against these so called voices who proclaim they are secular protecting the minorities they are there to protect their own self interest.

You are right Maria. In ancient times, Sanatana dharma had no rivals as it accommodated all paths, including Buddhism. They made Buddha into an avatar of Vishnu.

Accommodation with these monolithic religions has been much tougher, as these religions bring outdated practices of the desert, many of them having no relevance to the modern world. But it is really a miracle of God that the religion is still surviving. As Swami Vivekananda said, because Hinduism did not wage wars in its name, the blessings of God are upon it. Sri Aurobindo was asked by KM Munshi on the waning effect of Hinduism, and he emphatically asked him to overcome his lack of faith and told him that our culture can never be undermined.

And even Christians and Muslims have adopted many of the practices of Hinduism. This irritates the purists of those religions, especially the Catholics and Wahhabis. This gentle seeping itself is a testimony to the slow and sure influence. And I think the future Hinduism will live more in the western world, tired as they are of the dogmatism in their society, while India may abandon her ancient dharma if the present events continue.

Yes, the modern circumstances have thrown up a challenge to this religion. God wants the adherents to be moe aggressive. Vivekananda said that the future India will have the Muslim bravery and Hindu wisdom, but it will be good if Hindus also become very aggressive, The only challenge about adopting an aggressive approach is that people will start adopting all the outdated customs of the past. Hinduism is such a scientific and evolving religion, that it will be injustice. That risk has to be mitigated by the seers. Even in the recent Shani temple controversy, the seers were quite supportive of changing the rules. So I am sure that an aggressive Hinduism will do some good and give us the power to withstand these assaults from the proletizying religions.

I do not think the rationality has generated any sickness in Hinduism. Hindu philosophy has classified mindset of people in four types.

Those who do not want to use the brain and they want to help others to attain pleasure with nature.

Those who want to use their skill of work to step up the society and in that way want to attain the pleasure.

Those who want to understand the property of universe (knowledge) to attain the pleasure.

Those who want concentrate their mind and breathing to attain the pleasure.

Of course, each human is a mixture of these four tendencies. But any of one out of these four tendencies could be dominating in a human.

The four ways of attaining pleasure are called as;

Bhakti (Devotion to some body inclusive of Supreme),

Devotion to work (karma-yog), Devotion to knowledge (Jnan Yoga)

Devotion to concentration (Dyan Yoga).

The human being differs from others due to its brain. Hence a time would come where most people will have a tendency to use the brain. That is the brain only would be used for work (Technology) and science. To get the best out of brain, Dhyan (concentration) is necessary.

Non-Hindu religions are based on devotion (inclusive of surrender) to a book and a God or whatsoever, the God that discriminates, possesses attitude of like, dislike, anger, revenge and what not.

If one takes such belief as a personal matter, it is ok. But when such persons become intolerant, they are inviting suicide of their herd.

To attain pleasure is a personal matter. How to attain pleasure, ways are many.

The aim of the life is pleasure. The pleasure is the truth. The ways are many.

एकः ही सत्‌, विप्राः बहुधा वदन्ति

Dear Maria,

Knowing your pulse, the satire was so clear to me even from the beginning. Maybe some newcomers to your blog have got it wrong, but the writing is clear, as ever. Pray continue your good work for the cause of Hinduism, throughout this life….. and the next…. and the next…

Warm regards,
R.Ramasubramaniam

My thoughts exactly.Just read Islamic Jihad or any other even better book about how invaders from Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran came in with relatively few soldiers and took many times more slaves.We do not even today know how to stand up for our rights without any political ideology.Aping the West is common.Just see fow outrages occur,something else goes viral instead of sending the same to the correct authority and using typical terms such as sexist,racist,misogyny etc.There is hardly any original thinking apart from meekness hence I included this.Regards

We used to have various indigenous, shamanic and pagan cultures. And those traditions seem to have had their focus on self-cultivation, respect for Earth and for the universal benevolent lifeforce that is larger than ourselves (God/ Source/ the Divine). Just like Sanatana Dharma does.

Religions in contrast don’t encourage people to be self-empowered, to feel and think for themselves. Religions focus on faith, hope and wait for fulfillment, using the concepts of judgement, sin, guilt and punishment a main tools to manipulate people. Installing fear to make them obedient. Plus: Reincarnation (karma) is denied by all the main monotheistic religions of the world. Encountering suffering and unhappiness, for example Christians say “It is God’s will”. Self-responsibility, bye bye.

