How would you describe Hinduism to someone?

[savethedreams]

Hinduism often gets confusing as to what it is... What are the vedas and upanishads and what is the goal of most of its practicers... I've gotten a general idea, but most 'beginners books' that obvious some westerns have written aren't very good at depicting what hinduism is.

 

[Valjean]

A crazy-quilt of folklore, morality tales and bizarre metaphysics.

 

[Aupmanyav]

A crazy-quilt of folklore, morality tales and bizarre metaphysics.

Yes, it is sure that for those who do not know Hinduism.

Hinduism often gets confusing as to what it is .. What are the vedas and upanishads and what is the goal of most of its practicers... I've gotten a general idea, but most 'beginners books' that obvious some westerns have written aren't very good at depicting what hinduism is.

Vedas are Hindu scriptures, considered the most important by many Hindus and at least declared as that by all others. Vedas have hoary antiquity, 6,000 years at the minimum to around 1,500 BC (transmitted orally till Indians learned writing). Somewhere in-between and later is the Upanishad time. Upanishads are profound metaphysical treatises (at least for us) each explaining the view of the writer. The goal of all practices in Hinduism is performance of one's duty and engaging in righteous humane action. No deliverance/Nirvana/Moksha without that. As for Gods and Goddesses, there are many; and the adherents are at a liberty to worship many, just one, or none at all (yours faithfully is an atheist Hindu).

 

[savethedreams]

Yes, it is sure that for those who do not know Hinduism.

*waves hand* yeah over here, so please help me understand. I'm very eager here. lol

 

[Aupmanyav]

Sure, most welcome. Just begin firing.

 

[Valjean]

Specific questions welcomed, dreamer

 

[Aupmanyav]

No deliverance/Nirvana/Moksha without that.

A song in Hinduism goes like this:

"If they have served their mother and father, what if they have not bathed at a holy place,
if they have worked to help others, what if they have given money in charity by hand."

Jin mata pita ki seva ki, un tirtha snana kiyo na kiyo
jin kam kiya parmarath ka, tin hath se dan diyo na diyo

That is in short Hinduism.

 

[Sirona]

I'd describe it as a way to reach God(s) though good deeds (karma-yoga), good knowledge (jnana-yoga) and/or religious devotion (bhakti-yoga), among other ways.

You might try to get yourself a Bhagavad Gita for a start, that's where these terms are explained.

 

[Amrut]

Hinduism often gets confusing as to what it is... What are the vedas and upanishads and what is the goal of most of its practicers... I've gotten a general idea, but most 'beginners books' that obvious some westerns have written aren't very good at depicting what hinduism is.

Namaste,

I have tried to explain Hinduism here, but the article is 136+ page long. The article is available in many formats like pdf, google docs, etc

Earlier I had written a shorter article here

Hope this helps.

Hari OM

 

[Aupmanyav]

Nice article. I appreciate it.

 

[Amrut]

Nice article. I appreciate it.

Thank you
Namaste

 

[savethedreams]

Thank you
Namaste

Thanks you.

 

[Kirran]

I feel a Hindu is someone who 1) Believes in dharma, and follows it (interpretation may vary), 2) Believes in karma (interpretations varying again) and 3) Calls themselves a Hindu.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Describing Hinduism to some one got me shackled for a week.

 

[Prana Pastime]

Hinduism often gets confusing as to what it is... What are the vedas and upanishads and what is the goal of most of its practicers... I've gotten a general idea, but most 'beginners books' that obvious some westerns have written aren't very good at depicting what hinduism is.

savethedreams great thread here. I recently have been calling myself a Hindu or actually a Vaishnava. I attend a temple in America as much as I possibly can. I
have learned from devotees there that the term Hindu is actually not so accurate. It was explained to me that it arises from a mis-correct pronunciation of the term
Sindhu. There is a river in Northwest India and present Pakistan called the river Sindh. Muslims from Pakistan had encountered the people living on this river and
referred to them as Sindhus. Even in certain classic songs the word Sindhu is used more often. So Hindhus were first Sindhus but through accents in certain
languages the given pronunciation stuck. The Vedas and the Upanishads are regarded as a thorough divine revelation from the Supreme Absolute Truth called Satyam Param but This Supreme Being has many many names. Two names used very frequently that represent the Supreme Satyam Param are Visnu and Krsna. The
revered Sage who wrote the Vedas and Upanishads( I'm not sure all of them but most) was called Vyasadeva. What Hinduism actually is and what the goals are
for its practicioners might only be explained fully by living that life or faith. From what I have learned two main goals are to complete one individual souls journey
safely back home, back to godhead( Visnu or Krsna) and to achieve or maintain a highest liberation while in the world which is done by Devotional Service or Bhakti Yoga. What confuses westerners I feel is the abundance of relationships to the divine in this faith. Each person will either find it really tasteful or maybe not like it at
all. Westerners sometimes don't understand how there can be a "heaven" but also simultaneously reincarnation to earth again or another planet/world. For Vaishnavas
heaven is called Cintamani, Vaikuntha, or KrsnaLoka but there isn't really a guarantee by ones activities in life they will surely end up there. I've learned it
depends on the platform of realization one has risen to or that a individual soul stays crystalized at. If one acts in the modes of passion or ignorance too much in
there existence then they are reincarnated likely as an animal of whatever variety. Hope this clears things up somewhat.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Welcome Prana Pastime to the Hinduism forum. I saw your post in 'Introductions' but have waited for you to come here. A few points.
1. We are not called Hindus because of Pakistani Muslims, but because of ancient Iranians and Bactrians (at least before 1,000 BC). They pronounced 's' as 'h'.
2. The Chief God of Vedas is Indra. Vedas were compiled by four pupils of Sage Vyasadeva (they were not written by Sage Vyasadeva. They are eternal).
3. Apart from trying for their salvation, fulfilling their obligations in their life and engaging in righteous action also is important in Hinduism. That is called one's 'dharma'. Without fulfilling their dharma there is no salvation. The four parts (Purusharthas) of well-lived life are earning, marital sex, dharma and moksha (Artha, Kama, Dharma, Moksha).
4. Bhakti is but one way of achieving salvation, but there are others too - Karma (good acts) and Jnana (Knowledge).
5. The combination of 'bhakti' and 'dharma' guarantees salvation, there is no doubt about that.

