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How to help Hinduism

Arkangel

I am Darth Vader
Truth has many names.
And Nameless is one too :D

You are right Santdasji and also Zenzero is right.

I think we should have a separate thread where we can discuss the importance of name in Religion, social life, philosophy and everything.
 

native3

Shrinidhi Kowndinya
my replies may be sound a little harsh sometimes but i dont have any disrespect to any other religion... after all i am from the Secular Country India...

Not to Critisize any religions Hinduism dont have Missinaries or Dont Publicise their Religion and in Hindhu Religion there is no Conversions Theores or anything...

as you have said my friend Buddism traved from India to other parts of the world... but not Hindusim... remember India the Leader of Religios and Philosopical World.... Dont you think we must atleast have a Speciality which others dont have.... he he lol.... by the way there is no need for Hindusim to travel accross Countries and Spread accross the World....

Hinduism or the "Sanathana Dharma" is the Worlds All time Oldest Surviving Religion which has not gone any Interchange with any religion over a Million Years....

Hinduism is just not a Religion or just another path to know the Teachings of Great ones... Hindusim is the Way of life... its a Lifestyle of we Indians....

so we dont mind if its not there in any county other than india... Christianity and Islam are more and we dont need any compitation with them either... we are Privilaged ourselves to have such a Great Religion... which in no other Religion is Thought...

The Vedas and Upanishads of Hinduism are the Worlds Oldest Written Philosiphies and Thoughts which even today cant be fully explained by anyone including Indian Religious Preists...

Thats the Strength and Intensity of Hinduism...

So be proud that you are an Hindhu and we are previlaged enough to have our Religion to ourselves call it selfish it dosent matter....
 

santdasji

Member
No im not giving incorrect information. Get your facts right. Here ... for your own benefit maybe....

Par dharm or bhagwat dharm is the main dharm which brings the absolute good (the nishreyas) of a soul, and the absolute good of a soul is only God realization which happens through the direct devotion to God in His personal form. It is called bhakti. It gives both, peace and happiness in life as well as God realization. Apar dharm is the general dharm for all and is only a preliminary dharm, which is like the preparatory practice for entering into bhakti for those who cannot accept it in their life right away. Bhakti is above all the religious formalities, rituals and intellectual practices of meditation. In one sentence you can say that bhakti is the true ‘love’ for your soul-beloved God. It could be observed by any person of the world. It is universal; it is for every age; it is said and revealed by God Himself; and it is sanatan which means eternal. Thus, the dharm which is based on such bhakti,which is eternally established in bhakti, and which establishes bhakti for God as a universal religion of the world, is called Sanatan Dharm.
God is: “dharmadhishthan.” It means that the Sanatan (eternal) Dharm is established in God and resides in God as a Divine power. It is revealed by God through Brahma before the human civilization and is represented through the Upnishads and the Puranas.

So this dharm can be followed by Shivites, Shaktas, Vaishnavs or whatever. So stop assuming.
 

RyanT

New Member
My wife has trouble accepting Hinduism as anything but an "Indian" religion. The Gods and ideas are incredibly foreign to a monotheistic west.

To be honest when I look around my people reading a translation, of a translation, of a translation of holy books called the bible. They go to church once a week or so. They hate gays and believe anyone not Christian is going to burn for all eternity in hell. They've been raised this way their entire life. They're not evil people. They don't blow themselves up, murder, kill or burn people but they are very fortified in their world view and have a culture of "If its not Christianity its wrong".

Hinduism is one of those things in my opinion that you stumble upon during life and either go "Wow very interesting let me research" or you just xenophobically abhor it and let your views be formed by stereotypes and false opinions. Unless you have a questing mind or are born IN the culture you'll probably have a hard time accepting or studying Hinduism.

Where free thought and liberal minded idea flourish (In America its on the coast lines) you see alot more Hinduism, Buddhism, jainism etc.

Thats one of the reaosn im incredibly surprised that we have a Hindu Temple and a ISCON temple in my state (Tennessee) which is an INCREDIBLY Christian dominant, Republican state.
 

Valjean

Veteran Member
Premium Member
People tend to find what they were raised with to be comfortable, proper and reasonable. The more another point of view or tradition differs from the familiar the more bizarre it appears.

If the wierdos are few in number and unassuming, they are an interesting curiosity. If they demand recognition, or their views begin to gain acceptance, or their numbers increase, then they're disturbing, scarey or even a threat.
 
Jack, there are more of us dispersed throughout the countries of the world than you realize (and many more "emerging" almost by the hour). By being yourself an example worthy of emulation, it is inevitable that others will want to be like you in what is undoubtedly the most important of ways- a spiritual way.....

Be loving, and moral, and tolerant......don't compromise your high Vedic values for their Kali Yuga counterfeits. Honor bhakti wherever it manifests, and in whatever form it takes- wish it well, and even assist in its propagation (within the limits of remaining chaste to your own tradition, and not losing your focus)....

ys,
bmd.
 
My wife has trouble accepting Hinduism as anything but an "Indian" religion. The Gods and ideas are incredibly foreign to a monotheistic west.

To be honest when I look around my people reading a translation, of a translation, of a translation of holy books called the bible. They go to church once a week or so. They hate gays and believe anyone not Christian is going to burn for all eternity in hell. They've been raised this way their entire life. They're not evil people. They don't blow themselves up, murder, kill or burn people but they are very fortified in their world view and have a culture of "If its not Christianity its wrong".

Hinduism is one of those things in my opinion that you stumble upon during life and either go "Wow very interesting let me research" or you just xenophobically abhor it and let your views be formed by stereotypes and false opinions. Unless you have a questing mind or are born IN the culture you'll probably have a hard time accepting or studying Hinduism.

