Hindus are all pagans

[Jainarayan]

I remember encountering the word pagan in 2nd grade Catholic Sunday School, used by Sister Maria to describe King Antiochus and the Greeks when they invaded Israel and forced the Jews to worship the "pagan" Greek gods. This set the stage for the Maccabean Rebellion and Hanukkah.

 

[Vrindavana Das]

OK here we go again. Epic linguistic failure is a failure.

Correct version:

Hindu is the Old Persian pronunciation of Sindhu, using the regular sound shift of /s/ in Sanskrit to /h/ in Old Persian. The Old Persian used Hindu as an ethnonym for the people across the Sindhu river. Greek dropped the initial aspiration /h/ and tacked on its own nominative masculine singular case-ending of /ós/. And it would not be 'Perhia' because Persia is a Greek word.

Greek Indós =>Latin Indus =>English India.

I really tire of repeating this.

Here is an excerpt from wiki. Hindu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The word Hindu is derived from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, first mentioned in the Rig Veda, was the historic local appellation for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent.

The Brihaspati Agama says:

हिमालयं समारभ्य यावदिंदुसरोवरम् ।
तं देवनिर्मितं देशं हिंदुस्थानं प्रचक्ष्यते ।।
"The land created by the gods which stretched from the Himalayas to the Indu (i.e. Southern) ocean is called Hindusthan, with the हिंदु (Hindu) mentioned in word हिंदुस्थानं (Hindusthan)."

The usage of the word Hindu was further popularized for Arabs and further west by the Arabic term al-Hind referring to the land of the people who live across river Indus and the Persian term Hindū referring to all Indians. By the 13th century, Hindustān emerged as a popular alternative name of India, meaning the "land of Hindus".

 

[Pleroma]

We are not Hindus, foreign people called us Hindus, We are Aryans - highly venerable and noble people known for their wisdom and learning.

 

[Shuddhasattva]

As opposed to those mlecchas, ignorant and deserving of scorn.

Seriously though, we call ourselves Hindu in India, though some of us may prefer to call Hinduism Sanatana Dharma, and much fewer of us to call ourselves Aryans.

 

[Jainarayan]

Here is an excerpt from wiki. Hindu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The word Hindu is derived from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, first mentioned in the Rig Veda, was the historic local appellation for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent.

That's what I said. Thanks for backing me up.

The usage of the word Hindu was further popularized for Arabs and further west by the Arabic term al-Hind referring to the land of the people who live across river Indus and the Persian term Hindū referring to all Indians. By the 13th century, Hindustān emerged as a popular alternative name of India, meaning the "land of Hindus".

Loanword into Arabic pronunciation from Old Persian "Hindu".

 

[Vrindavana Das]

The civilization in this land - Hindusthan is the Aryan civilization.

Aryans are those persons who practice God consciousness.

Hitler took the Vedas and had a team of Sanskrit experts deciphering them. He took many teachings from the Vedas like the Swastika etc. Aryans is hailed as the 'superior race' and Hitler started believing that their's is the Aryan race. He had a 'perceived notion' that Germans are Aryans. He massacred people by millions because of this. Little did he know that Aryans are a superior race, compared to rest of the world, as they are a civilization of people who practice God consciousness.

 

[Shuddhasattva]

Little did he know that Aryans are a superior race, compared to rest of the world, as they are a civilization of people who practice God consciousness.

I don't think more than 5% of people in India can honestly said to "practice God consciousness."

 

[Vrindavana Das]

That's what I said. Thanks for backing me up.

Sindhu, in Sanskrit also means Ocean.

Here is an excerpt from wiki: Indus River - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The Sanskrit word Sindhu means river, stream or ocean, probably from a root sidh meaning to keep off. Sindhu is still the local appellation for the Indus River."

I have even provided the verse from scriptures confirming this.

Hindu comes from Hindusthan, which comes from Himalyas + Sindhu

 

[Vrindavana Das]

I don't think more than 5% of people in India can honestly said to "practice God consciousness."

I agree. Most of us have forgotten our roots, culture, heritage and civilization. It is sad.

