subroto Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 check out this website http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1996/6/1996-6-08.shtml or you can read it below My Turn Religion for the Young By Shyamal Chandra Debnath In Bangladesh, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Christian people live together. Among these communities, only the Hindu community fails to practice their religion in an organized way, something I have been observing since my childhood. I spent my childhood and boyhood with my family and some other Hindu families in a Muslim-dominated area. I saw that Muslim children learned their holy books and went to their holy houses everyday. They knew many facts about their religion, but we Hindu children did not learn our holy books, although we went to our community temple regularly. We had no clear idea about our religion. We only knew that we were Hindus. We did not even know that the name of our religion is Sanatana Dharma, which I learned from a friend in six grade. I did not go to any religious school to learn our religion. I did not get any education about Hinduism during my regular schooling either. Overall, I was not provided any religious teaching during my childhood. And, generally, I did not give proper answers when people asked me questions about my religion. At primary school, a Muslim teacher consistantly told us that we should not worship idols. I was upset by his comment because I performed regular puja. Actually, I did not know why I did it. My non-Hindu neighbors, youth and children frequently criticized me about my religion, pujas and lifestyle. I had no explanation for them. They questioned, why Kali is black? Why does Durga have ten hands? Why do we worship the Shivalinga? What is the Shivalinga? I had no answers. But, inexplicably, I liked our religion and lifestyle very much. I always knew that our religion, Hinduism, was greater than all other religions, though I did not know why. We all loved our parents' Gurudev, Sri Radhika Gobinda Goswami, who visited our house once or twice every year. He offered many programs. Everyday he read from the Bhagavatam, Chaitanya Charitamrita and the Srimad Bhagavad Gita. He explained these holy books. He performed kirtans and Bhor Arati on the path of the colony where we lived. He explained why we don't kill the cow. Generally, he spoke about Vaishnavism. He directed us deeply into our religion during the time of his visits. But I saw a discrepancy during his programs. Children and young boys never came forward to learn about Hinduism. I think their parents had no interest to send their sons and daughters to Gurudev to learn our religion. Of course, all the children and youth approached Gurudev, but they only did pranams. I think they had no idea that they could learn many things from this guru. My guardians always told me, practicing religion is only for elders, not children and youth. So we youth avoided practicing the basic religious rituals such as puja, japa, surya pranam, sanskrit mantras, etc. But my parents did encourage us to collect flowers for puja. Nevertheless, we did practice our religion in several ways. We celebrated Saraswati Manasha puja, Dole yatra and Ratha yatra. We organized these programs and participated. We danced and offered anjali. But the priests chanted the mantras and did the pujas. Every year during the summer season, we youth decorated ourselves as Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, Saraswati, Laksmi and as lions. As a group, with a village music band, we went to every house and sang songs, danced and collected pranami at the end with a puja. I played the role of Saraswati for two years. We followed our religion in this way. Yet we lacked any concrete idea about the basics of our religion. Thousands of village gurus control the majority of the millions of Bangladesh Hindus. They travel to every corner, even to very remote places of the country, and tell Hindus about their rich culture and heritage. They are the living Hinduism in Bangladesh. I think they should be sure to teach Hindu children and youth about Hinduism. If our neighbors know about our religion, they will honor our religion and culture. And if the Hindu children and youth know the Sanatana Dharma, then they will feel proud of their religion and will give good answers when they are asked tough questions. Shyamal Chandra Debnath is a student of Medical Geography at Dhaka University in Bangladesh. He is associated with many national and international newspapers and voluntary organizations, including the Debnath Mission for Hemophilia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2005 Report Share Posted June 9, 2005 i have had many conversasions with people that attend my temple about the same topic. Im a 22yo guy from New York, and being outside of India, I think it actually hits me harder. I see that the Hindu youth here have very little interest and the few that do, know a little about it, and that only what their elders have taught them. ultimately, we are learning a watered down version of our religion from people who know of it somewhat and really only know the mostly ritualistic aspect of how they grew up. I think alot of it has to do with the fact that the elders tried to teach us somewhat if we asked qeustions, but if not, it was left alone. Perhaps this is because the elders find it hard to relate our religion to practical everyday life, especially here in the US. But if the children are the future, they MUST know the religion in order for the future of the religion to be strong. I think it should be socially mandatory (not by law) for Hindu families to teach their children Sanskrit from very young ages. All studies show that people will never learn a language as well if they dont learn it within their first five years. Perhaps parents should teach them english and their