Views on Hinduism!

[powerofdharma]

Hi!, I'm a Hindu and I would like to know how the muslims view Hinduism.

[Ğħαrєєвαħ]

Greetings of peace to you powerofdharma

I see you are a new member so welcome to the forum and hope you enjoy yourself here and find the forum useful.

Regarding your question, as muslims we must respect other faiths and not mock them and treat everyone with respect no matter what their faith is, as this is what the Quraan and the Prophet Muhammad (sallahu alaayhi wa salam) taught us.

As for our religious beliefs they are quite different to each other, although there may be many teachings that our similar when you look deep into the religions themself.

Thats all i have to say for now, hopefully someone can post in more detail.

peace

[Perseveranze]

Peace powerofdharma,

I honestly don't know that much about Hinuism, but I respect them as I do all religions.

Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, atheism, agnosticism, gnosticism among others;[67][68][69][70] and its concept of God is complex and depends upon each particular tradition and philosophy. It is sometimes referred to as henotheistic (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an overgeneralization.

That's interesting... A bit confusing though. Can you highlight your own MAIN personal beliefs?

[cuezed]

the main problem we (muslims) have with hinduism is it's belief in many gods. in islam this belief will end you up in hell forever.

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[Sigma]

the main problem we (muslims) have with hinduism is it's belief in many gods. in islam this belief will end you up in hell forever.

A very welcoming post

[powerofdharma]

Peace powerofdharma,

I honestly don't know that much about Hinuism, but I respect them as I do all religions.


That's interesting... A bit confusing though. Can you highlight your own MAIN personal beliefs?

Thank you for your reply.
Well, Hinduism is actually not a religion but a way of living life. Infact, it is the oldest religion. God in Hinduism is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. God resides in the hearts of the devotees. Hinduism basically emphasises on the relationship between a devotee and his God. The God appears before the devotee in the form he(devotee) adores Him. Hinduism believes in the 'law of karma' - karma means deeds. It basically means action and reaction. The deeds we perform has its own after-effects. A person who performs a good deed will have good effects and vice-versa. Hindus believe in the theory of re-birth and moksha(attaining God). Our religion teaches us to regard our parents and teachers higher than God.
The Bhagwat Gita is word of God. I would like to quote a few verses from this text:

This is what our God says:

1. ~Still your mind in me, still yourself in me, and without a doubt you shall be united with me, Lord of Love, dwelling in your heart. ~

2.~ Governing sense, mind and intellect, intent on liberation, free from desire, fear and anger, the person is forever free ~

3. ~ Hell has three gates: lust, anger, and greed ~ (Please note, hell in hinduism is not a place of torture. It refers to mental tormentation)

4. ~ Just as a fire is covered by smoke and a mirror is obscured by dust, just as the embryo rests deep within the womb, wisdom is hidden by selfish desire. ~

5. ~ No one attains perfection by merely giving up work. ~

6. ~One who has control over the mind is tranquil in heat and cold, in pleasure and pain, and in honor and dishonor; and is ever steadfast with the Supreme Self.~

7. Approach someone who has realized the purpose of life and question him with reverence and devotion; he will instruct you in this wisdom. Once you attain it, you will never be deluded. You will see all creatures in the Self, and all in Me. ~



6

[powerofdharma]

the main problem we (muslims) have with hinduism is it's belief in many gods. in islam this belief will end you up in hell forever.

This is a major misconception about Hinduism.

1)Hinduism cannot be called Polytheism. Vedas, which are one of the primary Hindu scriptures mention that there is only One God.

2)Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva(Creator, Sustainer and destroyer) are different aspects of the same God.

3) Hindus believe that God is Omnipresent and resides in the heart of every living being. Out of respect we worship both God and his creation. God's creations such as rain, wind, fire, water, suns, moons, earth have been personified by our scriptures with names such as Indradev, vayudev, agnidev, varundev, suryadev and chandradev.

4) We see God in everything which is good. Such as beauty, wisdom, intelligence, love etc. Thus all these characteristics have been personified by vedic saints so that people have respect for them.

5) Hindus believe that every guest who visits there house is God. This does not make hinduism polytheistic or incorrect. It simply means that a guest should be treated as God.

[S.Belle]

Hindus believe that God is Omnipresent and resides in the heart of every living being. Out of respect we worship both God and his creation.

so does that mean you consider yourself a God as well?

[powerofdharma]

so does that mean you consider yourself a God as well?

Nope. I dont consider myself to be God. But we believe that God resides our hearts and our soul is a part of God. For this reason our God tells us to never look at anyone living being with hatred. Hinduism believes that when a person becomes free from these five elements - arrogance, false ego, lust, greed and anger - and develops love for his God, he merges into Him.

[powerofdharma]

so does that mean you consider yourself a God as well?

Nope. I dont consider myself to be God. But we believe that God resides our hearts and our soul is a part of God. For this reason our God tells us to never look at any living being with hatred. Hinduism believes that when a person becomes free from these five elements - arrogance, false ego, lust, greed and anger - and develops love for his God, he merges into Him.

[S.Belle]

Hinduism believes that when a person becomes free from these five elements - arrogance, false ego, lust, greed and anger - and develops love for his God, he merges into Him.

why do you merge into God?
is that like considered heaven to a Hindu

[powerofdharma]

why do you merge into God?

In Hinduism, God is like a symbol of love. Everyone wants to unite with God. Yoga is a system of linking yourself with the almighty by meditating on him. A devotee does not pray so that God will reward him or send him to heaven. In Hinduism, praying(bhakti) is expressing our love for God. God loves us and is regarded as a devotee's lover. So when a person becomes free from all bad qualities namely - anger, hatred, lust, greed and jealousy, he becomes pure. Thus, we believe that soul then unites with the supersoul(God).
God in Hinduism is not like a king sitting somewhere. But we treat him more like a lover. Our God incarnated on this planet as Ram and Krishna and taught us the following values through his splendid acts, which I would like to throw light upon:

1. He taught us that parents should be regarded higher than God. Incarnated God obeyed his parents all the time.
2. He taught us that we should respect our teachers because only they can guide us on the right path.
3. He taught us that love should never be greedy. It should not be materialistic. In fact, love should be like worship. When we love someone, we should not expect anything from them but only give.
4. He taught us the meaning of true friendship. That friendship is one of his greatest gifts.
5. He also taught us that we should have hatred towards anyone. Even if a person is the biggest criminal, we should fight with him not with hatred or anger. We should fight because its our duty to protect our people.

[powerofdharma]

In Hinduism, God is like a symbol of love. Everyone wants to unite with God. Yoga is a system of linking yourself with the almighty by meditating on him. A devotee does not pray so that God will reward him or send him to heaven. In Hinduism, praying(bhakti) is expressing our love for God. God loves us and is regarded as a devotee's lover. So when a person becomes free from all bad qualities namely - anger, hatred, lust, greed and jealousy, he becomes pure. Thus, we believe that soul then unites with the supersoul(God).
God in Hinduism is not like a king sitting somewhere. But we treat him more like a lover. Our God incarnated on this planet as Ram and Krishna and taught us the following values through his splendid acts, which I would like to throw light upon:

1. He taught us that parents should be regarded higher than God. Incarnated God obeyed his parents all the time.
2. He taught us that we should respect our teachers because only they can guide us on the right path.
3. He taught us that love should never be greedy. It should not be materialistic. In fact, love should be like worship. When we love someone, we should not expect anything from them but only give.
4. He taught us the meaning of true friendship. That friendship is one of his greatest gifts.
5. He also taught us that we should have hatred towards anyone. Even if a person is the biggest criminal, we should fight with him not with hatred or anger. We should fight because its our duty to protect our people.

In my 5th point I meant - He also taught us that we should NOT have hatred towards anyone. Sorry, I missed the 'Not'

[powerofdharma]

Yes and I would like to add that in Hinduism, merging into God or uniting with God is considered to be the highest form of joy. In Hinduism Heaven and Hell are not places where people experience joy or hatred. There is no concept if day of judgement.

In Hinduism, heaven is just a state of mind. It means that when a person performs good deeds, his state of mind would always be good and will thus be loved by everyone. On the other hand hell in hinduism is another state of mind. If a person commits crimes, his guilt will torment him. No one will like him, and soon he will start feeling this life to be like hell.

[Predator]

Infact, it is the oldest religion.

How do you say its the oldest religion ?

Our religion is there since the first man Adam(PBUH) said foot on the earth.

Oh i get it . According to hinduism , all living creatures are your brothers and sister ,so those dynosaurs were the first followers of your hinduism right ?

[S.Belle]

There is no concept if day of judgement.

if there is no judgement day then how will you know if you are being punished or rewarded according to your actions...is there no way you can defend yourself or have your actions that u commited on earth shown to you so you know that your "state of mind" is being rewarded with happiness or tormented with guilt is just?

I have never really studied Hinduism but what you have told me so far I respect your religion bc as muslims we are told to respect others but when it really gets down to it I harbour no dislike or like for your religion no offense i just respect it in a sense that you have your religion and I have mine....kinda like an agree to disagree type situation.

[powerofdharma]

How do you say its the oldest religion ?

Our religion is there since the first man Adam(PBUH) said foot on the earth.

Oh i get it . According to hinduism , all living creatures are your brothers and sister ,so those dynosaurs were the first followers of your hinduism right ?

I meant historically our religion is the first religion. [You can type Hinduism on wikipedia for this issue. Historically, Hinduism came first followed by Christianity and then Islam.]

Well I didnot say that all living creatures are our brothers and sisters. LOL. I said we respect them and therefore do not kill animals.
Well, hinduism explains evolution. Hinduism tells us that God incarnated on Earth 9 times , which represented "evolution". We had the following incarnations in order:
1. Matsya (the fish)
2. Koorma (the tortoise)
3. Varaha (the boar)
4. Narasimha (the lion)
5. Vamana (the dwarf)
6. Parasurama (Man with an axe) // Early man during stone age
7. Lord Rama (the perfect man, king of Ayodha)
8. Lord Krishna (the divine statesman)
9. Buddha

And the tenth one is yet to come.
So I do not know about the dinasaurs. But I love your sense of humour ROFL!

[Insecured soul]

Hi!, I'm a Hindu and I would like to know how the muslims view Hinduism.

You are here to know our views on hinduism or to propagate your religion? well it seems so with other posts on this thread.

Here is what i think since i live in india where i get to see this religion in action.
you all worship objects which u make with ur own hands, you worship creation not the creator.

Nope. I dont consider myself to be God. But we believe that God resides our hearts and our soul is a part of God. For this reason our God tells us to never look at anyone living being with hatred. Hinduism believes that when a person becomes free from these five elements - arrogance, false ego, lust, greed and anger - and develops love for his God, he merges into Him.

what merger is going on here? creation merging into creator?
we dont believe all that, creator is seperate from his creation and he is with us by his knowledge.

Allah makes it very clear in the quran that you should worship the creator and not the creation and those who do not worship him will be punished severely in the afterlife, i suggest you to read quran with translation and you will find (moral order) better than what you find in your religious books (if thats what is keeping you like hinduism)

[Perseveranze]

Peace,

Would it be very inaccurate to assume that Hinduism is similar to Buddhism? Or, closest to Buddhism then other religions?

[Perseveranze]

Peace,

I think what the brother meant was, the sole belief of a single Deity without partners, is the oldest.

[powerofdharma]

if there is no judgement day then how will you know if you are being punished or rewarded according to your actions...is there no way you can defend yourself or have your actions that u commited on earth shown to you so you know that your "state of mind" is being rewarded with happiness or tormented with guilt is just?

I have never really studied Hinduism but what you have told me so far I respect your religion bc as muslims we are told to respect others but when it really gets down to it I harbour no dislike or like for your religion no offense i just respect it in a sense that you have your religion and I have mine....kinda like an agree to disagree type situation.

Well. As I have mentioned we have the law of karma. Every action has its effects on us either during this life-time or the next life-time(re-birth). We have to bear the consequences. For example, if we do harm to someone, some-else will do the same harm to us. We have the cycle of re-birth. This cycle continues till we become sinless. At this time we merge with God(attain Moksha)

[powerofdharma]

You are here to know our views on hinduism or to propagate your religion? well it seems so with other posts on this thread.

Here is what i think since i live in india where i get to see this religion in action.
you all worship objects which u make with ur own hands, you worship creation not the creator.


what merger is going on here? creation merging into creator?
we dont believe all that, creator is seperate from his creation and he is with us by his knowledge.

Allah makes it very clear in the quran that you should worship the creator and not the creation and those who do not worship him will be punished severely in the afterlife, i suggest you to read quran with translation and you will find (moral order) better than what you find in your religious books (if thats what is keeping you like hinduism)

Firstly, I'm not propagating my religion because Hinduism never tells us to spread it.
Secondly, I've read the Quran and I'm aware that it tells us to worship the creator and not his creation. But Hinduism, which is a way of living, tells us to adore God and his creation with eternal love, and not merely by worship. When we have no arrogance and ego in us, we in a way have surrendered to God. Because, in true love, there is no arrogance and ego.

[powerofdharma]

Peace,

Would it be very inaccurate to assume that Hinduism is similar to Buddhism? Or, closest to Buddhism then other religions?

Buddhism is a branch of Hinduism. Buddha was the 9th incarnation of our God. He was here to preach the law of karma and the ways to get enlightenment.

[Muslim Woman]

Salaam/Peace

Hi!, I'm a Hindu and I would like to know how the muslims view Hinduism.

Welcome to the forum.


SIMILARITIES BETWEEN ISLAM AND HINDUISM

Dr. Zakir Naik
http://www.irf.net/

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ISLAM AND HINDUISM IS THAT OF ’S

(Everything is ‘God’s’ – Everything is ‘God’)

The major difference between the Hindu and the Muslim is that while the common Hindu believes in the philosophy of Pantheism, i.e. “everything is God, the Tree is God, the Sun is God, the Moon is God, the Snake is God, the Monkey is God, the Human Being is God”, all Muslims believe that “everything is God’s”.

The Muslims believe that everything is God’s. GOD with an apostrophe’s’. Everything belongs to the one and only unique eternal God. The tree belongs to God, the sun belongs to God, the moon belongs to God, the snake belongs to God, monkey belongs to God, the human being belongs to God.

Thus the major difference between the Hindus and the Muslims is the apostrophe ‘s’. The Hindu says, “everything is GOD”. The Muslim says, “everything is God’s”, GOD with an Apostrophe ‘s’. If we can solve the difference of the Apostrophe ‘s’, the Hindus and the Muslims will be united.

The Glorious Qur’an says

“Come to common terms as between us and you”,

Which is the first term?

“that we worship none but Allah”

So let’s come to common terms by analyzing the scriptures of the Hindus and of the Muslims.

http://www.islamawareness.net/Hinduism/ZakirNaik/

[powerofdharma]

Another thing I would like to point out is that idol worship is not compulsory in Hinduism. In-order to love our God, we try to personify him with the help of idols. By doing this we express our love. We believe that we get God in the form we perceive him.. That is what our God tells us.

In most hindu homes... every married woman wants a son like krishna(God), every teenager wants a friend like Krishna, many girls see him as their husband/boyfriend .. and so on. And according to Hinduism God appears before him devotees in the same form as they want him too.

[powerofdharma]

I strongly recommend that you should not analyse Hinduism through Dr Zakir Naik's commentaries. He has quoted so many thing from Hindu scriptures which do not exist or make sense. If you check on youtube videos, he has been declared kafir by several muslim organisations for supporting terrorism in one of his videos.

[powerofdharma]

In Hinduism, we have the following rituals of love:

1. Every molecule in the cosmos experiences the divine love of God and his devotee.
2. The soul united with the God. - Divine Love. Generations are eager to witness this union.
3. The God acts like a slave of his devotees - unconditional eternal love.
4. If God is the lotus then the devotee is its fragrance. Ie: Both depend on each other. Neither can exist without the other.

[Muslim Woman]

Salaam/Peace

Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva(Creator, Sustainer and destroyer) are different aspects of the same God.

.

long ago I read a story like this : once 2 of these 3 dieties had a dispute who is more powerful . Then they went to third diety and he said who can find my ......tail ??? I forgot now ..he is powerful.

They failed to find it out and understood they are less powerful than the 3rd one who is the most powerful among them.

In another story : most probably Brahma fulfillled a wish of a human being that if he touches someone , s/he will die. Then that person threatned the diety to touch & kill him and the diety ran away and asked helped from other diety. Most probably it was Shiva who disguied himself as a woman and helped the diety who was in trouble.

Can u explain these storeis to me pl. ? How it's possible God needs to run away from human for his own life and one diety is more superior to other ?

[Abdul-Raouf]

The first 8 incarnations which u had mentioned... where did they come ...all in india only?
From when on this is happening ?

Shiv,Vishnu,Brahma.... Is there any single word to refer God? Is there a temple for Brahma ..have heard only of vishnu followers..and shiv followers..why not brahma followers?

Is it not possible in ur relegion to think God/Gods without imagining THEM as a human figure/photo/or any other figure for that matter...?

I think you missed the Ladies in here... i mean the Goddess'...which you consider as wifes' of God...??? I think there are many temples for the Goddess'.

[powerofdharma]

Salaam/Peace



long ago I read a story like this : once 2 of these 3 dieties had a dispute who is more powerful . Then they went to third diety and he said who can find my ......tail ??? I forgot now ..he is powerful.

They failed to find it out and understood they are less powerful than the 3rd one who is the most powerful among them.

In another story : most probably Brahma fulfillled a wish of a human being that if he touches someone , s/he will die. Then that person threatned the diety to touch & kill him and the diety ran away and asked helped from other diety. Most probably it was Shiva who disguied himself as a woman and helped the diety who was in trouble.

Can u explain these storeis to me pl. ? How it's possible God needs to run away from human for his own life and one diety is more superior to other ?

Very Nice Point. Firstly, these disputes are not mentioned in Bhagwat Gita(Our word of God).
Some people believe that the vedic scholars made these stories in-order to maintain unity among devotees of shiva and vishnu(two different aspects of the same God). There was a demon called Bhasmasur. He prayed to Lord Shiva, who on being pleased with him gave him a boon that if he placed his hand on anyones head, that person would just burn down. Bhasmasur, misusing the power of this boon threatened Lord Shiva. Lord Vishnu, took the form of a beautiful lady- Mohini and seduced the demon. She made him place his hand on his own head and got him burnt down. These are just stories. They are not mentioned in the vedas or puranas. People believe Lord Shiva did this drama out of his eternal love for lord vishnu to prove him to be great. There are many stories which show that lord shiva was great too. They basically wanted to point out to the devotees that both the Gods pray to each other.

[powerofdharma]

The first 8 incarnations which u had mentioned... where did they come ...all in india only?
From when on this is happening ?

Shiv,Vishnu,Brahma.... Is there any single word to refer God? Is there a temple for Brahma ..have heard only of vishnu followers..and shiv followers..why not brahma followers?

Is it not possible in ur relegion to think God/Gods without imagining THEM as a human figure/photo/or any other figure for that matter...?

I think you missed the Ladies in here... i mean the Goddess'...which you consider as wifes' of God...??? I think there are many temples for the Goddess'.

