To choose a dharmic religion

[Truthseeker]

Which type of Hindu. Vaishnava? Saivam? Do you follow Atta/Athman or anatto/anathman? Do you believe in the Thauthisa?

Please elaborate how you are a Buddhist, Hindu, as a Bahai in this context.

Thanks.

I recognize Krishna as regards Hinduism, though we can't rely on everything he is recorded to have said. In outline, In the Bhagavad Gita I see much wisdom to learn from. As to Rama, who was supposed to have come before Him, I have no opinion. I know of no words passed down from Rama, though I may be wrong, so it's a moot point. Same with the others supposed to have come before Rama.

It is similar with Buddhism. Baha'is recognize Buddha, but it is unsure what exactly He said. Nevertheless in outline Baha'is can learn from Him.

As to the other Dharmic figures we can all learn from them too, come to think of it. You don't have to be Divine to learn from a enlightened person.

 

[Truthseeker]

And I'm confident other Baha'i might agree with you. However, I doubt most Hindus or Buddhists would.

Probably not. But isn't there a variety of Hindus and Buddhists? We could be considered a different variety of these.

 

[robocop (actually)]

So your church dictates how you should believe?

What else should a church do?

 

[Aupmanyav]

What were those rituals like? I mean what kind of practices were involved?
If their mantras were not directed to gods, then for what purpose were they recited?

"because gods existed only in name."
Yajnas, wrongly translated as 'fire sacrifice' with recitation of mantras as mentioned in Brahmanas, though in stone age time they could have been that. Later the sacrifice was symbolic. There were public Yajnas and household Yajnas, five times a day from the day the marriage of the couple till one of them was snatched by fate - 'Garhpatya yajnas'. The public yajnas covered the whole year.

Aryan Migration Theory update

 

[firedragon]

I recognize Krishna as regards Hinduism, though we can't rely on everything he is recorded to have said. In outline, In the Bhagavad Gita I see much wisdom to learn from. As to Rama, who was supposed to have come before Him, I have no opinion. I know of no words passed down from Rama, though I may be wrong, so it's a moot point. Same with the others supposed to have come before Rama.

It is similar with Buddhism. Baha'is recognize Buddha, but it is unsure what exactly He said. Nevertheless in outline Baha'is can learn from Him.

As to the other Dharmic figures we can all learn from them too, come to think of it. You don't have to be Divine to learn from a enlightened person.

Krishna for some Hindus is the supreme creator God and brahman is below him. Is that how you "recognise" Krishna? Obviously not. You just said "Rama" came before him. What is that? Think about it.

I know Bahai's recognise the Buddha. Some Bahais here even "recognise" other Gods and prophets around the world.

I am not talking about recognising. You said you are a Hindu and a Buddhist because you are a Bahai. Recognising someone and being part of that religion is completely different.

Hope you understand.

 

[Truthseeker]

Krishna for some Hindus is the supreme creator God and brahman is below him. Is that how you "recognise" Krishna? Obviously not. You just said "Rama" came before him. What is that? Think about it.

I know Bahai's recognise the Buddha. Some Bahais here even "recognise" other Gods and prophets around the world.

I am not talking about recognising. You said you are a Hindu and a Buddhist because you are a Bahai. Recognising someone and being part of that religion is completely different.

Hope you understand.

For Baha'is there is just one religion, the religion of God. However, I take your point. I am designated as Baha'i, that's true.

 

[firedragon]

For Baha'is there is just one religion, the religion of God. However, I take your point. I am designated as Baha'i, that's true.

Brother, even for Muslims, there is one religion. Submission. You are using an English sentence "religion of God". Sounds good. Bahaullah wrote in Arabic. So can you tell me how "religion of God" will be in Arabic? How would he have put it across? That is very important to make this kind of statements. Thats very basic hermeneutics.

 

[Truthseeker]

Brother, even for Muslims, there is one religion. Submission. You are using an English sentence "religion of God". Sounds good. Bahaullah wrote in Arabic. So can you tell me how "religion of God" will be in Arabic? How would he have put it across? That is very important to make this kind of statements. Thats very basic hermeneutics.

Yes, Islam means submission to the will of God. In that sense we should all be Muslims.

 

[soulsurvivor]

If you had to convert to a dharmic religion, which religion would you choose?
Sikhism, Hinduism, Jainism or Buddhism?

I am already a Hindu so I don't need to convert. But for most people brought up in the West, I would suggest Sikhism - the transition to Sikhism would be the easiest for Western monotheists,

 

[Aupmanyav]

For Baha'is there is just one religion, the religion of God. However, I take your point. I am designated as Baha'i, that's true.

If that is so, then why is your religion named as Bahai Religion? It should have been named as the religion of Adam, since for you he was the first manifestation of your Allah. And why God of Abraham and not God of Adam? I am just trying to understand.

For an atheist like me, there is no God and no religion of God. All religions are man-made.

 

[firedragon]

Yes, Islam means submission to the will of God. In that sense we should all be Muslims.

But you ignored your claim, and what I said.

You are a Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Bahai, and this new thing you said Bahaullah taught called "Religion of God" which you have no clue how he cited, and where.

