Why is it so cool to be a Hindu?

Stop. Don’t judge me. I am not a believer of radical Hinduism or religious extremism. I don’t support any despicable traditions such as Sati, child marriage or caste system etc. which prevailed in Hinduism. I don’t see Hinduism as the one and only great religion in the world. I don’t see cow as a god. In fact, I am not a deeply religious person. I rarely visit a temple. I don’t keep fasts on ‘Ekadashi’ or ‘Sankashti’. I have read very few religious texts. But I want to point it out that despite all these facts, I am still a Hindu. Nobody threw me out of my religion when I questioned the existence of god. Nobody threatened my life for not following the strict ‘Sanatan Dharma’. I believe there is good in every religion. And guess what? That’s what Hinduism teaches. It strongly believes in ‘live and let live’. Hinduism teaches us to respect all the religions. Here I want to point out few advantages of Hinduism.

Freedom: 

Hinduism gives you a freedom like no other religion can ever give. You can worship one god or many gods. You have a freedom to worship mother nature or the formless energy in the universe. Not only that but you are allowed to be an atheist in this religion. You are allowed to use methods of worship practiced in the other religions. Hindu religion also allows you to worship your work and still attain moksha. Basically Hindu religion teaches us that God is everywhere and all forms of worships are different ways to reach the God. Hence, Hindu religion doesn’t inculcate hatred, but love for all the religions.

      Many gods:

      This reason may surprise to many. But having different gods gives a choice to the devotee. You can worship male gods like Krishna, Rama, Shiva, Ganesha or female goddesses such as Durga, Lakshmi, Parvati or Saraswati.(Yes, Hindus believe in gender equality when it comes to gods. And sometimes, female deities are considered more powerful than male deities.) Each god has his own fascinating story and each God has his own limitations. They also have suffered sometimes because of Karma. So, this religion teaches us that nobody, not even Gods, can escape from the outcomes of their Karma.

      Many festivals: 

    We love our festivals. Don’t we? And we have many of them. Gudhipadava, Akshaytritiya, Janmashtami, Ganeshotsav, Diwali, Sankranti, Dashahara, holi….our calendars are filled with festivals. Each festival has its unique reason and story behind it and a unique way to celebrate it. Every festival brings us colors, joy and of course, holidays!

      Change: 

      This is one of the oldest religions in the world.  As change is the only constant thing in the world, it couldn’t have survived without change. There had been many evil traditions in this religion. But Hindu religion accepts their existence and tries to eliminate them. Whenever injustice prevailed for a long time, social reformers came from within this religion and tried to put an end to them. For example Sant tradition, Vaishnavisam, Shaivism etc. originated to purify the religion. Even in modern era, many social reformers came forward to fight evil customs like sati, child marriage, untouchability etc.

      Literature: 

      This ancient religion doesn’t have one and only religious text which commands the last word. In Hindu religion variety of literature available such as the Vedas, the Shastras and the Upanishads which gave birth to various schools of philosophy. Hindus also have a rich mythological literature such as Ramayana and Mahabharata which contains great lessons about life and emphasizes the importance of love and sacrifice. It teaches about patience, decision making and how to lead a balanced life. Not only that but also this religion gave encouragement to various architecture, provided stories for books, musicals and plays, provided topics for paintings and gave birth to rich dance forms. Art really flourished in this religion.

            

This is undoubtedly a fascinating religion. But recently, religious extremism is spreading its evil roots in Hindus and giving rise to new wicked customs and traditions. Reasons why it has become totally uncool to be a Hindu? We’ll discuss in the next blog.