!!Why I am proud to be Hindu?!! 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.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 11:50:58 +0000
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