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I applaud your sincerity of faith. Please permit me to
comment on some of your statements:
>
> Upanishads
> Mahabharat- Ramayan are the great epics
>
The Upanishads are not epics -- they are the concluding
and most important part of the Veda. One of the characteristics
of Vedic texts is their usage of ``svara'' or intonations.
All parts of the Vedas including the Upanishads are intoned
when recited. This is one reason why the Vedas are to be received by
hearing, and not reading -- the sound and intonation of the
Vedic word is intrinsic to the meaning.
>
> Hinduism is also the most ancient religion of the world.
>
Hinduism has evolved a great deal since the early days
of the Vedic sages. It is true that the Rg Veda Samhita
has the distinction of being the world's oldest religious text.
However, the Rg Veda is used only by a very small minority
of Hindus -- most of those who profess to be Hindus have
no knowledge of its contents or meaning, unlike Christians
and Jews, who have at least a passing acquaintance with the
Bible, or Muslims, who are in reasonable touch with the
Koran. In other words, Hinduism has an unbroken cultural
history from prehistoric times, but it is a stretch to call
it the most ancient religion in the world.
> Hinduism is the most tolerant religion in the world. There are no heretics
> and there is total freedom in religion. That is why it is most attractive
> to me.
Tolerance would certainly make for an attractive religion.
However, Hinduism and Hindus do not have as great a record
as one is led to believe. In the early centuries A.D.,
there is inscriptional and literary evidence of hundreds of
Jain and Buddhist monks being killed solely because of their
religious beliefs. The philosopher Ramanuja was forced out
of Tamil Nadu and many of his followers killed by a fanatic
Saiva king. And today, in an article posted on SRH just a few
days back, we see a senior official of the Hindu RSS branding
those of the Christian faith as ``heathens.'' And finally,
lest we forget, a semblance of tolerance at a purely intellectual
level does not translate into religious tolerance at a social
level. Hindu society has historically been one of the most
segregated and discriminatory -- all justified by religious
code, in contradistinction to other premodern societies.
Hinduism dictated that people be segregated on the basis of
varying religious practice, such as eating and worshipping
habits, spiritually ``defiling'' occupations, etc.
Our culture and religious faith is not great because of
its antiquity, or because it makes us feel good to believe
it was tolerant, or because it serves to unite us. Upon
critical examination, all of these fall apart. It is great
because it has the potential to inspire self-inquiry and
discovery in the individual. This certainly does not make
the religion of the Upanishads unique among world religions;
but when was uniqueness a necessary requirement for greatness?
Mani
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