as far as my experience with some hindu brothers is concerned, they come to islam because of what you tell them from quran.
the quran contains info on geology, embryology, physiology and alot of other sciences.When you tell people of other faiths that muslims know stuff from the quran scientists only found out now they take a deeper interest. Even at this point they still deny the truth.When this happens you got to give them references from some convert scientists to islam.
as i said before, i never talk much about religion and certainly dont want to convert anyone but when people especially hindus and sikhs brothers/sisters ask about the quran then you got to give them some sugar.
the second point my hindu brothers ask me is about alcohol…i give them medical & other evidence from the quran and thankfully for their own family sake they have given up this toxic substance.
i think they tell me a few fibs when they say hinduism allows alcohol…can anyone tell me does hinduism allow alcohol drunking? i would like to know more about hinduism soi can work with others to find the true way…anybody know any websites about hinduism and sikhism.
dear andhra,
in my view alcohol is something very very bad. After studying social and bio psychology, i realise that islam forbids alcohol for many reasons. Alot of the hindus i know say the exact as you and when they said hinduism allows alcohol i couldnt believe it that a great religion like hinduism allows such a drug. Their is a very long list of diseases that alcohol gives and even small doses can end up having an effect on others for example a doctor under the influence of small amount of alcohol can kill a patient on the operating table because it depresses neural activity.
I agree drinking is bad.On the otherhand prohibition doesn't work.
It is a well established fact.
Prohibition only encourages bootlegging.
Are you honestly telling me you can't get liquor in Pakistan?
Alcohol is a social and cultural issue not religious.
isnt thaat just like saying legalise heroin because people do it behind the scenes. also in pakistan its a minority of people who drink, its not inbuilt into society.
the quran is also a book off guidance and answers questions to social issues that affect people.
one last thing, can anyone tell me of any websites about hinduism and sikhism.I only want websites froma neutral point of view and not websites that say very bad hatred things about other religions. If theirs no web sites then can anybody tell me where i can get hold of hindu scripts.
[quote]
Originally posted by sufimaster:
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apart from alcohol, can you please tell me if fornication and adultery is okay in hinduism?
**
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Let us assume, for a moment, that I said that fornication and adultery were okay in Hinduism. You would then blast the tradition, saying that Hinduism has no discipline, or is gross, or allows men to do the work of evil, right?
Well, this sort of carnal, base pleasure is probably the first thing that man seeks in life. The whole concept of maximizing pleasure while minimizing pain is a basic starting point of Western philosophy, so it shouldn't be completely foreign to you. Eventually, a man will realize how fruitless and frustrating life is while simply seeking carnal pleasures. The playboy at age 20 will be pathetic at the age of 50. Once a man realizes that "fornication" is not the goal, then he will turn to something a bit less basic, which is wealth-success-fame. Eventually too, this leads to frustration, since the singular goal of money leads to an empty heart. The next step is to realize that each of us has a duty to our community, to help others. While we may feel happy to see the joy of others through our work, even this will lead a sense of frustration - the "Self" has not been satisfied in this process. So we re-assess - to seek the triple goals of being-knowledge-bliss (infinite being-knowledge-bliss), called sat-chit-anand. This whole process may take several lifetimes, and we do not begrudge those who are stumbling along the beginnings of the path.
Like this - we must all follow a spiritual path - starting with simple types of worship, things like prayer, singing, and God worship. Eventually, we progress to more advanced states of being, through meditation, study, and practice. Hinduism is all about paths, not ultimate rules - we will all eventually find our way, it's just that we must experience these things to help guide us.
[quote]
Originally posted by CoolDude:
**So what happens if the woman gets pregnant, because a 20 yr old playboy was 'experiencing life'
What status would this child have in 'hinduism' or is it prefered to have an abortion?
**
[/quote]
If both partners were consenting adults, then they will have to deal with the consequences - it's part of the learning process.
If, however, the lady (or heck, even the man) were not willing partners, you now have a situation where one person's path has rammed into another person's path - with disastrous consequences. The Law of Karma says that an action of this kind will be paid back in kind (which you can take on faith that we Hindus feel the consequences of our actions). As for the victim, we can say that she had previous bad karma that led to the event - but now her karma has been washed away by it. This may sound sort of stupid to you - that Hinduism says the rape was "supposed" to happen - but it's not really like that, and there are others who could explain this much better than I. Society, then, steps in to punish the offender (there are laws in India, you know).
