What shall we do to retain members in hinduism?

[BRAHMACHARI]

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Dear Fellow-Members in this forum,

I have opened this thread to discuss what we shall do to retain members in hinduism.

I humbly request members not to discuss about conversion or re-conversion as these are being discussed in detail in other threads.

I request that discussions in this thread shall be confined to the topic and not to deviate or digress from the topic.

For example, members may suggest ideas like, 'we shall identify the poor and needy, pool in some fund and help them. we can help educate the children of the poor among hindus. we can provide minimum clothing necessary. we can teach them scriptures, fundamentals of hinduism, help them appreciate the tenets of hinduism, our culture etc.

We may not be able to jump into the plunge and start putting them to practice. We shall just share ideas. Perhaps in future we may find ways and means of implementing the suggestions.

Let us not dig into where we have gone wrong in the past. Let bygones be bygones. Let us discuss what we shall do that is right and help retain people.

We cannot help those who are lured or coerced or threatened by divine disenchantment. We cannot help those who lack conviction. Let them better go than pollute our community.

 

[prasad1]

I think it is a good thread.
But let us get the definitions right.
Who is a Hindu?
Born, converted, just believes in Hindu Values, agnostic, atheist.
They all can be called Hindu except when they claim they are not.
Who is not a Hindu?
Anybody who claim they are not Hindu.

Religion is a personal thing for me.
Even among Hindus some may be advaitin or Kabir Panthi or even atheist. Somebody else can not define me, I define myself and join any group I want to be at that time.
If some one is curious and wants to understand "Hinduism" in my social circle or in our temple we explain the basic principles, but they have to find it for themselves. In my POV anybody can be a Hindu, as long as they want it.

 

[a-TB]

I do not know of any Hindu talking about 'retaining' other Hindus! It is not in the Hindu DNA to ask such things.

Retaining from what? Conversion by others deceptively?



This question is typically asked by outsiders to Hindu faith to do 'opposition research' LoL

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

I think it is a good thread.

Thanks Prasad Sir.

But let us get the definitions right.
Who is a Hindu?
.... In my POV anybody can be a Hindu, as long as they want it.

I accept this simple(st) definition of a hindu sir. with this definition, let us proceed further on the topic of discussion sir.

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

.... It is not in the Hindu DNA to ask such things....

unfortunately it is in the hindu dna to fear and panic dwindling in numbers sir, when people find greener pastures in other faiths sir. this has thrown a challenge to whosoever calls himself/herself a hindu, is possessed with this fear and blames people professing other faiths of luring away our fellow-brethren to do something to retain members in our fold.

please suggest ideas how we shall face this challenge, how we shall conduct ourselves, what we shall plan and do to make fellow-members feel comfortable as they are, to make them feel they are already in a greener pasture.

 

[a-TB]

unfortunately it is in the hindu dna to fear and panic dwindling in numbers sir, when people find greener pastures in other faiths sir. this has thrown a challenge to whosoever calls himself/herself a hindu, is possessed with this fear and blames people professing other faiths of luring away our fellow-brethren to do something to retain members in our fold.

please suggest ideas how we shall face this challenge, how we shall conduct ourselves, what we shall plan and do to make fellow-members feel comfortable as they are, to make them feel they are already in a greener pasture.

There is no need to change or go after problems that do not exist.

The only problem is to chase corruption away and those into deceit and deception away.

Actually you and I agree with definition of Hindu as Mr Prasad puts it. There is no issue

 

[auh]

...This question is typically asked by outsiders to Hindu faith to do 'opposition research' LoL

You have spoken what my instinct tells me.... better to ignore this thread and the topic. I smell something...

 

[prasad1]

There is no need to change or go after problems that do not exist.

The only problem is to chase corruption away and those into deceit and deception away.

