Religious Freedom from Hindu perspective

[SQ8]

the reason for worshiping cow is as our mother feed us during our childhood but a cow feed us all our life. In Hinduism... we worship all the living beings who bring good for us. That is why we have the same respect for our elders, teachers etc...that we have for God.

Then is it culture more than religion?
I had a visit to Taxila museum day before yesterday and they had some artifacts from an early vedantic temple showing the worship(or perhaps reverence) of a goat.. perhaps due to the prevalence of the animal in that region when compared to a cow.

 

[kingkobra]

too much misconceptios about vedas and vedic religion even among hindus...

 

[Bang Galore]

vedas clearly mention in many verses that there is only one god which must be worshiped...western translators have translated very pathetically...

read the following right translations:

Yajurveda 40.1:
This entire world is embedded within and managed by the One and Only One Ishwar. Never dare do any injustice or desire riches through unjust means. Instead follow the righteous path and enjoy His bliss. After all He alone is source of all bliss!

Rigveda 10.48.1:
Ishwar alone is omnipresent and manager of entire universe. He alone provides victory and eternal cause of world. All souls should look up only to Him in same manner as children look up to their Father. He alone provides for our sustenance and bliss.

Rigveda 10.48.5
Ishwar enlightens the entire world. He is undefeated and undying. He is the creator of the world. All souls should seek bliss through seeking knowledge and acting thereupon. They should never shun the friendship of Ishwar.

Rigveda 10.49.1
Ishwar alone provides true knowledge to truth seekers. He alone is promoter of knowledge and motivates virtuous people into noble actions to seek bliss. He alone is the creator and manager of the world. Hence never worship anyone else except one and only Ishwar.

Yajurveda 13.4
There is One and only One Creator and Maintainer of the entire world. He alone is sustaining the earth, sky and other heavenly bodies. He is Bliss Himself! He alone deserves to be worshipped by us.
Atharvaveda 13.4.16-21
He is neither two, nor three, nor four, nor five, nor six, nor seven, nor eight, nor nine, nor ten. He is, on contrary, One and Only One. There is no Ishwar except Him. All devatas reside within Him and are controlled by Him. So He alone should be worshipped, none else.

Atharvaveda 10.7.38
Ishwar alone is greatest and worth being worshipped. He is the source of all knowledge and activities.

Yajurveda 32.11
Ishwar resides at each point in universe. No space is devoid of Him. He is self-sustaining and does not need help of any agent, angel, prophet or incarnation to perform His duties. The soul which is able to realize this One and only One Ishwar achieves Him and enjoys unconditional ultimate bliss or Moksha.


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there are many names of ishwar mentioned in vedas and fools ignore these verses and think that all those names are separate gods..

This is standard fare among those who seek to prove Hinduism as a monotheistic religion. The Rg Veda; the oldest & the most important is not uniformly constructed since it was composed by many different people(families), Selecting a quote here or there does not prove that case. In fact the vedic aryans have no history of temple worship which might have indicated a deep faith in a particular creator god instead seeking to please gods by Yajnas so as to seek chosen blessings for themselves. The main Gods of the Rg Veda were not the later super gods of Hinduism, barely mentioning Vishnu & Shiva(Rudra) a mere handful of times. It must also be realised that vedic Gods were not limited to India alone, famously finding mention in a treaty between (in the region of Iraq,Syria,Turkey) the Hittites and the Mitanni (between Suppiluliuma and Matiwaza, ca. 1380 BC) where invoked as witnesses to the treaty were Mitra, Varuna, Indra, and Nasatya (Ashvins). Obviously, if there was a belief in a single, super God such invocations would have been rendered meaningless.

Too much must not be read to individual quotes or indeed individual pieces of scripture since it would then be possible to argue that Hinduism does not believe in God itself, if one were to go by many of Hinduism deepest & profound religious teachings as seen in the Upanishads. Hinduism is a religion which left itself open to numerous interpretations at different periods of time not holding any particular teaching as immutable. To seek to button hole it in a particular direction would be doing a grave injustice both to it as well as to history.