Hinduism has no stance on abortion (think law of karma here) , though personally, I am very pro-life. However, this does not prevent a guru from teaching his students one way or another.
The child's status in Hinduism is also not defined by the religion, but rather by the society. In a rigid caste system, the bastard child belongs to the mother, and she has to deal with it. In a more modern society, both parties will have responsibilities. Again, a guru's school can help decide how his student's react to these situations.
[This message has been edited by astrosfan (edited August 15, 2000).]
dear astrofan,
in the usa people commit fornication even beyond 50 and they dont stop even at that age. I fpeople are given rules they are more likely to stop the bad things and hence more quickly attain god. In saudi arabia fornication is forbidden because of islam, now those muslims living their are punished because the religion says its wrong. Wont gods favour them because they fear the law and too frightened to commit fornication. One less sin one step closer to god. does hindusim preach about marriage?
regards the spiritual aspect of hinduism i undertsand some of the principals as was taught by my murshid who had many friends who were gurus.In islam murshid means guide, ju st like hindus have gurus to guide them.
in islam their is also the path to god, but its attained by different way to methods used by hindus. I will explain later if anyones interested, im in a hurry
btw thanks for those websites and answering my questions
[quote]
Originally posted by sufimaster:
**
dear astrofan,
in the usa people commit fornication even beyond 50 and they dont stop even at that age. If people are given rules they are more likely to stop the bad things and hence more quickly attain god. In saudi arabia fornication is forbidden because of islam, now those muslims living their are punished because the religion says its wrong. Wont gods favour them because they fear the law and too frightened to commit fornication. One less sin one step closer to god. does hindusim preach about marriage?
regards the spiritual aspect of hinduism i undertsand some of the principals as was taught by my murshid who had many friends who were gurus.In islam murshid means guide, ju st like hindus have gurus to guide them.
in islam their is also the path to god, but its attained by different way to methods used by hindus. I will explain later if anyones interested, im in a hurry
btw thanks for those websites and answering my questions
I, like most of us here, are students of our spirituality - trying to discover what makes it profound and "True". I can say, from my standpoint, that living in fear of sin might not be the best way to get closer to God/Allah/Brahmin (whatever). I think that Muslims would agree that devotion must come from the heart, not simply from a fear of God. But, I would agree that certain rules are necessary to keep a civilized society functioning - we must all be allowed to travel on our paths undisturbed. Yes, there are some people who sin to their grave - but the Hindu believes he will be reborn in a position to make up for that sin. If it takes even 100 lifetimes to realize it, so be it - at the end of the day, the Vedanta says that "All are One".
Yes, Hinduism regards marriage as sacred, a way to complement and complete the spirituality of both partners.
I completely respect Islam's methods of reaching God (5 pillars, etc) - I have no issue there. The only issue I would have is when a Muslim simply says that my path is invalid. Then we are at odds.
i agree with you completely that devotion comes from the heart but in my view i think that if a person fears god by not commiting sins then god will look favourably upon that person and love him/her more.
also i agree that people shouldnt say stuff abt other peoples paths to god.Islam makes it a sin to say stuff about other peoples religion.
regarding spirituality, then iwasnt just talking about 5 pillars but also about other aspects like meditation in islam.The methods of meditation is different in hinduism but im not saying its wrong just different in aim.
dear astrofan,
you promised me some stuff abt science in the hindu scripts......found anything,I cant find anyhting science related in the bible and torah. Please do ppoint me to any science in the srcipts........im a science person.
[quote]
Originally posted by sufimaster:
**
dear astrofan,
you promised me some stuff abt science in the hindu scripts......found anything,I cant find anyhting science related in the bible and torah. Please do ppoint me to any science in the srcipts........im a science person.
thanks**
[/quote]
Yes, I did. However, I have been extremely busy with both my temple's and Greater Houston's celebration of upcoming Janmashtami. Please give me a little more time to research your requests in a proper form.
A cursory glance through some search engines only science in Hindu scriptures as particularly relating to ayurvedic medicine and meditation. However, I don't think this is the sort of thing you're looking for, so I'm gonna have to search elsewhere.