Four years ago , I was flying from JFK NY Airport to SFO to attend a meeting at Monterey , CA . An American girl was sitting on the right side , near window seat . It , indeed , was a long journey – it would take nearly seven hours !
I was surprised to see the young girl reading a Bible – unusual of young Americans ! ( Later I came to know that September 11 has changed mind - set of lot of US citizens . They suddenly turned religious , it seemed . )
After some time she smiled and we had few acquaintances talk . I told her that I was from India .
Then suddenly the girl asked : ‘ What’s your faith ? ’
‘ What? ’ I didn’t understand the question .
‘ I mean , what’s your religion ? Are you a Christian ? Or a Muslim ? ’
‘ No! ’ I replied , ‘ I am neither Christian nor Muslim ’ .
Apparently , she appeared shocked to listen to that .
‘ Then who are you… ? ’
‘ I am a Hindu ’ , I said .
She looked at me , as if she is seeing a caged animal .
She could not understand , what I was talking about .
A common man in Europe or US knows about Christianity and Islam , as they are the leading religions of the world today .
But a Hindu , what ?
I explained to her – I am born to a Hindu father and Hindu mother . Therefore , I am a Hindu by birth .
‘ Who is your prophet ? ’ she asked .
‘ We don’t have a prophet , ’ I replied .
‘ What’s your Holy Book ? ’
‘ We don’t have a single Holy Book , but we have hundreds and thousands of philosophical and sacred scriptures , ’ I replied .
‘ Oh , come on...… at least tell me who is your God ? ’
‘ What do you mean by that ? ’
‘ Like we have Yahweh and Muslims have Allah – don’t you have a God ? ’
I thought for a moment . Muslims and Christians believe one God ( Male God ) who created the world and takes an interest in the humans who inhabit it . Her mind is conditioned with that kind of belief .
According to her ( or anybody who doesn’t know about Hinduism ) , a religion need to have one Prophet , one Holy book and one God . The mind is so conditioned and rigidly narrowed down to such a notion that anything else is not acceptable . I understood her perception and concept about faith . You can’t compare Hinduism with any of the present leading religions , where you have to believe in one concept of god .
I tried to explain to her : ‘ You can believe in one god and you can be a Hindu . You may believe in multiple deities and still you can be a Hindu . What’s more – you may not believe in god at all , still you can be a Hindu . An atheist can also be a Hindu . ’
This sounded very crazy to her .
She couldn’t imagine a religion so unorganized , still surviving for thousands of years , even after onslaught from foreign forces .
‘ I don’t understand….. but it seems very interesting . Are you religious ? ’
What can I tell to this American girl ?
I said : ‘ I do not go to temple regularly . I do not make any regular rituals . I have learned some of the rituals in my younger days . I still enjoy doing it sometimes . ’
‘ Enjoy ? Are you not afraid of God ? ’
‘ God is a friend . No - I am not afraid of God . Nobody has made any compulsions on me to perform these rituals regularly . ’
She thought for a while and then asked : ‘ Have you ever thought of converting to any other religion ? ’
‘ Why should I ? Even if I challenge some of the rituals and faith in Hinduism , nobody can convert me from Hinduism . Because , being a Hindu allows me to think independently and objectively , without conditioning… I remain as a Hindu never by force , but choice . ’ I told her that Hinduism is not a religion , but a set of beliefs and practices . It is not a religion like Christianity or Islam because it is not founded by any one person or does not have an organized controlling body like the Church or the Order , I added . There is no institution or authority .
‘ So , you don’t believe in God ? ’ she wanted everything in black and white .
‘ I didn’t say that . I do not discard the divine reality . Our scripture , or Sruthis or Smrithis – Vedas and Upanishads or the Gita – say God might be there or he might not be there . But we pray to that supreme abstract authority ( Para Brahma ) that is the creator of this universe . ’
‘ Why can’t you believe in one personal God ? ’
‘ We have a concept – abstract – not a personal god . The concept or notion of a personal God , hiding behind the clouds of secrecy , telling us irrational
stories through few men , whom he sends as messengers , demanding us to worship him or punish us , does not make sense . I don’t think that God is as silly as an autocratic emperor , who wants others to respect him or fear him . ’ I told her that such notions are
just fancies of less educated human imagination
and fallacies , adding that generally ethnic religious practitioners in Hinduism believe in personal gods . The entry level Hinduism has over - whelming superstitions too . The philosophical side of Hinduism negates all superstitions .
‘ Good that you agree God might exist . You told that you pray . What is your prayer then ? ’
‘ Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu . Om Shanti , Shanti , Shanti . ’
‘ Funny , ’ she laughed , ‘ What does it mean ? ’
‘ May all the beings in all the worlds be happy . Om Peace , Peace , Peace . ’
‘ Hmm…... very interesting . I want to learn more about this religion . It is so democratic , broad - minded and free….. ’ she exclaimed .
‘ The fact is Hinduism is a religion of the individual , for the individual and by the individual with its roots in the Vedas and the Bhagavad - Gita . It is all about an individual approaching a personal God in an individual way according to his temperament and inner evolution – it is as simple as that . ’
‘ How does anybody convert to Hinduism ? ’
‘ Nobody can convert you to Hinduism , because it is not a religion , but a set of beliefs and practices . Everything is acceptable in Hinduism because there is no single authority or organization either to accept it or to reject it or to oppose it on behalf of Hinduism . ’
I told her – if you look for meaning in life , don’t look for it in religions ; don’t go from one cult to another or from one guru to the next .
For a real seeker , I told her , Bible itself gives guidelines when it says ‘ Kingdom of God is within you . ’ I reminded her of Christ’s teaching about the love that we have for each other . That is where you can find the meaning of life .
Loving each and every creation of the God is absolute and real . ‘ Isavasyam idam sarvam ’ Isam ( the God ) is present ( inhabits ) here everywhere – nothing exists separate from the God , because God is present everywhere . Respect every living being and non - living things as God . That’s what Hinduism teaches you .
Hinduism is referred to as Sanathana Dharma , the eternal faith . It is based on the practice of Dharma , the code of life . The most important aspect of Hindu
is being truthful to oneself . Hinduism has no monopoly on ideas . It is open to all . Hindus believe in one God ( not a personal one ) expressed in different forms . For them , God is timeless and formless entity .
Ancestors of today’s Hindus believe in eternal truths and cosmic laws and these truths are opened to anyone who seeks them . But there is a section of Hindus who are either superstitious or turned fanatic to make this an organized religion like others . The British coin the word ‘ Hindu ’ and considered it as a religion .
I said : ‘ Religions have become an MLM ( multi - level - marketing ) industry that has been trying to expand the market share by conversion . The biggest business in today’s world is Spirituality . Hinduism is no exception… ’
Finally , I am a Hindu because it doesn’t condition my mind with any faith system .
Hinduism encourages people of other faiths to continue in the faiths of their births and seek the Truth within the confines of their own religion
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