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What's in a name? - Hindus

Bishka

Veteran Member
I never knew this, well, I guess I did, but I'm reviewing one of my old world religion textbooks and this came up.

Did you know that the term Hindu was actually used by, not the 'Hindus' themselves, but the people that weren't Hindus?

The term Hindu was actually used by people living outside India to designate the people who lived "beyond the Indus".

I find this interesting, can anyone else tell me of a religion that was 'named' by someone not of that faith, or is it only Hindus?
 

Valjean

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Moses makes a good point, Beckysoup. Among Hindus it is currently fashionable to refer to the religion as Sanatana-dharma.

What a "Hindu" actually is is unclear.

Hinduism is a bizarre collection of disparate ideas and folklore collected from dozens of cultures over thousands of years. It has no official canon. (this is not meant as criticism, btw -- I am Hindu myself).
One scholar, in desperation, defined a "Hindu" as anyone who didn't object to the designation.

There are, however, certain core concepts that underlie the designation "Hinduism," and may be thought of as definitive.
 

Arkangel

I am Darth Vader
The persians used the word Hindu for the people who lived in the Sindu now know as Indus river region. When the Turks and other muslims invaded that region. They coined the word Hindu to all non muslims. And the British and west just stuck with the word and named religion as Hinduism.

The real name for their religion is sanantana-dharma. You should know your history before you make any statements. The name India to is not given by Indians but the west. Earlier the Romans and Greeks named Indus valley region as India and everything beyond became India automatically. So just because you call their religion Hindu that does not mean that they do the same. They have their own language and their culture and religion is far older than any in the west. So do not be so shocked if you learn things from some old world religion books written in the west.

When no american can speak their language properly how do you or anyone who writes books on them understand their culture let alone their religion. So do not assume that what you read in books published in english by english to be true.:banghead3
 

Arkangel

I am Darth Vader
Seyorni said:
Moses makes a good point, Beckysoup. Among Hindus it is currently fashionable to refer to the religion as Sanatana-dharma.
It is not just currently fashionable, when the first world religious conference was held early in the 20th century. Swami Vevakananda used the word Sanatana-dharma for Hindusim. It is not something new. The name is as old as the religion but not many outside religion knew it untill now when most indians want to break completely from their colonial past. They prefer using the name sanatana-dharma.

Seyorni said:
What a "Hindu" actually is is unclear..
It means Sindu. The persians cant pronounce Sindu in their language.

Seyorni said:
Hinduism is a bizarre collection of disparate ideas and folklore collected from dozens of cultures over thousands of years. It has no official canon. (this is not meant as criticism, btw -- I am Hindu myself).
One scholar, in desperation, defined a "Hindu" as anyone who didn't object to the designation..
It is true to most part but sanatana-dharma has a official canon and they are called the Vedas and Bagavad-Gita or better know as Gita. I think you do not know any Indian language (this is just my guess but could be wrong:) so if you are from India my appoligies) since you have no idea of their history and culture.

Not much is known about the Indian culture in the west because their is no effort by any to study it. A big part about learning the culture and religion is in learning the language. But by that i mean not like learning spanish to get extra grades but learning to think in it.

Seyorni said:
There are, however, certain core concepts that underlie the designation "Hinduism," and may be thought of as definitive.
There is nothing definitive in the word Hindusim. It is a name given by the British and not mentioned in any of the Vedas or the Gita.

Hope this is useful in expanding your knowledge in on sanatana-dhrama :)
You dont have to be of that religion to learn more about it but just respect for the people who follow it is enough to teach you more about it.
 

Bishka

Veteran Member
Whoa. Okay, I was just stating something. Can I do that without getting 'yelled' at? I am not dumb, please don't treat me as such.
 

mr.guy

crapsack
I don't think anyone's "yelling" becks (mostly), just letting you know that the definition of hindu is somewhat contested, and occasionally contemporarily (re-)definded. I'm curious how modern hindus distinguish themselves from vedics, if they do at all by and large.
 

Bishka

Veteran Member
mr.guy said:
I don't think anyone's "yelling" becks (mostly), just letting you know that the definition of hindu is somewhat contested, and occasionally contemporarily (re-)definded. I'm curious how modern hindus distinguish themselves from vedics, if they do at all by and large.

