What is Hinduism? A Personal View

#207
If The Creator can be worshipped then what is wrong in worshipping The Instrument that is used to create?
Regards

Re: # 212
"The original people were Arians, Nagas and Draver."

History of South Asian region is very old as all the historians agree. So 'original' 'Aboriginal' or 'Indegenous' were not Aryan but linguistically they were Autro-Asiatic, Munda, Dravidians and then Aryans.

One more thing, if Sind 'becomes' 'hind' (linguistic change)then why "Shah" "Salam" "Sultan" and "Satan" did not change to "Hah" "Halam" "Hultan" and "Hatan"? Just curious to know.

Re: # 213 Dost

As far as your comment regarding the "jealous god" is concerned, I hope you were only joking. It is not our Lord who gets jealous but He wants us to be jealous. This is a delicate point. If you in a true love with your beloved, it is you who will get jealous if someone tries to tell you that there is another one who is better than your beloved. This is the test of your devotion.

Re: # 213 Dost

"This is new to me. Where did you read that a Hindu is forbidden to make idols or likeness of Him? "

I can quote many many more references but the following should suffice:

"O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him alone."

[Rigveda 8:1:1]

"There is no image of Him."
[Yajurveda 32:3]

"Lead us to the good path and remove the sin that makes us stray and wander."

[Yajurveda 40:16]

"He is bodyless and pure."
[Yajurveda 40:8]

"There is no image of Him."
[Yajurveda 32:3]

"Of Him there are neither parents nor lord."
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9]

"He is One only without a second."
[Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1]

"His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye."
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20]

NangaPir:

Thanks for adding some new bits of information, esp. regarding the use of Hind in Arabia.

Urstruly#204:

Most, not all, Hindus may believe in an Absolute God, which they may call by several names but their God is not jealous and does not mind them worshipping other deities, in other words, the Hindu God has no problem with 'shirk'.

"Just like the Third Commandment of Moses (pbuh) every Hindu is forbidden to make the idols or "likeness" of Him yet Hindu will do it knowingly:

This is new to me. Where did you read that a Hindu is forbidden to make idols or likeness of Him?

The word Hindu attributed to sub continental people is somewhat misleading. The original people were Arians, Nagas and Draver. Then over 500 invaders brought different races to produce a complete mongrels race. The word Hindu came from Arabic. Muhammad's aunt name was Hinda. But a son from his wife's former marriage was named Hindu. Some people say it means black which is not correct. In Arabic Aswad (hijrey aswad or black stone) or Sudan derived from black. The river Sindu which was land of Irfan was misnamed by Arabs as Hindu as they were used to this name. The word is misnomer but in common use - to stay around till the galaxy spirals into Nothing. Hinduism as a religion or myth is in fact a common human heritage which depicts the evolutionary stage of primate consciousness. It is a hotch potch of beliefs where you can create your own god. Everything is revered. It leads to a lot of clumsiness in this competing world. However, the values in Hinduism which are based on respect for elders, joint family system and conservation are great. On the negative side the worship of rats leads to plague not to speak of score of other things. That is why a lot more religions outgrew from it and still has a great potential for missionaries to taper this raw resource

Re: # 206
Why is Shivalingam the top Valentine's Day gift in Bangalore?
Ans: This is new to me. Can you please provide the source? I am staying in Bangalore since 2001.

Re: # 204
Now given the choice, every Hindu choses, will refuse to follow One Straight Path to One Absolute God, but instead will chose the paths that lead them astray
Ans: The matter is not like that. Every one will have some form of supreme god. But that may differ from person to person. For Sivaities, Lord Shiva and for Vaisnabhs, lord Vishnu is the ultimate God. There are difference of opinion, but people don't resort to violence. Rather respect other's opinion.
The nice example is West Bengal and Orissa. People of West Bengal mostly prays Goddess Kali or one of it's forms, where as for Oriya people Lord Jagganatha is supreme god. Now, if they have started Jihad/Crusade for this then there would not have both of these cultures alive.
This is the stark difference between Indian culture and Islam or Roman Catholicism. To respect others and learn from others, is civilisation.
Astray!!! What astray? Are people directionless? Absolutely no. India is functioning far better than any other christian/moslem country, though it has more than 30 dominant culture/religious groups.

http://www.clubmobile.org/trips/patan_lingam.html


http://picasaweb.google.c om/eperov/Durbar/photo#5116550748411595666

These pix tell us why Lord Siva is also known as the god of fertility.

Ali's spiky posts are needed as a comic relief.

Sivalingam is not just Sivalingam but also the lower part (I dont know the Sanskrit name but they call it Panavattam in Telugu) which is the female sexual organ representing Parvati, the consort of Lord Siva. The sexual act of Lord Siva and Parvati is known as the ultimate union of male and female. For the modern man this topic is a no-go subject therefore there's not much literature on the Net abt the complete description of this eternal symbol (Lingam+Panavattam).

It's the sexual act that's worshipped not just male organ symbolised by Sivalingam. Ancient Indian prolly saw it as the central act that brought this mankind into being.

Of all the temples, Ellora cave temple (Kailsanatha Temple) had this as the main deity(?!). One can see the Sivalingam and Panavattam (Yoni) in the Kailasanatha Temple at Ellora at this site:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Kailash-shiva-linga.jpg

I dunno if Sivalingam is the top Valentine's day gift. Perhaps the lingam symbolizes the Heart&Arrow. Penis has been an object of intense study in almost all places of the world. The profile of penis could be a fundamental one. Now, can we say that the design engineers of missiles, rockets, aircrafts drew inspiration from the profile of penis?

