What Makes a Hindu a Hindu?

[Vinayaka]

Besides coming on the internet and claiming you're a Hindu, what makes you a Hindu?

Do you do a daily puja?
Do you attend temple once a week?
Do you have a Hindu name?
Have you been had the equivalent of a baptism, or formal entrance?
Do you meditate daily?
Do you pilgrimage near of far at least once a year?
Are most of your friends Hindu?
Do you listen to Hindu music primarily or exclusively?
Have you been initiated or taken diksha from a bonafide Hindu teacher?
Are you a vegetarian, or at least realise you should be one?
Do you dream about Hindu stuff?
Will you call yourself Hindu in public?
Will you consult an ayurvedic doctor?
Will you consult a Hindu astrologer?
Do you know your nakshatra?
Do you believe fully in reincarnation?
Do you believe in karma?
Do you believe in a divinity within all things?
Do you avoid wearing leather?
Do you know at least a few bhajans?

20 questions ... and one more ... how many of the above do you have to answer 'yes' to before by all measures, an onlooker would consider you a Hindu?

BTW, I can honestly answer yes to all 20.

 

[zenzero]

Friend Vinayaka,

Guess have to keep out of the survey as am yet to find that *I* who can say yes or no to anything??
At best can say am a born satanist; maybe??

Love & rgds

 

[Vinayaka]

Friend Vinayaka,

Guess have to keep out of the survey as am yet to find that *I* who can say yes or no to anything??
At best can say am a born satanist; maybe??

Love & rgds

I found it! ... it goes just in front of the word Guess in your answer. and also just in front of the word 'am' Then it reads like this: I guess I have to keep out of the survey as I am yet to find that 'I' who can say yes or no to anything.

Sorry ... I use to teach ... had to often fill in the ____s in order to understand.

But yes 'I' get it ... one of the big 4 ... Thou art That. Tat Tvam Asi.

 

[zenzero]

Friend Vinayaka,

Thank you for your understanding.
Am no contributor to that. Its all you and your self!

Thou art That. Tat Tvam Asi.

No am not THAT! No way, am still seeking, groping see ropes to confirm that it is not a snake and vice versa. All in all as mentioned a sanatani or santanist [labels and more lables like tree, branch, leaves]

The journey from unconscious to consciousness [?]
Not a journey but a discovery [?]
Not a discovery but evolving.[!]
Beings always evolving is BEING!!!
[?] mind related and so effort appears
[!] mind moving to no-mind.
!!! REALIZATION.

Love & rgds

 

[Vinayaka]

You do realise you wrote satanist ... an error, perhaps.

 

[zenzero]

Friend Vinayaka,

SATANIST??
Well maybe try that door of *satan* too some point as have mentioned there is goodness in badness and badness in goodness; but one simply needs to balance.
Daku Ratnakar swung from badness to goodness to be Saint Valmiki.

Of course it is a typo error.
Sanatanist or sanatani whichever be the proper label.

Love & rgds

 

[sadhak]

Yes i do a daily puja.
Yes i do attend a temple(daily). Its right next to my house.
Yes i have a sanskrit name if that is what you mean by Hindu name.
What is baptism? Probably a christian ritual i think. Don't understand what you mean by formal entrance. Is this question meant for new comers to Hinduism. If so i am a born Hindu.
Yes i meditate whenever i am free.
No i don't go on pilgrimage. Is this required to be a Hindu? I don't think so.
Yes most of my friends are Hindu.
What according to you is Hindu music? Please elaborate.
How do you identify a bonafide Hindu teacher?
Hindu stuff?
Yes. But i usually don't like the idea of walking down the street calling out aloud," I am a Hindu."
Ha ha I don't have to consult a ayurvedic doctor. People around here are fairly knowledgable in ayurveda.
Yes i do consult a astrologer.
I know my nakshatra.
Yes i believe in reincarnation,karma, divinity within all things.
I don't avoid wearing leather but i rarely use it.
I know a lot of bhajans.

 

[Vinayaka]

What is baptism?

Namakarana samskara ... you most likely had one when you were about 21 or 31 days old, depending on local custom regarding staying away from the temple after births. Your parents would remember better than you... most likely you also had several other childhood sacraments like firs feeding, first letters, etc as well. But you may not remember.

 

[Jainarayan]

Besides coming on the internet and claiming you're a Hindu, what makes you a Hindu?

What have I got to lose? I've already been trashed publically and by pm. Though I'm at a loss to understand all the interest in labels of late.

