Who is a true Hindu?
Anyone who is born in India is a Hindu or Indian and Anyone who Embraces Hinduism is a Hindu. In this sense, Muslims and Christians are also Hindus. Hinduism is not a religion but Dharma which means universal codes of good conduct which sustain the universe and humanity like truth, non-violence, kindness etc which are common to all religions. So, anyone born in India can claim to be a Hindu.
Indian Muslims and Christians do not call themselves Hindus because they think that Hinduism is a faith-based religion like Islam and Christianity and it will dilute their faith if they call themselves Hindus. They also think that it dilutes their religious pride. But they don't mind calling themselves Indians or Hindustani. In fact, the word Hindustan was coined by Muslims which means people of India.
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| Hinduism contains all faiths including faiths like Islam and Christianity. |
Hinduism contains all faiths including faiths like Islam and Christianity. Hinduism even respects and accepts atheists and atheism. Muslins are deadly against idol worship and them mixup Hinduism with idol worship. But idol worship is a culture of Hinduism or Hindus. It is not the only feature or essential feature of Hinduism.
A Hindu may or may not worship idols but should respect the Hindu culture of idol worship. Hinduism contains the concept of a Personal Supreme God without form as in Islam and Christianity. Hinduism even has the concept of impersonal, formless Supreme God which is superior to the concepts of God in Islam or Christianity. But Hinduism does not impose any particular faith on all Hindus.
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| Hindu can choose his own faith and way of worship by approaching a Guru |
An adult Hindu can choose his own faith and way of worship by approaching a Guru. Whereas Islam and Christianity are faith-based, Hinduism is realization based which is superior to faith because one can confirm his faith by his own self-knowledge and experience through self-inquiry.
The purpose of Hindu rites and rituals and festivals is to create good human beings and not just religious people although a Hindu can also be religious like Muslims and Christians.
So, Hinduism begins with freedom and ends with freedom. Freedom or Moksha is the goal of Hinduism and any human being can achieve this goal in this very life through spiritual practice without converting to Hinduism. Hinduism does not identify a person by his faith as in Islam and Christianity and so, there is no theory of conversion in Hinduism. In fact, Hinduism is against all conventions as it divides human society and becomes a cause of human conflict.
We all know about Jihad and Crusade or religious war in Islam and Christianity. There is no such war in Hinduism. We also know how India was partitioned because of religious conflict between Hindus and Muslims.
Hinduism recognizes only two types of people in the world, the followers of Dharma or righteous and the followers of Adharma or evil. All thieves, robbers, rapists, and terrorists are the followers of Adharma and all law abiding citizens are the followers of Dharma. There is always a conflict between these two groups in which Dharma is always the winner. This is the eternal Hindu belief. The follower of Adharma can be a Hindu also as in the case of Duryodhana in the epic Mahabharata. Hinduism insists that we follow the Dharma and abstain from Adharma. This is the minimum requirement to be a Hindu. All Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains are included in Hinduism.
Should be:
- Follows Dharma or the laws of Sanatan Dharma.
- Respects Hindu culture.
- Fights Adharma or evil in any form.
- Not sectarian like Islam and Christianity.
- Opposes the fundamentalist interpretation of Islam and Christianity
- Try to protect Hinduism within Hindus by preventing the conversion of Hindus to other religions and fighting foreign aggression.
- Promotes the prevention of cow slaughter in India.
- Hinduism is synonymous with humanism and universalism which has developed in India.
AUTHOR: Asimendra DeChaudhari
former Senior Telecom Assistant at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (1978-2014)