Perhaps lingam is a multivalent.

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Re: # 204

urstruly,

..... you are one arrogant son of islam ! "Now given the choice, every Hindu choses, will refuse to follow One Straight Path to One Absolute God, but instead will chose the paths that lead them astray." ..........

........ astray from what ?! ..... the sirat-ul-mustaqeem established by an anbsolutist, hateful, arrogant and vengeful god who is so insecure and unsure of his godliness that he has to threaten people with fire and brimstone and castration if they don't 'believe' in him and pay homage to his mserable soul !

.......... hindoos ! .... carry on, you are on the right path ...... urstruly's camel path leads to death either by homicide or suicide ..........

Re: # 191 Dost

I have been following the interacts closely. One thing I am certain of now is that each and every Hindu recognizes that there is One Supreme God but have doubts on Him being Absolute. Once you doubt thhis attribute, that is being Absolute of God, you face a labyrinth of a maze. Every path on this maze leads you elsewhere but to God; every path demands a justification; so when we justify treading on a certain path gods started having children, and father, and wives, and consorts, and friends, and enemies who can render them ineffective. It is my undersatnding that each and every Hindu understands that too.

Now given the choice, every Hindu choses, will refuse to follow One Straight Path to One Absolute God, but instead will chose the paths that lead them astray. If it is not arrogance then what is it? If it is not mutiny against One Supreme God then what is it? Just like the Third Commandment of Moses (pbuh) every Hindu is forbidden to make the idols or "likeness" of Him yet Hindu will do it knowingly?

Re: #200

This post is also as irrelevant as your post . This doctor claims "Doctors don't have germs"

Jayant Mukundray Patel (born April 10, 1950) is a surgeon who found himself at the centre of a scandal in early 2005 when he was accused of gross incompetence while working at Bundaberg Base Hospital in Queensland, Australia. He has been nicknamed "Doctor Death" in Australian media, particularly newspapers such as News Ltd's The Courier-Mail.
Patel was born in Jamnagar in Gujarat, India. Whilst the vast majority of his training was conducted from within the US, he first trained at the M.P. Shah Medical College at Saurashtra University, and obtained a master's degree in surgery. After graduation he moved to the United States where he received further surgical training at the University of Rochester School of Medicine as a surgical intern and resident of surgery. Patel first began to raise alarm bells in 1984 at a hospital in the city of Buffalo where New York health officials cited Patel for failing to examine patients before surgery. Patel was fined US$5,000 and was placed on three years' clinical probation. In 1989, Patel moved to Oregon and began working for Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Portland. Medical staff alleged that he would often turn up, even on his days off, and perform surgery on patients that were not even his responsibility. In some cases, surgery was not even required, and caused serious injuries or death to the patient.
After a review, Kaiser restricted Patel's practice in 1998, banning him from doing liver and pancreatic surgeries and requiring him to seek second opinions before performing other surgeries. Further, after reviewing four cases in which three patients died, the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners made Patel's restriction statewide in September 2000, and New York State health officials forced him to surrender his license in April 2001.
After this, Patel decided to leave Oregon for Queensland, Australia. Queensland Health employed him without conducting any due diligence (regarding his qualifications and experience) and allowed him to become director of surgery at Bundaberg Base Hospital in 2003, under the "area of need" program, which hires overseas trained doctors for regional areas. His unprofessional behaviour continued, with his surgical work being described as "antiquated" and "sloppy", and some nurses even claimed that they hid their patients from him when they knew that he was in the hospital. He was referred to as "Dr. E. coli".[1]
Patel is also alleged to have shown a poor regard for hygiene with claims that he responded to a nurse's concern over his unwashed hands with "doctors don't have germs". Overall, Patel is linked to at least 87 deaths out of the 1,202 patients he treated between 2003 to early 2005, 30 of whom died while under his care in Bundaberg. Hospital staff have also accused Patel of altering medical records to hide mistakes.
On March 22, 2005 Stuart Copeland, the Queensland Shadow Minister for Health, first raised the issue of Patel's clinical practices during Question Time in the Queensland Parliament. Two days later, Rob Messenger, the National Party Member of Parliament for Burnett also raised the matter of Patel's alleged incompetence in a speech to the Legislative Assembly and called for his suspension.
Journalist Hedley Thomas of The Courier-Mail, who won a Walkley Award for his part in uncovering Patel's past,[2] gave attention to these allegations, and soon the newspaper and other media outlets were flooded with patient claims of incompetence, injury and death caused by Patel's poor clinical standards.
Patel soon left Australia using a business-class air fare paid for by Queensland Health[3] and returned to his luxury home in Portland, Oregon, where he has recently[when?] been filmed by the Nine Network's current affairs program, 60 Minutes.
A warrant for Jayant Patel's extradition is being sought following his escape to the United States. A magistrate was asked on 22 November 2006 to issue a warrant for Dr Patel's arrest. It is likely that he will be charged with three charges of manslaughter, five charges of causing grievous bodily harm, four of negligent acts causing harm and eight charges of fraud. If issued, the warrant will allow the Federal Attorney-General's office to consider if extradition is appropriate