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Ask Madhuri a Question about Hinduism
- Thread starter Madhuri
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Anybody can reply to this query
The reason for different answers is because there are different religions within Hinduism. Hinduism is not one single religion.
Most Hindu religions would be against the idea of people showing off their body in public. Vedic scriptures tell us that lust can lead to our downfall. If wearing short skirts creates lust, it is not spiritually recommendable .
However there are no strict rules in Hinduism. One must always consider the context we live in. What is 'immodest' in one culture is 'modest' in another culture. What might create lust on one place will not in another.
Hinduism is more about principle than rule. As lust can bring downfall, we should act to avoid making ourselves and others lustful. But the way we do this changes over time and place. That is why there is no actual rule for 'do not wear this or that'.
I hope that makes sense.
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jasonwill2
Well-Known Member
I think the term "Left Hand Path" comes from the word "Vamachara" which is extreme heterodox practices.
Surya Deva
Well-Known Member
The Vamachara is a branch of Tantra literally means Left Hand Path i.e., it is heterodox approach to liberation. One of the practices practiced is known as panchamakara where the practitioners ritually indulges in 5 vices or taboos; meat, fish, parched grain, wine and sexual intercourse. This is different to the right hand type of spirituality practiced in India at the time.
Relatively though these practices are not that extreme, but I do know that more extreme practices were done by different sects. This include drinking blood from human skulls, animal and human sacrifice, cannibalism, incest, bestiality, ritual group sex, black magic. These however do not have any scriptural support and are not supported by the vast majority of Hinduism, or even the majority of the Tantra tradition. Such tantriks are considered evil and dangerous.
The practices of the left hand are designed to break taboos, shock ones system, beliefs and prejudices and to also transcend desires. A more modern, safer and legal way of practicing left hand path is shown by Osho. In fact one can form their own left hand practices by identifying which taboos they are afraid to break and which desires they want to work on.
Relatively though these practices are not that extreme, but I do know that more extreme practices were done by different sects. This include drinking blood from human skulls, animal and human sacrifice, cannibalism, incest, bestiality, ritual group sex, black magic. These however do not have any scriptural support and are not supported by the vast majority of Hinduism, or even the majority of the Tantra tradition. Such tantriks are considered evil and dangerous.
The practices of the left hand are designed to break taboos, shock ones system, beliefs and prejudices and to also transcend desires. A more modern, safer and legal way of practicing left hand path is shown by Osho. In fact one can form their own left hand practices by identifying which taboos they are afraid to break and which desires they want to work on.
jasonwill2
Well-Known Member
One example I was given of the most extreme being along the lines of meditating on the corpse of a body, nibbling on some of it before throwing it in the fire, then covering yourself in the ashes of the dead.
Naturally my reaction was :areyoucra as I realized that even the most hardcore Satanists have nothing on that.
Surya Deva
Well-Known Member
Sound like an Aghori. Look up Aghori if you don't know already.
Well, in this part of Europe, people are not really perverts and they dont care how less a woman is dressed. In fact most of the girls here do dress little in summer. And I personally like it, more for the feminity than any sexual feeling. Yes, people do get attracted seeing women dress in less clothes, but if they dont react and keep it in themselves (as they do here), I think its good and healthy, because that proves that a woman has good feminity.
paarsurrey
Veteran Member
I think there should be equality among men and women as far as the dress code is concerned.
A women is equally beautiful and shows feminity if she is dressed in a sari or long maxi or in kurta-shalwar-dupatta.
Women in the Victorian era were equally beautiful, in my opinion.
chaitanya2106
New Member
Madhuri Ji,
How old is our religion? Who wrote Bhagavad Gita? What is our proof that somebody wrote it? Can anyone say that in confidence that "Yes, Bhagavad Gita is written by XYZ?"
Why is our religion so much divided (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, etc)?
I see people worship Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva. I, myself, believe in every God but I try my best to say "Om Namah Shivay" at least once everyday.... But why I don't see anyone worship Lord Brahma? Isn't Lord Brahma a part of Hindu Trimurti?
