On Sat, 20 Jul 2002, Frederick Noronha wrote:
> Hi Tariq, What's so unusual about this? We need to keep in mind that > Hinduism is a polytheistic set of beliefs, which has space for hundreds, > thousands of millions of new deities and gods. > Fred, I dont think the piece of news that I had posted had much to do about religion. In fact, what it had to do with was the gullibility and ignorance that man possesses and is prone to use at every opportunity. Hence the note to Santosh Helekar to provide yet another comment in line with his long standing campaign against Human Stupidity. On your note that Hinduism was accommodating towards other religious thoughts, must be viewed in the context of those other religious thoughts. The fertile plains of the Indus and the Ganges provided a home to many invaders. If we are to assume that the Aryans were the first upholders of the Hindu faith, then their belief in a multitude of Gods and Goddesses provided little difference to the Greeks, Macedonians, Scythes and Huns who invaded India. The latter themselves worshipping a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, found little consequence in absorbing and dissolving in a similar system of beliefs. The beliefs of the Dravidians were perhaps also incorporated in that same way Perhaps the divisions became more acute when the clearly defined beliefs of Islam and Christianity came to India and clashed with the more porous and plural beliefs in India, which came to be known as Hinduism. But whatever the orientation of the beliefs, neither of the faiths have condoned Human Stupidity. The success of the millions of godmen and tantrics and so called pirs and faqirs is not the result of the existence of Hinduism or exclusive to a Hindu-dominated India. These godmen and tantrics can be found in every corner of the world, donning the religious colors prevalent in that part of the world, and feeding on the one universal constant - Human Stupidity. Before I go, let me relate another gem of Human Stupidity that was told by my grandfather. As an officer in the Indian Civil Service in British India, my grandfather was posted to Lakhimpur (UP). On taking commission there, he was asked by the locals to pay his respects at the grave of a local saint whose name the locals did not know. What was peculiar about this grave was that, unlike the graves of the Muslims, this grave was not facing Mecca and was located on the property of a British officer who had vacated the premises some years ago. Upon enquiry, my grandfather came to know from the gardener of the property that this grave was that of a dog of the British officer. Some people apparently discovered it after the officer vacated his property and its unusual alignment against the principles of Islam led them to conclude that this was probably the grave of a great saint. The gardener said that he tried to explain to those people that this was the grave of a dog, but they would not listen. Meanwhile, this grave had become a good business with cash offerings, so nobody complained! -- Tariq Siddiqui [ This Space for Rent ] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
