"The concept of God in Hinduism"

[3bob]

"Haha", righto...

 

And thanks also for the tons of well shared info!

[amoyaan]

 

"Haha", righto...

 

And thanks also for the tons of well shared info!

 

No worries 3Bob, thanks for the original article, I'd added it to my to-read list and about to get to it right now

[3bob]

No worries also amoyaan, you are welcome concerning the original article and I hope you've had time to pull up the link.

 

Btw, I believe the following view below could use some further research:

 

"I don't believe this to be true at all. Vedanta is not in itself a religion, although it does form a kind of philosophical basis of Hinduism. Interestingly, I know a few Hindus, and largely find theirs to be a devotional religion -- I don't even know how many Hindus even know much about vedanta, much less use it as a means of self inquiry, self knowledge and liberation. It seems to me that much is based on the karma kanda section of the vedas rather than the Upanishads." by amoyaan

 

...being that the Vedas (which the Upanishads can not be broken off from) are meant to be far more

than only a philosophical or debateble basis of Hinduism... For instance: (and I'm no expert either)

 

"Astika" and "Nastika"
As a further attempt to clearly distinguish between Hindu and non-Hindu, Hindu philosophers regularly used the Sanskrit terms astika and nastika. The two terms are synonymous with vaidika and avaidika, respectively. Astika refers to those who believe in the Vedas, nastika to those who reject the Vedas. Under the astika category Hinduism would include any Hindu path that accepts the Veda, such as Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, Advaita, Yoga, Nyaya, Mimamsa, among others. The nastika religions would include any religious tradition that does not accept the Veda: Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Christianity, Islam, Baha'i, etc. Thus when it came to the importance of unambiguously differentiating between the teachings of Hinduism and the teachings of non-Hindu religions, the most historically important sages of Hindu philosophical and theological thought are clear advocates of "Vaidika Dharma" - Hinduism - as a systematic, unitive tradition of spiritual expression.

 

Dwai has shared some of his experiences along these lines before and has lived a Hindu-Indian

philosophy-religion along with being in its related and diverse culture, thus he has seen many things

first hand most of which I've only read about. I'm hoping that he would share some of his insights about

same in this thread?

Edited May 16, 2014 by 3bob

[amoyaan]

Thanks for sharing 3Bob, that's interesting...I hope to learn more about this relationship, it's an area I'm not that 'up' on

[3bob]

Thanks for sharing 3Bob, that's interesting...I hope to learn more about this relationship, it's an area I'm not that 'up' on

 

Thanks for sharing and for giving some interesting material also amoyaan...

 

Om

[dwai]

I don't believe this to be true at all. Vedanta is not in itself a religion, although it does form a kind of philosophical basis of Hinduism. Interestingly, I know a few Hindus, and largely find theirs to be a devotional religion -- I don't even know how many Hindus even know much about vedanta, much less use it as a means of self inquiry, self knowledge and liberation. It seems to me that much is based on the karma kanda section of the vedas rather than the Upanishads." by amoyaan

 

"Hinduism" today is an amalgam of Vedic Ritual and the Tantras, agamas. The underlying detail/focus changes depending on whether the practitioner is a Vaishnava (Vishnu devotee) or a Shaiva (Shiva devotee) or Shakta (Mother Shakti's devotee).

 

The underlying practical method too changes with that. For most parts, Hindus follow the upanishadic way in life, though many are unaware of this. Most people in most parts of the world probably cannot understand Advaita (Non-Dual) Vedanta concepts and percepts. Some, like the Madhvas (followers of Dualist Madhvacharya) or the followers of Ramanuja (of vishisthadvaita school) are taught to not accept Shankara's treatises/teachings as "true" teachings.

 

In my opinion, the typical Hindu way is both easiest as well as hardest. It is easiest to follow, but provided you overcome the hard part - of surrendering/letting go/giving in to the divine will - so the Bhakti path is most popular.

 

Also, there are no "hard and fast" institutions/doctrines that we have to follow as Hindus. So, as with myself, I added to the Bhakti aspect, Karma and then Jnana (Advaita Vedanta) to it. I am still primarily a Hindu, but I am also a Daoist (since I find that Vedanta and Daoism are very similar). Does it sound a little "new agey"? Perhaps...though us Hindus don't find any dichotomy in being multiple things simultaneously. Spirituality is not a zero-sums game for us...and there is room for all, respect for all (in most cases i.e.)

