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UPI
agniveerupi@sbi,
agniveer.eazypay@icici

Agniveer® is serving Dharma since 2008. This initiative is NO WAY associated with the defence forces scheme launched by Indian Govt in 2022

Why I am proud to be Hindu? Part 2

This entry is part [part not set] of 6 in the series Universal Religion for all

Reason 6: Hinduism – Research friendly, reform friendly

Hinduism has no book, no person, no history, no ideology to defend. It does not matter whether you worship through lighting of agarbatti, or conduct Hawan, or ring bells in temple, or recite name with eyes closed in isolation, or keep fasts, or enjoy sweets in festivals.

The core of Hinduism is defined in Yajurveda 1.5 (Idam Aham Anritaat Satyam Upaimi) – I strive to reject the non-true and accept the true in this present moment. So Hinduism is all about living in present and choosing what is best right now, irrespective of what may have appeared right in past. It is all about making that incremental progress every moment like in any research-based discipline.

Hinduism doesn’t demand you to defend what you have stood for in past. You must be able to defend what you are standing for right now. And if you cannot defend, then simply evolve.

Thus research and knowledge-enhancement is encouraged unlike many religions. In fact there are many verses which specifically state that unless one is on a constant path of seeking newer and latest knowledge, wisdom will ever remain elusive. Knowledge alone liberates.

I am not aware of any religion that specifically states that mathematics and astronomy must be mastered to have rightly-directed understanding of God, soul, spiritualism, after-life and related topics.

I am not aware of any religion that states that it does not matter what you believe in right now, even if that belief amounts to blatant blasphemy. What matters is that you are on a genuine pursuit of knowledge increment.

I am not aware of any religion that demands you to keep changing, keep evolving, keep improving, keep innovating to choose even better ways out. That demands you to kill the past and live in present to make a better future. That proactively encourages reforms in every aspect of living instead of clinging to archaic interpretations of some ‘divine’ message.

That is why even though many social evils got into Hindu society over its long history (longest in world), at the same time, reform movements also emerged in parallel to fight these evils. And that is why Hindu society has been so vocal in admitting that social evils like casteism, Sati, polygamy and dowry are indeed social evils. Thus the Hindu society proudly made laws to destroy these social evils, and considered these reforms as genuine Hinduism.

That is why saints like Kabir, Nanak and Dayanand Saraswati are held in such high esteem by Hindu society even though they critically challenged the prevailing social norms of their times.

That is why, Hinduism is not a religion in first place. It is simply an enlightened way of life.

So if you are a scientist, social reformer, researcher, inventor or discoverer, you are a Hindu. It does not matter what your theological or religious beliefs are.

A Newton is a Hindu, Einstein is a Hindu, APJ Abdul Kalam is a Hindu, Steve Jobs is a Hindu, every sensible person is a Hindu. More the sensibility, more the Hinduism within him.

Reason 7: Hinduism – Journey of personal discovery

The fundamental principle of Hinduism is that root of sorrow lies in ignorance (Avidya). And remedy is wisdom (Vidya). This wisdom cannot be externally imposed. It has to be discovered within by one’s own efforts. Through knowledge, action and contemplation. The external tools may be helpful in the process. But nonetheless, each of us has to undertake its own journey through its own initiative.

And since each of us is so different and so special, spoon-feeding and expecting to blindly adopt any unverified truth would be an insult to our being human.

Thus all Hindu texts are mere recommendations. And they clearly state that ultimate authority is one’s own self.

Yes, Vedas are considered Supreme in Hinduism. Some consider Gita to be their guide. Some admire Ramayan and Mahabharat. But none is a compulsion. The only compulsion is that you sincerely undertake a journey of personal discovery and allow others the freedom to take a similar journey.

Reason 8: Hinduism – synonym of practical tolerance

That takes us to the next reason why Hinduism is source of my pride. Hinduism is all about tolerance. Since each one of us has to individually take up the journey of personal discovery, and each one of us is a different being, Hinduism acknowledges that paths we choose are bound to be different. So far there is no threat or deceit involved, Hinduism encourages to respect diversity of beliefs and ways of living. A so-called non-Hindu is not supposed to live like a second class citizen in a Hindu Rashtra or Hindu nation.

