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    Please Hindus, don’t say: “All Religions are the Same”

    Maria WirthBy 196 Comments4 Mins Read

    Observations by someone who grew up in the stifling atmosphere of dogmatic Christianity and appreciates the freshness and freedom of undogmatic Hinduism– and wonders why a section of Hindus are so apologetic about their religion when it actually is the best bet for a fulfilling life.

     

    Hindus used to say, “All religions are equal”. They did not want to see that the two biggies, Christianity and Islam, did not agree. Each of those religions claimed for itself, “We alone are the only true religion. Our God is the only true God.” They pitied Hindus that they might actually believe that by stating that all religions are equal, Hinduism would be elevated to their level. Of course, the ‘true religions’ will never allow this.

    Now Hindus say, “We respect all religions. We teach it to our children. Our children hear a lot about Christianity and Islam and how good these religions are. We don’t want to offend anyone, so we teach very little about Hinduism and what we teach is only about superficial things, like festivals and customs and not about the deep philosophy and scientific insights which would portray Hinduism in a good light and might irritate other religions.”

    Again, Hindus don’t want to see that Christianity and Islam do not respect Hinduism. The clergy of those religions don’t say it into their face, but to their own flock: “Hindus go to hell, if they don’t convert to the true religion. It is their own fault. We have told them about Jesus and his Father or the Prophet and Allah respectively. Still, they are so arrogant and foolish and hold on to their false gods. But God/Allah is great. He will punish them with eternal hellfire.”

     In a variation of “We respect all religions” Hindus also say, “All religions teach the human being to be virtuous and good and lead him to God, the creator. Hindus attend Inter Faith Dialogues and try to find the commonalities. Of course these are there. Hindus try to build on them. “Yes, all religions have good points. Yes, all religions have good people.” They keep repeating that all religions teach goodness, as if to convince themselves. However, deep down, Hindus know that this is not honest and lacks intellectual integrity. They know that Christianity and Islam have gone off track by preaching exclusiveness and hate to their flock. Those religions have encouraged persecution of others and brainwashed otherwise kind human beings into fighting for an imaginary god who supposedly hates all those ‘others’ who don’t believe, what they are told to believe. They have left a trail of bloodshed in history. But Hindus choose to ignore it. ‘Why provoke unnecessarily?’ they might feel, still betraying a psyche wounded by thousand years of oppression.

    Is it not time that Hindus call a spade a spade? Swami Vivekananda has said that every Hindu who leaves his faith is not one Hindu less but one enemy more. He said this while India was ruled by the British, and Christians and Muslims were encouraged to feel superior to the “idol worshipping Hindu”. Hindus were not in a position to put the record straight, as their own elite put Hinduism down due to a malicious British education policy. Yet today, 66 years after independence, it is about time to tell the world loudly and boldly what Hinduism is about.

     It is not about ruling the world. It is not about believing in unverifiable dogmas. It is not about being nice to those of one’s own faith and not nice to those of other faiths. But it is about discovering what we really are, apart from the ever-changing body and mind. The ancient rishis have discovered the oneness underlying the apparent multiplicity, long before western scientists did. This conscious, blissful oneness is not somewhere out there. It is permeating everyone (and everything) and can be felt as one’s own essence. This essence can be called by different names, but the main thing is, that it is within everyone and within everyone’s reach. So, we truly are all children of the same infinite divine Presence. We all belong to one big family. Vasudhaiva Kutumbhakam. This truth provides the basis for a harmonious world and it makes sense, or does it not?

    by Maria Wirth

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    196 Comments

    1. George Augustine on

      Great article. Earnest, sincere, courageous and right on the mark. However, I disagree when you say “This essence can be called God or Allah or Brahman …”.
      A word and its meaning are so bonded together that you mix up different words with meanings that have nothing to do with each other and what you get is utter confusion. This is the problem with many HIndus, who mix up Christian and Hindu terms and say thay are all the same. Mr. Rajiv Malhotra has done extensive work in this regard.
      You may also see the first lines of Kalidasa’s classic drama Raghuvamsa:
      vāgarthāviva saṁpṛktau vāgarthapratipattaye |
      jagataḥ pitarau vande pārvatīparameśvarau ||
      (To derive the pertinent idiom and its ideation I adore the Parents of Universe, pArvati – parameshvara, who are indissolubly cleaved together like sound and sense)
      A word and its meaning are inseparable.
      Greetings

    2. nokidding101 on

      Maria ji: Greetings

      Your article is straight talk. Concise and penetrating. However, I agree with George Augustine that it is quite appeasing to the sectors of humanity who market their “spades” when you
      equate Brahman with “God” and “Allah”. Both latter concepts are “asat” meaning imaginary and have no existence in reality when you understand what Brahman is. God and Allah are both described as outside the Nature and “they create it” at some point in time which too is a myth. Both are jealous and punitive and Brahman has none of those attributes. To equate Brahman with God and Allah is to fall into the trap of empire building political ploy of the sectors of humanity using “One-Godism” as their psycho-political tool to dominate over the “non-believers” who reject their imaginary concepts notwithstanding their projections of loving and all merciful aspect on the same jealous and cruel God and Allah. It is high time Hindus get out of this “Ishwar-Allah Tero Naam” stupidity and tell their cultural destroyer termites that they have no use for “God” and “Allah.” As the proselytizing religions were appeased willy nilly because of the Hindu generosity even by some respectable Hindu thought leaders whom an article on http://www.sookta-sumana.blogspot.com describes as the “Frankensteins of Hinduism,” we don’t need to unwittingly follow their examples no matter how friendly and generous we are as human beings, we must not allow these other human beings to destroy Hindu society through conversions using this ploy that claims “Our God is your God too” and “Our God is our God” but “Your God is not our God” and in reality you are better off economically, socially, religiously, and morally if “You accept Our God as Your God” and then we will send you to heaven and may be buy you a First Class Tickets while all of your ancestors, the Hindu heathens, are burning in Hell. These One Godism concepts are so primitive and nauseating that intellectuals who are objective and can see through the brain washing of these dogmatic religious proclamations must refrain from equating Brahman with God and Allah both of which are spades as you have shown the exemplary courage to announce.

      nokidding101

    3. mariawirthblog on

      thanks a lot for your comment. you are right in the present scenario. what I meant is, if Christianity and Islam would drop their in my view outrageous claims about truth, then in the west we still may call the highest as God, but it would be not the present concept of God anymore, but what Brahman denotes. in India Brahman has basically many names on the ground, Paramatman, Shiva , Tat, as I understand it. ultimately it is the one Un-nameable, isn’t it?

    7. khasim shaik on

      Dear maria great work..the only flaw is Islam & Christianity are religions but our hinduism is not …its called sanatana dharma…the eternal righteous doctrine that preaches righteous life…hindu dharma does not support religion..it preaches spirituality…hope u got my point…god may be formless or he may take a form….forms and names are not important in our sanatan dharma…because Hinduism preaches that exists in every form…thank u

    8. Vijai Singh on

      Hinduism is not sanatan dharma, it is a religion like the others, which have a mediator between man and God. Sanatan dharma (which was the practice of the ancient aryas) has it origin from the very beginning of creation. Hinduism is only 4,000 years and before that God was always without form.

    11. drshyamalavatsa on

      A friend shared your blogpost “Are Hindus dangerous?’ with me today. I’m glad she did. I’ve read only three of your posts today as I’m short of time, but will be following you from now on. Apart from you, I’ve only seen Francois Gautier write about Hinduism in a way that reflects how we see it, or rather, live it. Thank you!

      I’ve never understood why some non-Hindus go on about Hindus’ idol worship when they all have sacred images, symbols and buildings not unlike our own! Why do they talk about the Hindu caste system when they have their own denominations and sects that divide followers into groups that don’t always respect one another? Yes, Hindus have different Gods to take care of different aspects of life; is that very different from praying to different saints for different problems?

      None of these are really important. What kind of a person your religion makes you is what matters. Whether your religion is big enough to let you genuinely respect the religious views of someone who disagrees with yours, without trying to sneak your religion into his head or browbeat him into changing his belief system, is what matters.

    14. Gkris on

      There was a Sufi by the name of Mansur-Al-Hallaj, who gave the equivalent of Tat Tvam Asi as Ana-al-Haqq. It is said that he experienced that state of oneness. Of course this didn’t go well with the ruling class because it was “blasphemous” The Sufi was hung.

      Nice article, Mariaji. 🙂

    15. Agni on

      Maria you are spot on once again. What I always felt argued and tweeted.

      Hindus defunct mantra “All religion, gods are same … blah blah”- Islam and Christianity will never see eye to eye that Krishna Allah Jesus is the same God, it is blasphemous for them.
      They believe they are ordained by Allah/Jesus to convert all Hindus and claim a reserved place in paradise.

      This thoughtful idea of one inclusive God originated from Hindu Rishies many years ago when Christianity and Islam did not exist. So the concept was conciliatory and helped harmonise the Indian society. It was a noble gesture at that time but backfired later on. I am not sure what Rishies would have said now.

