This article (hat tip to Atanu Dey) details a transformation of the US (a predominant Christian nation) into one which follows some Hindu principles. I really like the simplistic approach of summarizing the Hindu principles without drama.
Wish today's Hindu religious leaders are able to expound on our religious principles without adding unnecessary superstition and dogma when teaching religion today.
I also wish members of the Indian liberal media who pooh-pooh Hindu Vedic philosophies and revere Leftist jerks have a chance to introspect and understand the great culture of India.
The Rig Veda, the most ancient Hindu scripture, says this: "Truth is One, but the sages speak of it by many names." A Hindu believes there are many paths to God. Jesus is one way, the Qur'an is another, yoga practice is a third. None is better than any other; all are equal.
Wish today's Hindu religious leaders are able to expound on our religious principles without adding unnecessary superstition and dogma when teaching religion today.
I also wish members of the Indian liberal media who pooh-pooh Hindu Vedic philosophies and revere Leftist jerks have a chance to introspect and understand the great culture of India.
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13 comments:
Now, this is the usual pitfall of using "ekam sat, vipraaha bahudhaa vadanti" (RV 1.164.46).
There is something before and after that actually--
"They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutmān |
To what is One, sages give many a title they call it Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan ||"
I agree that this mantra can be "applied" to various religions as well, but in its original form,
it, in no way, relates to other religions, or even other systems in Indian philosophy (saiva, vaishnava, shaaktya, etc).
Also, in the current scenario, such a usage of the mantra would be extremely counter-productive, and it would serve only to expose our naivete in inter-religious affairs and abject lack of understanding of our very own scriptures.
Thank you, DD, for a very informative link.
@Gandaragaloka,
If you read Swami Vivekananda, he never hesitated in his praise of Jesus Christ. He did say Christianity is not fit to be Universal religion but he never held back in his praise of Christ. He never held back his admiration for Americans and even for the British. I suggest you read his works and broaden your outlook.
http://www.rkmath.org/articles
"I suggest you read his works and broaden your outlook."
How does what I said prove that I have a narrow mindset? Aha! So this is what they call by "Ad hominem" attacks.. hmm!
Anyway...
If Swami Vivekananda praised Christ, well, great! Christ, as a human had an Atma that was not different from Brahma ("jeevo brahmaiva na para") and in fact is Brahma ("ayam Atma Brahma"). But that is a philosophical facet, and is best dealt with when Abrahamic religions and communism destroy themselves and peace reigns supreme once again over Mother Earth.
On the other hand, I am trying demonstrate that in our unideal, unfair world, this rigvedic mantra is being blatantly misused by parties whose interests run inimical to our nation's. Using this mantra at this time to show the equality of religions is absolute suicide.
xinhua ram, i think gandaragolaka has a point when it comes to how the mantra is being misused. it is used only to brainwash hindus to accept the abrahamic faiths, which believe in exclusivity. the transgressions and imperialism by these death cults are largely ignored by the media, and the hindus are kept in the dark by this all-religions-are-the-same stuff. it is a pity that even hindu religious leaders propagate this myth. at a fundamental level, hindus do not make any attempt to understand christianity or islam because they think it is the "same" and not something different. if we are to wake the hindus out of this slumber, it is important to emphasize the differences.
swami vivekananda might have had a great appreciation for jesus. a spiritual man is bound to see greatness in a person, real or fictional. but he has been fairly critical about christianity once he understood the ideology. it is important to make that distinction. there is no place for exclusivity to god in a peace-loving world.
There has not been a religion that has clung to this dualism more than that founded by the Prophet of Arabia, and there has not been a religion which has shed so much blood and been so cruel to other men. In the Koran there is the doctrine that a man who does not believe these teachings should be killed; it is a mercy to kill him! And the surest way to get to heaven, where there are beautiful houris and all sorts of sense-enjoyments, is by killing these unbelievers. Think of the bloodshed there has been in consequence of such beliefs!
In the religion of Christ there was little of crudeness; there is very little difference between the pure religion of Christ and that of the Vedanta. You find there the idea of oneness; but Christ also preached dualistic ideas to the people in order to give them something tangible to take hold of, to lead them up to the highest ideal.
http://rkmath.org/articles/practical-vedanta-4/
We have seen so much that is good in the western society. And not one of us today is proud of untouchability and other such evils in our own society. You know where these came from? It came from not recognizing the difference between Vedanta and Practical Vedanta. What is the use of knowledge that doesn't lead you to see unity? What is the point of harping on advaita if you cannot see oneness? Advaita Darshanam Jnaanam. Till then, we are groping in the dark.
Even if you are against Abrahamic religions, Swami Vivekananda's approach was better. He sought to distinguish between Christ and what came out to be Christianity.
After reading Lisa Miller's article, can we establish these lemmas
1) All States which tend to move towards realization of spiritual self tend to move closer to the Hindu Thought!
2) All States which tend ask the right questions tend to be more understand the importance of being Human and thus seek solace in practicing Yoga and Pranayama
3) All citizens of such State which happens to satisify Lemma 1 and 2 tend to be act more responsibly and instead of completely denying existance of God tend to accept that God manifests as The Infinty itself!
Dear Xinhua Ram,
I see where you are coming from when you talk about SV's views.
"We have seen so much that is good in the western society. And not one of us today is proud of untouchability and other such evils in our own society. You know where these came from?"
I am really confused to read that untouchability originated from impractical vedanta. Can you shed some more light?
The Vajrasuchika Upanisad which proclaims that men are not born a brahmin. kshatriya or a shudra, says it clearly that one is whatever by his karma but not by his birth.
Mixing a social evil like untouchability with vedanta is a known leftist gimmick. I don't understand how you could fall for it.
Slavery in west is much worse than the untouchability we had in these eastern shores. That doesnt justify anything though.
These social evils are there in all the socities, may it be Roman, Greek or any modern western society for that matter.
Please don't mix the social practices that evolved over the years either due to bad understanding of the scriptures or due to the greed of some communities ,with Vedanta.
All your veiled self-congratulations are truly great points. When you manage to find one of your little Gods - Bring him/her to me and I shall give them a little spank. Best Of Luck !!! LOL
This whole abstract construct is past its shelf-life and it is time that you talk logically - like you know why the Sun rises in morning.
5000 years is still not enough for you to realize that no one is coming for your pooja party.
the context in which this mantra was recited was different. these two abrahmic religions did not even exist then. One can watch the following video to get some more clarity as whether all religions preach the same. We need to stop propagation of lie whose basic purpose is to cheat the Hindus and make them believe that islam and christianity are almost same as Hinduism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM4GOARP6Mk
Gandaragolaka,
Thanks for your thoughts.
Xinhua Ram,
Thanks for your comments.
CodeNameV,
thanks for your comments.
hUmDiNgEr,
Thanks for your thoughts.
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