Let’s all be Hindu Fundamentalists

Very concise and to the point article.

Good job

perfect solution to the world’s wars … i always wanted to express these views. hinduism or sanatan dharm is the only solution… it gives message of peace.

where are you marie

May be all Hindus do not understand what is really Hinduism but the upbringing in Hindu family is so different that right from our childhood parents educate us that The Allah and Christ are the name of Gods in other religion and they are like our Gods. I have been to many churches and mosques and my hands got automatically folded with respect for the God of either church or mosque. I know very well that Hindus are called Kafirs i.e. non believers by Muslims but we also know that Hinduism is a old religion more than 5000 years old and it had a great tradition of “Shastrarth” discussion among learned people and this is how you were allowed to have different view than the established belief or dogma. This is how new ideas came to Hinduism and was encouraged by great thinkers and Rishis. Writing comment on religious matters or treatise was considered great achievement. In other religion it is unthinkable there may be so many Fatwas or dictates from church that you won’t be able to survive. But I am hopeful with the passage of time other religion will also embrace many great ideas beneficial for human beings but it takes times after all Hinduism has taken more than 5000 years to reach this stage. Arvind

Very simple, well expressed article. And, you are correct most people have forgotten what Hinduism stands for. Totally enjoyed reading it.

Respected Maria, send your pp photo to the editor http://hinduexistence.org at hinduexistence@gmail.com . Our team like to tag your blog in our blog roll and publish some articles to our main page too.

Pankaj, Moderator, HE.

Thank u Maria for your simple but true explanation about Hinduism . The so called secular Hindu are helping in rise of hindu fundamentalism. Their day to day abuse to Hinduism is helping other hindu to unite and become hindu fundamentalist. Due to know after Nitish certification b y PM as a secuarist has help crore of hindu to become Hindu fundamentalist

[…] Source: mariawirthblog […]

Wonderful indeed! 🙂
I just think we get too caught up in names…. let’s just be good, kind, happy people! 🙂

This is exactly the kind of dogma that Hinduism does not have. It allows diversity and different paths to “God”. Because of this you have the stark monotheism of the Brahmans, where the ultimate reality is beyond comprehension and is the “Universal Consciousness”. It is the individual who is responsible for making his spiritual and inner progress. On the other hand, there is the idol worship of the common man who needs a symbol of God or gods to worship and relate to. The next world is an unknown, so the focus is on making yourself and others happy in this life, through good deeds and righteous conduct. Everyone is encouraged to live without violence, be truthful, not steal nor be possessive and be in full control of his natural impulses.

Even if there is a paradise, God will presumably not discriminate by where in the universe you were born or which Alien sect you belonged to, and will reward ALL those who do good in this life. The greatest sin imaginable is to kill another human being – God’s greatest creation – for any reason. Because it means you do not trust in the power of God to judge and to punish.

Now coming to the verse cited by you: It means the Jews following the path of Moses before Jesus came, will be rewarded on judgment day. Those Christians that followed the path of Jesus before Muhammad will be rewarded too. After Muhammad was sent down, everyone must follow his path in order to go to Heaven. In short, a human being’s eternal reward depends on which prophet he “believes in” finally. The Quran repeatedly makes it clear that there’s no hope for non-Muslims: 5:3 “Today I have perfected your religion and completed my favor to you and have chosen Islam for you”. .3:19..”.Indeed the right religion in the sight of Allah is Islam ..Islam is the truth and light, those who follow Islam follow Allah’s commandment and they will have their reward in the hereafter” .3:85 “For, if one goes in search of a religion, other than Islam, it will never be accepted from him, and in the life to come he shall be among the lost” etc .

Why did not you mention about Buddhism? It is a big religion that changed many minds. Let me ask a simple question. Hinduism teaches that “AIM” is more important, and “how you execute it” does not matter. Even if your brother is the enemy, you should kill him (from the book of Gita). I think Jesus has taught to love even your enemies. Dont categorize whole christians under protestant christians – Still I think, they do not do “ANYTHING” for that (like killing even your brother or so)..!! And one of the Hindu major states in India ended up with killing Muslims in bulk (Gujarat Massacre, 2002). Appreciate your perspective, but your study is not complete, and misleading. I expect you wil get a lot of appreciation from Hindu fundamentalists..!! Best wishes..

Buddha was a Hindu in today’s terminology. Hindus consider Buddha as an avatar and Buddhism as one of the many streams of Sanatana Dharma (today called Hinduism). Buddhists however prefer to be a separate ‘religion’ for whatever reasons though they are in the same league with Hinduism and not like the Abrahamic religions and their dogmatic, unverifiable belief systems.
Where does Hinduism teach that aim is more important than how you execute it? To follow your dharma is most important and this may entail fighting those who commit grave injustice. I grew up as a Christian and found the hypocrisy in Christian society painful. You write that you “think” that Christians don not do anything like killing one’s own brother and it is all about loving your enemy. It is absolutely clear that Hinduism is the least violent religion in comparison with Christianity or Islam. Just think what happened in Germany only 70 years ago. This does not mean that there are no criminals in Hindu society, but they don’t kill to please their God.

As far as I know and with my capabilities of understanding of Hinduism I would like to say
– The christian society has already dug a big grave for themselves, the reason being they love the sweet than the truth. This, one can analyze through the view of Hinduism bcos a person inside a well cannot see from top. I have done a keen study of Christian mentality over a long period of time n now I well versed with their thoughts.
– The muslim community is originally Hindu because Mohammed’s uncle was a Hindu priest in a temple called MECCA(old MAKKESHWARA). Hence they are to a large extent following lots of Hindu teachings but with a wrong approach(concept of infidels). Hence they have dug a grave for themselves bcos wrong doing invites worst to you.
– Thirdly, in the EGO FACTOR(“You shall have no other gods before me” and equivalent dialog in Muslims) both Christian and Muslim communities are hell bent to dilute and destroy the rarest of the rare teachings of “Best way to life” that is Hinduism. This is not a mistake but a BLUNDER. This behaviour of ego factor was highest and last seen in Ravana – a God’s(Lord Shiva) closest devotee which God himself had to destroy.

