I am reading the Quran, Gospel, Psalms, Tora, BoMormon, Avesta and i wonder if the Vedas are also...

[W3bcrowf3r]

Without context and culture, knowing a language will give an incomplete picture.

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

What kind of languages of Scriptures do you know to say such a thing?

I hear people say that learning languages of Scriptures is hard etc. but i already am learning one, and i know how to read, write it etc. just focusing on grammar now and words. And i also talk to 'others' from 'other' religions who say the same.

So for me, it's not a problem. If it's for you, then i wish you good luck. Keep on struggling. It's worth it's effort.

 

[W3bcrowf3r]

I do not know if Gandhi's killer was an extremist. Those were difficult times. People felt that Gandhi cared more for Muslims than for Hindus. Gandhi went to Noakhali while the Hindus and Sikhs were being murdered in Punjab. Hindus suffered heavily in both regions (Punjab as well as Bengal), while Muslim migration was by choice. They did not go because of killings, a huge many continued to remain in India. Today they number 180 million, nearly equal to the population of Pakistan and more than that of Bangladesh.

Just curious, what kind of symbol is that on the head?

Do you know why Hitler used that symbol?

 

[Valjean]

What kind of languages of Scriptures do you know to say such a thing?.

It's not a question of scriptural language, it's a question of anthropology: linguistics, psychology, sociology, &c. Language isn't like a chemical formula, it's not precise and isn't always used to transmit data exactly and denotatively.

 

[Dawnofhope]

Just curious, what kind of symbol is that on the head?

Do you know why Hitler used that symbol?

Swastika - Wikipedia

 

[Aupmanyav]

Just curious, what kind of symbol is that on the head?

Do you know why Hitler used that symbol?

That is the Hindu symbol for "welfare of all". I do not know why Hitler selected it, but you can read it here as to what it means for Hindus:
Unrelenting quoting of scripture.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

That is the Hindu symbol for "welfare of all". I do not know why Hitler selected it, but you can read it here as to what it means for Hindus:
Unrelenting quoting of scripture.

He used it because the Nazis imagined that the Germans were Aryans. It was commonly used as a good luck symbol in the West during that time until the Nazis ruined it.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Even crescent is auspicious for us - for it is the ornament of Lord Shiva and Mother Kali.

 

[W3bcrowf3r]

It's not a question of scriptural language, it's a question of anthropology: linguistics, psychology, sociology, &c. Language isn't like a chemical formula, it's not precise and isn't always used to transmit data exactly and denotatively.

Thats why God spoke in our language.

He could also send us a Book from Heaven with both the teachings of the language and the Messsge.

He speaks in our language so that we can understand it.

 

[W3bcrowf3r]

Swastika - Wikipedia

What do the 9 rakahs mean in the three prayer times in the Book of Bahai?

You are the guy who is Bahai right? Im on my phone now.

 

[Dawnofhope]

What do the 9 rakahs mean in the three prayer times in the Book of Bahai?

You are the guy who is Bahai right? Im on my phone now.

No Baha'i thinks about the 9 rak’áhs as they are not applicable.

Baha'is have a choice of reciting one of three obligatory prayers daily.

A rak’áh is the recitation of specifically revealed verses accompanied by a prescribed set of genuflections and other movements. The Obligatory Prayer originally enjoined by Bahá’u’lláh upon His followers consisted of nine rak’áhs. The precise nature of this prayer and the specific instructions for its recitation are unknown, as the prayer has been lost.

Bahá'í Reference Library - The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Pages 19-34

Bahá'í Reference Library - The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Page 167

 

[W3bcrowf3r]

No Baha'i thinks about the 9 rak’áhs as they are not applicable.

Baha'is have a choice of reciting one of three obligatory prayers daily.

A rak’áh is the recitation of specifically revealed verses accompanied by a prescribed set of genuflections and other movements. The Obligatory Prayer originally enjoined by Bahá’u’lláh upon His followers consisted of nine rak’áhs. The precise nature of this prayer and the specific instructions for its recitation are unknown, as the prayer has been lost.