[amoyaan]

Thanks for the insight Dwai I have been reading up on Hinduism to fill in my knowledge a bit and now realise that it's not a single path or single religion, but more of an umbrella term for various traditions and paths, if that's right? Seems the term Hindu arose from a geographical description rather than anything!

[dwai]

Thanks for the insight Dwai I have been reading up on Hinduism to fill in my knowledge a bit and now realise that it's not a single path or single religion, but more of an umbrella term for various traditions and paths, if that's right? Seems the term Hindu arose from a geographical description rather than anything!

Hinduism is a cultural and traditional fabric. It is a shared narrative with variations between multiple sections, but in general a closely related family of belief-systems. This is of course my opinion and many might disagree.

 

In short, Hinduism is what is called "Samskriti" in India. Samskriti means tradition, culture. It is also Dharma, which is poorly translated to mean "religion" in English. Dharma is much more than religion to those who are born within the culture. It is nature. It is what is the natural state of being. The Dharma of the flower is smell good, the dharma of the tree is to bear fruits and provide shade, and so on...

 

Indeed the term Hindu was coined by those who lived west of the Sindhu river (Indus) in early historic times. The Hindus themselves called them 'Arya' or Noble ones. We tend to refer to it, internally as Sanatana Dharma (the Eternal Dharma).

[3bob]

I'd add that Sanatana Dharma does not have a human founder...

 

For instance or one example:

 

"...Hinduism actually has no single founder as far as the modern history is concerned. The ancient scriptures of India claim the religion is originally established by God Himself (dharman tu sakshad bhagavat pranitam). From the scriptural viewpoint, this religion or dharma, manifests after every creation by the will of the Lord. After the present cyclical creation, the Supreme Lord Narayana instructed the first living entity within the universe, Brahma, in the matters of religion. Brahma in turn instructed this same science to his son, Narada, who in turn passed this knowledge on to his disciple Vyasa Mahamuni. In this way the ancient religion has been passed down in a chain of disciplic succession directly from God for countless millions of years. This Vedic religion is therefore known as sanatana dharma, or the "eternal religion", for it predates all man-made conceptions of time and space. We should not confuse this sanatana dharma with any sectarian religious faith, for the true sanatana dharma is the very function of the soul, as inseparable as liquidity from water..."

[amoyaan]

That's beautifully expressed and very informative Dwai. Dharma is such a vital understanding, and one that seems to be left out of most of the modern western teachers.

 

It seems the way Westerners have interpreted and presented Hinduism is pretty misleading generally...I guess this would go back to colonial times and before. I remember in Religious Education classes in school, we'd briefly touch upon Hinduism, the religion where they worship elephant men and little blue guys playing flutes...which is pretty much all I got from it back then. Little did I know how much a part of my life it would become.

 

And, an excellent point 3Bob. Most religions or spiritual paths can pinpoint a founder or group of founders, but in this case, there's not even a definite starting point, it seems to go way back into the mists of time.

[dwai]

That's beautifully expressed and very informative Dwai. Dharma is such a vital understanding, and one that seems to be left out of most of the modern western teachers.

 

It seems the way Westerners have interpreted and presented Hinduism is pretty misleading generally...I guess this would go back to colonial times and before. I remember in Religious Education classes in school, we'd briefly touch upon Hinduism, the religion where they worship elephant men and little blue guys playing flutes...which is pretty much all I got from it back then. Little did I know how much a part of my life it would become.

 

And, an excellent point 3Bob. Most religions or spiritual paths can pinpoint a founder or group of founders, but in this case, there's not even a definite starting point, it seems to go way back into the mists of time.

3Bob is quite right. Sanatana Dharma is ahistorical. There is no dependence on any historic figure or group. There is the question of "prasthana tryayi" (the Tripartite conditions of faith) however. In that, Sanatanis consider the following three objects as infallible -

• The Upanishads
• The BrahmaSutras
• The Bhagavad Gita

These point to what is considered valid pramaana (evidence) - in absence of direct experiential knowledge (through sadhana), the words of the three documents are considered to be the guidelines towards Moksha (or liberation/enlightenment).

[gatito]

<snip>

 

And, an excellent point 3Bob. Most religions or spiritual paths can pinpoint a founder or group of founders, but in this case, there's not even a definite starting point, it seems to go way back into the mists of time.

 

And that's an indication that these teachings are timeless and perennial (as are You).