I would say only way left is that the intellectuals of these 2 religions(Christianity and Muslim) must admit, accept and ignore the wrong approach to God in Bible and Quran, only then the world will be saved else you know the bomb is ticking.

Jai Shri Ram.

Women are being raped all over the world but India has among the lowest rates of rape at 2/100,000 compared to most western countries. Ireland, a Catholic country has a rate of 10 ie five times. If you read more about rape in India and of so called outcaste women, that’s because Indian society does not tolerate rape and there’s an outcry each time a case is reported, unlike in the west. How many times have you seen an entire nation agitated by rape anywhere else in the world? Also most rape cases of outcaste women involve men from other backward and most backward castes – look up recent atrocities like Kherlanji, Mirchipur and Dharmapuri. Westerners automatically and wrongly assume that it must be the upper castes who must be involved, because of their inherent bias and racism, which does not allow them to understand an alien society, where the highest caste – the Brahmins who traditionally lived in poverty, were the sole defenders of the customary rights of the lowest Paraiyan outcastes against encroachments by the British and other castes in Madras.
The inherent bias in the Abrahamic religions is the Homogenous outlook – One God, One Truth, One Book etc all relics of predatory, power and dominance oriented Tribal societies, because of which they are unable to visualise a Heterogenous but peaceful society where many deities and radically different points of view can co-exist. The Brahmins were loved and respected for their knowledge and selflessness by the common people, but the missionaries and the colonials thought the Brahmins had some magical religious hold over the people because of which the Indians refused conversion to Christianity, despite all kinds of incentives and threats. So the Brahmins were described as evil and the people as wretched, stupid and superstitious.
In reality, the Indian society was made up of thousands of autonomous but interdependent Jatis, which the Brahmins had conceptualised into their theoretical Varna system. It was the British who forced the theoretical Varna categories on the entire society beginning with the 1901 Census. They also started arbitrarily selecting groups of people as outcastes and depressed castes, so that their population went up from about 5 percent in the first Census to 16 percent in the 1931 Census. This was done with a view to counter the then nascent Indian National Congress, which was seen as a party of Hindu upper castes, as well as to divide and rule India through a veneer of provincial democracy that had been introduced in the 1890’s for the natives. The artificially imposed Caste was soon everywhere, with motive power provided by the twin engines of Colonial expediency and Missionary zeal. So the British created the cage, deliberately locked the people in it and now every half wit and his ignorant westernised cousin is hopping around in indignation and blaming the Hindus for this crime.

‘@ Kamal, Hinduism does not justify any means to achieve your aim. let me elaborate on it! It says Dharma is supreme and one must follow it, but at the same time one has the liberty to fulfill his karma as well.
Now one thing we all must understand is that while pursuing our Karma, it is not always possible to follow our Dharma, like for example in Mahabharta, Bhishma’s karma was to protect the throne, no matter who sat on it, even after knowing he was against Dharma himself i.e. Vasudev ShriKrishna, still he fought the battle, but never did he justify his side i..e Kaurvas, not just that another greatest warrior on his side Karna, though completely true to his side, knew as well that he was wrong and against Dharma, yet he fought the battle as well.. In the end, both are still regarded honourable due to the their inner realization of truth and following their Karma despite the fact that they actually fought against Dharma or Krishna..
As an hindu, i know Aim is important but as humans we are given the liberty to truthfully follow our duties and Karma, even if we sometimes ignore our dharma in doing so – as must now we clear to you in above example – so it’s the inner malicious instinct that damages universal harmony and our own poise, which only defines the means and ways we take up to achieve our aim; and not how they appear to naked eyes and an ignorant conscience, reason why there is harmony in multiple of paradoxes that Hinduism embodies like lord Shiva being sacred to both Devas and Raakshashas and Ravana still being praised for his wisdom and realization.

I was surprised at a “Westerner” writing so clearly about Hinduism & understanding the basics. Then I read the answer given to Josh on 20 June 2013 which revealed that Maria Wirth lives in India. That explains her knowledge. I am most impressed by her simple and convincing reasoning. Full credit to her.

Great article. Exactly my thoughts. Have you heard that Islam also has roots from Sanathana Dharma? I do not have the links with me. But, I am sure you can find some information on the internet.

And, you are right about hindu philosophy. When I was a kid, I always questioned my parents, why do we wear tilaka, why do we do this, why do we do that. All I got was “my mom/dad told me, and I am telling you to do. This is our tradition”. Lack of true hinduism facts ofcourse. I wasnt convinced with their reply and I started reading over internet. I dont know alot but, I am now very proud to be a Hindu.

And, Just an FYI, you might have already know, Hindu/Hinduism is a word coined by Britishers for the people who lived nearby Indus river.

Maria, your statement ‘Because it is helpful to achieve world dominion and the purpose of these religions is precisely this and not about finding the truth.’ demonstrates that you have misunderstood Christianity, and probably Islam, entirely. Christianity is not about sending non-believers to Hell or dominating the world. The core tenet of Christianity is that God loves each and every one of us. As in Hinduism, we acknowledge that our self-seeking individualism has resulted in us falling from perfection. Where Christianity varies from Hinduism is in the solution to that problem. You maintain that through Dharma and reincarnation you are given a second and third chance. Christianity teaches that we cannot restore ourselves and require God’s forgiveness which is made available through Christ’s sacrificial death. To state that, ‘This conviction is indeed difficult to understand for humans with a normal reasoning capacity.’ demonstrates that your beliefs are just as dogmatically held (and unverifiable) as any Christian or Muslim fundamentalist.

You also make the common mistake, although I suspect that you know very well that it is untrue, in believing that Western society is in essence ‘Christian’, and any actions taken by Western countries are acts made by Christians. It was not Christians who did what happened in Germany 70 years ago.

Results to an action should always be expected, without expecting Arjuna to know / learn about what being said, even Krishna could not have done the karma of BhagwadGeetha.

But whatever be the result, we should not be detested or be unduly emotional about which anyway none has the choice or control on. So the best way is always keep doing the karma, instead of waiting for the result (agitated and anxious).

