| Content
Feedback |
Is ISKCON Hindu? - Response to Hinduism Today Statement regarding Hindu Affiliation -by Swami B. A. Paramadvaiti http://www.iskcon.org/main/twohk/philo/roots/hinduism.htm
Who is a Hindu & What is Hinduism by S. 'Vyas' Hinduism is an incorrect name of Sanaatana Dharma or Varna-ashrama Dharma. "The Lord makes all the laws and orders, and these laws and orders are generally called dharma or religion. No one can create any religious formula." - Srimad Bhagavat 1.8.4 Purport by Sri Prabhupada. The Vedas are the books of Hinduism, and the Vedas are given to Brahma, the first created being, by God Himself. This means that a Hindu (or Arya, meaning a believer in the Vedas) is surely a theist person, and Hinduism is a theist religion. Bhagavad Gita is the summary of the Vedas given by Bhagavan Krishna Himself. Therefore, Gita is well known as The Book of Hinduism. Hinduism is not sectarian. It is true for all times, places, and peoples. Some religious scholars have said that Hinduism is the complete science of spirituality. Just as the laws of physical science are absolute, the laws of spiritual science are also absolute. They are always true, whether you believe or not. Hinduism or Gita provides all possible ways how to know and worship and go to God or His kingdom. Some Hindus believe God is formless and soul and supersoul is same. They are the followers of Sripad Shankaracharya's advaita vada or mayavada. Others believe God has a form. They worship Vishnu tattva incarnations (Narasimha, Rama, Krishna, etc.), Shankar, Ganesh, Durga, or Surya. They are called bhaktas or devotees. Please do not confuse them with "Bhaktas" or the followers of Kabir. Hinduism has grown in Bharat (India). So, to a Hindu, Bharat is deva bhoomi, the land of the devas and the Home of the Hindus. Bharat always have thousands of holy personalities and places of pilgrimages. A Hindu is always desires to associate with holy persons who are great devotees or have realized God. Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism are off-shoots of Hinduism. Buddhism is an anti vedic and atheistic religion. Hindus do not follow it, but consider Buddha as an incarnation of God. According to Bhagavatam, Jainism has started after Rishabhdeva, a Vishnu tattva incarnation, and it was theistic originally. But it its current form it is atheistic. Sikhism is a mix of Islam and Hindu faiths. Culturally and historically, Jains and Sikhs have always lived peacefully with the Hindus. Most Hindus keep an altar of a deity in home and practice their sadhana. A temple is a religious community infrastructure and very dear to Hindu devotees. To Hindus,In contrast to Islam and Christianity who have used brute force to convert, Hinduism is preached to interested people only. No one is forced to accept Hinduism just like no one is forced to love a beautiful and fragrant rose or lotus. Date: Sat, 03 Sep 2005 06:34:11 -0700 From: Steve <[email protected]> To: Letters/HinduismToday <[email protected]> Ref. Hinduism Today, Oct. 1998 Issue. An article indicates ISKCON say it is not Hindu, but also sort of implies it is Hindu. There is an absolute way to determine if a person
or an institution or mission is Hindu or not. If one accepts
the authority of the Vedas and does saadhanaa according to a path prescribed
in it, then one is a Hindu. Here Hindu means a varnaasrami, or a
sanaatana dharmi, an Aarya which means a person who follows the Vedas.
(Aarya means only that, and it is not a race. None of our scripture
mentions Aarya is a race. Nor does it mention word Hindu.)
ISKCON preaches Bhaagavat Dharma or
On the other hand, Hindu is a name imposed on us by hostile invaders.
If the word Hindu means a malpracticed sanatana dharma with castes by birth and untouchability, and Hindu mortals claiming they are God, then I believe ISKCON and I would say we are not Hindu. Bhagavad gita is the summary of the Vedas. Therefore Gita is well known all over the world as The Book of Hinduism. ISKCON preaches Gita. Therefore, ISKCON is Hindu (sanatana dharmi). It would be very good if all Hindus drop the word Hindu and Hinduism and accept sanaatana dharma/dharmi, and then practice dharma it is original meaning and give up all malpractice. A local Hindu society changed its name to Vedic Society because it is correct name. Because Gita is our Book, we all need to accept Krishna (or Rama or any other Vishnu tatva incarnation) as the Supreme personality of Godhead. There is nothing wrong in worshiping any deva or devi mentioned in our scriptures, but as Krishna say in Gita, it is less intelligent. Please present this rationale to all to unite. We need it badly, but we need to understand and practice our religion well. Jai Sri Krishna! - suresh 'vyas' Statement Regarding Hindu Affiliation by Swami B.A. Paramadvaiti The Vrindavan Institute for Vaisnava Culture and Studies - Vrinda My name is Swami B.A. Paramadvaiti. I am a disciple of Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. I received initiation in the Sannyas Ashram from Srila B.R. Sridhar Maharaja a Disciple of Srila Bhaktisidhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada founder of the Sri Gaudiya Math. In 1984 I founded VRINDA, the Vrindavana Institute for Vaisnava Culture and Studies. In discussing the word Hinduism one must consider the deep impact of this word and its many aspects. First and primary we do not find the word Hindu entioned in the Vedic Scriptures. Controversy regarding the origin and membership of the Vedic tradition must be based on some shastric reference. Hinduism Today has posed the question whether you are Hindu or not. In doing so they are mixing the emotional concerns of Indian National feelings, real concerns of modern life and the famous "we are and you are not" competition. The idea presented in Hinduism Today poses a loaded question. To properly address this important topic I ask that you bare with me as I explain our position. First let me clarify a few questions which are pertinent to the issue of whether Gaudiya Vaisnavas are Hindus or not. Gaudiya Vaisnavas are followers of the teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who appeared five hundred years ago in Bengal announcing the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of God as the recommended process for self realization in this age of Kali Yuga. Do we love India and all those who follow some Vedic path? Yes, but
