Message to Nihal on the BBC Asian Network Phone in show :) Perhaps other young people from the Hindu faith are encouraged to learn more about our rich and philosophically thorough way of life. Nihal! Hows it going? Fantastic subject. I think peoples opinions on this are fascinating, because they seem to go by the actions of the followers of a religion, rather than what the religious scripture teach. As a Learning Co-coordinator for Hinduism in my University days people would often put me under pressure to fill a room or a lecture theater. Although often I did, I and much of the committee could agree we did struggle. Many would compare our society to the Islamic society and how they seemed to grab larger crowd without even understanding the huge differences in the foundation of the religions. The biggest problem is Hinduism can mean a culture aswell as a religion. Infact the word Hindu isnt even mentioned in our scriptures...the word for our religion(or more so the way of life) is The Sanatan Dharma. Hinduism doesnt specifically ask for anything. Someone can convert into Hinduism simply by saying, today I wish to follow the Vedas. In fact anyone can follow Hinduism without any ritual to confirm they do. People will argue this too. This openness of the Hindu Religion, is where Hinduism struggles compared to Islam. Islam specifically asked you to confirm you believe in God in the first Kalma of the Quran. Hindus are not asked to believe in God, in fact once can remain an atheist and live a Hindu Life. A Hindu can even pray in a mosque or church. Due to the complexity of Hinduism, parents do not know where to start with their children and many Religious leaders will suggest it is up to an individual to seek what the religion is rather than be heavily encouraged or forced. I have been extremely lucky to have parents that have pushed me to understand the philosophy of not only my Religion, the Sanatan Dharma, but infact all religions! from the age of 8, my mum would push me to read about Islam and Christianity too, but it is also because she saw my natural curiosity for philosophy, religion and the world. This is somewhat normal in Hinduism as we believe all religions are a path up the same mountain. How many of my Muslims would feel the same? Or how many are taught its okay to learn about other religions and that other religions are suitable to follow today? Respecting a religion is a very different to actually saying Your religion is right too Hinduism is a collection of similar paths that lead to a very similar way of life and therefore it is almost impossible to teach it as one religion with one founder and one god. This naturally makes it much harder to understand. Believing in God is one thing, but being a good human is another. Simply having faith or confirming ones believe and waving a flag of confirmation in ones belief doesnt actually mean that one follows the whole Quran, Veda or Guru Granth Sahib. I agree Hindus do need to do more, but it was prophesied in Hindu Scriptures that in the Kali Yuga, there would be a decline in Religion, hence many Hindus who practice fall into the live and let live category, hoping that their fellows, their children, their friends find religion naturally. I commend Muslims around the world who have kept strong faith in God (and ofcourse people of other faiths too): my salaams to them! However as a Hindu I understand that believing in God doesnt automatically mean you are following his commands to be a better human or better your lives. Namaste and have a great day! Parle
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 11:32:04 +0000
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