We must always feel, behave, act etc. with full conscience, we must be aware and alert about our responses, actions. This is the intention behind this sloka.

There is no such thing as Hindu fundamentalism because there is no such thing as Hinduism. Hinduism as a concept was created by Islamic peoples who didn’t understand the variegated religions in India were in fact different religions, i.e. Vaishnavism, Shaivism, etc. The British coined the term Hinduism following in the wake of the Muslims, although their scholars knew that it was an umbrella term denoting a wide variety of religions. For example Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism used to be included as Hinduism, but they protested so much that the western scholars relented and gave them their own separate categories outside of Hinduism.

Some people argue that they aren’t Hindu because they don’t accept the Vedic scriptures as divine, but that isn’t really true, at least with Sikhs who consider Bhagavad Gita divine; and secondly there are many Hindu sects which are not Vedic, they don’t follow Vedic scriptures and accept different scriptures (many Shaivites). This is why scholars prefer the term Dharmic religions rather than Hinduism, since Hinduism as a religion doesn’t exist, i.e there is no literal Hindu religion, the word and concept was created by Muslims to describe the people of India which they didn’t understand. Hinduism is similar to Christianity, in that there is no religions called Christianity–there are countless religions who incorporate the name of Christ into their religion–to some Christ was a human, to others a God, to others both, to others neither, to others a concept, etc.

In the Hindu world you can find all sorts of beliefs, worship of different Gods, etc. For example the idea of God as Brahman, as impersonal, is just one of many different belief systems found within the Hindu cornucopia. For example this verse from the Bhagavat Purana is believed in by the Vaishnava religion (65% of Hindus identify as Vaishnava):

vadanti tat tattvavidas: tattvam yat jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate 1.2.11

Tattvavidas, philosophers or knowers of the truth; vadanti, they say:

Tattvam yat jnanam advayam, knowledge (jnanam) of “the truth” (tattvam) is nondual (advayam);

iti sabdyate, they call it;

brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan,

This is the basis for the Vaishnava religion, which is the largest religion of those lumped together as Hinduism. The truth of reality is not just Brahman (brahmeti–the impersonal aspect of the divine, the all-pervading ground of being which is the basis for the physical universe and all souls).

It is also Paramatma (supreme all pervading conscious self, i.e. a person), and Bhagavan (literally–possessing fortune, i.e. the being who possesses Brahman and Paramatma, i.e the personality aspect of the divine).

The divine is a non-dual being, a singular being, who is simultaneously Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan. Brahman: the all pervading substratum of the universe, like the water in the ocean; Paramatma: the conscious self of Brahman; Bhagavan: the personality or ego of Brahman and Paramatma. These are three aspects of a singular non-dual entity who is the blissful truth of existence (sat-chit-ananda).

This is why the Vedas teach that God is known by many names, Mitra, Varuna, Indra, Vishnu, Shiva, Durga, and countless others. These are all names of the same person who is simultaneously the ground of existence, the consciousness of existence, and the person controlling it all (Ishvara). The Yoga sutras state:

samadhi-siddhi? isvara-pra?idhanat

Samadhi-siddhi (the perfection of merging with the divine)
Isvara (literally–master, ruler)
Pranidhana (by meditating on)

The perfection of samadhi, is attained through meditation on Ishvara, the master of reality (God).

Very interesting discussion. Maria has written in such a simple language that every point is clear in the first reading. Many others have also put in good thoughts. Good reading when many other blogs and sites are full of negativity and violence. Thanks Maria.

Dear Maria,

It is very pleasing that someone from Germany is so deeply into studying and understanding Hinduism. I am a born Hindu, but never followed, never prayed, never read anything, never went to a temple, until I traveled outside of India and started realizing the need to go back to my roots. I follow Dr Rajiv Malhotra and Dr Subramaniam Swami very closely. Also, Baba Ramdevji, he is doing a great job with Yoga and Ayurvedic medicine. I think there isn’t anything like Divya Pharmacy in the world today, making medicines that have not side effects and holistically curing model illnesses. Also Shri Shri Ravi Shankarji is taking Hinduism to international scale and that too, as you would already know, we don’t have any conversion procedures defined in Hinduism, so you can’t really convert, you can only follow which is very peaceful. Prevents a lot of unnecessary wrong doing to make the numbers go up. Also, Sri Vajra Yogi Dasa. Swami Narayanananda (Dr. Jose Rugue) in Brazil (http://suddha.net/) is doing some great work in Ayurveda, Yoga and Hinduism. His story is also very fascinating. What really hurts is, for people so peaceful as us, when we talk about Hinduism in our own country, we are termed as fascist, racist and Hindu extremists by our own governments. The only thing we look forward to is that Abrahamic religions in India stop these hugely expensive conversion programs (Christianity – mostly coming from the US, may be a bit from the UK too) and the wrath of Islam and their frightening conversion procedures and highly expensive terrorist programs which have no benefits even for the terrorists and their religion itself. Also what hurts me a lot is what happened in Germany is not so grave if there can be serious research conducted on countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia where Hindus have been killed in millions, the number can easily be 5 times of the incident in Germany. Yet, no international body and no big country every criticized or raised a question because who cared about Hinduism and peace? It would be foolish to expect any kind of empathy from our Congress led government, they work only in favor of Abrahamic religions which is where their roots come from. But if people like you take up this job so seriously, I really see a ‘Ray of Hope’ for humanity as a whole in the future. Please keep up your good work, hope more young minds of India are awakened to protect our roots and the peaceful culture/religion we have created over the last 15000 years. We need a serious revolution in India itself where Hinduism could easily reach the brink of extinction in the next 50 years if proper steps are not taken.

I also wanted to point out a recent tele-serial aired on Indian Television named ‘Upanishad Ganga’ which to a great extent explains some of the basic tenets of Hinduism through short stories.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y7Jcv4zSdI

Not sure if this can be dubbed into German and aired on German television. It would be a great leap forward if this can be achieved. I am sure Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi wouldn’t mind dubbing his creation for the German and English audience.

