Being a Hindu means realizing that there is no one single path leading to God and thus accepting that each and every individual has a right to practice and propagate their beliefs in his/her own way. That there are 330 million Gods & Deities (and counting) just go to underline the unparalleled acceptance of diversity in the traditional Hindu culture. Arguably, in pre-independent India, the divine figures exceeded the number of Hindus!
Being a Hindu does not, in any way, restrict any one to fold one's hands and pray at Ajmer Shariff with the same reverence as one would pray at Vaishno Devi. Believing in Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha & Krishna at the same time is not a scandal in this religion but a sign of maturity.
Being a Hindu means understanding that Agnostics & Atheists form an integral part of mankind and benefiting from them by reflecting upon their views of the world and its mechanics.
Being a Hindu means having the freedom to reject all established rituals & customs, yet respect the people who follow the same. There is no such apparent advantage in Hindu religion for priests following all the rituals vis-a-vis the 'grihasthya' (family person) busy in his/her daily chores with no time for God. Unlike some school teachers who give more marks to students excelling in buttering (chaplusi, makhanbazi), God is supposed to see right through such tantrums.
Being a Hindu means believing in the primacy of 'Karma', taking control of your destiny by action. Hinduism does not promise salvation by just believing and practising the religion. Salvation comes only through your actions. Apparently, nobody, not even Brahma (the creator God) has the power to change & rewrite your destiny. Its only you.
Being a Hindu does not necessitate having any intermediary between yourself and your God. As you can have your own God and you can be the first person believing in that God, you have to create your own path. Yet at the same time, you cannot judge other intermediaries nor the people following them. Commanding respect for one's own opinion starts with giving respect to others'.
Being a Hindu means appreciating that 'God exists in each one of us' and none of us can be designated as higher or lower by virtue of our births. It is for this reason that the caste system in its present form is totally antithetical to this religion and must be uprooted by all force by all people Hindu. The so-called Hindu organizations and Hindu mouthpieces would do a huge service to the religion and its followers if they were to work towards the obliteration of caste system.
Being a Hindu means having the freedom to question everything, from a written book to a priest's dictate. But it also implies responsibility to follow one's 'Dharma' as deemed right by oneself.
Hinduism is excruciatingly federal. There is no central authority, no designated custodian. It lives among the individuals and the families. It is this inherent federalism that enabled this ancient religion to stand the test of time through the thick and thin.
This religion has been put to test today by its lunatic fringe. This fringe kills people and rapes women. It does all this in the name of Hindus. Would the Hindus let this group have its say and make a mockery of whatever they believe in? I sincerely hope not.
A number of enlightened Hindus project themselves as secularists. This usually means turning a blind eye to the grievances of Hindus. This provides a ready made playing ground for the lunatic fringe. It is time the enlightened Hindus took the centre stage and asserted their Hindu identity, if only to save their own religion from the clutches of the lunatic fringe. It is time for Hinduism to produce the next Vivekananda.
Have a great and prosperous Dipawali!
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7 comments:
Good Description of the Hindu religion.
Are these your own views or are they influenced by the teachings of
other scholars or both ?
If its other scholars who are they?
I guess it does not matter ...
Karthik R
At the risk of sounding like one of those stupid pseudo-secularist communists: Isn't this a glorified version of Hinduism ?
In its original state, Hinduism was supposed to be all of these. Unfortunately tyrannical Brahminism has all but finished off all of them.
I do agree, that those who kill in the name of my religion should be brought to book. I do not want THEM to be associated with the religion I believe in.
@Karthik,
These are my views, but ofcourse heavily influenced by what I read and analyse about ancient India and its culture. Among the scholars, I would mention Swami Vivekananda, Kabir's sayings & Gandhi.
@Spiderman
You dont sound like a pseudo-secularist communist coz you speak the truth.
What I wrote is not the glorified version but the basic unadultered version. I dont even intend to glorify Hinduism or pronounce that its better than other religions. That would be so un-Hindu like. Yes, vested interests have made a mockery of the religion over the ages. Thats all the more reason to put up a concerted fight in our own small ways.
"Being a Hindu means realizing that there is no one single path leading to God and thus accepting that each and every individual has a right to practice and propagate their beliefs in his/her own way"
and that, my friend, is exactly what the lunatics are using: to say "killing people is my way of reaching my God"...
sad but true... opposing them is basic humanity, and has nothing to do with Hinduism, Christianity or Islam...
When you say 'basic humanity', that is also subject to different interpretations by different groups going by your own logic. Basic humanity may mean 'peace for all' or 'an eye for an eye' depending on which version you believe in.
The article is written in the belief that there are more people, following their religions in their true sense than the lunatics. These followers must speak up if they dont want their religion to be hijacked.
Until I reached the penultimate paragraph, I felt the heading should have been "Not Being a
Hindu" ... but then realized it's utter agony of a true Hindu who understands that there
are lot to be done and still little can we do to salvage our lost glory.
But as you rightly said, everything that seems to be portrayed for the sake of it is "un-hindu" like. So is this article. Lashing your own religion perhaps won't help get the
glories of Vivekananda or Gandhi back. Part of those of our brethren who are already
agitated or diverted from the true paths of Hinduism, censuring them will lead to further ignorance and vandalism.
I would love another article to follow it which, neither secular nor pseudo-secular way, will encourage a common man of any religion to be like a Hindu. There are very few people today who dare in today's democratic India to utter that he or she is a Hindu. You are one of those (not barring your short stint abroad). All the very best.
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