      I would blame the so called gurus, priest of India & political leaders for this unfortunate disarray. They are still preaching the same rubbish without giving a second thought or understanding the consequences. The whole concept makes Hindus soft in the head. & make young generation radar less. A very easy meat for conversion. Even the silly Bollywood copy the same lineage

      Difference between Abrahamic and Eastern religion like chalk and cheese, no scope for common ground. We need ‘Muscular Hinduism’, to deal with Islamisation of India. Missionaries, NGO’s won’t dare go to Muslim countries to converts Arabs, they will be beheaded. But India is an underbelly, a dream to achieve their zeal.

      I can’t get over the shock of ‘Mother Teresa’ getting Nobel and especially ‘Bhatra Ratna’ for converting Hindus into Christianity. No debate, no objection was raised in whole India. Rots in Hindu society is hence big, it needs a tsunami to reboot the whole sick mindset. Hindus passive mentality makes me throw up. Not a single Hindu priest or leader tries to remedy this.

      Replace “Om Shanti Om” to “Off Shanti Off”

      British is not wholly responsible for this malice, they translated B.Gita, Hindu literatures and introduced it to the world. They did not burn any books; destroyed temples like Muslim barbarian did to ‘Nalanda’. British intellectuals rescued decaying Hindu civilization (not missionaries) , admired and appreciated her culture, philosophy.

      Buddhism/Jainism influenced Hindu mind with an overdose of passivism at later stage ‘. Sikhism was born out of frustration with Hindu naivety. Without changing the Indian society with correct history , training Hindu priest, one civil code, the dismissible situation will not change.

      Even the educated Hindu minds get paralysed to be identified proudly with his own religion and defend it. The blame rests with the Hindus, their rulers and priests not to take pride of their own heritage.
      Gandhi’s anti Hindu and mindless Muslim appeasement, Nehru’s secular, vote bank policy done tremendous harm.

    16. Agni on

      Your ‘Allah’ was one of the 360 idols in Kaba which you worship now . Muslims still worship vagina shaped black stone. Educate & enlighten your Jihadi mind with Hindu wisdom

    17. Prashant on

      Good article. I only wish though that people never use words like enemies in describing religions, their followers or their critics. Words are taken too literally these days.
      It is for Hinduism being such a peaceful and tolerant way of life, religion (whatever you like to call it) that so many people revere it, practice it and embrace it. If it becomes muscular in nature to prevent the “Islamization” of India, I must say where do free thinking people who who rather be free of all religious notions stand and be at peace? Does it come to war when 2 religions clash to prevent people defecting from one to the other? Do the observers get crushed from both sides ? Is it wrong for one to not give in to what others would have one believe. Is it possible for me to be a model human being without adhering to any particular religion? Open ended questions for all I think.

    18. zubinj on

      Well I’m not definitely not an atheist, but I will agree with most people that each religion has some points of dogma which can be stifling. I appreciate your viewpoint Martha, since I come from a very similar situation however with the roles reversed. Hinduism while refreshing in its simplistic approach to life, invokes pretty much the same arrogance and obstinate outlook as every other religion. Have you had to live within a society so held back from freedom of thought that change is held back on the bounds of religion. Believe me, you may claim is not the church the very same? but lets not talk of yesterday. You are very right in your claim that parish men ostracize supplicants to other gods, but in that sense again you are projecting the outlook of a religious few onto the community as a whole. You can’t believe that every aspect of religion today is healthy for growth of a community; for instance the entire Hindu society was built upon the framework of exploiting individuals who were considered socially inferior in the name of caste-ism. We all embrace the part of religion that calls out to us and try to embody the best in it, as you have done. By taking the part of Hinduism that you most cherished you have projected a negative light on some of the already “darker” aspects of the other two. No religion is ever going to be perfect, they were all built in an age where society didn’t necessarily function on laws of free-thinking men but rather on laws enforced. The constitution is in no ways perfect, and it even includes a right to amendment, that’s saying something. Please blame the men and the institution who engender the thinking, and not a practice that has been saving lives for two millennia. .

    21. Varadarajan Seshamani on

      Frank and straightforward. These philosophies are not the same. But let them believe what they want to and do what they want to. To each his/her own.

    23. Shaleen Mathur on

      To my agitated Hindu brothers & sisters, secularism in India helps to save Hinduism from attacks of Hindu zealots like Togadia etc. After India is declared Hindu rashtra their next aim will be to divide us into pure & impure Hindus or like recent Sai baba was a muslim…someone will say Hindus worshipping Shiva are superior to those worshipping Vishnu….etc etc. So teach your kids about the infinite wisdom & experience of 10000’s of years of sanatan dharma hinduism, but apply your own conscience as dharma is within us. Its not just few lines said by a great dictator.

    24. Agni_B on

      ‘@S. Mathur
      Just sick in the head- A very misguided, ill-informed man. So called secularism is the root cause of India’s misfortune. Hindus are marginalised with this strategy.
      Secularism destroyed Hindu interest & Hinduism, promoted Islamic doctrine & alien culture. It has helped to convert vulnerable and gullible Hindus like you.
      Read History & a get basic understanding of secularism before commenting in a public platform

    25. akanksha.nepal@gmail.com on

      Read something that led to self-realisation, after a long time. Being a Hindu-born and not strictly religious, I had never considered what Hinduism was all about. But, when I read your article, you mad eke realise, yes, that’s what we all think. We like to believe that all religion has good and bad practises, people and extremists who make it even worse. But, at the end of the day, it’s all about humanity and balance of nature. That’s all we stand for. We like to believe that things are going good. I feel stronger being a Hindu.

    26. Adi Hindu on

      I totally take your line of argument, whereas, 2000 years of Islamic barbarism, followed by another 500 years of Christian Missionary has left it’s legacy in Hindus today. Fear has crept not only into their flesh & blood, but also into their souls. So. we may wish it away as much we can, but that shall take a very long time to come, to fade out. – AdiHindu

    28. Soma on

      Hinduism is as idolatry as Islamists worship the direction of Mecca. No Hindu worships an idol. Hindus worship God. We seek to put into practise that God is in everything; devotion and reaching the ultimate goal of oneness with God in Hinduism is a lot personal issue between the God and the devotee and none has any role in criticising a chosen path.

    29. prashant meena on

      yes im m a hindu …nd i m proud to be a hindu boy..Hinduism is the best religion in the world. superb description of Hinduism by our beloved MARIA WIRTH

    30. Anilkumar (@ugramveeram123) on

      Why we need a religion at first point or how religions born in this world.may be in the past some people thought we need to follow some way of life to reach god.now how the concept of god was born.may be in the past some people thought who is behind this creation or who we are, why we are here so they came to conclusion there is something behind it n they called it god.so may be religions came to existence to teach people how to reach god.Now the purpose of any religion should be teach the followers of that religion how to reach god.Here comes the problem of religious conflicts between all the religions.According to my knowledge the concept of god itself is a wrong thing.the most common question is If someone ask do u believe in god the answer is may be or may not so all people belongs to one category either there is god exists or does not exists so it shows we humans expect or see god according to our senses or knowledge .According to islam Allah is god n he is the creator,According to cristians jesus is the god. But the problem with these teachings is people think that there is someone sitting who is handling everything according to his wish so they failed to explain the concept of god.god is nothing but our nature,our universe which is running by natural forces(may be that is god & how it is born no body knows so u can call it god) but that does’t mean that someone is sitting there & doing according to his wishes. so when it comes to hinduism it explains n teaches people the concept of god. In the past what rishis did was they realised what is god n they knew everything including universe,nature itself is god.But they did’t know how to explain it to common people bcz it’s very complex to grasp for human mind.so they taught people that there are 33 crore gods(Hindu scriptures say 33 crore gods exists).so we hindus believe god exists in everywhere,in everything n i think its the right concept of god.may be this is the reason behind that hindus believe n respect all religions n treat all people are like one family .But the problem with teachings of other religions is they failed to explain people the concept of god so the human mind believe’s someone is sitting there n he is the best whether its allah or jesus. there starts the hate between religions.

    32. Chitra Raman on

      Thank you Maria for another lovely piece. Ignore the responses that sermonize about words and meanings and how our Dharma is different from religion. I think you know the difference quite well and express it better than many. I particularly liked this simple and direct summation of Hinduism:

      ” It is not about ruling the world. It is not about believing in unverifiable dogmas. It is not about being nice to those of one’s own faith and not nice to those of other faiths. But it is about discovering what we really are, apart from the ever-changing body and mind. ”

      The ultimate awareness we seek is, after all, beyond words.

      Now here’s something for your amusement:

      According to the Gospel of Mark, 8:36:
      “For what shall it profit a man to gain the world, if he lose its soul?”

      According to the Thoughtspell of Chitra at 1:15 am:
      “What shall it profit one to be assured the exaltation of one’s soul by way of losing one’s mind?” :

    33. Vijai Singh on

      Ancient means from the very beginning. Hinduism is not sanatan dharma, it is only 4000 years old. It is the religion (Vedic) of the ancient aryas that is qualified to be called Sanatan Dharma and it is the one true religion. All others are indeed equal in one way – they are all false. But again, this is the age of Kaliyuga, the age of dense ignorance. It is a fact the truth hurts, so just imagine how difficult it would be to take hold in this age.
      Namaste.

    37. ramanan50 on

      Excellent Post.Please check my follow up Post

      I am one of the few who maintain in private conversations and in Public including my blogs that it is sheer non sense and it is nothing but hypocrisy or inadequate knowledge of the Religions being talked about.

