Hindu: Difference between revisions

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There is vast difference in faiths, followed under tag Hinduism and Sikhism.
There is vast difference in faiths, followed under tag Hinduism and Sikhism.


{{Wikipedia}}
==Reerences==
* Hum Hindu Nahin. Kahn Singh Nabha
* Lughet-e-Kishwari, published in Lucknow in 1964,
* Urdu-Feroze-ul-Laghat
* {{Wikipedia}}

Revision as of 02:58, 27 January 2011

Hindu, in general, a person that follows the religion of Hinduism, which was founded in India some 5000 years ago. Hinduism contains set of faiths made by different people of their time, which have common roots. Hinduism is based on Shastras, Smritis, Puranas and Other Granth's, and is considered as ancient and complicated.

Hinduism is characterized by a diverse array of belief systems, practices and scriptures. It has its origin in the ancient Indo-European Vedic culture at least as far back as 2000 BC. It is the third largest religion with approximately 940 million followers worldwide, 96% of whom live in the Indian subcontinent. In the US alone, 3 million people follow some form of Hinduism. After including Yoga followers, Hinduism has around 1.05 billion followers worldwide.

Hindu word is not present in Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharta but this name was given by Muslim Invaders to people living par sindhu river, whom they consider slaves and Blind. The religion which followed under term hindu was Sanatan Religion and before that it was Ad-Dharm. Hindu is not sanskrit term.

Furthermore, a Persian dictionary titled Lughet-e-Kishwari, published in Lucknow in 1964, gives the meaning of the word Hindu as “chor [thief], dakoo [dacoit], raahzan [waylayer], and ghulam [slave].” In another dictionary, Urdu-Feroze-ul-Laghat (Part One, p. 615) the Persian meaning of the word Hindu is further described as barda (obedient servant), sia faam (black color) and kaalaa (black).

So these are all derogatory expressions for the translation of the term hindu in the Persian label of the people of India.

According to Sir Monier Williams, the Sanskrit lexicographer, you cannot find an indigenous root for the words Hindu or India. Neither are these words found in any Buddhist or Jain texts, nor any of the official 23 languages of India. Some sources report that it was Alexander the Great who first renamed the River Sindhu as the Indu, dropping the beginning “S”, thus making it easier for the Greeks to pronounce. This became known as the Indus. This was when Alexander invaded India around 325 B.C. His Macedonian forces thereafter called the land east of the Indus as India, a name used especially during the British regime. Before this, the Vedic name for the area was Bharath Varsha, which many people still prefer to call it by that name.

Later, when the Muslim invaders arrived from such places as Afghanistan and Persia, they called the Sindhu River the Hindu River. Thereafter, the name “Hindu” was used to describe the inhabitants from that tract of land in the northwestern provinces of India where the Sindhu River is located, and the region itself was called “Hindustan.” Because the Sanskrit sound of “S” converts to “H” in the Parsee language, the Muslims pronounced the Sindhu as “hindu,” even though at the time the people of the area did not use the name “hindu” themselves. This word was used by the Muslim foreigners to identify the people and the religion of those who lived in that area. Thereafter, even the Indians conformed to these standards as set by those in power and used the names Hindu and Hindustan. Otherwise, the word has no meaning except for those who place value on it or now use it out of convenience.

Another view of the source of the name Hindu is based on a derogatory meaning. It is said that, “Moreover, it is correct that this name [Hindu] has been given to the original Aryan race of the region by Muslim invaders to humiliate them. In Persian, says our author, the word means slave, and according to Islam, all those who did not embrace Islam were termed as slaves.” (Maharishi Shri Dayanand Saraswati Aur Unka Kaam, edited by Lala Lajpat Rai, published in Lahore, 1898, in the Introduction)



Perhaps the Hindu spirit, inspired by no one man or woman in particular, is best captured in a line from the ancient Rig Veda:

English: "Truth is One, though the Sages know it as Many." — The Rig Veda (Book I, Hymn CLXIV, Verse 46)

Essentially, any kind of spiritual practice followed with faith, love and persistence will lead to the same ultimate state of self-realization. Thus, Hindu thought distinguishes itself by strongly encouraging tolerance for different beliefs since temporal systems cannot claim sole understanding of the one transcendental Truth.

Why Sikhs are not Hindus?

Though Sikhs also originate in India, and lived in people whom Muslim invaders termed as Hindus, Sikhs believe the meaning of Hindu, in their dictionary, is not suitable with what they learned from Gurus. Moreover the belief and practices which Hindus were actually following were left by Sikhs. There is no suspect that Sikhs were Hindus, but if we go by meaning of Hindu in actual then Sikhs are very much above from Hindus.

There is vast difference in faiths, followed under tag Hinduism and Sikhism.

Reerences

  • Hum Hindu Nahin. Kahn Singh Nabha
  • Lughet-e-Kishwari, published in Lucknow in 1964,
  • Urdu-Feroze-ul-Laghat
  • See Wikipedia article on Hindu for more information