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Re: ARTICLE : Just say no to "Hinduism" (was Re: ARTICLE : On attempting to define Hinduism)
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Subject: Re: ARTICLE : Just say no to "Hinduism" (was Re: ARTICLE : On attempting to define Hinduism)
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From: "Jaldhar H. Vyas" <jaldhar@braincells.com>
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Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 04:42:34 GMT
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Apparently-To: soc-religion-hindu@uunet.uu.net
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Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
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Organization: Consolidated Braincells Inc.
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References: <ghenDwHznC.9A0@netcom.com> <ghenDwLMnu.392@netcom.com>
"H. Krishna Susarla" <susarla.krishna@tumora.swmed.edu> wrote in article
<ghenDwLMnu.392@netcom.com>...
> This is interesting. I had thought vipra referred to a learned person.
If
> vipra means Brahman, then what exactly is the correct understanding of
ekam
> sat viprah... ? From an advaitist standpoint, it sounds quite bizarre
> speaking of Brahman as plural.
>
I mean Brahmans the caste not Brahman the supreme being. I use the
spelling Brahman instead of Brahmin because it more accurately represents
the Gujarati pronounciation. It's still not perfect but it's a little
better.
Vipra does literally mean learned person but it is always used to denote a
Brahman. It's like (not a very good example but it's late and I can't
think of a better one right now) how "ambulance-chaser" is used to mean
lawyer. Every English speaker knows that it doesn't literally mean
someone who chases ambulances.
So the meaning of the rk is one truth (or one existence)the Brahmans call
Him by many names. It then goes on to list the many names the Brahmans
call him. This is nothing more or less than a stuti of which there are
thousands of examples in the Veda and later texts.
> It may very well be that they are sincere, but unfortunately their
> ignorance is a major stumbling block. This attempt by many modern-day
> Hindus to lump the various schools of Vedanta and other Indian
traditions
> under the term Hinduism and then speak of it as a religion strikes me as
> being inspired by a number of factors. Here are a few that I can think
of:
I think there is truth to all the reasons you give but I also think many
haven't even thought about it that much. They assume that there is one
Hindu religion because they are simply unaware of different viewpoints.
--
Jaldhar H. Vyas [jaldhar@braincells.com] o- beable .-_|\
Consolidated Braincells Inc. / \
http://www.braincells.com/jaldhar/ Perth Amboy-> *.--._/
"Witty quote" - Dead Guy finger me for PGP key v McQ!