I read a Sikh scholar saying that there is no concept of 'Shahadat' in Hinduism. The reason behind that was Hinduism got superb flexibility and can accept ideas from other religions without any conflict. When there is no conflict, there are remote chances of martyrdom (sacrificing life for religion).
Sikhs and Muslims, on other hand, got concept of Shahadat in their faiths. Muslims right from Badr to Karbala and Sikhs due to execution of their gurus by Mughals.
Do you agree with this observation?
If thats true how come Lata ji sings :
aye mere vatan ke logon
zara aankh mein bhar lo paani
jo shaheed hue hain unki
zara yaad karo qurbaani
Is it borrowed from Muslims or it was already there in Hindu scriptures?
The song by Lataji is referring to a shaheed for the nation not for religion.
Killing or hurting someone else for the sake of religion would probably earn you bad karma rather than a place in heaven.
I'm not certain if there's a concept of Shaheed in Hinduism, but my understanding is that the epic Mahabharat clearly offer the concept of Holy or 'Just War'. To put it simply, this concept forms the core basis of the epic. It'd be interesting to find out exactly how Karishna described the death of Abhmaninyu and sons of Pandevas in the epic. According to him, people from Pandevas side will die for dharam (righteousness), and their death will constitute a pious sacrifice, an everlasting honour and an immortal memory for the generations to come, but did he use one specific word to describe such deaths?
Dhanu and the L.T.T.E ??? Bunch of thugs and bandits they were.They eliminated one of the most promising leaders, the world has ever seen.
Not even her family members consider her a martyr. A whore from Jaffna.... Indeed she is the prime reason the Tamils in North East Sri Lanka lost their claim on a separate motherland.After Rajiv's assassination,the L.T.T.E lost it's one time great supporter India and the logistical and other supports from India. :) . Happy that two days before the 18th anniversary of Rajiv's assassination,the entire L.T.T.E leadership along with their off-shoots were anhilated. Good riddance :) This world is a better place now.
Obviously she was a terrorist but i don't understand your use of the word "whore." The word whore is a disparaging word for females and there is no evidence she engaged in "whore like" behaviour. I am not up to date with the Sri Lankan claim for a homeland..but among this struggle with the government a lot of innocent people, not associated with ltte, also died.
I don't agree with nepotism and there is no evidence rajiv gandhi would have been a promising leader. Still like his mother he should not have been assasinated. Congress needs to realise that they can't live off one family all their lifetime. Everyone is sick of dynasty politics. Being born in a particular family does not give one birthright to rule a country. people in the subcontinent are sick of this dynasty idea. It is not a monarchy. It is because of Congress's stupidity in promoting nepotism over quality that Modi and BJP won. Rahul Gandhi never looked authoritative as a leader to run a country. He had no experience. If Congress had chosen a CM of a state who had proven himself they would have done better. I hope they change themselves in the next 5 years..and don't turn to Priyanka next.
I'm not certain if there's a concept of Shaheed in Hinduism, but my understanding is that the epic Mahabharat clearly offer the concept of Holy or 'Just War'. To put it simply, this concept forms the core basis of the epic. It'd be interesting to find out exactly how Karishna described the death of Abhmaninyu and sons of Pandevas in the epic. According to him, people from Pandevas side will die for dharam (righteousness), and their death will constitute a pious sacrifice, an everlasting honour and an immortal memory for the generations to come, but did he use one specific word to describe such deaths?
But mahabharata was between the believers of same religion and they didn't have any religious conflicts IMO.
But mahabharata was between the believers of same religion and they didn't have any religious conflicts IMO.
I don't think that's relevant. Despite belonging to the same religion, it was always established which group was believer of righteousness and supported by divine help, and which group had betrayed their 'dharam' and sold it's soul to the devil. And one doesn't have to die in an explicit fight against the opposite religion to be considered a martyr. That's not the sole definition of shahadat in Islam either.
I do agree that this is not the definition of martyr even in Islam. As in battles like Jamal and Karbala, both parties were Muslims. I just wanted to say that Mahabharata has probably not been promoted as ‘Dharam-Yudh’ - war for faith. It was a war for throne. There are no black and white characters in Mahabharata, like we see in the incident of Karbala, for example.
