How in the world did Hinduism survive 800 yrs of Muslim rule, then 250 yrs of Christian rule? what's next?
[quote:3sbv7njr]despite caste, regional, and language differences, how did Hindus maintain their faith under tremendous external pressure. this hammering at the door continued for about a 1000 yrs non-stop. most other cultures/religions elsewhere died in shorter timespans, or would've died under similar conditions. so what kept the flame burning? more importantly, will Vedic philosophy survive the 21st century?
Often it has been wondered in discussion groups, media about the reason for the existence of Hinduism, and the reason it has survived the incessant attacks. The other major religions of the world, Judaism, Zorastriarism (religion of Parsees) and infinite others which existed in the past are either extinct now or have to lead a meagre survival. For more than 1000 years, India, the home of Hinduism was ruled by non-Hindus for the major part, yet the flame of Hinduism didnt burn out! Hinduism still has its flag high up, making the name 'Sanatana Dharma' given to it very apt.
But what is the reason behind this greatness of Hinduism. Mind you, it is not just a religion in the sense that people follow certain religious practices, go to temples etc. So far, in some form or another, the Hindu way of life has survived not just in India but beyond. True that it has got mixed with the other cultures it came in contact with, has trasnformed with the necessities of time, but still it continues to add its own favor in the places where a Hindu goes.
So what makes Hinduism unique? Is it the Vedas, Upanishads and Gita? But hardly a percent of Hindus read any one of them in their entirety! Also, the possibility of a book of such stature as a Veda or an Upanishad being lost in say a Babylonian culture cannot be denied. Is it the philisophy? For ages, people have kept thinking about ways of explaining nature; and have created philosophies in that attempt! Is it the Indian science, culture, arts and architecture which preserved Hinduism? But there are the pyramids, the whole of Mayan artefacts and the Roman collosium. There was Greek geometry, Roman science and amazing artforms all over the world. The fact that Indians were good at each of these things hardly explain the survival of Hinduism.
I had been thinking about this for a while now, and the answer came in an indirect manner in one of Swami Vivekananda's lectures! It is amazing how whenever I feel down or disturbed, opening a page in the sayings of the great man makes all my agonies unreal and trivial! The words have such energy that inspiration flows into a person by simply reading them!
The lecture I read was the one titled 'My Master', which is his discourse on life and teachings of Ramakrishna Paramhamsa. Of the hundreds of lectures SV gave since his historical speech at Chicago, this probably is the only one where he speaks of his Guru's personal life! The reason behind this is that he wanted to spread his guru's teachings, not his guru's fame!
In the course of his description of his Guru, he starts with first explaining what India stands for, what India means! He says that the basic soul of Hinduism and of India, the one common thread that binds the hundreds of sects in Hinduism together is this, 'There is a certain higher principle which is unmanifest, which exists in a dimension higher than the ones that are manifest; and the sole aim of human life is to realize that principle'. He says it is around this principle that the whole of Indian life revolves, the understanding of this higher principle! Indians can call it with multiple names such as moksha, mukti, nirvana, atma-dnyaan, they all mean the same thing, realizing the truth of life!
And therein lies the secret of Hinduism's survival! The sole aim is realization, for which a book, a messenger, a prophet, or even a son of God is not needed. For this, a clergy is not needed! Neither is the knowledge of a particular language required! One does not even have to be a genius to understand the truth! All that is needed is a pure heart and an intense desire to know the truth! Swamiji explains that as a boy, his guru, Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, naturally possessed these qualities, and that they truly signify the defining characteristic of a true Hindu!
So how could Hinduism be destroyed! The invaders came and plundered. They destroyed the temples and the idols! But that was simply the 'body' of Hinduism, the external visible part! They destroyed the books, mistranslated and misprojected them! They even tried to burn the great libraries, which were 'mind' of Hinduism. The books simply stated the truths, they were not the truths! The last attempt, the one done by Western education was to play with the 'intellect', where the young minds were systematically taught to hate their religion and culture. But alas! They missed the important thing, the 'soul' of Hinduism! The Hindu declares that the body,mind and intellect of a person are mere the projections, the manifestations! The real nature of a man is his soul! So is it with a religion. The soul of Hinduism is in realization and that is as strong as ever!
Can this soul ever be destroyed? No! It is a basic nature of humans to enquire, to ask about what is beyond to try to find out what the beginning and the end of the existence is! Until this nature exists, such a question will always come up, "What is beyond?" and until such a question rises, noone can
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