Primal

I also think the Marxists are doing a lot of good in India.

aristhrottle

How would you define Happiness?

aristhrottle

Such as?

Seraphim

"Some do think the lower castes cannot reach moksha, some think women cannot, some think beef-eaters cannot,some think non-Indians cannot be Hindus. "

Moksha (release from birth, death and rebirth) is between the person who seeks it and God, it has nothing to do with what other people say or think.

aristhrottle

Hinduwoman,

"Of course to be honest I would not insisted so much on my Hindu identity if at present Muslims and Christians were not being so aggressive. "

Can you elaborate please?

Dr. Jagan Mohan

Did you read my whole post? Particularly I want you to read the Bhagavad Gita quote provided please.
There you will find an elaborate treatment of the subject.

hinduwoman

Primal I did not say that all Hindus accept my views; on the other hand most Hindus are willing to accept an atheist as a Hindu.

You think cultural Hinduism is bunk because of your Western bias which is based on Christianity. As you can see from another of my post an Indian christian describes himself as a Hindu christian.

Guilty as charged of being tribalist --- as I told you again and again, but apparently you have forgotten, it is an emotional attachment.

hinduwoman

That is a new one. Perhaps you can tell me how the Marxist ruled states of Kerala and West Bengal are more advanced than other states?

hinduwoman

Well there are all those lovely fatwas on why Muslims should not mix with Hindus or even greet them with Salaam. There was always a distance. But it came to a head in 80's. In a court case the Supreme Court ruled that a 80 year old divorced woman could get Rs. 500 pm as alimony. Instant screams that shariat is being violated; demonstrations on streets; rioting and threats of further violence if the infidels do not stop trying to impose Hindu raj on the faithful. It kind of opened our eyes to Islamic fundamnetalism and how strong it has become. Since then the Mullahs and Islamic leaders have been more and more inflamatory and it appears quiet a lot of locals help the Islamic terrorists out of zeal and local madrassahs teach all about Jihad. Any law or court judgement that contradicts their interpretation of Koran is announced to be an attack on minorities. The problem is compounded by the fact that moderate Muslims do not do anything excpet wail that this is not real Islam and the Hindus are unfairly targeting them. Meanwhile the peaceful Muslims of lower classes would enthusiastically throw stones at Hindu processions and descecrate temples. The result is rioting, as Hindus become more and more belligrant. The mass of Muslims simply refuse to acknowledge there is anything wrong with their community; it is always the other party's fault.

In the last ten years Christian missionaries have become extremely aggressive. They go on saying publicly about Hinduism is being evil and how Christianity alone can save hindus from burning in hell. They keep on attacking Indian culture so much so publicly --- and most based on half-lies, while ignoring their own situation --- that I end up by reflexively defending it. In North India there are actually Church backed terrorists who try to convert Hindus and Buddhists to christianity by force.

The religious situation is such a mess here.
I am more more afriad of Islamic and Christian fundamentalism than of Hindu fundamentalism.
So it all ends up by my insisting that I am proud to be a hindu --- a defence mechanism if you will.

aristhrottle

Hello Dr. Jagan Mohan,

My apologies, in advance, for being a bit dense.

I went back and read your previous post once again. However, I did not find any reference to Happiness in that post which answered my question. I would be obliged if you would help me out or clarify things.

In fact, your post (prior to the Bhagavad Gita quote) spoke about Pleasure and Suffering to a large extent. Do you equate Pleasure with Happiness? You appeared to have drawn that conclusion with reference to Bill Gates. I am sure you are aware that Bill Gates per se is not the issue but your statement that the richest man in the world is DEFINITELY not the Happiest. I am at a loss to understand this. Why can't the richest man in the world be the Happiest(whatever way you define it?) Hence, I would like you to define Happiness.

That quote from the Bhagavad Gita is a thing of beauty, isn't it? The flow of words, even in the translation, is brilliant. I am sure that in the original Sanskrit it would read even better.

However, for me, it raises a lot of questions. But, as per my previous post, I am presently concerned with the question of Happiness. I did not find any reference to that in that particular quote from the Bhagavad Gita. It, I think, speaks of being detached from everything. Indeed, it sounds to being dangerously close to indifference, Be that as it may, does that define Happiness for you?

cheers