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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: 17 Jun 1996 00:57:22 -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> <4pqtn2$59h@babbage.ece.uc.edu> <ghenDt0u73.L78@netcom.com>
Abhijeet A Chachad (abhijeet@utdallas.edu) wrote:
: Another facet to this discussion is if I don't follow something that
: I should be doing, for example, if I don't go to a temple every day /
: week, am I not a hindu ?
Dear Sru Abhijeet:
Thank you for your follow-up post. The question can not be if one is
more or less Hindu, but has to be one is more or less of a devotee. You may
not go to the temple even once in your lifetime, but still can be a devotee.
Sri Krishna said very simply, what a devotee needs to do, worship God in
every action.
yat karoshi yadashnAsi yajjuhoshi dadAsi yat
yat tapasyasi kounteya tat kurushhva madarpaNaM. SBG 9.27
(Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever yajna you do,
whatever you donate, what you meditate on, O son of Kunti, offer it to
me).
That is what is expected of a Hindu. This of course, is much easier said
than done. And some of the issues are more day-to-day than this verse
lists, for example, yajna includes almost every type of work and worship.
This is described in SBG 4.25-33. These include: daiva-yajna,
brahma-rupa agni-yajna, indriya and vishaya saMyama-rupa agni yajna,
GYAni's Atma-saMyama yajna, dravya yajna, tapaH yajna, yoga yajna,
scrripture study yajna and various yogic process yajnas. In short
complete surrender.
In chapter 18, verse 5, He expands on this theme.
yajnadAnatapaH karma na tyAjyaM karyameva tat.
yajno dAnaM tapaschaiva pAvanani manIshhiNAM. SBG 18.5
(yajna, dAna and tapaH are not to be given up, rather, they are duties.
yajna, dAna and tapasyA make the wise holy.)
Given the vast scope of yajna, such a statement means more than meets the
eye. This verse, it seems therefore, refer to giving it a 100% in
whatever a person has to do, and do it in the spirit of worship. This
the wise man does, and thus becomes holy.
In the Bible, a similar two-stage Spiritual evolution is mentioned, being
perfect and being holy.
With best regards,
Dhruba.
