Hindu Help

Re: Hindu Help
i'll try to answer your questions.



I feel where I am in the States there are a lot of misconceptions.
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here in india too... so no big surprise that.


For example, the polytheism issue. Just recently I read a comment that stated there are many different gods in Hinduism; however, my understanding was that there is only the one god.
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one god. 330 million manifestations.

And it's just that there are different paths to the god, called yogas, such as through love or knowledge.
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3 paths - that of knowledge, action and devotion

And that one doesn't actually pray to statues, but that they are a physical reminder to turn your thoughts to god. Like spiritual post-it notes.
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its called iconatory. its like an embassy. if you considered the indian embassy in usa to be india - then thats idolatory. if you considered the embassy to represent india - thats iconatory.

But it is certainly possible that I am wrong, probable even.
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quite right so far.

Which is why I would value your help. The little I know comes from reading about Gandhi and Indian history.
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both of whch can teach you little about hinduism.

I was hoping someone might comment on how life as a practicing Hindu.
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we dont practice or follow hinduism. the bell curve thats the hindu way of life follows about 1 billion people.

What is the basis for the dietary laws regarding meat?
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there are no laws. its suggested though that pious hindus and all brahmins shun meat. i am a beef eating hindu.

How would a Hindu feel about contemporary hot-topics, such as homosexuality or evolution?
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homosexuality was well known to hindus and isnt given any stick. evolution? these are the Avatars (incarnations) of Vishnu - the manifestation of god that preserves life -

matsya/fish - marine life
kurma/ tortoise - amphibian
vahara/boar - animal
narasimha/man-lion - very primitive humanoid - halh man half animal
vamana/dwarf - pygmy
parshuram (man with an axe) - early hunter man
Raam - ideal man (deified real historical person)
Krishna- super man ( do)
Buddha - enlightened man (do)
kalki - yet to come - redeemer of good values


How much of hinduism is intertwined with culture?
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hindu culture = culture of the hindu people (people on the eastern side of river sindhu)
hinduism = whats in the Ved (not Vedas), which is itself a snapshot of hindu culture, beliefs and values back then. no tenets, no doctrine. advice and suggestions are given. we can interpret it anyway we like and live according to which ever of those we feel like, ignoring the rest.

Thanks for your reply, Brahmin.

This might seem like an simple question to you, but I was wondering what you like and/or dislike about being Hindu?

What do you think are the benefits of following the hindu way of life?

What unique qualities have allowed it to thrive for so long?

Thanks for your reply, Brahmin.

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welcome

This might seem like an simple question to you, but I was wondering what you like and/or dislike about being Hindu?

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what i hate - that the hinduism we see today is nothing like it used to be. most of what i see is superstition, blind devotion, meaninigless ritual - instead of theology, scripture and mythology.

what i like is hindu philosophy, wisdom, some scripture.



What do you think are the benefits of following the hindu way of life?
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a "you are ok i am ok" attitude. which comes from the fact that hinduism isnt a "one size fits all" kind of religion and no 2 hindus are alike.



What unique qualities have allowed it to thrive for so long?
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resilience as a people.
and more importantly the fact that a hindu is a hindu not because of what he believes or does ... but because he IS a hindu.

One God, several manifestations? I heard from an Indian that the one God issue was a modern fabrication created after the influence of Christianity on India. I know the Hindu rejection of homosexuality was heavily influenced by Christianity....

hindu rejection of homosexuality (despite many stories in hindu/sanskrit literature having references to homosezuality) is due to influence of victorian england.


as for one god many manifestations - its always been around. under colonials when missionaries used to prowl every street in india (and do even today - india has the maximum number of missies in the world), what was done is to repackage and show hindusim as strictly monotheistic - so that the missies wont be able to point a finger. brilliant move and one of the reasons why christianity had few takers in india.