Si haces esta pregunta a un hindú, probablemente le costará dar una respuesta simple y directa. Podrá hablar durante horas sobre de qué trata el hinduismo, pero nunca lograr definirlo con palabras claras y sin ambigüedad.
La mayoría hablará de prácticas culturales, de innumerables dioses y su adoración, de mitologías y demás. Algunos incluso te confundirán con una jerga filosófica grandilocuente que ni ellos mismos han entendido.
Wenn man diese Frage einem Hindu stellt, wird er wahrscheinlich Schwierigkeiten haben, eine einfache, direkte Antwort zu geben. Er kann stundenlang darüber sprechen, worum es im Hinduismus geht, aber ihn nie klar und eindeutig definieren.
Die meisten sprechen über kulturelle Praktiken, zahllose Götter und ihre Verehrung, Mythen und vieles mehr. Einige verwirren dich sogar mit hochtrabendem philosophischem Jargon, den sie selbst nie wirklich verstanden haben.
यदि आप यह प्रश्न किसी हिन्दू से पूछें, तो सम्भव है कि वह सीधा-सरल उत्तर देने में हिचकिचा जाए। वह घंटों हिन्दू धर्म के बारे में बोल सकता है, पर उसे साफ और निश्चित शब्दों में परिभाषित नहीं कर पाएगा।
अधिकांश लोग सांस्कृतिक परम्पराओं, अनेक देवताओं और उनकी पूजा, पौराणिक कथाओं आदि की बात करेंगे। कुछ लोग ऐसे भी मिलेंगे जो ऊँची-ऊँची दार्शनिक शब्दावली से आपको उलझा देंगे, जिसे वे स्वयं भी ठीक से नहीं समझते.
ఈ ప్రశ్నను ఒక హిందువుని అడిగితే, అతను సూటిగా సరళమైన సమాధానం చెప్పడంలో తడబడే అవకాశమే ఎక్కువ. హిందూ ధర్మం గురించి గంటల తరబడి మాట్లాడగలడు, కానీ దాన్ని స్పష్టంగా ఖచ్చితంగా నిర్వచించలేడు.
చాలామంది సంస్కృతి ఆచారాలు, అనేక దేవతలు మరియు వారి పూజ, పురాణ కథలు మొదలైన వాటి గురించి మాట్లాడుతారు. కొందరు తామే పూర్తిగా అర్థం చేసుకోని ఉన్నత తత్వశాస్త్రపు పదజాలంతో మిమ్మల్ని గందరగోళానికి గురిచేస్తారు.
ಈ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಯನ್ನು ಒಬ್ಬ ಹಿಂದುವಿಗೆ ಕೇಳಿದರೆ, ಅವನು ಸರಳವಾಗಿ ನೇರ ಉತ್ತರ ನೀಡಲು ಬಹುಶಃ ಅಸಮರ್ಥನಾಗಿಬಿಡುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಹಿಂದೂ ಧರ್ಮದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅವನು ಗಂಟೆಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಮಾತನಾಡಬಹುದು, ಆದರೆ ಅದನ್ನು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗಿ ನಿರ್ದಿಷ್ಟವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗದೇ ಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಬಹುತೇಕರು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ, ಅನೇಕ ದೇವರುಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಅವರ ಪೂಜೆ, ಪೌರಾಣಿಕ ಕಥೆಗಳು ಇತ್ಯಾದಿಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತನಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಕೆಲವರು ತಾವೇ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ಅರ್ಥಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳದ ಉನ್ನತ ತತ್ವಶಾಸ್ತ್ರದ ಗೋಜಿನ ಪದಗಳಿಂದ ನಿಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಗೊಂದಲಗೊಳಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ.
If you ask this question to a Hindu, probably he would flounder to give a straight simple answer. He could speak for hours about what Hinduism is all about; but never define it precisely in unambiguous words.
Most would talk about set of cultural practices, myriad Gods and their worship, mythologies and what not. Some among them would confuse you by high sounding philosophical jargon which they themselves have never understood.
If you ask this question to a Hindu, probably he would flounder to give a straight simple answer. He could speak for hours about what Hinduism is all about but never define it precisely in unambiguous words.
Before we get into this dreaming business, let us start this episode with a startling incident.
It was an assembly of great saints, all of whom had experienced God in their own way. There were men and women who had gathered together to share their individual experiences with each other. They had also come for a serious discussion about how the society can be reformed.
We were discussing the story of one of most revered mediaeval saints of India, namely Goda. Goda is in love with God! And she has no hesitation to admit it openly. So, she sings expressing her love to God. She imagines herself to be one of the cowherd girls who lived with Krishna, when the God descended on earth in the human form of Krishna.
Upanishads always fascinated me. For those people who are not familiar, Upanishads are the philosophic parts of the ancient Indian Vedas. And Vedas are probably, the oldest available scriptures of the world. While most Indians view Upanishads with lot of reverence, many westerners, which include well known scientists and intellectuals, consider them as the peak of human intellectual endeavors.
Is it then true that Upanishads don’t talk about meditation?
In the previous episode, we discussed the Varna system that was prevalent in India. It is this Varna system that later gave rise to the often-criticized caste system.
I had an Indian friend who lived in US for a while. She was working in IT industry like most Indians who migrate to US. She told me an interesting incident.
Most westerners brush aside Hinduism as a polytheistic religion with idol worship at its core.
People of Abrahamic religions pride themselves as practitioners of monotheistic faith. That they feel, makes their faith superior to ‘the rest of the Pagan’ faith systems.
If you have followed my previous posts and or many of my earlier posts, you will agree that monotheism is not some prerogative of the Abrahamic religions.
