I just wanted to make a short post to thank my wife for all the support that she has given me. She puts up with my fasting on pradosh, though it is disruptive of her menu planning.
All I could have reasonably have asked of her was understanding and tolerance of my spiritual path but she has done much more. She has chosen to accompany me on my spiritual journey, so that we can find God together. She is truly my spiritual companion.
Last week I completed the Chinmaya International Foundation’s “Foundation Level” e-vedanta course. The course consists of 12 monthly lessons. At the end of each month there is a set of questions, and these are sent to the acharya at CIF for marking. The course is quite challenging, as in addition to the lessons a sādhana, or discipline is recommended. At a cost of $100 for a whole year of study it is excellent value – at the time I registered this was £50.
The course was very informative, describing the basics of Hindu Vedantic philosophy. It has enabled me to understand many terms and discussions and the discipline of regular spiritual practice has helped me advance spiritually. The only minor criticism of the course material is that sanskrit words are not shown in IAST or an equivalent, or in Devanāgarī. This means that I don’t know how to pronounce some of the terms I learned, and it led to me being confused by thinking that mālā (prayer beads) and mala (impurity) were two meanings of the same word!
Though I would recommend the course as an introduction to Hinduism and Vedanta, I will not be taking the advanced course. There are several reasons for this. Continue reading
In the west you sometimes hear of Hindus and Sikhs being attacked by racist gangs who “thought they were Muslims”, and blamed them for terrorist activities. It is very easy to see that this is unfair, they are blamed for something that they did not do. Look at things a little further, however, and you will realise that exactly the same thing is true for the majority of Muslims. They get blamed for the terrorist activities of a minority.
I have read a number of blogs where many Hindus have expressed a feeling of being let down and of shame when a minority of Hindus took violent and indiscriminate revenge on Christians in Orissa after the killing of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati in Orissa. They feel that this contradicts the tradition of peace and tolerance in Hinduism. I certainly feel this way. This feeling must be what many Muslims feel when atrocities are carried out in the name of Islam.
It is unfortunate that there are Muslim extremists and terrorists and these do cause a great deal of harm. These are the ones who get reported on the news all the time. The majority of Muslims though, like the majority in any religion, want to get on with their own lives and live peacefully with their neighbours. This has been illustrated by a number of posts on an Orkut thread “Hindu – Muslim Unity“. I think it is important to circulate this kind of information. This helps us keep reports of violent Muslims in perspective, and hopefully give encouragement to Muslim moderates. That is why I have decided to post a little about some of these events here. Reported news includes links to an article about Muslims who decided not to celebrate Eid after 130 Hindus were killed in a temple stampede:
Expressing their grief on the incident, Jodhpur Muslim youth have also decided that they won’t celebrate Eid on October 2 and will prefer to mourn the death of those killed in the stampede. Continue reading
Posted in hinduism, other religions, religion
Can't see the wood for the trees?
I have recently written two posts that were intended mainly to show non-Hindus what the Hindu religion is like, and convey the world’s reactions to Hindus. I have had some very positive comments and some that make me think that some people are not reading them the way that I intended. I am therefore writing a brief explanation of each post.
This post was intended to convey the Hindu attitude of inclusivity. I also wanted to show that there is a long history of inclusivity and tolerance, that Hinduism has never been hostile to those of other faiths just because of their beliefs. Continue reading
Posted in christian right, hinduism, judaism, religion
If Christianity were like Hinduism people would criticise protestants for the pronouncements of the Pope. They would criticise Catholics for the practices of the early Mormons and Mormons for the beliefs of the ancient Mithras cult.
If Christianity were like Hinduism peope would point to the Nazis as an example of Christian culture. Some would say that the cross should be banned, because Hitler gave out iron crosses. They would look at gang violence in inner cities and say “that’s what happens when you have Christianity”.