 

[Kirran]

4. Bhakti is but one way of achieving salvation, but there are others too - Karma (good acts) and Jnana (Knowledge).

And raja yoga!

 

[Aupmanyav]

And raja yoga!

Prana Pastime is new to Hinduism. In time, he will come to know everything. At the moment Bhakti, Dharma and Bhagawat Gita. There will be suggestions from other forum members as well.

Raja Yoga is no different from the Ashtanga (Eight faceted) Yoga of Patanjali. Except for a more 'impressive' name (for those who are impressed by names, I am not), it is the same:

1. Yama (The five "abstentions"): Ahimsa (Non-violence, non-harming other living beings), Satya (truthfulness, non-falsehood), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (celibacy, fidelity to one's partner), and Aparigraha (non-avarice, non-possessiveness).
2. Niyama (The five "observances"): Śauca (purity, clearness of mind, speech and body), Santosha (contentment, acceptance of others and of one's circumstances), Tapas (persistent meditation, perseverance, austerity), Svādhyāya (study of self, self-reflection, study of Vedas), and Ishvara-Pranidhana (contemplation of God/Supreme Being/True Self).
3. Asana: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated position used for meditation.
4. Pranayama ("Suspending Breath"): Prāna, breath, "āyāma", to restrain or stop. Also interpreted as control of the life force.
5. Pratyahara ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.
6. Dharana ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object (Aup corrects it. Thought, object of meditation. You have already withdrawn the sense organ from external objects - see next, Dhyana).
7. Dhyana ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation.
8. Samadhi ("Liberation"): merging consciousness with the object of meditation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga#Yoga_Sutras_of_Patanjali

 

[Prana Pastime]

Welcome Prana Pastime to the Hinduism forum. I saw your post in 'Introductions' but have waited for you to come here. A few points.
1. We are not called Hindus because of Pakistani Muslims, but because of ancient Iranians and Bactrians (at least before 1,000 BC). They pronounced 's' as 'h'.
2. The Chief God of Vedas is Indra. Vedas were compiled by four pupils of Sage Vyasadeva (they were not written by Sage Vyasadeva. They are eternal).
3. Apart from trying for their salvation, fulfilling their obligations in their life and engaging in righteous action also is important in Hinduism. That is called one's 'dharma'. Without fulfilling their dharma there is no salvation. The four parts (Purusharthas) of well-lived life are earning, marital sex, dharma and moksha (Artha, Kama, Dharma, Moksha).
4. Bhakti is but one way of achieving salvation, but there are others too - Karma (good acts) and Jnana (Knowledge).
5. The combination of 'bhakti' and 'dharma' guarantees salvation, there is no doubt about that.

Aupmanyav, Thanks for the welcome. It is fortunate I met you who knows even more about this faith. I thought Brahma was the original created being(?) Is
Indra the same as Brahma? I have heard of Dharma. There is two definitions I know of this concept. I'm told we ( devotees) want to elevate out of the Karma
platform. Jnana is a path attractive to me because I'm naturally interested in learning and schooling. I enjoy your posts and information. Your correct I'm new
and still learning.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Thanks, Prana. There are other well-informed people in the forum also. And I hope that you will have the opportunity to interact with them. Yes, Brahma (the Creator God) and Indra (Aryan Chief God and later the Chief of Swarga, heaven) are two deities. Brahma arises out of the lotus growing from the navel of Lord Vishnu in each creation (so the story goes) and Indra is an appointment of a virtuous person to head the Swarga and its Gods). In this eon, 'manavantara' - Purandara is the Indra. In the next 'manvantara', King Mahabali of the Vamana avatara (the Dwarf) will be the Indra. That is going into the details. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manva..._Manvantara_-_the_interval_of_Vaivasvata_Manu

'Dharma' (duty) is according to the context. We have the 'dharma' to take care of our families, we have 'dharma' towards our spouses and children and they in-turn have their 'dharma' towards us. We have the 'dharma' to our nations, and we have 'dharma' towards Gods and Goddesses to worship them so that they grace us with wisdom and what all we selfish humans desire. It is a web of interactions which make life meaningful and enjoyable. More later. Regards.