This way, humans got cut off from their own intelligence, inherent intuition and cut off from their sexuality (= vitality, lifeforce, creativity) and healing powers.

What remains of human life? An eternal restlessness resulting in addictions (to sex, control, power, status, possessions, substances) as substitute for inner fulfillment. While the exclusion of intuitive (female) powers and imagination leads to intellectualisation, dullness and heteronomy. Hearts are malnourished or closed, and souls are covered by muck, which brings all sorts of twisted beliefs and disfunctional behaviours.

In view of the global situation, it is exactly this inner emptiness, clutter and spiritual bankruptcy that has lead to the environmental, politcal, economic and religious mess we’re in. As within, so without.

Creating and maintaining respectful, friendly and loving relations with nature and all beings would be the first step forward. Humans have to drop the urge to fight – but also drop “clueless love-and-light fluffiness”. Instead practice drama-immunity and allow awakened information and holistic high purpose alternatives to be spread.

Thanks to you, Maria, for contributing such refreshing and thought provoking posts and talks!

Namaste Maria,

I very recently found this blog and this is my first comment here. You have many good posts. Keep up the good job.

Reading through the comments, many people have presented the idea that the defect in Hinduism is that majority of Hindus do not [correctly] understand their religion, and are confused about many things. However that is not a ‘defect’; it is a symptom. The defect, or more accurately, the ‘shortcoming’ lies somewhere else.

The shortcoming is that the Hindus lack the equivalent of Zakir Naiks. What do I mean by that? Zakir may or may not be a scholar or a ‘guru’ of Islam, but he is very good at marketing and selling Islam AND is fully dedicated to use his knowledge and skills to sell Islam! Now since Hinduism does not proselytize, we cannot “sell” to others. But we do need people who can explain Hinduism to others so that people, including Hindus, are not confused. These people would also need to ‘market’ Hinduism, so that people at least have a CORRECT understanding of Hinduism.

If enough Hindus dedicate themselves to studying Hinduism, and make quality material available at quality locations (like this blog 🙂 ) then that will take care of the shortcoming and fix the ‘defect’ of Hinduism.

People should also study marketing and selling, not because we intend to proselytize, but because studying these subjects gives a better idea of how people think, how to interact with them, and how to explain Hindu ideas in a manner that is easily understandable.

Thank you for having this great blog.

I agree with ur idea of finding Hindu preachers to popularize Hinduism.In Kerala there are 2 personalities doing this job.One Sasikla teacher in local language Malayalam and Dr.N.Gopalakrishnan ,a retired scientist from ISRO who’s speeches are in both English and Malayalam.Both are in youtube also.Search Gopalakrishnan’s site in Google The latter is touring world over and giving enlightened lectures .There are people in Hindi belt also doing commendable job.But I feel Hinduism lacks militensy to fight back.

“But I feel Hinduism lacks militensy to fight back.”

The ‘fight back’ has to happen on many frontiers. Various types of groups already exist among Hindus, e.g. Shiv Sena, RSS, VHP, political parties etc, who are tackling the opponents of Hinduism in one way or another. But despite all this, the Left continues to have an upper hand, Islam keeps growing, and Hinduism continues to suffer. The reason for that is that a few frontiers are undefended, especially education (regarding Hinduism). I do not mean to say that Hinduism should be taught [more aggressively] in schools. What I mean is that it should be taught outside of schools (by parents, community leaders, movies, etc).

When Zakir Naik gives his lectures and points out things regarding Hinduism, many people actually fall for it, because they do not know enough (regarding Hinduism) to realize that Zakir’s claims are fundamentally incorrect. If they knew, they would know that Zakir and other dawa-ists like him are fools. This is an example of an undefended frontier.

Then there also are frontiers that are open yet Hindus are not taking advantage of them. A simple example is a challenge 15 years ago by Zakir Naik to Hindus asking them to prove that Lord Ganesha is God. His video with challenge is available on youtube. This challenge is not too difficult to meet, yet no one has posted a response to it (whether in video or in article). 15 years and no response!! I cannot think of a worse example where people did not take advantage of a frontier that is wide open to exploit!

