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Re: ARTICLE : Just say no to "Hinduism"
H. Krishna Susarla <susarla.krishna@tumora.swmed.edu> wrote:
>I continue to hold that Hinduism is not a religion, but an umbrella term
>encompassing various religions, many of which have some basis in the Vedas.
>Therefore, there are no unifying principles that bind these religions
>together other than perhaps the fact that they all flourished in the Indian
>subcontinent at one time or another. Does this sadden you?
I am a little puzzled by your statement that "Therefore, there are no
unifying principles.....". I do not think that such a conclusion is warranted
after you yourself mention in the previous line that many of these have some
basis in the Vedas. Surely we can use that as an unifying principle (at least
for those sampradayas which do have some basis in the Vedas).
>I also hold that there has been a trend in the last few hundred years for
>Hindu intellectuals (mostly Neo-advaitic swamis who were educated in the
>Western tradition) to redefine Hinduism as an amorphous, permissive
>religion rather than a cultural, umbrella term which is what it really is.
>These swamis may have the best of intentions, but that does not make them
>any more correct. In my opinion, it is not hard to see some of the
>different kinds of motivations that affect their thinking. Some scholars
>even think that this class of intellectuals are trying to "Semitize" the
>religion. While I think that remark is not entirely correct, there is
>nevertheless some truth to it.
I am also puzzled by your statement that you find some truth in the
statement that Neo-advaitic swamis are trying to "Semitize" the religion.
A characteristic of the Semetic religions is the concept of exclusivity.
An orthodox Christian ,for example, believes that only by following the
Christian path can one be saved. The Neo-advaitic Swamis like Vivekananda
are saying exactly the opposite. They are saying that all the different
sampradayas like Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Kali worshippers are all equally
valid paths to God. This is an inclusive approach that is exactly opposite
the exclusive Semitic religious idea. That is why I do not see how you can
see any truth in the "Semitization" canard.
Regards
Pradip
