Hinduism, There is No -ism, by Sai Santosh Kolluru
Many of the world’s current religions, mostly one thousand to two thousand years old, practice the code of One Prophet, One Book, and One Philosophy. Even though the world and society have changed since the origin of these religions, people still tend to adhere to this code of One Prophet, One Book, and One Philosophy, and reject all other views.
Today’s religions have merely become “saving” religions, religions in which unexplained rituals replace the individual pursuit of spirituality, where rituals are performed with fear rather than with love. In addition, today’s religions have gone to a strict fundamentalist approach, where people are in pursuit of the pleasures of the material world, rather than knowledge and truth of what is beyond the material world. Furthermore, the kind of Bhakti (devotion), that has been developed in today’s world is one in which the only way of loving one’s own ideal is by hating every other ideal.
The idea of a nationalistic God, or a God confined by ideas particular to a race, country or mindset, is contrary to God’s omniscience and omnipotence. The idea that there is only one kind of an “exclusive God” for only one kind of people creates an atmosphere of fanaticism. If each religion believes that God is one beyond all subjective ideas of form or identity, then how can God be different from one group of people to another? Many people have gone so low for their love of God that they offer services and community help only if a person in need adheres to a specific set of “rules of practice.” How can this be when God resides in everyone and everything? Is Seva really exclusive to a certain group of people? The point is, many religions today focus on what is said and done in the outside world rather than listening to the universe that exists within. Religion should not merely be limited to a book or a prophet, but should be a way of life that has a strong emphasis on the Self. A Self that is so unique in all of existence. A Self that wishes to take the spiritual journey that is the most suitable for its own existence. A journey that is part of one’s everyday life. For five thousand years, such a way of life, as Dr. David Frawley says, “…has maintained an unbroken current of awareness linking humanity with the Divine.”
In the mixing melting pot of the United States where people’s lives collide every day, a new generation of youth are coming of age. The second generation of Indian-Americans, whose immigrant parents are primarily Hindus, are questioning their parents’ way of life. If we were to live in a society where we are surrounded by a particular way of life that we do not feel needs to be questioned, we undoubtedly follow that way of life through mere respect. But when growing up in a country where the world comes together, many questions arise. While many immigrant parents from the Asian subcontinent take the time to answer the questions of their children pertaining to their identity, many parents also tend to leave their children to make their own decisions, primarily because they do not know the answers. This is where a way of life that “has carried over from over from earlier cycles of civilization in previous humanities unknown to our present spiritually limited culture” is being lost. While material achievements and pursuits such as education and professions provide a level of comfort and standing in life, so does the way of life that helps to deal with such comforts and standing. Many immigrant parents think, “As long as my child becomes a doctor or an engineer….” But when the time for choosing a life partner comes into play, many parents succumb to their daughter or son marrying a person not of their own Dharma and suffer the loss of someone who could potentially continue the paddhatis, sampradayas, and samskaram. Many parents also tend to give in to their children’s decisions simply because they do not want to lose their children. The point is that it is vital in today’s world to integrate spirituality, culture, samskaram, paddhatis, and sampradayas with the society to provide knowledge of the inner science, especially in a country like the United States that offers so much in advancement of outer science.
We can see in our everyday lives, the physical presence of our culture and way of life. The Sri Venkateshwara Temple in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and the Ganesha Temple in Flushing, NY were the first of many temples established in the United States. Our immigrant parents who created and established these temples in this country should ask themselves the question, who will look after these sacred sites after they decease? The answers must be found in their sons and daughters, who should slowly take over the administering of these temples across the country. The famous saying, “the torch must be passed on,” must prevail.
Furthermore, many second-generation Indian-Americans tend to follow everything within the control of their parents till the point of pursuing higher education. What happens until that point is that a parent instructs and a child follows without questioning. If a child does question, the parent might not have adequate knowledge to give answers. However, the real questioning takes place when the child goes to college, when there is a direct interaction with various faiths. Then the question of identity arrives, “What am I? Am I a Hindu, a Christian, a Muslim?” There should be no need for exploration because the eighteen years of age should provide plenty of answers to attain an identity and such identity should be justified even more at this stage of Brahmacharya. Because the “Hindu mind represents humanity’s oldest and most continuous stream of conscious intelligence…”, it is tough for an immigrant parent to answer their child because they themselves had no reason to question the way of life back home. For this reason, there is a great need to understand our way of life. Excuses usually take place of interest when it comes to exploring the endless answers the Hindu way of life has to offer. For this fact, the torch is not being passed on; it is being extinguished. It is vital for us to pursue the way of life that our parents have pursued. The Hindu way of life is not a life in which the scriptures are read and interpreted every day, but it is a life that focuses on the Self and the Selfless aspect of the Human Being. It shows that through Karma, Jnana, Bhakti, or Raja Yogas which can be practiced through our everyday lives, we can achieve the ultimate perfection. It tells us to ask ourselves the question, “What will happen to me after I die?” and also provides the answers to such questions. The Advaita, Dvaita, and Visishtadvaita philosophies provide clear perspectives about life so much that they even provide room for atheism.
