I think that hinduism has evolved over a long period of time and it has gone through all the rigors of time.This testing of Religion has converted it into a philosphy rather than a religion. This has ensured that the philosphy has perfected itself. Well time will allow only goods things to last. As it is said in Sanskrit "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" What is truth is shiv,what is truth is beautiful,and things which last over a longer period are the ones which are higher truths. So I guess just wait for the truth to be revealed itself.
RE:Time will make sure what you are talking
by Nandakumar M on Feb 16, 2007 03:12 PM Permalink
there is nothing in hinduism to evolve. It is perfect in all aspects since its known. The 'evolve' term used by today's english educated experts should be read as 'spoiled'. Sanathana Dharma is being changed and spoiled according to our comfort, just like how politicians create laws in parliament circumventing the supreme court. Human have done the same thing for this religion. This dharma is perfect and worked for millions of years, but we ediots think those priciples won't work now.
If pranayama is forgotten, why is art of living so popular in India? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar draws more crowds than all the politicians of India put together. Art of living has atleast 5 million followers in India alone. Indian culture is being revived and enhanced by people such as Sri Sri. Satya Saibaba has a big following throughout the world without him having to leave the shores of India (except for a visit to Kenya). As for the politicos forgetting the people, it is better if they leave the people alone. After all what are they capable of doing? When well meaning parties like Lok Paritran wanted to contest elections they were routed out miserably. All said and done you get what you vote for. We can atleast take heart from the fact that such an effort is being made. India's gift to the world is not the IITs but is indeed spirituality. It is showing. Bangalore hosted 2.5 million people for the art of living 25th anniversary last year. Cities which are ten times the size and those with top notch infrastructure haven't achieved that. Even cities that host olympics do not accomodate as many people in a day. If this is not proof. What else is?
RE:Francois Gautier's article
by Malathi U on Feb 06, 2007 11:20 PM Permalink
You are saying 5 millions attended for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,s meeting out of 1 billions all over the world. This is a ridiculous figure. Come and see in USA, all those IITs and H1 guys do they know anything about our Indian History and here these guys think enjoying and earning money is the purpose of life. Our Hindus are totally differen t from other Indian Christians or Indian Muslims. First they are proud to be Chiristians or Muslims and if they wish they feel they are Indians. We don't see that attitude among our Hindu brothers. Today's trend Hinduism is dying slowly and painfully.
RE:RE:Francois Gautier's article
by Srijeet Chaudhuri on Feb 08, 2007 04:26 AM Permalink
I totally agree with you on this point Malathi.You have pointed out an important feature of the modern Hindu.
RE:RE:Francois Gautier's article
by Basker Mathrubootham on Feb 07, 2007 06:41 AM Permalink
The fact of the matter is 85% of Indian population is Hindu. So what is there to feel proud about being Hindu. You are just another Hindu after all. To say that Hinduism is dying because of lack of pride really lacks depth. People enjoying their wealth, fame and power is a trend that has been witnessed for ages. Didn't we see that in Mahabharata or Ramayana. What is different now? This statement saying that youth have forgotten their values has been said from the days of Socrates. Why would we be different?
As for the fact that 2.5 million people attended the art of living jamboree, it was to emphasise the fact that spirituality is not dead in India. Infact, it is more alive than it has been in the recent past. How else can one possibly explain such a gathering for just a spiritual union? No other religion reveres a spiritual guru as much as hinduism does. Christianity worships Jesus as the son of God, Islam worships Allah and none else. The jamboree was conducted because of reverence to Guru Sri Sri Ravishankar. Many people including the author Mr Gautier is a follower of his.
RE:RE:Francois Gautier's article
by vishwanath shetty on Feb 07, 2007 03:17 PM Permalink
Dear Sister(Malathi), Please dont talk like this,you &me will die,but Hinduism will never die,because it is manav dharma,vasudev Kutumbham.How Lord Vasudev Kutumbh will die?Please dont compare us to christians,and muslims,we are not a religion found by anyone,This Dharma is the culmination of all ancient sadhus,rishis,munis,and mahatmas. I am an aurthodox Hindu, working in a muslim country,but I have gained confidence in meditation,yoga and prayer. U please surrender to Lord Shri Krishna,he will take care of U .You will also gain more and more confidence whenever U are in crises. Please dont under-estimate of Hinduism which has more than 1 billion followers all over the Globe. This Hinduism is Sanathana Dharma.Manava Dharma. Hinduism is a path of Moksha....Nirvana.... If u have any doubt write me.my email id-vishshetty@rediffmail.com. Wherever U are Be a Hindu,and be proud of Hinduism.DHARMEH RAKSHATI RAKSHITAH. MAY MY LORD KRISHNA GIVE U COURAGE & CONFIDENCE. jai shri krishna.