These incarnations as I said represents evolution. It was to explain the people the theory of evolution. The first incarnation, matsya(Fish) came during the times of the first human on Earth (Manu). This happened supposedly lakhs of years ago. The 8th incarnation, Lord Krishna came 5000 years ago.

GOD stands for (Generator, Operator and Destroyer). In hinduism, Brahma is the generator, Vishnu is the Operator and Shiva is the Destroyer. These are nothing but different aspects of the same God. In Hinduism, this God is referred to as ' Bhagwan' or 'Parambramh'. There are Brahma temples too. He is worshiped at Pushkar.

There are many Hindu schools which do not believe in idol worship. In Hinduism, the method of worship is completely based on the devotees choice.

There are three main Goddesses which are Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati. Saraswati represents knowledge, Lakshmi represents good fortune and prosperity, and Parvati represents motherly love. These are representations to explain to the common people that wherever there is God, there is knowledge, good-fortune and prosperity and motherly love. This helps the person understand the qualities of God better and strives to attain him. In another sense it also means that knowledge, goodfortune and motherly love are valuable things. They should be respected as much as God.

[S.Belle]

Buddhism is a branch of Hinduism. Buddha was the 9th incarnation of our God. He was here to preach the law of karma and the ways to get enlightenment.

highly doubt a buddhist would agree to that...

followed by Christianity and then Islam.]

Christianity actually came after Islam...not before

[SlaveOfGod]

Peace,

So how does reincarnation work? I've heard that disabled people were born disabled for living bad previous lives yet they you have no memory of your previous life? And also, if someone has merged with god, inessence aren't they worshipping themselves? And how do you worship according to your own rules?

Jzk

[ardianto]

Buddhism is a branch of Hinduism. Buddha was the 9th incarnation of our God. He was here to preach the law of karma and the ways to get enlightenment.

Salam and peace, powerofdharma.

You say Buddha is the 9th incarnation of God, it's means currently Buddha is the last incarnation of God because the 10th incarnation is not coming yet.

My question, if he is Sidharta Gautama, why don't Hindus follow Buddhism ?.

Sorry if my question is inappropriate. I just curious. Muslims believe Muhammad SAW is the last prophet. That's why we follow Islam, not religions of prophets who came earlier.

[powerofdharma]

highly doubt a buddhist would agree to that...



Christianity actually came after Islam...not before

You say that you highly doubt that a Buddhist would believe. Heres the first few lines from wikipedia: Buddhism (Pali/Sanskrit: बौद्ध धर्म Buddha Dharma) is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha (Pāli/Sanskrit "the awakened one"). The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.[2] He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end suffering (or dukkha), achieve nirvana, and escape what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth. Similarly, a number of Hindu traditions portray Buddha as the most recent (ninth) of ten principal avatars, known as the Daśāvatāra (Ten Incarnations of God).
I think you're unaware that Buddha was an Indian God born in India. Secondly all his teachings were the same as the Bhagwat Gita.

You said, "Christianity actually came after Islam...not before"..
I say in your words, "highly doubt a christian would agree to that"...

[powerofdharma]

Salam and peace, powerofdharma.

You say Buddha is the 9th incarnation of God, it's means currently Buddha is the last incarnation of God because the 10th incarnation is not coming yet.

My question, if he is Sidharta Gautama, why don't Hindus follow Buddhism ?.

Sorry if my question is inappropriate. I just curious. Muslims believe Muhammad SAW is the last prophet. That's why we follow Islam, not religions of prophets who came earlier.

The teachings of Buddhism are the same as the teachings of Hinduism. Buddha was a Hindu himself. His teaching of the 'law of karma' and 'cycle of birth and death - rebirth' and 'non-violence to living being' are the three primary beliefs of hinduism..

[powerofdharma]

I forgot to mention that we donot believe in messengers of God. We believe that God himself comes down to this planet. So we take inspirations from each and every incarnation of his. Buddha came to unite all Hindus and to inculcate non-violence against humans as well as animals. We follow that too.

[SlaveOfGod]

You said, "Christianity actually came after Islam...not before"..
I say in your words, "highly doubt a christian would agree to that"...

Islam mean submission, so a person who submits to the will of god is a Muslim, correct? And since most monotheistic religons believe that Adam (as) submitted to the will of god I guess they subconsciously agree that Adam (as) was a Muslim.

[powerofdharma]

Peace,

So how does reincarnation work? I've heard that disabled people were born disabled for living bad previous lives yet they you have no memory of your previous life? And also, if someone has merged with god, inessence aren't they worshipping themselves? And how do you worship according to your own rules?

Jzk

"Sri Krishna said: As a human being puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones."
For instance, being disabled reminds you that it is result of your own karma or deed. It makes perform good actions.

We merge into God when our soul becomes pure. As a devotee prays to his God, the God in turn prays to his devotee. This is the relationship of god and devotee in hinduism. Both depend on each other and love each other.

[S.Belle]

the reason why I said that a buddhist wouldnt agree is bc they dont even believe in a God that created this world they believe that the world was created by sentient beings.
So a buddhist would not except Buddha as being a reincarnation of a God.

but even if Buddha is a reincarnation of God as brother ardianto has pointed out why are you not buddhist instead of hindu...doesnt add up

Christianity was not even a religion until the death of Jesus, Islam has been a religion even before the birth of Jesus so FAIL in trying to quote my words sir/ma'am lol.

[powerofdharma]

Islam mean submission, so a person who submits to the will of god is a Muslim, correct? And since most monotheistic religons believe that Adam (as) submitted to the will of god I guess they subconsciously agree that Adam (as) was a Muslim.

im talking about which religion came first not God. By saying this do you the Christian God is different from the Islam God and the Hindu God? God is one and the same for everyone. Some people call him Allah, some call him God, and some call him Krishna. Religions are created by man. Which ever religion came first or later, the God in opinion was there from the beginning LoL...

[powerofdharma]

the reason why I said that a buddhist wouldnt agree is bc they dont even believe in a God that created this world they believe that the world was created by sentient souls.
So a buddhist would not except Buddha as being a reincarnation of a God.

but even if Buddha is a reincarnation of God as brother ardianto has pointed out why are you not buddhist instead of hindu...doesnt add up

Christianity was not even a religion until the death of Jesus, Islam has been a religion even before the birth of Jesus so FAIL in trying to quote my words sir/ma'am lol.

Buddha himself worshipped Lord Vishnu and Shiva and was a hindu by birth. He adhered to the same Hindu Principles. He believed in the concept of God but wanted to rationalise it. Buddhists all over India(Homeland of Buddha) believe this. Buddha never stepped out of India. Neither did he say that he starting a new religion called 'Buddhism'. His disciples in other parts of the world referred to it as Buddhism. The teachings of Buddha spread to the rest of the world many years after Buddha when chinese scholars came to India and studied his teachings.

[S.Belle]

Buddha himself worshipped Lord Vishnu and Shiva and was a hindu by birth. He adhered to the same Hindu Principles. He believed in the concept of God but wanted to rationalise it. Buddhists all over India(Homeland of Buddha) believe this. Buddha never stepped out of India. Neither did he say that he starting a new religion called 'Buddhism'. His disciples in other parts of the world referred to it as Buddhism. The teachings of Buddha spread to the rest of the world many years after Buddha when chinese scholars came to India and studied his teachings.

^
None of this even matters the point is that Buddha himself may have believed in a God but his followers dont.
That is why i said that i doubt a buddhist would agree that buddhism is a branch of Hinduism they seem to have similairities which is correct but calling it a branch of hinduism is not correct.

That would be like saying Christianity is a branch of Islam.
Isa (jesus) pbuh was a Muslim after his death some of his followers took his message (that was sent by Allah for Isa to spread) and turned it into another religion outside of Islam aka Christianity.
Christianity and Islam have similarites but Christianity is not considered a branch of Islam if it is then that is news to me.

Christanity, Islam, and Judaism fall under the same branch ( the 3 abrahamic faiths) Hinduism and Buddhism fall under the same branch. And under each religion they have different branchs.
The branchs of Hinduism seem to be Vaishnavites, Shaivites, neo-Hindus and reform Hindus.
Buddhism is not listed as a branch of Hinduism bc it is a different religon/belief then Hinduism it only shares similarities as I have already stated.

[Issa Abdullah]

All Pagans (Hinduism & Buddhism) will be in the Hell fire forever. How do people make lies about Allah (SWT) saying he has a son, worshiping statues or not worshiping him, everyone who believes in god hates the Pagan godless people (Hinduism & Buddhism) & wishes 2 things of them 1 their destruction 2 them worshiping the one & only god Allah (SWT). Please save yourself powerofdharma from the fire leave this devil made evil Hinduism & embrace Islam the Truth. 112:1 Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; 112:2 "Allah-us-Samad (The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He neither eats nor drinks). 112:3 He begets not, nor is He begotten. 112:4 "And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him." Surat Al-'Ikhlāş (The Sincerity) (The Holy Quran)

[Predator]

God talks about our moral values. He tells us about our deeds. He tells us how bad 'anger' is for us. He tells us that he loves us unconditionally. We do have any such concept of hell. Neither does our God want us to believe in him or praise him or pray to him. He says that our next life is based on our deeds and not our belief in him. Our God is more like a lover than like an angry king. So there is nothing to fear. This belief of God sending people for hell for just not having faith in him sounds very funny. God is wise, forgiving, and loving. He can never even think of torturing anyone.

The idea of your ""God"" being unjust is very funny . Right you have nothing to fear all you need to take a ""bath" in that filthy ganges to get rid of all sins .
You burn money with diwali fire crackers , instead of giving the money and clothes to poor . Cant see how your God should be very pleased with that.

[selsebil]

Dear powerofdharma,

Thanks for asking this question.I've been to India many times and viewed effects of Hinduism in society.First I should say that we should all have a mutual respect for the faiths of others.So I agreed with Pearlofwisdom.But mutual respect does not mean to accept the faiths of others.We can discuss and compare Hinduism in the view of the information above:

1." Hinduism cannot be called Polytheism. Vedas, which are one of the primary Hindu scriptures mention that there is only One God." Islam also accepts only One God. But there is difference.A Hindu man had told me about the birth and marriage of God.( Corrrect this if it's wrong.I don't know).If it's correct God has some similar attributions like human beings in Hinduism.In Islam,God is not similar to anything in universe.

Almighty God is above having mother and father, relatives or wife.Quran denies the divinity of those who have offspring and parents and equals; and it is to show that they are not worthy of being worshipped.Almighty God is above all relations which suggest giving birth and being born. He is exempt from having any partners, helpers, or fellows. His relations with all beings are those of Creator. He creates through His pre-eternal will with the command of “Be!,” and it is. He is far beyond having any relation which is contrary to perfection, or is compelling, necessitating, or involuntary.Almighty God is pre-eternal and post-eternal, He is the First and the Last. Neither in His essence, nor in His attributes, nor in His actions, has He in any way any equal, peer, like, or match, or anything similar, resembling, or analogous to Him. Only, in His acts, there may be comparisons expressing similarity.
2. " Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva(Creator, Sustainer and destroyer) are different aspects of the same God." In Islam God has also different names.Al-Alim (The Knower of All), Al-Khalik (Creator), Al-Aziz ( The Mighty & Strong.) and so on...
3." Out of respect we worship both God and his creation." In Islam, Muslims worship to only God.Created things are not deserved to be worshipped.In Hinduism some creatures are considered to be holy like cows,snakes,elephants etc. In Islam these are just creatures of God.
4." We see God in everything which is good. Such as beauty, wisdom, intelligence, love etc. " In Islam everything good and bad is created by God.But there is a wisdom in the creation of bad things as well as good things.For example:God Almighty, in order to display His infinite power and unlimited mercy, has made inherent in man infinite impotence and unlimited want. Further, in order to display the endless embroideries of His Names, He has created man like a machine capable of receiving unlimited varieties of pain, as well as infinite varieties of pleasure. Within that human machine are hundreds of instruments, each of which has different pains and pleasures, different duties and rewards. Simply, all of the Divine Names manifested in the macroanthropos that is the world also have manifestations in the microcosm that is man. Beneficial matters like good health, well-being, and pleasures cause man to offer thanks and prompt the human machine to perform its functions in many respects, and thus man becomes like a factory producing thanks.
Similarly, by means of misfortune, illness and pain, and other motion-inducing contingencies, the other cogs of the human machine are set in motion and revolution. The mine of weakness, impotence, and poverty inherent in human nature is made to work. It induces in man a state whereby he seeks refuge and help not only with a single tongue, but with the tongue of each of his members. Thus by means of those contingencies man becomes like a moving pen comprising thousands of different pens. He inscribes the appointed course of his existence on the page of his life or the Tablet in the World of Similitudes; he puts forth a declaration of the Divine Names; and becomes himself an ode to the glory of God, thus fulfilling the duties of his nature.
5. " Hindus believe that every guest who visits there house is God. This does not make hinduism polytheistic or incorrect. It simply means that a guest should be treated as God." In Islam nothing can be treated as God.(Even the prophets are human beings).

[powerofdharma]

The idea of your ""God"" being unjust is very funny . Right you have nothing to fear all you need to take a ""bath" in that filthy ganges to get rid of all sins .
You burn money with diwali fire crackers , instead of giving the money and clothes to poor . Cant see how your God should be very pleased with that.

1. As I have mentioned, we have the 'law of karma' or 'law of action and reaction' in Hinduism which prevails over everything. If a person has committed a bad deed and the person does not attempt to correct it, he will definitely have to pay for it. But there is nothing like hell-fire or something. He will have to face the repercussions.

2. Taking a bath in the pure ganges does not mean than we are cleansed from every sin. The river Ganga provides water for millions of people in India. The Indo-gangetic planes are one of the most fertile planes in the world. These planes contribute to the vast expanse of agriculture in India. Thus we treat the river as a source of food and water and therefore a source of life. We regard the Ganga as our mother because in a way she nurtures us. So if a person takes a bath in the Ganga, it is seen as an expression of surrender. This act of surrendering to Mother Ganga is itself seen a symbol of purifying our soul.

3. No where in Hindu scriptures does it mention to light fire-crackers. It is just an expression of joy during Diwali celebrated by the devotees. On Diwali every Hindu gives new clothes, food etc to the poor because we believe that God resides in the heart of every living being. In fact, we give food not only to the poor but also to the cows, dogs, birds and other animals.

[powerofdharma]

Thanks selsebil for your view.
Heres a little more on Hinduism:

Our God says: "Whenever and wherever there is a decline in moral values, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself."

So our God descends to establish religious and moral values. Whenever he comes down he teaches us something by setting an example. For example, God descended as a 'Ram' to set an example of a 'perfect human being'. He taught us to respect parents, elders and teachers. He taught us NEVER to find faults in anyone neither in anyones religious practises. He taught us that a man should only marry one female.

But when God descended as Krishna, he appeared as 'divinity personified'. He taught us the relationship of a devotee and his supreme. He told us that we should never fear him but only love him. In this incarnation he appeared as a son to those worshiped God as if He were their own son. He married those, who wanted God to be their husband. etc. In this context, He showed that God is everyones' and everyone is God's.

So God being a son, husband etc is just expression and the essence of his Godliness in Hinduism. In Hinduism, we believe when a devotee reaches the highest level of devotion, there is no difference between and god. While a devotee prays to his God, the God in turn meditates upon his devotee. As the devotee considers him to be a slave of God, the God in turn considers himself to be a slave of the devotee.

[aadil77]

Thank you for your reply.
Well, Hinduism is actually not a religion but a way of living life. Infact, it is the oldest religion.

Just to clarify the islamic view on this; we believe islam is the oldest religion. This is because we believe the first man on earth was Adam, who was also a prophet of God, he spread the same message that has been spread by all prophets to mankind.

[Salafi1407]

power of dharma, i respect the fact that you also believe in 1 god and it is a mis-conception that you believe in many. but what is not a mis-conception is that you WORSHIP many gods, you may BELIEVE in one but you worship MANY. Like you even mentioned the different things you worship or associate with the 1 god. In Islam there is NO great sin than Shirk, which is associating a partner with the 1 Allah (which you acknowledge there is only 1). That is the biggest sin and there is no way back from hell if one commits that. Allah is 1 and therefore he needs to be worshipped alone, you don't worship a monkey or an elephant or a statue or the moon or jesus (pbuh) or muhammed (salla allahu alayhi wasallam), NO ONE is to be worshipped bar allah. And that is not for us muslims only it is for the whole of mankind.

so you tell me how you can justify worshipping statues or people thus associating with Allah? who is ONE as you said so yourself. Why not worship Allah himself directly? In Islamic history we had pagans and idol worshippers residing in Makkah before Muhammed SAW preached Islam. They also believed in Allah but they worshipped him VIA idols, they felt that by worshipping idols or graves of past pious people will bring them closer to Allah, when in fact it took them further away. COMMON SENSE tells you that Islam is the ONLY way of life, answer me this, if one can worship Allah directly? why give him partners? Why worship the creation as oposed to the creater himself?? Why would the creater come down on earth encarnated as a creation? When he can simply send down messengers to the people of this world?

Look hard at your religion again man, and if it makes sense to you then fair enough, but to me Islam makes the most sense, you should look into Islam and its teachings and then compare it with your religion. Hoefully you will see the light.

[Asiyah3]

Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. :) As a Muslim, Islam teaches us to respect other religions and treat both Muslims and non-Muslims kindly and justly.

The God appears before the devotee in the form he(devotee) adores Him.

In Islam, God does what He wills and He is independent of us. While we are in need of Him.

3) Hindus believe that God is Omnipresent and resides in the heart of every living being. Out of respect we worship both God and his creation. God's creations such as rain, wind, fire, water, suns, moons, earth have been personified by our scriptures with names such as Indradev, vayudev, agnidev, varundev, suryadev and chandradev.

Do you worship the creation while it cannot bring you any benefit or harm?

Our religion teaches us to regard our parents and teachers higher than God.

How can the creation be above the Creator? In Islam parents are held in high status and we are commanded to respect and be kind towards our parents. However, God is above everything.

Another thing I would like to point out is that idol worship is not compulsory in Hinduism. In-order to love our God, we try to personify him with the help of idols.

Can't God, the All-Powerful be loved without the help of idols?

By doing this we express our love. We believe that we get God in the form we perceive him.. That is what our God tells us.

In most hindu homes... every married woman wants a son like krishna(God), every teenager wants a friend like Krishna, many girls see him as their husband/boyfriend .. and so on. And according to Hinduism God appears before him devotees in the same form as they want him too.

Is God what a human perceive Him to be? What if someone else perceives him differently than you? Does this mean there are many gods?

For example, person A sees that god has a wife while person B sees God is One, without sons, without any partners. Does this mean there are two gods?

Does everyone have his own god? Does this mean person A has one god and person B another god? Wait, doesn't this mean there are two gods? 1+1=2

3. The God acts like a slave of his devotees - unconditional eternal love.

How can God, who is Perfect and capable of everything, be a slave of some imperfect and erroneous humans?

4. If God is the lotus then the devotee is its fragrance. Ie: Both depend on each other. Neither can exist without the other.

God is Eternal whereas humans weren't here long before. How did God exist at that time without humans? Is God as old as humans are? If humans die one day, will god die too?

There are many Hindu schools which do not believe in idol worship. In Hinduism, the method of worship is completely based on the devotees choice.

Didn't God, the Guider, give you any guidance?