[If some reader believes I am wrong, and knows of an article/video that meets that challenge, please provide me a link to it, because I want to share it with as many people as I can.]

[Note: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar did post a response on his Facebook page. However, that response uses ideas and language very difficult to comprehend for most Hindus, let alone non-Hindus. So effectively, Zakir’s challenge is unanswered.]

I strongly believe that if these two frontiers, 1) education and promoting Hinduism, and 2) meeting challenges by opponents, are taken care of, militancy would not even be needed. The higher quality of Hindu ideas by itself will make everyone realize that if they are not following Hinduism, they are wasting their lives!

I suggest to open .Dr.N Gopalakrishnan is the chief.U can contact him.He will answer ur query . NP

thanks

Please read history carefully. Sita Ram Goel has done excellent work in this regard. http://www.voiceofdharma.org/books/hhrmi/

Respected Maria ji,
What I understand is that Hinduism or Sanatan Vaidik Culture is lacking nothing ; but most of the so-called Hindus (due to several reasons) are lacking Hinduism.

actually the same thought i expressed once at quora in reply to a question about the drawbacks of Hinduism…

Ya I love your readings about hinduism and Hinduism is not religion. It’s an understanding of our soul which is permeated in each and every beings but because of misinterpretation of scriptures we are understanding wrongly and still there are real masters who has given us true knowledge but even Jesus and prophet has also given us same knowledge but because lack of knowledge and self experience they are criticising it

‘@accidental34 …

QUOTE: do you understand that ‘atman’ is none other than the soul, the same soul whose presence makes the body ALIVE?
RESPONSE: you got it wrong atman is not soul? you can check out Rajiv Malhotra’s explanation on the differences. The soul is created when the Child is concieved, but atman is not it is pre-existing with good and bad karmas from past life.

QUOTE: that people deserve eternal Hell for not believing that “Jesus died for our sins”
RESPONSE: The way you put is really silly. Let me put it another way … You don’t need to believe in Jesus if you don’t SIN throughout your life … No lust, no lies bla bla bla. If you do you condemn yourself to eternal Hell. GOD or Jesus is not going to physically push you into hell … :). JESUS (The GOD) has given us a way to attain Salvation through his GRACE, inspite of the Humans being imperfect. If I as a Human knowingly ignore this, then I condemn myself to Hell, Why blame GOD?

QUOTE: then why do you think it is unreasonable for Hindus to have their own belief- that the bad things that happen to people (including children) are because of past karma?
RESPONSE: Cause it is absolutely moronic to think a baby is a criminal cause it was infected by an external atman with bad karma. If you try to justify this lopsided belief, then you should also accept an external virus infecting your child as legitimate and not use any antibiotic to kill the virus. Jesus clearly says Children (who have not reached the age of reason) are first class citizens in heaven. Don’t come back misquoting Children are “born sinners” in Christianity, this is utter rubbish from the sanghis … Children are “Born Of Sin” of the Parents … there is a day and night difference between “born sinners” vs “Born of Sin”.

‘@accidental34

QUOTE: You only show your ignorance by posting this nonsense.
RESPONSE: Not really, you are ignorant on your own religion.

QUOTE: Atman and soul are one and the same thing.
RESPONSE: Nope sorry … Soul is created when the Child is concieved … there is no past karma associated with it. Atman is a pre-existing external entity with good/bad karmas.

QUOTE: When a child is conceived, what is “created” is ego.
RESPONSE: ha ha ha … I guess you need to re-define ego in your dictionary. But whatever you wanna call it … ego, self etc etc … the atman is external entity infecting an innocent Child.

QUOTE: I simply said that many people consider your beliefs to be silly (beliefs like if you do even one sin, you condemn yourself to ETERNAL Hell).
RESPONSE: Those many people are simply brainless ignorant fools to think they can bargain with GOD, And that one SIN (like just telling a lie) can have a very large magnitude of consequences, you may not be aware that’s all. And what is that just one SIN that GOD should ignore, why not 2 ~ 3 or 100 sins? It’s plain and simple when you sin you are in Satan’s domain period.

QUOTE: My point was that you (not God) were being unreasonable to ridicule Hindu beliefs.
RESPONSE: Any rational being will ridicule when you term a new born child as a criminal. Cause and effect is any normal man’s thought process, Hinduism is a man made theology, I’ve proven that with the lopsided effect of karma theory across many lives.