I wish you are all the best with all the work you are doing. You have one more follower. It feels great to understand some of the concepts of our religion through your blogs. 🙂

Last 3 years, I have been trying to study and understand Hinduism, as and when possible, I have discussions with many of my European colleagues to make them understand the concepts of Hinduism and what is happening in India with Hinduism. But I admit, I am in anyway near to being an expert on Hinduism and I have a long way to go before I can constructively contribute to the resurrection of Hinduism in India. British schools have started experimenting by teaching Hinduism as a subject at their schools, we can copy this one more thing from Brits. Our people like it when it comes from outside, if someone inside the country suggests this, we are termed as Hindu extremists. Baba Ramdevji is experimenting with a Sanskrit-English model school for 500 students. I hope it achieves great success and this model is implemented all over India, mandatory for every citizen irrespective of religion. It will build India to heights which no country has achieved in the history of this world.

?

An absolutely impressive article and thought-provoking discussion. The arguments in the article carry more conviction, I think, it comes from a “non-Hindu”, born in the West. I cannot enter into a religious discussion on the merits or otherwise of any religion because of my ignorance on the topic. But, the article made me feel relieved from the guilt I had at times been feeling because I never practised any religion. I am a born Hindu but hardly went to temples and rarely observed any rituals. My concept of God is very vague to me since I don’t have a very clear answer to many questions. But I always felt the God actually means good deeds and being helpful to others. Your article is the closest that I have read about my own feelings. Thank you Maria.

Vta,
Could you please point out where I went wrong? What is “extremely misinformed and deeply, deeply offensive”? I copy it here again what I wrote:
“Concerning Islam, fundamentalists believe that Islam is the only true religion and Allah the only true God who wants the whole world to submit to Him. Those who do not become Muslims will go to hell. It is a central tenet and keeps recurring in the Quran. Fundamentalists see it as their duty to make all of humanity accept Islam and often take literally commandments in the Quran like “Strike terror in the hearts of unbelievers”.”

You say that you are not a Christian and you have good Muslim friends. And then you take offense regarding what I wrote above. If you are a Muslim, you would be aware of the “insider versus outsider” mindset that is inculcated in both Abrahamic religions. I did not write that Muslims have a free ride to heaven, and I know, like in Christianity, ‘believers’ too, have to fulfill some conditions. So what did I write wrong? The Quran is explicit that Islam is the only true religion, like Christianity is explicit that Christ is the only way. So they advise Hindus to see this ‘truth’ and convert or revert back (as it is also called) to Islam or Christianity. Please don’ quote now the Quran “to everyone his own religion”, if you read further, you know that it basically means, don’t worry, if those other believers are so arrogant as not to accept the true religion( which one?) they are already doomed.
Since you are not a Christian and maybe also not a Muslim, then maybe you don’t realize how harmful the insider versus outsider mind set is. Of course, friends won’ tell you about it. I know regarding Christianity, that Christians are briefed by their clergy and magazines, how to approach the Hindu middle class to have a chance to make them look favorably at Christianity.

really glad that you see through the game of dogmatic religions. wished more Indians would realise the great value of their tradition and would honour their Rishis.
best wishes
Maria

Vta,

very nicely presented your “personal” thoughts on your “personal” religion.
1. Madarsa education turns you all into “extremist fundamentalists” and you are taught to lie to non-Muslims since your young age, many of my Muslim friends have confirmed that this happens quite often. I have lived in 2 of the most highly Muslim dominated cities of India and I know this for a fact.
2. Don’t talk about Hindu extremism at all, it is merely a reaction to the “extremism” (barbaric, blood thirsty, ghastly) actions of Muslims and Christians in India.
3. Do you realize that you are cannot be a Muslim because you come from a Hindu culture, do you or your parents or grandparents identify yourself of Hindu decent and not Arab decent? Or do you still live in the delusional world that you are a descendant of a pervert prophet and you have the right to carve a new country out of India for yourself?
4. Do you know the state of Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh? What have your Paki and Bangladeshi brothers done to Hindu/Sikh/Buddhist/Jain citizens of their country? Has any one of you of any organization or any Mullah or any Madarasa ever raised your voice against the drastic unbelievable fall of non-Muslim population in Pakistan (10% in 1947 to less than 1% today) and Bangladesh (32% in 1971 to less than 3% today? Look at your brothers and sisters copulating at an unbelievable rate in India going from 6% in 1947 to 16% today and you still call yourself a minority and beg for more freebies from the government as if you don’t get enough?
5. Have you people ever thought about going back to your original culture Hinduism where you belong to and live a peaceful life rather than trying to convert people and spread insecurity among the masses?
6. Look at your brothers Akbaruddin Owaisi and Imran Masood who are counting on the huge Muslim population to incite religious hatred and spread barbarism? Which religion was responsible for over 300+ communal riots in India since independence? Did you forget everything while putting thoughts on paper?
7. Also please start reading news where your brothers commit crimes everyday all over the world in the name of your very “peaceful” Islam:

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/among-indian-mujahideen-s-alleged-recruits-engineering-students-with-iit-dreams-501033?pfrom=home-lateststories

http://www.historyofjihad.org/ – go through in full detail for each country where Muslims keep killing non-Muslims for their love of Islam, Quran and the pervert prophet

http://www.islam-watch.org/historyofjihad/index.html

http://sheikyermami.com/

http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/ – news from your own people

http://www.islamonline.com/news/articles/2/Bihar-Muslims-Unite-to-Defeat-Modi.html – this is the news that you spread out of India

http://www.islamnewsroom.com/news-we-need/1452-pregnant-children/#story – this is what islam teaches

http://www.euro-islam.info/

How come it is Islam everywhere that gets into trouble? Doesn’t that mean there is something fundamentally wrong with your religion and should cease to exist for the greater good of humanity?

There are many more. We face the problems of Islam everyday every minute every second all over the world. Life has become hell because of 1.3 billion Muslims on this planet.

You should know your actions speak louder than words so rather than venting out your anger with the nicest and bestest education you got in India, perhaps you should work more on enlightening your people to leave Islam and move to Hinduism for the sake of peace and let them know that God is one and all that you have written above. You don’t know who Allah is, you don’t know who Jesus is, it doesn’t matter what religion you belong to, you don’t know your God personally, its just about giving a different name and starting a beautiful and peaceful life. If you don’t, then all that you said above is a blatant lie trying to convince yourself that you have done your job for Islam by lying.

