Hinduism as we all know is said to be one of the oldest living religions of the world. So I wonder, as to what makes this religion survive for so long and so well??
Well first of all hinduism is not a religion but a way of living, a culture of the land and its inhabitants. Did you know that the term 'Hinduism' was coined by the Persians after the 'Indus - Sindhu' river?? For them all the people living on the other side of the Indus - Sindhu river were Hindus and hence their religion Hinduism.
There are many similarities between Hinduism & other Pagan religions. You travel from one place to other & Hinduism changes there. Some people worship 'The Goddess Kali' where as some worship 'The Goddess Saraswati'. Some worship 'Lord Ram' & some worship 'Lord Shiva'. Its all a personal choice, you see, no compulsion, we have so many Gods and Goddesses. Each have their own personality, character, powers & weaknesses. Now isn't that like the normal world, each of us different, so naturally our divine protectors should be different to. This diversity helps us choose and believe better. There isn't one just one form of the supreme almighty but He/She exists in so many different forms, and you can pray to any of them any time you like.
This whole concept of so many Gods I feel makes the whole religion closer to our day to day lives. We get stuck on any moral situation, go look up in your 'Grantha' and you will definitely find a similar story to guide you.
You don't need to pray or perform rituals just because a priest tells you to do so. You can do it any time any way, in fact the greatest form of devotion towards your lord is doing your daily errands with total dedication and honesty.
Coming to the festivals, one can clearly see that they are harvest based, Holi, Diwali, Pongal etc, all are celebrated during the harvesting season, everyone is full of joy and happiness, can there be any better time to celebrate with our near & dear ones??
I believe the wide number of choices provided by hinduism, gives us all the option to personalise our faith in our own way, and that I believe is the secret to Hinduism's survival.
Well first of all hinduism is not a religion but a way of living, a culture of the land and its inhabitants. Did you know that the term 'Hinduism' was coined by the Persians after the 'Indus - Sindhu' river?? For them all the people living on the other side of the Indus - Sindhu river were Hindus and hence their religion Hinduism.
There are many similarities between Hinduism & other Pagan religions. You travel from one place to other & Hinduism changes there. Some people worship 'The Goddess Kali' where as some worship 'The Goddess Saraswati'. Some worship 'Lord Ram' & some worship 'Lord Shiva'. Its all a personal choice, you see, no compulsion, we have so many Gods and Goddesses. Each have their own personality, character, powers & weaknesses. Now isn't that like the normal world, each of us different, so naturally our divine protectors should be different to. This diversity helps us choose and believe better. There isn't one just one form of the supreme almighty but He/She exists in so many different forms, and you can pray to any of them any time you like.
This whole concept of so many Gods I feel makes the whole religion closer to our day to day lives. We get stuck on any moral situation, go look up in your 'Grantha' and you will definitely find a similar story to guide you.
You don't need to pray or perform rituals just because a priest tells you to do so. You can do it any time any way, in fact the greatest form of devotion towards your lord is doing your daily errands with total dedication and honesty.
Coming to the festivals, one can clearly see that they are harvest based, Holi, Diwali, Pongal etc, all are celebrated during the harvesting season, everyone is full of joy and happiness, can there be any better time to celebrate with our near & dear ones??
I believe the wide number of choices provided by hinduism, gives us all the option to personalise our faith in our own way, and that I believe is the secret to Hinduism's survival.
good realization and well written krati..:)
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot didi :)
ReplyDeleteRightly said
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