[Reader-list] Fwd: (no subject)

[Rakesh Iyer]

Dear Anupam ji,

I may agree, but a person like Vivekananda would not. He would believe that
all are Hindus, and would accept my statement. Infact, that is what he used
to say throughout his life time, probably as a result of the influence of
his guru (Sri Ramakrishna Paramhans) on him. He always believed that even
atheists and agnostics, as well as materialists are a part of Hinduism or
Hindu religion, which he considered to be the greatest (This seems to be
exactly the big-brotherly attitude I think you wish to refer. I differ from
Vivekananda here in the sense that I don't think it's a religion, and
moreover, I have no objections with anybody calling himself Hindu or
non-Hindu.)

As I said, this is what the problem with Hinduism is. The words and
categories you have stated are defined and they in a certain sense, exclude
people. Hinduism does or doesn't exclude people depending on the definiton
you wish to choose. So, each person can decide for oneself whether he/she is
a Hindu or not, and it's one's own call.

As for myself, as a Hindu, I can say I can say namaaz 5 times a day, pray to
Jesus Christ, go to a Buddhist/Sikh/Jain temple or gurudwara, pray to idols,
be an atheist or an agnostic, or worship so many idols of gods or goddesses
as the case may be, but I can do all this being a Hindu (which corresponds
to different ways of life, which can belong to specific religions or
ideologies). Hindu is not a religion for me. And if there is any ideology I
believe which Hinduism subscribes to, it's a sense of 'dharma' or duty, duty
towards all human beings.

Regards

Rakesh