– a Hindu a Sikh a Jain a Buddhist a Jew a Confucious-ist a Shintoist (I am everything except a Muslim and a Chrisitan (Christians are still party ok outside of India))

[…] Source: Maria Wirth Blog […]

This is very beautiful to read. Hindu population will be extremely happy, whereas the Christians and Muslims will not accept it. Conversion of Hindus to Christianity and Islam is still happening in various parts of India either by helping them from their poverty like giving them food, dress and better education to their kids and on fine day they just stop it abruptly claiming they dont have funds to help them and the minimal funds they have can only be used for Christians. This will make these vulnerable people to get converted.I personally know many families who have been converted like this. But then I did not mind it because otherwise nobody else would have taken care of them. We all know how corrupted our politics and government offices are there are nobody to help people living in poverty. So, if someone asks them to convert to a different religion for better living standards why not?

Whatever you have written about the concept of Hinduism is absolutely true.. but who or how many the so called Hindus actually live by that?

Its the same applicable with Christianity and Islam (Apart from conversion) nothing mentioned in their holy books are implemented. Both these religions does mention about love to humanity and to lead a peaceful life. As days progresses people are more materialistic and like to take advantage of situations to their liking and hence this hatred.

If not this seed of hatred is buried in these religion the religious heads representing their religions cannot lead a luxurious life. All religious leaders at present are leading a very highly luxurious life despite all holy books wants them to lead a very simple one. They believe in creating followers for themselves and lead very luxurious lives by cheating his/her followers in the name of the religion.

Its the so called protectors of the religions who have always brought shame to their religion than that of the rival religion.

Take out hatred towards all religions if you can! I dont think most of them who commented above can ever do that… they are all very adamant believers of their own religions and though they claim they have immense knowledge and respect towards other religions the hatred towards other religions is very much evident in their words that were typed out. If you can change yourself then slowly the society will change some day.

[…] Another Intellectual Moron:- Being Secular in Modi Age. He has a problem calling all liberals as Maoists, but no problem calling any Hindu as extremists. Because he is secular he is blind to the difference between Abrahamic religions and Sanatana Dharma, wolves and sheeps, and hence rants:- "India should never be a Hindu nation, a religious counter to Pakistan, and that religion should remain a personal matter, scrupulously scrubbed from government offices and the public sphere. So, yes, I was not pleased to see Narendra Modi visit the ghats of Varanasi for a Ganga aarti — although I am happy with his directive to fans not to touch his feet.". He can find a cure for his illness here:- Maria Wirth's blog […]

[…] Let’s all be Hindu Fundamentalists. […]

[…] http://mariawirthblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/lets-all-be-hindu-fundamentalists/ […]

Sir, a brief explaination for Arjuna killing a brother > Once there lived a rich merchant who was very nice to his employees and always ensured their well bieng so that they can enjoy working under him. But he had an arrogant son who would torture them and molest their wife and rape their daughters. Since they had no choice to earn a living other than working for that merchant, they tolerated everything and never complained to him. However, soon some employees stopped coming to him. After learning the problem, he requested his son to stop his behavior but his son did not listen him and continued his hineous acts. Fed up, the merchant took out his gun and shot him. For him wellness of hundred employees was more important than his one son.

another idiot day dreaming about hindu fundamentalism. nicely ignore their own past, present and future. this guys is a muslim, and muslims are responsible for 95% of the religious extremism we see worlwide today. name a country where there are muslims and there has not been an incident of religious extremism.

ignore such people. had we been hindu extremists, not a single stupid abrahamic cult would have been able to step into our land. it is our temperament that we bear such idiots on our land.

Dear Maria,

I had been going through your blog and I am extremely upset with the views you are expressing.
I am also upset with the gang of followers in your blog and twitter – for whom your comments are like ghee to the fire.

You apparently sound as if you understand the essence of Hinduism – Yet you are unable to grasp it!

Hinduism is a pluralistic religion (If it can be called a religion in the first place). The Vedas & Upanishads might actually be different ideas – though considered to be a continuation of Sanatana Dharma. Hinduism does not have any boundaries – One can be a Vaishnavite or a Shaivite, have anyone as Ishta Devata – be it Sun God or Ganesha! One can even be Atheist or Agnostic and still remain Hindu. We are not condemned for not following rules – because we do not have any single rule.

So how does it matter – if someone believes in the gospels of Catholic Church and gets some peace, or one finds the Islamic teaching very uplifting?

WHAT FUNDAMENTALISM ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? It sounds like fanaticism to me. If you try to understand Hinduism and India – you must understand that we had always been a pluralistic society. We do not mind if our neighbours have different faiths. This is a country where we celebrate Unity in Diversity – That is the very essence of our country. FANATICISM is not a hindu concept. The idea of our religion or our ideas are perfect and yours are not is a foreign idea.

It is ironic that groups like RSS who proclaims to represent Hinduism has no idea about the religion. Their concept and ideology is borrowed from the evils of Christianity and Islam. Fundamentalist Organizations like RSS believes that India must be for Hindus and other religions must succumb. Don’t you understand how silly this whole thing is? Since when Hinduism became such narrow minded singular religion of one true god???

You are suggesting that Hindu fanatics should actually stoop to the same level of Islamic and christian fanatics? Such a shame !!!

Hinduism is a peaceful religion of co existence and harmony. I am proud of my religion – but that does not in anyway mean that i will ever support the merchants of divisive politics and communal hatred- be it Islamic Fundamentalists, Christian Fundamentalists or Hindu Fanatics!

It is a shame that you claim to comprehend Hinduism – but you fail to actually understand the very essence. Apparently you are under a spell of “Maya”. I hope you will have a change of heart and you will refrain from putting ghee to the fire in future.