Bahá'í Reference Library - The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Pages 19-34

Bahá'í Reference Library - The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Page 167

The original Bahai Book was written in Arabic? I think all details for prayer are given in the Holy Scriptures. So i wont search outside them for answers.

I already actually learned what prayer is from the Tora, Gospel and Quran. I pray 3 times a day as well, just like the Bahai Book says.., reading it today for the first time. In the Arabic language, the word prayer means to follow closely. So the best way of following closely is to read the Scriptures. The Quran also says that prayer is a Book scheduled, and that the prayers have specific times.

I think that's what it means to pray.

I am not into all that sectarian additions of movements etc.

 

[W3bcrowf3r]

I think 9 rakats are 9 prostrations/bowings. It comes from the root in Arabic: ر ك ع = Ra-Kaf-Ayn = bowed, bent, incline, humility, humble yourself, lower the head, fell upon his face, stumbled.

But i still have to complete the reading of the Kitab l Aqdas to make a choice to believe in it or not.

 

[Dawnofhope]

The original Bahai Book was written in Arabic? I think all details for prayer are given in the Holy Scriptures. So i wont search outside them for answers.

I already actually learned what prayer is from the Tora, Gospel and Quran. I pray 3 times a day as well, just like the Bahai Book says.., reading it today for the first time. In the Arabic language, the word prayer means to follow closely. So the best way of following closely is to read the Scriptures. The Quran also says that prayer is a Book scheduled, and that the prayers have specific times.

I think that's what it means to pray.

I am not into all that sectarian additions of movements etc.

Prayer or Salah is one of the five pillars of Islam and so the Holy Quran provides guidance. The advice given supersedes that given in the Torah and Gospels.

For Baha'i's, Baha'u'llah is a Messenger from God with New Revelation from God for this age. Like Muhammad's guidance to humanity supersedes that laid down in previous dispensations (Judaism and Christianity), so too does Baha'u'llah's revelation relieve His followers of past dispensations. All prayers, allusions and movements are in accordance of the authoritaive text and not sectarian additions.

 

[W3bcrowf3r]

Prayer or Salah is one of the five pillars of Islam and so the Holy Quran provides guidance. The advice given supersedes that given in the Torah and Gospels.

For Baha'i's, Baha'u'llah is a Messenger from God with New Revelation from God for this age. Like Muhammad's guidance to humanity supersedes that laid down in previous dispensations (Judaism and Christianity), so too does Baha'u'llah's revelation relieve His followers of past dispensations. All prayers, allusions and movements are in accordance of the authoritaive text and not sectarian additions.

The Quran doesn't speak about 'five pillars'. These are sunni sectarian fabricated narrations which talk about that, which have no bases in the Quran, but are 300 years after Muhammad being attributed to him by the sectarians..

But the Quran speaks about prayer. Three prayers a day. Reading the Quran.

But Sunnis/Shias pray differently, and Sunnis pray 5 times a day, and even have a sixth and seventh prayer, and many more. And Shias pray with stones on their head etc. and follow their own versions of narrations as well.

The Quran doesn't supersede a lot from the Tora and Gospel? The Quran in 5:68 actually tells the People of the Book to uphold the Tora and the Gospel, else they are upon nothing. In 5:47 the Quran says, let the people of the Gospel Judge with it. In 2:4 it says that the Believers are those who believe in the Quran and that which was send Before it.
But the sectarians distorted a lot with their fabricated sources which they uphold besides the Quran. Just like the Trinitarians do with the Gospel, they translate the Greek Gospel with trinitarian additions to it. Just like the Jews do with the Tora, they added the Talmud. So do the Arabs with the Quran, they added the Narrations.

Yeah the Kitab l Aqdas seems to give a lot of details about prayer. I am still reading it. I wonder if the Kitab says something about Baha u Llah being a Babi as well? Or is this what historians say? I am that Scripture only guy. I don't follow historic claims.
If the Kitab says something about it, then what kind of Scriptures does the Babi have?

 

[Dawnofhope]

The Quran doesn't speak about 'five pillars'. These are sunni sectarian fabricated narrations which talk about that, which have no bases in the Quran, but are 300 years after Muhammad being attributed to him by the sectarians..

