Riddles in Hinduism the Difficulty of Knowing Why One is a Hindu

Riddles in Hinduism the Difficulty of Knowing Why One is a Hindu

Riddles in Hinduism
Riddle No. 1 - The Difficulty of Knowing Why One is a Hindu

India is a conjeries of communities. There are in it Parsis, Christians, Mohammedans and Hindus.
The basis of these communities is not racial. 
It is of course religious. 
This is a superficial view.
What is interesting to know is why is a Parsi a Parsi, and why is a Christian a Christian, why is a
Muslim a Muslim and why is a Hindu a Hindu? 
With regard to the Parsi, the Christian and theMuslim it is smooth sailing. 
Ask  a  Parsi why  he  calls himself  a  Parsi  he  will  have  no difficulty  in answering the  question.  He  will say  he  is a  Parsi  because  he  is a  follower  of  Zoraster.

Ask the same question to a Christian. 
He too will have no difficulty in answering the question. 
He is a Christian because he believes in Jesus Christ.  Put the same question to a Muslim.  He too will have no hesitation in answering it.
He will say  he is  a  believer  in  Islam and  that  is why  he  is  a Muslim.

Now  ask  the  same  question  to  a  Hindu  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  will  be  completely
Bewildered and would not know what to say.

If he says that he is a Hindu because he worships the same God as the Hindu Community
Does his answer cannot be true. 
All Hindus do not worship one God. 
Some Hindus areMonotheists, some are polytheists and some are pantheists. 
Even those Hindus who areMonotheists are not worshippers of the same Gods. Some worship the God Vishnu, some Shiva,Some Rama, some Krishna. Some do not worship the male Gods. They worship a goddess. Even Then they do not worship the same Goddesses. They worship different Goddesses. Some worship Kali, some worship Parvati, some worship Laxmi.

Coming to the Polytheists they worship all the Gods.
They will worship Vishnu and Shiva, also Rama and Krishna.
They will worship Kali, Parvati and Laxmi.
A Hindu will fast on the Shivaratri day because it is sacred to Shiva.
He will fast on Ekadashi day because it is sacred to Vishnu.
He will  plant  a  Bel  tree  because  it  is sacred  to  Shiva  and he will plant  a  Tulsi because it  is  dear to Vishnu.
 
Polytheists  among  the  Hindus  do  not  confine  their  homage  to  the  Hindu  Gods. 
No Hindu hesitates to worship a Muslim Pir or a Christian Goddess.
Thousands of Hindus go to a Muslim Pir and make offerings. 
Actually  there  are  in  some  places  Brahmins  who  own  the  office  of  a hereditary priesthood of a Muslim Pir and wear a Muslim Pir's dress.
Thousands of Hindus go to make offerings to the Christian Goddess Mant Mauli near Bombay.

The  worship  of  the  Christian  or  Muslim  Gods  is  only  on  occasions.  But there are more
Permanent transfer of religious allegiance.
There are many so-called Hindus whose religion has a strong Muhammadan content. Notable amongst these are the followers of the strange Panchpiriya  cult, who worship five Muhammadan saints, of uncertain name and identity, and sacrifice cocks to them,  employing  for  the  purpose  as  their  priest  a  Muhammadan  Dafali  fakir. 
Throughout  India many  Hindus make  pilgrimages  to  Muhammadan  shrines,  such  as  that  of  Sakhi  Sarwar  in  the Punjab.

Speaking of the Malkanas Mr.  Blunt  says  that  they  are  converted  Hindus  of  various  castes belonging  to  Agra  and  the  adjoining  districts. 

Chiefly Muttra, Ettah and Mainpuri. 
They are of Rajput, Jat and Bania descent. 
They are reluctant to describe themselves as Musalmans, and generally give their original caste name and scarcely recognize the name Malkana.
Their names are  Hindu;  they  mostly  worship  in  Hindu  temples:  they  use  the  salutation  Ram-Ram:  they intermarry  amongst  themselves  only. 
On the other hand, they sometimes frequent a mosque, practise circumcision and bury their dead: they will eat with Muhammadans if they are particular friends.