That is why since time immemorial, Hindustan or Bharat or Aryavart or India has been the cradle that nurtured a variety of theologies. There are no separate rules for Hindu, Muslim or Christian in a Hindu code of conduct. This is in stark contrast with many religions that clearly state that only followers of their set of superstitions are the special ones.

It is shamefully surprising to know that even in 21st century there are such fanatic countries that debar people of other faith to build their places of worship, or visit their so-called Holy cities. In such intolerant societies, punishments for crime against women, Jews, Christians, Hindus, Muslims are different. The rights of people to hold positions of responsibility is dependent on their religion. This has been the way of the west for last 1000 years.

India, on contrary, owing to its Hindu foundation, has been an icon of tolerance. We have had several Muslim Presidents despite more than 80% population being Hindu. Current vice-president is a Muslim. Current chief of ruling party in India is Christian. Current Defence Minister of India is a Christian. The captain of Indian Cricket team for a long time has been a Muslim. The Chief of Army has been a Christian. Head of Intelligence Bureau is a Muslim. And these people have been adulated by Hindus irrespective of their religion. The Kumbh Mela 2013 – greatest religious event of Hindu majority of India – was led by a Muslim. The top Bollywood stars are Muslims.

I am not sure how many countries in world can showcase such a level of tolerance and respect for all faiths. The credit goes to the Hindu foundation of the nation. This makes Hindustan the most unique in entire world.

(Its a different matter that this tolerance sometimes is misused to politicize it into minority appeasement. This is becoming an increasingly serious trend in India in last few decades causing a lot of communal disharmony. The moment a special favor is given on basis of caste or religion, that amounts to appeasement and Hinduism is strongly against it. Respect all and respect self without discrimination – this is the mantra of Hinduism.)

Why-I-am-proud-to-be-Hindu-Part-2

Reason 9: Essence over Symbols, Rituals and Words

When one thinks of religion, the first thing that comes in mind is a specific set of rituals and practices specific to the followers of that religion. For example, Muslims have a specific language for Namaz and Azaan, or would keep beard in specific manner, or would have a specific variety of cap and clothing and so on. A Christian would wear a cross around his neck, or get baptized in a particular format. In case of Hinduism as well, there are several rituals. In fact there are many more rituals, symbols and words in Hinduism than any other religion. That is what gives India its vibrant colors, its rich cultural heritage and makes it the most lively and diverse country in the world.

But there is a big difference. In Hinduism, no symbol, ritual or word is static in time or place. These change with time and place. So a Tamil, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati or Bihari Hindu would have different prayers, different religious symbols, different ways of worship. In some other religion this may amount to blasphemy and call for strict punishments. But in Hinduism this is not merely accepted but encouraged. Because they would all point to same essence of seeing Supreme within all and all within Supreme. Since He has infinite qualities, the ways to explore, celebrate or remember Him must also be infinite.

This is what makes India so dynamic. This is what brings unity in diversity. This is exactly the reason why India is so culturally rich. Our rituals, symbols and prayers change from place to place and time to time and yet we direct them to One. This is what makes Hinduism so fresh, so evolving, so purposeful, so practical.

In fact the name Hindu itself is time-bound. The word does not exist in Vedas, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Upanishads or any other scripture. It is a word of recent origin. However, the essence is same – to adopt the roots of enlightened living. Since Hinduism is the oldest and natural religion of every human being, there was never a reason to have a special word for the religion. Manushya Dharma or Maanav Dharma (Humanity) is the more accurate term for Hinduism. Or Arya (noble person) is a good term. For ages these terms sufficed followers of natural human religion. It was only after people started following a specific book or God or prophet that they found the need to discover new terms to identity their cults. And then the culture of giving names to religions erupted. So Hindu became a term to differentiate from anyone who considers disbelief in a particular book as a sin.

But irrespective of that, and regardless of whether we call ourselves Hindu or Arya or Humans or Rational Humans, we still focus on essence over symbols. Love of mother is same regardless of whether you call Amma, or Mummy, or Maa. There is no sin in choosing a different name for mother or mother religion or mother philosophy. Fools fight over symbols. Hindus love for essence.

