Your outburst is totally unjustified.May be you are not aware of the events taking place.If you do consider your self a man of faith then you can really relate to how Hindus feel when they see missionaries using money and promises to convert poverty stricken people to Christianity.Do you think that sounds a decent approach?I feel that if a religion has something to offer then people should openly embrace it.How many middle class people you have seen converting to Christianity?Answer is NONE.There is no reason to. However how many poor people are being converted to other faiths..thousands every day.Thx to the great work from the missionaries.And if you are saying you dont know this then i would just say you have your head buried deep in the sand
Apropos Rajeev Sreenivasan's article. India, despite the quaint twists given by historians, was ruled by outsiders since 1193A.D till 1947A.D. While Indian language was patronised to some extent before the arrival of the British, there after it died a natural death. The fact that you and I are communicating in this language is testimony to it. Language is deeply intertwined with culture - as we lose our language we slowly lose our culture. If a Muslim goes regularly to the Mosque to pray he is looked upon as a good Muslim, ditto for a Christian if he regularly goes to Church and sends his children for Bible lessons on Sundays. But heaven help a Hindu if he is a regular visitor of temples and tries to learn his scriptures - he is dubbed a fanatic!!! The Brits left us long ago, but we continue with their traditions blindly eating the insides of our own society. Therein lies the problem. Get sanskrit as the main language, with the mother tongue as the second language - then see the difference.
I will tell you one thing Hinduism is not like Christianity or Islamic where they are restricted to only one person and forced to believe him as god's son! But being in Hindu belief is not about religion it is about faith! Faith in your self. All the temples depicts that only. In this Kaliyuga, you can remember only god, that is the only way to serve god!
I think that there is no need to be so very jumpy about how hinduism or hindus are treated in ither countries - I am a hindu and have been to many countries.
I have never tried to discuss religion with anyone - however I have always found that everyone is curious to know about hinduism - I state that "hinduism is a way of life that people living between the Indian ocean and the Indus valley chose to follow." The following are the basic FAQs
1. Who is your god? - Everything and everyone in this earth - which includes the person asking the question 2. Which is your holy book? - Every book that teaches peace and humanity - including The Holy Bible and Koran 3. Who lays down the rules of your life? - My conscience - I should be able to do what I do in such a way that it is impartial to all, I am not ashamed of doing it and I am not doing it when I am overwhelmed with emotions. 4. How can there be many gods? - There is only one god, only that each one has his own view of that god. Like the same man can be a father, son, brother, friend and many other relationships to many people.
What is so special about Hinduism? - It is the first form of democracy - self discipline
Secularism in India is simple.Remove and denigrate Hinduism from all walks of life. Haj subsidy--Secular act.Dcelaring extra muslim holiday--Very secular act.Resrevation for Christians and Muslims--Secular act.Dalit christians and Dalit muslims need special kids glove treatment--Secular act.Talk to Pakis at any cost--Secular act.Get killed by pakis or their henchmen-- secular act.Say all are equal before the law-Communal act.All Hindus are equal before the law and others can form their own-- Accept-- secular.Say this and dont accept--Communal act. Support Iran,Iraq,Saudi,Pakis. and any number of tin pot countries Secular act.Oppose them-communal. Yhe list is endless.
One thing we can do to change this perception of Hindus is to remove the word SECULAR STATE from our constitution. We need to make this a HINDU State but still we can tolerate other religions as we are not fundamentalist. But we need to change how one thinks about us. We dont need be secular to give other religions a place to survive.
Well According to hindu philosophy brahman is a stage we all reach to if we want to, its not a caste but a stage. We all are shudra's by birth, as we trade with the world and attain knowledge , the trading phase make u vaishya(trader), when u are strong enough u become protector that is Khsatriya and the last stage whn u become a sage and want to take sannyasa.. when u get enlightened and understand what is called as brahma (saravam khalvidam brahmam).. u become brahman. In that stage u treat everyone equal (part of god)
Yes.You have to rewite Hinduism to save it.It should be given more human values discarding all the rubbish i.e the caste system.The system of systematic degradation of human being.Top most enjoying the life while other searching for the meaning of the life.If you really want to survive Hinduism the degrading system should be removed while incorporating values based on rational approach.If we fail to do this the end of the Hinduism is sure.Let no Brahmin,Thakur, Bania,Chamar etc exist.Only Hindu with no caste identity would make the religion full of worthy.
You say :- "This would stand to reason, as rational people have long since ceased to believe in the superiority of certain races, or languages, or cultures."
Very true, but I am sure in your heart you beleive that lower caste hindus are sub-humans, bilogically inferior human beings. You will not be alone in this beleive, majority believe this. Hindus deserve treatement they are getting in the West. In fact they deserve worse.
