The Thread that Links Us All
Posted on February 27, 2007
Filed Under Hinduism | 8 Comments
In trying to understand what makes a Hindu a Hindu, I have come across various explanations of the defining characteristics of hindus and Hinduism. Unlike Christianity, Islam, Buddhism or any of the “modern” religions, there is no one list of commandments, or basic tenets, or “pillars”, or even “rules of living” that one has to follow, that defines what makes a Hindu a Hindu. In this respect, Hinduism is not an “organized” religion - speaking very literally. I intend to examine what being a Hindu is all about in a series of articles, written whenever I have time to organize my thoughts. When I done with the series, I will create a list that links to all the articles in the series, and write a summary. This is part of the series, “Define Hinduism”.
Today we look at the judicial definition of “Hindu”.
The Supreme Court of India defines the qualities of a Hindu in the ruling of the case, “Bramchari Sidheswar Shai and others Versus State of West Bengal“. The full text of the ruling is available here. The case was regarding declaring Ramakrishna Mission as a non-Hindu, minority religion, under the Indian constitution. So without further ado, here is the relavant portion of the proceedings, which defines the characteristics of a “Hindu”:
The Court Identifies Seven Defining Characteristics of Hinduism and by extension Hindus:
Read that last one again. I was left wondering if that did not annul the first six 
Hinduism is really difficult to define. So then, how do you convey a whole picture of what it is to be a Hindu? You present all the facts and thoughts, you provide access to history, and you let the other person form a picture for himself. Given the vast streams of thought in Hinduism - his picture will fit into what Hinduism is. I consider my idea of Hinduism conveyed if the recipient understands that there is no one definition, and also understands the spirit of Hinduism. I think Hinduism is the longest surviving “natural” or “pagan” religion.
Commentary is cheap, and I shall contribute no more cheap junk to this post. In the coming articles in this series, I will try to define Hinduism from various different angles, hoping to let you gain the perspective and 3-dimensional depth that viewing it from different angles will provide!
Posted on January 26, 2007
Filed Under Hinduism, sanskrit, guides, resources | 1 Comment
In addition to books and online resources, there is also a wonderful correspondence course to learn Sanskrit.
Samskrita Bharati started as an experiment in 1981 in Bangalore, India to bring Samskritam back into daily life. Not surprisingly, they offer live courses in the US and India, and supplement it with an excellent correspondence course on Sanskrit.
The course assumes no prior knowledge of Sanskrit, and starts from the very basics. They make good use of audio cassettes(though maybe it is time to move up to Audio CDs ). In addition, they have a neat feature where one can call a telephone number in the USA and leave a voice message with a question, and have a volunteer answer it, for free!
Learning is accomplished through four “grades”. The fee for each grade is a paltry $100!! Each grade consists of 12 lessons with tests to measure comprehension. Passing a grade will get you a certificate and the right to enter the next grade.
For details on this correspondence course, visit the Samskrita Bharati correspondence course page.
Option One.
Samskrita Bharati. (www.samskrit-bharati.org), offers Sanskrit lessons, via
correspondence both within India and abroad.
Post enrollment, I have just received my first set of lessons, which are both in
booklets and in casettes. We are encouraged to follow the text in the booklet,
listening to the casette. There are four level, each having a duration of 6
months. After completing each level, the student is expected to mail the
completed exercises back to S-B for verification and subsequent certfication.
I am currently in Atlanta, and have enrolled myself in the first i.e. Pravesha
Level, of the said course.
Posted on January 24, 2007
Filed Under Hinduism, about | 2 Comments
In starting this weblog, my goal was to write down my thoughts regarding Eastern philosophy so it may benefit myself and others. But increasingly, I have come to realize a very big problem that was not so apparent before I started this endeavor:
Where and how do I begin to talk about something so vast, profound and endless as Hindu philosophy? Just as importantly, where do I stop?
One thought leads to another, and everything is connected, so even before I try writing about one topic, say, the Vedas, or the sound “Om”, I get overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge that is available about them. Before I start to tell a story, I see that the story will run into many, many pages.
I have a many a story to tell, but each of the stories runs into hundreds of words, and I am not sure any of the people who visit this weblog will have the patience to read something that long!
So I ask for your help, visitor - do you have any thoughts as to what I can do to overcome my problem? What should I write about? Answering readers’ questions(even if I have to do some research to find the answers) seems much easier than writing about boundless topics!