Reason 10: Nothing beats the Vedas – the foundation of Hinduism

I have read in depth all major religious and philosophical texts of the world. They all contain great wisdom. Be it Bible or Quran or Purans – they all extol to see the Supreme as supreme goal and live a life of accountability. Hats off to writers of these books.

But nothing beats Vedas in terms of variety and depth of wisdom. The roughly 20,000 mantras of Vedas cover everything that a human would ever require – sociology, science, mind control, health, technology, education, management, purpose of life, methods of analysis, finance, economics etc. There are no stories or history unlike other books. There are no claims of miracles. Nor there is any threat for accepting whatever is written.

And yes, earth is round in Vedas. Sun does not move around earth in Vedas. There are no angels and Satans in Vedas. There is no Adam & Eve eating some fruit in Vedas. God does not send prophets in Vedas. God is not a human like creature sitting on a throne in Vedas. There is no city called Heaven or Hell in Vedic map of universe. There is no test that is being conducted on us. There is no destiny that has already been hardcoded for us.

On contrary, Vedas extol to discover the truths through research & analysis. They urge us to change our destiny through thoughts and actions. They demand us to be rational and scientific.

And yet, Vedas do not say that one who believes in unscientific superstitions of Heaven, Hell, Judgement Day, Angels, Satans, Adam, Eve, Miracles etc should be ridiculed or punished in any manner. Instead they appeal for unity of all irrespective of personal or theological beliefs. Intent matters, not beliefs.

I admit this may be a personal reason that you do not concur with because you could never get a chance to study Vedas properly. But after my years of research in Vedas as well as all other major texts of world, I am yet to find a book that surpasses Vedas in its completeness, scientific spirit and life-changing power. The foundation of Hinduism is more solid, more strong, more reliable, more powerful than anything else I know. And if I also add along with Vedas the other Hindu gems – Gita, Upanishads & Darshans – then nothing comes at par for an evolved mind.

 

So I have no option but to be proud to be Hindu. My pride lies in my conduct of life as per virtues of patience, tolerance, self-control and scientific temper. My pride lies in loving entire humanity. My pride lies in defending against any form of injustice. My pride lies in promoting scientific way of living to extent possible, and yet be loving of those who disagree with me. My pride lies in living up to the standards of an enlightened Hindu. My pride lies in my honest humility.

Yes, I am proud to be Hindu. And I do wish that entire humanity embraces its root and become proud to be Hindu.

(continued from http://agniveer.com/why-i-am-proud-to-be-hindu-part-1/)

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Sanjeev Newar
Sanjeev Newarhttps://sanjeevnewar.com
I am founder of Agniveer. Pursuing Karma Yog. I am an alumnus of IIT-IIM and hence try to find my humble ways to repay for the most wonderful educational experience that my nation gifted me with.

33 COMMENTS

  1. Yes, Hinduism is synonymous with truth and reality. Hinduism in its purest form does not require rituals, customs and ceremonies. This is what I have been preaching also. Please log on to my blog http://www.bharatiyadharma.blogspot.in. In reviving Hinduism or the Sanatanadharma, we will bring peace to this world once again. Sanatanadharma is yet to be fully understood even by the Hindus. The cardinal principals of Ahimsa(non-violence and vegetarianism) and re-birth( coming to this world once again to suffer) are the basic, when understood, we will abhor all forms of evil and greed

    • Thats great Ershad brother…….. Vedic religion is religion of real freedom….. veda says..discuss, debate ..go deep and seek the truth…… but other religions say whatever is mentioned in their rulebook..has to followed strictly…..

