For one to be a true Hindu he needs to know what Hinduism stands for and according to me it is choice and freedom to practise a belief system of one's own.
We can find a lot of aspects in Hindu ways of life that are contradictory as well as utterly negative and derogatory to popular beliefs. Frequently in scriptures we can find Gods coming in as characters that exhibit all flavours of human tendencies and emotions and many of their actions put to test the very belief of the followers. But again we must consider that Hinduism, unlike any other religion is not organized, hierarchical or structured. It is neither strict nor hard in its beliefs and forms rather a way of living than a religion.
What we must understand is that being a very very flexible religion Hinduism permits a lot of different thoughts and interpretations of its rules and regulations along with the very nature of it's Deities. A lot of literature that may come across as blasphemy is tolerated and even promoted so that people can discuss and relate wordily life with spiritual life. Ultimate aim of Hinduism being the union of man and god or God Realization, it gives a lot of paths for that depending upon the status of mind of each follower. All philosophies are right depending on the level of spiritual growth one has obtained. This is very well elucidated in Bhagvad Gita.
A true Hindu never questions other's faiths and never degrades anyone on the basis of their beliefs . One must discuss , assimilate facts and then think upon it and find out what is right for one , but then one must also make allowance to other's right to be like that too. What is right for one may not be right for other and Hinduism advocates and accepts it unlike many other religions. Other religions have a strict hierarchy and well defined right/wrong concepts which makes them uneasy with the freedom of Hinduism. They are baffled with the outright contradictions in Hindu scriptures and thus cannot digest the facts behind them.
Hinduism provides all but a freedom of choice.. The freedom to choose from a lot of its many scriptural paths, a path of your liking to satisfy your needs and reach the God/Place which you want to ultimately.
Hinduism as a belief system does not advocate what to do and what not - it merely points out the various scenarios and the results and urge the follower to make a choice" An intelligent choice" as there are more than enough instances and examples of each action and its reaction in its multitude of scriptures and literature.
1 comment:
I completely agree. To me Hinduism was never a religion until the Semitic religions came to India. Hinduism is the way of living, the culture of a group of people who lived in this spiritual land of Bharatan. We were provided with 33 crore of gods so that you can select one that suits your style and your belief - another proof of the freedom.
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