What worries me about Hinduism.
 

Hinduism has taught me the importance of self respect, the truth of the Universal "I", and that I Am God.

However where it worries me is that in Hinduism there is no "you". There are no others. Everything is my own self. That worries me because I am so used to treating everyone else as their own self and as real people in their own right.

Hinduism also has no real "we are", since you are not real then "we are" cannot be either.

Finally Hinduism has no objective God who has the last say on any matter. Everything is ones OWN self in Hinduism and not an objective reality in its own right.

So I have learned that I AM. But I cling onto my Western understanding of others and a separate and objective God.

The True Self is part of the whole, that's a powerful thing to focus on I think. There's strength in that. Of course the ego doesn't like the idea of this and will fight for survival. Handing over the strength and power to something separate will increase the ego even more, and perpetuate these poor little me characters.

Is this working for you?

Namaste.

For a few years now, ever since you have been here; ever since I have been here; you have had problems reconciling "God" with "Self" and "Self" with "Other".

The first thing you need to realise, is that this is not a "Hindu thing" (the Divine is both transcendent AND immanent simultaneously), it is an "existential thing" and the second thing you need to realise, is that when it comes to "God", "Self" and "Other", existential angst cannot be reconciled through the cognitive process, with all of its inherent dissonance and bias.

People may say "I AM" and "You ARE", so from the position of resting in the conscious awareness of Being ("AM-ness" and "Are-ness") there is no "I" and no "you" and this is what the Buddhists mean by the term "Anatta" or no-self.

Self only exists from a point of reference in relation to "other"...be that a person, an object and/or God. When that reference is dissolved, there is nothing more than complete immersion into the experience OF Being without any thought or experience of "I AM" or "you ARE" or "that IS" or even "everything IS" because there is no "everything" and neither is there "nothing" or even "something"...Śūnyatā...Dharmakāya.

These are Tantric Buddhist principles, but they can just as easily be applied to Hinduism...there are many points at which the lines between the two become blurred... especially in Tibet.. especially when comparing Vajrayana Tantra with Kashmir Shaivism...and watching the Tibetan dance of The Dharmapalas (which puts me into a heavy trance by the way).

https://youtu.be/i2vyoinBOzE

The only way you are going to overcome this, is to start practicing meditation if you do not already and if you do, to mediate MORE.

Rid yourself of all these mental constraints and constructs which leave your mind going around in never ending circles like a dog which chases its tail....forget all of that..Just sit quietly and focus on your breath as it goes in and out...focus on "Om" or "peace" or anything significant for you.

This is the only way your questions are going to be answered.
This is the only way you are going to find inner peace and contentment.

Aum Namah Shivaya.

Hi Shivani,

It takes a Eastern frame of mind to understand Eastern spirituality....

I guess I could try and slip into an Eastern frame of mid by meditating. But 'enlightenment' has never been my objective.

Yes I am trying to understand Eastern concepts with rational or intuitive thinking....you say it cannot be done. Probably not.

This is so...it just cannot be done.

Hinduism is more than just dry philosophy...of trying to understand the concepts therein through rationality, even though rationality is the basis of Hinduism.

It takes a "heart knowledge" or an experiential feeling, which ONLY a Hindu can understand and therefore, you have nothing to worry about Hinduism or the precepts therein if you are not a Hindu...and if you are, you will understand what I am saying and where I am coming from.

What you have been asking for years, you pretty much NEED to be 'enlightened' to understand it through experience that also goes beyond intellect...straight into the heart space...it becomes like liquid light flowing through the veins.

So yes, you pretty much need to "live Hinduism" to understand the relationship between Self and God as far as the Hindu religion is concerned.

Aum Namah Shivaya

Thank you for sharing your knowledge Shivani Devi, here and in your other posts.

Namaste and thank you for saying that.
It is an honour and privilege to be given the opportunity to do this.

Aum Namah Shivaya

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Wow! :smile:

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