Actually you and I agree with definition of Hindu as Mr Prasad puts it. There is no issue

The issue is how others in Hindu community define another "Hindu".
For example an orthodox Hindu may not accept a dalit Hindu as Hindu, and not accept him to enter the temple.
100 Dalits were arrested for tying to enter temple.
100 Dalits arrested for trying to enter temple
That is one case of discrimination.
I have heard of non-Indian Hindus not being accepted as Hindus in Indian Temples.
How can we deny a person like Tulsi Gabbard from Hinduism.
Tulsi Gabbard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Bhahmachari, and a-tbji wait till the orthodox participate.
Actually in another thread you could not define who is Hindu?
http://www.tamilbrahmins.com/genera...ous-conversions-rings-false-4.html#post287773

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

.. I smell something...

may i know what it is sir?

please avoid paranoid, skepticism, cynicism sir. these are not traits of brahmins.

i hold you in good esteem and you are capable of contributing inputs to this topic of discussion sir. please do it.

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

...For example an orthodox Hindu may not accept a dalit Hindu as Hindu, and not accept him to enter the temple........

shall we begin accepting dalit hindu as hindu henceforth sir and remove the term dalit from our midst sir? would that be a solution sir?

 

[renuka]

Good topic but at present Hindu organizations that help the needy or the poor and teach them about religion sort of indirectly forms sects/cults/groups.

I know the intention to help is noble but can there be a totally neutral way of helping Hindus without the need to identify with any sect?

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

There is no need to change or go after problems that do not exist.

in that case we must turn a blind eye to and ignore conversions sir, but we are not doing it.

..those into deceit and deception away.

who are they sir?

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

Good topic but at present Hindu organizations that help the needy or the poor and teach them about religion sort of indirectly forms sects/cults/groups.

I know the intention to help is noble but can there be a totally neutral way of helping Hindus without the need to identify with any sect?

Thanks madam!

if forming cults/sects is the cause of the issue, what shall we do to arrest such formings?

"..can there be a neutral way..."

there can be madam. where there is a will there is a way. let us have a positive attitude and think progressively. thanks for your inputs.

 

[vgane]

Not all are aware about the Hindu teachings and way of life...We need to educate them...

Basically we ought to cover all sections of Hindus...

Create a sense of unity in diversity..

Respect for the mother is ingrained in our culture..Leveraging that..

Also who are the neglected sections and we should work for their betterment (socio economic) could also be way forward

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

Not all are aware about the Hindu teachings and way of life...We need to educate them...

Basically we ought to cover all sections of Hindus...

Create a sense of unity in diversity..

Respect for the mother is ingrained in our culture..Leveraging that..

Also who are the neglected sections and we should work for their betterment (socio economic) could also be way forward

thanks sir.

we ought to have realized all what you have mentioned centuries ago.

better late than never.

 

[a-TB]

The issue is how others in Hindu community define another "Hindu".
For example an orthodox Hindu may not accept a dalit Hindu as Hindu, and not accept him to enter the temple.
100 Dalits were arrested for tying to enter temple.
100 Dalits arrested for trying to enter temple
That is one case of discrimination.
I have heard of non-Indian Hindus not being accepted as Hindus in Indian Temples.
How can we deny a person like Tulsi Gabbard from Hinduism.
Tulsi Gabbard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Bhahmachari, and a-tbji wait till the orthodox participate.
Actually in another thread you could not define who is Hindu?
http://www.tamilbrahmins.com/genera...ous-conversions-rings-false-4.html#post287773

Dear Mr Prasad - if you group a number of people, discrimination for some reason or the other will emerge among the group. Even within families of siblings this happens. Hindu term includes like you said anyone that calls themselves so and so discrimination will emerge. All religions and race are subject to this.. Why single out Hindus?

 

[prasad1]

Dear Mr Prasad - if you group a number of people, discrimination for some reason or the other will emerge among the group. Even within families of siblings this happens. Hindu term includes like you said anyone that calls themselves so and so discrimination will emerge. All religions and race are subject to this.. Why single out Hindus?

In this thread we are talking of Hindus only.
If we agree on the definition of Hindu, then let us not divide ourselves into us vs them camp. If Hinduism is the entire universe, you can not exclude any one. If the definition is correct then Hindu religion is the only one that is universal. Naturally discrimination in Hinduism has to singled out. More over this is TB forum, and most members here are Hindus (with the above definition). I know nothing about other religions and I can not speak of it as it does not make any sense.

 

[prasad1]

Not all are aware about the Hindu teachings and way of life...We need to educate them...

