RE:Can body clarify
by Wahaj Faridy on Dec 13, 2007 06:36 PM Permalink
Chris, this is not important what a word meant originally.
Only this is ipmortant what a word Means NOW.
While it is true that originally 'Hindu' was refrence to people who lived across Sindhu River, that today people who are polytheists and allow idol worship call themselves Hindu.
So Hindu now means such, regardless of what it meant a thousand year back
RE:Can body clarify
by manoj kumar subudhi on Dec 13, 2007 06:42 PM Permalink
yes it is true , tell me one thing that did jesus told any body to start a religion like Christian like that there is no hindusim,christian,or muslim there is only one religion is there that is humanity.
RE:Can body clarify
by Super User on Dec 13, 2007 06:51 PM Permalink
I would agree with your friend. 'Hindu' is a collective term iven by the British raj to people who lived around the Sindhu river. Infact 18th centruy english texts refers to muslims as 'Hindoo Mohamedans'.
About 3000 years ago, what we call now 'Hindu culture' was the only predominant culture back then. Since there were no other religion in that part of the world people did not feel the need to establish a 'religion' and 'fight' for the survival of a religion as people do these days. Therefore they never called it by name but just adopted it as a way of life. The early 'Hindu' culture had a lot of variety in its literary and philosophical writings where writers not only pondered on spirituality, existance of God and meaning of life but also on Atheist and Agnostic ideologies where they expressed their scepticism about God and the belief system. Infact, scientific discoveries by mathematicians like Aryabatha, Brahmagupta etc, which have nothing to do with our religious beliefs are also a part of Vedic culture. Religion (i.e. our Gods, rituals etc.) was only a small part of this vedic culture.
In my opinion, Hinduism is only a collection of ideas and thoughts that propogated during the vedic times. Therefore, anybody who subscribes to those ideas expressed in vedic literature can call himself/herself a hindu, while also being muslims, christians, hindus or any other faith that they subscribe to. But I very much doubt if an average muslim would consider himself muslim be
