I Could Invent a Religion…

Ref adityapant #57

[What has changed today with SANSKAAR and other channels is that religion has become in your face.]

For the Sanskar and Aastha channels I get in Chennai, I have God-10, Blessings-TV, and Angel-TV blaring Christianity. These are full-time missionary channels offering ``assistance with prayer``. In addition, churches buy 30- and 60-minute blocks of time on other impoverished channels such as Raj-TV, Vijay-TV, etc., to blare out more Christian propaganda. And the Isalamists are not far behind; during Ramzan you get programs on the Magnificence of the Fast and weekly Sunday broadcasts throughout the year. I think Aastha and Sanskar are a response to the Christianity crapola. And Sanskar mostly seems to feature Digamber Jain sadhus so it is not -in-your-face-Hinduism as you claim it to be.

[People will have a Puja in a colony with loudspeakers spoiling everyones Sunday.]

Just this morning, at 5:15 am, there was this Christian church putting out some crapola music on its speakers. I pass by a dozen mopsques in the morning blaring out the call to prayer at 5 am. I pass by innumerable temples big and small and not a peep from them. Come to Chennai and I will prove it to you. And no, you don`t have to ride a bicycle with me, I will take you around in a car.

Revathy

Its beautiful like the poetry of the greatest Urdu Poet Ghalib. I don`t know why I tend to fall in love with the writer `out-of-sight`. I would be the first votary of the religion if she invents one. It would perhaps be the first religion to be invented by a female who are too realistic to take up such idealistic jobs. BTW, why should they invent a religion when they can `invent` prophets.

Re: # 69
soysauce

[On menses being a taboo, among south indian brahmins, this is still the case. No cooking or household chores or even mixing with the rest of the household during period. True even for working women.]

This varies from place to place. It may still hold true in some joint families. It doesn`t exist everywhere. `` The times they are a changin....``

Jang, various
Absolutely delightful comments. Christian good deeds by and large is a tradition inherited from the first missionaries to china who found it a bit easier to approach the locals as a doctor or a teacher than as a strict missionary, notwithstanding the parable of the good samaritans. For hindus, religion is strictly a type of a transaction. Good deeds may bring one a good life, hence no need for a organized charity - individual effort is sufficient.

On menses being a taboo, among south indian brahmins, this is still the case. No cooking or household chores or even mixing with the rest of the household during period. True even for working women.

Re: # 65
[ Again, taking the best from all religions, what`s wrong with that? ]

Because every religion would have started the same way with inspiration from other religions that they knew about. In course of time every religion will descend into some dogma, some rituals, none of which will have meaning to the vast majority, and a few will pontificate on the esoteric aspects of these.

There is no such thing as perfect religion and will probably never be. Instead of starting something new, it would be better if every religion attempted to learn from each other. We don`t need another system of beliefs. All another synthesis will lead to is another bit of confusion.

By the way what does violence have to do with patriarchy? I would have blamed it on the need to possess.

#63 hamidm2

Personally, I am delighted that hindus have a mongrel-type religion, mixture of faith-+local cults+philosophy+way-of-life. I have no objection to it. I am only responding to revathy`s (and my) boredom with puja, mindless rituals, etc. I am suggesting that a neo-hindu focus on compassion, ethics, self-control and service is also OK.

Doesn`t mean that this is some kind of great suggestion....Just that its better to change things than just whine about them...

trust me, it is not worth the effort and, in the end, it is alwys better to eat a cow than worship it and there is nothing to be gained by senseless chanting, incense burning and taking a dip in the raw sewage of the ganges ........


LOL.. Well said..

Jang, I do like your very perceptive comments. Yes, Hinduism allows for a great deal of flexibility, and in theory you can go from being idolatrous to being a complete atheist, the whole spectrum. But I still feel that by ``playing`` so much, celebrating festivals and feast days, and the fast days one slips into believing that one has fulfilled the tenets of living a `good` life. Sorry for all the quote marks! Everything has to come into living, celebrations and charity and compassion and cleansing oneself of prejudice and bigotry. Again, taking the best from all religions, what`s wrong with that?
The Sermon on the Mount, and Mohommed`s teachings of equality and justice and Jain teachings of reverence for all life... one can see good in all great philosophies.