I do not want my country to suffer from communal hatred- We have coexisted in harmony with several other religious beliefs for a very long time. I believe that the forces of good are always more powerful than the forces of evil. In the battle of Durga and Mahishasura – the evil demon had to succumb. In today’s India – the peace loving Hindus will always strive against the false hate mongers like RSS (whose behaviour is akin to Mahishasura or Ravana). Narrow minded communal ideology is not in anyway part of Hindu faith. Please spare us this hatred!

Godspeed,

Sourobh

Dear Maria,

First of all, I would be glad if I am wrong on how I judged your tweets and your blog posts.

I do not have any favourable opinion on “burning in hell – if you do not belong to my club” kind of attitude either. I have written about my understanding of Religion (In the context of Indic ideas and others) in my blog ( http://debsourobh.blogspot.in/2011/10/oh-god.html?view=sidebar)

However, your opinion on RSS eludes me. You sound as if that because Christian & Islamic preachers are fanatic in their approach – we must also adopt similar views in order to safeguard our religion?

For those who are scared that Hinduism will be lost – this piece by Gandhi might offer some light:

“Nothing can equal the seeds sown by our ancestors. Rome went, Greece shared the same fate; the might of the Pharaohs was broken; Japan has become Westernized; of China nothing can be said; but India is still, somehow or, other, sound at the foundation. ”
http://www.mkgandhi.org/swarajya/ch013.htm

To come back to the context of this discussion – recently the RSS spoke about Mother Teresa. They spoke about conversion . Well, I do not deny that Mother had been a controversial figure during her lifetime – but so was Gandhi, and recently Nehru. My argument is – the goodness and achievements of Mother Teresa far exceeds her drawbacks. Why should anyone cast aspersion on her? Those who would like to do that should at least perform an iota of sacrifice of what she did – to be able to deserve to judge Teresa and her intentions. Otherwise I would call this audacity.

On Conversion

Do you think conversion really matters from a spiritual or intellectual level?

Secondly, by definition, conversion is a strange concept for Hinduism – for no one can actually be converted to Hinduism unless one is born a Hindu. But to take an example – probably you are much closer to Hinduism even though you were not born in the Hindu fold (intellectually) as compared to many other people who, trust me, have never heard about Brahmn. For many Hindus – the religion has become restricted to rituals and superstitions. Most Hindus do not actually have the interest to read Vedas or Upanishads. They are happy with Puranas – because it is easy. I am by no means demeaning the Puranas anyway.

To come back to the point – Conversion – i believe – is beyond my comprehension. It is like applying cosmetics or wearing some attire. Therefore – Hinduism does not have such a strange idea. I am unable to understand the Homecoming Conversion of RSS that is taking place.

Is religion defined by number of club members. The more the number the better the religion?

Regarding Conversion in India

Have you noted that most people who are converted (and now reconverted back) belong to the lower strata of society. (As per the laws of Manu – the lower castes). Did you note that missionaries had been more successful in converting them? So does it mean that they are so naive that they can be hoodwinked easily?

I think – the basic problem and the worst social evil of Hinduism is the Caste system. We might have high flowing philosophy and we might try to say that the original idea of caste system is benign – it became corrupted later – but the fact remains that our present society is still deeply affected by it.

In the absence of Christianity and Islam in ancient India – millions started to follow Buddhism. The Buddha said that there can be no differences of people on the basis of varna system.

The poor and downtrodden of India – belonging to the so called lower castes not only face economic deprivation but they are social outcasts — they have no dignity. Therefore they convert to other religion – mostly not because of their great understanding or fondness of the new religion – but to avoid this discrimination.

To them I would personally tell – please convert to other religions – the religion that gives you a life of dignity.

Tell me Maria – if I am wrong?

Most educated, anglicised and unfortunately quite articulate Hindus today are mentally conditioned to acquire certain biased and rigid views without thinking and without realising the inherent contradictions in their thinking, which they put forth with the authority of Gospel. Example, “no one can actually be converted to Hinduism unless one is born a Hindu”. So how did the millions of Buddhist natives of India become Hindus in the first millennium? How did the people of South East Asia become Hindus?

“The Buddha said that there can be no differences of people on the basis of varna system”. Can you cite a reference before making this claim? Buddhists accepted the caste system and had no problem with it, because it was not a problem. Caste was made a problem by the British, as will be clear from a reading of Columbia U scholar Nicholas Dirks book “Castes of Mind”. We automatically equate low castes with poverty, without realising that most Brahmins are among the poorest of your people and your Maharajas ( Scindia-Gwalior, Gaekwad/Baroda et al) are low caste, officially entitled to reservations.

Hinduism survived through the centuries, not because of its scriptures or intellectual heritage, but because the people, the poor, the rich, the educated and the illiterate, all wanted it. Indians lived in a fragmented, non-urban world, where they could practice their local version of Hinduism without interference. Hinduism meant something valuable and good to them, otherwise they would have easily converted. The modern world is a homogeniser and unless your roots are strong, that continue to inspire and strengthen your belief, you are going to get blown away.
Ghar Wapsi, however bizarre an idea it may appear because of its similarity to Christian and Islamic proselytisation, is one reflexive response to that change, by a few.

I am really sorry Maria that you couldnt understand Christianity yet. May be cause you were born in a family where it was more about rituals. Do you know the God mentioned in the Bible is the God who created the creation. Nowhere did He say that those who follow me should be called Christians. In fact as the people turned to idols and worshipped created things like trees, other gods of clay he had to choose one nation so that He could send His son JESUS for everyone to reconcile with Him. And the only thing to be one with Him is just to believe in Jesus. Thats it. So me one religion where you earn salvation without doing anything. All religions state basic rules to be followed so that one can earn salvation. But its not that what God said. He gave it freely and we just need to accept. And thats why whats unique about Christianity is its about God reaching to people out of love but in every other religion its about man trying to reach God. If you dont believe in your silence you can ask Jesus if you are real let me know. You will surely meet Him. To believe Him or not is upto you but for sure He has hand out everytime to reach you.
I am a Christian and I live in India too. You pointed out people are converting people by force and with any means. If that was the case today more than half of India would have been converted. But no its just the love of Jesus that is being shared with people. People are dying in the streets of poverty. Yes christians are sending money so that one can eat and live. Didnt Jesus say Love your neighbour as yourself. If by feeding a hungry person you say conversion than no one would like to argue with you. What about girls that are being trafficed. Isnt it our duty to rescue them. What about orphans with no ones care. We love them. God loves us so much and out of this love our love flows for people. Financial blessing is His. He has given me money not just to enjoy but to share it with people who need it. You said in the bible belt people were hypocrite. But didnt Jesus said to love people. Why couldnt you love them even when they were hard to. God is not defined by what people do. He is absolute. If you have failed to be a Christian you will also fail to be a Hindu because soon you will discover same problems with Hindu people. Your problem is you are trying to find peace in religion which is not there. Try seeking God and you will find peace. And for your kind information try entering a Hindu temple by saying you are a Christian. Let me see who will give you permission. Even Hinduism disowns other religons.