      I have been meaning to write on this for quite sometime, but the spark that made me write now is a piece written by Maria Wirth, which was forwarded to me by Hindu Association,USA.

      I am reproducing excerpts towards the close of this post.

      When people talk of all religions being the same, they mean only two,Christianity and Islam.

      How are these the same as Hinduism?

      Christianity was framed , not formed by Constantine some three hundred years after the death of Christ.

      As a matter of record nobody knows the name of Jesus Christ,

      ……..

      Hinduism was not founded or framed by any one.

      Its date is unknown, but to get an idea it is commonly agreed, to have some date, that the Vedas were composed around 5000BC

      Nor does it have a Preacher.

      Christianity talks about Father, Son and the Holy Ghost.

      Will some one tell me how many worship the Father?

      Hinduism has Attributeless Reality,Brahman and has Reality with names and Forms to fecilitate concentration.

      Christianity calls people who believe in things, faiths other than Christianity as heathen and it comes these people to Hell.

      http://ramanan50.wordpress.com/2014/11/05/all-religions-are-not-the-same/

    38. Hins on

      Maria
      I appreciate your article. Though it is incredibly devisive. I am Hindu and believe that all of us have God, what is wrong with respecting other religions or peoples paths to God. You want to highlight differences and that’s not helpful. God is God, no matter who sees him or how.
      What is wrong with the confident Hindu’s who dont want to offend Christians or Muslims, and so what if their fear makes then dennounce Hindus? It is their fear, which Hindu’s do not have to hold.
      Your article makes people have to war upon each other’s belief system. All religions might not be the same, but God loves everyone.

    39. mariawirthblog on

      i am afraid the war is on already since long, but rather one-sided. are you aware that about half of the 1,5 billion Muslims had HIndu ancestors? Many of the Christians, too and they become more by the day. in the interest of India, Indians need to be clear. remember Swami Vivikananda? “Every man who leaves the Hindu fold is not one Hindu less but one enemy more”. Western mind set is different from the Indian, and i feel it is mainly because of the influence of dogmatic religions over centuries.

    41. ramanan50 on

      Sometimes Truth hurts and seems to be divisive.I have highlighted the facts as found in the religious texts
      .One Religion does not become great because some one from the other Faith respects it.
      Or by merely by numbers.
      A Religion is to improve the quality of Life and love of fellow humans and also all living things, which Hinduism does..As to God Loves every one,, well it is Human conception of God .I do not think, God or Reality does not bother as Gravity or other Physical laws do not bother about one’s comfort or discomfort.It simply is There.It is left to us to imagine what is convenient for us..My comments are a reply to the war already declared and going on for over 500 years.Truth has to be told and each religion should know its perspective.Regards

    42. mahesh on

      Allah ,Jesus were the first organized missionaries , cult & God Traders. we have many now across the world bcoz peace is rare & relief required is now & many willing to pay the price a few times Thanks for this article to reinforce that the truth is within & my prayers for you to continue to lead others out of darkness .hari om hare krishna

    44. Arish Sahani on

      Hindus live liberal life OnlY Hindus can be recruited by his enemy to fights own brothers . 1400 history tells us how minority muslim and British were able to rule Indian hindu majority using local hindus on payroll.
      Hindus have no concept of nation or own land etc. No political leaders talks about a hindu nation. No religious leaders talk about a hindu rastra.( nation ) Middle east religions are political war games a religious parties to win land and people as their slaves.

    47. Shaleen Mathur on

      All the current world powers Usa, Russia, France, China & even India are secular. All religious society Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tibet, Saudi Arabia, Ireland etc are nowhere close. Even saudi wealth is natural gift & not due to Islam. I dont want a Maulana madudi in India or India going Pakistani way where everyone is busy proving others as non muslim.

    48. Shaleen Mathur on

      Islam & Christianity are not religions but a war cry to invade & forcibly convert non believers. Although I believe Christ did not wish it so!!

    49. Shaleen Mathur on

      Choosing between idolatry & ISIS, I will choose idolatry. Choosing between idolatry & scientific racism (Nazism), I will still choose idolatry. Thank you!!

    50. Tanya Saxena on

      I neither agree nor disagree with your article but I would like to put my opinion in this regard.i am a huge fan of Geeta which unlike other religious Granthas is not widely read or understood i guess because of its complicated shlokas and their meanings. Geeta which is considered as “bhagwanuvaach” ( said by God ) ask us to recognise ourself first and that’s how we will be able to recognise the almighty.

      na jayate mriyate va kadacin
      nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah
      ajo nityah sasvato ’yam purano
      na hanyate hanyamane sarire”

      Geeta says that our first and true identity is that we are actually souls not the body. We come to this world in our purest form which is soul and then take body as per our past karmasIt’s nowhere written in Geeta that our true identity is hindu.

      Geeta further says,
      yac chapi sarva-bhutanam
      bijam tad aham arjuna
      na tad asti vina yat syan
      maya bhutam characharam

      Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. There is no being—moving or nonmoving—that can exist without Me

      God says that we all generated from the same seed (children of one God) which makes us all brothers I guess this is where “vasudhev kutumbkam” came in to existence.
      This ancient knowledge of our existence given by God himself had been practise by our ancestors for centuries and passed on to the generations and now has become our “sanskaras and runs in our bloodThat’s why Hindus are more accepting and accommodating then any other religion. Hence “vasudhev kutumbkam” will never lose its sense to a Hindu.

    52. Pradeep Singh on

      Awesome article and i agree fully. We shouldn’t call that every religion is equal. When we know they don’t think same as us and will try their best to impose it on us.

    54. sanju on

      After studying semetic religion for quite some time. It is my informed opinion that all religion has been corrupted. The present Islam , Christianity and Judaism is version 2.0 of the original . Islam corruption started with the abbasids . They changed what was not a religion into a religion full of nonsense rituals and dogmas. Similarly christian and Judaism corruption started with the septugiant translations of the old testament from aramic to Greek. The corruption has entered quran too in wrong translations . I say this because the original Islam is more closer to Buddhism and tao philosophy . But the current followers of these religion has surrendered their brains to their Ulamas and scholars. The word Allah is a descriptive term and not a name. It stands for Allati la ilahi means one who is not a god.

    55. R C Reddy on

      Instead of indulging in discussions & debates at length with our limited knowledge & perception
      with prejudices to misguide & misdirect ourselves & others, it is better to read the Religious books for first hand information & understanding,instead of getting ourselves carried away with the misinterpreted presentations of half-knowledged people.
      And/or it is suggested to read the prophecies of the great saints!
      For Hindus….for ex.,Ramakrishna Parmahamsa,Swamy Vivekananda,(Who never hated or spread hatred)awakened the ignorant religious People,(not only Hindus)not by insulting or belittling other Religions but by glorifying the nobleness of Hinduism and Sanathana Dharma during the times of dangerous situation in the History,where it was difficult to pronounce the word Hindu was difficult,forget about practicing it.

    56. Sudhir Bhargava on

      You have analysed Hinduism in present times rightly. Vedic Scriptures are full of spiritual awakening for all humans and physical gains. But in modern times without understanding the basics, they are confined to rituals and unscientific information which is not very beneficial. While Christianity does not talk of spiritualism, Islam has many concepts from Vedic scriptures, though not well adopted.

    57. DharmaSewaPurvapaksh (@dsp4Today) on

      Well put Agni. The only thing to disagree is in the point about the British. They may not have burned & destroyed the Mandirs but their work was equally lethal in destroying our sefl confidence of who and what we are including educational, economic and cultural fabric. All the Baboos they educated at English Educational establishment starting with Nehru, Gandhi etc all looked at the challenges of Bharat from the British point of view. It is a poison that gives us the lack of clarity and purpose that Maria and the commentators are speaking of here.

      The Challenge the Vedic and Santana Dharma traditions have is to expunge this colonial mind set and reset our own. In this respect the Chinese have got it right. Their starting point is their own culture and philosophy. Let the rest of the world come to engage and interact with them on Chinese ‘terms’.

    58. DharmaSewaPurvapaksh (@dsp4Today) on

      Prashant, you exemplify the problem and the causes of why the Dharmic traditions have got into this mess with this wooly thinking of who & what they are. Unless the Dharmic traditions deal with the the challenges from the Abrahamic religions – take note most of them which are actually wolves in sheep clothing, the Dharmic traditions will be destroyed from the one end of Islam of ISIS and partners & the Christian ‘soft power’ of minority rights, Human Rights, economic & political pressure. USA & Obama’s recent examples are good case studies in this.

      The Dharmic communities and individuals need to invest time and resources to have a deep understanding and grasp of not only our Dharma traditions but as Rajiv Malhotra has articulated, we need to do a Purvapaksha on these religions.

