Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Hindus, does the name matter?

Do Hindus deserve the tag, "Hindus". When does name matter? Name matters in a relative world, when there is no one absolute aspect. When we view something from the perspective of absoluteness then name or tag does not matter. Name or a tag is an important aid to differentiate one from another. But when there is only one then it exists by itself. For example, God, if everyone perceived God the same way then there would not have been multiple names/tags to God. But the concept of God is so wide and abstract that people perceive and experience it in their own subjective ways. Even though there is only one absolute God, humans perceive from a relative world that they sit in. A religion is a way to that one God.

When, in the begining, no other perception existed, when no other religious tenet existed, when there was only one perspective of God and only way to God, the tag 'Hindu' had no significance. Everyone was and is a HINDU from that perspective, when no other religion had set foot but "Hinduism" had advanced itself to a state that other religions could not (and will never) scale up to. Hinduism is the superset of all religions and hence the mother or source of everything that followed.

Hindu is a tag given by the aliens of the land - westerners and Muslims. The narrow minded ones gave a narrow minded definition: Hinduism as something that petains to a piece of land called India. Even India was a name given by outsiders not by itself, we all know that. But we do not have the courage or the resolve to correct ourselves. We are destined to be slaves for ever and slaves we will be to the west and the rest.

What is a true religion? A true religion is one that leads to that One God, which represents that One Lord. If a religion claims to be based on a "Document" from God then that document and that religion should be able to represent the nature of that One God. It is hard to differentiate a religion from its scripture. If the formet is the body then the latter is its soul. If the God is without a source, the doctrine or scripture should be. If God had no begining nor end, so should the scripture and the religion be. If the God is eternal , then the scripture should be. If God is all-accepting, then the religion should be. The only religion which can meet all these demands is "Hinduism". It is the only religion without a source, or atleast a known source. Its scriptures are as eternally valid as this world itself is. Its all accepting nature (vasudaiva kutumbakam) is unlike most others religions that divide the world into two. It is the only religion which talks about the "Science of Life" in complete detail unlike most religions that talk merely at the platform of "Art of Living". By understanding the Science of Life, the Art of Living is but a mere side effect, but not vice-versa. It is only by understanding the Science of Life that one can try to understand the Science of God, otherwise it is only a superficial understanding of the concept. For example, Islam and most other religions prescribe some "right way of living" with very little on the life itself. "Do this", "do that", "dont do this", "dont do that" are good but it is like giving fish to the hunger; exploring and explaining what life is like is similar to teaching one to fish. It is common sense that teaching one to fish is more holistic than feeding one with fish.

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