 

[airuah]

Then is it culture more than religion?
I had a visit to Taxila museum day before yesterday and they had some artifacts from an early vedantic temple showing the worship(or perhaps reverence) of a goat.. perhaps due to the prevalence of the animal in that region when compared to a cow.

true....when the cow is worshiped as our mother it then becomes forbidden to slaughter them. This simple rule makes sure that there are enough cows reared in the country to provide milk for the ever growing population. Never kill the hand that feeds you is the law. (similar to not killing the golden goose for the golden eggs).

 

[airuah]

the principles of Hinduism was actually based on science......

it is a known fact that you cannot teach every one the principles of science...but you could make all the people follow a particular ritual in the name of religion. The rituals were actually a method in which scientific facts can be enforced without people asking questions....

eg. chicken pox---(in the south India (dnt know abt north india) there is a belief that a Goddess being angry with you is the cause......the goddess is supposed to be appeased with neem leaves which is a favourate of the goddess)
actual effect: 1) neem has medicinal values
2) Neem is the only thing that prevents a person from scratching himself(it tends to reduce the urge to scratch yourselves- this i have experienced my self)...this prevents the mode of spread of the disease.

there is also this procedure that you have to put neem leaves at the entrance of your house and other people must not go into the house if this is done (this is actually an indication that a person of the house has the disease and this prevents transmission of the disease to other members of the community)

the complete ritual actual involves more steps apart from Neem usage which is done in a sequential manner on particular days from the commencement of infection(say on the fifth day you have to do this procedure etc)

this complete ritual is actually the treatment plan for a disease rather than appeasement of a god. the term "ritual" was only a method of enforcing it and limiting the spread of the infection. These were simple scientific methods of preventing easily communicable diseases from spreading.

Most of Hinduism rituals were actually based on science until some dumb students of science gained high positions and created some of there own methods of animal sacrifice and other dumb practices which corrupted the religion.

 

[russellpeters]

Hinduism has no single authority or scripture, so we shall not fight over Hinduism is.

It is the acceptance of freedom of belief and non-belief. it is the acceptance of individuality. there is no church, no holy book, no commandments.

Truth doesnt need commandments, truth has no compulsions. Truth has no desire to impose, no desire to become a commandment.

Truth is self evident. There is no commandment like "You shall believe in gravity" . Gravity is true. It doesnt need any commandment or compulsion to be valid.

Therefore there is no compulsion in the Dharmic system.The Dharmic systems are recommendatory, freedom is absolute.

Liberation is the key aim of all dharmic paths. Liberation from everything, including religion.

 

[Chogy]

You're a man, something God created in His own image, saying which is a pointer to the various aspects of your constitution.

With your first sentence, we are already far apart... and that's OK. Christians believe the "Made in the image of God" has nothing to do with physical appearance... at all. "In the image of God" means having a soul, a spiritual constituent, a conscience, sentience, and ultimately the ability to recognize sin and evil, and avoid it. Having mercy and compassion. All are aspects of character, not physical build.

The God of Genesis is not a humanoid entity with 2 arms and two legs.

 

[aristocrat]

Then is it culture more than religion?
I had a visit to Taxila museum day before yesterday and they had some artifacts from an early vedantic temple showing the worship(or perhaps reverence) of a goat.. perhaps due to the prevalence of the animal in that region when compared to a cow.

nOT very learned in this matter but to think of it ,santana dharma must have evolved from nature worship or a way to pay respect to elements of nature.I mean thats y we have a god for almost evrything ,for wind,fire,sea,wisdom,wealth and even for sex.So gods in hinduism is a way of respecting all these elemts of nature created by one supreme being.I think thats y they must have revered a goat.

 

[gubbi]

With your first sentence, we are already far apart... and that's OK. Christians believe the "Made in the image of God" has nothing to do with physical appearance... at all. "In the image of God" means having a soul, a spiritual constituent, a conscience, sentience, and ultimately the ability to recognize sin and evil, and avoid it. Having mercy and compassion. All are aspects of character, not physical build.

The God of Genesis is not a humanoid entity with 2 arms and two legs.

This is something I had never heard before. Thanks.

 

[gubbi]

the principles of Hinduism was actually based on science......

True. Infact the principles of Hinduism come very close to our understanding of the present day Universe and its laws.
Carl Sagan's COSMOS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ugyrzr5Ds8o

eg. chicken pox---(in the south India (dnt know abt north india) there is a belief that a Goddess being angry with you is the cause......the goddess is supposed to be appeased with neem leaves which is a favourate of the goddess)
actual effect: 1) neem has medicinal values
2) Neem is the only thing that prevents a person from scratching himself(it tends to reduce the urge to scratch yourselves- this i have experienced my self)...this prevents the mode of spread of the disease.