That's useful to know. I grew up Christian but have been a Baha'i for many years. Learning Islam is a work in progress for me as I have never been a Muslim and don't live in an Islamic country.

But the Quran speaks about prayer. Three prayers a day. Reading the Quran.

There verses from the Quran seem relevant.

This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah -
Who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them,
And who believe in what has been revealed to you, and what was revealed before you, and of the Hereafter they are certain.
Those are upon guidance from their Lord, and those are the successful.
2:2-5

Guard your communication and middle communication; and stand before God devoutly obedient. Then if you fear on foot or riding; then when you become secure remember God as he has taught you that which you did not know previously. (Al-Quran 2:238-239)

And offer communication at the two ends of day and at the approach of night; indeed good deeds remove bad deeds; this is a reminder for those who remember. (Al-Quran 11:114)

offer communication at the decline of the day until the darkness of night; and Quran at dawn; indeed Quran at dawn ever is a witness. And at night pray Tahajjud an extra for thee; it is expected that your lord raise you to praised station. (Al-Quran 17:78-79)

Say call God or call Merciful ; by whomever you call; He has good names; and do not make your Salah loud nor make silent and choose a path between them. (Al-Quran 17:110

And offer communication and pay Zakah and obey Messenger so that you may receive mercy.(Al-Quran 24:56)

And recite that is revealed to you as a book and offer communication; indeed communication prohibits immorality and wrongdoing; and remembrance of God is great; and God is aware of what you do. (Al-Quran 29:45)

But Sunnis/Shias pray differently, and Sunnis pray 5 times a day, and even have a sixth and seventh prayer, and many more. And Shias pray with stones on their head etc. and follow their own versions of narrations as well.

Do you identify with either Shi'ite or Sunni?

The Quran doesn't supersede a lot from the Tora and Gospel? The Quran in 5:68 actually tells the People of the Book to uphold the Tora and the Gospel, else they are upon nothing. In 5:47 the Quran says, let the people of the Gospel Judge with it. In 2:4 it says that the Believers are those who believe in the Quran and that which was send Before it.

I agree. I believe it is a mistake to dismiss the Gospel and Torah as many Muslims do.

But the sectarians distorted a lot with their fabricated sources which they uphold besides the Quran. Just like the Trinitarians do with the Gospel, they translate the Greek Gospel with trinitarian additions to it. Just like the Jews do with the Tora, they added the Talmud. So do the Arabs with the Quran, they added the Narrations.

Once again, I agree with your concern about how various sects have distorted the pure teachings. We end up with man made doctrines that can distort and distract from the true Teachings. The Trinity is a good example and came about in the 4th century AD through the Nicene councils who developed the Nicene Creed. Muhammad is clear that its better not to use the word Trinity.

People of the Book, do not go to excess in your religion, and do not say anything about God except the truth: the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was nothing more than a messenger of God, His word, directed to Mary, a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His messengers and do not speak of a 'Trinity'—stop, that is better for you—God is only one God, He is far above having a son, everything in the heavens and earth belongs to Him and He is the best one to trust
— Qur'an, sura 4 (An-Nisa), ayat 171

Yeah the Kitab l Aqdas seems to give a lot of details about prayer. I am still reading it. I wonder if the Kitab says something about Baha u Llah being a Babi as well? Or is this what historians say? I am that Scripture only guy. I don't follow historic claims.
If the Kitab says something about it, then what kind of Scriptures does the Babi have?

Baha'u'llah was a Babi or follower of the Bab.

The Báb | What Bahá’ís Believe

The main purpose of the Babi religion was to prepare His followers for Him whom God shall make manifest. The Babi religion began in Persia (now Iran) in 1844. There was widespread expectation of One who would renew Islam in line with the Mahdi prophecy. The Bab was widely recognised as being the promised Qa'im.

Mahdi - Wikipedia

Conservative and fanatical clergy were not too keen to see the rise of this new religious movement. The Bab and many of His followers were put to death.