  2. all religions are equal but the path followed by some religious people is not good cause GOd came in every religion wheather it is sikh hindu muslim or christian but the only truth about salvation is that it can only be achieve by meditation meditation n meditation and that of only true naam and that naam is given by a guru which is present on earth and He comes every time on earth now try to find him and get naam from him n do meditation

  3. Bhot famous ho rhe ho sanjeev ji logo ko bevkuf bnakar .. Sayad hme bhul gye .. Vese apki sanskrit ki vayakaran bi kamzor he .. Sastrarath kru kya , alag alag topic pr , jo apne likhe he . .ya fir phle ki trh bologe ki apko mere sath sasatrarath krne ka time nhi he . . .apne pogapandito ki sari fouz ektha kr lo . .me bi vayakaran ki khamiya btaunga or arath ka anarth krna bhul jaoge .. .ye wala cment dlt mt kr dena , jesa aap phle krte aaye ho .

    • —–Sayad hme bhul gye—-

      Haan. Kaun hain aap?

      ——Vese apki sanskrit ki vayakaran bi kamzor he—-

      Sanskrit ki VAYakaran nahi VYAkaran hota hai. Aapka to Hindi ka bhi kamzor hai.

      ——–Sastrarath kru kya——

      Rehne do, aapse hoga nahi.

      ——ya fir phle ki trh bologe ki apko mere sath sasatrarath krne ka time nhi he—–

      Haan, is baar bhi vahi jawab hai.

      ——apne pogapandito ki sari fouz ektha kr lo . .me bi vayakaran ki khamiya btaunga or arath ka anarth krna bhul jaoge——

      No thanks.

      —–ye wala cment dlt mt kr dena , jesa aap phle krte aaye ho—–

      Useless comments must be deleted to save server space.

      Thanks

      • Bro Sanatan Dharma, thanks a lot for your love. We are very much here! Agniveer is our inspiration and we will always be with it.

        As for incest, it is recipe to complete destruction of physical, mental, spiritual, and social health. Only perverts and psychopaths would advocate it.

  4. Very true and only Hinduism can heal the whole world with love and compassion..!!

    I am born Muslim. I don’t see any wrong in other forms of worship. ” Approaching path might be different but it is leading to the one and same Goal(God) “. Intent matters not the way which we worship. Personally, I admire Ram Ji and Krishna Ji.

    Through Swami Vivekananda, I got to know the basics of Sanskrit Philosophy. But, through Agniveer site I got to know the whole of Sanskrit philosophy. Just basics of our Sanskrit philosophy is enough to save the world from all evils ideologies.

    Sanskrit philosophy says nothing about Hindu/Muslim/Christian/Sikh/Buddhist,etc. On contrary, it says
    1)” Be Human ”
    2)” Vasudhaiva kutumbakam ” (whole world is one family)
    33″ Sarve janah sukhino bhavantu ” (may all the live happily)
    4)” Ekam Sat viprah Bahuda vadanti ” (Truth is one, wise people describe it variously. Ishwar/Allah/God)
    5) “Being truthful in actions, words and thoughts is the true worship to Almighty. ”
    6)” One who sees self in all beings and all beings in self cannot hate any one .”
    7)” Every True path is leading to the one and same Almighty (Ishwar/Allah/God) .”

    These are just basics of Sanskrit philosophy in a Humanistic manner. These basics can heal the world and must be spread in nook and corner of the world. First of all Indians must realize it because majority of the people don’t know about our Humanistic philosophy.

    Lastly, Agniveer ji ” Every Muslim is not a terrorist/Inhuman. But because of some fanatics innocents are becoming victims. Please work for them, surely they will support for this noble cause like me. ”

    Lets make the world noble by becoming one and expelling the inhumane ideologies. Live humanly and die humanly. ” Satyameva jayate “.. Jai Hind.

    Thankyou Agniveer ji..

  5. @Gyan surya

    Thanks for your kind words..

    Personally I believe in these humanistic philosophies. We must spread these humanistic philosophies to every nook and corner of the world. But our main draw backs are our Indian people and Education system. Our Indians don’t know our richness of philosophy. we people hate our country, ancestors & system and we got divided on the basis of “caste ” and ” religions.”First of all, we must teach these philosophies to our Indian people regardless of religion. We must remove these ” caste ” barriers which is not there in our society but people with their vested interests have done these evils. And, our education system is totally irrational. we must make changes in our education system.

    May we all become one (be it Hindu/Muslim/Christian/Sikh, etc) and expel such inhumane ideologies.
    Lets make the world noble. ” Satyameva Jayate “. Jai Hind.