The core story of the work is that of a dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapura, the kingdom ruled by the Kuru clan. The two collateral branches of the family that participate in the struggle are the Kaurava and the Pandava. Although the Kaurava is the senior branch of the family, Duryodhana, the eldest Kaurava, is younger than Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava. Both Duryodhana and Yudhisthira claim to be first in line to inherit the throne.
The struggle culminates in the great battle of Kurukshetra, in which the Pandavas are ultimately victorious. The battle produces complex conflicts of kinship and friendship, instances of family loyalty and duty taking precedence over what is right, as well as the converse.
The Mahabharata itself ends with the death of Krishna, and the subsequent end of his dynasty and ascent of the Pandava brothers to heaven. It also marks the beginning of the Hindu age of Kali Yuga, the fourth and final age of mankind, in which great values and noble ideas have crumbled, and man is heading towards the complete dissolution of right action, morality and virtue.
As far as my knowledge goes, the core message of Mahabharat is the message of ‘Just War’. The fight for throne is the backdrop of the story and a constant struggle in the epic, however, this is not exactly why the war finally breaks out. There’s a very strong argument the that entire war actually took place because of disrobing of Draupadi. Moreover, Karishna supported the Pandavas not because he wanted Yudhishtir to become king, he was the strategic mastermind of the war because he believed that Pandavas were on the side of righteousness. I believe the conversation between Arjun and Karishna just before the outbreak of the war - which is also a passage in Gita - explains the actual purpose of Mahabharat.
But that’s just my understanding. I’m sure members belonging to Hindu faith can explain better.
As far as my knowledge goes, the core message of Mahabharat is the message of 'Just War'. The fight for throne is the backdrop of the story and a constant struggle in the epic, however, this is not exactly why the war finally breaks out. There's a very strong argument the that entire war actually took place because of disrobing of Draupadi. Moreover, Karishna supported the Pandavas not because he wanted Yudhishtir to become king, he was the strategic mastermind of the war because he believed that Pandavas were on the side of righteousness. I believe the conversation between Arjun and Karishna just before the outbreak of the war - which is also a passage in Gita - explains the actual purpose of Mahabharat.
But that's just my understanding. I'm sure members belonging to Hindu faith can explain better.
You are perfectly correct in all your points except one. Krishna did not support the Pandavas. He had friends and relatives on both sides So he gave the two sides a choice. He would give his army (he was also a king) to one side and act as an adviser to the other (but he himself would not fight). The Kauravas (the bad guys) immediately chose his army and Arjuna chose his friend, Krishna as an adviser (and charioteer). So Krishna's army fought on one side while he himself was on the other side guiding Arjuna's horses (and strategy).
Incidentally, many people interpret the Mahabharata as an allegory (actually multiple allegories). One of the allegories is that the five Pandavas are the five senses of a human being and the thousand Kauravas are his vasanas (or habits/weaknesses/desires etc). This battle of Kurukshetra is then fought within every person as he lives his life. Krishna is then the guide or conscience within each of us..
But the Mahabharata itself, was definitely not a war over religion or beliefs. It was over land and rights of inheritance.
**Obviously she was a terrorist but i don't understand your use of the word "whore." The word whore is a disparaging word for females and there is no evidence she engaged in "whore like" behaviour. I am not up to date with the Sri Lankan claim for a homeland..but among this struggle with the government a lot of innocent people, not associated with ltte, also died.
I don't agree with nepotism and there is no evidence rajiv gandhi would have been a promising leader. **Still like his mother he should not have been assasinated. Congress needs to realise that they can't live off one family all their lifetime. Everyone is sick of dynasty politics. Being born in a particular family does not give one birthright to rule a country. people in the subcontinent are sick of this dynasty idea. It is not a monarchy. It is because of Congress's stupidity in promoting nepotism over quality that Modi and BJP won. Rahul Gandhi never looked authoritative as a leader to run a country. He had no experience. If Congress had chosen a CM of a state who had proven himself they would have done better. I hope they change themselves in the next 5 years..and don't turn to Priyanka next.
Any SriLankan Tamil who was mature enough before the year 1991,who had been living in the North East of SriLanka ,would testify that she was a whore. :) . Yes,innocent civilans had been killed in that war and it was the L.T.T.E,once the most notorious terrorist organizations in the world,had Tamils embarked on a system of utter destruction and peril.
As regards to Mr.Rajiv's contributions to the nation,his Roz Ghar Yojan :) scheme is one of the myriad contributions he gave to India.I do not think this is the right thread to discuss about his contributions.