What Makes a Hindu a Hindu?

[chinu]

In which book it is written not to eat non-veg?

Only in the book of compassion it is written not to eat non-veg, Not only in the books of hindus you can pick and read any book of the world in any language, But the book should be written on compassion.

Don't you think that compassion says.. why to cut and cook the toungless creatures for the sake of stomach and taste.

 

[zenzero]

Friend dudeactually,

I need to ask a few things from you guys. Please tell me which books do HIndus follow? In which book it is written not to eat non-veg? I have numerous questions to ask you guys if I could get a few answers from here. lately i hv been too consufused.

Sanatan dharma is not A religion but ways of life. Whatever be one's way, one is in accordance with dharma. Eating is for survival and its all the same energy meaning all forms be they in trees, animals or humans the energy is the same only the form differs.
In nature we see everyday one animal eats the weaker for survival. If humans do so there is nothing wrong by way of dharma but it is a question of realization and a question of expression of life that one recognizes in every form.
Those who try to live to their true potential are those who are meditators and in the process the energy that the form they are in merges with THAT universal energy and so become very sensitive and realize that beauty that life offers in various forms and so he enjoys even a flower and will not wish to pluck it out and deprive the flower its own survival as a flower and even if a leaf is required for survival will take permission from the tree for doing so and pray the tree regains its health.
Yes early meditators who have left their experiences about their realizations have also written that food can be divided into 3 categories which are satvik, rajasic and tamasic. You may read about them and understand how food helps in tuning one's mind and body to be meditative.

Love & rgds

 

[zenzero]

Friend Vinayaka,

Darn ... and to think I mistakenly thought I was a Hindu. Oh well, maybe next life time.

Yes probably am as mistaken as you to understand that:
Followers of dharma are all and everything in experiences, wherever they are.
Hindu is a word coined by Alexander who could not pronounce SINDHU the river he crossed to come to the land of Bharat and referring to those who lived on the other side of the river Sindhu the word Hindu was pronounced and remained so as reference.

How does it matter what the label is, anyways????
NEXT LIFE???? it is simply another *THOUGHT*; Life is eternal is known, realized!!!!!!!

Love & rgds

 

[Vinayaka]

Friend Vinayaka,

Hindu is a word coined by Alexander who could not pronounce SINDHU the river he crossed to come to the land of Bharat and referring to those who lived on the other side of the river Sindhu the word Hindu was pronounced and remained so as reference.

Gee, I learns something new every day. And all this time I thought it was some mispronunciation of Hoodoo. The British did spell it Hindoo, you know. That Alex guy sure did get hisself around.

 

[Jainarayan]

Actually Hindu is the Old Persian pronunciation of Sindhu. In the Indo-Iranian language family (formerly known as Indo-Aryan; Iran gets its name from Aryan) to which Vedic Sanskrit and Old Persian belong, there is a regular sound shift. Sanskrit 's' becomes Persian 'h': Sindhu=Hindu; sapta=hapta; saptasindhu= haptahindu (7 rivers); Asura=Ahura (with a coincidental reversal in meaning and usage); Dasa=Daha(e); Saraswati=Hairovati (the river).

We don't get 'Perhia' (someone tried to punk me with that... but he got punked) because Persia is a Greek word. There was no corruption or mispronunciation of anything. It's the same effect between Latin and Greek: sub=hypo; super=hyper; sept=hept; sex=hex, and so on. 'India' comes from Greek 'Indoi'; Greek tends to drop inital 'h' in some cases. We say Hellenic, Greeks say Elleniki. That's how languages diverge from dialects of a common ancestor language.

 

[Vinayaka]

TBTL: Sarcasm my man, sarcasm.

 

[Jainarayan]

I know... I was going into Geek Pedantic Mode, actually addressing zenzero's post. I get all tingly and warm talking about linguistics (I have no life ).

 

[ratikala]

Friend Vinayaka,


Yes probably am as mistaken as you to understand that:
Followers of dharma are all and everything in experiences, wherever they are.
Hindu is a word coined by Alexander who could not pronounce SINDHU the river he crossed to come to the land of Bharat and referring to those who lived on the other side of the river Sindhu the word Hindu was pronounced and remained so as reference.

How does it matter what the label is, anyways????
NEXT LIFE???? it is simply another *THOUGHT*; Life is eternal is known, realized!!!!!!!

Love & rgds

dear freinds ,

hindu or sanatana dharmi .....?

what matters ....simply we are all harijan

How does it matter what the label is, anyways????
NEXT LIFE???? it is simply another *THOUGHT*; Life is eternal is known, realized!!!!!!!

jai jai

 

[zenzero]

Friend ratikala,

what matters ....simply we are all harijan

Another LABEL!
neti, neti ................................................till only SILENCE remains

Love & rgds

 

[Vrindavana Das]

Hindus have been given an opportunity to be close to God. Born in a race belonging to the spiritual land of Vedas, scriptures, sages, seers, prophets, holy places, rivers, culture...

