Hindu?

[Confused22]

Hey guys I'm a little confused so maybe you guys can help me out. I've always thought I was just a follower of Hinduism but after seeing this site and realizing all the different sects I'm not sure where I belong. I attempted to read each and put myself in one but it seems as I overlap into some. So heres some things about me and maybe you guys can "categorize" me.
I believe in reincarnation, I'm a vegetarian, I believe/pray to every god, I go to the Iskcon Rath Yatra every year and chant the Hare Krishna Mantra all the time, I also go to my local temple and chant Shiva's Mantras, as well as the Devis, Ganesh and Hanuman, I never really gave one god "more importance." Does one have be part of a sect? What is that I'm praying for now? Enlightment? That's what I thought I was attempting to achieve. Any responses would be appreciated..and I apologize for not quite reading through the forum well I'm sure I would have confused myself even more.

 

[kaisersose]

You are fine as you are. It is not the case that you have to belong to a sect to be a Hindu.

Most Hindus worship multiple Gods. Lakshmi for wealth, Ganesh for wisdom, luck, Saraswati for learning...the list is long.

 

[Milind2469]

Hey guys I'm a little confused so maybe you guys can help me out. I've always thought I was just a follower of Hinduism but after seeing this site and realizing all the different sects I'm not sure where I belong. I attempted to read each and put myself in one but it seems as I overlap into some. So heres some things about me and maybe you guys can "categorize" me.
I believe in reincarnation, I'm a vegetarian, I believe/pray to every god, I go to the Iskcon Rath Yatra every year and chant the Hare Krishna Mantra all the time, I also go to my local temple and chant Shiva's Mantras, as well as the Devis, Ganesh and Hanuman, I never really gave one god "more importance." Does one have be part of a sect? What is that I'm praying for now? Enlightment? That's what I thought I was attempting to achieve. Any responses would be appreciated..and I apologize for not quite reading through the forum well I'm sure I would have confused myself even more.

I will tell you something that is based on traditions right here in India.

Every Hindu is not a Sadhu/ Sanyasi who is on the path to God realisation.

As a normal Hindu who is in a Gruhastashram you are doing just fine.

I am just like you!

 

[Valjean]

Why the craving for a pigeonhole?

 

[Satsangi]

I never really gave one god "more importance." Does one have be part of a sect? What is that I'm praying for now? Enlightment? That's what I thought I was attempting to achieve. Any responses would be appreciated..and I apologize for not quite reading through the forum well I'm sure I would have confused myself even more.

Why do you need to "categorize"? You are fine as you are. One day you will find yourself drifting towards one form of God more than others- that is your "IshtaDeva". My recommendation is to pray for whatever you want from Him- the best prayer is to pray for His happiness though, in my opinion.

Regards,

 

[Kuvalya_Dharmasindhu]

Namaste!

Hinduism allows us the opportunity to find our own way within the Sanatana Dharma. If i were you, i'd focus less on categorizing yourself and just continue what you are doing.

I myself adore Lord Vishnu/Narayana which includes the Divine Mother as Lakshmi. Still, i revere all forms of Divinity and find myself to be at best in between that of a Vishishtadvaitin and an Advaitin--despite my being a Vishnu Bhakta. So, i don't fit neatly into any one category either. Just be you, love the aspects of God you love and try to see them in everything. You are well on your way to enlightenment, dear friend!

*Pranam*

 

[Surya Deva]

Confused,

You do not have to believe in a god to be a Hindu. You simply have to accept and practice its core tenets: dharma, karma, yoga, atman, brahman, veda. It is interesting to note, that none of the Hindu schools of philosophy accept a personal god. Nyaya-Vaiseshika posit a cosmic intelligence as the ultimate being, Samkhya-Yoga posit a supreme self as the ultimate being; Mimasa posits dharma as the ultimate being and Vedanta posit an ultimate reality. These are all different views of an abstract and impersonal god. In the Vedas, there is a similar abstract formulation of god as the ONE out of which the MANY issue.

Depending on the view of god you take out of the above you will understand what you need to do as a Hindu. If you accept god as the cosmic intelligence, then you must live intelligently and cultivate your intelligence(buddhi) in order to form a clear view of reality. If you accept god as the self, then you must live in order to attain self-realization. If you accept god as dharma, then you must live in harmony with the laws of nature. If you accept god as ultimate reality, then you must strive to develop discernment of the ultimate reality.