Do you do a daily puja?
No, not physical puja. Mental puja, daily prayers, chanting the Lord's name. Krishna is less interested in ritual than in devotion and love towards Himself and others.

Nice story:
As an example, there is a story in Mahabharatha. Arjuna was performing regularly pooja for Athma lingam, but his brother were not doing the same. He felt very proud of his devotional worship to God. As Sri Krishna wanted to control his ego, took him to Mount Kailash, the abode of Shiva. The Arjuna saw large number of baskets of flowers being carried by the Boothaganas. When Arjuna asked Sri Krishna about it, He asked Arjuna to check himself with those carrying the flowers. He stopped one of them asked about it. He got the reply that one of the Pancha Pandavas named Bheema who has been offering these flowers in a pure heart to the lord which they are carrying. Arjuna asked Sri Krishna that if the pure heart flowers of Bheema who does not ever sit down to worship is this much, how much will it be for his own Athmalinga pooja which is performed every day. Sri Krishna asked the Bhoothagana to show Arjuna his portion of the flowers offered. They showed a small mound of flowers lying in one corner. Arjuna asked Sri Krishna to explain this disparity. Sri Krishna explained that, Bheema is thinking of God at all times and whenever he sees a flower garden, he mentally offers all the flowers to Siva as his offering and so it reaches Siva the very next moment. Thus, Sri Krishna explains the Inner self pooja called antharyagam.

Do you attend temple once a week?
Have not been at all. http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/2886940-post8.html

Do you have a Hindu name?
No; though I do consider my middle name a Hindu name, having changed it.

Have you been had the equivalent of a baptism, or formal entrance?
No; I have Krishna's love which is far more important than rituals.

Do you meditate daily?
Yes in my own way.

Do you pilgrimage near of far at least once a year?
No, there are no pilgrimage areas in the NY/NJ metro area or anywhere in the US afaik.

Are most of your friends Hindu?
Yes, I just haven't met them yet.

Do you listen to Hindu music primarily or exclusively?
Primarily.

Have you been initiated or taken diksha from a bonafide Hindu teacher?
No; I would like to.

Are you a vegetarian, or at least realise you should be one?
No. Yes.

Do you dream about Hindu stuff?
I don't know, I don't usually remember my dreams. But I often wake up with a chant or bhajan in my head.

Will you call yourself Hindu in public?
Yes, and I have a visible

Will you consult an ayurvedic doctor?
If necessary and possible.

Will you consult a Hindu astrologer?
If necessary and possible.

Do you know your nakshatra?
No.

Do you believe fully in reincarnation?
Yes.

Do you believe in karma?
Yes.

Do you believe in a divinity within all things?
Yes.

Do you avoid wearing leather?
No, though I would prefer not to.

Do you know at least a few bhajans?
Quite a few. I can even play a couple on guitar.

20 questions ... and one more ... how many of the above do you have to answer 'yes' to before by all measures, an onlooker would consider you a Hindu?
None. It's no one's business. It affects them not one bit what my beliefs are, only how I treat them

 

[Vinayaka]

I think there is a big difference between saying or proclaiming, "I am a Hindu." and saying or thinking, "I have a huge interest in Hinduism." For me there is a distinction.

But once again, that's just me.

Here are some more questions to ponder.

If married, or about to be married, did you have, or will you have a Hindu wedding?
Are you planning to be cremated?
Will you have a pundit of cremation priest say the Hindu last rites right before cremation?
Are you comfortable in Hindu loose style clothing, dhoti, Salwar Kameez, or Sari?
If married and female, do you wear a wedding pendant on your neck?
Have you had any of the other Hindu samskaras?
Besides 'yoga' and 'karma', are any other Sanskrit terms in your daily vocabulary?

The intention here isn't to be critical, but to be a catalyst for reflection. I don't think that any particular number of questions answered with a 'yes' makes anyone a Hindu or not. But I think when you're answering a 'No' to many or most, then its time to reflect on the question.

As far as labels go, we all have them. One person is male, another is female, American, Indian, Brazilian, Republican, Democrat, communist, graduate, and on and on ...I think they help, especially on a forum like this one, where the goal is to learn, share, promote a tolerance, etc. Universalist is just another label, and there is a subsection here for that too, no?

 

[sadhak]

Namakarana samskara ... you most likely had one when you were about 21 or 31 days old, depending on local custom regarding staying away from the temple after births. Your parents would remember better than you... most likely you also had several other childhood sacraments like firs feeding, first letters, etc as well. But you may not remember.