    59. RITESH on

      Well brother Zubinj you and Maria had got it all wrong since the start as you failed to analyse the sequence of Indian history. YES i Agree that the major cities and farming centres of ancient India were influenced by either bramhanical, Buddhist or jains and you may attribute the empire to follow a particular ideology (read not religion). but India had a large majority of nomads who like their European counterparts lived in jungles or their private settlements some may have and some may have never had their own scripts, had their own set of deities, some worshipped nature. Till the advent of islam in India these ideologies were still trying to spread and expanding albeit by peaceful means. Islam had no Idea about the people of India and they coined a word Hindu for all those people who lived beyond the river sindhu. And thus all the different people who were not santana dharmis came under one roof or definition. Brahmans on the other hand were still struggling to classify these nomads who really never understood what their ideology was all about. And they classified them into the ones who had the least influence in their social structure the shuda. Brahmans were revered as veggies and these nomads dependent on primarily hunting and fruit collection were barred from entering temples. More over these nomads survived the Islamic onslaught as the major targets were the imperial cities. They found no reason why to not accept and work with their new masters which brahmins took it against them. Many nomads were later accepted into social Hindu framework in the lowest strata while others converted to Islam. All these nomads contribute to the ideological diversity of present age India. Discrimination doesn’t always mean atrocities as brahmans never had the power to practice large scale killings and rapes like Muslims. So stop blaming brahmans for all the wrongs in the caste system it was the social fabric of its age and we have to accept it for what it was.

    60. Ashaz on

      You seriously need to read your books again before making a blog and making people who got no clue clap before you.

      Rig Veda 9.13.9 ”May you (O love divine), the beholder of the path of enlightenment, purifying our mind and destroying the infidels who refuse to offer worship, come and stay in the prime position of the eternal sacrifice.

      Rig Veda 7.6.3 ”May the fire divine chase away those infidels, who do not perform worship and who are uncivil in speech. They are niggards, unbelievers, say no tribute to fire divine and offer no homage. The fire divine turns those godless people far away who institute no sacred ceremonies.”

      Rig Veda 8.70.11 ”May your friend, the cloud, hurl that infidel down from heaven who differs from us in rites and rituals, is inhuman, who does not observe fire sacrificials, and who does not show reverence to Nature’s bounties.”

      Rig Veda 7.97.9 ”O Lord of knowledge, this laudation is for you…destroy the godless and the malice of our enemy.”

      Rig Veda 1.84. 8 When will he trample, like a weed, the man [Infidel] who hath no gift for him…

      Nirukta 5.17 When, with his foot, will he trample the unworshipping man like a mushroom

      Rig Veda 8.64.1-2 ”May our hymns please you; O lord of resolute will power, please display your bounty. May you drive off the infidels. May you crush with your foot the niggard churls who offer no homage. You are powerful; there is none so powerful as you are.”

      Rig Veda 8.76.11 ”Both the heaven and earth shudder when you, O the resplendent Lord, uttering your fearful roar, crush down the infidel.”

      Yajur Veda 7.36 ”We learned persons accept as our ruler, thee, the introducer of new plans for our advancement, the master of loyal subjects, the embodiment of virtue, the most advanced in noble qualities and acts, the queller of the irreligious…”

      Atharva Veda 11.2.23 He who dwells fixed in the atmosphere, smiting the blasphemers of the god that do not sacrifice, to him be reverence with ten sakvarî−stanzas!

      Atharva Veda 11.2.21 Do not covet our cattle, our men, our goats and sheep! Bend thy course elsewhere, O strong god (ugra), slay the offspring of the blasphemers!

      Rig Veda 6.44.11 ”Give us not, O showerer of benefits, to the wicked. Relying upon your friendship, O Lord of riches, may we remain unharmed. Many are the boons you distribute amongst men; may you demolish those who make no libation, and root out those who present no offerings.”

    61. Ashaz on

      Atharva Veda 20.93.2 Crush with thy foot the niggard churls who bring no gifts. Might art thou: There is not one to equal thee.

      Atharva Veda 20.56.6 These people, Indra, keep for thee all that is worthy of thy choice. Discover thou, as Lord, the wealth of men who offer up no gifts: bring thou to us this wealth of theirs.

      Rig Veda 7.93.5 ”When two large, mutually defiant hosts, emulous in corporal vigour, contest, may you destroy the godless in favour of the god fearing and in favour of the person who pours out devotional sentiments.”

      Rig Veda 3.53.14 ”O bounteous Lord, of what avail are the cattle of infidels to you. Neither they yield milk nor do these faithless persons kindle sacred fire. May you bring wealth of these unbelievers to us and give us possession of people of low mortality and crush them.”

      Atharva Veda 2.19.1 Burn thou, O Agni, with that heat of thine against the man who hates us, whom we hate.

      Atharva Veda 10.5.15 ”…By him we attack on him who hates us and whome we abhor. We overthrow and slay him through this knowledge, through this act and through this fatal weapon.”

      Atharva Veda 10.5.25 …from earth we bar him who hates us and whom we hate.

      rend away, destroy, destroy him utterly. Destroy Angirasi! the wretch who robs and wrongs the Brahmans, born.

      Poor Shudra’s fate is to be oppressed by Brahmins,

      Manu Smriti 8.417 A Brahmana may confidently seize the goods of (his) Sudra (slave); for, as that (slave) can have no property, his master may take his possessions.

      Atharva Veda 12.5.62 ”Rend, rend to bits, rend through and through, scorch and consume and burn to dust, the one who rejects the Vedas”

      ”Godly persons shall always be ready to kill irreligious people”

      [Kshemkarandas Trivedi (Arya Samaj) on Atharva Veda 12.5.62, page 576]

      Vishnu Purana 3.17 When the glorious Vishnu heard their prayers he emitted from his person an illusory form wliich he gave to the celestials and said. “This illusory form shall so deceive the Daityas, so that being led astray from the path of the Vedas, they may be put to death ; for all gods, demons and others, who shall transgress the authority of the Veda, shall perish by my prowess which I exercise for the preservation of the universe. Go then ; be not affraid ; this illusory form shall go before you. celestials, it shall be of great service to you, this day.

      Veda also commands to kill the enemies of Vedas,

      Atharva Veda 2.12.6 …Burn down the enemies of Vedas.

      Rig Veda 2.23.4 ”O God and learned person! you take the people to the target through the path of religion and justice and protect them. If you commit a sin, the soul or God is not infested with it. Those who denounce the Vedas and God, you cast your anger on them.

      Rig Veda 6.22.8 …burn down the enemies of God, Vedas and the malice…

      Rig Veda 6.52.3 …cast your destroying weapon for the destruction of the enemies of Veda, wealth and crops.

      Atharva Veda 20.96.4 …he slays, unasked, the enemies of Vedas.

    62. Ashaz on

      Instead of using victim card we should focus on the concept of God in all major faiths which is of primary importance.

      Why focus on issues of secondary importance when something far more important is left unchecked?

      Most never learn about Islamic monothiesm which is the rea,son why so many people in their comments said Muslims worship the kabaah or the black stone.the owner of this blog should also correct Hindus who hold wrong views about others. One cannot get more ignorant than to say Muslims worship the kabaah. Islamic monothiesm teaches us that divinity solely belongs to God therefore only God deserves to be worshipped. Therefore a person who worships anyone or anything besides God is wrong but people will go on to say that Muslims worship the kabaah and don’t even know it LOL.

      Seriously this is not going to help any of us anyway whatsoever so instead of this we we should focus our attention and spend our precious time on the issues of primary importance such as concept of God, his attributes, his justice and other important concepts in major faiths, As’salamu Alaykum.

    63. Kateb on

      One thing most people fail to understand is we as Muslims never denied the supreme God which the vedas speaks about.

      Svayam Bhagwaan = YHWH = Allah

      We only say that perfect attributes of God were lost in previous holy Scriptures and instead imperfect characteristics were attributed to God Almighty which doesn’t suits his eternal glory and Majesty.

      It was never about who’s God is right and who’s God is wrong. It was always about who is God and that’s the question we need to concentrate on instead of straying away further and further in our disagreements.

    64. mariawirthblog on

      instead of asking “Who is God? should we not first ask “What is the truth about us and the universe?” there are many pointers that the truth is one, indivisible Whole – like the one screen on which a movie plays out.

    65. Kateb on

      So what even if all the 1.5 billion Muslims had hindu ancestors? You and me are only going to help accountable for what we choose to do and be, who our ancestors were and what they did is totally irrelevant. It’s what you choose for yourself only that counts, we are not supposed to be following our ancestors like cattle follows their shepherd.

      Swami vivekananda was wrong if he thought all non hindus are the enemies of Hindus, very wrong. You have every right to be what you wish to be and do what you want to do with your life. It’s your God given right and nobody can deny you that everyone is going to be responsible for the choices and decisions they made in this life. I don’t know with what intention he said that but it sounds very wrong.

    68. Akash Pandey on

      HI Maria, could you please provide me more details about when/where did Vivekananda said “every Hindu who leaves his faith is not one Hindu less but one enemy more.” Any reference to literature will also work.

    71. Saurabh Adhikari on

      Could you please give the Sanskrit word for “INFIDELS” written in these verses of the Vedas? Since you are such a scholar on Vedas, please provide the Sanskrit word for INFIDELS.
      Thank you in advance

    72. Saurabh Adhikari on

      Please provide the Sanskrit word for these words you are using here “INFIDELS” & “NIGGARDS”. Or better provide us these verses in Sanskrit so we could understand better. Please Enlighten us with your knowledge of the Vedas.