How old is our religion? Who wrote Bhagavad Gita? What is our proof that somebody wrote it? Can anyone say that in confidence that "Yes, Bhagavad Gita is written by XYZ?"
Why is our religion so much divided (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, etc)?
I see people worship Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva. I, myself, believe in every God but I try my best to say "Om Namah Shivay" at least once everyday.... But why I don't see anyone worship Lord Brahma? Isn't Lord Brahma a part of Hindu Trimurti?
Surya Deva
Well-Known Member
If you don't mind I will answer this question, and Maduri can answer it as well. (I had a thread very similar to this in the past: "Hinduism: Ask your questions")
How old is Hinduism? Hinduism is approx 10,000 years old going back to the Indus valley culture. The dating of the Vedas by astronomical, geological and archaeological data place the Vedas around 7000 to 8000BCE. However, even if we do not accept this date and go with the rather arbitrary date of 1500BCE assigned by early indologists, the various traditions of Hinduism are still continuous with the Indus valley civilization. It is fair to say Hinduism is the oldest living religion in the world.
Who wrote Bhagvad Gita? According to traditional and religious dating the Bhagvad Gita was a part of the Mahabharata, and was dictated by the eternal Ved Vyasa and transcribed by the god Ganesha. This is obviously mythological, the scholarly consensus is that the Gita was written by some anonymous authors, from perhaps the early Vaishnavist tradition and then inserted into the Mahabharata.
The religion of Hinduism is divided because it is a 10,000 year old tradition and over 10,000 years it has fragmented into thousands and thousands of sects. It is also due to the fact that Hinduism celebrates diversity, and this attitude can be found in the Vedas itself, "The wise call the one, by many names, they call it Indra, Mitra, Varuna etc" The Vedic religion developed this philosophy of the one existing as innumerable manifestations. Then in the Upanishads the idea of Brahman was formulated as both transcendental and immanent, leading to the notion that all was Brahman, trees were Brahman, sun was Brahman, sky was Brahman, there was nothing that was not Brahman. This is why Hindus worship pretty much everything from rivers, trees to mountains, and even animals.
One of the concepts to emerge from the Upanishads was also the idea that Brahman sustains, preserves and destroys the universe, this was later formulated in post-Upanishadic times as the dogma as Trimuti(Brahman, Vishnu and Shiva) and this lead to the various sects, those that worshiped Brahma, those that worshiped Vishnu and those that worshiped Shiva, and later sects formed that worshiped the divine mother(although goddess worship maybe traced as far as back as the Indus Valley period)
Why is Brahma not worshiped? According to traditional dogma Brahman is not worshiped because Brahma was cursed or became arrogant, or something like this. The actual truth is probably because the sects of Brahma did not take off, in the same way the sects of Vaishnavism and Shiavism did. Vaishnavism was the most powerful sect, forming into a religious like tradition very similar to Christianity, with Krishna as their beloved saviour. The worship of Krishna was very strong among the Indian people, and because of the Gita Krishna became very famous and was treated like god-incarnate. Unlike Jesus, the character Krishna in the Gita claims to be THE God.
Shiviaism took off, because Shivaism is one the oldest religious traditions of India, going back to the Indus times. It has been more prevalent in South India.
PS Hope you don't mind Madhuri
How old is Hinduism? Hinduism is approx 10,000 years old going back to the Indus valley culture. The dating of the Vedas by astronomical, geological and archaeological data place the Vedas around 7000 to 8000BCE. However, even if we do not accept this date and go with the rather arbitrary date of 1500BCE assigned by early indologists, the various traditions of Hinduism are still continuous with the Indus valley civilization. It is fair to say Hinduism is the oldest living religion in the world.