 

[Jainarayan]

...Aryans are a superior race, compared to rest of the world, as they are a civilization of people who practice God consciousness.

Comments and beliefs like that precipitate wars, bloodshed and slaughter of innocents. All people are equal. If you don't believe that, you cannot call yourself dharmic, nor align with any school of Vedanta, because sarvam khalv idam brahma. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman#cite_note-9

 

[Pleroma]

The civilization in this land - Hindusthan is the Aryan civilization.

Aryans are those persons who practice God consciousness.

Hitler took the Vedas and had a team of Sanskrit experts deciphering them. He took many teachings from the Vedas like the Swastika etc. Aryans is hailed as the 'superior race' and Hitler started believing that their's is the Aryan race. He had a 'perceived notion' that Germans are Aryans. He massacred people by millions because of this. Little did he know that Aryans are a superior race, compared to rest of the world, as they are a civilization of people who practice God consciousness.

Aryans doesn't mean a superior race, if that was true where is the difference between Nazi Germany and us.

Aryans were the people who taught the world that the light of God shining in me is the same light of God shining in everyone. They were the people who performed rituals for the good of the whole world with out any individual desires or irrespective of any caste, creed or any other national people. They were the ones who taught us what Sanatana Dharma is.

Take back your views of Aryans as a superior race than others, its very untrue.

 

[Jainarayan]

Sindhu, in Sanskrit also means Ocean.

Here is an excerpt from wiki: Indus River - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The Sanskrit word Sindhu means river, stream or ocean, probably from a root sidh meaning to keep off. Sindhu is still the local appellation for the Indus River."

I have even provided the verse from scriptures confirming this.

Hindu comes from Hindusthan, which comes from Himalyas + Sindhu

Whatever.

 

[Vrindavana Das]

Aryans doesn't mean a superior race, if that was true where is the difference between Nazi Germany and us.

The difference is that we are Aryans because we practice God consciousness. God Consciousness is not the same as killing in the name of superiority.

Aryans were the people who taught the world that the light of God shining in me is the same light of God shining in everyone. They were the people who performed rituals for the good of the whole world with out any individual desires or irrespective of any caste, creed or any other national people. They were the ones who taught us what Sanatana Dharma is.

Take back your views of Aryans as a superior race than others, its very untrue.

This is what I too am saying. What is there to take back then?

 

[Pleroma]

The difference is that we are Aryans because we practice God consciousness. God Consciousness is not the same as killing in the name of superiority.

índraṃ várdhanto aptúraḥ kṛṇvánto víśvam âryam apaghnánto árāvṇaḥ

"[the Soma-drops], performing every noble work, active, augmenting Indra's strength, driving away the godless ones." (trans. Griffith)

Of course Aryans exist to drive away the godless ones, especially atheists and establish Sanatana Dharma in everyone.

The Ramayana describes Rama as: arya sarva samascaiva sadaiva priyadarsanah, meaning "Arya, who worked for the equality of all and was dear to everyone."

 

[Vrindavana Das]

índraṃ várdhanto aptúraḥ kṛṇvánto víśvam âryam apaghnánto árāvṇaḥ

"[the Soma-drops], performing every noble work, active, augmenting Indra's strength, driving away the godless ones." (trans. Griffith)

Of course Aryans exist to drive away the godless ones, especially atheists and establish Sanatana Dharma in everyone.

The Ramayana describes Rama as: arya sarva samascaiva sadaiva priyadarsanah, meaning "Arya, who worked for the equality of all and was dear to everyone."

Sorry! I have not understood what you are telling me here.

 

[Pleroma]

Sorry! I have not understood what you are telling me here.

The goal of every Aryan must be to establish Sathya Dharma in himself.

 

[Breathe]

Hindu comes from Hindusthan, which comes from Himalyas + Sindhu

Lol, doubtful; I can't imagine Sanskrit using portmanteaux..

What Jainarayan says seems much more accurate; in keeping with what I was taught in linguistics classes, and what one can find online...

Online Etymology Dictionary


Plus:

Asura -> Ahura
Soma -> Haoma
Sindhu -> Hindu

No?