Samuel, kindly put on your thinking cap and carefully read all of what you have written again. If it still makes sense to you, it’s clear that the thinking is not working and it’s time to replace the cap. Regards.

And yeah Maria the Vatican is not the authority of Jesus on earth. They may run an institution of Catholics the world over. But the authority of Jesus resides in us. And how do we get that authority. From the scriptures. The Bible. Thats the only authority for us Christians in this world. God speaks to us through His word and through our prayers.

See Christ died for us once and for all. We dont need any one else to reach God. Christ is our reconciliation with God. When we earnestly seek God He will reveal Himself to us. Why would He ever try to hide His face from His creation. His presence is always with me. And thats my greatest joy and peace and so I have shared it with you.

Dear Samuel,

Regarding your comment “And for your kind information try entering a Hindu temple by saying you are a Christian. Let me see who will give you permission. Even Hinduism disowns other religons.”

Your assessment is not correct on this.

There are very few Hindu temples that is solely for Hindus. I repeat – very few.
Most Hindu temples are open to all. One does not need to tell the temple authorities that the person is not Hindu considering Maria is German and looks European. I do not think anyone objected to Maria’s visit to temples.

I love visiting places of worship. But I do not think I have very good experiences in catholic churches. Whenever they raise their hand or kneel or do a host of such stuff – I am compelled to do the same even if I do not want to as the other people of the congregation will keep looking at me . And that religious stuff the priest gives to eat at the end – it is only for Catholics too. In Hindu temples no one is forced to do namaste, and prasads are available for everyone. I am not complaining here or making a comparison to show Christianity in poor light. I would have felt better had there been no such compulsions in catholic churches. And somehow I like catholic churches more for the decorations and the choir music. The same can be said for some other religious places – like in a gurudware one needs to cover their head etc. But in Hindu temples – there is no restriction what so ever apart from removing shoes.

Thank You

The Buddha’s recorded reactions to the caste system do not indicate that he repudiated it. He was in fact quite proud of being a Kshatriya, although in the Madhura Sutta of the Majjhima (II 85), he maintains that all four castes are equal. In the Assaldyana Sutta of the Majjhima (II149) and the Madhura Sutta, Majjhima II 87, the Buddha only refutes the claim of higher castes to superiority— and only on metaphysical grounds: that after death, they shall be reborn in accordance with their karmas and not in accordance with their caste (jati). You can read scholarly (not modern political/polemical or literary) works on Buddhism & caste, to understand that Buddhism was not a reform movement against the caste system and that the Buddha’s doctrine did not aim at transformation or improvement of the social conditions. In fact, most of the Buddha’s disciples during his lifetime were Brahmins. Please understand that the caste (as Jati) system was not a big deal and worked with out problem for thousands of years, including under Buddhism and Islam. It became a problem when the British decided to reinterpret and exploit it for their own good.

I am glad that you can see that there is no bar, scriptural or traditional, to conversion into Hinduism, although it is without ceremony and certainly without external pressure.

Warm Regards..

[…] https://mariawirthblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/lets-all-be-hindu-fundamentalists/ […]

Prediction of Islam and Muhammed in Hindu Vedic Scriture (Bhavishya Purana) –
bhavishyapuran.blogspot.in/2012/09/bhavishya-purana-prediction-of-islam.html?m=1

Hinduism is a divine religion many great scholars from west like Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Voltaire and many others have recognized it and praised the Vedic scriptures. Read some really interestin content on http://www.rockingbaba.com/blog

The last Hindu nation,Nepal, has been oblitirated by the combined forces of Indian Christians using Maoists as a cover.Still Hindus waste their time discussing about politics which invariably is about the Catholic mother and Son,Sonia and Rahul..

Great thoughts.

[…] Source: Let’s all be Hindu Fundamentalists […]

Karma phalam is not in our hands, that’s true.
But the message for easy life is to abstain from karma phalam.
Like taking pride in the karmaphala. It is the king’s / Government’s duty to take care of its intellectuals and eventually rewarding and awarding them. The best of them do not aspire for awards or rewards in the far end and also do not take pride in what ever they have achieved/discovered. They realize that it is play of time and if not for him/her, someone somewhere would have achieved this a moment later may be.
I interpret from both of your comments,
To have an easy life, don’t abstain from your duty, (the result of which is not in your control and) and don’t get attached to the result of your actions.
The above is not a commandment but more of an advice.

This doesn’t free an engineer from being precise in his calculations (duty) and he shall be bothered about execution only during execution (part duty part result) for his project to be useful for many (result). She/he may move on for the next project.

I really appreciate Maria Wirth words and msg. As a hindu I am worried. Hindus are slammed by so called anglisied big wigs. some media honchos and are more pro pak than India.

whats going wrong? New York Times says we r intolerant. Its sad

Shreepal Singh true very true thanks for your post

Hats off to Maria wirth for succinctly summarising all the major religions of the world.

I believe that all the leaders of the various faiths wanted to uplift the masses around them and to show the path of goodness.

It is their descendants / disciples who gave their own interpretation to spread their kingdom at the cost of humanity.
innocent people for no reason or rhyme pay for the wars and the fights.

No one opted to be born in a Christian , Muslim , Budhist or Hindu family….however, once born we all consider our religion / teachings to be superior to others….
Are the making of common man and fostered by the religious leaders for their own benefit.