language (mine was malayalam) and if they cant teach their kids Sanskrit, then take them to classes to learn. But it should start at the top. Parents themselves should learn sanskrit as soon as possible. That way, they can bring sanskrit into the homes and not just when the kids go to classes. Following sanskrit classes, explanation of the sanskrit teachings will follow. Sanskrit is a quickyl dying language as even many religious people are starting to converse in their own particular language and less in Sanskrit. We must revive it, or a host of achievements aand knowledge that is in Sanskrit will be lost to the future. Explaining the truth of life from early on as the primary aspect and the mythology and rituals as the secondary aspect of our religion is important. If done the other way, people will foster an interest more in the myth and the stories than in what they reveal. The stories are meant to reveal moral truths. Not so people can say Rama killed Ravana, oh i love Rama. Its his qualities you should love, not the results of his actions. The results of his actions are secondary. Personally, I find that alot of people are turning to ritualism now more than ever. Im sure there will be alot of people that comment tat this is not true, but look around. The only people commenting are those that are on this forum, or those on any forum. But that is such a limited sample of the Hindu population. Think of the many Hindus who go to temple just to get an archana done, stand in front of the God and pray a little and walk away, as if they have done the duty of a good hindu. Think of the many Hindus who dont come on this site or any site and think of God only when they need help or that once a week or once a month trip to the temple to get an archana done. It also starts with the temples. Temples very rarely provide information. The information is there, but you have to go and find it yourself. Well, the world that we live in today is a world where alot of people are ignorant to it and indifferent to the info and therefore, will not go and search it. Thye may not even know the info is there to find. Learned men, from swamis down to regular temple goers or just people interested in the topic, should spread the knowledge. I think all temples should hold discussions, perhaps every day, every week, or whatever. On no particular topic, just discussions on God and discussions on life. One reason this is hard however, is because of the incredible amount of sectarianism in India. Vaishnavs wont agree with Shaivites, who may not agree with other Shaivite sects. Then there are people who dont believe in certain myths or certain gods. Generally, people that do believe in these ostracize those that dont. Why cant we just listen and try to understand. Who knows, may be they ARE right. Maybe the Buddhists are right and there is no God. One cant know unless one first accepts it as a possibility and rationally works to understand it. Blind dogmatic faith in the existance of Vishnu and the righteousness of Vaishnavs over Shaivites or vice versa leaves us no better than the Christians or the Jews or the Muslims who are taught to blindly believe in their faith. Only difference is we are not taught ot do so, we just choose to be dogmatic. And then we say how great our religion is because we are not dogmatic and we are not so rigid and narrow minded. But we are!! Our sectarianism divides us. And its not the sects' fault. It is the people who practice. The majority of people believe they are right and others who dont believe what they believe are wrong. We must stop thinking this way and come to tolterate and try to understand others points of view and others' religious beliefs. I find that the state of Hinduism is one similar to that of the state of Vedism before Buddha. We have strayed from the genuineness and knowledge to that of faith and devotion. Bhakti is great but is nothing if one doesnt have the jnanam. Devotion and blind faith alone will not lead God to help and bestow boons and good fortune unless one shows the effort to try to understand knowledge of existance. Alot of this also has to do with the scientific movement over the past century and a half. People believe that since we can explain certain things now without the use of God, that means God doesnt exist and we were making it up. Well, even if rain falls because of moisture buildup, God builds the moisture up. Not by magically putting it there, but by the forces of nature, which are in fact His forces. Nature is God. Science is God. Existance is God. the Universe is God. But God cant be defined as any of those things. For He is always more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted June 9, 2005 Report Share Posted June 9, 2005 I can see several reasons : 1. Lack of GOOD teachers and spiritual guides for one thing. 2. Hindus themselves have this notion that they will live forever, so the spiritual education is pushed to a later stage in life, like when they are old and about to croak. I persume you have heard common riddicule such as "Are you're so old?" and such when you read a spiritual book. 3. Lack of educational material. I live in a society where exists Hindus, Buddhist, Muslims and Christians who lives together and despite of Hindus doing well in various feild, I could hardly find any suitable books on Hindusm in libraries and bookstores. Even in the Internet, there is not much information other than what you could get in basic levels. And NO, I don't believe that non-Hindus are out to corrupt Hindus or stop them from learning about their own religion. 4. Interest in Hindus themselves seems to be declining (probably due to reason no.2 as well). When you have no interest, then you are a Hindu by name only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