“Brahma satyaṃ jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparah,” Brahman is the only truth and there is ultimately no difference between Brahman and the individual self. Many second-generation students tend to question the ritualistic part of the Hindu way of life, often without experiencing and engaging in a ritual. Such initial rejection of any idea or an action creates an atmosphere of ignorance where one is not even giving the idea or thought to grow. The morning rituals of chanting the Gayatri Mantra, or applying certain religious marks on the body like kumkum, is for the sake of self-purification, self-discipline and ultimately self-realization as well as respect to the Devas and the Devis and all of the matter in existence. There are many other outer forms of worship like Yajnas, which provide the key to the Selfless part of the Self, where there is a need for going beyond just helping ourselves. Whether it means through Bhakti or Karma, our daily way of life revolves around the Self and the Selfless.
As one can see, the Hindu way of life is a life of being one with the nature and the universe, through the belief that the nature is us and we are the nature. Such ideals, principles, and values are vital for the future generations here in the United States to continue. Many sages, seers, saints, and yogis have confirmed through thousands of years that such a life leads to the Absolute Truth, a life of fulfillment. The challenge lies in educating ourselves and our children, questioning our views like that of a disciple and the guru as clearly seen in the Upanishads, and also finding answers. The key lies in our own self-perfection through which the self and the selfless side of our lives can work towards continuing a way of life that is beneficial for both the Self as well as the advancement of human civilization. As Sri Aurobindo would say, “The saints and sages of ancient India injected power and potency in the Indian mind. In turn, this power and potency added to the capacity of the sages and saints to think deeply on the phenomena around. One of the fundamental truths discovered by them was that the universe is an organic web in which every life is inextricably enmeshed with the other and that this web is permeated with cosmic force of which man and nature were constituents as well as contributors.” Is this not justification enough to continue such a way of life, thousands of miles away from home where it has originated?
References:
Alex Grey quotation in the beginning of the article from Alexgrey.com.
Religious books for seekers article on the Declaration on Fundamentals of the common religion.
Dr. David Frawley, also known as Pandit Vamadeva Shastri, quotation mentioned throughout the article. Author on Hinduism, Yoga, and Ayurveda.
Sai Santosh Kolluru is a sophomore at Case Western Reserve University studying Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. He is President of the CWRU Hindu YUVA chapter and works with Sewa Int’l on the Bhutanese Refugee Empowerment project. He enjoys Cross Country, Track & Field, and studying the Vedantas.
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February 2nd, 2010 05:49
I really liked how the article diagnosed all the problems with varying perception of religion, and also how we need to act now before ‘the torch burns out’. I did not agree with how you said we have 18 years before college to figure out what our religion means to us. Its natural to question it in my opinion but then later in the article you stated that one should not just question but must seek the answer in order to understand, the answer never falls onto your lap - which is when it occured to me that you were absolutely right. Some things you just need to work for. It is extremely importante for our generation to understand our culture and traditions in order to preserve it.
February 2nd, 2010 06:23
First, I just want to say that I personally am not Hindu, I really do not mean to hurt anyone’s feelings, and I am not trying to insult anyone’s religion.I agree with the fact that we need to look beyond personifying our “own” gods and look more towards there being a single divine being. I personally think religion provides a person with hope and a sense of belonging, it should be a path to betterment of the self. I mean i am not going to go against anyones religions but practice what you believe, but look beyond just attending your religious institutions once a week and act upon the words of your God.
February 2nd, 2010 06:59
Agreed. This is merely a perspective of one way of life. As I have mentioned earlier in the article, religions are only boundaries we have created between each other to help us understand with our differences, religions are only those lines we draw with a “title” or a “brand name”.
As the great Muslim Saint Kabir Das would say, “Sky, Ground, Water, Fire, Air have none of these Religions or Social Systems (Kula Matalu). In order to show Bhakti and Devotion to the Supreme Being and the Absolute Truth, are we really going to have the boundaries we create come in the way?”
The idea is to pursue what you want not just by belief but my practice, a practice that works for you, that your soul desires and attracts. True religion teaches as said over and over again is How to Love God. The Real religion is to Love God.