We believe that God himself comes down to this planet.

Now did God change into creation? Maybe it's time to make up one's mind, is God a creation or Creator?

im talking about which religion came first not God. By saying this do you the Christian God is different from the Islam God and the Hindu God? God is one and the same for everyone.

I thought you said God is how the slave perceives him? If two people perceive God differently, then He wouldn't be the same for everyone.

Some people call him Allah, some call him God, and some call him Krishna. Religions are created by man. Which ever religion came first or later, the God in opinion was there from the beginning LoL...

Islam isn't created by man. It's a religion ordained by God. Because in Islam, we do not decide what we are allowed to do and what not according to our whims and desires. Rather we submit to Allah's will and follow His will.

[Pygoscelis]

I don't know enough about Hinduism to know if I like or dislike it. Is the caste system in any way related to Hinduism or is that purely cultural?

[powerofdharma]

"In Islam, God does what He wills and He is independent of us. While we are in need of Him."

In Hinduism, the soul is a part of God. Thus God is not independent of us. There is a relationship between God and His devotee.


"Do you worship the creation while it cannot bring you any benefit or harm?"

Hinduism preaches us not pray for gaining any benefit. Praying to God in Hinduism is just an expression of our love for him.


"How can the creation be above the Creator? In Islam parents are held in high status and we are commanded to respect and be kind towards our parents. However, God is above everything."

In Hinduism, the creator and His creation are NOT different things. It has a bit of duality. God in Hinduism teaches us that our parents and teachers come before Him.


"Can't God, the All-Powerful be loved without the help of idols?"

Of course he can be loved without the help of idols. So many Hindus worship(love) him without the help of idols. God has given free will to his devotees. He has not made it a compulsion to pray to Him. It is totally based on the devotees choice. If someone adores God, he gets closer to Him.


"Is God what a human perceive Him to be? What if someone else perceives him differently than you? Does this mean there are many gods?

For example, person A sees that god has a wife while person B sees God is One, without sons, without any partners. Does this mean there are two gods?

Does everyone have his own god? Does this mean person A has one god and person B another god? Wait, doesn't this mean there are two gods? 1+1=2"

Suppose there are many pots (full of water) lined up under the Sun. As the Sun is reflected in each pot, a pot might think that the Sun is his own. But the sun is only one. Similarly, in Hinduism every Hindu thinks that God is his own. He perceives him however he feels like. He adores him in his own manner.


"How can God, who is Perfect and capable of everything, be a slave of some imperfect and erroneous humans?"

Because God is unlimited, He likes to enjoy an unlimited number of relationships, each unique. We each have a unique relationship with God, revealed when our love for Him matures. While impersonalists want to become one with God, devotees can attain the position of being greater than God. In the intimacy of pure love, they can tell God what do to, and He loves to hear it.

God is Eternal whereas humans weren't here long before. How did God exist at that time without humans? Is God as old as humans are? If humans die one day, will god die too?


"Didn't God, the Guider, give you any guidance? "

In Hinduism, God never gave us any guidance on how to pray to Him. He guided us on how to become a better person. He told us about our role in the society. He taught us how to love. Infact, he never asked us to pray to Him. He just asked us to love Him. In Hinduism, saints and wise men are regarded higher than God. So their guidance is considered to be supreme.


"Now did God change into creation? Maybe it's time to make up one's mind, is God a creation or Creator?"

In Hinduism, God is omnipresent. We donot classify creator and creation differently. Hindu God incarnates on this planet.

"I thought you said God is how the slave perceives him? If two people perceive God differently, then He wouldn't be the same for everyone."

Yup! But the power behind the appearance remains the same.


" Islam isn't created by man. It's a religion ordained by God. Because in Islam, we do not decide what we are allowed to do and what not according to our whims and desires. Rather we submit to Allah's will and follow His will."

We believe that God never created religion. It is His devotees who created the religion. A devotee who has reached the highest level of spirituality via his devotion, wisdom and good deeds is considered to be a saint. We thus follow such wise men.

[powerofdharma]

I don't know enough about Hinduism to know if I like or dislike it. Is the caste system in any way related to Hinduism or is that purely cultural?

Its purely cultural.

[powerofdharma]

I guess you guys should definately read the 'Bhagwat Gita'. It explains the beauty of life and our relationship with the God. It is the word of God for Hindus.. It is essence of living a healthier life.

[powerofdharma]

These are some of the things which we believe in:

1. Fellowship with the saints(Good people0
2. Fondness for legends of the God
3. Selfless service to the teacher
4. Chanting the God's name with steadfast faith
5. Practice self-governance and detachment from manifold activities
6. See God in everyone and regard the Teachers, Parents higher than God.
7. Enjoin contentment with what one has and dream not of spying faults in others.
8. Be simple and not be cunning in any manner.
9. To have implicit faith in the Lord with neither exultation nor depression

[Asiyah3]

God is Eternal whereas humans weren't here long before. How did God exist at that time without humans? Is God as old as humans are? If humans die one day, will god die too?

Could you please answer this question too?

[powerofdharma]

"God is Eternal whereas humans weren't here long before. How did God exist at that time without humans? Is God as old as humans are? If humans die one day, will god die too?"

Are God says:
~ As person abandons worn-out clothes and acquires new ones, so when the body is worn out a new one is acquired by the Self, who lives within. ~
~One who sees the super soul(God) accompanying the individual soul(Souls of all living beings) in all bodies and who understands that neither the soul nor the Super soul is ever destroyed, actually sees~

We believe that the soul is never destroyed. It is the body which is destroyed after death. Our soul, which is a part of God is immortal. As God is eternal, our souls are eternal too. They never die. So if all humans and living creatures die, it is their body which perishes. Their soul is eternal.

[Asiyah3]

Peace,

"In Islam, God does what He wills and He is independent of us. While we are in need of Him."

In Hinduism, the soul is a part of God. Thus God is not independent of us. There is a relationship between God and His devotee.

I recommend you study Islam, in Islam God is All-Powerful and independent of everything.

"Do you worship the creation while it cannot bring you any benefit or harm?"

Hinduism preaches us not pray for gaining any benefit. Praying to God in Hinduism is just an expression of our love for him.

If there's no benefit in praying and it's useless, why pray then?

"How can the creation be above the Creator? In Islam parents are held in high status and we are commanded to respect and be kind towards our parents. However, God is above everything."

In Hinduism, the creator and His creation are NOT different things. It has a bit of duality. God in Hinduism teaches us that our parents and teachers come before Him.

If humans come before God, I suppose He isn't that important then? And according to Hinduism because a person is God's creation, he is also the creator (as they aren't different things)? So people are god?

"Can't God, the All-Powerful be loved without the help of idols?"

Of course he can be loved without the help of idols. So many Hindus worship(love) him without the help of idols. God has given free will to his devotees. He has not made it a compulsion to pray to Him. It is totally based on the devotees choice. If someone adores God, he gets closer to Him.

Why even believe in God then?

"Is God what a human perceive Him to be? What if someone else perceives him differently than you? Does this mean there are many gods?

For example, person A sees that god has a wife while person B sees God is One, without sons, without any partners. Does this mean there are two gods?

Does everyone have his own god? Does this mean person A has one god and person B another god? Wait, doesn't this mean there are two gods? 1+1=2"

Suppose there are many pots (full of water) lined up under the Sun. As the Sun is reflected in each pot, a pot might think that the Sun is his own. But the sun is only one. Similarly, in Hinduism every Hindu thinks that God is his own. He perceives him however he feels like. He adores him in his own manner.

This analogy fails, because the Sun is independent of how the pot thinks and sees it. It is still yellow, warm and has the same qualities. It doesn't matter in the least how we see it. This doesn't apply to God, in your definition, as it is what people perceive Him to be, and needless to say people perceive him differently. My question remains:

- For example, person A sees that god has a wife while person B sees God is One, without sons, without any partners. Does this mean there are two gods?

Does everyone have his own god? Does this mean person A has one god and person B another god? Wait, doesn't this mean there are two gods? 1+1=2 -

"How can God, who is Perfect and capable of everything, be a slave of some imperfect and erroneous humans?"

Because God is unlimited, He likes to enjoy an unlimited number of relationships, each unique. We each have a unique relationship with God, revealed when our love for Him matures. While impersonalists want to become one with God, devotees can attain the position of being greater than God. In the intimacy of pure love, they can tell God what do to, and He loves to hear it.

Shouldn't Hindus then tell those higher devotees to tell God to remove poverty from the world? That is if God hears and obeys them.

"Now did God change into creation? Maybe it's time to make up one's mind, is God a creation or Creator?"

In Hinduism, God is omnipresent. We donot classify creator and creation differently. Hindu God incarnates on this planet.

That means God is in creation also as he is omnipresent. Does this mean God is created? By who?

"I thought you said God is how the slave perceives him? If two people perceive God differently, then He wouldn't be the same for everyone."

Yup! But the power behind the appearance remains the same.

If two people perceive the power differently, then the power wouldn't be the same for everyone. Right?

"Didn't God, the Guider, give you any guidance? "

In Hinduism, God never gave us any guidance on how to pray to Him. He guided us on how to become a better person. He told us about our role in the society. He taught us how to love. Infact, he never asked us to pray to Him. He just asked us to love Him. In Hinduism, saints and wise men are regarded higher than God. So their guidance is considered to be supreme.

" Islam isn't created by man. It's a religion ordained by God. Because in Islam, we do not decide what we are allowed to do and what not according to our whims and desires. Rather we submit to Allah's will and follow His will."

We believe that God never created religion. It is His devotees who created the religion. A devotee who has reached the highest level of spirituality via his devotion, wisdom and good deeds is considered to be a saint. We thus follow such wise men.

Is god stupid, does bad deeds and isn't devoted in Hinduism and so you follow wiser men?

[Asiyah3]

We believe that the soul is never destroyed. It is the body which is destroyed after death. Our soul, which is a part of God is immortal. As God is eternal, our souls are eternal too. They never die. So if all humans and living creatures die, it is their body which perishes. Their soul is eternal.

Who decreed or made the soul to be immortal?

[powerofdharma]

"I recommend you study Islam, in Islam God is All-Powerful and independent of everything."

I have studied Islam and I've read the Quran. In fact, the religion does not appeal to me much. I feel that somewhat it lacks spirituality and the real essence of God is not conveyed[no offence meant].. Power does not fascinate me much. Because the world can be won by love and not power.

"If there's no benefit in praying and it's useless, why pray then?"

This is materialistic and selfish thinking. A mother loves her child not because she gets some benefit from that. This is the mother's devotion towards her child (according to hinduism). Love is unconditional, selfless and way above all materialistic pleasures. This differentiates spirituality from materialism.

"If humans come before God, I suppose He isn't that important then? And according to Hinduism because a person is God's creation, he is also the creator (as they aren't different things)? So people are god?"

He is important. To understand God, you have to experience Him. The term God is very relative. In Hinduism, he is more like a symbol of love. All people are NOT God. Basically, parents and teachers should be 'REGARDED' as God.

"Why even believe in God then?"

Because we know that he exists and He loves us.


"Shouldn't Hindus then tell those higher devotees to tell God to remove poverty from the world? That is if God hears and obeys them."

It depends on the poor's karma.


"That means God is in creator also as he is omnipresent. Does this mean God is created? By who?"

He has no beginning and no end. He is eternal and everlasting. So are the souls of living beings.


"If two people perceive the power differently, then the power wouldn't be the same for everyone. Right? "

If you think spiritually, you will get the answer.

"Is god stupid, does bad deeds and isn't devoted in Hinduism and so you follow wiser men?"

Which bad deeds are you referring to? Our God is devoted out of love and not fear. This is pure devotion. According to your statement, Gods which send people who don't believe in them to hell fire are stupider.
Yes, we follow wiser men because they are the path to God.

"Who decreed or made the soul to be immortal?"
God

[cuezed]

seems like there aint any god in hinduism. or hinduism has lowered the status of god equally to the humans or worse idols. logically it dont make sense. i know many hindus who dont even know whether they are hindu and sikh. many hindus in india dont even follow hinduism.

[Ğħαrєєвαħ]

Peace of greetings to you Powerofdharma

lol its funny how everyone so calledly comes in peace, and then we all end up in having debates like we are enemies and then begin to mock and then we say "no offence" when you have clearly mocked the opposite, the nature of a human i guess :-\ subhaan`Allaah

"I have studied Islam and I've read the Quran. In fact, the religion does not appeal to me much. I feel that somewhat it lacks spirituality and the real essence of God is not conveyed[no offence meant].. Power does not fascinate me much. Because the world can be won by love and not power.

Yes i agree things can be won by love and not power and not necessarily the world as you put it. However, the world is run by power realise it or not, if one didnt have power ,lets say physically how could we defend ourself from the enemy who tries to harm us? keep in mind i am not speaking of the power such as the "money" kind of power!. Do you know God has power? All powerful allmighty is the one who created the world, he is powerful and all knowing.

"This is materialistic and selfish thinking. A mother loves her child not because she gets some benefit from that. This is the mother's devotion towards her child (according to hinduism). Love is unconditional, selfless and way above all materialistic pleasures. This differentiates spirituality from materialism.

The sister asked regarding prayer not regarding the love of the mother and her child. It is about the lord who created the mother, the qualities of a mother,about who gave her such qualities, the creator of those qualities, no doubt they are wonderful qualities. It is about whether we thank him,how we thank him etc, worshipping him as he prescribed in his scriptures.

"He is important. To understand God, you have to experience Him. The term God is very relative. In Hinduism, he is more like a symbol of love. All people are NOT God. Basically, parents and teachers should be 'REGARDED' as God.

So accordingly there is clearly more than one God? God lives on earth? It does not suit the status of God to enter his creation. That is one of the differences between your faith and the muslim faith, God doesnt enter creation as he is powerful enough to do things without entering his creation, God allmighty can send messengers/prophets, but he most certainly does not need to enter his creation.

"Because we know that he exists and He loves us.

Do you have any proof from your holy book that declares that Hinduism is the truth? Does Hinduism teach that God needs to enter his creation? Does he love you no matter what you do on this earth?, is God in Hinduism the God of justice?

"He has no beginning and no end. He is eternal and everlasting. So are the souls of living beings.

You are correct in that statement there,i agree. but the souls and living beings do have a destination, right?

"Which bad deeds are you referring to? Our God is devoted out of love and not fear. This is pure devotion. According to your statement, Gods which send people who don't believe in them to hell fire are stupider.
Yes, we follow wiser men because they are the path to God.

You are indeed incorrect, it is a failure of understanding Logic. In Islaam God allmighty commands us to do things that benefit one,such as things that are harmful to us we stay away from them and that which is good for us we do that. lets say someone murdered another person , are you saying he shouldnt be punished? because that is what you are saying whether you realise it or not.
because if you look at it from the worlds point of view ofcourse he will be punished according to the law of the government, for stealing,killing etc the government provides some sort of punishment. In the same way in the court of God there is some sort of punishment. God is all justified he knows the amount of punishment one needs he will punish them as they were wrong to do the crime they commited, and forgives those who he wills, as he is aware of the hearts of people. So logically no the law of punishment isnt "stupid" but the law that doesnt provide a punishment is stupid, because it allows people to freely go commit crimes, and think what they did isnt wrong, there is no justice in that case. This is also not a wise act. firstly you must understand the law of punishment, i hope i did make sense insha`Allaah, if not please ask.


peace

[Predator]

seems like there aint any god in hinduism. or hinduism has lowered the status of god equally to the humans or worse idols. logically it dont make sense. i know many hindus who dont even know whether they are hindu and sikh. many hindus in india dont even follow hinduism.

INTRODUCTION OF HINDUISM

1. Definition of a Hindu

a. The word ‘Hindu’ has geographical significance and was used originally to refer to those people who lived beyond the river Sindhu or the region watered by the river Indus.

b. Historians say that it was first used by the Persians who came to India through the North Western passes of the Himalayas. The word ‘Hindu’ was also used by the Arabs.

c. This word ‘Hindu’ is nowhere mentioned in Indian Literature or Hindu Scriptures before the advent of Muslims to India, according to the Encyclopedia of Religions and Ethics (6:690)

d. Jawaharlal Nehru, in his book ‘Discovery of India’, writes on pg. 74-75, that the earliest reference to the word ‘Hindu’ can be traced to a tantrik of the 8th Century C.E., where it means a people and not a follower of a particular religion. The use of the word ‘Hindu’ in connection with a particular religion is of late occurrence.

e. In short the word ‘Hindu’ is a geographical definition or term which is used to refer to people who live beyond the river Indus or in other words to those who live in India.

2. Definition of Hinduism

a. Hinduism has been derived from the word Hindu. According to the New Encyclopedia Britannica 20:581, Hinduism was a name given in English language in the Nineteenth Century by the English people to the multiplicity of the beliefs and faiths of the people of the Indus land. The British writers in 1830 gave the word Hinduism to be used as the common name for all the beliefs of the people of India excluding the Muslims and converted Christians.

[Predator]

All the below quoted verses and passages from Hindu Scriptures clearly amplify the Oneness and Uniqueness of Almighty God, the Creator of all. Furthermore, they negate the existence of any other deity besides the One True God. These verses essentially propound monotheism and also prohibit idol worship


“He is one only without a second.”
(Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1)

“Of Him there are neither parents nor Lord.”
(Shwetashvatara Upanishad 6:9)


“There is no likeness of Him”.
(Shwetashvatara Upanishad 4:19)


“There is no image of Him”
Yajurveda 32:3

“He is bodiless and pure”.
(Yajurveda 40:8)

“They sink deeper in darkness those who worship created things”
E.g. created things such as table, chair, idols, etc.
(Yajurveda 40:10)


“Do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One, Praise Him alone”
(Rigveda 8:1:1)

[Insecured soul]

Another thing I would like to point out is that idol worship is not compulsory in Hinduism. In-order to love our God, we try to personify him with the help of idols. By doing this we express our love.

so much of love in your religion i see, like christianity (everywhere in churches they write jesus loves you) even we have that, allah loves me and you too even though u dont beleive in him yet you are one of his creation but he loves more who believe in him and worship him alone, every ayah starts with in the name of allah the most merciful but at the same the time he is sever in punishment, this is the balance in the universe which holds everything together and this is the balance on which the day of judgement will be established, not a single soul will be wronged but will be paid according to his deeds (good or bad).

i find all these 'only loving' concepts to be man made and only quran to be god 'made'.

I strongly recommend that you should not analyse Hinduism through Dr Zakir Naik's commentaries. He has quoted so many thing from Hindu scriptures which do not exist or make sense. If you check on youtube videos, he has been declared kafir by several muslim organisations for supporting terrorism in one of his videos.

just by you calling him terrorist doesnt mean he is a terrorist but the real terrorists are united states and isreal and whoever oppresses muslims "wrongly'

1. Every molecule in the cosmos experiences the divine love of God and his devotee.
2. The soul united with the God. - Divine Love. Generations are eager to witness this union.
3. The God acts like a slave of his devotees - unconditional eternal love.
4. If God is the lotus then the devotee is its fragrance. Ie: Both depend on each other. Neither can exist without the other.

mere philosophies.......


well, best of luck....

may allah guide you to the truth insha allah

[M.I.A.]

i have read much of what you have posted, i have made a number of comparisons to islam and i could truely believe that hinduism was sent by the same god that sent islam to the world.

unfortunately it suffers from the same problem that everything else does, the people that follow the religion.. of those hindus that you know how many have given up the ego?

i am very suprised you did not see the similarities in faith.

love is unconditional, your mother would gladly do for you more than any other in this world..including things that are not benificial to her, karma is rectified in this world and the next.. but anything that is not of benifit to her is not the result of karma but rather a love for you.
maybe i misunderstand what karma is or what love is.. and what aspects of life it governs...or what governs karma.

if karma is set as a law like gravity it would be present in other religions.

i think love is subjective in definition and action.
i think loving those who love you or that appeal to you is the definition of love.
i think to take a hit for the sake of understanding is love.

anyway i dont know much about hinduism so i hope you stick around to give some firsthand insight into your beliefs and aid understanding between yourself and the muslims and christians on this board.