If Christianity were like Hinduism people would say that they knew about Christianity because they had read about Rasputin. They would ask you how a religion could claim that it was good to sin because then you could be forgiven, because forgiveness was divine. Continue reading
If Christianity were like Hinduism there would have been no Inquisition. The Cathars would have been accepted as non-Orthodox Christians and not exterminated. People would have been free to publish books saying that the earth went round the sun. The response to Heretics would be to argue against them rather than execute them. Even the extreme who reversed the rules of faith and held black mass would only be fought with words.
If Christianity were like Hinduism then everyone would accept that Mormons and Jehovas Witnesses were fellow Christians. The response to Waco would have been what had made someone’s Christian belief go so wrong, not to deny that they were Christians.
If Christianity were like Hinduism then Christians would see continuity with the Jewish faith, Kabbalists and Jews would be seen as traditional and mystic branches of the religion. Christians would acknowledge the link with Mithras and with Greep philosophy and feel pride in their long heritage and how their faith evolved.
If Christianity were like Hinduism and Islam were like the beliefs that sprung from Hinduism, then the only conflicts with Muslims would be over land and politics. Religion would be a healing rather than a dividing factor. The biggest religious disagreement would be that some Christians would say they were an unorthodox branch of Christianity whereas they would prefer to think of themselves as a separate religion.
If Christians were like Hindus they would celebrate the different faiths in the world, not demonise them. They would hold their faith firm but take interest in other beliefs. They would be concerned about their own spiritual progress, rather than thinking that they were saved and it was a done deal. They would offer their teachings to those who wanted to learn, but not force them on those who took no interest.
The Book of Shiva, by Namita Gokhale is an extremely informative and rather strange book. It describes the way representations and views of Lord Shiva and the way he is worshiped today and was worshiped historically. It is illustrated with drawings similar to the one on the cover. They show all elements of the various manifestations clearly but are somehow not inspiring.
The text varies in style, sometimes talking enthusiastically and with feeling about a real live belief, and at other times becoming almost detached and reading like an anthropological report. Continue reading
I have noticed that a lot of people still visit the page on my first visit to a Hindu temple. A lot of people want to visit a mandir but are not sure what to expect. It occurred to me that some people might think that I was just lucky that my local mandir was very friendly, so I thought it worth posting about my visit to another mandir to show that this is not an exception.
I have visited other Hindu temples. I have visited the large Swaminarayan temple in Neasden, London. This is a building of National importance, which won the 2007 British pride of place award, and has been featured in the journal of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. As you would expect from such an iconic temple, this mandir has people there to welcome you, answer questions and generally help. People would rightly see that as different from most of the many mandirs that are in towns and cities in the West.
Our visit to Newcastle Hindu temple is probably typical of the friendly welcome that anybody will get in one of the more common mandirs. This year we were on holiday in Northumbria over diwali week, and naturally we wanted to attend a mandir as part of the celebration. Continue reading
I was recently asked to review the booklet “Hindu Spirituality in a Nutshell”. available from http://www.hinduspirituality.com/. This is available as a downloadable e-booklet at a cost of £0.73, or as a paperback at £4.03. Being just over 30 pages long it is easily readable on the computer, so I would recommend the electronic version rather than the rather expensive paperback.
This book sets it self one goal, to teach the basic ideas of Hindu spirituality. It describes the basic ideas of reincarnation, God, Karma and the nature of the spiritual and physical world. It does not seek to teach any practical spiritual practices such as yoga, meditation, or devotional worship. I have to say that it achieves simple goals it sets for itself very well. There are some things that I would have probably included that were missing, for example it described the physical and spiritual world but did not distinguish the subtle plane. Continue reading
Lord Shiva is the great God, more than I could imagine. Perfect love, truth. The eternal creator, sustainer and destroyer. The one who veils us in ignorance and allows us the delight of lifting the veils. The simple lord, who is infinitely grateful for a seconds prayer from a devotee, though he is deserving of an eternity of praise. The one who will redeem all. The true consciousness and true self in every living thing. He is the whole universe, a whole universe for every atom in the universe and more yet he knows all. He is the light and the darkness. He is master of the physical, the mental and the spiritual. He is the giver of all, and the taker of all that is not real and eternal.
Aum Namah Shivaya!
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