Interesting Take on what Hinduism Is (Buddhism, souls, America, Islam)
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From Quora. I agree with this, Hinduism does not fit any framework of the Western mind.
Quote:
THEISM is a western theological/academic construct and an Abrahamic obsession. It has no relevance whatsoever to Hindu philosophy.
I wish everyone would just chill out and chuck this discussion into the bin.
There are only 2 strictly monotheistic religions Judaism and Islam. Christianity is ersatz monotheism because the moment you divide the ONE into three and add the three into one - you have polytheism.
The Hindu sages have never been concerned with theism of any sort and there is no word in Sanskrit that equates to it.
What the sages of the Upanishads were investigating is:–
a. The nature and causes of existential suffering (dukha) and its solution.
b. The TOE - Theory of everything. The sages were investigating the interconnectedness of all phenomena and its underlying cause.
The big question for them was:– “What is that, knowing which, everything becomes known?”
It was not - which god created the world and what did he want from us and what’s our obligation and duty to him? These questions never entered their minds - they were the primary concerns of the middle eastern tribes.
That ground of being or unified field they intuited they called TAT = that, SAT = Being, BRAHMAN = the Immensity and they defined it thus;-
Brahman is that from which all existence arises, in which it abides and into which it ultimately dissolves.
This definition is qualified by three adjectives -
Cit = unbounded all expansive consciousness
Sat = Being - existence or being occurs in space.
ānanda or ananta = unsurpassed bliss or infinity both of which signify time.
So we have the space-time continuum which describes the matter of the universe and consciousness which is integral to matter and is the animating principle.
Using Abrahamic theological terms to describe The Hindu concept of the Totality of Being — God, Souls and the material universe of particles and waves is ONE without a second.
So in conclusion Brahman is not the equivalent of the “one” god of the Christians or Muslims - Brahman is the totality of Being the Absolute reality underlying all phenomena - it is the unified field in which we all exist. It is the ocean of being in which we are all droplets and waves.
Now Hinduism is a blanket term for many different sects and religions - they all accept the concept of BRAHMAN but choose to approach it in Personal ways which vary from sect to sect, or lineage to lineage - there is no uniform or “right” way of thinking of or contemplating the Divine, so some personify it as Shiva, or Krishna or Vishnu or Shakti or whatever form they appreciate and are attracted to.
So for the monotheists that love to criticise us - please keep your paradigms and theological constructs to discussions among yourselves, they are inappropriate to Hinduism – we are totally different to you.
And for the Hindus that keep trying to join the monotheistic club - just stop it and relax - be mindful that monotheism is the worst type of ideology in terms of harm to humanity — second only to communism in the cultural destruction and amount of bloodshed that it has caused over the past 2000 years and is continuing to this day. Please opt out of the monotheistic club there is no need to curry favour with them.
Many have been hurt or disturbed by various theologians and theologies.
But not one of the is God, Brahman, or the flying spaghetti monster.
They are all human constructs.
Some people always think they are the one with the overarching wisdom and they talk down to everyone else. Which in and of itself would be a sin in some religions.
Many have been hurt or disturbed by various theologians and theologies.
But not one of the is God, Brahman, or the flying spaghetti monster.
They are all human constructs.
Well, Religion is a fascinating topic. And cultures don’t translate well, as languages hold a lot of nuances that do not translate. So I understand the difficulty of trying to fit into a frame what refuses to have a shape.
Sadly much is lost by this, and the person does not even know what is lost. This often happens with some American Buddhists. Transacting the language requires effort and the religion itself is not easy to understand, and the available texts don’t help.
On the other hand Hinduism, in particular Advaita Vedanta, does not present the same difficulties. Many not only understand, but appreciate and celebrate that which does not fit and yet inspires them with its beauty and nuances of both Buddhism and Hinduism.
The pigeonholing is past time mostly for those who possibly will never get the essence anyway, but have a need to attack what they do not understand apparently.
Well, Religion is a fascinating topic. And cultures don’t translate well, as languages hold a lot of nuances that do not translate. So I understand the difficulty of trying to fit into a frame what refuses to have a shape.
Sadly much is lost by this, and the person does not even know what is lost. This often happens with some American Buddhists. Transacting the language requires effort and the religion itself is not easy to understand, and the available texts don’t help.
On the other hand Hinduism, in particular Advaita Vedanta, does not present the same difficulties. Many not only understand, but appreciate and celebrate that which does not fit and yet inspires them with its beauty and nuances of both Buddhism and Hinduism.
The pigeonholing is past time mostly for those who possibly will never get the essence anyway, but have a need to attack what they do not understand apparently.
Well, Religion is a fascinating topic. And cultures don’t translate well, as languages hold a lot of nuances that do not translate. So I understand the difficulty of trying to fit into a frame what refuses to have a shape.
Sadly much is lost by this, and the person does not even know what is lost. This often happens with some American Buddhists. Transacting the language requires effort and the religion itself is not easy to understand, and the available texts don’t help.
On the other hand Hinduism, in particular Advaita Vedanta, does not present the same difficulties. Many not only understand, but appreciate and celebrate that which does not fit and yet inspires them with its beauty and nuances of both Buddhism and Hinduism.
The pigeonholing is past time mostly for those who possibly will never get the essence anyway, but have a need to attack what they do not understand apparently.
Indeed.
Despite it's limitations, language and words are what we're given.
Some people always think they are the one with the overarching wisdom and they talk down to everyone else. Which in and of itself would be a sin in some religions.
I think it is a sin and I am probably the king of that club, I may have even invented it. Dang the bad luck.
So many people underestimate Hinduism, some of us raised with a biased mentality against it, and I can only speak for myself but when I started reading the vedas, Vedic? Anyway, I was floored by them and I only spent a little time finding common links and concepts that made me want to spend a lot more time studying Hinduism.
Last edited by Hannibal Flavius; 06-10-2023 at 11:55 PM..
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