But most Hindu Americans agree on one thing: The majority of Americans don’t understand Hinduism.
“Hinduism is not just ‘caste, cows and curry,’ as the media often conceptualizes it,” Ms. Chowdhury says. “We’ve needed a voice to portray Hinduism more accurately.” The Hindu American Foundation, founded in 2003, aims to do that.
The foundation cites several common misconceptions about Hinduism:
• That the religion is polytheistic. In fact, “Hindus worship one supreme being through many different names,” according to the foundation.
• That the Bhagavad Gita is the “Hindu Bible.” It’s a sacred text but not read as authoritative advice on living.
• That Hindus worship idols and cows. Murti, which are not idols, are revered as symbols; cows are not eaten; neither is worshipped.
• That dowry payments for a bride to a bridegroom’s family are part of Hinduism. The system was a social practice in India, occurring across religions, and was outlawed in 1961.
• That karma is equated with “fate” or “luck,” over which there is no control. It’s closer to the idea of “whatever you sow, you will reap.”
One Brahman friend used to eat beef................when I asked him is that allowed..............he replied only the Cows of India are sacred!...:)
also even though his marraige did not work................he would not get a divorce saying Hindu religion does not allow divorce........is that right?
I have never heard of Vedic or Upanishad mentions of divorce (ofcourse my knowledge of these have gaps) nor have I heard of any old practice such as that.
Culturally present days, I think Hindu families, even when incompatibilities become severe, try to keep it together for the sake of children. I have seen a few families where tension is somewhat visible but instead of just 'separating' they persevere I guess.
I do know of two cases (related to me) where the husband was a habitual drunk (with the attendant unpleasantness of that habit) - in both cases there were children. The couple did divorce but the man's parents and relatives actually fully supported the woman throughout ...it is now almost 30 years since the divorces took place and the wives are as much part of our extended family as if they were born into it!
One Brahman friend used to eat beef................when I asked him is that allowed..............he replied only the Cows of India are sacred!...:)
I've met Brahmins who eat beef too...they say that ancient Brahmins used to do it in Vedic times...and that taboo evolved later on, and is solely a cultural one.
Rishis (who may have come from any of the varnas) under very special circumstances can eat venison for a special purpose
The other varnas ate and eat all meet until a certain event or set of events (I am researching this since there seems to a chain of statements from several different grathas that need to be read through to fathom) at which time cow slaughter and beef were completely prohibited, for all varnas. One such event reference is to the emergence of Kamadenu, when the planet had to be re-enriched after some mishap. The texts I am looking at so triple and multi-coded (or I am imagining additional layers of complexity) that it, while energezing, is difficult to come to a reasonable answer because of the gaps and lost material
I can totally understand why people from any older civilization would respect the cow a lot and not slaughter her for meat... given that a lot of their food was milk/dairy based and they were all farmers using bulls and cows to plough their fields and what not..
but I don't understand why you would start treating the animal like GOD and actually have religious ceremonies around it.. I realize these ceremonies are an exception these days amongst Hindus and no Hindu text clearly calls out the cow as a GOD (correct me if im wrong please, with references)
Rishis (who may have come from any of the varnas) under very special circumstances can eat venison for a special purpose
The other varnas ate and eat all meet until a certain event or set of events (I am researching this since there seems to a chain of statements from several different grathas that need to be read through to fathom) at which time cow slaughter and beef were completely prohibited, for all varnas. One such event reference is to the emergence of Kamadenu, when the planet had to be re-enriched after some mishap. The texts I am looking at so triple and multi-coded (or I am imagining additional layers of complexity) that it, while energezing, is difficult to come to a reasonable answer because of the gaps and lost material
This is good information.
I do want to ask about the 'Supreme Being': If all Hindus believe in a supreme being yet follow different pathways towards that being, what is the relationship between the followers of each pathway? Would they accept the other paths?
Also, how does hinduism vary across the regions of South Asia? My knowledge is limited to Kashmir, where Shiva believers are predominant. In Pakistan's Indus Valley Civilization, it appears that they were followers of the Mother Goddess and the bull, so would Hinduism be linked to the Aryans?
Bengali people are more into Durga.. Marathi people are more into Ganpati Ganesh.. but overall Krishan Raam and Shiv are the clear winners! most people go to their temples here n there.. theres 0 'competition' or 'rivalry' between the different 'paths'....
Bengali people are more into Durga.. Marathi people are more into Ganpati Ganesh.. but overall Krishan Raam and Shiv are the clear winners! most people go to their temples here n there.. theres 0 'competition' or 'rivalry' between the different 'paths'....
Thats what I thought. A lot of the (I don't mean to offend) Indo-European mythology is reflected in the present day hindu religion.
I remember running into a Kashmiri Pandit (religious scholar) who had a swastika tattoo and we had nice conversation on the train back to Dusseldorf, where he mentioned that hitler had perverted many Aryan concepts. Before parting ways, I could not resist mentioning the irony of finding a Kashmiri in Germany with a Swastika tattoo on him! Fortunately he took it good spirits.
You'd find a lot more common traits (than just the swastika) in the hindu stuff, pre xtian european and russian stuff and even greek stuff!! globalisation is definitely not new..
• That dowry payments for a bride to a bridegroom's family are part of Hinduism. The system was a social practice in India, occurring across religions, and was outlawed in 1961.
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In Bhasa's "Pratimanatakam" the king Dasharatha pays dowry *to *the bride. Not to sure whether it was commonplace or just practised among kings.
NO AFFENSE TO ANY HINDU’S