The Life of the Báb | What Bahá’ís Believe

Baha'u'llah was imprisoned in 1852 as a result of being wrongly accused of an assasination attempt on the Shah of Iran. During the 4 months spent in prison in the Sayal-Chal He had a experience of the Holy Spirit much like with Moses and the burning Bush, Jesus and the Dove, and Muhammad with the angel Gabriel.

The Life of Bahá’u’lláh | What Bahá’ís Believe

It was then He became aware He was the promised One whom the Bab spoke.

You may want to check out the Baha'i library for some of the works of the Bab.

Writings of the Báb | Bahá’í Reference Library

It helps to know history to put scripture into context. There is plenty of scripture in the Baha'i writings.

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

I was already reading the Avesta. Why would i be frustrated when reading it?

Because the Avesta contains polytheistic language.

Why am i asking this question? Because i learned to never trust a translation again. I learned it from Christianity. The whole world believes Jesus Christ is God.

This is a misconception; not all Christians are Trinitarians (i.e. believe Jesus is God).

My biggest concern would be, if the Vedas aren't Monotheistic, how so many people can be misguided if they don't even have a Monotheistic Inspired Holy Scripture. I just don't believe in Polytheism.

This is begging the question that being polytheist is misguided in the first place. Polytheism isn't necessarily wrong; just different. And you don't need a holy book centred around a single deity to construct a meaningful and true religion. The fact that Hinduism as well as the majority of belief systems in human history & prehistory have managed without these things show this to be the case.

 

[Jainarayan]

J. Robert Oppenheimer, of Manhattan Project fame, allegedly taught himself Sanskrit and read the Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit. I say allegedly because, while I am no Sanskritologist, I do know enough that it doesn’t lend itself to the Rosetta Stone or the Berlitz methods of learning. Or by immersion because there are precious few native Sanskrit speakers. Prabhupada, Yogānanda, Vivekānanda, and all the other Swami -ānandas spent their lives in study of Sanskrit and scriptures.

Of all IE languages Sanskrit has the most number of synonyms, an inordinate number of synonyms in fact. Probably because it’s a synthesis of the local Prakrit languages, codified by Panini and many other grammarians. The very name Samskrta means “well formed/made“. One linguistics professor came up with 15 different ways of constructing the same sentence, using the multitude of inflections and conjugations, retaining the exact meaning.

The point, and I do have one (if I can remember it ) is that without understanding the entire context of a verse, all the Sanskrit dictionaries in the 3 worlds will not give a translation faithful to the original. A quirk of Sanskrit is that it must be felt. It lends itself to serious misinterpretation.

Let’s return to Oppenheimer. When the first atom bomb test was done at Trinity, he said (paraphrasing, though I think this is close) “I am reminded of the Hindu Scripture the Bhagavad Gita, Now I am become Death the destroyer of worlds”.

But that is not the verse. It is
The Blessed Lord said: Time I am, destroyer of the worlds, and I have come to engage all people. With the exception of you, all the all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain. Oppenheimer translated the verse, deliberately or not, to suit his frame of mind.

The true meaning of the verse is not one of global cataclysm, but that Arjuna should not weep and grieve for those he must kill, because he is only an agent of Krishna, who is Time. No one can escape Time. The worlds the Lord is referring to is the familial and dynastic worlds of the combatants.

This is why one has to know more than a little something of the context and backstory of the texts.

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

W3bcrowf3r

Namaste,

So my question is. Does someone know Sanskrit? And could he explain if the Book is Monotheistic?

I don't know Sanskrit, i also rely on translations, i tend to read more then one translation to understand the texts. I picked up minor Sanskrit words just by reading translations that have the original Sanskrit in them.

I guess you will not find anyone who knows the Vedic Sanskrit on this forum, you may have to travel to India and find a Sakha: Shakha - Wikipedia
who can help.

Unfortunately due to Westernisation and imposition of Eurocentric education system in India, also the consistent hate towards the Brahmins there are not many communities left who still follow the Vedic Sakha system.

And not many Hindus know or have even seen the Vedic texts in real life IMO. Many are only recently re-discovering the Vedas thanks to the Internet, I did the same.

Good luck mate