Guest guest Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 Brahmachari Dayamrita very carefully avoids talking about "Hinduism" as a distinct religion and says so. I considered myself a "Hindu" from 1979-80. After enough study to intellectually recognize that the term covered practically every possible human spiritual endeavor from the highest philosophy to human sacrifice, I travelled to Kerala. There I found out that I had been exposed to and was carefully taught the religion of Tamil brahmins, whatever you choose to call that. In Kerala at least, such a spiritual tradition was a very small part of the rich spiritual life of the people. What do I call the religion of those who have workshipped Bhadrakali before brahmins were improted from Tamil Nadu to Kerala? What do I call the religion of the people who perform theyyam, a ritual performance that celebrates local history, social justice and weaves in some stories from the brahminical tradition? What do I call the religion of those families who do kolam rituals for health in people's homes? I deeply respect Dayamrita's reluctance to talk about Hinduism as a religion of which Ammachi is a representative. Such language recalls Western cultural concepts which are sure to give the wrong idea. In the West we have religious organizations called churches or synagogues. They have federal and state nonprofit status, corporate charters, board members and spokespeople. Their religioun has a founder. The sect has a founder. Christian groups proselytize and send missions to "heathens" in India and other places. Members and supporters have more or less clear identities. This is Western stuff. Amma is not part of that kind of organization. She is not here to convert people to "Hinduism." A whole other thing is going on. In this age many people are materialistic. Even the churches have adopted organizational behaviors that don't seem very spiritual. Whenever sincere dedication and loving intention shine, spiritual people of any culture will be drawn close, whatever the label is. There's a common hymn to the guru which says to the guru "You are my mother and father." Encountering the guru is exactly like a rebirth. The ways of the old life have not worked. What to do? What to do? Just the way toddlers and children imitate their parents as they learn how to be in the world, spiritual toddlers will imitate odd things about the guru. Recent "grads" of the Vedanta course I took in the late 70's would always teach sitting crosslegged on a table, for instance, because guess who else did that? It's just us babies trying out life in a new way. Aikya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 try calling it what it was originally called- Sanatana Dharma. - the eternal way of life. namah shivaya bala Aikya Param <aikya wrote: Brahmachari Dayamrita very carefully avoids talking about "Hinduism" as a distinct religion and says so. I considered myself a "Hindu" from 1979-80. After enough study to intellectually recognize that the term covered practically every possible human spiritual endeavor from the highest philosophy to human sacrifice, I travelled to Kerala. There I found out that I had been exposed to and was carefully taught the religion of Tamil brahmins, whatever you choose to call that. In Kerala at least, such a spiritual tradition was a very small part of the rich spiritual life of the people. What do I call the religion of those who have workshipped Bhadrakali before brahmins were improted from Tamil Nadu to Kerala? What do I call the religion of the people who perform theyyam, a ritual performance that celebrates local history, social justice and weaves in some stories from the brahminical tradition? What do I call the religion of those families who do kolam rituals for health in people's homes? I deeply respect Dayamrita's reluctance to talk about Hinduism as a religion of which Ammachi is a representative. Such language recalls Western cultural concepts which are sure to give the wrong idea. In the West we have religious organizations called churches or synagogues. They have federal and state nonprofit status, corporate charters, board members and spokespeople. Their religioun has a founder. The sect has a founder. Christian groups proselytize and send missions to "heathens" in India and other places. Members and supporters have more or less clear identities. This is Western stuff. Amma is not part of that kind of organization. She is not here to convert people to "Hinduism." A whole other thing is going on. In this age many people are materialistic. Even the churches have adopted organizational behaviors that don't seem very spiritual. Whenever sincere dedication and loving intention shine, spiritual people of any culture will be drawn close, whatever the label is. There's a common hymn to the guru which says to the guru "You are my mother and father." Encountering the guru is exactly like a rebirth. The ways of the old life have not worked. What to do? What to do? Just the way toddlers and children imitate their parents as they learn how to be in the world, spiritual toddlers will imitate odd things about the guru. Recent "grads" of the Vedanta course I took in the late 70's would always teach sitting crosslegged on a table, for instance, because guess who else did that? It's just us babies trying out life in a new way. Aikya Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha! Ammachi SBC DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 17, 2003 Report Share Posted July 17, 2003 The message was getting loooooong. By the way, are the beliefs of those outside the caste system in India (never mind here in the US or in Fiji, etc.) included in "sanatana dharma"? Aikya Ammachi, balakrishnan Shankar <balakrishnan_sh> wrote: > try calling it what it was originally called- Sanatana Dharma. - the eternal way of life. > > namah shivaya > > bala > > Aikya Param <aikya> wrote: > Brahmachari Dayamrita very carefully avoids talking about "Hinduism" > as a distinct religion and says so. > > I considered myself a "Hindu" from 1979-80. After enough study to > intellectually recognize that the term covered practically every > possible human spiritual endeavor from the highest philosophy to > human sacrifice, I travelled to Kerala. There I found out that I had > been exposed to and was carefully taught the religion of Tamil > brahmins, whatever you choose to call that. In Kerala at least, such > a spiritual tradition was a very small part of the rich spiritual > life of the people. What do I call the religion of those who have > workshipped Bhadrakali before brahmins were improted from Tamil Nadu > to Kerala? What do I call the religion of the people who perform > theyyam, a ritual performance that celebrates local history, social > justice and weaves in some stories from the brahminical tradition? > What do I call the religion of those families who do kolam rituals > for health in people's homes? > > I deeply respect Dayamrita's reluctance to talk about Hinduism as a > religion of which Ammachi is a representative. Such language recalls > Western cultural concepts which are sure to give the wrong idea. In > the West we have religious organizations called churches or > synagogues. They have federal and state nonprofit status, corporate > charters, board members and spokespeople. Their religioun has a > founder. The sect has a founder. Christian groups proselytize and > send missions to "heathens" in India and other places. Members and > supporters have more or less clear identities. This is Western > stuff. Amma is not part of that kind of organization. She is not > here to convert people to "Hinduism." A whole other thing is going on. > > In this age many people are materialistic. Even the churches have > adopted organizational behaviors that don't seem very spiritual. > Whenever sincere dedication and loving intention shine, spiritual > people of any culture will be drawn close, whatever the label is. > > There's a common hymn to the guru which says to the guru "You are my > mother and father." Encountering the guru is exactly like a rebirth. > The ways of the old life have not worked. What to do? What to do? > Just the way toddlers and children imitate their parents as they > learn how to be in the world, spiritual toddlers will imitate odd > things about the guru. Recent "grads" of the Vedanta course I took > in the late 70's would always teach sitting crosslegged on a table, > for instance, because guess who else did that? It's just us babies > trying out life in a new way. > > > Aikya > > > > > Sponsor > > Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha! > > Ammachi > > > Terms of Service. > > > > > > SBC DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 17, 2003 Report Share Posted July 17, 2003 Namah Shivaya. Amma is not part of that kind of organization. She is not > here to convert people to "Hinduism." A whole other thing is going on. It appears that she is becoming known as "The Hugging Saint" and that, like Mother Teresa, she is becoming a symbol of compassion that transcends all the rest. p. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 19, 2003 Report Share Posted July 19, 2003 Kenna, I would hesitate to compare Amma with Mother Teresa. See http://www.ffrf.org/fttoday/august96/hakeem.html According to Mother Teresa, The problems facing Calcutta are due to the fact that it is too distant from Jesus. "I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot, to share it with the passion of Christ. I think the world is being much helped by the suffering of the poor people." There's a lot of stuff on the WWW about M.Teresa which can be found through Google and perhaps does not belong to this mailing list ! Namashivya, Girish On Fri, 18 Jul 2003, Kenna wrote: > Namah Shivaya. > > Amma is not part of that kind of organization. She is not > > here to convert people to "Hinduism." A whole other thing is going on. > > It appears that she is becoming known as "The Hugging Saint" and that, > like > Mother Teresa, she is becoming a symbol of compassion that transcends all > the rest. > > p. > > > Sponsor > > click here > > Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha! > > Ammachi > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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