harerama

I've read of accounts where people have seen Sathya Sai baba in their dreams and they took it to mean that he was their real guru. So they become disciples of his and then later feel betrayed by their trust in him. So how would you know who is your authentic guru? By the way, I'm not seeking a guru out right now, I'm just curious as to what would be the qualities devotees would look for and how they make such judgment calls.

Or how do you know which guru to trust or whether to trust any guru? And what if that trust is betrayed in some form later after you've become a disciple? For instance, what if he succumbs to lust, or you find out he's not as perfect as you thought he was? What would you do then? How would you feel?

How can Krishna be fearful if he was God incarnate? I can't understand that. Especially if he knew and willed everything to happen the way it did in the Mahabharata?

All religions are based on some type of philosophical outlook, so yes, they all have some philosophy involved. However, Eastern religions are relegated to the New Age/philosophy sections, but that's not such a bad thing, in my opinion. What's so bad about being associated with the New Age tradition? Or philosophy? New Age is pretty much an echo of Eastern religions, somewhat watered down, but still a step towards bringing people a better understanding of Eastern conceptions of God, the universe and the self, which I think is a good thing. And how can anyone be offended with Hinduism being in the philosophy section as it has the associative effect to newcomers as a more thought-provoking and well thought out religion or outlook on life.

Well, I'd say your beliefs are similar to Mahayana Buddhism, or vishishtadvaita Hinduism (qualified non-dualism). I'm Hindu and I don't consider caste as anything but a social construct that Hindus live in, but isn't Hindu by definition. It's just a social construct, integrated into religious scriptures, but if you eliminate caste, the religion doesn't change as far as I'm concerned. Many Hindu yogis also do not believe in the caste system but identify themselves as Hindu. In some places where you go, race will matter unfortunately. Race or caste, in certain temples you will be regarded as a curiosity or an uninvited guest. In India especially there are temples where NRI's, or Americans are not allowed. Of course there are also temples that are open to all of the Hindu faith, so you just have to look around for a temple that would suit you. I believe Vaishnav Hinduism discourages smoking, drug use, and promiscuity. The true goal in most Hindu sects is to transcend the sensual pleasures and seek contact with God by transcending the ego. So most sects will discourage drug use, smoking and promiscuity. However, I think certain sects do use drugs for mystical experiences and sex as well (Tantric Hinduism possibly, and Kashmir Shaivism).

You must be lost.

I guess people in previous ages had these as standard, as we only use less than 5% of our brains. Actually 10%, and I actually read that whole expression is not true. We use all of our brain, supposedly.

"Sorry guys I really don't know a whole lot about the way Hindus worship. I'm a Hare Krishna so I accept Krishna(Visnu) as the one true God, not as in a trinity with Brahma and Siva. I understand how the trinity works, create-protect-destroy. But what I don't understand is if you consider all three demigods what do you call the one God? and are there Hindus who consider Visnu to be that one God? " Well Hindus worship different gods. Some worship Shakti, Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha, etc. There are a lot of sects in Hinduism that seek to define their God as the Supreme God and all other gods as expansions of that One God. Hindus believe in Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva. Some believe they're equally powerful, I guess. While others believe Vishnu is Supreme or Shiva is Supreme and the other demigods are really expansions of that god. Hindus generally do believe in one Supreme God or Reality, which they call Brahman. However, they are not in agreement WHICH God is Supreme, and thus they have a ton of sects emphasising one god or another as the Supreme and other gods as expansions of that God. For example, Vaishnavas believe Krishna or Vishnu is the Supreme. Shaivites believe Shiva is the supreme.

Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva? I heard Jesus did, Guru Nanak did. But from what I understand, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva are only aspects of ONE god, that one god that Jesus and Guru Nanak emphasise.

or at least it's only a THEORY, so please stop stating it as fact.

The Mahabharata wasn't some petty squabble. It was about a war that would change the face of the earth. It would usher in a new age, Kali Yuga. This doesn't happen with a mere tribal war. Kings from all different nations gathered to be on the side of the Pandavas or Kauravas. The technology isn't mere extrapolation, because they DO describe atomic weapons, and there is evidence of something having produced intense heat and radiation at sites like Mohenjo-daro. Maybe you are too blinded by Indologists who do not see time as a circular concept. That is their flaw when they gather evidence, unfortunately. Time does not move in a linear fashion. It may appear it does within a certain time period, but extend beyond it, it curves this way and that way, to form a cycle.

I've read at a few sites that the Taj Mahal really wasn't a mausoleum in the first place, but a Vedic Shiva temple and a palace, which was owned by a Hindu named Jai Singh. What are people's thoughts on this? Is there merit to this claim? If so, why doesn't the Indian government acknowledge this?