| Awaken Bharata |
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| Books By David Frawley |
| HINDU POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS CRITIQUES | |
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| Hinduism
as a Culture
Hinduism is not only a religion. It is a vast culture, permeating all aspects of life from household matters to the highest spiritual philosophies. As Hindu Dharma is an open and diverse rather than exclusive religious tradition with many holy books, teachers and meditation practices, similarly Hindu or Bharatiya culture is a broad and open culture, encouraging, not trying to obstruct the development of art, science, philosophy and literature. Because of this strong cultural component there are those who claim that Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life, the tradition of India, and therefore members of any religion including Muslims and Christians can become Hindus. They propose Hinduism or Hindutva as a form of cultural nationalism that is religiously neutral and can accommodate not only Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains, whose religions are native to India, but also Christianity and Islam, which have existed in India so long so as to almost be native as well. Hinduism is not a dogmatic or exclusive religion to be sure, and can accommodate many beliefs, but does have its particular orientation, its way of Dharma. Though it is not simply a religion its religious element cannot be ignored. It has its particular beliefs of karma, rebirth and Self-realization, which however diversely formulated, cannot be set aside. Its main concern is the realization of immorality, which is certainly an issue in the sphere of religion. |
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