agenda hinduism is not a religion per se karma thoughts are far more potent than action

Essence of Hinduism

Pranava K. Jha, ProfessorDept. of Computer ScienceSt. Cloud State University

St. Cloud, MN 56301

Essence of Hinduism: P.K. Jha 2

Agenda

– Hinduism is not a religion per se– Karma– Thoughts are far more potent than action– Monotheism versus Polytheism– Claiming ownership is an act of ego, hence a sin– Kindness is not optional– What is good and what is bad– Why is there misery in life?– Misery versus Blissfulness– What is the biggest problem?– Hinduism and nature


Hinduism is not a religion per se

It is a way of life.

It is a culture that is truly eternal.

There is no such thing as• I versus you, or• We versus they, or• Believer versus non-believer.


Hinduism does not admit any expression like believers going to heaven and non-believers going to hell.

Labels like pagan, heathen and kafir have no place in Hinduism.


Anybody who has an unqualified acceptance of human beings (regardless of their color, creed, gender, origin or past deeds) is a Hindu even if (s)he does not profess to be one.

Does this mean that Hinduism is an amorphous system?Of course not.In fact, Hinduism is all-pervasive and most scientific of all.At the same time, it is not an organized system the way most other religions are.


Karma

The central doctrine of Hinduism is karma.

Karma (or destiny) means the quality of somebody's current and future lives as determined by that person's behavior in this life and in previous lives

As you sow, so shall you reap.

Blissfulness in life is in direct proportion to good thoughts and actions.

Misery in life is a direct result of evil thoughts and actions.


Onus is on the Individual.

A group is important only to the extent that certain activities are less arduous when done in a group.

Nobody else can rid you of the ill effects of your bad deeds.

Nobody else can usurp the noble results of your good deeds.


Thoughts are a lot more potent than action

The traditional definition of a crime (or violence or sin) is patently incorrect.

The very thought of committing a crime (or inflicting pain on oneself or others) is an act of sin. To that end, punishment is inevitable.

Actual commission of a crime is secondary or even irrelevant.


The existence is filled with Godliness and has an in-built mechanism of reward and punishment, which is truly amazing and profound.

This fact finds an expression in a number of interesting ways in Hindu texts.


God is love: Excellent statement.

God is loving: Patently foolish statement.

God should not be viewed as a super headmaster.

As Deepak Chopra says, any sexist remark relative to God is potentially damaging.


Monotheism versus Polytheism

“Polytheism” is belief in, or worship of, multiple gods or divinities.

Hinduism is truly polytheistic.

Therein lies its strength and character.

The belief in many gods does not preclude the existence of (or belief in) an all-powerful, all-knowing supreme being.


Why are monotheistic religions so intolerant of other views, and why is Hinduism so tolerant?

One plus one is not equal to one.

However, infinity plus infinity is still equal to infinity.


There are overwhelming pieces of evidence in support of tolerance in the Hindu society.

Not a single Galileo was ever imprisoned in India.

Not a single Jew was ever harassed in India.

Not a single Darwin was ever ridiculed in India.

Even invaders have been able to find a home in India.


Kindness to all beings has to be understood

Everything in Hinduism is essentially the law of the nature in its pure form.

Natural laws admit no exception.

When the sun rises, it rises for everybody.

There is a bond of unity between man and nature, body and spirit, for all of them are manifestations of the same divine energy.


All things of the universe are links of one chain, The shaking of a flower will set a star ashiver.

- Raghupati Sahai “Firaq” (1896 – 1982)


Claiming ownership is an act of ego, hence a sin

This is mine and that is yours are calculations of a petty mind.

For someone who is truly noble, the entire universe is one family.

There are numerous poems, paintings, pieces of art and works of science in India that carry no authorship or date.

In the traditional sense, India has been a loser in the present world of cut-throat competition.


1. The concept of positional number system originated in India thousands of years ago, and reached Europe via Arabia.(There is no such thing as Arabic numerals.)

