some of the specifics may be worth debating, but overall, he does make sense.
especially about reading the Gita. it is incredibly sublime, and even with a modicum of sanskrit, one can appreciate it. the Gita Press in Gorakhpur brings out a tiny portable edition with the sanskrit originals and english translation for each couplet, and this very inexpensive edition is worth carrying around and reading every day. i do do this. also, having the mp3 version on my ipod is helpful so i can listen to the chanting at the same time. (however, the chant goes too fast for me read along and enjoy fully).
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Save Hinduism <savehinduism@gmail.com>
Date: Jan 15, 2006 5:05 PM
Subject: Please help in putting this message across to all
To: rajeev.srinivasan@gmail.com
However if Hinduism has to be protected and carried on forward as a religion (and not just a belief system which other faiths look down upon), we need to make certain changes in the way we approach our religion. I strongly believe that the times have changed and so should the religion.Improvements are always welcome and are always a good sign of corrective actions(Other faiths would slam the effort as "rewriting" religion)
1) Hindus, please believe in your religion. This does not translate into saying that you need to look down on other religions. It just means you should look up to yours. Have you ever gone to a Muslim's house or a Christian house which kept Ramayana and Gita along with Koran or Bible ?
2) Keeping an open heart should not really translate to keeping your eyes closed. Have you ever been handed a Bible by someone? If not then let me ,just say it's pretty common occurrence. Now let me ask have you ever handed a Gita or Ramayana to anyone from other faiths? The answer is probably no. Why is it that they do and we don't? Let me answer that. We are victims of our own openness and blindness. We have embraced the deceit and brought it into our homes by our own gullibility. My Father is a devout Hindu and a Doctor. His Nurse ( A christian) gave bible to him as present on his 20 years of service. Why Bible? To me the issue is as much with giving as it is with receiving.
3) Hindu religion need not be as open as it has been. It has to adapt to changing times. "Openness" in Hinduism is also synonymous with "disorganization". Organize the religion.
4) Let Bhagwat Gita be the holy book for Hindus. Break away from 1 million gods and Goddesses worship.1 Million gods and goddesses are expression of free mind and free religious.Some one worships Shiva and someone worships Ram and Krishna. Lets all worship one God to achieve unity in our beliefs and purpose
5) Let OM be the holy sign in every temple. See how the cross and the star are there on top of every place of worship for other faiths. Have OM on top of every place of worship. Let others know what is sacred. Swastika was already taken from us and we want to protect OM with all we have
6) There should be a holy head for the religion and a holy body for managing the affairs. We have to do this. Shankaracharya and well qualified body should decide on the practices of the religion
7) For Hindus to be united and remain united , they have to come together more often. Hinduism should have a day assigned for worship when the practitioners are supposed to gather at the place of worship. How have we missed out on this for ages and why?
8) Hindus should select a shrine as a central shrine for Hinduism. Whatever it is Tirupathi or Rameshwaram or Ayodhya or Vaishno Devi.
9) Hindu temples should very actively get involved in charities. This is absolutely imperative.Temples should be run like an organization where the funds are well looked after and utilized for the benefit of not only our faith but the human kind
10)Every Hindu should buy Gita and read it. I guess majority of us haven't even opened it
11) Hindu slammers get a grip and please stay in touch with reality.Protect what is yours and do it with all your heart. Realize what you stand to lose. Realize that a very sophisticated war is being waged against your faith and you are very precariously placed
12)Hindus please teach your children and teachings of Hinduism and Gita. Don't let some Missionary school wipe the slate clean. Let the children know,admire and protect their faith. You owe it to them and owe it to yourselves
13) Wake up and take pride in who you are, where you came from and more importantly where you are going.
I would be more than happy to take up any questions at savehinduism@gmail.com
5 comments:
Re:
Now let me ask have you ever handed a Gita or Ramayana to anyone from other faiths? The answer is probably no. Why is it that they do and we don't? Let me answer that. We are victims of our own openness and blindness.
--- I dont agree with above. The
reason we dont hand Gita to non-
Hindus is that there is no
"conversion thought" running in
our minds, since a Hindu can only
be a Hindu by birth. I dont know
of any other "method". Though I do
know of westerners who have
embraced Hinduism.
Anyway, my standard response to
bible pumpers who come knocking at
my door is - "Welcome, would you
like to sit down and hear me tell
you about Bhagavad Gita ?". Some
have told me they have read it and
it is of no use to them. I tell
them I dont need their lecture
either.
Doing specific things to conform to Hinduism is an antithesis to the very idea of Hindu dharma. Besides, if one starts to get into specifics, there will be more divisions. The author has merely zeroed upon books and symols that are used by majority of Hindus, not necessarily all.
If we just note that a very significant portion of western population answers to the tag 'no religion', we will understand and appreciate the strength of Hinduism. The absense of external controls is the key to attraction of Hinduism, not any particular symbol.
Unfortunately, with the aggresive Islam, Xian, and Marxists, and the economic position of an average Hindu, the poaching has become rampant. We need to fight against the aggressors, and we need to organise ourselves for that fight, however, the soul purpose should be to keep the aggressors away, not to bring everyone around to follow the same book or symbol. I am sure every well-meaning human being will see the folly of an aggresive religion eventually.
Everytime someone says Geeta, I am reminded of the so many beautiful ideas it presents. Take the twelfth chapter, for example. Essentially, Krishna tells Arjuna that people approach god in many different ways. Out of all those, Bhaktimarga is the easiest one for an average person. Mind you, Geeta does not exhort you to take any one particular road.... Keeping Geeta as a symbol of your belief and saying others should do the same? That would mean you yourself aren't following Geeta....
The most recent article by Francois Gautier in rediff.com had very similar suggestions. Forming of a spiritual council which consists of Shankaracharyas and other religious heads. They can guide the Hinduism.
I really like the part about single book and single symbol. In fact, we should make a single procedure (if I may dare to add, like ISO 9000) for poojas and make it publicly available so that everyone can use it. This way we unify the book, symbol and procedure. It will be difficult to come up with a single pooja procedure for every single occassion the hindus celebrate, but simplifying procedures is what I mean.
Though I like the idea of "lack of central control" and probably that is what enabled it to survive thousands of years, I think the times have changed. Our enemies are more powerful economically, militarily and most important they are in positions of power and control the flow of information. So Hinduism should become more like them, (monotheistic) to survive.
Trying to preserve our Hindu tradition and culture is a very tricky issue. When we try to do this, we must make sure that we do not lose our greatest strength - tolerance towards all forms of belief and acceptance of all paths as equally valid. Hinduism is a monotheistic religion, we do not have to force that on anyone. Hinduism recognises the eternal, unchanging reality, or Brahman (not Brahma!) as God, and all forms of God that we see (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, etc.) are just different aspects of this God.
The biggest problem facing Hindusim is the ignorance among Hindus about what the religion really is all about. The best way to preserve our Hindu tradition is not to try and set a uniform procedure, but to educate all Hindus about what the religion is all about.
Another point about being a Hindu, it is not restricted by birth. Hinduism recognises many paths as valid in the quest to attain enlightenment, and anyone who follows any of these paths is a Hindu by definition.
Education about what Hinduism is all about is by far the most powerful strategy that we can use.
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