Race of the land, chosen by God Himself to descend. The heart of religion. So, what should be the natural inclination of a person born in such a race? It should be faith and worship of Supreme Lord. It should be perfecting one's human life and achieving God's Kingdom. That is what will make Hindu a Hindu.

 

[ratikala]

Friend ratikala,


Another LABEL!
neti, neti ................................................till only SILENCE remains

Love & rgds

label ; a narow strip of paper , parchment or other material attatched to an object to indicate contents , destination , ownership or other particulars ; figurative.. a descriptive phrase associated with a person .

new english dictonary ..1932


harijan ; words from the heart

ratikala monday evening ...2012


ha ha , ....and since it applies to us all (wether we know it or not) what need is there to differentiate ? ... what need for labels ?

 

[dudeactually]

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.

I'm surprised to see these sort of questions here. Nowhere in Bhagvad Gita or the Vedas do we find such questions. ridiculous

 

[Vinayaka]

I'm surprised to see these sort of questions here. Nowhere in Bhagvad Gita or the Vedas do we find such questions. ridiculous

That's because philosophy and daily practice are two different realms. Sorry if my questions were taken to be offensive. They weren't meant as direct questions, just rhetorical ones, meant to illicit reflection.

 

[atanu]

That's because philosophy and daily practice are two different realms. Sorry if my questions were taken to be offensive. They weren't meant as direct questions, just rhetorical ones, meant to illicit reflection.

What's that?

 

[Vinayaka]

What's that?

I dunno. Some 'thing' some have, and others don't I guess.

 

[atanu]

That's because philosophy and daily practice are two different realms. Sorry if my questions were taken to be offensive. They weren't meant as direct questions, just rhetorical ones, meant to illicit reflection.

What's that?

I dunno. Some 'thing' some have, and others don't I guess.

i see.

 

[sentry]

Do you do a daily puja?
no, there are no guarantees. Whenever I'm called.

Do you attend temple once a week?
once a week? no! never! the reason being that if there's no solitude, I can't relax

Do you have a Hindu name?
?? yes!

Have you been had the equivalent of a baptism, or formal entrance?
no

Do you meditate daily?
I'll leave meditation to the munis and rishis

Do you pilgrimage near of far at least once a year?
no

Are most of your friends Hindu?
no, most of them are christian, I don't know why..

Do you listen to Hindu music primarily or exclusively?
I hardly listen to any music and when I do, it's in english
what can i say, i don't like music

Have you been initiated or taken diksha from a bonafide Hindu teacher?
no

Are you a vegetarian, or at least realise you should be one?
been around 10 years since i became a vegetarian

Do you dream about Hindu stuff?
hmmmm what does this mean..

Will you call yourself Hindu in public?
i have the word "hindu" tattooed on my forehead and i carry a trident

Will you consult an ayurvedic doctor?
i have no faith in western medicine, if i was looking for options it would be ayurvedic/herbal/natural

Will you consult a Hindu astrologer?
i understand that astrology is an intuitive science, i wonder how many capable astrologers there are
no I won't consult an astrologer

Do you know your nakshatra?
can't remember

Do you believe fully in reincarnation?
fully? no. but i believe there's a strong possibility that there's some truth to it

Do you believe in karma?
not fully

Do you believe in a divinity within all things?
hmmmm....maybe....yes

Do you avoid wearing leather?
yes

Do you know at least a few bhajans?
none, just a couple of lines of the ganga stotram

 

[Vinayaka]

What's that?

Duh ... now I get it ... that would be 'ellicit'

 

[atanu]

Duh ... now I get it ... that would be 'ellicit'

Ha ha.

 

[zenzero]

Friends,

What Makes a Hindu a Hindu?
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.

The question brings to mind the question Emperor Wu had asked Boddhidharma;

"I have made so many monasteries, I am feeding thousands of scholars, I have opened a whole university for the studies of Gautam Buddha, I have put my whole empire and its treasures in the service of Gautam Buddha. What is going to be my reward?"

Bodhidharma said, "Nothing, no reward. On the contrary, be ready to fall into the seventh hell."

Similarly doing 20 things or thousands one is still away from being a *dharmic*.

"On the path of DHARMA there is no reward because the very desire for reward comes from a greedy mind. The whole teaching of is desirelessness and if you are doing all these so-called virtuous acts, making temples and monasteries and feeding thousands of monks, with a desire in your mind, you are preparing your way towards hell. If you are doing these things out of joy, to share your joy with the whole empire, and there is not even a slight desire anywhere for any reward, the very act is a reward unto itself. Otherwise you have missed the whole point."

Anyone finds a parallel???

LOve & rgds