‘Hinduism is an intellectual system, not religion’ « readiscover:
Hinduism is a way of life, a system of thought, a Dharma, not a religion or mazhab. It is said that in order to be a religion/ a mazhab it is necessary to have a single scripture and a single proponent / prophet.We, practicing Hindus, call our religion Sanatana ( eternal ) because no one knows when it originated, who propounded it and which scripture should be considered to contain authoritative exposition of its core values. Our Vedas say: Let noble thought come to us from every side. Our scriptures admit that Truth is one although learned people describe it differently. Our sages exhorted us to aim for the stage when we could say I am He and He is Me (HAMSAH, SOHAM ) and declare to the world that I am what I Really am. Which other Dharma declares that the consideration of mine and thine ( meum and tuum -- Nijah- Paro ) is for the narrow minded mean people, for enlightened persons the whole world is a family ( Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam )? Kamala Das, a noted writer of Kerala, converted to Islam simply because for her there was such a plurality of views in Hinduism where as Islam asked its followers to believe only in one Book, one prophet. Simply put Hinduism allows its adherents to follow the path which is to his/ her liking and which helps in self-realisation. Performing one's assigned work sincerely and honestly is the essence of Dharma and bears a resemblance to Platonic idea of Justice
Hinduism is a way of life, a system of thought, a Dharma, not a religion or mazhab. It is said that in order to be a religion/ a mazhab it is necessary to have a single scripture and a single proponent / prophet.We, practicing Hindus, call our religion Sanatana ( eternal ) because no one knows when it originated, who propounded it and which scripture should be considered to contain authoritative exposition of its core values. Our Vedas say: Let noble thought come to us from every side. Our scriptures admit that Truth is one although learned people describe it differently. Our sages exhorted us to aim for the stage when we could say I am He and He is Me (HAMSAH, SOHAM ) and declare to the world that I am what I Really am. Which other Dharma declares that the consideration of mine and thine ( meum and tuum -- Nijah- Paro ) is for the narrow minded mean people, for enlightened persons the whole world is a family ( Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam )? Kamala Das, a noted writer of Kerala, converted to Islam simply because for her there was such a plurality of views in Hinduism where as Islam asked its followers to believe only in one Book, one prophet. Simply put Hinduism allows its adherents to follow the path which is to his/ her liking and which helps in self-realisation. Performing one's assigned work sincerely and honestly is the essence of Dharma and bears a resemblance to Platonic idea of Justice
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