If you cannot work with the abstract concept of god, then Hinduism also allows you to temporarily accept a personal god. Then you must strive with unwaivering devotion to attain your chosen personal god.

Hinduism is a religion that is based on the needs of the human. In Hinduism the human takes centre stage. The aim is fulfill every need of the human(artha, kama, dharma, moksha) to ultimately take the human to its divine nature.

 

[Onkara]

I agree with the excellent answers above and suggest you embrace it all as Brahman.
Enlightenment is fine, if that is already what you really want. Consider the philosophy of Vedanta too. Alternatively you can live to serve God. There is no reason to be limited or to feel that you cannot change. I see change as being God's will.

 

[Madhuri]

Hey guys I'm a little confused so maybe you guys can help me out. I've always thought I was just a follower of Hinduism but after seeing this site and realizing all the different sects I'm not sure where I belong. I attempted to read each and put myself in one but it seems as I overlap into some. So heres some things about me and maybe you guys can "categorize" me.
I believe in reincarnation, I'm a vegetarian, I believe/pray to every god, I go to the Iskcon Rath Yatra every year and chant the Hare Krishna Mantra all the time, I also go to my local temple and chant Shiva's Mantras, as well as the Devis, Ganesh and Hanuman, I never really gave one god "more importance." Does one have be part of a sect? What is that I'm praying for now? Enlightment? That's what I thought I was attempting to achieve. Any responses would be appreciated..and I apologize for not quite reading through the forum well I'm sure I would have confused myself even more.

You may just be Eclectic

Tell me, which path of Yoga do you follow? Bhakti/Devotion? Are you more focussed on meditation (Raja)? The acquisition of knowledge (Jnana)? Or actions (karma)?
Do you focus more on Vishnu, Krishna, Shiva or Shakti?

Do you believe that we are separate from or part of God?
Do you follow more a personal idea of God (Bhagavan) or an impersonal idea (Brahman)?

Basically, identify your beliefs about reality, the goal of your spiritual practice and how you plan to achieve that goal, and you can then try to identify which school you most closely resemble.

But keep in mind, it's perfectly valid to follow your own unique path. I think that Sanatan Dharma shows us that this is quite normal and acceptable!

 

[Confused22]

Thank you all for the great, informative answers! I'm not even exactly sure what I believe, it was always do what your parents said pray cause it was the right thing to do never wondered about as to what I was doing or why until recently. I hope I'm not missing the point but is it possible to have a personal and impersonal idea of god?

 

[Surya Deva]

I hope I'm not missing the point but is it possible to have a personal and impersonal idea of god?

Yes, the god concept simply refers to an absolute truth. This absolute truth can be the absolute truth of the self(Atman) or the absolute truth of the world(Brahman) If you leave god as just the absolute then you have an impersonal concept of god. As soon as you start interpreting this absolute as a almighty personal being, then you have a personal concept of god.

I personally recommend you do away with personal gods and stick to the mysterious absolute. Any personal concept of god can prove to be a hindrance. Stick with Nirguna Brahman. Remember the great Vedic sayings: Ayam atma brahma(My soul is Brahman) Prajnana brahma(consciousness is Brahman) Aham brahmasmi('I' is Brahman) amd Tat tvam asi(the microcosm is the macrocosm) You will find the mysterious absolute within the depths of your self. Go within and keep going until you find it.

 

[Riverwolf]

Thank you all for the great, informative answers! I'm not even exactly sure what I believe, it was always do what your parents said pray cause it was the right thing to do never wondered about as to what I was doing or why until recently. I hope I'm not missing the point but is it possible to have a personal and impersonal idea of god?

Have you read the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna?

 

[Confused22]

Thanks Surya, and no river I dont believe I have.

 

[Onkara]

Thank you all for the great, informative answers! I'm not even exactly sure what I believe, it was always do what your parents said pray cause it was the right thing to do never wondered about as to what I was doing or why until recently. I hope I'm not missing the point but is it possible to have a personal and impersonal idea of god?

Yes, in my opinion it is possible to have both a personal and impersonal idea of God and I can explain my rationale for my perspective.

What makes a personal God(s):
Characteristics such as those we see in humans and the world around us. For example: love, chastisement, form, name and location.

Now Brahman is said to be absolute and beyond those characteristics. Brahman however is all encompassing, complete, one without a second. That means by definition of the terms "complete and all encompassing" to include humans and human characteristics such as love, anger etc.