Basically we ought to cover all sections of Hindus...

Create a sense of unity in diversity..

Respect for the mother is ingrained in our culture..Leveraging that..

Also who are the neglected sections and we should work for their betterment (socio economic) could also be way forward

Nobel goals, but the size of the problem is bigger than individuals.
I know Ramakrishna Mission was the premier Indian organization involved in emergency relief with out a political motifs. Later Chinmaya and other religious organization started doing work in this area.

[h=6]The motto of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission is:[/h] Atmano mokshartham jagad hitaya cha,
"For one's own salvation, and for the welfare of the world".

 

[vgane]

Daan is ingrained in our culture...There are 3 paths to make oneself divine as per Lord Krishna...Our duty towards God is Yagna (Prayers/ rituals), duty towards Society is Daan(charity) and duty towards self is Tapas (meditation)...

Doing more of Daan will help Hinduism retain and grow its numbers

 

[sarang]

Unity does not mean uniformity. Does not follow that all have to follow the same set of rules. If a group managing a temple have a set of rules, it is foolish to fight with that group; in some cases when dalits have access to local temple, the trouble started when they demanded special privileges, which the other group had been enjoying for years. Dalits have rights, they too have their own temples, where they enjoy first rights.

Hindus have always been following 'live, let live', 'follow yours, respect others' among themselves and with people of other faiths too. This noble path has started to give diminishing returs, because some hindus and people of other faiths insist on their rights to devalue and destroy our dharmic principles and way of life. This will definitely create tension and backlash, and we have to follow the footsteps of shivaji, vijayanagara kings in the modern context. Such a glorious tolerant culture as ours will defeat all disruptive forces and succeed in the end.

Hindutva is our living concept; has to be understood and nurtured for a stable, tolerant and diverse india. Otherwise india too will become a pakistan or bangladesh.

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

Unity does not mean uniformity. Does not follow that all have to follow the same set of rules. If a group managing a temple have a set of rules, it is foolish to fight with that group; in some cases when dalits have access to local temple, the trouble started when they demanded special privileges, which the other group had been enjoying for years. Dalits have rights, they too have their own temples, where they enjoy first rights.

Hindus have always been following 'live, let live', 'follow yours, respect others' among themselves and with people of other faiths too. This noble path has started to give diminishing returs, because some hindus and people of other faiths insist on their rights to devalue and destroy our dharmic principles and way of life. This will definitely create tension and backlash, and we have to follow the footsteps of shivaji, vijayanagara kings in the modern context. Such a glorious tolerant culture as ours will defeat all disruptive forces and succeed in the end.

Hindutva is our living concept; has to be understood and nurtured for a stable, tolerant and diverse india. Otherwise india too will become a pakistan or bangladesh.

dear sarang sir, I understand eliminating groupism would help retain members in Hinduism. but i doubt if the concept of hindutva as defined by the saffron groups would help retain members.

 

[sarang]

All hindutva groups like viswa Hindu parishad or bajrang dal has members from all varnas and jatis. There is no conflict or dissidence and in fact caste is not an issue at all. RSS too does not bother or even ask the members' caste. Only jati specific groups like arya vaishya sangh (I saw a banner in Mumbai yesterday) vaishya chettiar sabai in taminadu display affiliation , but they worry about communities' welfare and have no political ambition. So no special effort is needed for unity.

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

.... Hindu religion is the only one that is universal. ....

Sir, how sincere are we in claiming this. i wish your statement is 100% true but is it? why not people of other religions find an end for their spiritual pursuit and truth-hunt in hinduism? we say all religions are like the different rivers which eventually merge/dissolve into the one and same ocean. why not hinduism is the ocean? i think we need to seriously introspect into all this.

 

[renuka]

Recently I found out that a person who is looking for a proposal for his daughter who is a divorcee rejected a groom cos the grooms mother was a Dalit.The grooms dad is not a Dalit.

But now I hear that the this person is considering accepting a proposal from a Christian groom for his daughter!

I was thinking "what the heck! So what if the 1st groom's mother is a Dalit..at least he is a Hindu"

So I guess some people are more concerned about caste than religion.

It is this type of behavior that makes people not value Hinduism.