    73. Vivekanandan on

      Dear Agni, correct wrong comments but avoid abusive words. Thank you. We have to uphold the sanctitiy and digntiy of Sanatan Dharma

    74. arishsahani on

      Hindu not organized and united have no future .Today 500 millions hindu convert to islam some living next to them have mindset to destroy them .Hindu have no plans how they can be protected.
      One billions with no nation to help them

    75. Raghav on

      Hindus are taught to respect others, see God in others and there is a hierarchy to find God. The greatest presence is found in Parents, Guru and guests (Atithi, is untranslatable, the one who comes without appointment). Culturally, greatness is defined by sacrificing self for the benefit of others. For e.g. Shibi raja,Sudhama, Kunti and all the great. There are certain factors to balance it, such as Satpatrata but we have taken it to an extreme goodness without rationale. Knowledge behind the practices have receded and only the ritual has been preserved. For some, evil has been taken to an extreme. It is easier to exploit the good as people know that they would not react unfavorably. When people know that some will start killing if they are instigated even slightly, they tend to suck up. It is a human weakness. This tendency is the beginning of atrocities from Kidnapping, rape and terrorism.

      I would like to share a different school of thought to the point that we are parts of the divine. if we are, then all of us need to be divine and this is certainly not true. We are all under the control of divine, like fish that survive in water, fish requires water but not the water. We need God to live but God does not need us. Unfortunately, the point that we are all parts of divinity is hard to accept and it is an incorrect translation of “Mamaivamsho Jeeva Loke”. Here Amsha means fraction and not part of the whole. Jiva can never be part and parcel of the divine.

      With regards to reaching God, Purusha Sookta says “Nanya Panthaha Ayanaye Vidyete” which means there is no other path other than the Vedic one.

    76. npnayar on

      Dear Ms Maria ji,What a courage and conviction u are having about Hinduism !! Even a staunch supporter of Hinduism like me could not think like this.My respectful salute to you !.U are great !

    77. Gg on

      We are not in kali yuga.. We are in the dwapara yuga as per exact calculations. Please verify facts before posting them.

    78. Gg on

      Bravo. Great article! Many more hindus are realizing that we have lost a lot by not knowing our own roots.. Many of my friends and I are finally reading our scriptures and it is amazing to discover the treasure trove of knowledge on spirituality, cosmology, science and mathematics in it. The haters and naysayers will always be there. But we need to have the knowledge and conviction to proudly defend our beliefs and not feel ashamed of being a Hindu.

    79. Anon on

      DharmaSewaPurvapaksh… I agree to most of your comments… But your comment about Baboos educated in English is strange… Given that your comment is also in English (not Hindi, not Marathi, not Punjabi, not Tamil…. not in an Indian language)… So its hollow..

    80. Jijnasa on

      Thank you for writing this fact that everyone, here in India, seems to ignore. Our history books in school are filled with lessons on equality of religious ideologies, on how the great invaders practised equality and enriched our primitive culture. Our universities of social sciences teach us to hate every thing Hindu, the professors make fun of our deities and eulogise the demons and invaders as heroes. This is the kind of Intellectualism that our current society praises and respects.

    81. Rasainthiran Menayah on

      Hinduism by itself is not a single religion and it has accepted 6 theologies which accept (Rig Veda & Brahma) as the sole authority and the 5 Gods (which must only follow Vedic rituals and only employ Brahmins) as their priests. In this way all other orthodox Indian religions were systematically destroyed. Jainism; Buddhism and Saivam philosophies are not included as Hinduism (but stupid Saivam people call themselves Hindus just because Siva temples are still kept protected under Brahmin care and 95 % are classifies as Sudras). This “all religions are the same” was a concept put forward to subdue all non-vedic Gods (Siva; Muruga: Ganapathy and Ammbal are not in the Rig and Sama Vedas) into their control. Christianity and Islam were not in India during Adi Sankara’s time. The Atharva Veda was written just to bring non-Vedic Gods under their control. The Brahmins cannot say “All Gods are not the same”; for they will have much to answer.

    82. TruthFinder on

      Very nice article !!! Thankfully you did not try to be politically correct !!! All hindus know this in their heart. But I cannot predict about future generation…

    83. parijatovacha on

      Thank you Maria for the support from Germany.

      The so called Hindus who peoclaim by theirselves that all blah bluh is the same actually are hardly interested in religion(religare) and GODhood. These are predominantly material minded and thus engaged people.

      Also don’ worry, SanAtana Dharma does not draw strength from impure humans. But rest assured that since GOD himself has revealed it as a gate or window to his Kingdom shining in the sky beyond this sky, he keeps and protects it as well.
      GOD descends as AvatAra from time to degraded times, to uphold this dharma of his and to punish those opposed to his sanAtana dharma.

    84. arishsahani on

      Well said .Problem is today leaders who claim Islam and Christians as religions and can’t be debated.

    86. sb on

      Hinduism is not all that clean as claimed either, it has had its fair share of injustice to others, at times it has been worse than others and at the times of so called civilization. This was always hidden under the smiles and hands together gesture, till today its the same.
      In some cases hinduism has led millions astray with their own greed intentions, and are still doing it today !

    88. npnayar on

      Hinduism is not all that clean as any other religion.TRUE.Among all unclean religions Hinduism is the best.It is not preaching that it is the best,so join it or say that u have no right to live if u are not a believer of that religion.It respect humanity,of course there may be some aberrations.It is scientific ,though there are myths and blind beliefs.Because of its versatality ,generosity and freedom ,it is acceptable for human beings.

    89. Doc_Oc on

      “Those religions have encouraged persecution of others and brainwashed otherwise kind human beings into fighting for an imaginary god who supposedly hates all those ‘others’ who don’t believe, what they are told to believe.”

      Christianity preaches exclusiveness not out of some sense of control or to brainwash people. They preach it because out God states clearly that there is only “one” God and there is only one way to him. To say that all religions are equal is to discredit out own faith. All religions are NOT equal. As a matter of fact, Christianity is the only faith that is different. Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhist all share a common thread. If you “do” these certain things or “act” in this certain way, you will make it to some heaven. Christianity is fundamentally different in that you are saved by faith and the grace of God, not by works. This is where all other religions fail. No one is righteous enough or good enough to live a perfect life to do all the right things. It is by God’s grace and love that we are able to be in his presence. God is also just in addition to loving. He doesn’t force anyone to believe in him. He’s never pressured anyone to believe in him He only presents himself and then everyone must choose. Now…people are not God. They have messed up biblical teachings and misrepresent what God tells us all the time. Jesus did not persecute people or brainwash people. He spoke the truth and said follow me if you believe. He also engaged with the poor, sick, and wicked more than the righteous.

    91. Ravi on

      The sole of Hinduism is so simple….there are many ways to attain salvation….just be righteous….

    92. MW on

      sorry to approve your comment late. wordpress does not open on my tablet for whatever reason and i was travelling…

    93. npnayar on

      Jesus asked people to follow him with faith.Right? People with faith should go to him and not the other way round.Then how the Catholic Church is spending gigantic funds for conversion by misguiding,frightening,calling other religions’ gods are saitans ??.People who are canvassing to join their religions by placing other religions as satanic are themselves SATANs.So Christianity is worse than the jihadists.It shows their immeturity and lack of nobleness.

    94. Doc_Oc on

      Please don’t equate Catholicism to Christianity. They are not the same. Christians simply follow Jesus. Catholics follow a “religion”. That is why Martin Luther went the other way…

    96. ROBIN MASSEY on

      The word of God says” EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW DOWN, EVERY TONGUE CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD” please let me know which religious books it is written? also Except JESUS CHRIST no one is going to come back on this earth…………. Therefore, He is light of this world. He himself says “I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIGHT” Think which God or religious leader says this?

    97. Saurabh Adhikari on

      Lol!! What a joke!! Nobody is coming except Jesus.
      Hindus believe that god comes on earth in human form in every era to uphold righteousness.
      Any other stupid and nutty question you got?

      For your “Word of God”, that’s what you believe. There is no god so no way ” his word” exists.

      Anything else?

    98. npnayar on

      All books on religion are written by human beings.All types of prophecies are therefore need not be correct.So don,t worry.Inconsistent things will never happens!!

    99. Abhilash Lenka on

      Great article Ma’am. Though I feel that this open outlook is what makes Hinduism different from dogmatic religions and gives people the mind frame to be tolerant. In times like these, people are eventually bound to figure out the liberal and progressive ways of Hinduism and probably adopt it. Especially since it’s the only religion which even allows one to be an atheist. Playing the Supreme religion card may endanger the open mindedness that comes along with the religion. However I personally feel that religions aren’t equal.

    100. Abhilash Lenka on

      You sound like one of the people from the “blah bluh” religions when you go against Hinduism and brand non believers as impure. May I remind you that our religion says that even a nastika(atheist) will attain moksha if the karma are balanced. Please do not propagate misguided Sanatan dharma online

    101. MW on

      Hindus usually don’t figure in the power of brainwashing of kids into the “only true religion”. They believe it and there is a certain arrogance that comes with it. i don’t think that except a few, they will realise the’liberal and progressive’ ways of HInduism (in other words superior??) unless they are confronted with the baseless, unacceptable claims of their own religion, like “Hindus go to hell”. Many European Christian don’t take this doctrine seriously anymore, but they also don’t think about it much. it doesn’t concern them. Hindus, Buddhists and atheists would need to put their foot down.

