RE:Compassion
by Sivaraman Srinivasan on Jul 06, 2007 11:09 PM Permalink
Sati is not part of Hindu Religion. No Hindu religious text has prescribed this. In Mahabharat Kundi Devi was a widow. In Ramayana- the 3 wives of Emperor were widows. Moreover Sati was not practised through out the country.
Sati was a practice. Even RRM Roy has mentioned it so....., it would have started when a lady killed herself due to mental agony when her husband died. Over a period this has become a compulsory practise to such an extent that it has become part of the culture of the land and we have given Hindu identity to this.
It is something like tip(s) given for government servants has evolved into compulsory bribe.
Yet, I appreciate the moderate stand taken by you and suggesting a differnt path to approach and view religious practice.
RE:RE:Compassion
by Lassajoo on Jul 07, 2007 01:57 AM Permalink
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Simple quote from Quran "If you kill one human being,it is as if you killed the whole mankind, and if you save one human being, it is as if you saved the whole mankind."
Think about this with open mind; how can a true muslim be an extremist? People of all religions take to extremism not only muslims. Islam was born to tackle violence; unfortunately, many people hijacked Islam to score political points. It is the message of peace that is inherent in Islam that its followers are growing despite so many pressures from all quarters. If any other religion would be under attack from so many different sides, I doubt they could hold to their faith.
RE:Compassion
by laligam sekhar on Jul 06, 2007 10:41 PM Permalink
You are right, religions are not God given truths, but simply different people's interpretation of what they "heard". The Hindu religion is lucky in that there is not a single holy text (the Bhagvad Gita may be considered one of many), and many philosophers like Sankara and ramanuja had very diffferent ideas. We did not live in previous times when one might have witnessed big battles between Saivites, Vaishnavites, human sacrificers, Buddhists, and others (read Ponniyin Selvan by kalki Krishnamurthy to get a taste of what it may have been like). However, somehow, ratiolality, and scinentific thinking prevailed, and the religion is still undrgoing an evolution (like the elimination of caste, dowry, female infanticide,etc.) Buddihsm preaches non viloence as a central priciple, and the Buddha lived a life which illustrated by example. This has been amplified by the present Dalai lama. Yet, in Sri Lanka, Buddists have conducted a violent campaign against the Tamils, who are predominantly Hindu (but the Tamils do not fight for Hinduism). Christianity has a history of serious violence against other Christians in the middle ages, and the Chrisitian fundamentalists are still capable of such behavior, they certainly believe that all those who do not believe in their brand of religion(i. e. Hindus) will go to hell. Even President Bush subscribes to this ideology. Unfortunately, Islam has not been blessed with reformers. The Sufis tried, as did Akbar. You are right that a new messiah
