What makes a Hindu a Hindu - Version 2

[ajay0]

Just as you may use a thorn to dislodge an another thorn in your flesh, so you can use the term 'Hindu' as a label or functional identity till you understand your true identity or true Self .

I have elaborated this in this post under a similar thread.

Question for Hindus only, 'what in your eyes makes for a real Hindu?'


Jainarayan has wisely understood the label of 'Hindu' in its proper context from the wise woman. And this is all there is to it.

 

[Marcion]

If you can point out to me any teaching in which Lord Shiva or Lord Krsna mentions the word Hindu then only will I be impressed. Until then I'll be happy to say that I am not a Hindu but just a human being trying to follow their dharma.

 

[Vinayaka]

If you can point out to me any teaching in which Lord Shiva or Lord Krsna mentions the word Hindu then only will I be impressed. Until then I'll be happy to say that I am not a Hindu but just a human being trying to follow their dharma.

To me, it makes no difference how other people prefer to label themselves. Call yourself a coyote or a dingo for all that it matters. But it's a communicator, a word that many people understand. If somebody asks, 'What religion are you?' of me, the quickest and simplest response for them to get the gist of it is 'I'm Hindu." Even then they're quite likely to forget, and think about me on whatever more practical level I happened to meet them on ... like, 'that guy on the park bench'.

I think we all risk the possibility of getting hung up on the identity of ourselves, so much it gets in the way of sadhana, or whatever it is we do. I met one guy with who being a non-Hindu had become an obsession. That's not healthy.

 

[Marcion]

It's probably something more typical of the practisioners in the West that they never think of themselves as Hindu. Maybe in India they think about it more actively because there they live casteless in a caste-ridden society. So for me it's not important, I just wondered how the "real" hindus on this forum thought about it.

 

[Vinayaka]

It's probably something more typical of the practisioners in the West that they never think of themselves as Hindu. Maybe in India they think about it more actively because there they live casteless in a caste-ridden society. So for me it's not important, I just wondered how the "real" hindus on this forum thought about it.

That's probably true, as in the west there are a ton of people who practice advaita Vedanta, do yoga, or do other activities that have roots in Hinduism. Some of the western Advaita or neo-advaita teachers like Tolle take great pains to distance themselves from the 'H'' word as they think it has a negative connotation. (Presumably from British Imperialism slurs) Whether or not it does is debatable though as more and more Indian immigrants with high educational status like doctors arrive.

Personally, I am happy to call myself a Hindu.

 

[Devaki]

I used to really struggle with the H word, because well I'm a white German girl.
So for the longest time I went with "spiritual but not religious" or "interested in Eastern religions", but that only worked till lunch, when I had to explain what all the beef with beef was about

No but in all seriousness, eventually I just felt silly ... lying.
Because I was pretty darn well religious and pretty much exclusively into one Eastern religion only and ... there was only one appropriate word in any European language to describe what I was doing, and that was Hindu/ism.
So these days I'll just say it as it is, accept the stares and move on.

That also helps tremendously to distance myself from New Age neo-thisorthat philosophies and organizations, which I am by no means opposed to, but which I don't really relate to much and which people tend to think of when they see a white person doing yoga

I have however noticed that a lot of people have no idea what a "Hindu" even is. Think: "so like that's the one with the elephants and cows right?" So the label is probably not all that useful....

 

[Jainarayan]

...But it's a communicator, a word that many people understand. If somebody asks, 'What religion are you?' of me, the quickest and simplest response for them to get the gist of it is 'I'm Hindu." ...

Agreed. It's simply easier to say "I'm Hindu" or "I follow/practice Hinduism". It's what people understand. We know the actual name is Sanatana Dharma, but if I say that, 101 times out of 100 someone is going to say "huh, what's that?" and I'm going to say "Hinduism". So I'll just say Hinduism right from the gecko (sea wut I did thair? ).

It's probably something more typical of the practisioners in the West that they never think of themselves as Hindu. Maybe in India they think about it more actively because there they live casteless in a caste-ridden society. So for me it's not important, I just wondered how the "real" hindus on this forum thought about it.

From my pov there's also the idea of "cultural Hindu" and "religious/philosophical Hindu". V and Boss, as much as I know them, are both religiously and culturally Hindu in equal measure. I'm largely a "religious/philosophical Hindu", but I have leanings towards culturally Hindu, e.g. occasionally wearing traditional Indian clothing to temple (and once or twice at home for my own home puja); I listen to Indian music and am learning to cook Indian cuisine; etc. Another by-product is that being associated with Indians on a cultural and religious level is, I think, making me a better person. Indians are polite to a fault and I've picked some of that up, though I have a long way to go in losing the desire to throat-punch people who **** me off. My late father-in-law used to say "show me your friends and I'll tell you who you are".

Hinduism is inextricably linked to "Indian-ness" because it is indigenous to [drumroll] ... India! Hence some Indian Hindus claiming one cannot be Hindu if not born Indian. I hesitate to use "born Hindu", because V's kids for example, though white Canadians, were born and raised as Hindus. I think some of the confusion, debate and conversation about what constitutes Hindu-ness lies in the two facets of being Hindu.

However, this is all my brainfarts which should be taken with a very large grain of salt and raised eyebrow.

 

[Marcion]

Culturaly I am no longer typical Western, e.g. no alcohol, shoes off in the home, fasting regularly, lacto-vegetarian diet, dressing modestly and descent and even the use of namaskar. Nevertheless when I see those Hindu pics in your signature I don't identify with them at all and in a Hindu temple I feel as out of place as in a mosque or a church.