    102. Dharma Yoga Ashram (@classyoga) on

      The Hindu/Yogic religion does suffer to a great extent from both a fundamentalist and a fundamentalist/universalist mindset. The “pure fundamentalist” believes their religion is the only true one and all others are either evil or “less than,” at best. The fundamentalist/universalist proclaims are religions are valid. But “under their breath,” so to speak, because they all come from our religion. The f/u will often make illogical statements such as: our religion is not a religion; we are all one; there are no differences; we don’t believe in labels; we have no believes or dogma, etc. The new-age phony yoga movement has taken the f/u stance (see the fundamentalism in it?) and will say: Yoga is not a religion, Yoga is for everybody and other such non-sense. In a sense the f/u pretends to follow a “no way; way!”

      There is a mature growth process (that many Hindus [and others] have achieved) that may happen to one who has experience both the “The way” and “No way” mindsets–one’s religion is A way. The N.A.T. principle helps one to understand this educational process finally realizing that one’s religion is not The way and not No way but A way–ah Peace!

      Swami Ganapati Paramatma
      http://www.classicalyoga.org

    103. VenuGopal on

      The very base of your argument it self terribly wrong. Shaivam is not outside Hinduism. The oldest Veda, i.e. Rigveda mentioned about Lord Shiva, of which most commonly known prayer is Rudram (Namakm & Chamakam).

      You feel the Brahmins are the people who want to enjoy full control on Hinduism, thr fact is they are the very people how preserved most of our sanathana dharm through tough darkest days of our country for 700 years of occupation by Muslim kings and another 190 years by British.

      For your kind information, I’m a South Indian, belong to Backward Class & Shivait.

      If you want to know more information for the purpose of understanding you are welcome to mail me on vengopp@gmail.com

      But you’re not welcome if your porpose is for argument & debate for winning over each other, because I’m not eligible for this. I’m allowed up to sharing information known to me through Satsang only.

    104. neerja bhanot on

      no christianity is the best and way better…there, i said what you actually wanted to say

    106. Harish Kiran G S on

      And of course, ignorance is not an ornament to flaunt. Educate yourself.

    108. H R reddy on

      Who are Hebrews any way the fore runners of Christianity? They were once the inhabitants of India who went out for several reasons with little memories of VEDAs. It happened thousands of years ago. Established as Druids ( the Brhmins) first in England then disbursed when Julius Caesar went after them? Regathered after the world war 2. Now things have changed. Most of the stories in Judaism have been drawn from Vedas and Puranas.
      Religion as defined is man made. But Hinduism will not come under that category. It was revealed by gods , scripted by the Rishis. The language used is Sanskrit again a langue used, given by gods, mother of all languages used, the only living language that old. Hindus never went invading other nations or professed superiority over others. But Hindus had to survive the onslaughts by the invaders under suppressed conditions tenaciously till this day under very inhuman conditions. But they didn’t let go and convert. During Moghal period many Brahmin families were made to carry night soil because they didn’t convert and unable to pay zajia. They became Dalits.

    109. H R reddy on

      What is love given to Joan of arc? Non violence and peace are the hallmarks of Christianity? Say I love you and stab. Who are responsible for two world wars?

    110. jamal_moidutty@yahoo.co.uk on

      who said? did god say that… ? you live like you wish, and I prepared paradise for everybody!

    111. Nelson Naidoo on

      Hello all, When Jesus said ”I WILL COME AGAIN”, it means that GOD will come again.God came many times before JESUS and after Jesus. People are ignorant of this.HE also said the ONE who sent HIM will come , that too happened, and a lot of people don’t know this. He came in the form of Sai BABA. Jesus also gave a description of SAI BABA. GOD will incarnate again on earth in a few years time, as PREMA SAI BABA, If people don’t want to believe this, thats their fate,thats their choice, Christians who don’t believe this, can wait , Jesus, will not come, GOD WILL COME.

    112. Pravesh Hurdeen Singh on

      Thank you for this outstanding piece which Hindus must first digest and decolonise their own minds.
      Unfortunately Hindus have lost pride in their great heritage.

    113. Vishnu's sevakah on

      Sehr genau, ganz gerade. Tout à fait exact. Absolutamente de acuerdo. It is essential, in these explications, to distinguish the traditional, initiatic fund of Hinduismus, that is the most ancient religion, having all the bases of others religions, making it clear to the student, that Hinduismus contains everything of the others religions. That for some others religions, actually some elements of them are not, precisely, religious, but only credences, without any objective base to teach the things as they are.
      Cosmologically, everyone can notice that all is in Hinduismus, immediately, practical and useful, whereas in the others religions, the teacher says to you: “Don’t try to understand. All that you have to do now, is trusting these things and masters you don’t already know, you’ll understand later.” As with Hinduismus, you understand instantaneously what you’re learning.
      I feel lucky to know a person like You, who was also educated in the christian religion, and could make her mind free of all the arbitrarious teachings of it.
      Jay Shree Hind !

    114. Clifford Victor on

      Very simplistic theory you have there. Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs etc etc originated out of Hinduism and share a lot of common philosophy. As far as Shiva is concerned that is a typical Tamil view that we alone created Shiva : Murugana and then Hindu, Aryans stole it. This is pure BullShit. Rigveda has Rudra which is akin to Shiva. People have been praying to Shiva without any intervention from Brahmins for thousands of years, Naths (Shri Dattatraya, GorkhNath etc etc ) is major mystical sect from North which has been praying to Shiva without any Brahmins.

      It all depends upon how much is one against the Brahmins. (BTW due credit to Brahmins for protecting the religion and its value).

      Here is a typical explanation of name Rudra and how Shiva developed from it.

      “Rudra (/ˈrʊdrə/; Sanskrit: रुद्र) is a Rigvedic deity, associated with wind or storm,[1] and the hunt. The name has been translated as “the roarer”.[2][3][4] In the Rigveda, Rudra has been praised as the “mightiest of the mighty”.[5] The Shri Rudram hymn from the Yajurveda is dedicated to Rudra, and is important in the Saivism sect.[6][7]

      The Hindu god Shiva shares several features with the Rudra: the theonym Shiva originated as an epithet of Rudra, the adjective shiva (“kind”) being used euphemistically of Rudra, who also carries the epithet Aghora, Abhayankar (“extremely calm [sic] non terrifying”).[3] Usage of the epithet came to exceed the original theonym by the post-Vedic period (in the Sanskrit Epics), and the name Rudra has been taken as a synonym for the god Shiva and the two names are used interchangeably.”

    115. Ashish Tomar on

      I really don’t know its your ignorance or Hate.Savism is a part of Hinduism and explain in RigVeda.I am North Indian and by caste Kshytras.In My Region most of the followers are of savism((95%).some of them also follows vaisnaism with shavism.All these are Brahmins/Kshytras/Vaisyas/Shurdas(Anyway nobody cares who is who nowadays,except ppl like you).But for your information Mostly Brahmin follows Savaismin in my region.

    116. Travail on

      It is the duty of a Hindu to practise his faith, but not to unsettle the minds of those who do not practise it. We are expected to show restraint and friendliness in dealing with people of other faiths, and live in harmony with them. Hinduism clearly affirms that the paths to God are many and all paths lead to God. Hence, fanaticism and intolerance are completely ruled out. However, amity does not mean submission to other faiths or practising them. As a Hindu, you not only have a right to choose what you believe in, but also have an obligation to defend your faith if necessary. In this regard, the Gods of Hinduism are the best example. They are the most benign and compassionate beings, and yet each is a warrior who will not hesitate to fight the demons if the situation demands it.

      paraphrased from http://www.hinduwebsite.com/buzz/the-ten-main-duties-in-hinduism.asp

    117. MW on

      it is not fanaticism, it is about truth when one says that Hindu Dharma is superior. this “all path lead to same goal” was said before dogmatic religions came on the scene which claim openly that they have to wipe out Hinduism as it is an offence in the eyes of their “God”. i don’t think the Rishis could even imagine such a thing to happen – that the Supreme Being would be put up as a front for world dominion.

    119. nirmita on

      silence is the best reply to the fools .so don’t
      t say anything to maria because she is foolish & do not know anything about Hindu..Empty vessel sound much…..

    120. Vishnu's sevakah on

      Wieso dasselbe Kryptogram für die sogenannte “Radhe Krishna” und “nirmita” …..? Was unklar da passiert. Lebewohl Maria.

    124. B Harendran on

      Totally wrong, dear.
      To understand Hindu or Hinduism, “it is a way of life”,
      One must involve and be committed to Hinduism … to understand and born again a Hindu.
      As a Hindu, I pray for re born an Islam or better soul searching and get Immersed back to my Father(the creator of my soul).
      God is omnipresent everywhere (Life or non life materials).
      Proud to be an Hindu born and brought up in India.
      Thank you.

    125. MOMMHED YUNIS on

      ALL RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD OTHER THAN VEDAS ,HAVE NO CONCEPT OR ANY AYOTA OF UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IS SPIRIT BUT SPEAK OF SPIRITUALITY ALL UNDERSTANDING ARE EXTENDED UNDERSTANDING OF THE MATERIAL WORLD AND HIS MATERIAL SELF.