Who wrote Bhagvad Gita? According to traditional and religious dating the Bhagvad Gita was a part of the Mahabharata, and was dictated by the eternal Ved Vyasa and transcribed by the god Ganesha. This is obviously mythological, the scholarly consensus is that the Gita was written by some anonymous authors, from perhaps the early Vaishnavist tradition and then inserted into the Mahabharata.
The religion of Hinduism is divided because it is a 10,000 year old tradition and over 10,000 years it has fragmented into thousands and thousands of sects. It is also due to the fact that Hinduism celebrates diversity, and this attitude can be found in the Vedas itself, "The wise call the one, by many names, they call it Indra, Mitra, Varuna etc" The Vedic religion developed this philosophy of the one existing as innumerable manifestations. Then in the Upanishads the idea of Brahman was formulated as both transcendental and immanent, leading to the notion that all was Brahman, trees were Brahman, sun was Brahman, sky was Brahman, there was nothing that was not Brahman. This is why Hindus worship pretty much everything from rivers, trees to mountains, and even animals.
One of the concepts to emerge from the Upanishads was also the idea that Brahman sustains, preserves and destroys the universe, this was later formulated in post-Upanishadic times as the dogma as Trimuti(Brahman, Vishnu and Shiva) and this lead to the various sects, those that worshiped Brahma, those that worshiped Vishnu and those that worshiped Shiva, and later sects formed that worshiped the divine mother(although goddess worship maybe traced as far as back as the Indus Valley period)
Why is Brahma not worshiped? According to traditional dogma Brahman is not worshiped because Brahma was cursed or became arrogant, or something like this. The actual truth is probably because the sects of Brahma did not take off, in the same way the sects of Vaishnavism and Shiavism did. Vaishnavism was the most powerful sect, forming into a religious like tradition very similar to Christianity, with Krishna as their beloved saviour. The worship of Krishna was very strong among the Indian people, and because of the Gita Krishna became very famous and was treated like god-incarnate. Unlike Jesus, the character Krishna in the Gita claims to be THE God.
Shiviaism took off, because Shivaism is one the oldest religious traditions of India, going back to the Indus times. It has been more prevalent in South India.
PS Hope you don't mind Madhuri
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chaitanya2106
New Member
Does Hinduism, in any form, allow Homosexuality?
Gay marriages are allowed in India but on a religious note, could a Hindu man turn Gay or is it against the , say, "nature"?
Gay marriages are allowed in India but on a religious note, could a Hindu man turn Gay or is it against the , say, "nature"?
Homosexuality is neither allowed nor disallowed. There are places in texts where it is discouraged but never severely. But mostly it is not talked about.
I know many gay Hindus but a person is always either gay, bisexual or heterosexual.
One thing that is definitely discouraged in Hinduism is sex for the sake of sex. Lust leads to our spiritual downfall. But sex in a committed loving relationship is fine.
chaitanya2106
New Member
Yes, personal experience tells me that is very true
.On a more personal note:
Whom should one turn to or follow or revere or simply what should one do in order to concentrate on good things (in my case studies) because I keep getting attracted towards negativity & stuck in the dark web of depression.
What kind of negativity?
chaitanya2106
New Member
Spending too much time on computer, watching, reading baseless things, rather than focusing on career. It's like I am not in control of my mind. I am loosing the will to make a career everyday. I am aware that I am in a crucial stage (Aged 24) but I can't seem to control my actions.
Holy cow you just reflected my own situation!
This is exactly what I am going through and...I'm also 24 :cover:
It seems I can't help you in this as I have the same problem.
paarsurrey
Veteran Member
You both should just fix a timetable for doing things; the try doing accordingly and also pray to the one true attributive creator God to help you out; whatever is your concept of Him and whatever way you may call Him; ask Him or Her for guidance; He or She has no gender; gender is relevant only to the things created.
This is my opinion.
chaitanya2106
New Member
Thanks parasurrey...
Madhuri Ji, I dnt knw but i feel amusingly relieved aftr thinking tht im nt alone
Madhuri Ji, I dnt knw but i feel amusingly relieved aftr thinking tht im nt alone