QUOTE: when your own beliefs are laughed at by educated people.
RESPONSE: But hinduism beliefs is laughed at by even uneducated / educated people. Let me know if you want me to elaborate on this.

QUOTE: Why do bad things happen to children and how can Jesus/God let it happen?
RESPONSE: There are more than 50 million people dying every year, Why GOD lets it happen? To answer that, Jesus could have killed and ravaged the Romans and the Jews just like Alexander the Great, but Jesus took to the route of Suffering and Dying, than provided the ultimate Glory by Conquering Death and Resurrecting himself. This is the reason why Christianity is the No.1 religion in the world. Similarly, GOD doesn’t interfere in day to day issues, He only provides Salvation to the deserved. As already stated Jesus/GOD says Children are first class Citizens of Heaven, In this case the Child is given salvation and the Rapist is bound to Hell forever … this is the ultimate revenge that Child can get. Read “The problem of Suffering” by C.S.Lewis for more details.

‘@Jabs
I do not see any point in continuing this debate when you do not even accept that Hindus consider the atman to be none other than the soul. You are like someone who goes up to a guy who is eating ice-cream and say,

“You are eating samosas”,

and then guy responds “I’m not eating samosas, I’m eating ice-cream”,

then you say “Nope sorry…. You are eating samosas”,

and then the guy eating ice-cream walks away knowing that you have lost your mind! He is not going to stop eating his ice-cream.

The Hindus too are not going to stop believing that Atman IS the soul! You can believe in whatever “infected” nonsense you want.
———————-

The response that you have given regarding how Jesus can let children suffer, makes sense to you. The response that Hindus have (karma), makes sense to them. Hindus are not telling you that your belief is wrong. But for some reason you cannot show similar courtesy to Hindus. What does that say about you? [Don’t respond to this question. People can read this exchange and decide for themselves.]

sorry, I got so many mails, comments and I am happy if others pitch in and comment.
Regarding soul and Atman, Christianity postulates separate souls and Atman is not a separate entity but one with Brahman.
On the other hand, soul is used for the innermost being, and in this case it could be translated as Atman or rather Jivatman – but it must be made clear that the underlying philosophy is different. The Indian view of ultimate oneness makes more sense and is supported by science.

‘@MW,

QUOTE: Regarding soul and Atman, Christianity postulates separate souls and Atman is not a separate entity but one with Brahman.
RESPONSE: Agreed, but the soul is not pre-existing, but Atman is eternally existing just like the brahman.

QUOTE: On the other hand, soul is used for the innermost being, and in this case it could be translated as Atman or rather Jivatman. but it must be made clear that the underlying philosophy is different.
RESPONSE: Thanks for clarifying this.
a) Soul is used for the innermost being … Agreed and is UNIQUE to that being,
b) Soul is not Eternal it can perish.
c) Soul has no oneness with Brahman, as you know there is no Brahman concept in Christianity. GOD is not limited by Space and Time, but he is the cause of it.

QUOTE: The Indian view of ultimate oneness makes more sense and is supported by science.
RESPONSE: Which Science? Please Elaborate on this. BTW I’m a Science graduate … so please go ahead.

And BTW, none of this answers on my Original Question …

a) Your stand like Christians are afraid of Hellfire hence they still believe in Christianity. Does this mean all Christians are saints and bound for Heaven? Don’t you know there is far more depth then this over simplification?

b) What is your answer for the Karma theory example I provided?

‘@MW,

Thank you for that article, it was a nice read. I wonder how is this sub-atomic posting is relevant to the current topic.
BTW, since you are talking about Science, that too at a sub-atomic level. We need the theory behind some of those claims … which we can present to the International Scientific community and give credit where it is due.

QUOTE: Thousands of years ago they had claimed that the age of our present (according to them it is not the first) universe is mind boggling.
RESPONSE: Claiming something to be huge or large is pretty easy … How did they arrive at that conclusion? what is the theory behind that claim? What is the Number they arrived at? Do you have an answer?

QUOTE: They knew that the earth orbits the sun and not the other way round.
RESPONSE: I’ve read a lot of Hindus posting these claims online, but I’m yet to see any reference from the Vedas or BG or upanishads that make this statement.