Shishur Vekti, Pashur Vektii, Vekti Gana Rasampanihi -Sri Ramadasu
February 2nd, 2010 16:30
Sai - this is well written. I like your concluding paragraph particularly, and using Sri Aurobindo’s integral viewpoint to sum up. In fact writing an essay on the particular nondual viewpoint espoused here may not be a bad idea.
February 2nd, 2010 17:18
You should definitely write about it Jayant garu :)!
February 2nd, 2010 22:48
I liked how you addressed that love for God seems to have been replaced with fear. Also how you state that in the end, love for God is the “Real religion”. Although i do not agree that it is wrong that parents accept their child’s choice of life partner, I do understand the point that it is difficult for a child raised by two different religions to choose one religion over another. Which is why I agree with you when you said that religion should not have any boundaries between people, as all religions generally represent the same values.
February 2nd, 2010 23:08
Meena, in my opinion, Jesus, Allah, Krishna are all One and the Same. Muslims say “Allah”, an imageless God because it is difficult to wrap our heads around the concept of God, God is beyond our sense-perception, our Mind and Body simply cannot understand this Allah. That is why as Humans we are so lucky to have been given the opportunity to achieve that Self-Perfection in life, that Perfection is nothing but achieving Self-Realization that that Supreme Being is nothing but a cosmic manifestation and that He is nowhere but in your Heart, from which all great work comes from. That atomic soul we are given is One and the Same with the Parabrahma. It is up to us to make the choice whether or not to achieve that Self-Realization and Perfection in life, which has through out the history been represented by our various Avataras and Incarnations. Through the stories of Ramayana and Maharabarata, Shri Rama and Krishna have shown us how to live a valuable and meaningful life. These direct teachings carry the same message through those great Yogis and Saints like Paramahamsa Yogananda, Paramahansa Nithyananda, teachings of Self-Inquiry by Ramana Maharshi, those Advaita Vedanta teachings by Adi Shankaracharya and etc,.
February 3rd, 2010 06:11
i liked your article well done
February 6th, 2010 00:53
I clicked on the article since I was thinking about this issue for time.
But on scanning through it, i was disappointed. May it is because in my thinking, there is NO ism in Hinduism but there is so much “ism” in chrisatinity and Islam but are not called “isms”
May be this was not an article to evaluate what is an”ISM” and show how there is no ISM in Hinduism.
looking at the comments, authors falls into his habit of many hindus, equating Rama, Krishna., jesus, Allah, in other words all religions are same.
To really understand we should go into what is religion and what is dharma. Religions contains “ISM” because they have prescription to their followers. commandments, restrictions on way of worship enmitywith /urge to convert others who are different all are part of it. Thus communism has DA Kapital and there were different variations, just like there are baptists, Adventists, shias and sunnis. What they all have in common is the “ISM” part.
With Dharma, comes darshana, the vision, philosophy. This vision/philosophy will have as many variations as people who are proposing/expanding. Before the advent of English there was no such thing as budhdhism or jainism. They were darshanas, one was free to follow his own or none.
having no ISM is also beneficial in the sense it can transcend place and time. there would come a time there would be Hindus would consider missisippi river as holy and distribute ashes of the departed and may be a time where there would be a shloka similar to Gange cha , Yamuneshaiva ” (Missisippi, colarado chaiva….)
It is possible because there is no ISM and it will need some time to establish the link locally and time to loosen the links back to Bharat. With ease of modern travel/communication, this may take some time….
February 6th, 2010 07:27
The main problem with Hindus is that they had not been able shed the fear complex instilled intheir genes and failed to realize their Dharma. They are confusing Dharma with t religion. Their gentlemanliness, forgiveness and tolerance is not understood by the rogue religions. Kshama( Forgiveness) is exploited as the weakness of the Hindus. Shaucham( (medical Sterilization or cleanliness) is messed up and beauty of untouchability has become a creime because the leader like mahatama Gandhi had to preach to join the society under the British Raj. Vedas were misinterpreted by the foreigners. Samskrit Language was ignored. Result of many out of one has errupted. One race is weakened by the socalled modern and scientific thoughts. Vigyan which is spsritual knowledge is treated as modern science. Ahankar( Ego) and Lohh (Greed) has overpowered the young mindSpecially in America respect for the Elders and Teachers has no place in the younger generation. The lack of very fundamentally important thing (Samskaar) had weakened the Hindus. Awakening is required to call the Hindu Nation. R.N.Watts California
February 6th, 2010 19:37
Ravinder Nath Watts Ji, ABSOLUTELY agreed. This is why I am saying that those things like Ahankara and Lohh, respect for elders and teachers, samskara, padatis, sampradayas NEED to come back. Our immigrant parents have had all these and they have brought it to this country but through my observation and the things I say in this article, it is being lost so much so that it is being eradicated with the mix of the culture that has already established here. For therefore, my argument or point is that such culture should not be mixed. We can equate things in general terms of respect and honor towards others but at the same time there is a fine line between “this is my way of life” and that is your way of life. This is what I am saying here, that this Hindu Way of life by the same principles and values that our parents have raised with should continue in this country, in our second generation indian-americans. This is what I’m saying, Thank you for putting it more bluntly. Well-Said Mr. Watts.
