On Saturday 04 Aug 2007 6:04 am, Charles Haynes wrote: > If I say I don't believe in dharma, reincarnation, karma or in any > gods can I be a Hindu? At what point does "Hindu" become so watered > down as to be useless as a description? At what point does it become a > distinction without a difference?
IMO A lot depends on the society of your birth. You can believe whetever you like but if you are surrounded by a family of practicing Hindus (your own family that is - not just any family) - then that family will lay claim on you as being Hindu. The family of a beef-eating person of Hindu origin who takes pains to distance himself from karma, dharma, pharma, sharma or whatever, is still flaunted as a "progressive and modern" Hindu. It is not easy to escape the clutches of Hinduism despite having the most non Hindu views and beliefs. The point may be that its not YOU personally that has a say, but what society thinks of you and how it treats you is equally important. If society thinks you are Hindu then you are caught. You can spend your life denying Hinduism but your denial will be laughed off. "Black sheep", rebels and deniers are all considered par for the course and almost nothing will kick a person out of Hinduism. The surest way to get out is to become a proselytizing convert to Islam or Christianity - but that might not be enough. Even then he will be called a Hindu convert and will have to be sure that he follows his holy book well or else he will be described as a half-Hindu. Hinduism may well be a state of being that is intimately linked up with place, family and circumstances of birth. However Hinduism has defaulted to accept any belief that does not dogmatically claim to be a particular faith. You will find Hindus pointing at virtually anything (eg something plucked out of South America) and claiming that it is a Hindu belief. Anything is allowed. Nothing is dismissed as totally alien by all Hindus. There is always some Hindu group who will accept the weirdest practices (is necrophilia and necrophagia good enough?) as a "legitimate Hindu practice". shiv