QUOTE : Does it surprise that the ‘big picture of the entire universe’ which was released by the Max Planck Institute has an oval shape?
RESPONSE: I have seen quite a lot of Shivlings, but none which is oval shaped?

QUOTE: that this world is maya, an appearance or superimposition on that what is really true.
RESPONSE: You mean consciousness? … I know you are getting this from Double split experiment … but there is a rather convincing scientific explaination … at the time of Observation particles localize Space and Time. When not observing particles spread out in Space and Time.

Below are some Scientific blunders of Hinduism.

How old is earth according to hinduism?
As of science it is 4,500,000,000. i.e 4.5 Billion years old.
But according to hinduism, 1041 mahayugas, which is equal to 1 kalpa i.e 1 day of lord brahma. if lord brahma created earth on his first day of his birth, the calculations based on age of lord brahma, age of earth must be 155,521,972,949,115 years i.e ~155 trillion. … which is utter bull5h!t … considering the Universe itself is 13.6 Billion years according to Modern Science … Hinduism just missed by 99.9999999999 %

Hinduism claims … Sun is lighting up the whole Universe !!!
As per Brahmavaivartapurana which states that the Sun had set out to kill Mali and Sumali – devotees of Shiva. At this Shiva hit Sun with his trident. Sun lost consciousness plunging the whole universe into darkness. Maharishi Kashyap the father of Sun cursed Shiva that his son would lose his head. As a result Ganesha lost his head and the head of Airavata was implanted on to him.
Anyways you have a very lengthy article, I would have to devout a lot of time to validate your claims, which I don’t have the luxury now.

Moreover your simplication of Christians scared of Hell fire … that is the reason they are Christians is plain BS … If that is the case the entire 2.5 billion Christians would be saints … :).

LOVING THE SATIRE. That’s all I have to say. Also, thank you for being one out of the few people who speak up for the misrepresentation of Hinduism in the media at home and abroad.

this approach that you advocate works when people are generally good-natured, but not when brainwashed to be scheming to make their own ‘belief-system’ dominate the whole world no matter by what means. look into history.
Gandhi’s approach is not dharmic in the sense that he allows adharma to triumph.

‘@Shan,

If Iam allowed to step in here, I must say you are painting with a broad brush I’m afraid. Gita says varna is not by birth but it is rather by ones acquired abilities post-birth. For the record, firstly, I do support the caste based reservation for some more time. Classification was to allow families to attain skill in their family business only not to suppress anyone.

With over 800 years of brutal savagery and worst kind of holocaust in all history unleashed on hindus by the invading marauders, the balance and communal harmony got derailed and they remained a lost cause for a very long time.

Are you aware that the middle east conflict is largely due to the sunni and shia schism, they both want to literally wipe out each other. Sunnis are the worst kind, led by wahabi Saudis, the killings of shias (hajaras), Ahmedias and not to mention Hindus and coptic Christians are perpetrated by them as we speak. And the catholics want to convert the Baptists and the Mormons want to convert all other Christian denominations?

Also currently Hinduism is the only religion that has allocated block reservation for the down trodden communities within its fold. Most chaamars are all practicing Christians, they cunningly call themselves SCs to avail the reservation facility. …But the real underlying reasons for attacks nowadays have property matters and such as their origins. Media, however, portray them as casteism wrongly.

you are right, India did survive however much diminished. from the 1,6 billion or so Muslims maybe half of them were Hindus or Buddhist – Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Afghanistan, and Indian Muslims… and the effort to gain more converts or become a greater part of the population is still on

‘@ mesh15,

Yes as Maria had clarified, Hinduism (and Buddhism) took a big hit with the marauders forcibly converting them and also converting their shrines into mosques. Thanks to the missionaries the entire northeast has been evangelized now. Huge chunks of Tamils, telugus have been converted in the last 3 decades. So thus Hinduism is truncated now.