[Salafi1407]

i await your answers to my questions/comments or are u going to avoid them?

[Asiyah3]

Peace,

"I recommend you study Islam, in Islam God is All-Powerful and independent of everything."

I have studied Islam and I've read the Quran. In fact, the religion does not appeal to me much. I feel that somewhat it lacks spirituality and the real essence of God is not conveyed[no offence meant].. Power does not fascinate me much. Because the world can be won by love and not power.

God is Kind, Loving and Powerful. How can He who created this vast universe and everything it contains be weak? God is Kind, Loving and Powerful.

"If there's no benefit in praying and it's useless, why pray then?"

This is materialistic and selfish thinking. A mother loves her child not because she gets some benefit from that. This is the mother's devotion towards her child (according to hinduism). Love is unconditional, selfless and way above all materialistic pleasures. This differentiates spirituality from materialism.

I didn't mean materialistic benefit. God is All-Wise. If He tells us to pray, there must be a wisdom behind that. God doesn't just tell us to do this and that without knowledge. Why would he tell us to pray if it's useless and has no point in it? God created us and He knows what is best for us.

"If humans come before God, I suppose He isn't that important then? And according to Hinduism because a person is God's creation, he is also the creator (as they aren't different things)? So people are god?"

He is important. To understand God, you have to experience Him. The term God is very relative. In Hinduism, he is more like a symbol of love. All people are NOT God. Basically, parents and teachers should be 'REGARDED' as God.

How can you regard parents and teachers as GOD? You can and should love, respect and be grateful to your parents. But to regard them as God... ... Glory be to the one, who blessed us with parents and teachers.

"Why even believe in God then?"

Because we know that he exists and He loves us.

We should also love God and show our love in our actions. Not only say we love God, yet disobey Him. It's like a husband telling his wife he loves her, yet physically abuses her.

"Shouldn't Hindus then tell those higher devotees to tell God to remove poverty from the world? That is if God hears and obeys them."

It depends on the poor's karma.

This means if God, may He be Exalted and glorified, intends the poor harm, they cannot remove His harm or if God intends him mercy, they cannot withhold His mercy and that if God wills to punish someone, they can't control it. Right?

For those who put their trust in Allah, He is sufficient for them.

"That means God is in creator also as he is omnipresent. Does this mean God is created? By who?"

He has no beginning and no end. He is eternal and everlasting. So are the souls of living beings.

If us or our souls wouldn't exist, God wouldn't exist? This kinda lowers god and his ability. But when I look around me, I see a very Wise and Powerful Creator.

"If two people perceive the power differently, then the power wouldn't be the same for everyone. Right? "

If you think spiritually, you will get the answer.

*thinks, thinks, it still doesn't make sense*

"Is god stupid, does bad deeds and isn't devoted in Hinduism and so you follow wiser men?"

Which bad deeds are you referring to? Our God is devoted out of love and not fear. This is pure devotion. According to your statement, Gods which send people who don't believe in them to hell fire are stupider.
Yes, we follow wiser men because they are the path to God.

You said (something along the lines of) you follow wiser men who have reached higher status than God via their devotion, wisdom and good deeds. This makes it sound like god isn't (or as much) wise, devoted and having good deeds as them.

"Who decreed or made the soul to be immortal?"
God

Then why not worship Him alone?

[Abdul-Raouf]

"Sri Krishna said: As a human being puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones."
For instance, being disabled reminds you that it is result of your own karma or deed. It makes perform good actions.

We merge into God when our soul becomes pure. As a devotee prays to his God, the God in turn prays to his devotee. This is the relationship of god and devotee in hinduism. Both depend on each other and love each other.

ooooooops..what??...

(i havent heard/read such ,, anywher,,, in any of the relegions' around)

[powerofdharma]

seems like there aint any god in hinduism. or hinduism has lowered the status of god equally to the humans or worse idols. logically it dont make sense. i know many hindus who dont even know whether they are hindu and sikh. many hindus in india dont even follow hinduism.

God in Hinduism is described by the sages as 'the cause of all causes'. He represents the past, present and the future. He presides over time. He is all powerful, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He can only be won by bhakti(pure selfless devotion - form of pure love).. Status of pure devotees is considered to be higher than God. Because God wouldnt be God without the devotees. He would just be a supernatural power.

[powerofdharma]

1. Definition of a Hindu

a. The word ‘Hindu’ has geographical significance and was used originally to refer to those people who lived beyond the river Sindhu or the region watered by the river Indus.

This is true. Hinduism has never been a religion but a tradition or a way of life followed by the people who lived beyond the river Sindhu.


b. Historians say that it was first used by the Persians who came to India through the North Western passes of the Himalayas. The word ‘Hindu’ was also used by the Arabs.

This theory was there till a few years ago but now has been rejected world over.

c. This word ‘Hindu’ is nowhere mentioned in Indian Literature or Hindu Scriptures before the advent of Muslims to India, according to the Encyclopedia of Religions and Ethics (6:690)

True.

d. Jawaharlal Nehru, in his book ‘Discovery of India’, writes on pg. 74-75, that the earliest reference to the word ‘Hindu’ can be traced to a tantrik of the 8th Century C.E., where it means a people and not a follower of a particular religion. The use of the word ‘Hindu’ in connection with a particular religion is of late occurrence.

Very True. We don't follow a particular book. We act on moral values taught to us by our great saints.

e. In short the word ‘Hindu’ is a geographical definition or term which is used to refer to people who live beyond the river Indus or in other words to those who live in India.

yeah!

2. Definition of Hinduism

a. Hinduism has been derived from the word Hindu. According to the New Encyclopedia Britannica 20:581, Hinduism was a name given in English language in the Nineteenth Century by the English people to the multiplicity of the beliefs and faiths of the people of the Indus land. The British writers in 1830 gave the word Hinduism to be used as the common name for all the beliefs of the people of India excluding the Muslims and converted Christians.[/QUOTE]

cool!

[powerofdharma]

All the below quoted verses and passages from Hindu Scriptures clearly amplify the Oneness and Uniqueness of Almighty God, the Creator of all. Furthermore, they negate the existence of any other deity besides the One True God. These verses essentially propound monotheism and also prohibit idol worship


“He is one only without a second.”
(Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1)

“Of Him there are neither parents nor Lord.”
(Shwetashvatara Upanishad 6:9)


“There is no likeness of Him”.
(Shwetashvatara Upanishad 4:19)


“There is no image of Him”
Yajurveda 32:3

“He is bodiless and pure”.
(Yajurveda 40:8)

“They sink deeper in darkness those who worship created things”
E.g. created things such as table, chair, idols, etc.
(Yajurveda 40:10)


“Do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One, Praise Him alone”
(Rigveda 8:1:1)

These our only one of the scriptures while we follow many! These are perspectives which keep changing with time.

[powerofdharma]

so much of love in your religion i see, like christianity (everywhere in churches they write jesus loves you) even we have that, allah loves me and you too even though u dont beleive in him yet you are one of his creation but he loves more who believe in him and worship him alone, every ayah starts with in the name of allah the most merciful but at the same the time he is sever in punishment, this is the balance in the universe which holds everything together and this is the balance on which the day of judgement will be established, not a single soul will be wronged but will be paid according to his deeds (good or bad).

i find all these 'only loving' concepts to be man made and only quran to be god 'made'.



just by you calling him terrorist doesnt mean he is a terrorist but the real terrorists are united states and isreal and whoever oppresses muslims "wrongly'

mere philosophies.......


well, best of luck....

may allah guide you to the truth insha allah

If u have doubts with that calling him a terrorist then I can see that you live in a nutshell. thats soo stupid..

[powerofdharma]

"God is Kind, Loving and Powerful. How can He who created this vast universe and everything it contains be weak? God is Kind, Loving and Powerful."

No where did I say He is weak.

"I didn't mean materialistic benefit. God is All-Wise. If He tells us to pray, there must be a wisdom behind that. God doesn't just tell us to do this and that without knowledge. Why would he tell us to pray if it's useless and has no point in it? God created us and He knows what is best for us."

It is selfless devotion which leads to liberation.

"How can you regard parents and teachers as GOD? You can and should love, respect and be grateful to your parents. But to regard them as God... ... Glory be to the one, who blessed us with parents and teachers."

In Hinduism, we believe that teachers are the path to God. If there weren't any learned teachers.. then we would never have known about God. God in Hinduism takes blessings from learned saints.


"We should also love God and show our love in our actions. Not only say we love God, yet disobey Him. It's like a husband telling his wife he loves her, yet physically abuses her."

Divine love doesnot have an element of physicality.


"This means if God, may He be Exalted and glorified, intends the poor harm, they cannot remove His harm or if God intends him mercy, they cannot withhold His mercy and that if God wills to punish someone, they can't control it. Right? "

God in Hinduism doesnot distinguish btw the rich and the poor. If the poor deserves prosperity, he will definitely get it. It depends on his deeds.

[powerofdharma]

ooooooops..what??...

(i havent heard/read such ,, anywher,,, in any of the relegions' around)

It is divine love. Thats why Hinduism has been formed by wise men!

[powerofdharma]

i await your answers to my questions/comments or are u going to avoid them?

Which question?

[CosmicPathos]

The lying nature of powerofdharma became clear when he lied about the caste system. He said that the caste system is purely cultural!

It should be the known that there is no hard and fast distinction between the sacred and the cultural in India and Hinduism.

The caste system had basis in Hindu scriptures. I remember reading that Shudras, the lowest of castes and filthiest of people, were born from the feet of God. Hence they were supposed to not live in cities but in suburbs and were required to do menial tasks by the upper most case, the Brahmans. Furthermore the scriptures said that if a Shoodar heared the words of Veda being recited, molten lead would have to be into his/her ears for hearing the pure word of a "loving God."

[powerofdharma]

The lying nature of powerofdharma became clear when he lied about the caste system. He said that the caste system is purely cultural!

It should be the known that there is no hard and fast distinction between the sacred and the cultural in India and Hinduism.

The caste system had basis in Hindu scriptures. I remember reading that Shudras, the lowest of castes and filthiest of people, were born from the feet of God. Hence they were supposed to not live in cities but in suburbs and were required to do menial tasks by the upper most case, the Brahmans. Furthermore the scriptures said that if a Shoodar heared the words of Veda being recited, molten lead would have to be into his/her ears for hearing the pure word of a "loving God."

Dude I guess you shouldnt comment if you dont have full knowledge of our scriptures. Our scriptures never asked us to practice the so called caste system. In ancient India the society was classified into 4 types - Brahmans(Teachers, Saints, Priests), Kshatriyas(Kings), Vaishyas(Traders) and Shudras(Labourers).

In the Bhagwat Gita, Lord Shri Krishna says:

"The fourfold caste has been created by Me
according to the differentiation of Guna(capability) and Karma(deeds);"

So if a Shudra (labourer) is qualified to work as a Priest then he will become a Brahman. So it depends on you. For instance if a person is not qualified to be a doctor, he cant be called a doctor. its as simple as that.

For your kind information, Lord Krishna(Supreme Personality of Godhead) was Himself brought up in a Vaishya(Low Caste) family.
VedVyas who wrote the Mahabharata and the Vedas was a Shudra.

Many centuries later, the caste system was an evil by some socities in India. Just for having top control, some kings and priests declared that caste system was by birth and not by deed.

[Perseveranze]

It is divine love. Thats why Hinduism has been formed by wise men!

Peace,

So you believe it is a man-made religion?

[CosmicPathos]

Dude I guess you shouldnt comment if you dont have full knowledge of our scriptures. Our scriptures never asked us to practice the so called caste system. In ancient India the society was classified into 4 types - Brahmans(Teachers, Saints, Priests), Kshatriyas(Kings), Vaishyas(Traders) and Shudras(Labourers).

In the Bhagwat Gita, Lord Shri Krishna says:

"The fourfold caste has been created by Me
according to the differentiation of Guna(capability) and Karma(deeds);"

So if a Shudra (labourer) is qualified to work as a Priest then he will become a Brahman. So it depends on you. For instance if a person is not qualified to be a doctor, he cant be called a doctor. its as simple as that.

For your kind information, Lord Krishna(Supreme Personality of Godhead) was Himself brought up in a Vaishya(Low Caste) family.
VedVyas who wrote the Mahabharata and the Vedas was a Shudra.

Many centuries later, the caste system was an evil by some socities in India. Just for having top control, some kings and priests declared that caste system was by birth and not by deed.

You do know that you are lying when you say that a shoodar was allowed to become a brahman? It was a caste system. No one was able to transcend and change castes. Warriors (kshatryas) were supposed to be warriors, even if weak, as it was presumed that anyone being born into that caste would be a warrior.

I have academically studied many of your scriptures and you scholars ranging from Shankaracarya and the Ramakrishna and many others. Advaita Vedanta and dvaita vedanta and the other philosophical schools such as mimasa and nastiq philosophy. So I am in a good position to talk about your religion.

[CosmicPathos]

When you say that Buddha was a Hindu, that might have some truth to it but you are forgetting Buddha was born to a royal family and his parents might have been Hindu. But Buddha rebelled against that sort of Hinduism and left the palace! How does that make Buddhism compatible with Hinduism? Do you know that Hinduism faced lots of challenges from Buddhism? Hindu sages used to debate with the Buddhist wanderers and felt challenged and accordingly Hinduism changed many of its teachings so that Buddhism does not spread in India! Many new philosophies similar to Buddhism were added into the Hindu scriptures!

[Trumble]

You say that you highly doubt that a Buddhist would believe. Heres the first few lines from wikipedia: Buddhism (Pali/Sanskrit: बौद्ध धर्म Buddha Dharma) is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha (Pāli/Sanskrit "the awakened one"). The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.[2] He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end suffering (or dukkha), achieve nirvana, and escape what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth. Similarly, a number of Hindu traditions portray Buddha as the most recent (ninth) of ten principal avatars, known as the Daśāvatāra (Ten Incarnations of God).
I think you're unaware that Buddha was an Indian God born in India. Secondly all his teachings were the same as the Bhagwat Gita.

The Buddha was a man, not a god. It was essential that he be so to become a Buddha. I think you are unaware that what 'a number of Hindu traditions' portray the Buddha as is not relevant to what Buddhists 'portray' him as.

The teachings of Buddhism are the same as the teachings of Hinduism. Buddha was a Hindu himself. His teaching of the 'law of karma' and 'cycle of birth and death - rebirth' and 'non-violence to living being' are the three primary beliefs of hinduism..

No, they are not. Obviously they have a shared cultural background to some extent, but the Buddhist conception of karma, rebirth and the 'soul' (or lack of it) is very different from the Hindu one.

All Pagans (Hinduism & Buddhism) will be in the Hell fire forever. How do people make lies about Allah (SWT) saying he has a son, worshiping statues or not worshiping him, everyone who believes in god hates the Pagan godless people (Hinduism & Buddhism) & wishes 2 things of them 1 their destruction 2 them worshiping the one & only god Allah (SWT).

In that order? :rollseyes That's an awful lot of hate going on there.. maybe 'everyone' could work on developing some more positive mental attitudes?

[Banu_Hashim]

Hi!, I'm a Hindu and I would like to know how the muslims view Hinduism.

Hello PoweofdDharma,

Welcome to the forum. I hope you may learn many things of the beauty of Islaam, and we will of course always be willing to answer your questions :)

My father grew up amongst Hindus as he grew up in India; many of them very close friends. He actually met them at a reunion after almost 30 years. They still remember him as the person who used to be school Captain, teach them maths etc. and they contact him to greet him on Eid etc. which I thought was very respectful of them.

I just have a question; what do 'hindus' as followerers of your religion call themselves in sanskrit? Because if I'm not mistaken Hindu, deriving from Hind is a persian word used to describe the inhibitants of 'Hind' or 'India'.

[ardianto]

As Javanese (people of Java island) I am very familiar with Mahabharata and Ramayana mythologies. Javanese ancestors were Hindus.

[Muslim Woman]

Salaam


a thread on Hinduism is already here in the forum - sister Sarda gave answers of some questions there . May be , moderator can mege this thread with that one.

[Predator]

Dude I guess you shouldnt comment if you dont have full knowledge of our scriptures. Our scriptures never asked us to practice the so called caste system. In ancient India the society was classified into 4 types - Brahmans(Teachers, Saints, Priests), Kshatriyas(Kings), Vaishyas(Traders) and Shudras(Labourers).

In the Bhagwat Gita, Lord Shri Krishna says:

"The fourfold caste has been created by Me
according to the differentiation of Guna(capability) and Karma(deeds);"

So if a Shudra (labourer) is qualified to work as a Priest then he will become a Brahman. So it depends on you. For instance if a person is not qualified to be a doctor, he cant be called a doctor. its as simple as that.

For your kind information, Lord Krishna(Supreme Personality of Godhead) was Himself brought up in a Vaishya(Low Caste) family.
VedVyas who wrote the Mahabharata and the Vedas was a Shudra.

Many centuries later, the caste system was an evil by some socities in India. Just for having top control, some kings and priests declared that caste system was by birth and not by deed.

Could you explain this

Low Caste Hindus (shudras) vs Brahamins

PUNISHMENT FOR LOW CASTE HINDUS

Apastambha Dharma Sutra III, 10-26, says:

The tongue of a Shudra, who spoke evil about a BRAHMIN should be cut off

A Shudra who dared to assume a position of equality with the first three castes was to be flogged.

If a Shudra overheard a recitation of the Vedas, molten tin was to be poured into his ears; if he repeated the Vedas his tongue should be cut and if he remembered Vedic hymns, his body was to be torn into pieces.

MANU, 167-272 says:

If a Shudra arrogantly teaches Brahmins Dharma, the king shall cause hot oil to be poured into his mouth and ears.

Again, MANU, 167-272 says:

Let the king never slay even a Brahmin though he may have committed all possible crimes.


MANU VII, 133 says that:

“Brahmins should not be taxed and should be maintained by the State.”

ABOUT LOW CASTE Shudras – MANU XMRITI X, 129 says that:

No collection of wealth was to be made by a Shudra, even though he may be capable, for a Shudra who has acquired wealth would pain a Brahmin, and that Brahmins may appropriate by force the property of the Shudra.

PANCHVANISH BRAHMIN 3-1/1 I says:

Even if a Shudra acquired wealth, he must always remain a slave. His main job is to wash the feet of the higher caste.

TULSIDAS, A Brahmin in his Ramayana writes:

Even if a Shudra is learned and virtuous, he should not be given respect and honor.