#62 i think hamid has raised a point without directly raising it..why should it be a hindu organization doing community bulding? its ok if its natural and organic. what should a hindu do ``good to others``? this is different from say a temple takes it upon itself to run a soup-kitchen. but role of religion does not have to be community bulding. i kinda like hinduism the way it is, a little bit of diwali, a little bit of rituals, a lot of flexibility on the menu, no big claim to providing THE answer, you go figure it our for yourself. i think asking ``hindus`` to community building or service because they are hindu is not part of the DNA. you are free to do it if it apeals to you ..hinduism as such makes no claim to it, its overreaching its domain. if you figure it out, more power to you.

Re: # 62

Re: # 62

pmishra,

you ask: ``which direction SHOULD hindu traditions focus on? ``

...... i think my hindoo friends are on the right path as described in post #31 ........ why would you want to do anything different ?........ do you want to become like the evangelical christians and the jihadi muslims who are bent on destroying mankind in their quest to ``revive`` their religion ? .............. trust me, it is not worth the effort and, in the end, it is alwys better to eat a cow than worship it and there is nothing to be gained by senseless chanting, incense burning and taking a dip in the raw sewage of the ganges ........

#91 jang

The question as hindus that we should ask ourselves is: which direction SHOULD hindu traditions focus on?

Hinduism is a khichdi of many different components, at different times, different components are important. We should not think that these things are fixed (HINT: there is no final prophet/pope stuff here) but in our hands to change.

You are absolutely right about Sikhs and Christians. They have had strong tradition of seva. But the nice thing is that many hindu congregations have adopted similar traditions. If you look at RK Mission, Ma Amrita, ISKCON, all have copied the sikh langar and seva tradition. I think this is an excellent thing.

My point to Revathy is that we have to get beyond complaining and grumbling. And this isnt easy, it is HARD WORK. So let us get on with it...

dear author,

i think a lot of hindu religion that you describe is refered to as shastra (science of living). there is little spirituality in things like eat with your right hand and wash with your left. god does not get angry, no hellfire prescribed, neither is the injunction from any devine revelation. the practice of women in mense not participating in ``religius ritual`` is actually a modern watered down one..women were not expected to participate in household activities either (in mahabharata, draupadi refuses to show-up in the darbar after ydhistir lost her in a bet claiming mense). however, none of thse are like 10 commandments..these are merely shastras.

#59 hinduism is a very inward looking religion in IMO and lacks the community spirit of charity that is e.g. strong in the christian or the sikh. it would be a new-reformist invention and not an organic development. closest thing i have seen is in the madrassi temples..they do indeed form semblence of a community, whether in beasant nagar, matunga or Greenbelt Maryland. there is a temple, a community hall, kitchen, concerts, blood-drives, sunday school and so on. dont see much of ``helping the poor`` type charities though, which are absolutely common (almost a must) with christian churches.

Good article,
I think , this religion is only a guide line to serve humanity, there is no need to bush it in each and every aspect of life and add miseries to humans.

Revathy ji,

This discussion has been hijacked by this maniacal christmas discussion (though I enjoyed the hinduized version discussed in #49; I have also seen a christmas tree with a 2 feet neon ``OM`` at the top!).

Let us come back to the point you wanted to make. What aspects of hindu tradition would YOU like to see developed further?

community feeling and service?

compassion towards all?

ethical teaching and good behavior?

Lets get beyond criticizing ancient practices from a 1000 years ago. They may have made sense then; they are probably not relevant today.

57-

Eid too was a pre-Islamic festival in Arabia.

Ref #30 by harimau

The discussion is not about Islam but about religion in general. But the same holds true for Islam. The space for debate about the religion and practices have been taken over by the right leaving no space for a civilised discussion.

The challenge is to develop new categories and vocabularies of engagement. To understand the multiple aspects of religion in daily life.

The reason Indian life is so suffused with religion is because Hinduism is co-opted various cultural practices. What is Diwali, Holi, Basant?..try and see them in light of agricultural seasons and the logic emerges.

What has changed today with SANSKAAR and other channels is that religion has become in your face. People will have a Puja in a colony with loudspeakers spoiling everyones Sunday.

BTW
Christmas is a religious/commercial holiday. Like all holidays it has different meanings for different people. It was a ``pagan`` festival that early Christianity adopted in its bid for survival.

Aditya