we also love other people and other countries as well. Country borders
cannot identify or limit Religions. Do we accept that there are different
ways to realize the truth? Yes, this is
Do we believe that different Deities can be worshipped? Yes. We accept all Vedic Deities and that their abodes can be reached by the sincere practitioner. We accept that not all worshippers have the same goal in their devotion. In order to distinguish one path from another we can use philosophical terms or we can use names which have certain concepts attached to them. The term Dharma can easily be interpreted as Hinduism. The term Sanatan Dharma refers to the type of worship which has Sanatan - eternal goals. In the Sanskrit dictionary there is no meaning attached to the Word Hindu we have to refer to the popular usage of the word to give it meaning. Dharma, Yoga, Karma, and Jnana have characteristics attached to them
which are traditionally rooted in the scriptures. There is always space
for different interpretations and it is said that a Muni is not a Muni
if he has no personal opinion. To consider
Instead of asking whether someone is Hindu or not you should ask whether some ones practices can be substantiated by Vedic Literature and a with roots in the Vedic History. Hinduism Today in the same article questioning Who is Hindu, observed
that Vedic Samskaras, Festivals, Pilgrimages, Temple Construction, Worship,
and Study of the Vedic Scriptures prove that our tradition as Gaudiya Vaisnavas
is indeed Vedic and
To illustrate the difference between someone worshipping the Deity only for money, a good husband, enjoyment on higher planets, yogic powers or merging into the non dual sphere, Vaisnavas clearly punctuate that their path is not of this nature. Since the time of the Theosophists and the first Swamis who came to the west, the Vaisnava faith did not have a good representative outside of India. Fortunately my spiritual master Srila A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was the person to change this situation. To all of India and experts on Vedic Culture the fact is well known that the Vaisnava and Shankarite interpretation of Vedanta clashed throughout history spanning thousands of years to the present. In this history, a Shivite king at the time of Yamunacarya challenged that whoever would not accept Lord Shiva as the supreme would be decapitated. Fortunately today this conflict takes place in essays and talks where leaders of the different Sampradayas quote Shastra explaining their points of view. Now the "Are you a real Hindu?" question is thrown into this debate.
The Web research by Hinduism Today did not give a conclusive picture. One
needs to sit at the feet of the Guru to understand the highest truth and
I suppose all will agree to the fact
Religion is also not a Sanskrit word. It comes from the Christian tradition
and has a particular meaning which is quite different from the popular
use of the word religion. The Latin word relegare means: to connect
us back to God. It does not mean to
If we accept Hinduism as a World Religion, acknowledging the traditional
meaning of the word, then we must give support to those who teach Sanatan
- Eternal Truth and Destiny as revealed iin the great body of Vedic Wisdom.
In a more profound way
We wish the overall Hindu culture to increase and we desire to work jointly with all who stand to defend the Hindu morality in the present world. We are Hindus for all our Hindu friends and we are Gaudiya Vaisnavas for all who want to know our affiliation in the Sampradaya. We are Monotheists because we accept God as one supreme being, and we accept that he has innumerable expansions. We are moralists joining forces with all human beings who are against war, animal slaughter and abortion... We are ecologists when it comes to protecting mother earth (Bhumi). We are friends of all those who try to mitigate the sufferings of our brothers and sisters throughout the world, regardless of their religious affiliations. There is no institution who will ever be able to claim any authority over other followers of Vedic traditions or Sampradayas. No organized church concept exists in the Vedic tradition. In India any person who will start worshipping Puranic Deities will be accepted as a Hindu. The Vedic scriptures authorize any person, regardless of his birth, to become a Guru, provided that he is initiated himself and knows the spiritual teachings of the Vedas. Even though Iskcon, the society started by my Spiritual Master, is well
known, it is just one of the many branches of Gaudiya Vaisnavism. Today
there are fifty or more different branches of Gaudiya Vaisnavism. Many
of them have International impact
The Religion of Unity in Diversity, Gaudiya Vaisnavism cannot be justly defined or completely explained by a word like Hindu or Yoga. Vedic Culture is a living tradition, with numerous students, teachers and institutions, manifesting all over the world.(World Vaisnava Association URL: http://www.wva-vvrs.org) Hinduism's true glory is in mitigating the sufferings of others and enlightening them about the true self. This is a real religious attitude. Many more people will aspire to be Hindu, in the true sense of the meaning. We want to be servants of Sri Guru, Sri Gouranga, Sri Sri Radha Krishna and humanity at large. Your servant Swami B.A. Paramadvaiti
|