Literacy the Peoples right

Here is the aphorism of the Brahma-Sutras:(Brahma-Sutras 1.3.9.38)

The smrithi orders that shudras must be prohibited from hearing, studying and understanding the Vedas.

MANU 162-272 says:

If a Shudra arrogantly teaches Brahmins, Dharma, the king shall cause hot oil to be poured into his mouth and ears

[Mr Fussy]

Thanks selsebil for your view.
Heres a little more on Hinduism:

He taught us that a man should only marry one female.

The Pandava (Sanskrit) are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu, by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. All five brothers were married to the same woman, Draupadi.

Please enlighten me regards to all this.

Oh and everything I've read on hear from you sounds like the Avatar movie or like realy bad sci fi TV series.

[powerofdharma]

To Airforce

None of the scriptures you have mentioned are followed by most of the Hindus. Note every small community in Hinduism has a variety of scriptures. Here are some points which will make clear that all our 'prominent' scriptures do not allow any caste discrimination:

1. Some aspects of practices committed by Hindus have been criticised, from both within the Hindu community and externally. Critics argue that Hindu philosophy and mythology is very complex and does not conform to normal Christian logic.[1] Overt depiction of sexuality in Hindu idols, imagery and rituals are also criticized.[2] Early Hindu reformers, such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy, questioned practices such as Sati and discrimination based on the caste system. However, caste based discrimination and self immolation are not endorsed by any of the Hindu scriptures, social practices evolved to them over time.[3][4][5][6][7][8] Manusmriti says that the varna system was innately non-hereditary.[9] = THis artic is from wikipedia

2. Although many Hindus subscribe to the belief that one is born into a certain caste this belief is not supported by their scriptures. The caste system in India has degenerated into a system falsely recognizing men born in Brahmin families as Brahmins, even though they don’t exhibit the qualities of Brahmins. This has caused so many problems.

“Brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras are distinguished by the qualities born of their own natures in accordance with the material modes, O chastiser of the enemy.

“Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness–these are the natural qualities by which the brahmanas work.

“Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity and leadership are the natural qualities of work for the ksatriyas.

“Farming, cow protection and business are the natural work for the vaisyas, and for the sudras there is labor and service to others.

“By following his qualities of work, every man can become perfect. Now please hear from Me how this can be done.

“By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, a man can attain perfection through performing his own work.

“It is better to engage in one’s own occupation, even though one may perform it imperfectly, than to accept another’s occupation and perform it perfectly. Duties prescribed according to one’s nature are never affected by sinful reactions.” (From Bhagavad-gita 18th chapter)

So the Vedas recognize different people have different skills and qualifications, but it is no by birth, it is by guna [qualification] and karma [work]. So if someone born of a sudra [worker] father becomes qualified [guna] and works as [karma] a brahmana he should be accepted as a brahmana… In the same way if the son of a brahmana doesn’t have the qualifications of a brahmana or work as a brahmana then he is not a brahmana. There are so many examples of this in the Vedic scriptures.
The current Indian system is something like accepting the sons of supreme court judges as supreme court judges… It’s nonsense. They have to be qualified, they have to attend the university and pass the course, then they have to work under a qualified judge and get the practical experience, then they may be able to become supreme court judges…
So there is actually nothing stopping anyone from bettering his position in the Indian system in the scriptures… But also there is no need for everyone to strive to be supreme court judges. Anyone, from any social position can be liberated by performing his own work…
You have the same system in America. You have intellectuals [brahmanas], you have administrators and military men [ksatriyas], you have businessmen and farmers [vaisyas] and you have workers. The Vedic system just recognizes these groups, that’s all. It’s quite natural.

The Corrupt Indian “Caste” System
The Varnasrama social divisions are based on qualities and work. If someone has the qualities of a brahmana and if they work as a brahmana they are accepted as a qualified brahmana. This system should not be confused with the corrupt “caste” system of India.
In India people claim to be brahmanas simply because they are born in a brahmana family even though they do not possess the qualifications or qualities of a brahmana and in most cases they are not working as brahmanas either..
The result of the corruption of the original system has been the destruction of the entire social structure in India and the “caste” system is now being used by the rich to exploit and oppress the poor.

Have a look at this:
As per Hinduism, it is our karma which decide our caste. A brahmin is shudra if he behaves like one. If instead of knowing god, he is busy in sins, he is equal to a shudra. On the other hands, if a shudra does meditation and tapasaya and knows Brahmm, he becomes brahmin. Valmiki(The author of the Ramayana) and Ved Vyas(he one who compiled the Vedas, Mahabharata etc) were low caste but became Rishis

[powerofdharma]

Peace,

So you believe it is a man-made religion?

yeahhh obviously. all religions are man-made and not god made

[GuestFellow]

Hi!, I'm a Hindu and I would like to know how the muslims view Hinduism.

Hi

It's a interesting religion. Does Hinduism support the practice of Sati? Or is it cultural?

[Mr Fussy]

I still await your responce.

[Ğħαrєєвαħ]

yeahhh obviously. all religions are man-made and not god made

Greetings of peace

Then that means God didnt send down your "holy" book or your "holy" book does not contain the words of God. And you are incorrect regarding all religions are man made, they are not all man made.Your whole argument fails regarding the talk about God in every way. If all religions are "man made" that means your religion isnt based on Gods words but mans words i.e opinions, man made choice, mans words etc. However, that is not the case in Islaam, the Quraan is Gods words and there are many proofs regarding it, the Qur`aan is the word of God allmighty, it wasnt written by man. i hope i made some issues clear regarding your faith and Islaam.

peace

[powerofdharma]

Hello PoweofdDharma,

Welcome to the forum. I hope you may learn many things of the beauty of Islaam, and we will of course always be willing to answer your questions :)

My father grew up amongst Hindus as he grew up in India; many of them very close friends. He actually met them at a reunion after almost 30 years. They still remember him as the person who used to be school Captain, teach them maths etc. and they contact him to greet him on Eid etc. which I thought was very respectful of them.

I just have a question; what do 'hindus' as followerers of your religion call themselves in sanskrit? Because if I'm not mistaken Hindu, deriving from Hind is a persian word used to describe the inhibitants of 'Hind' or 'India'.

Well, Hinduism was never a religion... The usage of the word Hindu was further popularized by the Arabic term al-Hind referring to the land of the people who live across river Indus... So it was never a religion but a good way of life started by great saints and sages.. This way of life in sankrit is called 'Sanatan Dharma' meaning the 'eternal law' .. It includes various practises such as - the yoga system(linking yourself with the supreme), meditation, vegeterianism, breathing exercises(pranayam), bhakti(pure devotion), karma yoga etc...
At Hinduism is not a region, the followers do not have any specific name.

[powerofdharma]

The Pandava (Sanskrit) are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu, by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. All five brothers were married to the same woman, Draupadi.

Please enlighten me regards to all this.

Oh and everything I've read on hear from you sounds like the Avatar movie or like realy bad sci fi TV series.

The Story:

Drupada intended that Arjuna alone win the hand of his daughter. Upon hearing of the Pandavas' supposed death at Varanavata he set up a swayamvara for Draupadi intending to bring Arjuna out into the open. The princes vying for Draupadi's hand had to shoot five arrows at a revolving target, while looking only at its reflection in a bowl. Drupada was confident that Arjuna alone could accomplish this task. Arriving with his brothers disguised as Brahmins (priests), Arjuna successfully tackled the target, which other kings and prince were unable to accomplish.
While in exile, Kunti, mother of the Pandavas often advised her sons that they share everything they have (or obtain through Bhiksha i.e. alms) equally amongst themselves. Upon returning home with Draupadi, on purpose, Arjuna addresses his mother first "Look mother, I have brought Bhiksha (alms)!". Kunti, unmindful of what Arjuna was referring to, unassumingly asked her son to share whatever it is with his brothers. Thus, in order to obey their mother's order all five accepted Draupadi as their wife, without taking her consent.
When Krishna visits the family, he explains to Draupadi that her unique position as the wife of five brothers results from a certain incident in her previous birth. She had in that lifetime prayed to Shiva to grant her a husband with five desired qualities. Shiva, pleased with her devotion, tells her that it is very difficult to get a husband with all five qualities that she desired. But she sticks to her ground and asks for the same. Then Lord Shiva grants her wish saying that she would get the same in her next birth. Hence she gets married to five brothers each who represents a given quality: The just Yudhisthira for his wisdom of Dharma; The powerful Bhima for his strength that exceeded that of a thousand elephants combined; The valiant Arjuna for his courage and knowledge of the battlefield; the exceedingly handsome Nakula and Sahadeva, for their love

The character of Lord Ram is different from the Pandavas. Lord Ram is God personified who portrays a perfect human being. We try to follow the ways of Lord Ram in order to become better human beings.

[powerofdharma]

No. It is not written in any books but was blindly followed by certain ignorant communities till the Govt of India abolished the practicees. The scriptures considered it to be a social evil. Here are some points in our scriptures which condemned sati:

1) In the Ramayana, Tara, in her grief at the death of husband Vali, wished to commit sati. Hanuman, Rama(GOD), and the dying Vali dissuade her and she finally does not immolate herself.

2) Passages in the Atharva Veda, including 13.3.1, offer advice to the widow on mourning and her life after widowhood, including her remarriage.

[powerofdharma]

Well, Hinduism was never a religion... The usage of the word Hindu was further popularized by the Arabic term al-Hind referring to the land of the people who live across river Indus... So it was never a religion but a good way of life started by great saints and sages.. This way of life in sankrit is called 'Sanatan Dharma' meaning the 'eternal law' .. It includes various practises such as - the yoga system(linking yourself with the supreme), meditation, vegeterianism, breathing exercises(pranayam), bhakti(pure devotion), karma yoga etc...
At Hinduism is not a region, the followers do not have any specific name.

Hinduism is not one faith. Hinduism refers to multiple faiths or union of faiths of different people. As I have said before, it is a way of life. This 'way of life' is based on the guidance of the Bhagavad Gita(Song of God) and the Holy Vedas:

The Bhagavad-gita ("song of God")—the famous conversation between the peerless warrior Arjuna and the Supreme God, Krishna—posing as Arjuna’s charioteer—at the onset of the battle of Kurukshetra, circa 3200 B.C. Krishna explains all the essential spiritual truths: the difference between the soul and the body, the difference between the soul and the Supreme Soul (God), the science of reincarnation, the nature of time, the ultimate goal of yoga, why different kinds of religion appeal to different kinds of people, and the ultimate purpose of human life.
It is at times referred to as the "manual for mankind" and has been highly praised by not only prominent Indians such as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi but also Aldous Huxley, Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Carl Jung and Herman Hesse. It is considered among the most important texts in the history of literature and philosophy.


Famous Reflections on the Bhagavad Gita:

Albert Einstein: When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous.

Mahatma Gandhi: When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day.

Henry David Thoreau: In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial.

Dr. Albert Schweitzer: The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is manifested by actions.

Sri Aurobindo: The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilisation.

Carl Jung: The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which it states..." behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant." This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita.

Prime Minister Nehru: The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe.

Herman Hesse: The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion.

Ralph Waldo Emerson: I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us.

Aldous Huxley: The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity.

[Xena]

Hi!, I'm a Hindu and I would like to know how the muslims view Hinduism.

Well hello!
My personal views on Hinduism are not bad! It is absolutely wrong to discriminate against any religion, race, or gender. I have a lot of Hindu people in my school/orchestra and they can be really fun to hang out with... it's not like your different as a person xD! Well, I hope you have fun on this site and get a awesome understanding of Islam!
Xena :D

[ardianto]

The Pandava (Sanskrit) are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu, by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. All five brothers were married to the same woman, Draupadi.

In the original Indian version, Draupadi is wife of The Pandava Five. But in Javanese version, Draupadi married only with Yudhistira. It's because Javanese people couldn't accept marriage between a woman and more than one men.

There are some little differences between Mahabharata in Indian version and in Javanese version.

[Predator]

1. Islam is the oldest religion

Hinduism is not the oldest of all the religions. It is Islam which is the first and the oldest of all religions. People have a misconception that Islam is 1400 years old and that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the founder of this religion. Islam existed since time immemorial, ever since man first set foot on this earth. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was not the founder of Islam. He was the last and final Messenger of Almighty God.

2. The oldest religion need not be the purest and the most authentic religion

A religion cannot be claimed to be most pure and authentic, only on the criterion that it is the oldest. It is similar to a person saying that the water he has kept in an open glass, in his house, outside the refrigerator, for three months is purer than the water which has just been collected in a clean glass, immediately after it has been purified.

3. The latest religion need not be the purest and the most authentic religion

On the other hand a religion cannot be claimed to be the purest or authentic, only on the criterion that the religion is new or the latest. A bottle of distilled water which is sealed, packed and kept in the refrigerator for three months is much purer than a bottle of water freshly collected from the sea.

4. For religion to be pure and authentic, it should not have interpolations, changes and revisions in its scriptures revealed from God

For any religion to be pure and authentic, its scriptures should not contain any interpolation, addition, deletion or revision. Moreover the religion’s source of inspiration and direction should be Almighty God. The Qur’an is the only religious scripture on the face of the earth which has been maintained it its original form. All the other religious scriptures, of all the other religions have interpolations, additions, deletions or revisions. The Qur’an has been in the memory of a multitude of people, intact in its original form ever since its revelation, and now there are hundreds of thousands of people who have preserved it in their memory. Moreover, if you compare the copies made by Caliph Uthman from the original Qur’an which is yet present in the museum in Tashkent and in Koptaki museum in Turkey, they are the same as the ones we possess today.

Allah (swt) promises in the Qur’an, in Surah Al Hijr, chapter 15 verse 9

"We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)."

5. The oldest religion need not be best religion

A religion cannot be claimed to be the best religion only on the criterion that it is the oldest. It is similar to a person saying, that my 19th century car is better than a Toyota car manufactured in 1998, because it is older. He would be considered to be a fool to say that his 19th century car which required a rod to be turned in circles to start it, is better than a key-start 1998 Toyota car, just because it is older.

6. The latest religion need not be the best religion

On the other hand a religion cannot be called as the best religion only on the criterion that the religion is new or that it came later. It is similar to a person who says that my 800 cc Suzuki car manufactured in 1999 is better than a 5000 cc Mercedes 500 SEL manufactured in 1997. To judge which car is better, a person should compare the specifications of the car e.g. the power of the car, safety measures, the capacity of the cylinders, the pickup, the speed, the comfort, etc. 5000 cc Mercedes, 500 SEL car manufactured in 1997, is far superior and better than a 800 cc Suzuki (Maruti Suzuki 800) manufactured in 1999.

7. A religion is best, if it has the solutions to the problems of mankind

For a religion to be considered the best, it should have the solution to all the problems of mankind. It should be the religion of truth, and should be applicable to all ages. Islam is the only religion which has the solution to all the problems of mankind. e.g. the problem of alcoholism, surplus women, rape and molestation, robbery, racism, casteism, etc.

Islam is the religion of truth, and its laws and solutions are applicable to all the ages. The Qur’an is the only religious book on the face of the earth, which has maintained its purity and authenticity proving itself to be the word of God in all the ages. i.e. previously, when it was the age of miracles, literature and poetry and in present times when it is the age of science and technology. Moreover, Islam is not a man-made religion, but a religion revealed and inspired by Almighty God. It is the only religion acceptable in His Sight.

[Charzhino]

Hinduism is the oldest of all the religions and thus the, most pure, authentic and best of all the religions of the world.

1. Islam is the oldest religion

Hinduism is not the oldest of all the religions. It is Islam which is the first and the oldest of all religions. People have a misconception that Islam is 1400 years old and that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the founder of this religion. Islam existed since time immemorial, ever since man first set foot on this earth. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was not the founder of Islam. He was the last and final Messenger of Almighty God.

Circular reasoning, by referring to the scripture to prove a point. Hinduism scripture says that Manu was the first man, propergator of mankind. Therefore because it says it in Vedic scripture, it must be true. Historically, archeologically and scientifically, Hinduism is the oldest active religion today, there is no debate about it.

2. The oldest religion need not be the purest and the most authentic religion

A religion cannot be claimed to be most pure and authentic, only on the criterion that it is the oldest. It is similar to a person saying that the water he has kept in an open glass, in his house, outside the refrigerator, for three months is purer than the water which has just been collected in a clean glass, immediately after it has been purified.

3. The latest religion need not be the purest and the most authentic religion

On the other hand a religion cannot be claimed to be the purest or authentic, only on the criterion that the religion is new or the latest. A bottle of distilled water which is sealed, packed and kept in the refrigerator for three months is much purer than a bottle of water freshly collected from the sea.

This is true, but its a big coincedence that Hinduism has remained since its inception almost 5000+ years ago and still has the 3rd largest following today. Added to the fact that it doesn't actively seek converts such as Christianity and Islam do, with the numerous historical invasions of India in attempt to destory the relics, culture and ultimatley to stray the adherants away from their native religion, Id say that's quite remarkable. Why else would a religion that apparently seems so pagan, in similarity to the ancient Egyptian, greek, norse, viking and roman religions which are now extinct, still be around? Added to the support in the scripture which says the Santana Dharma is eternal and will never fade, just supports it futhur ( yes an example of circular reasoning, but since you like to use it..)

4. For religion to be pure and authentic, it should not have interpolations, changes and revisions in its scriptures revealed from God

For any religion to be pure and authentic, its scriptures should not contain any interpolation, addition, deletion or revision. Moreover the religion’s source of inspiration and direction should be Almighty God. The Qur’an is the only religious scripture on the face of the earth which has been maintained it its original form. All the other religious scriptures, of all the other religions have interpolations, additions, deletions or revisions. The Qur’an has been in the memory of a multitude of people, intact in its original form ever since its revelation, and now there are hundreds of thousands of people who have preserved it in their memory. Moreover, if you compare the copies made by Caliph Uthman from the original Qur’an which is yet present in the museum in Tashkent and in Koptaki museum in Turkey, they are the same as the ones we possess today.

Allah (swt) promises in the Qur’an, in Surah Al Hijr, chapter 15 verse 9

"We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)."

The highest scripture in Hinduism is the Vedas and they have not been altered. If you claim all other religious scripture have changed except the Quran, then bring your proof.

5. The oldest religion need not be best religion

A religion cannot be claimed to be the best religion only on the criterion that it is the oldest. It is similar to a person saying, that my 19th century car is better than a Toyota car manufactured in 1998, because it is older. He would be considered to be a fool to say that his 19th century car which required a rod to be turned in circles to start it, is better than a key-start 1998 Toyota car, just because it is older.

If your arguing that Islam is the oldest, then all these points will affect Islam as well as Hinduism, so why make them?

7. A religion is best, if it has the solutions to the problems of mankind

For a religion to be considered the best, it should have the solution to all the problems of mankind. It should be the religion of truth, and should be applicable to all ages. Islam is the only religion which has the solution to all the problems of mankind. e.g. the problem of alcoholism, surplus women, rape and molestation, robbery, racism, casteism, etc.

Islam is the religion of truth, and its laws and solutions are applicable to all the ages. The Qur’an is the only religious book on the face of the earth, which has maintained its purity and authenticity proving itself to be the word of God in all the ages. i.e. previously, when it was the age of miracles, literature and poetry and in present times when it is the age of science and technology. Moreover, Islam is not a man-made religion, but a religion revealed and inspired by Almighty God. It is the only religion acceptable in His Sight.

