Yes, I feel after more study I will start to understand a little more how things are viewed and interpreted by individuals. And I've always been one that takes others views into consideration and stays open minded to help myself ultimately understand as much as I can.
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Practicing Hinduism
- Thread starter sunflower
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Yes, I feel after more study I will start to understand a little more how things are viewed and interpreted by individuals. And I've always been one that takes others views into consideration and stays open minded to help myself ultimately understand as much as I can.
I think your attitude of humility in this way is commendable. You'll fit right in. The mistake some people make is walking right in, pretending they know everything there is to know about Hinduism, not following guidelines, and generally having the attitude, "I'll do whatever the hell I want!" Things like wearing hats, sitting beside your spouse in a temple where genders sit separately ... that sort of thing. But you are showing none of that. Thanks.
Yeah, I will definitely not be just jumping into it pretending to know things I don't, I'm going to study and make sure I do things in a respectful manner and that I'm educated on what I'm practicing!
you helped a lot, thanks!
To help you out, I would need more information about you. The vastness of Hinduism can be a blessing and a problem for people coming from outside the traditions. Too much information too fast can leave you confused and dispirited. Hinduism actually offers different paths for the needs and personality type of the seeker.
So what appealed to you about Hinduism? In vague terms what kind of practice intuitively seems right for you? What is your goal from all this? Are you more of a logical type or an experiencing type? etc..
It appeals me for that exact reason, because many other religions are much to 'do this, do that or you're a terrible person.' And I had a couple friends a few years back who are Hindu and originate from it in their culture, and at the time I had just made the decision to remove myself from the church I was going to and distance myself from my family for their hate of me because I did not agree with the lifestyle they, the church and religion were forcing onto me. Anyways my friends and I would compare their religion to mine very generally. and I recently decided to look further into Hinduism because how I have perceived it so far it's a more accepting and peaceful religion that focuses a little more on self worth along with worship instead of destroying who I naturally am to fit inside the standards of being a Christian. Also Hinduism is the most logical to me. I would say I'm both logical and an experiencing type, it just depends on what I'm doing... In this case I would say I'm more experiencing however I still have a logical sense. And my goal from this is to achieve a personal level of worship while staying in contact with myself. I've always been a very spiritual and naturalistic person. Practicing meditation is something I have always done, however I have always felt there was something missing about it and I think i need a spiritual aspect to it, that is what originally made me decide to stray more towards Hinduism compared to other religions. And I'm not completely sure what exactly I'm trying to achieve aside from a more personal relationship with myself and a religion I can relate to. I currently identify myself most as an atheist and it just doesn't settle right with me to have no religion.
The most common path for someone like yourself would probably be Bhakti Yoga. Here is what Wikipedia says:
Bhakti yoga is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on the cultivation of love and devotion toward God. It has been defined as a practice of devotion toward God, solely motivated by the sincere, loving desire to please God, rather than the hope of divine reward or the fear of divine punishment.[1] Bhakti yoga is often considered by Hindus to be the easiest way for ordinary people to attain a spiritually liberated state, because although it is a form of yoga, its practice is not as rigorous as most other yogic schools, and it is possible to practice bhakti yoga without needing to become a full-time yogi.[
Usually this is accompanied by having a form of God most attractive to you; Shiva, Krishna, etc. I personally would suggest Krishna and the book Bhagavad Gita as a very general start. The Gita though is difficult for a new western person to grasp right away but there are usually commentaries that go along with it and take it slow and don't be discouraged early if sounds too foreign.
Let me know if you want to ask me any questions,
Thank you so much! This is exactly what I was asking for, I was aware that Hinduism had many different personal paths however I did not realize they would have one so specific to what I feel I need! This is very helpful and I will definitely do some more research on the Gods and begin my journey with this! Again thank you! This is what I have been trying to figure out for years now!
Just to clarify for you, not all Hindu schools believe this. Some have the various paths all integrated into a one more holistic path combining several aspects. You see, when you talk to or ask questions of Hindus in this way, on a forum, each Hindu who answers will give you a slightly different version, based on their own understanding or school which they follow. George-ananda follows the school of Advaita Vedanta, I follow Saiva Siddhanta, Theresa is a Vaishnavite, Aupmanyav is an atheist Hindu etc. So we will all have different takes on it. Not sure if that will help at all but its definitely why I recommended 'What is Hinduism?' because it'll explain each school more clearly.