Likewise how can Brahman be complete but not include personal characteristics we observe in the universe. To suggest Brahman does not or cannot have something, such as characteristics, is to impose an limitation on a limitless Brahman/God. It cannot hold.

So I say yes, Brahman is both personal and impersonal.
Characteristics, such as we see in humans and read in the puranas are as much a part of Brahman as anything else that we encounter. Therefore, we can come to know Brahman/God through personal characteristics but not limited to them. We must recognise that Brahman can, by its omnipotence and omnipresence, be both personal and beyond the personal and we should ideal keep that in mind when dealing with the Hindu pantheon and in our daily lives.

There is no duality.

 

[Surya Deva]

Likewise how can Brahman be complete but not include personal characteristics we observe in the universe. To suggest Brahman does not or cannot have something, such as characteristics, is to impose an limitation on a limitless Brahman/God. It cannot hold.

An interesting viewpoint. I would argue, though, that to say the infinite is not finite is not imposing a limtiation on the infinite, but simply stating a tautology. Similarly, everything we observe is finite, including personal characteristics, therefore to state that Brahman is not any of those is not all imposing a limitation on Brahman, but simply stating a tautology.

There are two ways of approaching this: ontologically or ontically. Thomas Aquinas argues ontologically that god is love, but this is not love that is identical to human love, but love that is only like human love, but not human love. It is qualitiatively different. Another theologian, Scotus argues ontically that god's love is identical to to human love qualitiatively, but only quantitatively different. His love is infinite and a mortals love is finite.

There is a problem in both arguments. To say that god is love, but not our kind of love is begging the question. What exactly is love that is not our kind of love? In the case of Scotus, if there is only a quantitative difference, then there should be a finite gap between our love and god's love. Then how can god's love be infinite?

The best approach is simply to leave god alone as the mysterious absolute and work with this mysterious absolute. Even our Vedic Risis humbled themselves to this fact when they talked of the ONE, who knows or may not know.

 

[Onkara]

Thanks for some interesting feedback, Surya Deva.
You hit the nail on its head when you say "The best approach" as the question on how to approach Hinduism is indeed what our friend is hoping to better understand. A point I would like to add is flexibility and recognition of progress and change as a part of the way (their yoga or Sadhana).

In other words, focus on the first step, as the last is unlikely to be what one might have expected.

 

[Confused22]

Great comments, there much appreciated.

 

[Riverwolf]

Thanks Surya, and no river I dont believe I have.

MASTER: "Well, do you believe in God with form or without form?"

M., rather surprised, said to himself: "How can one believe in God without form when one believes in God with form? And if one believes in God without form, how can one believe that God has a form? Can these two contradictory ideas be true at the same time? Can a white liquid like milk be black?"

M: "Sir, I like to think of God as formless."

MASTER: "Very good. It is enough to have faith in either aspect. You believe in God without form; that is quite all right. But never for a moment think that this alone is true and all else false. Remember that God with form is just as true as God without form. But hold fast to your own conviction."


Thus it does not matter whether you believe in a personal or impersonal God. I, personally, go back and forth depending on the situation. For the most part, I believe in an impersonal one, but I also pray and do rituals to personal Gods, as well.

 

[Madhuri]

Thank you all for the great, informative answers! I'm not even exactly sure what I believe, it was always do what your parents said pray cause it was the right thing to do never wondered about as to what I was doing or why until recently. I hope I'm not missing the point but is it possible to have a personal and impersonal idea of god?

I think we all come to stage in our life when we realise that our beliefs are simply what our parents told us. Then we either not worry about it, or we go on our own quest to find truth.

It is very possible to have a personal and impersonal belief in God. Many Hindus believe that God has both personal and impersonal aspects. There are no limitations on the infinite

 

[Kuvalya_Dharmasindhu]

Thank you all for the great, informative answers! I'm not even exactly sure what I believe, it was always do what your parents said pray cause it was the right thing to do never wondered about as to what I was doing or why until recently. I hope I'm not missing the point but is it possible to have a personal and impersonal idea of god?

Of course, read The Gospels of Sri Ramakrishna, it explains about the concept of a vijnani--one who understands the impersonal and personal as both very real forms of the absolute. This as opposed to the jnani (focused solely on the impersonal aspect, almost/sometimes forgetting the personal form) and the extreme bhakta (who forgets the importance of the impersonal solely devoted to the personal form).

*Pranam*