Issue of godmen

[CHANDRU1849]

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I watched a debate on Godmen initiated by Karan Thapar in Headlines Today. subsequent to the fall out of Rampal.

One of the speakers said that only in Hinduism the Scriptures talk about bribery to God. He cited Rig Veda as an example.

Is it true?

 

[sangom]

I watched a debate on Godmen initiated by Karan Thapar in Headlines Today. subsequent to the fall out of Rampal.

One of the speakers said that only in Hinduism the Scriptures talk about bribery to God. He cited Rig Veda as an example.

Is it true?

I don't think so. Among Christians also there are practices like "nErccai" (manOti, in Hindi) and a promise to light a small candle before the icon in the 'cross house' called kuriSaDi in Malayalam, is a common man's nErccai. Beyond that such manoti may go even up to offering a gold cross to the altar, a really costly affair which only the super-rich can do. Among Muslims (of Kerala at least) I have heard that Chandana kudam (sandal pot, literally) is sometimes made as manoti and there are similar, less costly items also.

There is a certain underlying similarity in Man's concept of God and how he (Man) has shaped that god-concept in order to suit the needs of the people and those who benefit from religion. But the concept of "god-men or god-women" is probably exclusive to current day hinduism. IMO, this has arisen out of the Bhakti cult of hinduism, and was not there when only the vedic worship was practised in hinduism.

 

[sarang]

Who is the speaker? His background and faith will reveal more.

I watched a debate on Godmen initiated by Karan Thapar in Headlines Today. subsequent to the fall out of Rampal.

One of the speakers said that only in Hinduism the Scriptures talk about bribery to God. He cited Rig Veda as an example.

Is it true?

 

[prasad1]

I don't think so. Among Christians also there are practices like "nErccai" (manOti, in Hindi) and a promise to light a small candle before the icon in the 'cross house' called kuriSaDi in Malayalam, is a common man's nErccai. Beyond that such manoti may go even up to offering a gold cross to the altar, a really costly affair which only the super-rich can do. Among Muslims (of Kerala at least) I have heard that Chandana kudam (sandal pot, literally) is sometimes made as manoti and there are similar, less costly items also.

There is a certain underlying similarity in Man's concept of God and how he (Man) has shaped that god-concept in order to suit the needs of the people and those who benefit from religion. But the concept of "god-men or god-women" is probably exclusive to current day hinduism. IMO, this has arisen out of the Bhakti cult of hinduism, and was not there when only the vedic worship was practised in hinduism.

I think the advent of Bhakti cult "changed" the Hinduism.
Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others were too strict for average people, who wanted shortcuts. So people were not attracted to them.

Bhakti cult made Hinduism mimic other religions of the world. Like the promise of a politician before an election, these religions offered the "candy" to entice the common folks to fork out their money.

The Vedic, Roman, and Greek Gods also needed bribe. So bribing or begging is common to all organized religion.

 

[CHANDRU1849]

Who is the speaker? His background and faith will reveal more.

So many people participated. Ved Marwar (Police Official), Renuka Narayanan (Columnist), one gentleman from Kerala and of course, Dipankar Gupta, Sociologist, JNU.

 

[sangom]

I think the advent of Bhakti cult "changed" the Hinduism.
Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others were too strict for average people, who wanted shortcuts. So people were not attracted to them.

Bhakti cult made Hinduism mimic other religions of the world. Like the promise of a politician before an election, these religions offered the "candy" to entice the common folks to fork out their money.

The Vedic, Roman, and Greek Gods also needed bribe. So bribing or begging is common to all organized religion.

I fully agree. How the vedic form of worship fell into disuse and bhakti cult started prevailing is, however, a topic not adequately researched. May be the common folks had a system of worshipping their folk heros (Rama, the Vasudeva cult, the bhagavatha cult, etc.) and the vedic higher castes ultimately felt that it would be practically wiser to "engulf & devour" this bhakti into the mainstream religion of theirs and accordingly crafted the puranas and extrapolations to already existing Aaranyakas, Brahmanas, Upanishads and so on, so that the newly "admitted" godheads will have certifications from the existing and otherwise unquestionable scriptural texts! Then possibly the two itihasas were also compiled in order to highlight two of the more popular folk-heros Rama and Krishna. Krishna, having been depicted as a Yadava (a Sudra), though as a prince & king in the Mahabharata, might have needed further bolstering up and that was why Harivamsam, Bhagavatham, etc., were written. We thus have today a hinduism which is devoted to Krishna (and, to a lesser extent, to Rama as also to paraphernalia of these two, like Garuda, Hanuman, very much on the same lines as Christianity is devoted to Christ and the Cross.