To further the point, the same is true when you meet real-life Hindus. The ones you met may give a very different explanation of things than the ones you meet a year from now. So it's folly to think, 'Hinduism is this because _____, a Hindu told me so.'
I have noticed that Each person I've talked to about this has given me a different answer, I'm beginning to understand a little more just how complex this religion is and I will definitely do a lot of research all the references you have given me. My biggest concern is to make sure I don't offend anybody more educated in this religion and to make sure I respect each aspect and path of the religion even if I'm not following the specific one. I believe as long as I educate myself in what I'm practicing and it makes me feel more connected spiritually and personally, I am doing alright. I just need to conduct more researcher to be sure I'm taking the right path for myself!
It is really rare to offend someone (I mean Hindus) in real life as long as you have some tact and humility. Yes there is the occasional easily offended person out there, but then the 'getting offended' is far more in them than in you. I think you'll be amazed at how warm and gentle we are as a group, most of us will welcome newcomers with genuine niceness.
That is an amazing thing to know. This is why I was so interested in Hinduism. As being an ex-Christian where I was judged for every decision I made and was put down because I did not live up to others expectations of me. I don't want to sound like I'm bashing on Christianity, there many amazing Christians out there, it just was not the right thing for me and I'm so happy I have found a group of people so accepting and willing to teach you kindly. <3
If you were here in my city (Edmonton) Boss and I would be taking you to a couple of temples. We were in Vancouver last weekend, went to 3 temples. Its always friendly even though we're not regulars, but pilgrims. The priest at one remembered we were from Edmonton from our visit last spring. At another the priest made sure to give Boss prasadam, going out of his way. At the third one we had an archana (special personal ceremony you can buy) so there was interaction there too.
That is very nice, I'm definitely excited to proceed with my study and begin to practice such a lovely religion
Diwali and worship of Lakshmi and Kali will be a big celebration, and most urban centers in the West Cost will have temples where such celebrations will occur this Saturday/Sunday/Monday. Please check them out.
Here is a video of Devi Puja along with musical rendition of the associated scripture by a famous singer,
In terms of reading, I would recommend mixing the more inspired talk of a modern Hindu Acharya (like say Vivekanada, Aurobindo, Sivanananda, Chinmayananda) with readings from ancient sources (Upanisads, Gita, Bhakti Songs and Poetry, Philosophical writings etc.).
Here is a short summary of Hinduism given by Vivekananda in the first parliament of religions. In terms of conciseness, accuracy, clarity and ease of understanding for people who know nothing about the religion, this is as good as it gets:-
http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.i...at_the_parliament/v1_c1_paper_on_hinduism.htm
More easily available sources:-
1) Complete Works of Vivekanda (http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/complete_works.htm)
2) All about Hinduism (http://www.dlshq.org/download/hinduismbk.pdf )
3) Good free anthologies of bhakti poetry is difficult to find. Here is one by Mirabai whose pricing is somewhat reasonable
https://www.amazon.com/Mirabai-Ecst...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=QKAZ8Q7TKQ1PGJK7T9HE
But many of Mira's works are songs and here is a good selection sung by the great Lata Mangeskar
metis
aged ecumenical anthropologist
I taught for 36 years and had a great many Asian students, and my Hindu students were overall the nicest of the nice. Also, the Christians from Kerala were super as well. Very open-minded and considerate.
Lucky you. I taught for 30 years in a very non-ethnic suburb. But here where I live its really multicultural. My daughter-in-law teaches and her class is just plain rich regarding languages and religions. Sikh, Hindu, Moslem, Buddhist, Christian, she has it all.
If you're into meditation may I suggest looking into Shiva? Not necessarily Shaivism if you don't feel like it, but Shiva is pretty chill and I'm lead to think that devotees of his do like their meditation as Shiva is constantly meditating. Very contemplative people.
Though really meditation in any school is about focusing on the divine as best you can. And spiritual enlightenment of course. I don't have the discipline I'm afraid.
If you're into the experiential try the more "off" paths. Ain't nothing wrong with doing your own thing.
Us Kalikulas (Shaktis) think the more traditional paths don't focus on that enough. Not saying that that is what I personally think, of course. Though the Brahmans are a tad stuffy IMO, but that's why the path wanted to differ to the more traditional ones.
But really there are paths for every taste, from the ones who like strict rules to the more chilled approaches to the experimental and even the rebellious.
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Namaste
There is a lot of information because of all the different views and sects in it. find what sect you agree with most and study that.