Please try to make some specific claims and back them up with some kind of platform. If you cannot, try not to make claims you can't substantiate.

Cheers.

 

[Truthseeker]

If that is so, then why is your religion named as Bahai Religion? It should have been named as the religion of Adam, since for you he was the first manifestation of your Allah. And why God of Abraham and not God of Adam? I am just trying to understand.

For an atheist like me, there is no God and no religion of God. All religions are man-made.

Good question. Since we consider Baha'u'llah the latest Prophet and we follow His laws, that is what makes Baha'i distinct. It's the different laws more than anything else, I think. There are eternal truths that each Prophet expresses in His own way, and that is the religion of God, but on the other hand there are different laws in each religion, and that is what makes each distinct.

I guess you have your beliefs because they are reasonable to you, and that is the only reason.

 

[Truthseeker]

But you ignored your claim, and what I said.

You are a Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Bahai, and this new thing you said Bahaullah taught called "Religion of God" which you have no clue how he cited, and where.

Please try to make some specific claims and back them up with some kind of platform. If you cannot, try not to make claims you can't substantiate.

Cheers.

This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future.
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 136)

It is changeless in the sense that truth is one according to Baha'i, and all Prophets express this truth in different ways. There are different laws that each Prophet brings, and in that sense each religion is a different faith.

 

[firedragon]

This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future.
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 136)

It is changeless in the sense that truth is one according to Baha'i, and all Prophets express this truth in different ways. There are different laws that each Prophet brings, and in that sense each religion is a different faith.

That does not make you a Hindu.

 

[Sundance]

If you had to convert to a dharmic religion, which religion would you choose?
Sikhism, Hinduism, Jainism or Buddhism?

From my limited knowledge of and experiences with these, if I had to choose, I would be a Hindu or a Sikh. For starters, I believe in the existence of a distinct thing called the Self or ‘soul’. I had an dream experience relating to Lord Krishna – plus I was previously a Guadiya Vaisnava, so I’m very partial to Hinduism because of that. But Sikhi is a religion which has plenty of commonalities with my own religion as a Bahá’í. Additionally, from what I’ve been learning about it, it’s immensely beautiful! I especially love the Mul Mantra.

 

[Sundance]

Yeah, you are, though you do not consider Krishna as God and consider Buddha as messenger of a God, in difference to believer of these religions. You also say that the message of Krishna and Buddha has been corrupted and the latest version from Allah was brought by a 19th Century Iranian.You have the same view of other religions as well.

Allow me to correct your bits of misunderstanding point by point, friend Aup.

1. As for Krishna (or any recognized Manifestation) being God, this is asserted as true by Bahá’u’lláh. The Bahá’í concept of the Manifestations of God is that Jesus Christ, His Holiness Muhammad, Lord Buddha, Lord Krishna, etc. are both human and divine. They make God’s Will known to us as human beings and they also each and all reveal the fullest expressions of God’s Names (though not His Essence, the knowledge of which is closed to every one of us) in different measures. So, you could think of the Manifestation as some sort of cross between a Prophet and an Avatara.

2. As to Lord Siddhartha being a Messenger of God, see the above. As to Him speaking of “God”, He didn’t speak of God in the Jewish or Christian sense of the word. This much I think most Bahá’ís understand. Bahá’ís also understand that we can’t really define or conceptialize God at all. All of humanity’s attempts to do so only really speak to what each individual person or culture believes. They are valid for each religion but not accurate in terms of the Essence of God.

With this said, I think Buddhism does speak of Ultimate Reality in apophatic terms, all of Reality being empty of inherent existence and arising through the Law of Cause and Effect.

3. We do not believe that the messages of any religion had been corrupted (as if that could happen). Bahá’ís, rather, teach that – regarding particular religions – superstitions and other later additions, plus misunderstandings of different concepts and practices, tend to obscure their fundamental teachings. In short, the fundamentals of religion can get buried underneath layers and layers of later accretions and sometimes even forgotten.

 

[Sirona]

Probably not. But isn't there a variety of Hindus and Buddhists? We could be considered a different variety of these.

Yes, Islam means submission to the will of God. In that sense we should all be Muslims.

Interesting. If you talk to a follower of a Dharmic religion, you claim to be Dharmic. If you talk to a Muslim, you claim to be a Muslim. (This concept is not new, there are some Hindu teachers who do the same). However, If the approach to truth is so flexible, then I wonder what that truth is actually worth.

 

[Cosmos-intérieur]

all the dharmic religions seem interesting, they all respond in their own way to the great existential questions and to the problems of personal and collective life.

I really like the devotional ardor of bhaktas .

 

[LuisDantas]

If you had to convert to a dharmic religion, which religion would you choose?
Sikhism, Hinduism, Jainism or Buddhism?

Not really compatible with Sikhism (too monotheistic for me) nor Jainism (too strict), so it is almost a toss-up between Hinduism and Buddhism.

Although I think that I could come to appreciate Taoism as well given the proper cultural context.

 

[LuisDantas]

What else should a church do?

Something of an open question, perhaps.

IMO it should teach discernment and wisdom.