I think the biggest problem is that most upper caste Hindu's are defining the country as a Hindu country. Mr. Gautier also seems to be a proponent of that idea.
At the time of partition when India was created, the Indian leaders rightly took a stand for not supporting a theocratic state. That is why minorities like the Sikhs agreed to join with the Indian republic. However right wing groups have repeatedly attacked minority rights and identity. This article is an example of this ideology by associating India with the concept of being Hindu.
The problems of the age old invasions is not an India problem. Many non-Hindu groups like the Sikhs successfully resisted invasion and created secular kingdoms of their own, which thrived prior to the creation of the modern Indian state.
Attempts to enforce one culture and one religion on a diverse group of people will just result in the break up of the Indian state. Being spineless does not mean replacing fear with hate, but finding inner strength and peace with who you are. Do not enforce your insecurities by repeatedly looking at history, for history has many versions. Todays oppressor is tomorrows victim. The truth is we are all guilty. The Jews were oppressed in the Holocaust. Today they oppress the Palestinians. The Hindus were oppressed by the Muslim conquerers. Before that they oppressed untouchables and women. Let us grow as people and find divine love within ourselves. Arguing is for those who wish to continue to be ruled by negative emotions. True growth comes from acceptance. Leave hate and find strength and courage by being benevolent and kind.
A Hindu India is destined to break up just like an Aryan Germany or a Muslim Taliban. Ideologues always seem to convince the innocent. Accept truth and let destiny take its own path.
RE:RE:A Hindu India??
by vishwanath shetty on Feb 07, 2007 03:46 PM Permalink
Dear readers, I dont understand if someone praise Hinduism,why people bring caste,region,language in between,why other religions are also having the same problem? tell me which religion has no problem? If hinduism is not the right path for moksha-nirvana for the thousands of years torture this would have been perished,but the truth is still it is intact and having more than 1 billion followers allover the globe.We have enough scholars who can answer all the doubts.Ofcourse in social life there are several evils which are created by few people for their benifits. let us join together and fight for the betterment. Please apply in deep and talk.U are so easily critisise Hinduism because we keep quit,and listen,if like others if retaliation comes then people will think and talk. please stop ctitisising the religion,understand it and practice it. GOD BLESS U
RE:The Hindu newspaper is owned by muslims of Brunei
by Malathi U on Feb 06, 2007 11:23 PM Permalink
Thsi is an intresting news We all Hindus should this fact and we should stop buying this news paper until they publish real news.
RE:RE:The Hindu newspaper is owned by muslims of Brunei
by vishwanath shetty on Feb 07, 2007 04:41 PM Permalink
malathiU, yes, U ARE RIGHT,WE HAVE TO BE CAREFULL.BUT EVEN -THEN WE HAVE TO BLAME OUROWN SHAMELESS HINDUS,WHO DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THE SERIOUSNESS BEHIND THIS SALE. BUT WE TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH.WITHOUT THAT IT IS MEANINGLESS TO ARGUE. THANKS FOR ALERT INFORMATION. BY.VISHWANATH
Indian growth is hamparred by single root cause Population 1) Unless rich and poor massese can control the birth rate, india cannt be developement no matter what ever the growth rate.
I think the guy is a socialist loser. For the last 50 years, in the name of self-discipline, socialism etc.. we have lost our freedom in terms of our thought, we are expected to think narrowly, follow rules like culture, we were a great nation, world's biggest trading entity, the best businessman because we absorbed outer cultures, trade practices and modified them to our needs. If we keep listening to guys like this author, we would remain losers like the past 50 years of our history and the world would leave us behind
RE:india's way
by Vas on Feb 06, 2007 06:43 PM Permalink
What self-discipline?? Indians never adopted values of discipline. Centuries of oppression and repeated invasions kept Indians like prisoners in a cage, and later followed by congress dynasty rule (which you and your family no doubt supported liberally). And now you complain Indians lagging behind. What Gautier is saying is that Indians should now (at last) get in touch with their true heritage, and not all the crap and trash we imbibed blindly from the western world. Indian are more adept at drinking wine nd plastering their faces with war paint imported directly from France, but can't seem to appreciate the deep values of hard-work, discipline, devotion to family, respect, compassion, etc found in our scriptures. They consider all that stupid and irrelevant. Well, you made your bed, so go lie in it, and stop accusing those of trying to forewarn the Indians from deviating from things that are truly important, and chasing things that are totally irrelevant, of being 'loser.'
