raemanzu

Hey! I'd like to thank everyone who responded to my interview questions post a few weeks ago... it really really helped with my presentation and I got an A on it! I also learned some great stuff in the process. Thanks for being so willing to help and share your beliefs with me. I've definitely gained a huge respect for Hinduism from this project and it was a pleasure to meet you.

I would try to use some sort of Hindu saying to close this message but I wouldn't know what I was doing so I won't make a fool of myself xD

Hey, thanks for all the help guys. If I have some more questions I'll let you know, you've been really great : ) I know it can sometimes be hard to explain one's religion to outsiders.

oh I have another question... ... my religions teacher tried to explain dharma to us, but I'm kind of lost as to what it actually is. I know it roughly means a person's duty, but what is that determined by?

Wow, another set of answers... thank you! It's always good to get a second witness/voice/opinion. Thank you for sharing it with me! I really can't believe I was lucky enough to get replied to so quickly...

ohhh I see. Interesting. Kind of a "the sun is always shining behind the clouds" sort of thing, hmm?

I was also wondering what " Jai Nitai-Gauranga! Radhey Radhey!" meant xD

Krishna Lila? Sorry, I'm still struggling a little with all the Hindu terminology.... there's so much of it... it makes me appreciate how easy it is for one to take for granted what one is used to.

Yeah. Coming from a Christian perspective I can see why Krishna is the most popular among Hindus... since he possesses the same sort of inviting spirit that drew me to Jesus. If I were Hindu, I'd probably be all for Krishna!

I am a Christian but I very much admire the Hindu way and believe that God accepts all who seek him truly, even if their path isn't through the Christian Jesus... so I believe that those who truly follow Krishna and so on are definitely valid in their beliefs.

Wow... thank you very much for your quick reply! This will definitely be very helpful in my presentation, and I'm impressed with your straightforward answers! Thank you!

Hello... I'm a college student in a world religions class, and I'm studying Hinduism right now for my final project. I've read up on a few things about it but part of our requirements is to interview a member of the Hindu faith. So if someone would answer the following questions as fully as they can, it would be a wonderfully huge help to me! Some of them I'm confused about, and some of them I just want to get a human perspective of (straight from the horse's mouth). You don't have to answer all of them, and if someone wants to answer a few and someone wants to answer a few others, that would work too... I'd just like to get an insider's opinion and thoughts and feelings on these things.

So here are the questions:

What exactly is Varna? Is it the same as the caste system in India, and what determines a person's Varna?

What is the Hindu view of people like Shankara and Ramajuna and others who challenged the way Hinduism had always been? Are they revered or thought of as radicals? or are Hindus indifferent to them?

How many Hindus do you think do a daily puja?

What do you think is the most popular "face" of Brahman and why?

How do you understand Brahman? How do you think one achieves liberation?

What is the role of the holy texts in your life?

What is your view (or optionally the Hindu view in general) of women and their role in society, and how they should be treated?

What defining rules or ethics do you think set Hinduism apart from other religions or cultures?

What do you think of other religions, from a Hindu standpoint?

What do you think are the most important things a Hindu can do in his/her life?