Where free thought and liberal minded idea flourish (In America its on the coast lines) you see alot more Hinduism, Buddhism, jainism etc.

Thats one of the reaosn im incredibly surprised that we have a Hindu Temple and a ISCON temple in my state (Tennessee) which is an INCREDIBLY Christian dominant, Republican state.

Well, on the topic of survival, Gaudiya Vaishnavism has always been big on preaching since its inception, so I am not surprised on how sometimes some people view us as 'Fundamentalist Hindus.' I consider us Chaitanyaites as the Evangelicals of Vaishnavism, lol.

But you'd be surprised. Out of Vaishnavism, Gaudiya Vaishnavism is taking root all over the world. They have temples in Europe everywhere, even in places like Shanghai and Hong Kong. So many Chinese Vaishnavas worshipping Krishna as the Supreme Lord!

In the Mormon-filled state, you'll find a beautiful ISKCON temple there, which was partly funded by the state itself! They also have a llama farm, which is pretty interesting, lol.

Plus, Gaudiya Vaishnavism is somewhat familiar with much of Western conceptions in religion: monotheism, the aspect of Krishna as personal and salvific, an easy path to Krishna through chanting His names, the abundance of English (and other) language resources, classes, reading of Scriptures (particularly Gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, only from Vaishnava sources) and preaching.

But it is different in that it is a little more liberal than the so-called Abrahamic religions. There is just so much that you can say about the spirit of Vedic culture!
 
Can't say i agree with anything that considers itself as Evangelists. One of the cornerstone of Hinduism is live and let live, but it is not a bad thing to have a few converted every now and then.

BAPS (Swaminarayan) exhibits all that as the same thing. The sad thing is, a lot of ISCKON followers have come on here before and told me that my belief in Swaminarayan is wrong, and that is just not Hindu at all. No Hindu can tell another that their belief is wrong.

It shows the variety and diversity of Hinduism.
 
Can't say i agree with anything that considers itself as Evangelists. One of the cornerstone of Hinduism is live and let live, but it is not a bad thing to have a few converted every now and then.

BAPS (Swaminarayan) exhibits all that as the same thing. The sad thing is, a lot of ISCKON followers have come on here before and told me that my belief in Swaminarayan is wrong, and that is just not Hindu at all. No Hindu can tell another that their belief is wrong.

It shows the variety and diversity of Hinduism.

One is not a follower of ISKCON... I am a follower of Lord Chaitanya, who is an incarnation of Radha-Krishna for this Age. ;)

The only reason why I say Evangelicals (not Evangelists... that means a spreader of the Christian Gospel; Evangelical refers to a denomination of Christianity which is stereotypically found to be preachy and enthusiastic of their Faith, as well as personally based) is because we, out of the rest of Vaishnavism, are quite outreaching and spreading. But we do not really believe in 'converting' as people may say.

But it is sad that people are saying that Swaminarayan beliefs are wrong. Anyone who claims to be a Vaishnava and is a follower of the sampradaya should be considered as a Vaishnava. Swaminarayan people are Vaishnavas just like us; we may not agree on everything, but we can say for sure that Vishnu/Krishna is God, lol.

Vaishnavism is fine to be in. We do not care what kind of Vaishnavism one practices, as long as one practices the main tenets of the religion. I think theonly people that Gaudiya Vaishnavas have problems with, are atheists.
 
One is not a follower of ISKCON... I am a follower of Lord Chaitanya, who is an incarnation of Radha-Krishna for this Age. ;)

The only reason why I say Evangelicals (not Evangelists... that means a spreader of the Christian Gospel; Evangelical refers to a denomination of Christianity which is stereotypically found to be preachy and enthusiastic of their Faith, as well as personally based) is because we, out of the rest of Vaishnavism, are quite outreaching and spreading. But we do not really believe in 'converting' as people may say.

But it is sad that people are saying that Swaminarayan beliefs are wrong. Anyone who claims to be a Vaishnava and is a follower of the sampradaya should be considered as a Vaishnava. Swaminarayan people are Vaishnavas just like us; we may not agree on everything, but we can say for sure that Vishnu/Krishna is God, lol.

Vaishnavism is fine to be in. We do not care what kind of Vaishnavism one practices, as long as one practices the main tenets of the religion. I think theonly people that Gaudiya Vaishnavas have problems with, are atheists.
Great post :)
 

ryynänen47

Little Old Heathen Lady
I'm new here, so if I'm posting in the wrong place, let me know.

Earlier, I answered a question which asked if you weren't religion A, you would be religion B (paraphrasing the question). I said that if I weren't an Asatruar/Heathen, I would be a Hindu.

The reason why I said that is it seems that Hinduism and Heathenry/Asatru have some things in common. Respect for Nature, polytheism, non-proselytising, etc. Both are connected to a particular culture.

When I was in my late 20's, I considered Hinduism, but I thought I couldnt convert because I'm not Indian. Asking out of curiosity, how would someone go about becoming an Hindu ?

Faith Folk Family,


Ryynänen47
 

zenzero

Its only a Label
Friend ryynänen47,

When I was in my late 20's, I considered Hinduism, but I thought I couldnt convert because I'm not Indian. Asking out of curiosity, how would someone go about becoming an Hindu ?

The original word is *sanatna Dharma* whiich is now popularly known as *hinduism* as Alexander could not pronounce *Sindhu* the name of a river and so called it hindu.
Sanatan dhrama is basically not A religion. It is basically gives guidelines for various paths or religions and so it covers in effect any path followed by any human being.
It is just a *way of life* lived by any human.
So whatever is your way of life is also part of sanatan dharma.
However conversion of the outer is sinple by going to a temple am sure a priest can orient anyone to be given a sanatan dharma name etc.
Best Wishes.
Love & rgds
 
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