Hinduism Is Not a Religion

[SalixIncendium]

At least according to Sadhguru.

Hindu is a geographical identity, or at the most a cultural one – not a religion. There is no set of beliefs that everyone has to adhere to. ~ Sadhguru​

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Sadhguru Quotes - Hindu is a geographical identity, or at the most a cultural one – not a religion. There is no set of beliefs that everyone has to adhere to.

Hindu is a geographical identity, or at the most a cultural one – not a religion. There is no set of beliefs that everyone has to adhere to.

isha.sadhguru.org

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Here is an article that discusses the rationale behind this:

Why Hinduism isn't an "ism" but a Way of Life

Yogi and mystic Sadhguru explains the origin of the word "Hindu" and looks at why there is actually no such thing as Hinduism. Being Hindu is a way of life, not a religion.

isha.sadhguru.org

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Sadhguru: The term and concept of Hinduism was coined only in recent times. Otherwise, there was really no such thing. The word "Hindu" essentially comes from the word Sindhu. Anyone who is born in the land of Sindhu is a Hindu. It is a cultural and geographic identity. It is like saying “I am an Indian” but it is a more ancient identity than being an Indian. “Indian” is only about seventy years old, but this is an identity that we have always lived with.​

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Being a Hindu does not mean having a particular belief system. Basically, the whole culture was oriented towards realizing one’s full potential. Whatever you did in this culture was Hindu. There is no particular god or ideology that you can call as the Hindu way of life. You can be a Hindu irrespective of whether you worship a man-god or a woman-god, whether you worship a cow or a tree. If you don't worship anything you can still be a Hindu.​

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I'm interested in hearing thoughts from my fellow Hindus here on RF on this. Agree? Disagree? Why?

 

[ChristineM]

Im not Hindu but know a fair few Hindus. From them i understand Hinduism to be more a way of life

 

[The Hammer]

Like Judaism it can be both a religious and a Cultural identity.

 

[mangalavara]

The word "Hindu" essentially comes from the word Sindhu. Anyone who is born in the land of Sindhu is a Hindu. It is a cultural and geographic identity.

I wonder how many Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians, Muslims and Nones in India agree with Sadhguru’s definition and call themselves Hindu.

The word Hindu does indeed come from the name of the river Sindhu, but the definition of a Hindu, around the world, is a person whose religion is Hinduism. If an orthodox Muslim from India travels abroad and calls himself a Hindu Muslim, people would think he is a religious syncretist.

There is no particular god or ideology that you can call as the Hindu way of life. You can be a Hindu irrespective of whether you worship a man-god or a woman-god, whether you worship a cow or a tree. If you don't worship anything you can still be a Hindu.

I agree with what Sadhguru says in this passage.

I'm interested in hearing thoughts from my fellow Hindus here on RF on this. Agree? Disagree? Why?

Although I am not an Indian, I would like to say, in all humility, that terms such as Indian, Tamil, Malayali, Bihari, and Bengali are what really convey cultural and geographic identities. The term Hindu conveys philosophical ideas, spirituality, and religious practices. Of course, there is Hindu culture in the Hindu religion, and the said culture varies according to one’s region in India. It can also vary in other countries: there are different cultures in Nepal, and there are the Balinese and Javanese cultures in Indonesia, for example.

Lastly, if I were to agree with Sadhguru’s definition of a Hindu, I would have to tell people that I am an adherent of Sanātana Dharma or Smārtism. Most of them would not know what I’m talking about, so I would have to use the term that they understand: Hindu.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

According to the Hindu American Federation (HAF) :

Established in 2003, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is the largest and oldest education and advocacy organization and the pre-eminent voice for Hindu Americans.​

and it begins it's section on Hinduism Basics by saying: ""

Hinduism, also known as Sanatana Dharma, is the world’s oldest living religion.​

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It is a natural religion, meaning its philosophies and practices are considered universally accessible through sincere study, reason, and experience apart from special revelation. Hinduism is also an indigenous religion made up of a diverse family of philosophies and traditions that have been practiced primarily throughout Asia for thousands of years. Today, Hinduism is a global religion with adherents representing virtually every racial, ethnic, and national background and living on every continent, and comprising majorities in three countries: India, Nepal, and Mauritius.​

On the other hand, I found this Tines of India article

What is Hinduism, a religion or a way of life ?​

informative (albeit it perhaps less authoritative).

So, is Hinduism a religion or a way of life? Absolutely!

 

[Vinayaka]

At least according to Sadhguru.

Hindu is a geographical identity, or at the most a cultural one – not a religion. There is no set of beliefs that everyone has to adhere to. ~ Sadhguru​

​

Sadhguru Quotes - Hindu is a geographical identity, or at the most a cultural one – not a religion. There is no set of beliefs that everyone has to adhere to.

Hindu is a geographical identity, or at the most a cultural one – not a religion. There is no set of beliefs that everyone has to adhere to.

isha.sadhguru.org

​

Here is an article that discusses the rationale behind this:

Why Hinduism isn't an "ism" but a Way of Life

Yogi and mystic Sadhguru explains the origin of the word "Hindu" and looks at why there is actually no such thing as Hinduism. Being Hindu is a way of life, not a religion.

isha.sadhguru.org

​

Sadhguru: The term and concept of Hinduism was coined only in recent times. Otherwise, there was really no such thing. The word "Hindu" essentially comes from the word Sindhu. Anyone who is born in the land of Sindhu is a Hindu. It is a cultural and geographic identity. It is like saying “I am an Indian” but it is a more ancient identity than being an Indian. “Indian” is only about seventy years old, but this is an identity that we have always lived with.​

​

Being a Hindu does not mean having a particular belief system. Basically, the whole culture was oriented towards realizing one’s full potential. Whatever you did in this culture was Hindu. There is no particular god or ideology that you can call as the Hindu way of life. You can be a Hindu irrespective of whether you worship a man-god or a woman-god, whether you worship a cow or a tree. If you don't worship anything you can still be a Hindu.​

​

I'm interested in hearing thoughts from my fellow Hindus here on RF on this. Agree? Disagree? Why?

Well, you got me to log in and write something. I say Hinduism is absolutely a religion. It may not be a religion as defined by an archaic definition of religion (read 'European' scholarly) but definitions change over time, and in today's definition, it is a religion. The 'way of life' argument totally falls apart when you hear members of other religions make the same claim. "Well, Christianity isn't really a religion, it's more a way of life."

Another aspect is the legality of it. Anything defined as a religion has certain rights that humanity accepts. For example, it's written in law in a lot of democracies that one cannot be discriminated on the basis of religion. So that means Hindus can be discriminated against? After all, they claim it's not even a religion. Another point is land zoning. In cities where the planners set aside some land zoned as religious use, does that mean no Hindu temple can be built there. After all, it's not a religion. There are also many countries that accept religious donations as tax deductions. If Hinduism isn't a religion, than they can't have those deductions.

The standard approach in encyclopedias and other scholarly stuff is to classify it as a religion.

There are other arguments that go way way back, about the origin of the term. I did read a paper once upon a time (can't find it now) that proposed about 10 other theories (not based on geography) of how the term 'Hindu came into being.

Personally, I think Sadhguru is trying to be 'cool' and caters to many westerners and many westerners stand against organized religion (spiritual but not religious) so the viewpoint is popular with them. All this fails to take into account the vast differences between Sanatana Dharma and western faiths. So having been brought up with a concept of religion that doesn't transfer well to eastern paradigms, it's quite understandable.