Can they defend themselves if attacked; or mend themselves if broken?
aww! Idols arent Gods. they are just representations of the Gods.
Don’t you think it is foolish to worship these manmade objects?
Nope. Everyone has his own fetish. Don’t you think Islam’s got a good deal of idol worship in it? you have mosques that you consider sacred. you worship the remains of Pirs. what about the Kaa’bah?
Does India belong to the Indians (95 %) or the Brahmins (5%)?
Indians.
Did Hinduism originate in India itself or did it come with the Aryans via the Khyber Pass?
Hinduism is a mixture of lots of religions - aryan plus naitive indian. btw, Aryans most probably didnt come via Khyber pass. cant imagine aryans pushing their cows thru snow and such heights.
Can a person convert and become a Brahmin?
yeah.
What is the relationship between the Aryans of India (Brahmins) and the
Aryans of Germany (Hitler’s Nazis)?
Indians, mostly north indians, are descendants of migrants from Central Asia. Europeans are mostly caucasoid. Broadly speaking, Nazis and Brahmins do share some common lineage.
Why do the Brahmins and Nazis have the same symbol - the Swastika? (Look
at the racist National Front symbols in South Africa).
Indian Swastika twirls the opposite way. Both are symbols of Aryanhood, if there is such a thing.
Ask yourself who is your God? Is it Shiva, who has the moon and river Ganges on his head and who could not identify his own son? Or is it Rama who couldn’t see through Sukrievan’s disguise and who murdered another god? Or could it be Krishna, ?
Why cant it be “all of them”? If you can visualize one God, why cant there be more? :)neways, God, in any religion, isnt perfect.
hey queer, serious question - I didn't know if people from other faiths could be converted to Hinduism.... Are there any particular ceremonies or rituals etc that are held for such a thing? For example, in Islam the person is asked for say Kalmah.
My love to all Hindus. Hinduism is a great religion that preaches peace and love, and I have great respect for Hindus. Please give my love to all your neighbors and friends. Don’t forget me in your prayers.
Roman,
As far as my knowledge goes, no one can be converted into Hinduism. So basically, you’re either born Hindu or you’re not. People may wish to call themselves Hindus but again there is no conversion method, they just start following some of the beliefs (emphasis on some) of Hindus. So basically one may need to go to temples or stop eating beef or any such thing. Some people who “convert” to Hinduism go through some ritual I believe, but I am not very sure what they do. In any case there are very few conversions taking place in India.
NYA…
Hmmmmm…I think you’re going to offend your “jokers” with statements like these
Anyway…I think its a nice thought, just change the word “Hindu” with “Indians” please.
If queer is like your regular modern Hindu, I am pretty sure he doesn’t pray very much (except during exam time maybe :))
[This message has been edited by BombayKid (edited April 05, 2000).]
As far as i know, people of any faith can convert to hinduism, i really dont know if rituals are involved or just a change in name and faith alone suffices. i wouldnt be too surprised if the conversion procedure was different in different parts of india. also, since hinduism didnt face competetion from other religions for thousands of years, it is quite possible no such procedures exist in the scriptures.
the RSS and VHP hindu fundamentalists are involved in converting and reconverting people into hinduism.
if someone wants to become a brahmin, he/she has to learn some sanskrith stuff (dont ask me what exactly it is), and undergo some ceremony and wear a sacred thread.
It would be nice if people could belong to more than one religion - a hindu friend of mine in Bombay regularly attends daily Hindu Mass at a church with her mom. i felt this was really nice, no compulsions, no only-this-is-good-for-you stuff, you are free to enjoy the goodness of another religion without forced conversion or social ostracization.
Sorry about my ignorance, maybe ZZ and BombayKid can give us more details regarding the conversion issue.
NYA,
oye, i dont pray, last time i went to a temple was 2 years back, on my B'day, coz my parents insisted i go.
BombayKiddo,
in Kerala, we dont have problems with beef. In fact, my grand parents celebrate holy days by having meat and fish. :)
Arya Samajis converted quite a few people in 'shuddhi'. Arya samaj is a Hindu sect.
Ramkrishna mission does not indulge in conversions.
Traditionally, there is no conversion to Hinduism.
The oldest instance i remember is Shivaji. His general ran away and converted. after a long time he repented and came back. Shivaji, of course, did not give the post back to him, but converted him back to Hinduism. He was a king and could get Brahmins to do what he wanted. But still it did not seem socially acceptable. So he married his daughter to the converted General's son.
These days, RSS inspired institutions carry out conversions here and there.
But in general, conversions are very rare in India, except tribal belts.
The gist of modern-day Hindu belief is 'follow what you want, however you want', true? Because many Hindu texts contradict each other (i.e. some Vedic texts forbid idol worship) and the Hindus that I've asked say that they don't necessarily need to follow a textual doctrine in their faith.