In Gujarat there are several similar communities such as the Matia Kunbis, who call in Brahmans for  their  chief  ceremonies,  but are  followers of  the  Pirana saint  Imam  Shah  and his successors, and  bury  their  dead  as  do  the  Muhammadans:  the  Sheikhadas  at  their  weddings  employ  both Hindu  and  a  Muhammadan priest,  and  the  Momans  who  practise  circumcision,  bury  their  dead and read the Gujarati Koran, but in other respects follow Hindu custom and ceremonial.

If he says that "I am a Hindu because I hold to the beliefs of the Hindus" his answer cannot
be right for here one is confronted with the fact that Hinduism has no definite creed.

The beliefs of persons  who  are  by  all  admitted  to  be  Hindus  often  differ more  widely  from each  other  than do those  of  Christians  and  Muhammadans.  Limiting the issue to cardinal beliefs the Hindus differ among themselves as to the beliefs which arc of cardinal importance. Some say that all the Hindu scriptures must be accepted, but some would exclude the Tantric, while others would regard only the  Vedas  as  of  primary  importance;  some  again  think  that  the  sole  essential  is  belief  in  the doctrine of karma and metempsychosis.

A complex congeries of creeds and doctrines is Hinduism.  It shelters within its portals
monotheists,  polytheists and pantheists;  worshippers  of  the  great  Gods  Shiva  and  Vishnu  or of their  female  counterparts,. As  well  as  worshippers  of  the  divine  mothers  or  the  spirits  of  trees, rocks and streams and the tutelary village deities; persons who propitiate their deity by all manner of  bloody sacrifices,  and  persons  who will  not  only  kill  no  living  creature  but who must not  even use  the  word  'cut  ';  those  whose  ritual  consists  mainly  of  pra yers  and  hymns,  and  those  who indulge  in  unspeakable  orgies  in  the  name  of  religion;  and  a  host  of  more  or  less  heterodox sectaries, many of whom deny the supremacy of the Brahmans, or at least have non-Brahmanical religious leaders.

If he says that he is a Hindu because he observes the same customs as other Hindus do
his answer cannot be true. For all Hindus do not observe the same customs.

In the north near relatives are forbidden to marry; but in the south cousin marriage is prescribed,
and even closer alliances are sometimes permitted. As a rule female chastity is highly valued, but
some communities set little store by it, at any rate prior to marriage, and others make it a rule to
Dedicate one daughter to a life of religious prostitution.  In some parts the women move about freely; in others they are kept secluded. In some parts they wear skirts; in others trousers.

Again  if  he  said  that  he  is  a  Hindu  because  he  believes  in  the  caste  system  his  answer
Cannot be accepted as satisfactory.  It  is  quite  true  that  no  Hindu  is  interested  in  what  his neighbor believes, but he is very much interested in knowing whether he can eat with him or take water  from  his hands.  In  other  words  it means  that  the  caste system  is an  essential  feature of Hinduism and a man who does not belong to a recognized Hindu Caste cannot be a Hindu. While all this is true it must not be forgotten that observance of caste is not enough. Many  Musalmans and many  Christians  observe  caste  if  not  in  the matter  of  inter-dining  certainly  in  the matter of inter-marriage. But they cannot be called Hindus on that account. Both elements must be present.
He must be a Hindu and he must also observe caste.

This brings us back to the old question who is a Hindu?
It leaves us where we are.

Is it not a question for every Hindu to consider why in the matter of his own religion his position
Is so embarrassing and so puzzling?
Why  is  he  not  able  to answer so simple a  question  which every  Parsi,  every  Christian,  and  every  Muslim  can  answer?
Is it not time that he should ask himself what are the causes that has brought about this Religious chaos?

From Book -
Riddles in Hinduism
Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar

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Wednesday, September 17, 2014

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