      RELIGION BASED ON HYPOTHESIS OF A DREAMING MAN
      Suppose a man is sleeping and in his state of dream he is having sexual enjoyment in that state he is also thinking that after he wakes up ,he will also enjoy the benefits he is enjoying in his sleep , such is the state of islam. Vedas say we are into a dream body , the illusory material body , the consciousness of considering himself being the material body is also a state of dreaming for the spirit which has nothing to do in character or likeness to the material body , The person in a consciousness of a soul enjoys a different character different from the material body and described as sat , chit, anand ,This essential difference is not explained in the quran , therefore the philosophy of Islam imagines The “SPIRIT” and the “SPIRITUAL ABODES AND DESTINATIONS” , to be similar to the material body and carries that same material world’s experiences and understanding also to the “SPIRITUAL DESTINATION” calling then Jannath and paradise as having the same traits of permanent senses , sense enjoyment and sexual and how a perfect replica of what he has experienced in the material illusory world.
      RELIGION BASED ON BEGGERS HYPOTHESIS
      Therefore your understanding in Quran and Christianity is just like a beggars idea of a millionaire .for example if beggar was asked what is your idea of a millionaire? He says” Millionaire is a person whose business is to go out to beg every day with a bowl made of gold and a chauffeur driven car , “ Your idea of heaven and Jannat is base and conjecture of your material experiences and not that which is based on of what is spirit and eternal ?
      RELIGION BASED ON BASE IDEAS OF BUFFALOWS ENDLESS SEX HYPOTHESIS
      Suppose a buffalo man is enjoying sex with a she buffalo in that state he is also is thinking that he wishes that he should get this happiness endlessly and eternally such is the base concept on which so called their religious theologies are based , absolute something to what an animal like a buffalo can imagine. Such is the consciousness and understanding of the major faiths in the world

    126. '- KAMENG - on

      Hi,

      Thank you so much for writing the truth ( and not being afraid to do so )

      I would also like to state that the above stated “sorry” situation also applies to Buddhists ( and I believe the same goes for all Dharmic Faiths of India )

      For too long we have been naïve and fooling ourselves by stating wh9ich is not the obvious, “that all religions are the same “, its actually not but we continue to deny and have an ostrich like attitude!

      It is strange that whenever I point out the discrimination that the Hindus face ( in India, a Hindu majority country ) my Hindu friends mock me and chant “Secularism”!

      If the Hindus don’t get their act together then they will lose numbers through Islamic Love & Land Jihad + Christian Rice Bag Evangelism!

      Buddhists also face challenge of Islamic Millitarism /Terrorism and Christian Evangelism.

      On one hand we have evangelical groups funded by Western countries and their corporates who advocate that their is the only true religion and a ‘living god’ and on the other hand we have violent radical groups who use terror and intimidation of the worst kind to exterminate a population that does not “practice” their religion or ideology which they like the evangelists believe that theirs is the “true religion” that will ultimately prevail across the Earth!

      Both these groups target Buddhists for their simplicity, they feel that Buddhists are gullible to take everything they have to say even if that means defaming Buddhism and our teachers, hence they engage with Buddhists in debates to convince the Buddhists that they need to give up Dhamma and accept “their religion” as it is the only true one with the “one and only god” and hence they must accept their faith and abandon Buddhism!

      Its high time we respond to them, not violently using weapons like they do but buy using our brains and applying some common sense!

      Reading, discussing and cross verifying information given to us, helps!

      Regards

      Kameng

      My BLOG – https://kamengshambhala.wordpress.com/

    127. npnayar on

      EXCELLENT Mr.KAMENG. Hindus are a sort timid race which could not tackle abhrahamic religions.The only religion suitable for mankind is Hinduism whatever others say any non sense.The tragedy is that Hindus are diminishing!! The predicted KALIYUG will fall upon humanity when Islam/Christianity takes over.No human can live with peace then.

    128. MW on

      that’s why we have to help Christians and Muslims to open their eyes to truth – to that what truly is, not sentences that are written in books.

    130. aml on

      your are right …….!

      DO not compare religion just give respect …………………… just you only think Jesus side he will come , Mohamed also in hindu also if u belief in Jesus then u have to belief other bocz you dint see jesus so if he come back how you find him and how u follow him……….. in universe .

    131. Avdhesh Tondak on

      Brilliant article Maria! It’s an eye opener for Hindus and believe me Hindus have woken up to their roots. It may take some time but it has started. We all can feel it.

    133. raju on

      mariaji … putting great questions to non truth seekers like kateb .. is a good thing… they dont want truth…. they want heaven giving god ….. heaven is a great thing …. but not the truth………..

      ..
      in hindhism heaven is small thing … where as satyam means truth is the great thing …

      in hindhuism there is agreat say …. satyam jnaanam anantham brahma….

      satyam means. truth
      jnaanam means knowledge
      anantham means infinite
      brahma means baghwan

      truth is knowledge is infinite is bagwan or god

      sory for my bad english

    134. raju on

      you are just hindhu in words …. you dont know bagavathgeetha and vedas …….. you want heaven … how many years you will spend in heaven without knowing truth ……. heaven is nothing in front of truth

    135. MW on

      never be sorry for bad English (yours is much better than that of most Europeans anyway). usually those who did not go through Engl medium from the start are far better connected to their heritage whihc is a BIG boon.

    138. neptune's Aura Astrology on

      You are an idiot, does NOT matter how restrictive you think your Christianity was it gave you the tools to be spiritual and all religions are the same they are the tools we get and you cannot be Hindu any more than I can teach you to be Scottish, all the same because we absorb our culture subconsciously. Being Scottish is the lens I see the world through just like being Indian is the lens they see the world through and NONE of those lens were ever superior to another shame on your ignorance!

    140. Shashikant on

      If you stay in India such types of saying is okay, but if you stay out of India PLEASE keep it with yourself and be safe

    143. A.A.LOGANATHAN on

      Hinduism is indeed not a religion but a way of life.It seeks to seek to be in UNION WITH THE SUPREME AND GRAND BEING irregardless of race , religion or creed.DHARMAM which has no equivalent word in other languages is the law and core of our being seeking justifications in enhancing our relationship with all the living beings rather than with our relationship with THE SUPREME AND GRAND BEING. Hence this explains the phrase SERVICE TO MANKIND IS SERVICE TO GOD. THE GREAT SWAMI VIVEKANANDA QUOTATION ‘S THAT ONE LIVING HINDUISM IS NOT A HINDU LESS BUT AN ENEMY MORE IS TO TELL THAT THEIR NEW BELIEF WOULD PREVENT THEM FROM THINKING LIKEWISE OF THE UNIVERSAL DHARMA. Why should we belittle Hinduism saying as a religion when it embraces all as one linkage of brotherhood. Sorrowfully some of them wants to segregate and stay aloof to self indentify themselves makes them to waver from the UNIVERSAL DHARMA. ONE IS AS NEAR TO GOD AS THE PERSON HE IS MOST DIVIDED FROM.Some of us are so carried away that we just would like to retaliate in kind as to what from other religions are doing not knowing that we are going to a lower plane from a higher altitude. HINDUISM MIGHT SEEM SO COMPLEX YET IT IS SO VERY EASY THAT AS LONG AS BY THINKING GOOD, SAYING GOOD AND DOING GOOD IS MORE THAN SUFFICIENT INTO MAKING GOD SEEKING US.
      TRUTH IS BEST REPRESENTED WHEN OUR WORDS, THOUGHTS AND DEEDS ARE IN PERFECT HARMONY.
      HINDUISM DOES NOT NEED A FOUNDER TO VERIFY HIS BEING A HINDU BUT BY HIS JUSTIFIABLE RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALL LIVING BEINGS.Hinduism seeks to elevate a human to be a better human being rather than to be a mere label.
      A better Muslim or a better Christian or a better being are all better Hindus.

    146. Paulie D on

      Finally someone with their head screwed on right! How does she not see the irony of her Hindu evangelism? She’s incorrect by own foolish standards! If Hinduism is what she claims it is then what purpose is there in adopting this missionary stance and trying to convert the world? That is more like her description of Christianity. There is plenty more to be said about her wilful ignorance of social, political and economic historical contexts but why bother? This kind of reductive understanding of the world really merits no response.

    147. neptune's Aura Astrology on

      It needs saying because Hindus have committed genocide against Muslims, just as Buddhists have committed genocide against Muslims. Atheist, agnostic, christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, neopagan, New ager or whatever you want to call yourself, believing in your own superiority because of a belief system is denial of humanity as a whole, denial of rights and a denial of respect. You are not the answer but the problem, religions were meant to solve, your supposed superiority is not an understanding of any religious view it is a lack of understanding, lack of honesty, lack of humility, lack of compassion and a lack of love.

    148. Vivek on

      Try to understand the message of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji
      The only reason why Sikhism came about is because the Hindus had gone off track.

    150. joel on

      I believe in the living lord that is JESUS CHRIST. People make idols and worship them. For Jesus came to his own world but the own did not accept him. He was crucified for ourselves, he had powers to resist crucifixion but he didn’t used, for he loved us and he did not came to make religion. There’s life in him that gives light to our soul.

    153. Sudhir Gupta on

      This article by Maria Wirth is analytical and gives a true picture of Hindu mindset. Hindus, if they want to survive today, must have to come out of the shell which they are covering themselves with mainly due to selfishness and cowardice.

    155. Vidya Bhardwaj on

      This analysis is what Hinduism is. In my opinion it is only religion, others are sects following their prophet’s teachings. Privilege of questioning not permitted by others. This is taken weakness by others. In the end of the Rigveda is said to be written ‘ na iti’ means this is not end, coming generations will write their own precepts. Is this beauty found in other’s scriptures? …. Your attitude is intellectual and unbiased. I am highly impressed by you.

