While reading the assigned handout, (chapter two of The Hindu View of Life, S. Radhakrishnan, 1973) I really saw how open ended Hinduism was. Hinduism is a symphony of many different beliefs working together in harmony.There is no domination of one idea over the other; old stories from cave men are accepted equally.
"The emotional attitudes attached to the old forms are transferred to the new which is fitted into the background of the old," (29)...."Opinions cannot grow unless traditions are altered," (32).
Because we all come from different locations, it only makes sense that our beliefs should be as different. What a poor, lonely man living near the mountains believes is bound to be different than the ideas of a wealthy man living with his family in the city. But Hinduism says that's okay, and encourages that. This acceptance to interpretation is so different from the Christian beliefs I was raised on.
We were taught that there is one God, and Jesus the savior was his son. Each year in mass we are asked to renew our vows and commit that we believe there is one God, and we hold the parables in the Bible to be true. In Christianity, you either believe or feel like a sinner for not believing.
You can tell a lot about a man based on what he believes in...
"The right way to refine the crude beliefs of any group is to alter the bias of mind. The view of God an individual stresses depends on the kind of man he is. The temperament, training...influence of the environment determine, to a large extent, the character of his religious opinions. Any defect in one's nature or onesidedness in one's experience is inevitably reflected in the view the individuals," (32).
We believe what we need to believe in. Hinduism is one religion that seems to allow its followers the freedom to choose. "Not common in creed, but common in quest," (42). Maybe someday it will, as the author believes, become the universal religion...
We believe what we need to believe in.
It does not follow that all stories are equal, but everyone's perspective is a legitimate starting point from which to work toward a more adequate understanding.
ReplyDeleteYes, good point. In my statement above, I should have said "all stories are equally welcome," meaning no one is right.
DeleteJust because a King believes one thing to be true, and a street person says another, no one point of view is better than another.
All are encouraged to find the truth and work together toward, as you said,a more adequate understanding.
Jess, I completely agree with what you've said about how people belief what we need to belief. I'm taking a sociology course this semester, and this concept arrises in every class. I completely agree that this applies to religion. I too was raised in a christian household. When i was younger, my family would go to church every sunday. But as time passed, and i grew older, I realized that the beliefs of the church weren't sitting well with me. I never go to church now, unless it's for funerals.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what I believe in, all I know is that I strongly belief in reincarnation, just like Krishna. I appreciate this book for the same reasons you do; One can believe what they want and have the freedom to explore, whereas in other religions they have strict rules that must be followed. I think that's one of the things I didn't like about the church, the fact that I was being told "This is how it is, believe it or get lost."
Hinduism has a freedom that many other religions fail to exhibit.