Of course there is the connection to India and Bengal because the Guru lived there and the philosophy and histories of the great Guru's of India matter a lot to me, much more than anything Christian. I listen to Bengali bhajans before meditation but also enjoy more subtle types of Western music.

 

[Jainarayan]

Nevertheless when I see those Hindu pics in your signature I don't identify with them at all and in a Hindu temple I feel as out of place as in a mosque or a church.

Keep in mind none of that is a requirement. There are Indian Hindus who've never set foot in a temple in their lives. I'm sure there are some who do not use images in their worship. If you want to go into a forest and see Shiva there, there he will be.

 

[atanu]

Because of the context of their practising?

So the context will determine the label, imo.

Following Yama and Niyama is not an exclusive Hindu thing (although they are poorly defined outside Hindu philosophy) nor is practising Bhakti.
So the crux of the matter is, would you not rather focuss on the things that are typical for Hindu's only?

Yama-niyama are the 'way of living' aspect and Brahman-Ishwara, Karma, PurushArtha, and Rebirth are the 'belief' aspect, imo. For the wise or jnana yogi, Yama-niyama requires no effort.

And then there are cultural Hindus because of their birth in Hindu family etc.

 

[Vinayaka]

Culturaly I am no longer typical Western, e.g. no alcohol, shoes off in the home, fasting regularly, lacto-vegetarian diet, dressing modestly and descent and even the use of namaskar. Nevertheless when I see those Hindu pics in your signature I don't identify with them at all and in a Hindu temple I feel as out of place as in a mosque or a church.

Of course there is the connection to India and Bengal because the Guru lived there and the philosophy and histories of the great Guru's of India matter a lot to me, much more than anything Christian. I listen to Bengali bhajans before meditation but also enjoy more subtle types of Western music.

I've been at this over 40 years now, with near full integration into a Tamil community. It takes time to be culturally Hindu, and I'm certainly not there yet. Maybe next lifetime.

 

[sayak83]

It's probably something more typical of the practisioners in the West that they never think of themselves as Hindu. Maybe in India they think about it more actively because there they live casteless in a caste-ridden society. So for me it's not important, I just wondered how the "real" hindus on this forum thought about it.

Its seems to me that there remains some stigma attached to concept of a Western person identifying himself\herself as a Hindu in the West. Otherwise this isn't that complicated.

 

[sayak83]

I've been at this over 40 years now, with near full integration into a Tamil community. It takes time to be culturally Hindu, and I'm certainly not there yet. Maybe next lifetime.

There is no particular reason to adopt the culture along with the religion. Some may want to, some may not.

 

[Vinayaka]

There is no particular reason to adopt the culture along with the religion. Some may want to, some may not.

That's true, but still a lot of it is interwoven. Vegetarianism is the practice of ahimsa, got example. Hindu clothing is just so comfortable, conducive to meditation. So there are examples.

 

[Vinayaka]

Its seems to me that there remains some stigma attached to concept of a Western person identifying himself\herself as a Hindu in the West. Otherwise this isn't that complicated.

Very little reality in that stigma, in my view. At temples I go to, the Indian born Hindus will be far less 'suspicious' of me than some westerner saying he's 'spiritual but not religious'.

 

[Marcion]

There is no particular reason to adopt the culture along with the religion. Some may want to, some may not.

It is quite usual for women in my community to wear a (mostly white) sari at her own wedding. But otherwise the clothing is Western (except the male underwear). And we do celebrate the Divali festival.
Personally I prefer Indian tunes to Western tunes in singing kiirtana, in that sense I seem to have some attraction to Indian culture. But I'm very much the odd one out here in this respect. I have no taste for hot spicy food but am very fond of the ISKCON cuisine and also the food the 3HO-Sikhs prepare.

 

[Aupmanyav]

If you can point out to me any teaching in which Lord Shiva or Lord Krsna mentions the word Hindu then only will I be impressed. Until then I'll be happy to say that I am not a Hindu but just a human being trying to follow their dharma.

Are you a Hindu? You don't mention that, you have kept that info blank. As I said we do not have an equivalent of the English word 'religion', so how would Shiva and Krishna talk about 'Hindu'. They would talk about 'dharma'. The paths/views can be many, 'Vipra bahudha vadanti'. That is no problem in Hinduism.

 

[Marcion]

Are you a Hindu? You don't mention that, you have kept that info blank. As I said we do not have an equivalent of the English word 'religion', so how would Shiva and Krishna talk about 'Hindu'. They would talk about 'dharma'. The paths/views can be many, 'Vipra bahudha vadanti'. That is no problem in Hinduism.

So my conclusion is that at the times that Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna lived there was no such thing as people identifying themselves as Hindu or belonging to 'Hinduism'. This idea has quite recently developed (or been pushed) and I am not a part of it. Whether someone follows his/her dharma is not dependent on any culture or continent, they can also be Christians, Muslims, Native Americans or whatever. And I am sure that Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna would have also disapproved of such a limited socio-sentiment.

 

[Aupmanyav]

The natives do not usually require to identify themselves.
Well, there are two realities, the Absolute and the Pragmatic, and each has to be treated at its own level.
Sankara had to bow to the chandala and Sankara had to run to escape a charging elephant..

 

[Marcion]

So this means I am not a Hindu but just a Neohumanist practising Tantra-Yoga.
And my preceptor happens to be from Bengal.
I haven't discussed this in detail with others from my tradition but I guess they would look at it in a similar way.

They don't look very Hindu (lots of beards!), but of course what counts is the inside not just appearances.