q8dude Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Namaste, I note your comments and although I do not disagree with them in general, I will disagree on one specific point: the sincere seeker WILL find what he/she is looking for - even in the depths of kali-yuga. The challenge is to transcend the negativity / indifference etc. of the current age. By the way, you will find the entire Universe on the internet (you will find it in other places also) you just have to be sufficiently aware enough as to be able to recognise it when you see it. There is a line from an Art Garfunkle song from the 1970's "..............who would notice a gem in a five-and-dime store....." (trans: who would notice a diamond / ruby or whatever, amongst a pile of junk being sold for 5 or 10 cents / rupees or whatever). If you are a sincere seeker, then do not despair, do not be distracted or deflected from your goal. Remember clues to help you on your journey, can come from the most unlikely sources. Age and wisdom ARE NOT synonymous - as an (what you would call) 'elder', I have met many "old fools" and I have also met many (uncannily) inately wise young people. Of course, in both cases, the opposite can apply equally. Be descerning, learn to recognise which applies. It's not easy, but it needn't be that hard either. Good hunting! Q8D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Nonsense. /images/graemlins/wink.gif Whether it is Kali yuga or not, it doesn't matter. Hindus have responsibility to go out, learn more about their own religion and then teach it to, at least, their children. It is their duty as a Hindu to know at least what the hell Hindusm is, instead of followig it blindly. Hindus now are too materistics in approach and thinking. When comes to wealth, it is "Do today" attitude but when comes to Spiritualism, it is "Do tomorrow" attitude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
q8dude Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Not sure why my comments are classified as 'nonsense'. I don't recall saying anything contrary to what you have said. My thread was essentially a reponse to the statement about not being able to find something on the internet. Your last para. could equally apply to any member of any religion / creed etc. If you are a Hindu (which I assume you are) then just be one and concentrate on getting it right and (hopefully)lead and influence others by example. As for myself, a follower of Srila Prabhupada, B-g 18.66 applies. Q8D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 No, I didn't say your statement is nonsense. Just that the notion of Hindusm is (and therefore acceptable to) decline is because it is Kali yuga is unacceptable. Do Hindus really accept their religion decline is because Kali yuga and therefore needs not to be corrected, researched and shown to the world? And NO, I didn't say I was a Hindu. My beliefs comes from studying various spiritualism, including Buddhism. To me, Spiritualism is a VERY important aspect to keep and develop in order to push humans toward better evolution. Just look at the achievement for Mankind which done by Hindus since the last 10,000 years and so called achievement of present day Scientists and you would agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
q8dude Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Apologies for making assumptions - I guess your chosen name should have given me a hefty clue that you are not a Hindu! Ref. Kali-yuga: I will stand by that as I firmly believe it, however, I will add that it most certainly does not specifically apply to Hindus - Hindus are as much subject the laws of nature as anyone else - indeed it applies to the whole of material creation. One can observe its' effects in just about any culture / country / situation etc. I never said that it need not be corrected. There were no 'Hindus' per se, 10000 years ago; the term being a relatively 'modern' one. There was however, widespread 'vedic' civilization/culture and although centred in and around modern day India, contributors to the advancement of mankind - albeit under the 'vedic' label - could therefore, have come from anywhere in the (civilized) world, it being prevalent worldwide at that time. To which nation / culture would you attribute the (modern day)'invention' of the atomic bomb? Was it A 'western' invention? A Scottish invention. A 'caucasian' invention? A Christian invention? or a Jewish invention? Does it actually matter who invented what? Is all this not symptomatic of the 'false ego' syndrome? Reference all the above and preceding comments: I would not presume to claim anything I say is 'absolute' and cast in concrete -I am merely expressing an opinion / point of view that's all. You, and anyone else, are of course, perfectly entitled to believe whatever it is you wish to believe. Kind regards, Q8D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subroto Posted June 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2005 We also tend to blame our problems on other religions. For eg. yes Muslim invasion of india hurt india very bad and is inforgivable, but can that be blamed for the mordern hindus disinterest in his/her own religion..NO. I know many many hindus that have VOLUNTARILY converted to other religions...who do we blame that on??.. muslim invasion of india?? Hypothetically speaking even if we removed every other non-vedic religion from india it still would not revive the interest of hinduism among hindus. What can we do to fix that??..that is the real question. Why do we ridicule our own religion so much?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thiruvengadam Posted June 14, 2005 Report Share Posted June 14, 2005 a very valid point....what say u ppl? