Re: REQUEST : What is the "bread and butter" of Hinduism?

Posted By JAI_HIND (mt6@st-andrews.ac.uk)
Fri, 21 Nov 1997 19:19:21 +0000

> I am interested in learning more about Hinduism as a religion that is
> PRACTICED. What are its guideposts? I am familiar with Vedanta, which looks
> at all religions with an emphasis on Hinduism, but what is the "bread and
> butter" daily life of Hindu practice like? Christianity, for example, has
> the Ten Commandments. Is there a similar bedrock of "moral behavior" in
> Hindu belief? I think Hinduism is very appealing because it is so open to
> other religions, but its openness confuses me as to what its precepts are.
> Are there any good books for novices that explain how people actually live
> and pray and practice Hinduism day-to-day? I think Hinduism could be spread
> more widely if the basic heart of it were clear to Westerners.

Namaste _/I\_

The reason many Westerners have trouble understanding "Hinduism" is
demonstrated very clearly by your question itself. The problem is that in
the West, people attempt to categorise "Hinduism" as a religion. However,
it becomes clear even on a very shallow study of "Hinduism" that it is, in
fact, not a religion, but a Dharma, the two being very different things.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to comprehend for a Westerner what exactly
a "Dharma" is, since there is no equivalent term in English. Many
translations have been put forward, including "natural law", "religion",
"code of conduct", "morals", "ethics", "way of life", "duty",
"righteousness". However, whilst all of these do indeed form part of
Dharma, they can only go a small way towards describing in full what a
Dharma is. The only way to truly understand "Hinduism" is to reject this
model of having to slot things into convenient little boxes or nice neat
packages, and then labelling them as a religion. For more detail on this,
please read the verdict of the Indian Supreme Court, dated December 11,
1995. Also, as for your question on books which can explain more about
"Hinduism", an excellent book has been prepared by the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (World Council of Hindus), which is directed at explaining the
"bread and butter" of "Hinduism" to a Westerner. Used as the recommended
text in a number of regions in the UK, the book is called "Explaining
Hindu Dharma: A Guide for Teachers". This book does a good job of
explaining some of the more simple concepts in "Hinduism", involving
"Hinduism" as seen from the perspective of a practising Hindu. For more
details of this book, please see
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/8444/pustak.html

Namaste
JAI HIND !!

Manish

PS Incidentally, a question of my own - what is it with this mailing
all posts to ghen@netcom.com? I tried to post something a few days
ago, and it never appeared on the newsgroup - is this because I sent
it direct to the newsgroup, and not to this address? If so, then
perhaps I should try reposting it, by sending it to GHEN by email
also...??

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Manish Tayal (JAI_HIND)
Email: mt6@st-and.ac.uk
jai_hind@geocities.com
Homepage : http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/8444

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