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Hindu: The fallacy of 'Hinduism'

Nyingjé Tso

Tänpa Yungdrung zhab pä tän gyur jig
Vanakkam,

I tend to agree that, anyway, the term Hinduism is not a good term. The real name is Sanatana Dharma, and this term is much more accurate, because you can find inside what bind everything together: Dharma.
Dharma is common to every sect and belief. It is the main tread of Sanatana Dharma, for every practionner.

In like manner Vaishnavism, Shiavism, Shaktism have all the features of a separate religion. They worship a different deity as supreme, they have a different canon of scriptures, different beliefs, myths and rituals. Historically, they have never got on with each other, more so true with Vaishnavism and Shiviaism. Vaishnavism denigrates Shiavism and vis versa and there have been terrible bloody religious wars between them, much like between Islam and Christianity.

Saivism, Saktism, Vaishnavism worship each different forms of the ONE supreme. They give differents forms to the one formless Brahman, thus they all worship the same Brahman and seek the same goal of Moksha. So having basically the same supreme and the same goal, I don't see why they should be different religions.

I have never seen a Sakta insulting a Vaishnav, I am Saivite and I never proved a Sakta wrong, and always had been well treated by Vaishnav. Never seen a religious quarrel between devotee in Bharat too. People know that whatever form of worship they take, it's the same God.
Should a Yogi be considered as a separate religion as he worship only the Formless aspect of Brahman ? What, besides his method of worship and the way he sees God, makes him different than a Sakta that worship the same Brahman through the form of Devi Mata ?

What about Sri HariHara and Sri Ardhanarishwara ? Those two forms are the embodiment of the unity that bind everything together. Acknowledging that, devotees don't engage in meaningless fights between "which god is better" as they know they worship the same diamond by it's different faces.


Aum Namah Shivaya
 
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