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted June 14, 2005 Report Share Posted June 14, 2005 Good point. Invasion of Muslims is unforgivable but that is not vital reasons for Hindus to leave their own religion. Islam is not to blame if Hindus embrace it, it is personal choice and I for one do not condone Muslims for that. One of the reasons I see why is "laziness" of Hindus themselves. Another is Hindusm is not an easy religion to follow, especially in 21 century. Concept of Karma - What you sow is what you Reap is not something everyone will accept easily, even so, in this modern world, a lot of people reaping what they sow right in front of their own eyes. /images/graemlins/wink.gif Hindus want to believe in something simple, want to use more time for self-indulgements and less time to worry about their own sins. They want a Placebo which will make them forget their own sins. If you travel back in time about 2,000 years ago and ask most Hindus which they prefer - Live for sake of God or Live for their own sake, most people will choose God. Nowadays, I believe most people who choose to live for their own sakes. Sad indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subroto Posted June 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2005 One of the reasons I see why is "laziness" of Hindus themselves. Very approprite, a lot of hindus are lazy and would rather be a hindu by name only than a real one. Another excellent point is hinduism is a very difficult religion to follow in todays age, people tend to gravitate towards easier religions. But easier does not make it better. Also most hindus think that anything that is mordern is better than anything ancient..another stupid notion that is fostered by our education system/ media/movies ...etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted June 15, 2005 Report Share Posted June 15, 2005 Yeah ... and have you seen how some movies potray Indian youths? A girl falls in love with a local boy (both Indians). The father of the girl rejects, stating the boy is not good enough for the girl, despite of coming from a good family. Then the father arranges a marriage for the girl with a man from America, stating that the American (Indian) Boy is better and more "civilized" than Indian boy. While some may argue this is just a stupid plot in a stupid movie (directed by equally stupid director), it hold some logical ground when comes to mimicking mentality of Indians. Many Indians consider "Success" means you must be working as Engineer, Doctor, Lawyer etc and if that person works in countries like US, UK, Australia etc, it is even better. Exactly how does an Indian boy, grow up in a Western environment, influenced by free sex, boost, lack of Hindu values and culture, is better than an Indian boy who has good morale values, knows culture and heritage of India and practise Hindusm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 15, 2005 Report Share Posted June 15, 2005 What culture and heritage are you talking about?? This country has no culture or heritage just hypocrisy and loads of it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 15, 2005 Report Share Posted June 15, 2005 I agree with this article. I'm a Hindu brought up in the UK and I will add some points why I think young Hindus are not interested and problems we face. 1. Mythology - A Hindu girl told me she doesn't believe in Hinduism because all she sees is rituals and mythological stories. I can see where she's coming from. The teachings of the shrutis are being over-clouded by the mythology. If it's myth then you're admitting it's not true, so why follow or worship mythological gods, when we still stress there is only One God? Also alot of these stories from our Puranas are so hard to believe that they happened, that people just reject Hinduism altogether. I mean, just look at the story of Ganesh? If Hindu philosophy or theology is the basis then why don't we shift the emphisis towards that? 2. Founders - It's often said that Hinduism has no single founders, but it has many Sages. Why is it we know little about them compared with the puranic stories we know of? Arn't they the ones who saw God and taught the way to do so? 3. Caste - Even though we are against misuse of caste, why is it people still follow it? It's hyocritical to say the least. If it doesn't apply to the rest of the world why does India still have it? 4. 'Softies among Hindus' - you see alot of people always talking about non-violence in Hinduism and that we must always be non-violent even when under attack. This is absurd and I think is just a cover up by some cowardly Hindus. The result is we are seen as a weak and cowardly lot who have no self respect to defend ourselves. It is against Sri Krishna's teaching not to defend yourself, even by violent means. The youth have NO RESPECT for anything weak. 5. Parents are confused - Alot of Hindu parents don't know much themselves nor practice Hinduism so how can their kids learn anything positive from them? 6. Hindu community is very materialistic and have lost all spiritual touch. They spend their money stupidly at dinner and dance events and on expensive cars and jewellery. This is the wrong way they are raising their kids, who may become materially successful, but spiritually lost. 7. Hindus marrying others. Some Hindus are marrying outside their race and religion. I know one Hindu friend who is marrying a white european girl because he says all Indian girls he met have a bad attitude, are after money, don't respect themselves and therefore won't make good wives. He says there is very little difference between the morals of Indian girls and Westeners, so we should marry whoever we get on with. 8. Vedas - Hindu all talk about how great the Vedas are, but few have studied them? Why? I know they are hard to understand but we need to make the efforts to understand them properly as there are many anti-Hindu groups misinterpreting them and spreading false information about them. In conclusion Hindus have become lazy because they don't have the confidence in their faith and they have been brought up in ways that are contrary to what Hinduism teaches. To them, they cannot take it seriously and that is why they show little interest in trying to follow it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Cultureless people says that. /images/graemlins/cool.