True story. Infact, one company even tried to patent Neem tree, but the applicaiton was rejected.
Patent controversy
In 1995, the European Patent Office (EPO) granted a patent on an anti-fungal product derived from neem to the US Department of Agriculture and W. R. Grace and Company.[7] The Indian government challenged the patent when it was granted, claiming that the process for which the patent had been granted had actually been in use in India for over 2,000 years. In 2000, the EPO ruled in India's favour but W. R. Grace appealed, claiming that prior art about the product had never been published in a scientific journal. On 8 March 2005, that appeal was lost and the EPO revoked the Neem patent.

this complete ritual is actually the treatment plan for a disease rather than appeasement of a god. the term "ritual" was only a method of enforcing it and limiting the spread of the infection. These were simple scientific methods of preventing easily communicable diseases from spreading.

True. Thats why Aryuveda (the basis for modern day Allopathy) is so intricately intertwined with Hinduism.

 

[Capt.Popeye]

Then is it culture more than religion?
I had a visit to Taxila museum day before yesterday and they had some artifacts from an early vedantic temple showing the worship(or perhaps reverence) of a goat.. perhaps due to the prevalence of the animal in that region when compared to a cow.

In a sense it is so. The beliefs have largely evolved from "living practices" not from a single structured and "codified set of rules". Hinduism is a huge umbrella, not a something as a doctrinaire as single book/or set of books. Hence it can be labelled as a way of life rather than a religion.

Joe Shearer is a better candidate to explain/expound on these matters.

 

[ashokdeiva]

The concept of God and our quest to understand such an entity is two vague.
As far as I am concerned, this Thread is about Religious Freedom, and to my comprehending ability, I have read only a few post in that direction. The rest are all talking about athism, single god, multiple god, etc which is off scope.

As a hindu by birth, i have had the freedom of chosing not to belive or belive in God. Its not enforced on me either by parents or reletives. The idea of realizing God is the mans quest for self realization as i see it more fit than any other explanation.

And as far as religious tolerance is considered. I see all Dharmic religion as more tolerant than any Abrahamic religion. we do not oppose when a individual born as a HINDU conciously decides to follow a different religion unless he is brain-washed by preachers funded by missionaries comming from abroad.

 

[KS]

True. Thats why Aryuveda (the basis for modern day Allopathy) is so intricately intertwined with Hinduism.

Even Siddha vaidhya said to be practiced by the Siddhars (yogis) derives many of their aspects from Hinduism.

---------- Post added at 01:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:38 AM ----------

And today unfortunately because of the influx of the Abrahamic religions and their constant attempt to increase their numbers (for the sake of political importance and thinking its the God's work) the last remaining liberal religion in the world is becoming defensive and is taking on an organized or semitic flavor. Very unfortunate.

 

[BelligerentPacifist]

With your first sentence, we are already far apart... and that's OK. Christians believe the "Made in the image of God" has nothing to do with physical appearance... at all. "In the image of God" means having a soul, a spiritual constituent, a conscience, sentience, and ultimately the ability to recognize sin and evil, and avoid it. Having mercy and compassion. All are aspects of character, not physical build.

The God of Genesis is not a humanoid entity with 2 arms and two legs.

You still misread something I've written about twice, the second time here!

We do not give heads and appendages to God! Anthropomorphism cannot come in when we recognize that we do not have the Divine information neither the mental capacity to visualize God.

My understanding of 'in the image' is in the commonality of attributes. E.g. He is waduud i.e. someone who loves with no reason, and I believe we have it in us and work towards discovering it. The attributes of God are a well-known element of the Islamic creed and you can look the list up. No arms or legs there!

 

[Sashan]

I dont know man. Maybe Brahmins have that strict regulations. In our community we eat everything except beef

Except Brahmins and some other castes almost all the other south indian hindu castes eat non-veg. Ofcourse there might be personal choices also among others not to eact non-veg, but I'm a bit generalizing. I'm a south indian too.

And ofcourse I am a South Indian myself - I said South Indians are more prone to type 2 Diabetes than North Indians is that the South Indians' staple food is rice which is simple carb.