As Old As The Hills
Hinduism is as old as the Hills.
Radhakrishnan, a former president of India on one occasion, made the following statement: "Hinduism is more a culture than a creed"
Why is Hinduism called ‘A way of Life?’
Because it prescribes three different Paths determined by the personality of the Spiritual seeker.
The Path of Knowledge (Gyaan), Devotion (Bhakti) and Action (Karam).
All the Paths must eventually join into one main Highway, the destination of which is, a higher state of being, which some prefer to refer to, as merging with the Infinite.
Hinduism teaches that man’s true worth is gauged, more by what he is, rather than by how much he possesses.
However contrary to popular belief Hinduism does not condemn enjoyment as evil. Pleasure is to be fulfilled as richly and aesthetically as possible.
There is no founder to Hinduism.
It did not start with Rama or Krishna.
Even though they are considered Incarnations of the Lord.
The Hindu Dharma emerged from what the Great Sages perceived intuitively.
Hinduism is also called the Sanatan Dharma, which implies that Hinduism has no beginning or end.
A Hindu may worship one god, many or believe that the whole of Creation is worthy of veneration, as it mirrors the Presence of the Almighty.
Hindus do not advocate fear of God neither are they bound to believe what the Scriptures propagate.
As a matter of fact most of the Scriptures are based on Spiritual questions posed by students and answered by the Masters.
The most worshipped one, is The Bhagvad Geeta, where Arjuna does not follow Krishna’s advice until the latter is convinced.
The point to note is that at no juncture did Krishna lose his temper or threaten him with hell if he were not to heed the Divine advice.
Sanskrit, the Language in which the Great Hindu Scriptures are written, is the oldest and richest mode of expression known to mankind.
It has 65 words for earth and 70 words for water.
As such it possesses the right word to express the true import of, be it the subject of literature, poetry or/and philosophy.
India gave to the world its first University. Takshashila!
From it benefited not only Indian students but those that came from far off lands like Greece, Syria, China…to study Vedas, Medicine, Surgery Astronomy…
India gave birth to the concept of the zero.
Shushruta practiced Plastic Surgery on Indian soil over 2000 years ago.
And with amazing results!
Besides the above I have read that Indian astronomers were able to calculate the amount of time taken for the earth to orbit the sun 1500 years ago.
You, my reader will no doubt say but this is our past, what about the present, the future?
Swami Vivekananda says:
"It is out of the past that the future is molded, it is the past that becomes the future. Therefore the more the Hindus study their glorious past, the more glorious will be their future…"
We, as Hindus owe a great debt to the Great Sages who left us an inexhaustible reservoir of knowledge and Wisdom.
We could repay that debt partly by helping in re-instating our Religion and Country to the pinnacle of Glory it once enjoyed. I would feel amply rewarded if this humble effort of mine helps us in out taking one step in that direction.
Dal Sabzi for the Aatman
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