RE:india's way
by Rahul R Zaveri on Feb 07, 2007 12:05 AM Permalink
Ponnuswamy, I think you're the loser...you've lost already...sold yourself to trading and money.
i think this guy is a victim of reversed prejudice... i think it all boils down to food and roof as far as india is concerned...if all our traditions and culture (which is good)...but though has made india ...one of the poorest contry in the world...and leaves the 70 % working their butt offfffff....to make a decent living....i would still sacrifice my tradition and culture(not all)...for the development of my people...i think what the big boys in delhi are trying to do is ok...even if they are making mistake...we all make mistake..least they and i see the hungry stomach ,the battered wife , shattered life ,begging children than canon camera hanging on my neck taking the photos of holy man...and cows of the indian street and seeling it in your country and making a million of it....
RE:victim of reversed prejudice
by Vas on Feb 06, 2007 06:56 PM Permalink
What idiotic remarks! Indians never followed the true values recommended in our scriptures - instead they adopted the ones most supericial and irrelevant and ignored the ones that are most important and critical for human development. So don't blame the ancient culture or tradition for India's problems - Indians didn't imbibe the right values found in our scriptures, and instead adopted blindly the worst of the western world. Being unable to diffrentiate the worthier values and culture from the most irrelevant is what has made India and Indians a pathetic begging bowl of the world. You'd think after all the centuries of foreign invasions, corrupt dynasty rule, and poverty, Indians would figure out the root cause of all this, and turn around their life for better. Nope! Instead, there are more morons in India who think sipping wine during lunch time, and their wives painting their faces with 'war paint' imported from Europe, are signs of progress, and is 'cool' and relevant, than imbibing the true values taught in our scriptures - hard work, discipline, honesty, dedication to family, respect for elders, community service, charity, etc.
RE:RE:victim of reversed prejudice
by Power India on Feb 06, 2007 08:04 PM Permalink
Which Indian scripture are you mentioning about? Manusmrithi?, I hope so. Well, caste system we have adopted from West. We have been blaming the West for our follies for long. Stop it and find out our own problems, instead. How many will go and help poor in our country instead of going behind mandir-masjid controversy?
RE:RE:RE:victim of reversed prejudice
by raman sharma on Feb 06, 2007 08:24 PM Permalink
Ok, if it's true that the missonaries only objective is to help the poor,,why do they resort to converting people to Christianity before helping them...a large part of Africa which has no connection with Western culture is now following Christianity..How??
RE:RE:RE:RE:victim of reversed prejudice
by narasiman villori on Feb 06, 2007 11:16 PM Permalink
Proselytisation is an integral part of Christian religion. Where the missionaries give with one hand, they expect you to take the other and follow their religion. That missionaries have converted people in third world using the tradional carrot and stick approach is well known but not universally acknowledged Compare that to the Hindu, Muslim and Sikh charities that are open to all religions with no strings attached. Sure there are quite many aspects about Indian religions that can be critisized and rightly so (religion based castisim being one of those and i have been a victim of this in a way). But atleast Indian religions and culture promotes tolerance towards other religions and this has what has kept india intact despite the various centripetal forces in the country over centuries.
Western secularism may induce people of different religions to live side by side, but it doesnt promote respect and tolerance towards other religions (or even cultures). People who embrace this kind of secularism should look at America, where muslims are socially marginalized !
More than secularism what we need to understand is that there is many paths to salvation ! Indians have tradionally understood that, and now that tradition is being replaced by western style secularism which is more harmful to India's social fabric.
I couldnt agree more with Gautier. India must absorb western values as long as they dont destroy India social fabric. Having said that India's gurus and religious pundits and religious police should water down their hateful rheteroic towards other religions and promote communal harmony and tolerance. Why ? Because peaceful co-existence is what being Indian is all about !
The author expresses a valid concern but with incorrect reasons. A nation is assessed to be developed or underdeveloped based not on its ability to stick to its age old traditions and customs, but by its ability to provide good governance to its people. When a nation can improve the living conditions of its people by subscribing to the concept of globalization(what you may call westernization), there's nothing wrong in parting with some of its customs and traditions that may not fit into the present social setup. Moreover, it is the customs and traditions, when advocated excessively and aggressively, that lead to extremism. Nevertheless, the hectic pace with which India is progressing towards globalization is definitely a cause of concern as long as the root problems in the society, like corruption, illiteracy, ignorance, casteism and communalism are not taken care of in its path to globalization.
RE:A valid question with wrong reasons..
by Vas on Feb 06, 2007 07:05 PM Permalink
'Ability to provide good governance to its people' basically comes from following and imbibing the moral values recommened in the scriptures. It doesn't come from the air. The fact that India has never had good governance since independence is a reflection of how our politicians and leaders have wandered away from the tenets of morality propounded in the ancient texts of India. Instead they opted for blind pursuit of power and money, ignored the values that are most important for human development and society. What Indians need to do is to adopt the desirable virtures set forth in our scriptures - hard work, honesty, discipline, dedication to family, community service, compassion, etc, and not blindly ape the west, and adopt all its crass materialism because we think that by aping the worst of the western culture, we will perceived as 'developed' in the eyes of the world.