Thanks Mr. Guy. I was just posting what I found to be a defintion of Hindu.
 

mr.guy

crapsack
One of the definitions i've gotten occasionally is that "hindu" can be considered synonymous (for all intents and purposes) with
"spiritual being".
 

Arkangel

I am Darth Vader
beckysoup61 said:
Whoa. Okay, I was just stating something. Can I do that without getting 'yelled' at? I am not dumb, please don't treat me as such.
I was not yelling at you. I know you are not dumb and i did not treat you as such. I am sorry if my post seem to make you look dumb. Please accept my appoliges :)
 

Bishka

Veteran Member
Arkangel said:
I was not yelling at you. I know you are not dumb and i did not treat you as such. I am sorry if my post seem to make you look dumb. Please accept my appoliges :)
Sorry. Shouldn't have gotten all uptight, it's not your fault. I'm just taking what I've read out of a book that I trust.
 

Arkangel

I am Darth Vader
beckysoup61 said:
Sorry. Shouldn't have gotten all uptight, it's not your fault. I'm just taking what I've read out of a book that I trust.
I am sorry you read the wrong book.
 

mr.guy

crapsack
I think what he means is that most western books tend to put a tidy definition on what's really a hugely diverse religion and/or system/perception; it sometimes seems like a marginalization, i suppose.
 

Valjean

Veteran Member
Premium Member
I don't see how this dispute is particularly productive. We all know pretty much what we're referring to.

Reminds me of the dispute between the terms (American) Indian, Native American and First Nations.
 
:cool: So i see some people have come back to there senses around here,oh beckysoup61 i did not mean to yell at you, it was just the statement you made seemed a little limited in knowlegde mabe that was not your intension but it came off that way,arkangel......oh so who are you, your statements againts seynori were a little harsh don't you think.....the statement i made was merely emphised on his part your technicalitys are not nessary,alas...your ego must be gone as well, seynori i look forward to your future posts enlighten me..!Knockout
 

anders

Well-Known Member
Arkangel said:
It is true to most part but sanatana-dharma has a official canon and they are called the Vedas and Bagavad-Gita or better know as Gita.
Change "a official canon" to something like "texts that most adherent find holy" and I'll believe you. Can you provide a link to anything that says "official canon", and why don't you include for example the Upanishads? Some, I think, would include Ramayana as well.
 

Jyothi

Member
i think what you are saying is true beckysoup61.

the hindus didnt name themselves hindus - all the other people of the world named them so for being residents of the indus riverbank - the sindhu river bank rather as indus is a greek version of sindhu (a pronunciation problem).

it is very similar the chinese were called so because of the Chin emperor that first united china. they never called themselves chinese. in india chinese are called cheens.

sanatana dharma - well sanatana means eternal. Dharma is a word originating from Dhri or to hold together. so sanatana dharma means one that eternally holds together or the universal tradition. so for a hindu, everyone else is a hindu - only the degrees vary...

did that ring a bell ...................... wellll
 
:149: Oh jyothi i understand your point but your talking from a outside perpective of the nations or cultures that percived them but internality tha people had a name for themselves regardless of what outsiders of evil intent may have called them, or good intent for tha matter also, how do you recken that to hindus everyone else is hindu that is a statement that impelys you have very limited knowlegde in this subject and should quietly think before you make your post....(no disrepect) many blessing to you.Knockout
 

Jyothi

Member
Moses the God Archetype* said:
:149: Oh jyothi i understand your point but your talking from a outside perpective of the nations or cultures that percived them but internality tha people had a name for themselves regardless of what outsiders of evil intent may have called them, or good intent for tha matter also, how do you recken that to hindus everyone else is hindu that is a statement that impelys you have very limited knowlegde in this subject and should quietly think before you make your post....(no disrepect) many blessing to you.Knockout

hahahaha maybe i dont have much knwoledge - but what do i now do about the religion i imbibed since i was a newborn, the temples i visited, the stories my mother grand mother et al told me, the 3 years i spent in veda school learning 3 vedas. the countless hours i spent with my father and his friends debating the upanishads in a vedic college.

well maybe i dont know enough - please educate me .....
 
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