If I ask my parents about my baptism they would be like :areyoucra. About Namakarana Samskara, yes it was done. I had a silver chain around my waist for quite a few years. I pestered my mom that i need a golden chain until they took it away and i had none.
Had my ears pierced too and wore a beautiful pair of golden ear-rings. Don't have an early childhood photograph else sure would have posted it here.

 

[Jainarayan]

I think there is a big difference between saying or proclaiming, "I am a Hindu." and saying or thinking, "I have a huge interest in Hinduism." For me there is a distinction.

Of course, they are completely different animals. Extrapolate it to "I am Greek" and "I have a huge interest in all things Greek". No one with any semblence of intelligence could possibly confuse the two.

But I think when you're answering a 'No' to many or most, then its time to reflect on the question.

How about the difference between desire and ability? If one has the desire but not the ability, what should be reflected on? Should one abandon the journey? Are outward symbols so important?

"My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me."

"If you cannot practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga, then just try to work for Me, because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage."

"If, however, you are unable to work in this consciousness of Me, then try to act giving up all results of your work and try to be self-situated."

"If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind." Bhagavad Gita 12.9-12

Shall I post the story about the antharyagam again, as explained by Sri Krishna?

 

[Vinayaka]

If I ask my parents about my baptism they would be like :areyoucra. About Namakarana Samskara, yes it was done. I had a silver chain around my waist for quite a few years. I pestered my mom that i need a golden chain until they took it away and i had none.
Had my ears pierced too and wore a beautiful pair of golden ear-rings. Don't have an early childhood photograph else sure would have posted it here.

Which state are you from? Or your parents. Certainly your English is impeccable.

Let me take three guesses ... just for fun ... its a game I play. 1) UP 2) Gujarat 3) Maharashtra

 

[sadhak]

Which state are you from? Or your parents. Certainly your English is impeccable.

Let me take three guesses ... just for fun ... its a game I play. 1) UP 2) Gujarat 3) Maharashtra

Being sarcastic are you? Well one of the three states of course. Suspense.

 

[Vinayaka]

Being sarcastic are you? Well one of the three states of course. Suspense.

Not a bad guess, then, considering there are 20 or more states to guess from. I ruled out the 4 southern states because of your name... there it would more likely be sadhaka. I ruled out Bengal because of the image ... more likely to be Kali or Thurga. Then I guessed UP because of the population of UP, Gujarat for the same reason. Initially my intuition said Gujarat, so I'll stick with that. Am I right?

 

[sadhak]

Not a bad guess, then, considering there are 20 or more states to guess from. I ruled out the 4 southern states because of your name... there it would more likely be sadhaka. I ruled out Bengal because of the image ... more likely to be Kali or Thurga. Then I guessed UP because of the population of UP, Gujarat for the same reason. Initially my intuition said Gujarat, so I'll stick with that. Am I right?

Alright very clever indeed. Now look at my profile pic and find out for yourselves. Easy one.

 

[sadhak]

How about asking questions like.

Do you observe Brahmacharya?
Do you wear a Tilak?
Do you take care of your parents?

Don't you consider these part of a Hindu way of life.

 

[Vinayaka]

How about asking questions like.

Do you observe Brahmacharya?
Do you wear a Tilak?
Do you take care of your parents?
Don't you consider these part of a Hindu way of life.

Yes of course. There are many many questions one could ask. Feel free to add them ... as many as you can think of. I can only answer a qualified 'yes' to 3 of the 4 above, as one depends on a certain definition.

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

Do you observe Brahmacharya?

I am in my early 50's and a single parent. Even though I have to work I see my self in Vanaprastha. So my days of getting laid are over. I will never remarry. (by the grace of God)

Do you wear a Tilak?

Yes, when I come out of a temple.

Do you take care of your parents?

I did but both of them are dead now. I even took care of my step dad.

Don't you consider these part of a Hindu way of life.

Yes, all but the Tilak.
Brahmacharya is a hard one in the west. Even many religious Indian Hindu's have problems with this when they move here. How many Guru's have fallen due to this.

 

[Shântoham]

Shrigurubhyo namaH

So far Yes to all the questions related to the male gender.

What makes a Hindu a Hindu? Living a life in harmony with the Total. Living life as a contributor instead of a consumer. An Astika vaidika, in short.