Hinduism – A way of Life – an interesting story
A Hindu found himself flying as co-passenger with an American girl who was sitting next to him. He was surprised to see the young girl reading the Bible, unusual of young Americans. After some time both smiled at each other which paved the way for small chat. He told her that he was from India.
Suddenly girl asked: ‘What’s your faith?’. Girl could sense his uneasiness at the question. However, she clarified ‘I mean, what’s your religion? Are you a Christian? Or a Muslim?’
‘No!’ he replied, ‘I am neither Christian nor Muslim’. Apparently shocked to listen to that, she asked ‘then who are you?’.
“I am a Hindu”, he said. She looked at him with curiosity. She simply could not understand what He was talking about. A common man in Europe or US knows about Christianity and Islam, as they are the leading religions of the world today. But a Hindu, what?
He tried to explain to her ‘I am born to a Hindu father and Hindu mother. Therefore, I am a Hindu by birth’.
‘Who is your prophet?’ she asked.
‘We don’t have a prophet’, he replied.
‘What’s your Holy Book?’ she asked, little confused.
‘We don’t have a single Holy Book, but we have hundreds and thousands of philosophical and sacred scriptures,’
he replied.
‘Oh, come on, at least tell me who is your God?’ she asked desperately.
‘What do you mean by that?’ he asked.
‘Like we have Jesus and Muslims have Allah – don’t you have a God?’
He thought for a moment. Muslims and Christians believe in one God (Male God) who they think, created the world. Her mind was conditioned with that kind of belief. As per her religious beliefs (or anybody who doesn’t know about Hinduism), a religion needs to have one Prophet, one Holy book and one God. The mind is so conditioned and rigidly narrowed that anything else is not acceptable. He understood her perception and narrow concept about faith, though he strongly felt that one can’t compare Hinduism with any of the present leading religions where you have to believe in one concept of God.
He tried to explain to her, ‘in Hinduism, you can believe in one God and one can be a Hindu. You may believe in multiple deities and still you will be a Hindu. What’s more – you may not believe in God at all, still you can be a Hindu. In other words, an Atheist can also be a Hindu.’
This sounded crazy to her. She couldn’t imagine a religion so unorganized, still surviving for thousands of years, even after onslaught from many foreign forces.
‘I don’t understand but it seems very interesting. Are you religious?’
What could he tell this American girl?
He said, ‘I do not go to Temple regularly. I do not make any regular rituals. I have learned some of the rituals in my younger days. I still enjoy doing them sometimes’.
‘Enjoy? Are you not afraid of God?’
‘God is our friend. No, I am not afraid of God. Nobody has made any compulsions on me to perform these rituals regularly.’
She thought for a while and then asked, ‘Have you ever thought of converting to any other religion?’
‘Why should I? Even if I challenge some of the rituals and faith in Hinduism, nobody can convert me from Hinduism. Being a Hindu allows me to think independently and objectively, without conditioning. I remain a Hindu not by force, but by choice.’ He told her that Hinduism is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. It is not a religion like Christianity or Islam because it is not founded by any one person or does not have an organized controlling body like the Church or the Order, he added.
‘So, you don’t believe in God?’ she wanted everything in black and white.
‘I didn’t say that. I do not discard the divine reality. Our scripture, or Sruthis or Smrithis – Vedas and Upanishads or the Gita – say God might be there or he might not be there. But we pray to that supreme abstract authority (Para Brahma) that we believe, is the creator of this universe.’
‘Why can’t you believe in one personal God?’ she asked, totally confused.
‘We have a concept – abstract – not a personal God. The concept or notion of a personal God, hiding behind the clouds of secrecy, telling us through few men whom he sends as messengers, demanding us to worship him or punish us, does not make sense. I don’t think that God is as an autocratic emperor who wants others to respect him or fear him.’
‘Good that you agree God might exist. You told that you pray. What is your prayer then?’ she asked.
‘Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,’
‘Funny,’ she laughed, ‘What does it mean?’
‘May all the beings in all the worlds be happy. Let there be Peace, Peace, and Peace everywhere.’ He clarified.
‘Hmm ..very interesting. I want to learn more about this religion. It is so democratic, broad-minded and free’, she exclaimed.
‘The fact is, Hinduism is a religion of the individual, for the individual and by the individual with its roots in the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita. It is all about an individual approaching a personal God in an individual way according to his temperament and inner evolution – it is as simple as that.’
‘How does anybody convert to Hinduism?’ she was very curious now.
‘Nobody can convert you to Hinduism, because it is not a religion, but a Culture, a way of living life, a set of beliefs and practices. Everything is acceptable in Hinduism because there is no single Authority or Organization either to accept you or to reject you or to oppose you on behalf of Hinduism.’ He told her, ‘if you look for meaning in life, don’t look for it in religions; don’t go from one cult to another or from one Guru to the next.’
For a real seeker, he told her, the Bible itself gives guidelines when it says ‘Kingdom of God is within you.’ He reminded her of Christ’s teaching about the love that we have for each other. That is where you can find the meaning of life.
‘Loving each and every creation of the God is absolute and real. ‘Isavasyam idam sarvam’ Isam (the God) is present (inhabits) & here, everywhere – nothing exists separate from the God, because God is present everywhere. Respect every living being and non-living things as God. That’s what Hinduism teaches you’.
‘Hinduism is referred to as Sanatana Dharma, the eternal faith. It is based on the practice of Dharma, the code of life. The most important aspect of Hinduism is being truthful to oneself. Hinduism has no monopoly on ideas. It is open to all. Hindus believe in one God (not a personal one) expressed in different forms. For them, God is timeless and formless entity.
‘Ancestors of today’s Hindus believe in eternal truths and cosmic laws and these truths are opened to anyone who seeks them. But there is a section of Hindus who are either superstitious or turned fanatic to make this an organized religion like others. It is only the British who coined the word ‘Hindu’ and considered it as a religion’.
He said: ‘Religions have become an MLM (multi-level- marketing) industry that has been trying to expand the market share by conversion. The biggest business in today’s world is Spirituality. Hinduism is no exception’. He said “I am a Hindu primarily because it professes Non-violence – ‘Ahimsa Paramo Dharma’ means – Non violence is the highest duty. I am a Hindu because it doesn’t condition my mind with any faith system. A man/woman who changes his/her birth religion to another religion is a fake and does not value his/her morals, culture and values in life. In Hinduism we don’t have any managers of god’.
Our scriptures, Vedas, only preach ‘Be Human & Follow your Conscience’. Vedas tell you ‘God is always with you, within you’.
Hinduism is not a religion but the original, natural, yet a logical, satisfying spiritual, personal and a scientific way of living life.
Edited and forwarded by Capt. Ravi Mahajan (Retd.)
Source: World Hindu News (WHN)
