WHY I AM A HINDU - for those who don't know

this is a mail forward i got...GOOD REASONING>.. as Gandhi said.. you have to listen to everyone and select what you think is truth...

WHY I AM A HINDU - MUST READ 

Four years ago, I was flying from JFK NY Airport to SFO to attend a

meeting at Monterey, CA. An American girl was sitting on the right side,

near window seat. It indeed was a long journey - it would take nearly

seven hours. I was surprised to see the young girl reading a Bible

unusual of young Americans. 

After some time, she smiled and we had few acquaintances talk. I told

her that I am from India. 

Then suddenly the girl asked: 'What's your faith?' 

'What?' I didn't understand the question. 

'I mean, what's your religion? Are you a Christian? Or a Muslim?' 

'No!' I replied, 'I am neither Christian nor Muslim'. 

Apparently she appeared shocked to listen to that. 'Then who are you?'

'I am a Hindu', I said. 

She looked at me as if she was seeing a caged animal. She could not

understand what I was talking about. 

 A common man in Europe or US knows about Christianity and Islam, as they

are the leading religions of the world today. But a Hindu, what? 

I explained to her - I am born to a Hindu father and Hindu mother.

Therefore, I am a Hindu by birth. 

 'Who is your prophet?' she asked. 

'We don't have a prophet,' I replied. 

'What's your Holy Book?' 

'We don't have a single Holy Book, but we have hundreds and thousands

of

philosophical and sacred scriptures,' I replied. 

'Oh, come on at least tell me who is your God?' 

'What do you mean by that?' 

'Like we have Jesus and Muslims have Allah - don't you have a God?'

I thought for a moment. Muslims and Christians believe one God (Male

God) who created the world and takes an interest in the humans who

inhabit it. Her mind is conditioned with that kind of belief. 

According to her (or anybody who doesn't know about Hinduism), a

religion needs to have one Prophet, one Holy book and one God. The mind

is so conditioned and rigidly narrowed down to such a notion that

anything else is not acceptable. I understood her perception and concept

about faith. You can't compare Hinduism with any of the present leading

religions where you have to believe in one concept of god. 

I tried to explain to her: 'You can believe in one god and he can be a

Hindu. You may 

believe in multiple deities and still you can be a Hindu. What's more -

you may not 

believe in god at all, still you can be a Hindu. An atheist can also be

a Hindu.' 

This sounded very crazy to her. She couldn't imagine a religion so

unorganized, still 

surviving for thousands of years, even after onslaught from foreign

forces. 

'I don't understand but it seems very interesting. Are you

religious?' 

What can I tell to this American girl? 

I said: 'I do not go to temple regularly. I do not make any regular

rituals. I have 

learned some of the rituals in my younger days. I still enjoy doing it

sometimes.' 

'Enjoy? Are you not afraid of God?' 

'God is a friend. No- I am not afraid of God. Nobody has made any

compulsions on me to perform these rituals regularly.' 

She thought for a while and then asked: 'Have you ever thought of

converting to any other religion?' 

'Why should I? Even if I challenge some of the rituals and faith in

Hinduism, nobody can convert me from Hinduism. Because, being a Hindu

allows me to think independently and objectively, without conditioning.

I remain as a Hindu never by force, but choice.' I told her that

Hinduism is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. It is

not a religion like Christianity or Islam because it is not founded by

any one person or does not have an organized controlling body like the

Church or the Order, I added. There is no institution or authority. 

'So, you don't believe in God?' she wanted everything in black and

white. 

'I didn't say that. I do not discard the divine reality. Our scripture,

or Sruthis or 

Smrithis - Vedas and Upanishads or the Gita - say God might be there or

he might not be there. But we pray to that supreme abstract authority

(Para Brahma) that is the creator of this universe.' 

'Why can't you believe in one personal God?' 

'We have a concept - abstract - not a personal god. The concept or

notion of a personal God, hiding behind the clouds of secrecy, telling

us irrational stories through few men whom he sends as messengers,

demanding us to worship him or punish us, does not make sense. I don't

think that God is as silly as an autocratic emperor who wants others to

respect him or fear him.' I told her that such notions are just fancies

of less educated human imagination and fallacies, adding that generally

ethnic religious practitioners in Hinduism believe in personal gods. The

entry level Hinduism has over-whelming superstitions too. The

philosophical side of Hinduism negates all superstitions. 

'Good that you agree God might exist. You told that you pray. What is

your prayer then?' 

'Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,' 

'Funny,' she laughed, 'What does it mean?' 

'May all the beings in all the worlds be happy. Om Peace, Peace,

Peace.'

'Hmm ...very interesting. I want to learn more about this religion. It

is so democratic, 

broad-minded and free' she exclaimed. 

'The fact is Hinduism is a religion of the individual, for the

individual and by the 

individual with its roots in the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita. It is all

about an 

individual approaching a personal God in an individual way according to

his temperament and inner evolution - it is as simple as that.' 

'How does anybody convert to Hinduism?' 

'Nobody can convert you to Hinduism, because it is not a religion, but a

set of beliefs 

and practices. Everything is acceptable in Hinduism because there is no

single authority or organization either to accept it or to reject it or

to oppose it on behalf of 

Hinduism.' I told her - if you look for meaning in life, don't look for

it in religions; don't go from one cult to another or from one guru to

the next. 

For a real seeker, I told her, the Bible itself gives guidelines when it

says ' Kingdom of 

God is within you.' I reminded her of Christ's teaching about the love

that we have for 

each other. That is where you can find the meaning of life.  Loving each

and every creation of the God is absolute and real. 'Isavasyam idam

sarvam' 

Isam (the God) is present (inhabits) here everywhere - nothing exists

separate from the God, because God is present everywhere. Respect every

living being and non-living things as God. That's what Hinduism teaches

you. 

Hinduism is referred to as Sanathana Dharma, the eternal faith. It is

based on the 

practice of Dharma, the code of life. The most important aspect of

Hinduism is being 

truthful to oneself. Hinduism has no monopoly on ideas.  It is open to

all. Hindus believe in one God (not a personal one) expressed in

different forms. For them, God is timeless and formless entity. 

Ancestors of today's Hindus believe in eternal truths and cosmic laws

and these truths are opened to anyone who seeks them. But there is a

section of Hindus who are either 

superstitious or turned fanatic to make this an organized religion like

others. The 

British coin the word 'Hindu' and considered it as a religion. 

I said: 'Religions have become an MLM (multi-level- marketing) industry

that has been 

trying to expand the market share by conversion. The biggest business in

today's world is Spirituality. Hinduism is no exception'. 

I am a Hindu primarily because it professes Non-violence - 'Ahimsa

Paramo Dharma' - Non violence is the highest duty. I am a Hindu because

it doesn't condition my mind with any faith system. A man / woman who

change 's his / her birth religion to another religion is a fake and

does not value his / her morals, culture and values in life. Hinduism

was the first religion originated. 

 Be proud of your religion and be proud of who you are. 

Om Namo shiva............... 

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