    Thankyou.

  6. Hinduism in Africa. Black converts to puranic Hinduism:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zq-3A4xnxs

    Although I don’t follow puranic Hinduism, I found this video interesting because it shows that people in Africa and all over the world are interested in Hinduism. And we as Vedic people have not done a very good job in presenting non-idol worship, Dharmic, Yogic practices of Hinduism to people around the world who might be interested in converting. It is our duty and job to present this information to everyone.

    • Hi Krishna Rao,
      “we as Vedic people have not done a very good job in presenting non-idol worship, Dharmic, Yogic practices of Hinduism to people around the world”
      Your intention is good. If u want to present dharmic, yogic practices, people welcome you. But, as and when you start presenting knowledge about non-idol worship/worship of one God, people (So called Hindus) will kick you out of this country/world. Thats what happend with Moolshankar/dayanand when he started debating with idol worshippers in India.

  7. Whenever someone’s ask you about your caste then your answer should be to them is:
    I am a Brahmin in knowledge
    I am kshatriya in valor
    I am vaishya in business
    I m shudra in service
    In the end I am just sanatam dharmi hindu and nothing else..Then say you proud to be a hindu..

  8. All stupid people living in India that’s why this country cant be develop anymore as the other countries are well developed. Bcoz indian people live in caste-ism and egoist by nature especially who belong to upper class which is created by themselves not created by God.God only created human being..He didnt put any human in high and low category..This cheap things only created by some bastard itself who live in India..and they be proud by called themselves hindu..I am also hindu but i wanna spit on that every person who proudly said they are hindu but their thinking is so narrow minded..now its depend on human what they want to become Devil or Angel..Nobody is lower and higher by caste or religion..they become high and low by their behavior..Reservation should be stop itself when you all leave this stupid casteism..Say no caste and no community..All are hindu who live in hindustaan understood idiot people..

  9. Inter caste marriage should be encourage..bcoz if people take this step then castesim and religion based discrimination should be stop itself..we all are human being..God never created any caste and religion..even God dnt has any caste and religion…did you know that God belong to which caste and religion..then keep shut your mouth about this stupid varan system and caste system okh.. And only you can make it good or bad this inter caste marriage. Depends upon how much importance u give to these meaningless and stupid values. And how much importance u give to other people who value these meaningless things. U have to see how much u urself r attached to other people opinions. And since u r asking for opinion, it means u r attached to these meaningless things.

  10. Gone are the days when marriages were executed by parents; The times when a Punjabi marrying a Punjabi or a Bengali marrying a Bengali was the norm. Welcome to 2013 where inter-caste marriages are quickly becoming the season’s flavour and why shouldn’t they? Everyone knows that India is a diverse land that boasts of being a mother to different cultures. But what’s the point of having so many different cultures when people snarl at the very thought of their integration?
    There is something new to learn in different cultures and we, as Indians should feel proud of having such a strong and traditional backbone with us.
    But when some of these people get offended at the thought of their son/daughter marrying into a different caste, a sense of anger sweeps me.
    What is the problem in a South Indian marrying a Punjabi or vice-versa? Why do educated people talk like uneducated pigs when their family member steps out of his/her caste for marriage? Why do people have to be such haters?
    In my opinion, an inter caste marriage should be applauded by one and all as the amalgamation of different cultures will put an end to mindless racism and discrimination on the basis of caste in our exotic land. Wouldn’t you want your next generation to be more peace loving and more socially acceptable to different kinds of people in the world? So, are you ready to take the plunge and applaud inter-caste marriages?

  11. Hindu (body) four community: brahmin (head) kshatriya (arm) vaishya (belly) shudra (feet) All these four community called as hindu. We all are parts of one body. Without each part our body is not complete. If we lost one part of our body then we become handicap. The human body is the entire structure of a human being. Human Body is considered so loving that God even wants to have it. Spiritual Yogis have found that after going through the 84 millions species this souls get the most dignified human body. So it is the last step to explore the God or to get the view of almighty father god. We know that the soul never dies it takes birth again and again just like as we take new clothes to wear the soul as it takes new body and it is an infinite process. But the body what we get in next birth depend on our karma that thas been cited in Gita by Lord Krishna to Arjuna. We all here to perform our duties. Our action makes our destiny and nothing else. The result is in the hand of supreme power. Karma is the seed of plant and if the seed is genuine it must be fruitful.