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 1. Ahem ... so it Abrahamic Religions. I persume your so-called Hindu girl "friend" have no problem believing in those. /images/graemlins/wink.gif 2. Sages are not there to teach us about God, they are they as example of good and bad men do. By stating that Sages are there to taught you about God, you are mistaken them for prophets in Abrahamic religions. This is a wrong assumption. 3. As for caste ... ALL humans follow Caste directly or indirectly. Caste of Hindusm split men into 4 categories, following their own attitude toward the world and life. You will find Kysatrias in police department, military, navy etc who fight for their country. You will find Brahmins in teachers who teach others, doctors who save lives, researchers and such. You can find Sudras and Vaishas also in business men and regular works. ALL this are people who conduct their lives by their own attitude. BUT now, in India especially, due to ignorant and ego, what started at pillar of society have become problem of society. That has nothing to do with Hindusm, it has everything to do with human ego. 4. "Softies" in Hindusm are cowards? Go and ask the British government if their asses still hurt after got kicked by a Softy named Mahatma Gandhi. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif 5, 6 and 7. Bad Hindus become bad Hindu Parents. 8. Yes, a lot of anti-Hindus are misinterpreting them for their own usages, which is why it is important to have websites such as this. Don't be surprise if some people here are anti-Hindus as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 {1. Ahem ... so it Abrahamic Religions. I persume your so-called Hindu girl "friend" have no problem believing in those.} Listen up, stop jumping to conclusions! That's another problem Hindus have. I'm pretty sure she doesn't believe in Abrahamic religions either. But Puranic mythology is downright ridiculous! Why choose either if they have such nonsensical stories? Abrahamic is in no way better and is in a way worse for it's fascistic attitude to other religions. (2. Sages are not there to teach us about God, they are they as example of good and bad men do.) 2. So why did they even bother to teach if we are supposed to look at them and see how good or bad they were? Why did Badrayana write the Brahma Sutras and all other schools of Vedanta have to interpret it if he did want to teach about God? Why did Patanjali write the Yoga Sutras? Why did the Acharyas write their commentary and start up new schools? You really think their purpose was to allow us to point fingers at them and say "He's good, he's bad"? I think your analysis is flawed! All the Sages did was teach mathy paths to God. {3. As for caste ... ALL humans follow Caste directly or indirectly. Caste of Hindusm split men into 4 categories, following their own attitude toward the world and life.} Isn't that what we know? But I mentioned the misuse of caste. I know of Hindus that know about what the gita teaches about caste or varna-ashram yet they still discriminate against other caste by birth. {Softies" in Hindusm are cowards? Go and ask the British government if their asses still hurt after got kicked by a Softy named Mahatma Gandhi.} No, well who suffered physically? It was the Indians. The British had made their mess and easily walked out to let the Hindus and Muslims massacre each other! The British had already stolen the riches it needed and left India dirt poor and disunited. This same Gandhi you speak of had agreed to split the country under religious lines, resulting in the deaths of thousands. He would stoop so low to appease Jinnah by suggesting him to be the Prime Minister of the new India. If Nehru and Patel didn't stop that from happening the whole of India would today be known as Pakistan. {8. Yes, a lot of anti-Hindus are misinterpreting them for their own usages, which is why it is important to have websites such as this. Don't be surprise if some people here are anti-Hindus as well.} I don't understand how Indian universities have allowed those with Marxist mentality and anti-hindu bias to write so much on India and Hindu history. You expect that sort of nonsense in the west, but why in India? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vasudev_n Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 In Bangladesh, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Christian people live together. haha! this itself is a farce and therefore the original poster is a muslim masquerading as a hindu. as per taslima nusreen's lajja, the only hindu in bangladesh is a dead and decaying hindu unless a forcibly converted one. the population of hindus in bagladesh is in the less than a single digit category and under the regime of extreme in-humanism, is a group which probablt lives under the river or deep inside the sea to escape humiliation of the muslims. so...where is the relevance of replying to impostor posts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Imposter or not ... he does have a point about Hindus not learning about their own religion properly. You cannot deny that. It is true that when compared to Muslims, Hindu children are lacking in education in their own religion. Matter a fact, Christians could force their children to Church and have them listen to Priests preach than Hindu adults could force their children to listen to seminars and discussion on Hindusm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sar Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 the sincere seeker WILL find what he/she is looking for - even in the depths