As David Frawley correctly analyzed there is a doctrinal flaw in those religions without a doubt. What kind of God will say that you have to read a certain kind of scripture and follow a certain kind of messenger in order to arrive at paradise for after life or else you end up in eternal hell. Per Christians and muslims, Im afraid, all hindus and Buddhists will end up in hell and get fried , STILL ALIVE to feel the pain!! So if you are a hindu be forewarned and hence please get converted out today and gain entry to paradise ☺ ☺. On the other hand Hindus have conclusively eliminated eternal hell for ALL. Instead their doctrines talk about resolving accrued karma through Atman’s rebirth. In those faiths you get one shot and thats it. Hinduism is forgiving one gets many opportunities to correct ones course.There is no escaping of this karma as per the karma siddhanta. You reap what you sow. Life is a kind of hell, if I can put it humorously. So therefore I don’t want to come back again and again. I will lead a life of a hermit as for as possible and be done with it.

In Hinduism we do not believe in conversion or forcible conversion we allow every one to think
and practice the religion. But whether it is Christianity or Islam they believe in conversion so they
practice what they believe. Iran was a converted in to Islam so also Iraq Egypt etc. Europe was converted into Christianity these are the facts before us. But in India they could not achieve what
they did with the above nations. Hinduism is unique because it has in his folds non believers who
are free to express their views they are not in any way ill treated or sent out of its folds, will Islam or Christianity allow this practice they will never whereas Hinduism practices tolerance.

Surya, as you should guess from my name, I’m not Asian at all. 🙂

I am a born and bred Englishman who has been married (over 50 years) to a Christian then a Muslim and then (now) a Hindu. I have also practised quite deeply all three religions. I know some Arabic as well as Sanskrit.

Off course there is no use to give any comment if the writer does not respond to your point. The discussion gets diverted to Atrocity on Dalit. It is a diversion of the discussion. The episode of atrocity is a matter of mindset of the people all over India which is the result of Nehruvian Cong rule of six decades on vote bank politics. Media is interested in making every presentation of news as emotional. The atrocity is related to law and order. The similar episode would have occurred had it been a person to any other caste.

You wrote “But in India they could not achieve what
they did with the above nations.”
true they have not yet gained majority (and once majority is gained, usually minorities disappear rapidly).
but we should not forget that Pakistanis and Bangladeshis were earlier Hindus.
and the attempt to make Hindus disappear is still on – and very actively.

That is absolutely correct muslims enjoy more freedom in nonmuslim countries. In fact when Australia introduced common civil code the muslims there objected but when the Prime Minister told them that those who oppose it can leave Australia for their country of choice immediately all them accepted the law. Why is Europe being flooded with refugees from Middle East whey are these refugees not going to their neighboring Muslim countries? In fact in India the Muslims and Christians ancestors were all Hindus India should also bring the common civil code like Australia did.

John Lerwill well don’t take it personal well in debates we may find ourselves in such situations
so let us debate which throws various views one may differ it is part of a debate but we will come across some interesting views expressed here which we might differ in parts & accept some so let us continue this healthy debate

Today, I, as a Hindu am in a position to say something, though I must confess my knowledge about Sanatan Dharma is like a speck in an ocean. My state of insignificant knowledge is further amplified due to lack of “Realization”. Though the only saving grace is I attempt to “understand”. All this is because my parents ensured that my “spiritual” education started and continued with my “material” education.

They instilled in me a simple concept of “happiness” “balance” and “harmony” in life by constantly endeavor to balance “Spiritualism” and “Materialism”. Example cited was – Just like a cart needs two well-oiled wheels to run. You need to constantly “oil” the “two” wheels”, if you want to be happy in life.

Slowly but firmly, I grew something, which, to my utter disappointment and despair, was vanishing from the world due to total disregard for the “ethos” which is the very foundation of this Universe. In other words, I grew a “Spine”. I also developed the power to distinguish. I have not discarded “Spiritual” for the “Materialistic” or vice versa.

I am afraid but what Hinduism is lacking is – “Spine”.

Not the “spine” of “Islam” or “Christianity” but a “Spine” strengthened with “Principles” “Concepts” and “Ethos”.

The Western “Education” which came to India, first discarded the “existing Ethos” of India as Mumbo Jumbo probably after witnessing social evils like Widow burning, caste system etc etc. Or probably they simply wanted to establish their supremacy.