    157. SACCHIDANAND MISHRA on

      You are right Maria,problem in India is that since the inception the political leadership was in the hands of so called liberals who had little faith n respect for Hinduism bcoz most of them were illiterate about glorious hindu literature ,religion n culture,which continued even after freedom in rull connivance with hinduhater commies.So gradually this nexus succeeded in isolating hindu religion.No mention in ednal text books rather these glorified islam,islamic invaders n moghul kings.Very simple example Pratap,Prithviraj n Shivaji given less importance n Akbar,Aurangjeb n Tipu Sultan highlighted.But howlong soul of Sanatan dharm can be suppressed by blatant lie n cunningness.Glory of hinduism is spread all over India in the form of temples n literature how can it be suppressed ? But in one more thing they succeeded in dividing the nation n Indian society,which is very sad part of Indian history.

    158. Chandrasekharan CK on

      Thanks Maria for your writings. If we Hindus tell the same facts it will be misconstrued & called majoritarianism! Please keep writing and enlightening this world.

    160. askmeinfotech on

      I am very glad to hear your understanding on Hinduism.
      Actually Hindus are people who religiously are sanatan.
      The word sanatan stands for universal.
      So, Sanatan dharma means universal religion.
      We are very open to accept all available goods in this universe.
      Tremendous learning.
      Explore everything.
      Diversified thought process.
      Thanks
      Pranayeshwar Vashisth

    161. Abhishek Chowdhury on

      You’re a hilarious person of small mind with a big attitude. The entire creation is created and owned by Mahadev Shiv Shankar and from him have manifested Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma who are none but Lord Shiva himself. Not knowing this basic knowledge, you are here preaching about religions?

    164. Dr P Sukul on

      As per Jesus’ dyeing declaration’God forgive them——‘ he wanted Jesuits to follow him an idol
      of forgiveness& kindness.What a pityXtians
      became just the reverse.If Jesuits respect
      Jesus’s dyeing declaration the conversion
      has been forbidden by Jesus himself.
      Opposite is the case with peacefulee religion.
      Hinduism never ask for conversion.
      You are right all religions are not equals.

    165. Bharat Kumar on

      Jesus’ dyeing declaration’God forgive them——‘ he wanted Jesuits to follow him an idol … Please be noted that CONVERSION is never accepted by any GOD. GOD is not helpless, waiting for humans to convert other humans to GOD’s religion. Just think rationally as a grown up human.
      Came out of selfish conspiracy and spread love and peace to each and every human. Search the meaning of :
      ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः
      सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।
      सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु
      मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत् ।
      ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
      Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah
      Sarve Santu Nir-Aamayaah |
      Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu
      Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet |
      Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
      Lord Shiva Bless you all …

    166. Anonymous on

      You know Hindus believe in freedom of worship. According to Hindus what matter is your belief and respect in God. The way you worship doesn’t. That is why all the religions are equal for them as they respect the way other people worship the same God. The relationship between an individual and God is unique to him or her, so the way they worship shouldn’t be necessarily the same either.

    167. Anonymous on

      Another thing. Hinduism has survived till now since the earliest of the time, despite all the difficulties. It the this freedom and the appreciation of the fact that the relation between the God and individual is unique, which I hope will help them to stay here for a longer time.

    169. R.Viswanathan on

      Again a breath of fresh air. Very simply put with telling effect. Thank you.
      For years I have been saying the same thing. People mindlessly keep repeating these phrases without stopping to think. They are afraid of being labelled intolerant. Its not that one is intolerant, just calling a spade a spade. Without hatred, contempt.

    170. npnayar on

      Yes Sir,U are right.Hindus are always apologetic.I don’t know why.Unless we awake and act Hinduism can not be saved with the savages around.

    171. Iqbal singh on

      This is really a masterpiece narrative of Hinduism and its philosophy.My thanks to the author for such s vivid and all encompassing explaination of Hinduism.

    172. Pratik Garg on

      Wonderful article as always.
      It’s a learning experience & privilege to read your worldly/spiritually enlightening material.
      I also follow Shri Jay Lakhani of Hindu Academy (first Hindu scholar of Eton college, UK) and Rajiv Malhotra.
      Would never want moksh but come back to play/save our earth again & again

    177. Ashok Kumar on

      100% correct. Ironically, we are all slumbering in our own comfort zones, devoid of inimical sword hanging overhead…

    178. Arish Sahani on

      HOW TO DESTROY A NATION .
      LEARN FORM MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS..
      CONVERT LOCAL POOR AND FOOLS TO ISLAM AND CHRISTIANS .
      EACH LOCAL CONVERT IS NOW WORKING FOR THE ENEMY .
      ONCE THEIR NO GROWS THE NATION IS LOST IDENTITY GONE .

    179. npnayar on

      You are right Mr.AS.In India majority Hindus were /are/will be fools.And the rulers were/are clever.Why religions were allowed conversion?Is it to redress any grievance or in equality? The rulers knew that Hindus will never propagate their religion where as the other two will do it by hook or crook! Ultimately majority will reduce to minority and the WHOLE concept of secularism will go to dogs ! For minority, govt duty is only to protect them from out side threats! But what the rulers done ? They have made minority religions a special category showering all kinds of concessions ,preference over Hindus to create vote banks !! Now every political party even the so called hindutua party BJP is vying with each other to promote minorities totally ignoring the majority . That is why I called the majority Hindus are fools.They could not understand the power of unity !! They are begging the minority to construct a temple in Ayodhya !! How pitiable the Hindu lot in India !!

    181. EJ on

      I am not sure why you meant by translate the word. The translations are given by Hindu scholars such as Satya Prakash Saraswati. Are you saying they don’t what they are talking about?

    182. Mukesh Bhatia on

      You hit the nail. As you perceive, it is not our fear that we say every religion are equal. It’s because we Hindus are biologically believers in humanity. If we praise somebody it’s not about religion, it’s about the human being. But yes it’s time we rise and defend Hinduism, the way of life.

    183. MW on

      and because you are not taught the negative aspects of those dogmatic religions which claim they alone have the full truth.

    185. Ajoy Kumar Choudhury on

      Excellent write up indeed!
      Hindus have never conquered. On other hand Christians and Muslims have plundered.
      A psychological war is being unleashed in modern times to market religion claiming superiority of one above other.
      Hindus must introspect the conditions of Hindu minorities in Islamic nations and should face the reality.

    186. Sagar Goware on

      Absolutely true.realizing self is the essence of Hinduism which is not actually any ism. There is no absolute truth. Seeking truth can lead every one to infinite.
      Christianity or Islam were not started by Jesus or Mohammed but in their names crusader or Jehad done. It is just like followers of Gandhi or for that matter any philosophy try to prove how the philosophy is superior to others.They are fooling people for selfish reasons but actually fooling themselves. Even Mohammed sometimes tried to tell untruthful things to justify his actions in the name of Allah. He promoted even violence many times. However I didn’t found anything wrong in Sermon of Jesus. Only after Jesus Christianity come to existence.& then to establish superiority & serve personal goals churches came to existence.
      Actually Masjids,madarsas,churches & many Mandirs are den of robbers.
      Let’s be united to serve humanity practice any religion only after realising self. Hindu is not religion as western concept.its way of life. it opens world within to realise truth & ability to analyze anything.

    190. Kapidev Behera on

      Thank you. Even in India atleast 20 to 30% Hindus know Islam and christianity doesn’t consider them equally as we Hindus do. But we can’t do anything because we have no hindu alliance countries, no human right support in India and Abroad. All political parties doing Muslim appeasement including the current govt of India also in illusion that they will change. Fact is they will never change. We Hindus know it well only we are just waiting to die and don’t want to return to this earth.

    191. MW on

      Our hope is that they lose faith, like Christians in Europe lost faith. But as long as it pays for them to be “minority”, they have no incentive to come out.

    192. arishsahani on

      Our Hindu religious and political gurus are feeling unsafe and unsecured in secular nation. Hindus need a Hindu nation to survive . Will they demand will they get .

    193. Udayabhanu Panickar on

      All religions are the same; BUT Sanathanadharmmam is not a religion. IT IS MUCH GREATER AND DIVINE THAN ANY AND EVERY RELIGIONS TAKEN TOGETHER. PLEASE DO NOT DEGRADE IT INTO A RELIGION.

    194. Maheshkumar on

      We,the people of the earth called mrutyulok as referred in vedas, upnishads,the books of knowledge
      written by ancient rishis , and often found in the books of mythology, in this context
      The definition of God ( Ishwar) and Bhgawan (devatas,angels ) ALAKH (infinite large ,)NIRANJAN (colourless) NIRAKAR (No shape) is same in all religion

    195. Bhasker Patel on

      Dearest Maria,
      Love your posts and support to Hinduism. If you have a link that needs support then do let us know. There are many Hindus in the UK are behind yours and our constant fight.
      Best wishes for 2022 and a Happy New Year!
      Bhasker Patel

    196. MW on

      thanks a lot. Very nice to know, Bhaskar Ji. hope something comes out from the draft for the petition. also, i had suggested to make leaflets like Christians do, and somebody here took it up and maybe some leaflets come out. i just finished writing something and post it now on my blog.

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