of kali-yuga. The challenge is to transcend the negativity / indifference etc. of the current age. By the way, you will find the entire Universe on the internet (you will find it in other places also) you just have to be sufficiently aware enough as to be able to recognise it when you see it. This is correct, at least in my case. The internet has both false information and the truth, just like this thread. There are sites explaining the puranas, from which i learnt them, out of my own interest. The TRUE SEEKER will perceive the truth when he sees it. Also transcending the negativity is a challenge. Perfect. Thats the way exaclty how i view the situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sage Nabooru Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 As Hindus, I think one of our primary motives should be to fight ignorance. We fight ignorance by spreading awareness. In this case, awareness of our religion and what we believe in. That awareness is not just limited to non-Hindus but to other Hindus who aren't knowledgeable about their own religion. We don't need to stand on street corners handing out pamphlets like Christian missionaries, but we need a sense of community and belonging and education. It seems temples these days exist solely to accept offerings. Look at Christians and Muslims, who are well aware of their beliefs - they have scripture study classes, clubs, groups at schools where students of the same faith can gather, charitable and rescue efforts. A Hindu temple can learn from this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sar Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 It seems temples these days exist solely to accept offerings. Look at Christians and Muslims, who are well aware of their beliefs - they have scripture study classes, clubs, groups at schools where students of the same faith can gather, charitable and rescue efforts. A Hindu temple can learn from this. Nope the concept of "sin forgiveness" was introduced by Christians. People involve in adharmic acts and go to temples to pray to Gods to forgive their sins and give offerings. This is not the way of Sanathana Dharma. Sins will never be forgived for the soul is eternal. There is no concept of Sanathana Dharma that sins will simply be forgiven by just going to temple and praying to God. The Sanathana dharma way of life was greatly influenced and still being influenced by other relegions. Mingling the preachings of different relegions does nothing more than erasing the true concept of our own and permanently changing the attitude of Hindus towards their own way of life. How i view the situation, as humans if we really beleive in Sanathana Dharma, then never involve in adharmic activities. Also do what we can to prevent others from involving in such activities. Then if we go to temple, our eternal soul will be greatly identified by our Gods than those going to wash their sins. That much we can do in Kaeli Yuga. We can do more if the opportunity arises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sar Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Christianity is a religion spread very rapidly to different parts of the world. But i see nothing about their teachings except deceit, evasion, misdirection, manipulation, exploitation etc. Humans simply find it easy and attractive to follow. If someone hears that their sins will simply be forgiven, they want to commit sins and ask for forgiveness. If this concept is taught to the young kids in Christian schools etc, their idea of Sanathana Dharma is totally erased. I see that this is exactly the root cause of why people are reluctant and find sanathana dharma difficult to follow. However i can also say that it is the attitude of the people itself getting attracted towards the adharmic way of life that tends to strip off their attitude of abiding by sanathana dharma inspite of the Christian influence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnanaBoomi Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 There are some valid questions posted by a guest in page 1. Instead of bouncing back at him, we can check its validity. In fact, let us try answering the following questions ourselves. 1. How many of us learn Sanskrit? We all know that the sacred most text of mankind, The Vedas is in Sanskrit. Yet, how many of us bothered to learn? 2. When are the Hindus going to throw away the mask of non-violence nonsense which has been torn apart repeatedly? When are they realizing that it is infact their physical and mental weakness, that they nicely cover up? If they are strong, then will come greater realization, is it not? 3. As the guest rightly asked, we all talk so colorfully about Vedas, Upanishads and all under the sun when foreigners are around. Did we care to read them ourselves? So much of importance is given to the Puranas, which are mostly man-made, and the Vedas and Upanishads are simply unknown to most of the Hindus. Instead of cross-commenting, let us come up with reasons as to why so, and what can be done. It is a fact that Sanatana Dharma does not require "numbers" as it is simply a dharmic way of life. There had been occasions in some part of the country where it ceased to spread for a good amount of time (true!) but it goes by reasoning. We try to attain salvation by being and becoming. The half-baked theories of 'someone coming to save me' or 'someone going to bear my sins' are steadily being ignored by the Western world now, more rapidly than ever. So the Hinduism declining factor can be rubbished. But as a true Sanatana Dharmic follower, I sincerely wish that we should follow the actual Vedic Dharma, come out of our darkness of caste nonsense and treat everyone equally and be strong - physically, mentally and spiritually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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