Sadly, that very “Western” Education has given the Indians the “Visa” to be more materialistically affluent and Spiritually emancipated. I, recently, came across a very objectionable discussion about Indian Caste System by very “educated”, highly “intellectual” Hindus located on the extreme Western Continent of the Globe. Words, tone and emotions used in that discussion was derogatory to their very own Country of Origin. It was evident they were sneering at their own Motherland without understanding the “concept” of Caste System and the social distortion of it. I did what my concious dictated – I “eductated” them about Caste System as mentioned in Gita, the underlying concept and also how this “concept” was distorted through ages. I received only two people amongst my many conatcts, a certain agreement to my side of argument. So the Ratio is 25:3. And that is a shameful one.

Yes, I think, people like these need the “hellfire” rod. They are not fit to be called Hindus or Indians. Reason being inspite of all their materialistic “achievement” they have ignored the insights of the Rishis as Mumbo Jumbo. Giving them the benefit of doubt, in all probability their parents never gave them the legacy of a “Spiritual” quest. The seed of “ignorance” was long sown in our Indian Society.

Most distressingly, our own people have chosen superficiality over self- introspection or more specifically Self-Realization.

Congrats madam for going deep into the Hindu Books and giving out in simple words, which most of us , who are born Hindus don’t know otherwise.

Namaste Rekha,

Glad to know that you have strong faith in Dharma and are proud to follow it. The one point where I strongly disagree with you however, is when you say that we should not do any preaching and that a person can only be born into Sanatan Dharma.

Such attitude is called ‘being an isolationist’ and is going to be very harmful to Hindus given the conditions that exist in the world today [and are likely to exist for many decades, if not centuries]. What is worse is that it is not us who are going to suffer the consequences of this isolationism, it is our future generations who will suffer. Fortunately, this all can be changed (for the good) by bringing people to Dharma (only via truthful education, of course).

The claim that one who converts to Dharma cannot say “I am Sanathan”, is illogical. Sanatan Dharma is a belief system. Anyone who subscribes to this belief-system and lives his life accordingly, is a follower of Sanatan Dharma. Who is more dharmic- A France born white person who does his/her best to live by Dharma, or a India born Hindu who regularly prays hoping that God will help him get a high-paying job so he can brag about being ‘successful’?

The other points that you made reveal that you are a strong person. So please tell me- If your being in Dharma clearly made you strong, would not this same knowledge make others strong too? You said “Respect for all life forms is key”, would you not provide access to useful things to those you respect, so that they too can have an opportunity to become as strong as you are?

Keeping in mind the above things, it should be obvious that the dharmic thing to do is to preach Dharma to everyone in the world. Whether they want to convert or not is their choice, but if they choose to convert, it is more proper to have a welcoming attitude towards them and to help them adjust so that they feel at home in Sanathan Dharma!

Also, please read this article by Maria- https://mariawirthblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/02/hindu-dharma-needs-to-spread/

AUM

Reblogged this on Spiritual Consciousness.

ASSEMBLY OF GOD IN HINDUISM

By Promod Puri

Besides His numinous and varied perceptions God also offers a meaningful perspective which can be created by the assembly of good thoughts. And the divine residency begins in that on-going construction.

Basically it is an eloquent temperament we are trying to build which gives rationality and practicality to the institution of God.

The ecumenical concept of God of being the supreme governor who creates, sustains and destroys the universe, and everything else including what influences our lives, does not reveal the reasons behind all the puzzles and mysteries of His or Her observable deeds.

In other words our perception of God as being a creator with His mystical powers which sustains the universe, can not comprehend many universal and natural phenomenons.

One reason is that man is just one of the millions of creatures who in actuality is microscopic in His infinite and colossal universe. Still our imaginations and metaphysical attempts know no boundaries to fathom His magnanimity.

For a moment let us compare a human being to a small ant who is trying to study God up there in the celestial world.

Read More: https://promodpuri.com/2016/10/31/assembly-of-god-in-hinduism/

Hinduism does need publicity or forced on some individual to accept it. Neither Christianity or Islam will not understand Hinduism because of its simplicity our Maharishis, Sadhus Kanchi Mutt
Sringeri Sharada Peetham POORVAMNAYA SHRI GOVARDHAN PEETHAM PASCHIMAMNAYA SHRI SHARADA PEETHAM UTTARAMNAYA SHRI JYOTISH PEETHAM etc. Our Sadhus are in bare minimum of clothes they wear even in adverse weather conditions unlike the Pope who is dressed in Satin and with diamond studded head gear etc.

