Related Information to Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism

What do you know about Hinduism? Have you ever been inside a Hindu temple or witnessed a ceremony based on Hinduism religious rites?

Dictionary.com: "A diverse body of religion, philosophy, and cultural practice native to and predominant in India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a supreme being of many forms and natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of one eternal truth, and by a desire for liberation from earthly evils."

Hinduism

I have actually enjoyed the study of Hinduism and its diverse personifications. Hinduism has a unique sense of duality in that they where the first to present the idea of a trinity. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. They are respectively the creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe. Vishnu and Shiva being the primary two sides of God worshipped.

Vishnu is the face of God that is worshipped most in the CE of the world. Vishnu has said in scripture that it doesn't matter what God you worship, you are ultimately worshipping him. All gods or goddesses are ultimately only different personifications of the true God Vishnu. In essence, worshiping Jesus, or Allah, or Brahma all point to Vishnu who is the one true God, the preserving face of the trinity of God.

Most of you know the name Krishna (krishna). Krishna, as the story goes, was the incarnate of Vishnu who walked the earth in human form. He was ultimately disdespisedd thus crucified between two trees. Three days later, Krishna was no longer hung, but appeared to a town near by and told them that he was God. Krishna is one of ten incarnations, or Avatars of Vishnu. Krishna was the eight Avatar, and Buddha was the ninth. The tenth is still to come. He will come on a white horse, and Kalki, the final avatar of Vishnu, will appear in person on earth to rule an age of peace.

Well, thats a good synopsis of what I know about Hinduism and the major precepts of God. I talk about that most because our society is most interested in God, where as many eastern religions are more interested in how we are supposed to live day to day.

Hinduism Religions East of Studies

Heh, I've lived 20 out of 23 years of my life in India, am a Indian and was born and grew up in Varanasi (Kashi), a centre of Hindu culture for the last 3,000 years. It is supposed to be the oldest inhabited city in the world and is dotted with temples and history of the religion.

I could go on and on about the religion, all I'll say to keep it short is that I love Hinduism because of the 'freedom' the religion and culture hands out to those who follow (and don't follow) it.

Don't consider yourself a Hindu ? Doesn't matter. Never read one line of a Hindu text in your life ? Doesn't matter. Its the "attitude" of "not belonging anywhere" which defines the religion. Freedom of thought.

Almost every text you read down from the Vedas to the Mahabharata not just encourages, but instructs anyone who reads it to question everything, and most of all, the very words of the text. This self-criticism leads to a very open-ended idea of what a Hindu or his/her religion really is.

My father never set foot in a temple all his life, never read a text. Never prayed. When I was a kid, I asked him why.

He said: "I don't need to. I'm a Hindu."

That philosophy has stayed with me all my life. And is one which most Hindus follow, learning from the mythos around them, their parents, the people around them.

Hinduism

Eshun, so based on your explanation on what Hinduism is... then I must ask... why do they (Hindus) have temples, perform many ceremonies and traditional acts as part of Hinduism if it is not needed / necessary?

Hinduism

I think what Eshun is saying is that Hinduism doesn't require you to abide by a set of rules. You take what you want out of it.

One of the interesting things about Hinduism are all the interesting gods they have and the creative stories behind them.

Here is an example:

While I find the religion interesting, Hindus have been terrible to Sikhs, which is my mothers faith.

Indira Ghandi, the most overated leader in India's history, ordered the bombing of the Golden Temple - the Sikh's most holy place of worship. This was an unprovoked, disgusting act of tyranny. And it cost Mrs Ghandi, who is no direct relation to the great Mahatma, her life. Her Sikh bodyguard murdered her and killed himself because she had dared to attack something so sacred to his people.

Hinduism

How interesting. What I do not understand about the story above is this: If Shiva could take the head of an elephant to put on Ganesh, then why could he not just give him his own head back?

Hinduism

Something else that I have read in the Hindu scriptures helps illuminate what he is saying. According to Krishna, it doesn't matter if you worship Vishnu or not. Because all other gods are simply incarnations of Vishnu, including Allah, Yehweh, and even Christ, you are worshipping Vishnu in your own way no matter what. What ever god you hail to is just another unrevealed incarnation of Vishnu and thus you are worshipping in your own way. Since there are no set rules and no set ways to worship or what to call god, your particular choice of religion makes no difference. In the end, you will realize that you have been worshipping the true god Vishnu all along.

Hinduism Studies of East Religions

One of my best friends in Trinidad is Hindu, and while we were growing up, I would visit with him and participate in religious ceremonies both at his home and at the temple. Like Eshun has mentioned previously, Hindus will not shun or deny non-Hindus access to their temples or ceremonies; instead they embrace them. I remember spending many Divali's (hope I spelled that right) at my friend's house and helping him with the lighting of the deeyahs, and distributing food around the neighborhood. Hinduism is a very colorful and festive religion, and the stories that are generated from it are amazing. They promote peace and brotherhood, and are a far extreme from what we are currently seeing with Islam.