2. The concept of wireless communication was first devised by Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose (1858 -1937) in the year 1898, but he never patented it.


Even now, certain groups are trying to patent things that have been in active use in India since time immemorial.

Fortunately, there are people in the West who have recognized some of these unfortunate developments.


Kindness is not optional

If I am being kind to you, I am not doing you a favor.

I am essentially doing a favor to myself.

That you also receive a favor is a happening, not an objective.

It is impossible for me to be unkind to others and kind to myself.

This is because every act (with its effect) comes back to the person sooner or later.


Anybody who invokes God for his own welfare (to the exclusion of others) is missing the point.

A Hindu invokes God for the welfare of all beings, not because he is being overly altruistic, rather that is the only way to receive welfare for himself.


If I am being noble or honest, it is not because it is written in a book. The actual reason is that acting otherwise leads to misery, and I hate to be miserable.It is another matter that the wisdom I have gained through my experience coincides with what is written in the scriptures.Doing (or not doing) something because it is allowed (or forbidden) in a particular text is basically silly.


What is good and what is bad

Goodness or badness of an act depends largely on the context.

What is righteous in a particular situation may not be so in a different setting.

An act that is seemingly evil may actually be righteous if the intent is noble.

On the other hand, a seemingly noble act may actually be bad if the intent is selfish.


There is no final word

Today’s tools can at best partially solve tomorrow’s problems.

There is no end to evolution.

There is no end to religion.


Why is there misery in life?

The root cause is desire or attachment that creates a force, leading to bondage.

Bondage leads to birth after death.

The kind of life one enjoys in a particular life is a direct result of the karma.


There are subtle ways in which a human being may be consumed by desire.

A desire to go to heaven is deadlier than a desire to win a lottery.

There are some who desire desirelessness.


Salvation or union with the ultimate being is a happening. In particular, it is beyond the reach of those who are goal-oriented.Does this mean that efforts are useless in the religious journey? Of course not.At the same time, efforts that are merely cerebral or have a purpose are indeed useless or even retrograde.


Misery versus Blissfulness

Misery is one’s own creation.

Blissfulness is one’s own accomplishment.

Keep blaming others for your problems, and you are most certainly going downhill.

Start taking responsibility, and upward journey is possible.


Suppose that somebody owns an expensive luxury car, and the car arouses jealousy in me.

Problem lies not with the car nor with its owner. Problem lies with me.

In particular, this kind of impulse is a clear signal that I am too far away from Godhood.


If I am attracted to a woman and I blame her for my passion, then I am being patently foolish.

This does not mean that attraction itself is unnatural.


Listen to your heart

Choose a profession according to your aptitude.

Anybody looking for the source of blissfulness outside of themselves is missing the point.

Go to a holiday resort, and you feel good.

That feeling of goodness is coming from within.

Holiday resort itself is secondary.


What is the biggest problem?

Internal chattering is the biggest problem.

J. Krishnamurti talked about thoughtless awareness and choiceless existence.


Hinduism and nature

The ideology that man is the lord of the universe is repugnant to Indian thought.

The universe is our mother and we are not lords of our mother.

Indian thoughts about nature have no parallel elsewhere in the world.


A Hindu does not patronize the universe.

Instead, they takes pride in the universe patronizing them.


Hinduism links human life and the life divine with the earth and with nature.

Indian thought believes that the worst misfortune is the incapacity to revere nature.

Nature is our religion.

Which is what gives us sensitivity and consciousness.


It is extremely unfortunate that we have lost touch with the nature.

In the process, we have lost the sensitivity.

Not a single animal was killed by the deadly tsunami in 2004. Why?


Is there a way to break free from the cycle of birth and death?

Answer is yes.

Hinduism offers multiple paths, each of which leads to salvation.

agenda hinduism is not a religion per se karma thoughts are far more potent than action

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