Hindu way of thought

I have been meaning to write this article for quite some time now... I wonder how i forgot to post it...

Before i start let me begin by saying i prefer to put my position as someone who is an aetheist, has not read the Bhagwad Gita or any other religious scripture of any religion in its true text, but has only read an enormous amount of history & prehistory.

I also do not believe in scientology or the perfection that science professes.

I am talking here about the Hindu culture, which is very different from the current interpretation of Hindu religion, and though they meet at quite a few places, they stand apart. And for the same reason, I still take pride in writing that i am born a Hindu, and that i will stay that way forever.

A friend recently sent me an email of a conversation between an NRI and a yankee. The yankee was surprised to hear that Hinduism does not profess weekly prayers, or reading the scriptures or any such things that bring about order. It also says that even an aetheist (like me) can be called a Hindu if he or she follows the way of thought. Moreover, no one can be converted to Hinduism by any ritual (& im not taking into consideration fickle superstitions or ceremonies) but can only be either born into it, or follow it as one pleases.

I am attaching that email here for your reference so that i can deconstruct it later:

Am I a Hindu?

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! (Later I came to know that September 11 has changed mind-set of lot of US citizens. They suddenly turned religious, it seemed.)
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 is seeing a caged animal.
She could not understand what I was talking about.

A common man in Europe or US know 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 Yahweh 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 need 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, 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 conditions my mind with any faith system.


So what I am basically looking at is that the NRI is talking about the way of thought and not really about the religion. I once asked a professor of mine, who has worked as editor to our famous television series of Mahabharata about what Indian identity and culture is. She said simply, Hinduism. i was taken aback and asked her about her secular credentials. She replied: " I am secular, but the Hinduism you look at is a religion. The Hinduism i am talking about is the Indian culture."

From our subsequent conversation, and my reading into the interpretations by Irawati Karve, Romila Thapar, Tadgell's architectural exploits, British Indian gazetteers and the likes, it emerged that the Indian culture could truly be labelled as the Hindu culture. If one is to compare the way people of any religion marry in different parts of the world, there are bound to be local additions. But i found none to be so overbearing as that seen on the Indian subcontinent. I dont know if its the environment or the society, the ways and thoughts of a culture which has been continuously debating for and against itself has given rise to traditions unique to us, and also percolated into those of other religions.

So what is the Hindu way of thought, after so much ranting, u may ask?

I would say the Hindu way of thought is the true democratic thought. One may ask about the various binding ceremonies and the kinds that push us into an envelope of religion. But most of those are based on certain scientific explanations. To take a latest example, the Bengalis would not eat a particular fish in a given season since it was the breeding period of the fish. The latter reasoning was dropped as the times moved. But it still stands to day.

The hindu way of thought, I BELIEVE, is the one that allows us to explore ourselves, reflect on our actions, and also sometimes do actions that we believe strongly in, without actually worrying about the consequences. In short, it gives us the flexibility to be ourselves, while providing a plethora of literature & cultural idiom to support whatever our lifestyle may be, without binding us to any particular typology. That i believe, is very important. To respect our individuality is the highest honour to our self-esteem and being. And hinduism does that in the most subtle manner. One has to be really observant in order to see it.

Being an aetheist i have had many experiences with different kinds of people from various cultures. I have found that the least questioning people are Indians of any religion. They accept my moral struggle for & against, even if they may not understand it. Neither do they laugh at it, nor do they try to discourage me. I believe this is the respect i obtain, to choose my own path. & for that I would be happy to be called a Hindu at birth, while i still do not believe in any religion.

Postscript: I do not wish to put any religious colours to this article. I have friends from all differing religions and i have found all of them equally great people. I am talking about a culture and not about religion, since i do not understand or wish to profess it. One could read this topic as the Indian way of thought, but then the word Hindu is not a copyright of the religion too. It comes from Indu or Indus (currently in Pakistan) and I am after all from that culture.