A question about Hinduism ?
475649
Hinduism is a process - for this reason, Hinduism must be studied not as a fixed body of doctrine, but as a developing tradition that has changed considerably throughout the centuries and which is still changing in a creative direction. Everything in India makes sense in the light of the changing process. Nothing makes sense without it. Hinduism is still a living, changing process and must be seen as such." \n\n (source: Religions of India: Hinduism, Yoga, Buddhism - Thomas Berry p. 3-16).\n \n  O Lord forgive three sins that are due to my human limitations:\n   Thou art everywhere, but I worship you here;\n   Thou art without form, but I worship you in these forms;\n   Thou needest no praise, yet I offer you these prayers and salutations,\n   Lord, forgive three sins that are due to my human limitations.   \n\nHinduism allows everybody to reflect, investigate, enquire and cogitate. Hence, all sorts of religious faiths, various forms of worship or Sadhana, diverse kinds of rituals and customs, have found their honorable place side by side within Hinduism, and are cultured and developed in harmonious relationship with one another. \nThe Bhagavad Gita, with a clear grasp of the historical, warns us against taking away the psychological comfort of people by unsettling their faith." \n\n"Though I manifest Myself in all things, I am identified with none of them".\n\nAccording to the Bhagavad Gita, even those who worship other gods (anyadevatah), ancestral deities, elemental powers, if they do so with faith, then their faith is justified, for the Divine accepts every form conceived by the worshipper. \n\nToleration is the homage, which the finite mind pays to the inexhaustibility of the Infinite.\n\nHinduism, unlike other religions, does not dogmatically assert that the final emancipation is possible only through its means and not through any other. It is only a means to an end, and all means which will ultimately lead to the end are equally approved. \n\nhinduism is really not a religion it western sence.\n\noff course there are contradictions. they are bound to be. the simple reason is that in hinduism every sage/scholler presented god in his own words. but nobody actually rejected other theories. \n\nas far back as rigveda you will find discription of one abstract god. upanishads are deep philosophies and they concentrate on abstract god. soul and their relation. but even they had many different schollers and different schools.\n\nupanishads simply say also say "munde munde matirbhinna". as many heads as many opinions.\n\nthere are different books of law written by different writers. most famous is Manu samhita but it wa lost a long time ago. there are yagyvalkya and narad samhita too. so there is no one hindu religious law either. thats why reforms in hinduism are easier. those laws are not considered god made. \n\n  hindu schollers tended to retain the culture.\n\nthe main difference between Indian and western tradition is acceptance of all types of forms of worship as legitimate in hinduism or india. at least till it is not harming or hurting someone or others. not all Hindus practice all of the traditions and we like some and we do not agree with some other philosophies but none of them is called false. just that everybody has his own interpretation and is free to express his devotion as s/he wants. \n\nit is really confusing for an average westerner to understand that hindus are Monothist and believe god can is beyond depicting yet they worship him in form of icons.\nwhen muslims came to india they destroyed thousands of temples and thought they have proved supremacy of their god by destroying local ones. it was a surprise for them that hindus threw away broken icons and built a new one and kept worshipping them. they had learnt to respect and understand the concept to some extent. and you will get some devotional songs and poetry written by muslims writers in hindu tradition .in some sufi tradi
592809
HInduism. it existed before romans or greeks or even christanity.
392809
Hinduism is. It started in the Indis Valley long ago.
719321
Are you looking for a historical answer, or a current answer?\n\nHistorically all religions are messy.  You say there haven't been any genocides in Vishnu's name, but that just shows real ignorance of the history of Hinduism.  The Hindu's have had and been involved in wars.  Some of the Gods themselves are a little violent, such as Kali.  Her followers would strangle people traveling along the roads as sacrifice to her.  They were called the Thugees I believe.  It is the root from which we get the word Thug.\n\nEvery religion has it's dirty points, and none can claim moral superiority over others when it comes to bloodshed.  The fact of the matter is religion says it has the answer to life and the one truth path to truth.  Whether you believe that is an invisible man in the clouds who watches you or a spiritual warthog who coughed up the universe, there will always be fanatics.\n\nI'm afraid I cannot answer your question, as I believe each group is resonsible for different sins.
850002
Hindu's does not believes in converting other people to Hinduism because as per Hindu belief, whatever religion or belief you may belong to, we are all in the cycle of birth and death, and once our good deeds exceeds the bad deeds, we shall cease to exist anymore and be re-united with the supreme soul, call it God, Allah or Ishwar...anything.\n\nIsn't it a beautiful and selfless concept ?
615501
I was about to ask you what you meant by "pagan", but a couple of others have already taken the dictionary definition to pieces, so I'll plunge right in! I'm a Hindu, by the way. Your comments on Hinduism are absolutely correct- I'm seriously impressed! You sound like you know what you're talking about :-) Personally, I feel that Hinduism is more of a way of life than a religion. It's just too vast to be classified as 'pagan' or not. Hinduism is one of the most tolerant religions, and it gives its adherants the freedom to seek God in their own ways, whatever those may be. For me, the ultimate message of my religion is the same as that of every religion- love, tolerance, and the unity of all life. But getting back to your question, it really depends on how you define the term 'pagan'!
185023
well i am hindu. so i am always free to change my view.\n\n i worship god in abstract form and also believe in his so many other symbolic forms. a hindu never feels 100% out of place in any kind of relegious place or ceremony. so i can live with that. it will be only one of my beliefs cancelled.:)
664197
Not only I like Hinduism but love it.I feel great about it.\nIlove their spiritual values.U can know their way of life only from them.U will have to be very obsertavative to know \nabout real HINDUISM.
592283
A very good question.  \n\nMuch debate has gone up about the POLYTHEISTIC nature of Hindu.  The religion is known to have so many gods it is debated that there is no god at all to Hindu (among western academics), though it is so obviously a religion.\n\nGodhead is the name for the form of god in Hindu.  Godhead is in all things, all objects, all shapes, and all places.  In Hindu, god is worshipped in many shapes, the shapes of the many gods, and yet it is a general, universal god they celebrate, even though it is multitudes of gods.\n\nI understood it best when I heard a (poor) translation of a Hindu prayer, I will try to recall here: \n\n"God forgive me for these sins I commit, \nFor I am human.  \n\nYou are in all things, \nAnd I worship you in these things, \nYou are in all forms \nAnd I worship you in this form, \nYou are in all places, \nAnd I worship you in this place.  \n\nGod, forgive me for these sins I commit, \nFor I am human."
956420
Hinduism has many gods and goddess. Do your homework...
409866
Hinduism. it still includes mother goddess, sun, fire worship and shamans. \n\nwe call it Sanatana dharma. it includes most ancient traditions. yet always modifying itself according to changing ideas. still retaining old traditions and beliefs.\n\nstill for religious practices pots made of bronze are supposed auspicious. that was the first metal man used. \n\nHinduism has a continuous evolution tradition. but it never negated or disregarded earlier beliefs. it just modifies them. \n\nyou want to study religious evolution of man study hinduism. it will go back to stone age and latest off shoot of hinduism Sikh Panth is hardly 400 yers old.
923644
Sorry, no, you're thinking of Hinduism.
958375
My own beautiful Relgion Hinduism\n\nBut I dont want other religions to perish... I wish all of them helping each other, loving each other so that together we make to HIM\n\nAs a Hindu I believe in वसुधैव कुट्टुम्बकम-- All humanity is my family !
383052
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779438
You should do some reading up on Hinduism, specifically samsara, and Shiva and Vishnu. Not exactly the same idea, but a similar concept.
942000
Perhaps you could start here and look for suggestions:\nhttp://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism.htm\nhttp://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/hinduism.html\nhttp://www.beliefnet.com/index/index_10003.html
124532
yes it it true that all of us agree that their is only one god. even in hinduism where apprentlly many gods are worshipped even the uneducated devout hindu agrees that all of them are just different facets of one divine gem.\n  the real problem is not that there is someone other than god being worshipped but everbody thinks his is the only right way of worshipping.\n\n Regarding OPM's post:\n   the paragraph is not out of context. The Upnishads contain deep philosophical theories and maintain that there is only one abstract god. in hinduism it is just accepted that worshipping something you can feel but not see is not possible for everyone. and most of the people need a symbol. so hinduism allows you to worship and pray to god in whatever form you like .\n\nKrishna says :\nif any worshiper do reverence with faith to any god whatever,\ni make his faith firm and in that faith he reverences his god and gains his desires for it is i who bestow them.\n\n accept it or not, while people may not be worshiping  actual idols every faith has something as a symbol of god . Be it a book or be it a cross or a place or a structure.