Subjective truth you mean. Many people do not agree with the punishments and treatment of certian individuals in Islam. All other religions have laws and solutions to the problems of mankind not just Islam. Hinduism is said to have all the solutions, except that it doesnt go round executing people who leave the religion for the crime of freedom of choice.

[Perseveranze]

This is true, but its a big coincedence that Hinduism has remained since its inception almost 5000+ years ago and still has the 3rd largest following today.

Peace,

Most who are located in India. Islam in particular has followers from all nations, the majority aren't even Arabs.

Added to the fact that it doesn't actively seek converts such as Christianity and Islam do

Yet in Islam today, people all convert by choice, when they had that same choice to convert to Hinduism, maybe there's a good reason for this too?

[Predator]

Hinduism scripture says that Manu was the first man, propergator of mankind. Therefore because it says it in Vedic scripture, it must be true. Historically, archeologically and scientifically, Hinduism is the oldest active religion today, there is no debate about it.

Both Quran and Bible of Jews and Christians say that the Adam was the first man . Thus Adam was the first man , there is no debate about it. You've been beaten 3 to 1

Added to the fact that it doesn't actively seek converts such as Christianity and Islam

Which just shows how your religion doesnt care about guiding the people of the world to the right path. Its a racial religion as you need be born a brahmin to be a brahmin

BTW , I have seen your profile on the board earlier , you were a Sikh

What made you change it to Hindu ? You wanted to prove that your religion is the right one ,lol

[Charzhino]

Peace,

Most who are located in India. Islam in particular has followers from all nations, the majority aren't even Arabs.

1) Early Islamic conquests of central/middle eastern asia
2) Hinduism doesnt actively proselytize, hence the geographical discrepency between the 2 religions

Yet in Islam today, people all convert by choice, when they had that same choice to convert to Hinduism, maybe there's a good reason for this too?

Islam performs dawah all over the world with many schemes being funded for this purpose only. Therefore people are more exposed to it (more than ever now due to the whole islam/media) than Hinduism which takes a timid approach in comparison. Also, I do admire the way Islam has spawned many great english speakers that they can relate very easily to the western world. I can only hope in the future more Hindus follow this quality as there are very few at the moment.

[Charzhino]

Both Quran and Bible of Jews and Christians say that the Adam was the first man . Thus Adam was the first man , there is no debate about it. You've been beaten 3 to 1

I cannot believe you cannot see your own fallacious reasoning here. If thats the case, Hinduism was the first religion to state Manu was the first man, before Judasim, Christianity or Islam, so youve been ''beaten'', even though I do not advocate this type of reasoning.

[Charzhino]

Which just shows how your religion doesnt care about guiding the people of the world to the right path. Its a racial religion as you need be born a brahmin to be a brahmin

BTW , I have seen your profile on the board earlier , you were a Sikh

What made you change it to Hindu ? You wanted to prove that your religion is the right one ,lol

You dont need to be born a brahmin, or any other caste as everyone is equal because they can reach the Supreme Being.

My father is sikh and my mum hindu. I initially grew up as a Sikh, but after investigation I realised that Sikhism is a part of the Sanatan Dharma.

[Predator]

If your arguing that Islam is the oldest, then all these points will affect Islam as well as Hinduism, so why make them?

Where did i say that Islam is the right religion because it is oldest one. Its you who is claiming hinduism is the oldest and the right religion

Many people do not agree with the punishments and treatment of certian individuals in Islam.

We Muslims dont agree with injustice to victims

All other religions have laws and solutions to the problems of mankind not just Islam.


Hinduism is said to have all the solutions, except that it doesnt go round executing people who leave the religion for the crime of freedom of choice

Show me the "solutions" ,when you have none

[GuestFellow]

Both Quran and Bible of Jews and Christians say that the Adam was the first man . Thus Adam was the first man , there is no debate about it. You've been beaten 3 to 1

:sl:

LOL.

Early Islamic conquests of central/middle eastern asia

And?

[Perseveranze]

Islam performs dawah all over the world with many schemes being funded for this purpose only. Therefore people are more exposed to it (more than ever now due to the whole islam/media) than Hinduism which takes a timid approach in comparison. Also, I do admire the way Islam has spawned many great english speakers that they can relate very easily to the western world. I can only hope in the future more Hindus follow this quality as there are very few at the moment.

What is Hinduisms most important basic beliefs that they all agree upon? Like in Christianity, from my undestanding they all agree that Jesus(pbuh) died for their sins and is the son of God. In Islam, we believe there is One God without partners, the messengers, the holy book as a guidance, the angels/jins and the final day. All Muslims agree on this.

What about Hinduism?

1) Early Islamic conquests of central/middle eastern asia 2) Hinduism doesnt actively proselytize, hence the geographical discrepency between the 2 religions

3. Indonesia/China/Malaysia and many other countries where Muslim armies never set foot. Just a few tradesmen with knowledge is all it took.

Since Muslims believe Islam is the truth, we are encouraged to give Dawah and spread the message of truth.

And if they submit [in Islam], they are rightly guided; but if they turn away - then upon you is only the [duty of] notification. And Allah is Seeing of [His] servants. (3:20)

Is this not the case in Hinduism?

[Charzhino]

Where did i say that Islam is the right religion because it is oldest one. Its you who is claiming hinduism is the oldest and the right religion

I wasnt claiming that because its the oldest it is right, just stating a reason why an older religion has more support than a newer one in terms of the factors I gave.

We Muslims dont agree with injustice to victims

Many people would argue that the different consquences of action are an injustice, but lets not get into that on this particular thread.

Show me the "solutions" ,when you have none

manusmirti is an example text

[Predator]

Many people do not agree with the punishments and treatment of certian individuals in Islam. All other religions have laws and solutions to the problems of mankind not just Islam. Hinduism is said to have all the solutions, except that it doesnt go round executing people who leave the religion for the crime of freedom of choice.

1. Allah is most Merciful

The Qur’an says several times that Allah is the most Merciful. In fact all the 114 Surahs i.e. chapters of the Glorious Qur’an except for Surah Taubah chapter 9, begin with the beautiful formula, Bismillah-hir-Rahman-nir-Rahim, which means, "In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful".

2. Allah is Forgiving

The Glorious Qur’an mentions in several verses including Surah Nisa, chapter 4 verse 25 and Surah Maidah, chapter 5 verse 74:

"And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

3. Allah gives severe punishment to the deserving

Allah besides being Merciful and Forgiving is also strict in giving punishment to the deserving. The Qur’an mentions in several verses that Allah will give severe punishment to the unbelievers and rejecters of faith. He will give punishment to all those who disobey Him. Several verses of the Qur’an describe the various types of severe punishment that Allah will give in hell to all those who disobey.

"Those who reject our Signs, we shall soon cast into the Fire; as often as their skins

Are roasted through, we shall change them for fresh skins, that they may taste the penalty: for Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise". [Al-Qur’an 4:56]

4. Allah is Just

The question is, whether Allah is forgiving or revengeful? An important point to be noted is that Allah besides being Merciful and Forgiving, He also has to give severe punishment to the deserving wicked or evil people, because He is also Just. The Qur’an mentions in Surah Nisa: "Allah is never unjust in the least degree". [Al-Qur’an 4:40]

It is further mentioned in Surah Al-Ambiya:

"We shall set up scales of justice for the day of Judgement, so that not a soul will be dealt with unjustly in the least. And if there be (no more than) the weight of a mustard seed, we will bring it (to account): and enough are we to take account".
[Al-Qur’an 21:47]

5. Example: Teacher forgives a student who copies in the examination

If during an examination, a student copies and the teacher who supervises in the examination catches the student red-handed, the teacher says that he is very merciful and kind and forgives him and allows him to continue copying. Those students who have worked hard for the examination will not call the teacher merciful and kind but will call him unjust. This merciful act of the teacher will encourage the other students to also copy. If all the teachers are merciful and kind and allow the students to copy then no student will ever study for examinations and all will pass with flying colours by copying. The theoretical results of the examinations will be excellent in which all the students will pass with first class and distinction but practically these students will be a failure in life. The whole purpose of the examination would be defeated.

6. This Life is a Test for the Hereafter

The life in this world is a test for the Hereafter. The Qur’an says in Surah Al Mulk: "He who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed; and He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving".
[Al-Qur’an 67:2]

7. If Allah forgives all and punishes none, who will obey him?

If Allah (swt) forgives each and every human being and punishes no one, then why should the human beings obey the command of Allah (swt)? I do agree that no one will go to hell, but this world would become hell to live in. If all human beings are going to go to heaven then what is the purpose and use of the human beings to come to this world, this life cannot be called a test for the hereafter.

8. Allah only forgives if a person repents

Allah (swt) only forgives if a person repents. The Qur’an says in Surah Al-Zumar, chapter 39 verse 53-55:

"Say: ‘O my servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

"Turn ye to your Lord (in repentance) and bow to His (will), before the penalty comes on you - after that ye shall not be helped."

"And follow the best of (the courses) revealed to you from your Lord, before the penalty comes on you - of a sudden, while ye perceive not!"
[Al-Qur’an 39:53-55]

There are four criteria for repentance: First, agree that the act is wrong. Secondly, stop it immediately. Thirdly, never do it again in future. And lastly, compensate for the loss if caused to anyone.

[Charzhino]

What is Hinduisms most important basic beliefs that they all agree upon? Like in Christianity, from my undestanding they all agree that Jesus(pbuh) died for their sins and is the son of God. In Islam, we believe there is One God without partners, the messengers, the holy book as a guidance, the angels/jins and the final day. All Muslims agree on this.

What about Hinduism?

Hinduism is an umbrella term for many sects/school of thoughts. However what combines them is mostly the authority of the Vedas. Other views may differ, the 2 main schools of thought are Adviata Vedenta (non-dual) and Dviata (dualsitic)

3. Indonesia/China/Malaysia and many other countries where Muslim armies never set foot. Just a few tradesmen with knowledge is all it took.

Since Muslims believe Islam is the truth, we are encouraged to give Dawah and spread the message of truth.

And if they submit [in Islam], they are rightly guided; but if they turn away - then upon you is only the [duty of] notification. And Allah is Seeing of [His] servants. (3:20)

Is this not the case in Hinduism?

Hindus are encouraged to gain knowledge and share it, but not to the same extent as Islam where it is a duty.

[Perseveranze]

Hindus are encouraged to gain knowledge and share it, but not to the same extent as Islam where it is a duty.

Peace,

Well, I don't know much about hinduism, I mean do you have a reason to spread the religion? Islam, amongst many things, is suppose to be a warning to mankind; a warning of the final hour (the day of judgement), where everyone will be risen to meet their Creator and will be judged based on what they did in this life. So with this understanding and knowledge, we wouldn't want to know the truth and conceal it. Muhammad(pbuh), tried hard to tell people of the truth that he knew, in various hadiths it reports how he used to cry for people of other faiths that didn't believe him (a show of care for mankind).

But lets just say you were in his position, would you not try and do what you can to tell people of the truth, of something this big? SO you have to understand the Islamic point of view in regards to Daw'ah, it's not to make the religion of Islam the biggest or have the most followers, it's to warn people and notify them of the truth, whether they accept or reject it is upto them.

Does Hindiusm not have such a major reason to spread like Islam does?

[GuestFellow]

Hindus are encouraged to gain knowledge and share it, but not to the same extent as Islam where it is a duty.

Muslims spread Islam through lectures and books. So we share knowledge as well.

How come it is not a duty in Hinduism?

manusmirti is an example text

Please post it.

[Charzhino]

Peace,

Well, I don't know much about hinduism, I mean do you have a reason to spread the religion? Islam, amongst many things, is suppose to be a warning to mankind; a warning of the final hour (the day of judgement), where everyone will be risen to meet their Creator and will be judged based on what they did in this life. So with this understanding and knowledge, we wouldn't want to know the truth and conceal it. Muhammad(pbuh), tried hard to tell people of the truth that he knew, in various hadiths it reports how he used to cry for people of other faiths that didn't believe him (a show of care for mankind).

But lets just say you were in his position, would you not try and do what you can to tell people of the truth, of something this big? SO you have to understand the Islamic point of view in regards to Daw'ah, it's not to make the religion of Islam the biggest or have the most followers, it's to warn people and notify them of the truth, whether they accept or reject it is upto them.

Does Hindiusm not have such a major reason to spread like Islam does?

Its an interesting question, I think the issue lies on the prospective afterlifes of each religion. In Islam you only get one chance, so if you mess up theres no going back so the urgency is there if you will. Hell is eternal punishment. In Hinduism, since the laws of karma and rebirth are applied this isnt the case. Hindus believe all life lessons have to be learnt before you can reach ''heaven'' and this simply isnt possible in just one short lifetime. The primary and most important teaching is upholding justice or dharma, even at the expense of worshipping God. Therfore people have different goals/tasks/duties in their lifes, not one strict purpose in which no other chance will be granted.

[Perseveranze]

Hinduism is said to have all the solutions, except that it doesnt go round executing people who leave the religion for the crime of freedom of choice

I am sure Hindu's do this aswell, and Christians and people of other faiths. Does your religion teach this, because I am certain mine doesn't.

....

There has been a great controversy in India in the past few years about the enforcement of anti-conversion laws by several Indian states which were made specifically to prevent people from leaving Hinduism and converting to other faiths,[34] even though freedom of religion in India is supposed to be a fundamental right guaranteed by the country's constitution.
Indian Christians have alleged that "radical Hindu groups" in Orissa, India have forced Christian converts from Hinduism to "revert"[35] to Hinduism. These "religious riots" were largely between two tribal groups in Orissa, one of which was predominantly Hindu and another predominantly Christian, over the assassination of a Hindu leader named Swami Lakshmanananda by Christian MaoistsNaxalite).[36] In the aftermath of the violence, American Christian evangelical groups have claimed that Hindu groups are "forcibly reverting" Christians converts from Hinduism back to Hinduism.[35]

[GuestFellow]

Hindus believe all life lessons have to be learnt before you can reach ''heaven'' and this simply isnt possible in just one short lifetime.

So eventually will everyone reach heaven according to Hinduism?

Why is it not possible to learn all the life lessons in one lifetime?

What are these life lessons?

[powerofdharma]

Muslims spread Islam through lectures and books. So we share knowledge as well.

How come it is not a duty in Hinduism?



Please post it.

The Five Duties of a Hindu
1

Live a life of virtue. Hindu scriptures, Vedas, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, offer clear instructions for a life of virtue. Dharma, righteous duty, include practicing Ahimsa (non-injury), respect and performing your duties without attachment to results, but to offer each duty to God.

2

Make a pilgrimage (Tirthayãtrã). Routinely visit sacred Hindu places. Such places may be temples, Hindu masters, India and other sites of pilgrimage. Pilgrimages free you from daily routine and focus your whole being on the sacred.

3

Observe holy days or Hindu festivals (Utsava). Festivals are celebrated in the home and at temples. Engage in fasts to purify your body and spirit.

4

Participate in the sacraments (Samskãras). Hindu scriptures define the sacraments, which guide you through your life events. Sacraments purify and bless you with truthfulness and a generous spirit.

5

Observe Sarva Brahmã (God in all). In every activity, with every being, strive to honor God in all reality. This is a form of Bhakti, or devotion, that is liberating.

[powerofdharma]

So eventually will everyone reach heaven according to Hinduism?

Why is it not possible to learn all the life lessons in one lifetime?

What are these life lessons?

In Hinduism, there is nothing like heaven. It is actually moksha or liberation from the cycle of birth and death. It is the Jeevathma (our soul) - Paramathma (God) - Aikyam (Joining). So basically our soul merges with the God.

Karma(Righteous deeds) , Gyan(knowledge) and Bhakti(Pure devotion) are the ways of attainting moksha. It also includes giving up of arrogance, lust, pride, false ego and greed.

Hinduism also includes something greater than moksha or greater than god!
While impersonalists want to become one with God, devotees can attain the position of being greater than God. In the intimacy of pure love, they can tell God what do to, and He loves to hear it.

[powerofdharma]

So eventually will everyone reach heaven according to Hinduism?

Why is it not possible to learn all the life lessons in one lifetime?

What are these life lessons?

It is possible to attain moksha in one life time depending on your deeds. And many people have done it..

[powerofdharma]

The Bhagavad Gita ("Song of God") is the essence of the Vedas and Upanishads. It is a universal scripture applicable to people of all temperaments, for all times. It is a book with sublime thoughts and practical instructions on Yoga, Devotion, Vedanta and Action. The Bhagavad Gita has influenced many great thinkers over the years.

Why do you worry without cause? Whom do you fear without reason? Who can kill you? The soul is neither born, nor does it die.
Whatever happened, happened for the good; whatever is happening, is happening for the good; whatever will happen, will also happen for the good only. You need not have any regrets for the past. You need not worry for the future. The present is happening...
What did you lose that you cry about? What did you bring with you, which you think you have lost? What did you produce, which you think got destroyed? You did not bring anything - whatever you have, you received from here. Whatever you have given, you have given only here. Whatever you took, you took from God. Whatever you gave, you gave to him. You came empty handed, you will leave empty handed. What is yours today, belonged to someone else yesterday, and will belong to someone else the day after tomorrow. You are mistakenly enjoying the thought that this is yours. It is this false happiness that is the cause of your sorrows.

Change is the law of the universe. What you think of as death, is indeed life. In one instance you can be a millionaire, and in the other instance you can be steeped in poverty. Yours and mine, big and small - erase these ideas from your mind. Then everything is yours and you belong to everyone.
This body is not yours, neither are you of the body. The body is made of fire, water, air, earth and ether, and will disappear into these elements. But the soul is permanent - so who are you?
Dedicate your being to God. He is the one to be ultimately relied upon. Those who know of his support are forever free from fear, worry and sorrow.
Whatever you do, do it as a dedication to God. This will bring you the tremendous experience of joy and life-freedom forever.

[powerofdharma]

MAIN GOAL IN HINDUISM


The goal of human life is to re-awaken our original pure love for God. We souls exist to have an intimate loving relationship with Him. We can never be happy by rejecting that relationship and denying our true nature.
The things we do in this world indicate our true, eternal nature. We have to love; it’s unavoidable. Having turned away from God, we try to fulfill our need to love and be loved by searching for ideal relationships in this world. But exchanges of love here are never perfect and cannot last forever.
Awakening pure love for God is perfection. Nothing else will satisfy us. Everything that exists in the material and spiritual worlds is meant to support our relationship with God. Human life is a chance for us to reestablish that relationship. That endeavor should be the focus of our lives.
Because love includes service, pure love for God is called pure devotional service, or Bhakti. The ways to awaken Bhakti are the substance of the practice of Bhakti yoga.


Because a devotee of Lord Krishna is desireless, he is peaceful. Fruitive workers desire material enjoyment, jnanis desire liberation, and yogis desire material opulence; therefore they are all full of desires and cannot be peaceful.—Sri Chaitanya, Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya 19.149
There are as many goals as there are people, but all goals other than pure love of God can be put into three categories:
▪ people seek material enjoyment (even within the context of religion)
▪ people seek salvation, or liberation
▪ people seek perfections of mystic or subtle powers
Each goal has varying degrees of benefit. But each goal, along with its benefits, is material, temporary, and based on selfish desires, no matter how enticing or seemingly lofty.
While living in the material world, we naturally pursue temporary goals. But when love of God gradually begins to awaken within the heart, we souls naturally lose interest in temporary things that offer us no ultimate benefit.