Hinduism is a religion which propagates humanity simplicity to understand this one has read about our religion culture which will throw a wealth of Information. Maria you have been from time to time writing about this this is possible because you are well versed in Hinduism by reading our literature and visiting various religious places to have grasp about our religion.

Maria the fact is most of us Hindus do not know the facts about Hinduism we are all to say
illiterates as far as Hinduism is concerned. But Hinduism does not discriminate such individuals
or force them to go to Temples or force them to read our religious books. This is the strong point of Hinduism its strength is derived by its openness, debates etc Any body can agree disagree but no discrimination of such individuals.

Christianity is very rigid in its views, approach one cannot say there is no God or stop going to Church. Hinduism accepts all into their fold whether he/she believes in God or not it will not convert any one into Hinduism. So this religion will survive against all odds it will be subject to mocking, criticism all this out of ignorance hence it is not Hinduism that is being targeted but Christianity itself because Hinduism says all God is one.

thank u

you may also know that the British tried hard to demean Hindu Dharma, including even wrong translations. They must have been really pleased to discover Manu Smriti.
But are you aware that in the 12th chapter of Manu Smriti the option is given to change the Smriti if times change by a group of respected elders or even by one Brahmin if i remember right.
Smritis can be changed. Shrutis (Veda) cannot.

Do texts in Christianity or Islam have this option? do you want to comment on the status of women in those religions, several thousand of years ago or even today? just for being fair.

coming from a western ‘culture’ i consider the Indian culture far superior also the way it regards woman. there are numerous admirable quotes in the Veda.

pls see this link about women in Veda
pic.twitter.com/w0j0HZ3UAl

you may come to treasure you culture

I was about to respond to modernSikh when I saw Maria´s response. I would only like to add for modernSikh that “if you do not give value to your own culture, nobody else will do it”, like Pt. David Frawley says. And that there is more in common among Dharmic traditions, that should unite against the demeaning and disrespecting abrahamic traditions that seek only to impose themselves, being in fight even again each other in that supremacy.

egoism, being intent on getting my way or advantage, rudeness towards others, not putting up with discomfort in a graceful way… come to my mind for westerners. In all cultures there are such and such people, but Indians are in my view more cultured, and even more so, when you compare the poorer sections of society with each other. A woman from Chile once told me that the poor in India have dignity which they don’t have in South America. A Swiss manger asked by his Indian employee what he thinks about India after his visit there, said, it is the only country where I was not afraid of the poor.

Maria Wirth, just AMAZING understanding of Hinduism. Now I am going to read all your articles in this blog. Are you a truth seeker yourself? I mean is your understanding by reading books on Hinduism or by direct experience of seeking truth? Absolutely delighted to read your article.

Maria- your insight and understanding are valuable indeed! One thing, though- to say, “Present day Indians need to take care that this irrationality does not eat into their society because it will lead to its downfall” is exactly the type of contingent and proscriptive thinking and threat of hellfire that you deplore!

Dear Maria Wirth
I would like to share the following link for the followers of your Blog

http://postcard.news/india-learn-small-place-bali-indonesia/

What should India learn from this small place Bali in Indonesia?

Indian religious gurus preach the benefits of Trikala Sandhya but this is practiced in every Balenese school. Here in India including a chapter of Ramayana or Mahabharatha is termed as saffroanisation of education but in Bali Gayatri Mantra is recited by every school child thrice a day. Are we Hindus even aware of the procedures of Trikala Sandhya?;forget about practicing it. We see some Hindus who appreciate Muslims for performing namaz 5 times a day but are they ready for trikala Sandhya?

I think christianity was denounced long time back. During my stay in UK, I saw church remaining empty, with maximum of 5-10 attendees.
On islam, this too soon will collapse. What brought islam as force actually were the petroleum dollars. Otherwise, no world power on this planet ever allowed any islamic empire to even remain. The manner in which ottoman turks were collapsed by everyone clearly suggests that islamic empires are never allowed to grow.
On hinduism, it is exclusive to Indian subcontinent, and actually has no antiquity. It is just that people resisding in Indian subcontinent have clubbed the commandments, tenets, smritis etc into one fold called hinduism, and packaged it, though people who had developed these vedic knowledge, smritis, purans, upanishads, were extinct long time back!!!!

Wonderfully explained Maria Wirth.