  12. Many a time, man has taken birth in high caste and low caste; but this does not make him great or lowHaving been born in high caste man thinks himself to be great and being born in low caste thinks himself to be low and pitiable; both of these states of mind are wrong because many times man has been born in high and low castes. Hence, one should not be proud of having been born in high caste and not feel low if born in low caste family.
    Greatness has nothing to do with high caste. Man becomes great because of his noble work, exemplary character and becomes loathsome because of his immorality and evil conduct. Thus, it is his conduct only that decides his greatness or lowliness. Who does not know that high family born Ravana, Kansa, Duryodhana and others are censurable; whereas Metarya muni, Harikeshi muni and others, though born in low family, are venerable.
    Then, what is the importance of high or low caste?

  13. Hindu religion devided into four community….but again I m saying to all stupid people who living in india..caste and community only created by mentally sick people and who follow them they have something problem in their mind..four community name are Brahmin,kshatriya,vaishya,shurda…and its surprising we all India dnt know the exactly meaning of these four words..let me explain to you..brahmin means not that who born in high class..koi janam se uncha or nicha nhi hota hai.brahmin mean jo god ko janta hai usko apne samne dekha ho jisse brahma ka pata ho or apne acche karam se jana jaye na ki apni jaat se..agr Brahmin hone pr insaan ke karam gandhe hai toh who insaan ashudh mana jata hai who pavitr aatma nhi hoti hai…Kshatriya ka matlb hota hai weh yodha jo mantvta ki raksha hetu apne angg angg ko katva de..samks praniyon ki raksha ke liye apni jaan kurbaan kr de or apne karam pr ghamand na dikhaye..Vaishya who hote hai jo apne kaam mein emaan dikhaye koi chori chakari na kre..apne kaam ko galat tareeqe se na kre..emaan ki kamai ko khaye haraam ki kamai ko haath na lagaye..Shudra ka matlb hota hai shudh or pavitr aatma….jis bande ke ander koi moh, maya, krodh or ahnkaar tak nhi hai jiska aacharn shudh ho or karam shudh ho wohi sacha shudra hai..jo apne karam par purn vishwaas rake…jiske karam ache nhi man mein ahnkaar hai who shudra nhi mana ja sakta hai..agr tum log shudra ko pero ka sathaan dete ko toh or unhe neecha mante ho toh kanjke pujna bandh kr do unke peron (feet) ko dohna unki puja krna bandh kr do..kisi devi devta ke mandir ja kr natmastak na ho or apne mata pita ke peron ko choo ke ashiwadh lena bandh kr do..

    • Hey cuties, so you agree India being 80% of hindus the are not following sanatan dharm and is corrupt and should not be followed…just imagine we will not like to but anything which adultered and corrupted then how you hindus want to follow sanatan dharam which 80 percent of them do not follow…Islam is the only religion which is practiced by majority of people and Quran is the book read everyday and memeroised by millons of people.. There are around 1.9 billion of muslims and 90-95% of them follow and try to pracrice…You will come up with idiodtic arguement of terrorsist…so how many of them are ther in the world less than 1 lakh which is 0.000001 percent of muslim population in the world..

  14. No one is Hindu and No one is Muslim & christian or others , All is unified and unified diversified. Its God manageability . You have no right to fool people like this .
    There is not only 33 God ( devata) , there 33 crore god and more towards the infinity to manage this infinite world .They are devata. and all are worship bale. not only Mahadev every one . In the name IIT&IIMS do not play with the reality . Brand cannot be intelligence. I invite you to fight with me . Let me see how much mind you have .
    You are openly challenged ….. at whats app 8008803411 . add me will wait for you .

    donot misguide if u donot know any thing .i have seen whole website all wrong.

    indigenous ingenuous
    a man with infinite intellect . .

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