I am lucky to be born in a Hindu family and feel sorry for the fighting that is going on in the name of religion, forgetting what the teachings were by their respective leaders.

I only pray that reason prevails with all the fundamentalists and make this world a better and a peaceful place for humanity to grow and attain their full potential…..

Hindu society has suffered enough historically for taking such positions.
Don’t our scriptures teach us to see humanity in its entirety — then how do you see Maria as a foreigner more so when she is putting things in perspective so logically.

U r mistakened. Not Christian Moaist but Muslim Inspired Moaist. And the Son & his paternal pedigree r not christians nor hindus.

Priya Atma Bandhu,

Your Insight About Aham Brahmasmi and Brief Explanation is 100% True, Happy to Find Someone Who Understood Adwaita as it Should.

I come across Lots of Swamiji or Spiritual Practitioners who Never Utter such Statements in order to Protect Ritualistic Traditions for their own Vested financial interests & Hierarchical belief.

People are always struck in Kindergarten stage of Spiritual Learning, even at the age of 70, they dont want improve or upgrade as their material objectives are more important and feel God and Devotional Services are only meant to achive them.

It was paramanada reading your article.

Shree Krishna Krupa Kataksham Praptirasthu:

thank you. nice to know it’s appreciated

i have no idea how to increase it. i write it on the laptop. usually i post it from font size 12 in Word on to wordpress and on the laptop it’s ok to read, can be increased or decreased anyway. don’t know how it is on the mobile.
are all my articles so small from my blog? or is the reason that i posted the link on facebook and there it got smaller?

A very well written thought. Also to be considered here is the fact that in Sanatan Dharma its all inclusive aspect is very pertinent. Whether it is the plants, trees, mountains, caves, animals, rivers are all us. They are all worshipped in one form or another. Also it teaches us the Devine aspects of “Vasudeva Kutambakam”. So how can such a religion ever turn into a fundamentalist monster.

Dear Maria
Sharing with the tweet from Rajiv Malhotra below

Rajiv Malhotra?Verified account @RajivMessage 18h18 hours ago
Rajiv Malhotra Retweeted No Conversion
European Churches admit that white youth not wanting to become priests. So attracting poor converts as priests using white wife & EU visa.Rajiv Malhotra added,

No Conversion @noconversion
Become a Christian Pastor for a foreign church
get a foreign wife …common in Kerala
41 replies 674 retweets 534 likes
Reply 41 Retweet 674 Like 534 Direct message

Lord Krishna said: “God does not decide what each person should do, nor he induce people to act, nor does he creates fruits of any action. Each person acts according to his/her Vasanas (Past and present perceptions of mind).

” ( Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5:14)

1——Lord Krishna did not interfere with the free will of Arjuna. Arjuna has the right to accept everything Lord Krishna teaches as well as the right to reject everything Lord Krishna teaches.

2—–God is never portrayed as a task master in Hinduism like in other religions.

3—-You and I have problems in this life due to the Karmic Debt we have inherited from our previous lives.

Lord Krishna said:

“God is not responsible for anyone’s sinful (Papa) activities or pious (Punya) activities. People are mistaken about this Since their knowledge is covered by ignorance.”

( Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5:15 )

We are living in Kali Yuga. Here is no values for virtues.Might is right.If we are living where rakshasas are absent whatever u say,whatever Gita says are correct.Why Bhagavan Krishna advised Arjuna to take arms to fight unjest relatives? It shows that we should fight injustice and the rakshasas who bend upon destroying us.That is why MW is for Hindu fundamentalism !!

Hindu thoughts are are always with Gita ! But survival is the question now.A CHARGING BULL CAN NOT BE TAMED BY MUSIC.WE MUST TACKLE IT BY THE HORNS !

Please check some older posts on my blog. They are not really old. Very much valid.

Indeed, most Hindus do not understand dharma. And the word ‘fundamentalist’ is used to descibe dharmic people who speak up for themselves because of adopting the European mindset. Dharma is a word to indicate the universe and it’s nature. It’s not a belief, it’s a search for answers to it’s existence and ours within it. 😉 keep smiling

Do you mean to say ‘Brahma’ (??????) , which is different than whatever you have written as ‘Brahman’ (????????) … Please study well before posting such articles. Nowhere hindu believes that Brahman is ultimate god, its just a cast of people.

Hindu fundamentalism is universalism. Nothing fundamental here in true sense.

Very true mam
But other religions don’t want to understand the simple things of co existance and survival on this Earth….

Concept of Hinduism in a nutshell. Very well explained. Thank you

What a simple, beautiful and cogent essay on God, faith and religion. Please keep writing and sharing these thoughts.

Great article as usual by the great lady Maria. All may read and ponder. Thank you ma’am. I take a bow!

In less than 1000 words Maria has hit where it hurts..

It sums up very beautifully in a shortest way.

Thank you Madam, for clearly explaining. It is clear that we have to approach all these religions with clear mind otherwise everything is lost. We all have our own reservations as we are fed from childhood and the false community which we fear. All are born atheists.

Excellent ?

Very correctly narrated the inclusiveness of Hindu Dharma…

Maria wirth; a true Hindu. On shanti.

“Many Hindus, too, don’t know these fundamentals of their religion…”
So true. The tragedy is that without the truth of these fundamentals at the core, all the rituals etc become nothing more than superficial trappings of a variety of superstitions and cultural ‘habits’.

Ur right Ms. Wirth. Hinduism doesn’t discriminate against non believers. All are allowed into the Hindu fold whether they believe in God or not. That’s the beauty of Hinduism

????? ?????? ????? ?????? fundamentalism

So well explained thank you for your valuable words.

Harihi Aum.
Namaskara.
Respected Maria Wirth,
Please visit http://www.adhyatmaprakasha.org download all books (English, Sanskrit and Kannada languages books) free of cost read them one by one slowly as and when you happen to have some time. The website is a treasure trove of pristine and pure Shankara Advaita Vedanta teachings. You will find the real teachings of Hinduism or Sanathana Dharma. Website contains about 47 small and big English books