-Sai K.
February 6th, 2010 19:47
Madhuhebbar Ji, you absolutely got my point. This article is not based on the point of what “ISM” or what it does to a name but what I am trying to say is that there, nowadays if there is one thing people want to make of their own and seperate themselves from the society, they isolate themselves in this so called “ISM(S)”. These ISM(S) have such a negative connotation that I wanted to provide the right perspective of the Hindu way of life and how its not the “ISM” we follow. Ism is defined as a Doctrine, a system, a theory. Clearly not what “HINDU-ISM” is. Maybe I did not do my job to bring the view across in the case that before this 5,000 year old creation of the word HINDU-which was a title given by a group of people, there was a way of life. This way of life has been continued and is continuing till this day but what I’m trying to say is that by giving the title “HINDU” we are limiting ourselves, putting walls up and so much more with Hinduism. Unlike Christianity and Islam what I am trying to say is that SANATANA DHARMA has been carried out for thousands of years through out the Yugas. This Dharma which is also the way of life needs to continue and keep going in every heart of this second-generation of Indian- Americans. Living in the Kali Yuga, we have become so blinded by what we are pursuing, we are so materialistic in every way that we forget the real value of Dharma…no way of life in today’s world that has continued for thousands of years better explains the Self than the Hindu Way of Life. This article is a mere attempt to urge those second generation Indian-Americans to understand this way of life and continue it thousands of miles away from home.
Namaste, Sai Kolluru
February 6th, 2010 21:19
“looking at the comments, authors falls into his habit of many hindus, equating Rama, Krishna., jesus, Allah, in other words all religions are same.”
Madhuhebaar Ji you say this, I state this through the Advaita Philosophical point of view. “Brahma satyaṃ jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparah,” this is the view that there is no difference between the Brahman, the Absolute Truth and the Individual Self. MadhuhebaarJi, in my point of view Rama, Krishna, Jesus are all manifestations of the Absolute Truth that help us try to understand our origin. They are all together the Paramatma, the Padama Brahman. We goto the temple and pray hoping that our prayer goes to the Absolute Truth through these representatives of Rama, Krishna or if you goto a Chruch, Jesus Christ or a Mosque, Allah. The point is that the Absolute Truth, the Macro Brahman is so beyond our sense-perception that His Representatives help us understand the point of life through their stories.
Such a philosophy as you can see is a part of the Hindu Way of Life, it is through heavy logical questioning also known as Vichara, that we come to understand this philosophy. Thus, those who practice is philosophy incorporate it automatically in their lives by seeing all living creatures and the material world as One and the Same, unique in its own way with the Divine in it all (Note-I’m not an Enlightened Being, I cannot make this claim but I believe in it and I am pursuing the path to enlightenment in an attempt to not just believe but KNOW it as a fact). What do you ask is the result of this kind of a view? Respect, qualities and characteristics that help us all look at each other and respect and love each other. The creation of a Religion limits us to looking at the world in limiting way when the real point of “Religion” is to Love God as I have mentioned before.
February 7th, 2010 08:13
In today’s world, your statement. “the kind of Bhakti (devotion), that has been developed in today’s world is one in which the only way of loving one’s own ideal is by hating every other ideal.” is REALLY TRUE! I have noticed some of my friends who follow different faith (Muslim, Christianity) tried to impose their belief upon me citing wrong quotes about Hinduism. I politely clarified their wrong assumptions (as my basics about my religion is clear) and offered them to question if they have any doubts. I pity on those individuals who change faith before understanding it’s true essence and their individual duty/responsibilities towards attaining Peace of Mind & Self-Fulfilment. I have gone through the books of other religions as well and the general emphasis in those is Love, Peace & Discipline. I fully agree to your point that the parents/individuals who have NO answer by themselves will find it difficult to clarify others when questioned. I really do not think it is a “rocket-science” to know the basics of “The Way of Life” but to self-realize upon their own.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!