[ardianto]

1) Early Islamic conquests of central/middle eastern asia

But Muslim troops never conquests South East Asia where around 250 millions Muslims live here.

There were 3 kingdoms in Java island (my place) before Islam came here. These were Pajajaran (Animism) in west Java, Mataram (Hindu) in central Java, and Majapahit (Hindu) in east Java.

Prabu Siliwangi from Pajajaran refuse to convert into Islam, he's gone and his kingdom fell after his people converted into Islam. Prabu Brawijaya V refuse to convert into Islam, he's gone and his kingdom fell after many of his people converted into Islam and the rest moved to Bali island. Kingdom of Mataram converted into Islam, and now known as Sultanate of Yogyakarta. This is history of Islam in Java island.

Do you think it was caused by invasion of Arab Muslim troops ?. No .. !, that's because nine persons that known as "Wali Songo" (nine allies of Allah) gave da'wah to Javanese and Sundanese people. They did not use swords, just da'wah.

People of other areas in ancient Indonesia and Malaysia where Buddhists and Animists. And they converted into Islam after Indian traders from Gujarat, and Arab traders from Arabia (mainly from Hadramawt, Yemen) introduced Islam to local people.

[Al Shifa]

According to an investigation, Hindus were the followers of Prophet Noah (peace be with him). But they forgot his teachings and deviated from the path of Prophet Noah. The religion of Prophet Noah may be called the oldest religion becasue after the great flood, the only remnants were Prophet Noah (peach be with him) and his followers, And of course, that religion was Islam not Hinduism.

[Al Shifa]

According to an investigation, Hindus were the followers of Prophet Noah (peace be with him). But they forgot his teachings and deviated from the path of Prophet Noah. The religion of Prophet Noah may be called the oldest religion becasue after the great flood, the only remnants were Prophet Noah (peach be with him) and his followers, And of course, that religion was Islam not Hinduism.

[Predator]

According to an investigation, Hindus were the followers of Prophet Noah (peace be with him). But they forgot his teachings and deviated from the path of Prophet Noah. The religion of Prophet Noah may be called the oldest religion becasue after the great flood, the only remnants were Prophet Noah (peach be with him) and his followers, And of course, that religion was Islam not Hinduism.

Righto, Noah(PBUH) was the first warner sent 10 generations after Adam . Adam was the first Prophet but not the first warner as his children were worshipping Allah and not committing Shirk like these Polytheist pagans so there was no need for Adam to warn them

[Predator]

Allah(swt_ says in the Quran
　
　
"And why, were there gods on earth and heaven other than God, they (heaven and earth) would surely go to ruin." (Quran 21:22)
　
　
And this is what we see in the Hinduism as we can see one "God" Shiva attacking another "God" Ganesh
　
　
　

　
　
　

The story of the birth of this ""God"", as depicted in the Shiva Purana, goes like this: Once ""goddess"" Parvati, while bathing, created a boy out of the dirt of her body and assigned him the task of guarding the entrance to her bathroom. When Shiva, her husband returned, he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access, and struck off the boy's head in rage. Parvati broke down in utter grief and to soothe her, Shiva sent out his squad search the head . And you know when God hits , its very hard across the seven seas lol and then Shiva got desperate" Any head will do the body was getting cold "The squad found an elephant grazing and brought back its severed head, which was then attached to the body of the boy.
　
　
Lol , he couldnt even put back his own son's head nor could he recognize him , how could he be God
　
　
There can be only one God, coz if there were many, we all would have been confused whom to choose and whom to worship, which god we need to pray for what in our life.
We would have been confused which lord to fear and whom to praise, if there were more than one God.
We would be confused why Gods fought amongst themselves to prove who is greater than the other and who needs to be worshiped first. coz of this fight the earth and the living being would not exists.
To avoid all this confusion and chaos in our life, our religion and there is only one God, Allah SWT who we turn to for everything, whom we fear and seek forgiveness when we make a mistake, whom we praise and worship, whom we love the most.
And above all our only faith in Allah SWT that Allah SWT is the one and only glorious God, the most beneficent and the most merciful. Allah SWT alone is the Supreme, the true, Ultimate Sovereign, Master of the universe, the creator and controller of all existence the earth, the sky and everything therein.
　
Allah warns in the Quran
　
　
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear therof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, or their brothers' sons or their sisters' sons, or their women or the servants whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex, and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers, turn you all together towards Allah, that you may attain Bliss." (Quran 24:31).
　
　
Whereas the Hindu God wants to take away clothes of cowgirls to see their private parts when they come out of water
　

　
　
Can you imagine for second this Pervert being your God ? Asthagfirullah
　
　

[Charzhino]

So eventually will everyone reach heaven according to Hinduism?

Why is it not possible to learn all the life lessons in one lifetime?

Look at the entire population. How many can you say are truley enlightned individuals? Very rarely you will find one given the high materislitic desire in the current age which we call Kali-Yuga (dark age of lying, greed, lust, etc) It is possible in one lifetime I should of said, but very difficult.

What are these life lessons?

From sikhism because I can remember it well, the 5 attributes which must be vanquished are greed, egotism, sexual lust, anger and material attachment. Life lessons can range from caring for your parents in elder age to helping the poor.

[Charzhino]

Allah(swt_ says in the Quran
　
　
"And why, were there gods on earth and heaven other than God, they (heaven and earth) would surely go to ruin." (Quran 21:22)
　
　
And this is what we see in the Hinduism as we can see one "God" Shiva attacking another "God" Ganesh
　
　　

The story of the birth of this ""God"", as depicted in the Shiva Purana, goes like this: Once ""goddess"" Parvati, while bathing, created a boy out of the dirt of her body and assigned him the task of guarding the entrance to her bathroom. When Shiva, her husband returned, he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access, and struck off the boy's head in rage. Parvati broke down in utter grief and to soothe her, Shiva sent out his squad search the head . And you know when God hits , its very hard across the seven seas lol and then Shiva got desperate" Any head will do the body was getting cold "The squad found an elephant grazing and brought back its severed head, which was then attached to the body of the boy.
　
　
Lol , he couldnt even put back his own son's head nor could he recognize him , how could he be God
　
　
There can be only one God, coz if there were many, we all would have been confused whom to choose and whom to worship, which god we need to pray for what in our life.
We would have been confused which lord to fear and whom to praise, if there were more than one God.
We would be confused why Gods fought amongst themselves to prove who is greater than the other and who needs to be worshiped first. coz of this fight the earth and the living being would not exists.
To avoid all this confusion and chaos in our life, our religion and there is only one God, Allah SWT who we turn to for everything, whom we fear and seek forgiveness when we make a mistake, whom we praise and worship, whom we love the most.
And above all our only faith in Allah SWT that Allah SWT is the one and only glorious God, the most beneficent and the most merciful. Allah SWT alone is the Supreme, the true, Ultimate Sovereign, Master of the universe, the creator and controller of all existence the earth, the sky and everything therein.
　
Allah warns in the Quran
　
　
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear therof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, or their brothers' sons or their sisters' sons, or their women or the servants whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex, and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers, turn you all together towards Allah, that you may attain Bliss." (Quran 24:31).
　
　
Whereas the Hindu God wants to take away clothes of cowgirls to see their private parts when they come out of water
　
　
　

You need to understand that the gods depicted as ganesh, parvati, etc are mere personal gods (ishwara). Material essence is an illusion, those who become attached to it worship the idols and deities as if they are god themselves, whilst the Self realized indivudals can see beyond such dualistic motions.

'' After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.

BG 7.20: Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.''

[GuestFellow]

Look at the entire population. How many can you say are truley enlightned individuals?

I am in no position to judge the entire population, it is impossible to meet every single person. There will never be a person who will have reach the state of ''enlightenment''. Are you suggesting we need to reach a state of perfection?

From sikhism because I can remember it well, the 5 attributes which must be vanquished are greed, egotism, sexual lust, anger and material attachment. Life lessons can range from caring for your parents in elder age to helping the poor.

These characteristics can never be vanquished. They will exist in all humans for the rest of their lives but we can control them.

[S.Belle]

　

　
　
　

　
　
　　
　

Why is there a swastika on it's hand?

[powerofdharma]

Allah(swt_ says in the Quran
　
　
"And why, were there gods on earth and heaven other than God, they (heaven and earth) would surely go to ruin." (Quran 21:22)
　
　
And this is what we see in the Hinduism as we can see one "God" Shiva attacking another "God" Ganesh
　
　
　

　
　
　

The story of the birth of this ""God"", as depicted in the Shiva Purana, goes like this: Once ""goddess"" Parvati, while bathing, created a boy out of the dirt of her body and assigned him the task of guarding the entrance to her bathroom. When Shiva, her husband returned, he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access, and struck off the boy's head in rage. Parvati broke down in utter grief and to soothe her, Shiva sent out his squad search the head . And you know when God hits , its very hard across the seven seas lol and then Shiva got desperate" Any head will do the body was getting cold "The squad found an elephant grazing and brought back its severed head, which was then attached to the body of the boy.
　
　
Lol , he couldnt even put back his own son's head nor could he recognize him , how could he be God
　
　
There can be only one God, coz if there were many, we all would have been confused whom to choose and whom to worship, which god we need to pray for what in our life.
We would have been confused which lord to fear and whom to praise, if there were more than one God.
We would be confused why Gods fought amongst themselves to prove who is greater than the other and who needs to be worshiped first. coz of this fight the earth and the living being would not exists.
To avoid all this confusion and chaos in our life, our religion and there is only one God, Allah SWT who we turn to for everything, whom we fear and seek forgiveness when we make a mistake, whom we praise and worship, whom we love the most.
And above all our only faith in Allah SWT that Allah SWT is the one and only glorious God, the most beneficent and the most merciful. Allah SWT alone is the Supreme, the true, Ultimate Sovereign, Master of the universe, the creator and controller of all existence the earth, the sky and everything therein.
　
Allah warns in the Quran
　
　
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear therof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, or their brothers' sons or their sisters' sons, or their women or the servants whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex, and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers, turn you all together towards Allah, that you may attain Bliss." (Quran 24:31).
　
　
Whereas the Hindu God wants to take away clothes of cowgirls to see their private parts when they come out of water
　

　
　
Can you imagine for second this Pervert being your God ? Asthagfirullah
　
　

There is a significance of this story.. this story was told by great saints to explain to the people that when arrogance is vanquished, it is replaced by wisdom...

Lord Shiva is God. In Hinduism, we believe that lord himself takes the effort to vanquish arrogance from the personality of his 'loving devotees'..
Ganesha was also a devotee of Lord Shiva(His father).. But he was arrogant.. Beheading of Ganesha is just a representation.. It represents that Shiva(God) removed arrogance from Ganesha. An elephant often symbolises 'wisdom'... It meant that as Ganesha was dearly loved by lord Shiva, He vanquished his arrogance and replaced it with unlimited wisdom... (in literally sense, putting the head of an elephant on him)..

[powerofdharma]

Why is there a swastika on it's hand?

svastika, meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote good luck. It is composed of su- meaning "good, well" and asti "to be" svasti thus means "well-being." The suffix -ka either forms a diminutive or intensifies the verbal meaning, and svastika might thus be translated literally as "that which is associated with well-being," corresponding to "lucky charm" or "thing that is auspicious."

[Predator]

Why is there a swastika on it's hand?

That elephant-headed god had not picked from hitler . The swastika was an ancient indian symbol .
It is said that the ancient europeans , iranians and Indian Aryans Hindus have the same orgins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

[powerofdharma]

That elephant-headed god had not picked from hitler . The swastika was an ancient indian symbol .
It is said that the ancient europeans , iranians and Indian Aryans Hindus have the same orgins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

Dude dont call him "elephant- headed God".. U dont have manners or what?
Lord Ganesha is the utlimate truth... He represents unlimited wisdom.. wherever there is Ganesha, there is prosperity...
What if some calls allah by such names.. how would u like it..

[S.Belle]

oh i have another question what is the connection with hinduism and cows?
do you worship them or just like admire them...

[GuestFellow]

　
Can you imagine for second this Pervert being your God ? Asthagfirullah

:sl:

Let's not insult other people's religious beliefs. There is no need for it. Muslims should have learnt by now how it feels when other people make fun and insult our religion. Let's not become what we hate.

[GuestFellow]

oh i have another question what is the connection with hinduism and cows?
do you worship them or just like admire them...

:sl:

Hinduism and animals

^ This should give you an idea.

[powerofdharma]

oh i have another question what is the connection with hinduism and cows?
do you worship them or just like admire them...

Its not only cows... Hinduism believes that God resides in every living being... be it cows, snakes, lions, dogs , rats, cats etc..
When God descended on Earth as Lord Krishna, He was brought up in a Shepard family.. He used to love cows.. Cows are also the source of milk, which has always been important in India. Thus we respect cows as our 'mother'.. That is why cows are so sacred to Hinduism.. Hinduism also believes in vegetarianism.

[S.Belle]

Jazakallah Khair @ Guestfellow

@ powerofdharma oh ok

[aadil77]

Its not only cows... Hinduism believes that God resides in every living being... be it cows, snakes, lions, dogs , rats, cats etc..
When God descended on Earth as Lord Krishna, He was brought up in a Shepard family.. He used to love cows.. Cows are also the source of milk, which has always been important in India. Thus we respect cows as our 'mother'.. That is why cows are so sacred to Hinduism.. Hinduism also believes in vegetarianism.

Is hinduism only limited to india? it seems that way by hindu demographics

Have you ever wondered why commonly found animals in india tend to have significance in hindu god stories? Animals such as elephants, monkeys, cows etc.

[S.Belle]

what is it like inside of a hindu temple (very dumb question but there are some where I live and i've always wondered what it was like inside)
do you have pews or do you seat on the floor and how do you worship is there like a sermon or do people just go there to like meditate?

[powerofdharma]

Is hinduism only limited to india? it seems that way by hindu demographics

Have you ever wondered why commonly found animals in india tend to have significance in hindu god stories? Animals such as elephants, monkeys, cows etc.

The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago.. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE, was the first major civilization in the world. As a result, there were many scholars and great saints.. they started this way of life called 'Sanatan Dharma' or eternal law which is now known as 'Hinduism'. India was always been isolated from the rest of the world till the BC's and the early AD's(before the Muslim invasion) and has thus been able to retain its culture. On the North, the 3 Great Himalayan chains(Outer, Middle and Inner) separate it from the rest of Asia.. On the west we have the western ghats and on the east we have the eastern ghats. India never invaded any country, as it was against their principles. Because of this this of way of life or Hinduism remained limited to India. But now we have found from many archeological evidences that Malaysia, Bali, Indonesia also had Hindu influence thousands of years ago.

Well, you very well know that Hindus respect every form of Nature as God,so that even includes animals likes snakes which even other religions have considered to be a synonym of evil

So when that is the case,Hinduism has done a great job by even recognizing an animal like snake as a form of God.So all animals are worshiped as God,all forms of nature - Fire,Water ,wind are all treated as God

[aadil77]

The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago.. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE, was the first major civilization in the world. As a result, there were many scholars and great saints.. they started this way of life called 'Sanatan Dharma' or eternal law which is now known as 'Hinduism'. India was always been isolated from the rest of the world till the BC's and the early AD's(before the Muslim invasion) and has thus been able to retain its culture. On the North, the 3 Great Himalayan chains(Outer, Middle and Inner) separate it from the rest of Asia.. On the west we have the western ghats and on the east we have the eastern ghats. India never invaded any country, as it was against their principles. Because of this this of way of life or Hinduism remained limited to India. But now we have found from many archeological evidences that Malaysia, Bali, Indonesia also had Hindu influence thousands of years ago.

Well, you very well know that Hindus respect every form of Nature as God,so that even includes animals likes snakes which even other religions have considered to be a synonym of evil

So when that is the case,Hinduism has done a great job by even recognizing an animal like snake as a form of God.So all animals are worshiped as God,all forms of nature - Fire,Water ,wind are all treated as God

You don't need to invade any country for a religion to spread. Muslims have never invaded europe (except spain) and the americas, yet people are accepting the faith in droves. Surely as a hindu, you must believe that your way of life is the correct one, is it then not important to spread hinduism for others to benefit?

Don't you think that for a faith to be the truth it would make sense that people from across the world would embrace it, in order for it to be a globaly accepted faith? All I find amongst hindus is that 100% are born into the faith and 99% are from indian origin. It seems the majority of hindu's do not willingly accept hinduism rather carry on the family culture.

[powerofdharma]

You don't need to invade any country for a religion to spread. Muslims have never invaded europe (except spain) and the americas, yet people are accepting the faith in droves. Surely as a hindu, you must believe that your way of life is the correct one, is it then not important to spread hinduism for others to benefit?

Don't you think that for a faith to be the truth it would make sense that people from across the world would embrace it, in order for it to be a globaly accepted faith? All I find amongst hindus is that 100% are born into the faith and 99% are from indian origin. It seems the majority of hindu's do not willingly accept hinduism rather carry on the family culture.

well, Hindu saints always believed in the 'union of all regions'.. Hinduism has never been a religion as I have mentioned so many times.. So there is nothing to spread. It is not limited. Every one has a different ideology and perspective. The Shavites say that Shiva is the supreme God who created the Universe and the source of all other Gods while the Vaishnavas say that Vishnu is supreme. Others say that both are devoted to each other (ie Vishnu meditates upon shiva and shiva meditates upon vishnu).. Krishna says that His devotees are greater than Him and thus He meditates upon His devotees. So the concept varies from person to person, state to state.. etc.

So in our scriptures it is mentioned that we should never think that our way is the best way or the only way. They ask us to 'go and enquire' and learn upon all 'varieties of religion'...

But in the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says:

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah

which means that even if you abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto God and start loving Him, He will release from all the sins and free you from the cycle of life and death. Do not fear. Surrendering unto God in Hinduism means be a nice person with good morals and develop love for God.

[GuestFellow]

Is hinduism only limited to india? it seems that way by hindu demographics

Have you ever wondered why commonly found animals in india tend to have significance in hindu god stories? Animals such as elephants, monkeys, cows etc.

:sl:

Actually...you can find cows in Britain and many other places. Elephants and Monkey's can be found in Africa too.

[aadil77]

:sl:

Actually...you can find cows in Britain and many other places. Elephants and Monkey's can be found in Africa too.

That was not my point. My point was why do you not find kangaroo's or penguins in hindu god stories? - It seems to me the whole religion and its tales has been made in india. The supposed gods are indian or have never left india. If it was a true faith, it would be global and not limited to a certain part of the world.

[Ramadhan]

The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE, was the first major civilization in the world

That's so not true.
The the first recorded major civilization is Mesopotamia.
Both mesopotamia and ancient egypt beat indus valley by few thousand years.
The first few prophets recorded in Islam were from mesopotamia and the fertile crescent area, a couple of thousand years more or so before the rise of indus valley civilization.

