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Re: Christian hate literature on Hinduism
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To: soc-religion-hindu@uunet.uu.net
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Subject: Re: Christian hate literature on Hinduism
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From: dchakrav@netserv.unmc.edu (Dhruba Chakravarti)
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Date: 12 Jun 1996 10:06:39 -0500
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Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
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Organization: University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
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References: <ghenDs4Kp5.ELu@netcom.com> <ghenDsFr27.6r5@netcom.com> <4pli31$fa6@babbage.ece.uc.edu>
Abhijeet A Chachad (abhijeet@utdallas.edu) wrote:
: All my life, this is how I have interpreted Hinduism as. Unlike other
: religions, where you are considered to be going against your faith if
: you do not follow the rules set down, Hinduism gives you the freedom to
: change yourself according to the situation. An act cannot be considered
: right or wrong by itself, it can be right if it is your duty to do it !!
: Won't it be wonderful if every religion gave its followers the freedom
: to explore other religions, resepect them and assimilate them !!!
Dear Abhijeetji:
Thank you for your response. However, the idea of 'assimilation' is a
false charge that people of other faiths levy on us. It is simply not true,
but with their spin, seems like the truth. We need not fall for it.
The truth is, the various theologies are already included in Hinduism, we
do not need to go out to assimilate any.
The advaita vedantists say that SankarAchArya's exposition of vedanta,
adequately describes God in Judeo-Christian-Islamic theologies. In my
little reading, I found that is not entirely correct. There are major
differences that appear irreconcilable. For example, these religions
describe the multiplicity of creation as eternal, which is not the
position in Hindu theology.
Sri Aurobindo describes the Hindu attitude in a way that I really like.
He said that it has been our long tradtion to embrace the new revelations
that God has given to sages. This is how, Hinduism has evolved, from
Vedic to Upanishadic and from Upanishadic to Bhagavad and Tantric.
In short, the apparent 'freedom' for the Hindu is his/her chance to enjoy
the Divine lilA, and rejoice in His various vibhutis.
With best regards,
Dhruba.