 

[Surya Deva]

Comments and beliefs like that precipitate wars, bloodshed and slaughter of innocents. All people are equal. If you don't believe that, you cannot call yourself dharmic, nor align with any school of Vedanta, because sarvam khalv idam brahma. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman#cite_note-9

Now you can probably appreciate what I mean about how divided Hinduism is, how Hindus will actually tell people stuff like in the above quote and pass it off as Hindu belief. Such views, unfortunately are held by many Hindu nationalists, among whom "Mein Kampf" Hitelr's book is a bestseller and considered a classic.

I personally think we should exercise a zero-tolerance for beliefs like this and not just treat it like another viewpoint or perspective within Hinduism. We should and need to call people out who say things like this(or stuff like the Puranas were composed in 3000BCE, Krishna had 16,000 wives, homosexuality is forbidden and punishable, encourages bathing and drinking from Ganges; considers manusmriti authority; Hinduism as Indians only club or treating Indian Hindus as inherently more superior) Nationalism is not a Hindu perspective, Hinduism is based on the philosophy of Vasudeva kutumbukum the whole world is one family.

Aryan race theories appeared in a time of Social Darwinism, when the Anglo-saxon race who had beaten the rest of the world to the scientific revolution, age of reason and industrial revolution giving it a massive scientific advantage over the rest of the world, allowing it to colonize other civilizations and in order to justify why the anglo-saxon race white supremist doctrines like the "white mans burden" were created and combined with genetics, the notion of superior white race was created. The term 'Aryan' was apt, because it was found by linguists and anthropologists studying the Vedas of the Hindus, that the Vedas belonged to a common Indo-European culture, thus somehow this culture spread all through Indo-Europe, and given the racist climate at the time in Western thought, this was explained as the white Aryan race.

White Aryan race is a myth of course and nobody in scholarship today takes it seriously - the only group that still draw from this myth are White supremist organizations like Stormfront. Aryan race theories in general are still popular with Hindu nationalists. Educated people do not believe in such theories.

 

[Shuddhasattva]

Hinduism is divided, just as Christianity is divided, but Hinduism's commonality is more of a unifying force than Christianity's.

And that unifying force is to be cultivated, digesting as fertilizer the differences and insanities.

 

[Surya Deva]

Hinduism is divided, just as Christianity is divided, but Hinduism's commonality is more of a unifying force than Christianity's.

The fallacy of a false balance:

The balance fallacy, also known as false balance,[2] occurs when two sides of an argument are assumed to have equal value regardless of their respective merits.

Balance fallacy - RationalWiki

Christianity is not as divided as Hinduism is, because Christians do have universal tenets and doctrines like Jesus is Christ, the son of god and lord and saviour; that Christianity was founded by Jesus Christ and the Bible is the word of God and supreme authority and the authority of the Church. Christianity consists of various sects, which have their own Churches and which are separated on minor political agreements and disagreements, for example the Protestants do not accept the authority of the Pope.

On the other hand, Hinduism is not a single comprehensive religion, there is no definitive doctrine on any issue or matter and no single religious organization. Hinduism is not a religion, but a classification for a collection of Indian religions loosely based on the Vedas: Puranic Hinduism(Vaishnavism, Shaktism, Shiavism, Smartism) Brahmanical Hinduism(Purva Mimasa) Yogic Hinduism(Jnana or Gnostic Hinduism) and Folk and tribal Hinduism. These are religions like Christianity are because they indeed have common doctrines e.g., In Vaishnavism Krishna is accepted as God descending to Earth to bring righteousness(doctrine of avatarism) The Bhagvad Gita is regarded as the primary scripture, along with the Srimad Bhagvatam(common canon) and Krishna's life story is accepted as literal fact(such as him lifting the Govardhan mountain, his playful flirting with the gopis, his divine conception, the murder of Kansa) and the theology of Vaikuntha and the lila of a personal creator god. Vaishnavism is a unified religion. It also has official samapradayas and a loose hierarchy of religious organization. In many ways Vaishnavism strongly resembles Christianity - that it makes one think has there been borrowing between Christianity and Vaishnavism? (Another topic...)