[powerofdharma]

That was not my point. My point was why do you not find kangaroo's or penguins in hindu god stories? - It seems to me the whole religion and its tales has been made in india. The supposed gods are indian or have never left india. If it was a true faith, it would be global and not limited to a certain part of the world.

Dude... These Gods are just personifications of good traits like wisdom, strength, prosperity etc by the vedic saints. So obviously these saints will give compare these traits to animals found in India so that the people actually understand and can visualise. I think you donot understand the concept of Hinduism.
Please note: Hinduism in not a faith! It is just a way of living based on good morals and principles. We believe that faith varies from person to person.

[Predator]

:sl:

Let's not insult other people's religious beliefs. There is no need for it. Muslims should have learnt by now how it feels when other people make fun and insult our religion. Let's not become what we hate.

It has nothing to do with insults .

A group of young women were bathing naked in the river yamuna, krishna runs away with their clothes and thus forces them to come out of the river nude. When they emerge from the water bashfully hiding their sexual organs with their hands, krishna tells them that since they have offended the water god by bathing naked, they should ask for his forgiveness with their hands raised in salutation to him, and then they can take back their clothes. Thus krishna deceitfully made them expose their sexual organs to him, and that he was very pleased to see them in their virgin state


If you were a father/brother/husband/Son of those victims in the river , i am sure you would have taken action against him or beat him up
What kind of moral lesson you get out of that story ?

As an avator of God , its his duty to guide people to the right path and he insteads stoops to a level of rowdy. I guess this is where they get their inspiration for their bollywood movies

None of our Prophets have ever committed such an act and have all been role models for us to follow .

Holy Quran 24:31

"Tell the believing men that they should reduce/lower (يغضوا) their gaze/vision and guard their private parts".

[Predator]

in addition to Elephants, Monkeys, Snakes,cows they even a worship a phallus.

[powerofdharma]

It has nothing to do with insults .

A group of young women were bathing naked in the river yamuna, krishna runs away with their clothes and thus forces them to come out of the river nude. When they emerge from the water bashfully hiding their sexual organs with their hands, krishna tells them that since they have offended the water god by bathing naked, they should ask for his forgiveness with their hands raised in salutation to him, and then they can take back their clothes. Thus krishna deceitfully made them expose their sexual organs to him, and that he was very pleased to see them in their virgin state


If you were a father/brother/husband/Son of those victims in the river , i am sure you would have taken action against him or beat him up
What kind of moral lesson you get out of that story ?

As an avator of God , its his duty to guide people to the right path and he insteads stoops to a level of rowdy. I guess this is where they get their inspiration for their bollywood movies

None of our Prophets have ever committed such an act and have all been role models for us to follow .

Holy Quran 24:31

"Tell the believing men that they should reduce/lower (يغضوا) their gaze/vision and guard their private parts".

Materialistic people like you who have impure thoughts and mind might make foolish and vulgar comments and conclusions about it.

Wonderful are his Acts, myriad are his sports and uncomprehendable are his ways. He is the Brahma-Purusha and Param-Brahma( GOD)..
This stealing of the Gopis’ clothing is treated as a highly devotional phenomena and inspired many of the medieval poets of Bhakti Yuga.

Krishna is God personified. Gopis(young women) loved Krishna but still had the sense of attachment to their own body. Krishna wanted their love but not in the physical sense. The sense of modesty comes from attachment to the body and not realizing that we are the soul or spirit. If only we knew that we and everyone else are soul or spirit - we would see others and ourselves in a purer sense without the hypocricy of appearance, clothes etc.
So, to help them get rid of this he stole the clothes to help the Gopis realize this. What would be unknown to God? So why have modesty or shame or ego in front of God. He knows all our faults and virtues! If we have ego or modesty, then it surely means we do not see or understand God as he really is - omnipresent!

Ps: Krishna was just 7 years old at this time.

[powerofdharma]

in addition to Elephants, Monkeys, Snakes,cows they even a worship a phallus.

Shivalinga is a symbolic form of depicting Shiva, who is the Parabramha, the formless one. One who is the source of infinite love, happiness, light and energy.

How does one depict a formless form? The form of one who is "binduswaroopa" ?

The natural and the basic form that of an ovoid comes in handy. hence the formless shiva is depicted in the most basic form of an ovoid in a Shivalinga.

Tantrically speaking Shiva and Shakti are one, in each other and inseperable. They are complimentary to each other and are two functional parts of the same entitiy. Their union is what made this universe happen. The male form of energy depicted by the phallus shape and the female form of energy depicted by the adhaara in the form of a 'yoni', thereby denoting the oneness of the female and the male energies in the form of Shiva and Shivalinga.

The Shivalinga symbolizes energy, creation, fertility, continuance, progress, and also reminds us of the formless by being in a basic ovoid form.

To reduce the meaning of shiva linga to a mere sexual act or representation is to attest our own narrowmindedness and lack of knowledge and understanding of the Supreme One who is ever benevolent and full of love for us.

[Insecured soul]

n addition to Elephants, Monkeys, Snakes,cows they even a worship a phallus.

Phallus????????? have they lost thier mind?
well the answer is 'Yes'

[S.Belle]

what is it like inside of a hindu temple (very dumb question but there are some where I live and i've always wondered what it was like inside) do you have pews or do you seat on the floor and how do you worship is there like a sermon or do people just go there to like meditate?

answer this please I want to know

['Abd Al-Maajid]

My post may be offtopic now but,

In Hinduism, the soul is a part of God. Thus God is not independent of us. There is a relationship between God and His devotee.

I remember when I was in higher secondary school, one of my teachers told me that God is a great soul, paramatmaa and we all are originate from the greater soul, paramatmaa and are called atmaa.
And she drew this on the blackboard,

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

But I already had this in my mind and this was continuously spinning in my head then.

"And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him." Quran 112:4

[Predator]

Shivalinga is a symbolic form of depicting Shiva, who is the Parabramha, the formless one. One who is the source of infinite love, happiness, light and energy.

How does one depict a formless form? The form of one who is "binduswaroopa" ?

The natural and the basic form that of an ovoid comes in handy. hence the formless shiva is depicted in the most basic form of an ovoid in a Shivalinga.

Tantrically speaking Shiva and Shakti are one, in each other and inseperable. They are complimentary to each other and are two functional parts of the same entitiy. Their union is what made this universe happen. The male form of energy depicted by the phallus shape and the female form of energy depicted by the adhaara in the form of a 'yoni', thereby denoting the oneness of the female and the male energies in the form of Shiva and Shivalinga.

The Shivalinga symbolizes energy, creation, fertility, continuance, progress, and also reminds us of the formless by being in a basic ovoid form.

To reduce the meaning of shiva linga to a mere sexual act or representation is to attest our own narrowmindedness and lack of knowledge and understanding of the Supreme One who is ever benevolent and full of love for us.

What you fail to realize so far is that you are giving an image to God and going against the Yajurveda, Chapter No. 32, Verse No. 3 which says,

“Of that God there is no image”

Some of The Hindu Scholars agree that the Vedas prohibit idol worship, but initially because the mind may not be matured,they say an idol is required for concentration while worshipping. After the mind reaches higher consciousness, the idol is not required for concentration.

We Muslims have reached the higher level of consciousness. If an idol is required for concentration only in the initial stages and not later on when the mind reaches higher consciousness then I would like to say the Muslims have already reached the state of higher consciousness because when we worship Allah (swt) we do not require any idol or statue.

So , You are no different from the Christian Pagans who make images of Santa claus and refuse to listen to what he told them in the Bible which was

Exodus 20:4
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

[powerofdharma]

answer this please I want to know

Well in a hindu temple there are idols of gods decorated with clothes, garments and flowers... Every devotee is free to choose his way of worship... there are some who meditate.. there are some who fold their hands in front of the idols.. there are some who bow down before the Gods... some people bathe the shiv linga with milk.. Most of the people get indian sweets which after being offered to the god is distributed to the poor and the rest of the visitors..
so its totally up to u how u wanna worship.

[powerofdharma]

What you fail to realize so far is that you are giving an image to God and going against the Yajurveda, Chapter No. 32, Verse No. 3 which says,

“Of that God there is no image”

Some of The Hindu Scholars agree that the Vedas prohibit idol worship, but initially because the mind may not be matured,they say an idol is required for concentration while worshipping. After the mind reaches higher consciousness, the idol is not required for concentration.

We Muslims have reached the higher level of consciousness. If an idol is required for concentration only in the initial stages and not later on when the mind reaches higher consciousness then I would like to say the Muslims have already reached the state of higher consciousness because when we worship Allah (swt) we do not require any idol or statue.

So , You are no different from the Christian Pagans who make images of Santa claus and refuse to listen to what he told them in the Bible which was

Exodus 20:4
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

u fool.. if u have no knowledge of Hinduism, then u must not speak..
In Hinduism, we believe that every thing has duality.. The Vedas say that one aspect is that God has no image.. and the second aspect is that God has the image perceived by the devotee..

But, nothing is prohibited in Hinduism--in the sense, that ultimately even the worst of sinners will reach the Divine. Hinduism only gives a bunch of guidelines for seekers wanting to reach the Divine soon.
So, the real question is, is idol worshiping a hindrance on the path to the Divine, or is it a boon? The answer is, it depends. Let me elaborate:

1. An idol is a pointer to the Truth. For example, a mother tries to show the moon to her child that she is holding in her arms. She does this by pointing her index finger at the moon and telling the child, "see the moon." Initially the child thinks that the mom's finger IS the moon. As the finger gradually points towards the moon, the child's eyes also move towards the moon, and eventually, the child spots the real moon--at which point the finger is not needed anymore. The finger served as the idol. It was necessary in the beginning, because it helped to point to the Truth. When Truth is discovered, the idol is not needed anymore. That's exactly how Hinduism views idol worship. Seekers who cannot grasp the Oneness and universality of God can worship idols, as idols point to the One Truth. The question is how do idols point to the truth? That takes me to my second point:

2. Each idol symbolizes different aspects of Divine qualities--love, truth, kindness, peace, non-violence, righteousness. As the seeker worships the idol on a regular basis, the intent is that eventually the seeker will imbibe these qualities, practice them in daily life, and realize the divinity within.

[Predator]

u fool.. if u have no knowledge of Hinduism, then u must not speak

You retard If you dont know your vedas your most authentic scripture then you should keep your mouth shut

..


1. An idol is a pointer to the Truth. For example, a mother tries to show the moon to her child that she is holding in her arms. She does this by pointing her index finger at the moon and telling the child, "see the moon." Initially the child thinks that the mom's finger IS the moon. As the finger gradually points towards the moon, the child's eyes also move towards the moon, and eventually, the child spots the real moon--at which point the finger is not needed anymore. The finger served as the idol. It was necessary in the beginning, because it helped to point to the Truth. When Truth is discovered, the idol is not needed anymore. That's exactly how Hinduism views idol worship. Seekers who cannot grasp the Oneness and universality of God can worship idols, as idols point to the One Truth. The question is how do idols point to the truth? That takes me to my second point:

This is similar to the example where our child asks us, "Why does the sky thunder?", we reply that the grandmother is grinding flour in the heaven; because he is too young to understand.and Similarly in the initial stages people require an idol for concentration

We don’t believe in telling a lie, even if it’s a white lie. I will never give such a wrong answer to my child because later on when he goes to school and learns that the thundering sound after lightning is due to the expansion of rapidly heated air, he will either think that the teacher is lying or later on when he understands the fact he will conclude that the father is a liar. If you feel that the child may not understand certain difficult things you should simplify the answer rather than give a wrong fictitious reply. If you, yourself do not know the answer, you should have the guts to be truthful and say ‘I don’t know’. But many children nowadays will not be satisfied with this answer. If this answer was given to my son, he would say "Father ,why don’t you know?’ This will compel you to do your homework and thus educate yourself as well as your child.

A very important fact to be noted is that only if the fundamentals of any particular subject is strong, then only will he be able to excel in future for e.g. A teacher of mathematics in standard one teaches the students that 2 + 2 = 4 irrespective whether the student passes school or does graduation or does a Ph. D. in mathematics, the basics of 2 + 2 = 4 will yet remain the same, it will not change to 5 or 6.

In higher standards the student, besides addition may learn about Algebra, Trigonometry, Logarithm, etc. but the fundamental of addition will yet remain the same. If the teacher in standard one itself teaches the fundamentals wrong, how can you expect the student to excel in future?

It is the fundamental principal of the Vedas regarding the concept of God that He has got no image, so how can you even after knowing this fact keep silent at the wrong practice being done by people.

Will you tell your son who is in standard one that 2 plus 2 is not equal to 4 but 5 or 6 and only confirm the truth after he passes school? :hiding:

Never. In fact if he makes a mistake you will correct him and say it is 4 and not wait till he graduates; and if you don’t correct him initially you will ruin his future.

[IAmZamzam]

u fool.. if u have no knowledge of Hinduism, then u must not speak...An idol is a pointer to the Truth. For example, a mother tries to show the moon to her child that she is holding in her arms. She does this by pointing her index finger at the moon and telling the child, "see the moon." Initially the child thinks that the mom's finger IS the moon. As the finger gradually points towards the moon, the child's eyes also move towards the moon, and eventually, the child spots the real moon--at which point the finger is not needed anymore. The finger served as the idol. It was necessary in the beginning, because it helped to point to the Truth. When Truth is discovered, the idol is not needed anymore. That's exactly how Hinduism views idol worship. Seekers who cannot grasp the Oneness and universality of God can worship idols, as idols point to the One Truth.

It seems possibly ironic somehow that you chide us for not knowing Hinduism while at the same time quoting a Buddhist scripture. And if I recall correctly, that particular Buddhist scripture was not pro-idol but anti-religion, some ridiculous semantic argument against calling Buddhism doctrinal because it is only the finger and not the moon and therefore not a religion. (I don't know what the deal is with people of every religion on earth feeling so embarrassed about being religious that they have to get elitist about it and insist that their own religion isn't a religion at all like all the rest are. It's quite universal.)

As for idols, if a deity is vast and superior and mysterious enough to be worthy of worship, then it should be vast and superior and mysterious enough to be impossible to symbolize with any physical object or human conception. There's also something to be said with sincere devotion entailing "cutting out the middle man" as much as is humanly possible.

[powerofdharma]

@airforce: You dont need to tell me about the Vedas. That is just one quote from the Vedas. Vedas are NOT written by God.. They are a compilation of philosophical ideas. The same Vedas tell us that it is okay to make idols of Gods. God has appeared several times on Earth. Lord Ram(The Supreme God) Himself worshipped the idol of Lord Shiva...and you yourself have posted the picture. Are u saying He is wrong.


Heres more to it:

an excerpt from the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 3, Chapter 25, verse 35, purport
Māyāvādīs and atheists accept the forms of the Deities in the temple of the Lord as idols, but devotees do not worship idols. They directly worship the Personality of Godhead in His archa incarnation. archa refers to the form which we can worship in our present condition. Actually, in our present state it is not possible to see God in His spiritual form because our material eyes and senses cannot conceive of a spiritual form. We cannot even see the spiritual form of the individual soul.

When a man dies we cannot see how the spiritual form leaves the body. That is the defect of our material senses. In order to be seen by our material senses, the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts a favorable form which is called archa-vigraha. This archa-vigraha, sometimes called the archa incarnation, is not different from Him. Just as the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts various incarnations, He takes on forms made out of matter — clay, wood, metal and jewels.

There are many śāstric injunctions which give instructions for carving forms of the Lord. These forms are not material. If God is all-pervading, then He is also in the material elements. There is no doubt about it. But the atheists think otherwise.

Although they preach that everything is God, when they go to the temple and see the form of the Lord, they deny that He is God. According to their own theory, everything is God. Then why is the Deity not God? Actually, they have no conception of God.

The devotees' vision, however, is different; their vision is smeared with love of God. As soon as they see the Lord in His different forms, the devotees become saturated with love, for they do not find any difference between the Lord and His form in the temple, as do the atheists. The smiling face of the Deity in the temple is beheld by the devotees as transcendental and spiritual, and the decoration of the body of the Lord is very much appreciated by the devotees.

It is the duty of the spiritual master to teach how to decorate the Deity in the temple, how to cleanse the temple and how to worship the Deity. There are different procedures and rules and regulations which are followed in temples of Vishnu, and devotees go there and see the Deity, the vigraha, and spiritually enjoy the form because all of the Deities are benevolent.

The devotees express their minds before the Deity, and in many instances the Deity also gives answers. But one must be a very elevated devotee in order to be able to speak with the Supreme Lord. Sometimes the Lord informs the devotee through dreams. These exchanges of feelings between the Deity and the devotee are not understandable by atheists, but actually the devotee enjoys them. Kapila Muni is explaining how the devotees see the decorated body and face of the Deity and how they speak with Him in devotional service

[kashmirshazad]

Salam powerdharma

What are your views on the Shiv Sena or the other extreme Hindus who wish to burn down every masjid in India, and who wish to send all muslims back to Pakistan or Bangladesh?

Thanks

['Abd Al-Maajid]

Salam powerdharma

What are your views on the Shiv Sena or the other extreme Hindus who wish to burn down every masjid in India, and who wish to send all muslims back to Pakistan or Bangladesh?

Thanks

one phrase, 'Terrorism has no religion.' You cannot control one's train of thoughts...:hmm:

[kashmirshazad]

one phrase, 'Terrorism has no religion.' You cannot control one's train of thoughts...:hmm:

Watch what you say or the MI5 OR MI6 will knock on your door. How dare you that you say that any other religion can be a terrorist?!!!

LOL,

[Predator]

@airforce: You dont need to tell me about the Vedas. That is just one quote from the Vedas. Vedas are NOT written by God.. They are a compilation of philosophical ideas. The same Vedas tell us that it is okay to make idols of Gods. God has appeared several times on Earth. Lord Ram(The Supreme God) Himself worshipped the idol of Lord Shiva...and you yourself have posted the picture. Are u saying He is wrong.

So the vedas contradict themselves , right ?

How do we know that a book claimed to be from God is really the Book of God? One of the tests, out of the many such tests, is - that a message emanating from an Omniscient Being
MUST be consistent with itself. It ought to be free from all discrepancies and contradictions. This is exactly what the the Book of God says:

4:82
Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy

If God Almighty wants us to verify the authenticity of His Book (The Holy Qur-án) with this acid test, why should we not apply the very same test to any other Book claiming to be from Him?

And If apply that test to the veda and if we find contradiction ,then the whole Veda can be thrown out .

[powerofdharma]

Since Lord Krishna brought Meditation upon earth and Mohammed meditated in the mountains...
Could the prophet be meditating upon Krishna himself?

[Ramadhan]

Since Lord Krishna brought Meditation upon earth and Mohammed meditated in the mountains... Could the prophet be meditating upon Krishna himself?

Dude, you need to lay off whatever you're on.

[aadil77]

Since Lord Krishna brought Meditation upon earth and Mohammed meditated in the mountains...
Could the prophet be meditating upon Krishna himself?

prophet Muhammad also destroyed 360 idols, I'm sure one of them would have been Lord Krishna

[Woodrow]

While this thread has some points of interest and I do not doubt everybody's sincerity, the thread is leading to needless disputes.

This thread is under arrest for disturbing the peace and is being locked up.

:threadclo: