we were taught very little about hindu in school so all i know is that it has many gods and cows are sacred i know there must be more to it and i wanna learn about it so could someone tell me about it please?
I think it only has one god, all the other deities you hear of are all just manifestations of the main god.
Hinduism is probably the most scientific religion I have come across. It consists of a variety of paths for spiritual growth and development, each tailored to the mental make up of a particular kind of individual. Therefore, according to our personality, we may a path that is suited to us, to grow and blossom into infinity, to break the shackles of worldliness, imposed upon us by our own ignorance, to rise above body-min-intellect identifications and find our true identity in the divine. Hindu scriptures roar out to us that God is within every one of us, God is everywhere, infinite, all pervading and eternal and that God is me, that God is you, that God is thew conciousness that is in us all, that basic life force, without which there is no existence. This is the essence of Hinduism.
If you want to get a good look at Hinduism in an easy and awesome read, i reccomend The "Ramayana" and The "Mahabharta" as Retold and translated by William Buck, They are simply amazing, taught me so many things about spirituality that i was lacking before.....
And then in addition to those, which are amazing, is such of the sort, the Devi Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, The Bhagavad-Gita,The Upanishads, anyways there are quite a few things out there.
just make sure you keep learning and practicing seperate. learn about it first befoer yo ustart practicing, dont learn about it from someone who will maky uou start practicing before you understand it.
I'm looking for information, too. There's a shelf of books on Hinduism in the local Barnes and Nobel, but they're all books written for people who are Hindu or want to become Hindu. I'm not looking to convert, I'm just looking for an overview on the topic. Do you know of any sources that are like that?
Hinduism is the most complex of all religions in the world.It has a bewildering diversity of beliefs.From animism,magic,superstition to the most subtle philosophy,you will find everything in Hinduism that man has ever believed or practised in the name of religion.All kinds of contradictions and inconsistencies co-exist within its fold.For a majority of people,it is nothing more than ritual and rites,temples and pilgrimages and festivals and astrology,and above all,adherence to caste rules.Most people also seek the guidance of a permanent spiritual preceptor,popularly known as guru. The best in Hinduism are the yoga and meditation techniques and the philosophy of Vedanta as enshrined in the Upanishads and the Bhagvadgita. Not being one book,one prophet relgion,Hinduism is highly tolerant of other faiths.Its tolerance is being interpreted as its weakness by many Hindus who are trying to inject a militant spirit in it.
I'm sorry but caste rules are not anywhere near as prevalent as they used to be, nor are pilgrimages. Nothing hurts a religion more than extremism. Where it is right wing gun-toting Christians or maniacal muslims on a Holy War or Hindu hardliners out to destroy all mosques and turn india into a Hindu state.
A hindu is any person who believes in rebirth and reincarnation This is the only condition that needs to be fulfilled The good thing I feel about Hinduism is that is not based on a single man (like jesus,allah or buddha) Essentially this means you or I can make and contirbute to hinduism in a way that no religion allows This is also one of the main reasons for the presence of large scale superstition and out dated practices in hinduism However these can be corrected The greatest and the most accurate website that I have come across the net about hinduism http://www.atributetohinduism.com Do check it out Its awesome !!!
I dont think that it is a question of believing only in reincarnation and rebirth (both are the same thing really) as believing in the basic principles of vedanta, and far more importantly, living those princiles in daily life.
I think so too....and you can't really say its just believing in reincarnation...because I believe Buddhists also believe in that...its not something that is exclusive to Hinduism alone.....
Some of the ancient Greeks and later Christian Gnostics also believed in reincarnation. Perhaps acceptance of the Vedas is more a basic standard for defining who is a hindu - that is , if one feels such definitions are really important.
