What is religion?

[Iyyarooraan]

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Are you saying that "modern guy" does not understand religion? The original thread was started with the idea of finding your opinion of religion. What do you think?

Religion is a ‘halo’ circle enshrined therein are ethics, moral codes, system of customs, day today practices to discipline men and women to an orderly life so that they can live happily and healthy. It varies from one geographical area to another according to compulsions prevalent there.
When God created Adam, Adam started roaming here and there wandering all over aimlessly carefree and wild. This necessitated a companion who would comfort and confuse him. The seed of religion was sown there and it sprouted. More men and more women created more conflicts. In the minds of some intelligent men a sense to save all men from strife and chaos, from butchering each other, evolved, which became religion.
Just imagine the roll of traffic policemen and traffic rules with signs and signals. Everybody knows what causes accidents. If you agree then where is the necessity for traffic policemen, rules, signs and signals. At least in India if there are no policemen on a particular day, there is commotion, road rage more delays in movements and waste of petrol/diesel.
Whatever orderliness we can claim to in our private and public life, it is the religious restrictions and regulations which have brought that about. There are devils who cannot restrain themselves in infringing the border of sanity. Just eat anything at any time at any place in any quantity, you would find your way to a hospital or hell alive.
At least in India religion is entwined in our day today activities, whether a Hindu, Muslim or Christian.
Sarvashri Nara, Sangom and others have opinion against religion now, but they have probably come through that religious discipline and are naturally good people. Some children are born well disciplined and some run riot. If parents cannot discipline the unruly, perhaps the religion may succeed to contain them. It would be right to say that religion disciplines the mind.

 

[prasad1]

Religion is a ‘halo’ circle enshrined therein are ethics, moral codes, system of customs, day today practices to discipline men and women to an orderly life so that they can live happily and healthy. It varies from one geographical area to another according to compulsions prevalent there.

in effect you are saying.

What is called ancient religion today, they would have only called "law".

 

[sangom]

At least in India religion is entwined in our day today activities, whether a Hindu, Muslim or Christian. Sarvashri Nara, Sangom and others have opinion against religion now, but they have probably come through that religious discipline and are naturally good people. Some children are born well disciplined and some run riot. If parents cannot discipline the unruly, perhaps the religion may succeed to contain them. It would be right to say that religion disciplines the mind.

Shri Iyya,

This is regarding the above portion from your post, particularly the sentence highlighted.

Yes, I was very much brought up with a lot of religious inputs and the discipline (do's and don'ts) prescribed by it. But some, at least, of these instructions did prove very inconvenient in life later on. For example, vegetarian habit. I had to face lots of difficulties while touring the interior parts where most people including hindus are non-vegetarian.

The discipline which I have today as a law-abiding citizen of India, however, has very little to do with my religious learning. Right from traffic rules, we are all guided by the law of the land which are laid down by the Constitution and the Parliament.

It was because of several such observations that I started reading more and more about hinduism and the more I read the more I became convinced that it was like the "ration rice"—more 'kallu' & 'mudballs' than edible rice grains!

Since we are discussing about only hinduism, I will say that this religion was for the priestly class, by that class and of that class. It can be followed only if someone can get back the position which the brahmin enjoyed in those ancient days (when a viswamitra could just ask a harischandra for his entire country, himself, his wife and son, etc., for a false purpose and get all those).

For today's purpose this religion will have to be refined and only the civil and criminal law codes contained in it must be taken into account. But unfortunately, much of these prescriptions are so outdated that we will be better off as a disciplined society if we follow the present civil and criminal laws enacted by the secular government of today. That is why I am of the opinion that religion has no role in practical terms to civic discipline or creating law-abiding citizens today.

 

[Iyyarooraan]

Thank you, Sangom Sir. You are always inspiring. From our ancestors we have also adopted a practice to do "yatha soukharyam and yatha sakthi". At a particular cross-road, I think the religion still gives proper direction irrespective of the fact that we have strayed or rather been forced to stray. I fully agree that it is enough to obey civil and criminal laws of the country. You will agree the laws to a good extent derived strength and substance from religious dicta. If you do not follow the 'secular' government laws you invite punishment. But religion does not punish you but has left you to the consequences of your actions. Coming to the govt laws, it has not disciplined everybody. Somebody has said all laws are useless, for the good people do not need it and the bad are not made any better of it. And today's laws can be amended. To do so you have to engage in dirty politics whereas in deviating from religious dictum you have to only convince your mind. Of course, that is not that easy either. IMO, the govt laws and religious guidance can run concurrently.

 

[nannilam_balasubramanian]

Hindus have a speciality to worship not only at home but also in temples as every village
has a temple either small or big. There is a saying by great saints that there must be
at least one temple in a village and people should only live in a village where there is a
temple. People who are unable to visit temples owing to age factor or sickness etc are
advised to have darshan of the main tower of the temple and also the Kalasam of the
Sanctum of main God or Deity. Strictly speaking, we are still to find out or trace out
the founder and there is no specific mention about the creed or a single source of authority
which should be a pointer towards that. There are many Mutts in India which preach
the Hindu Philosophies for the development of Hindus as a whole irrespective of the
fact of divisions within it.


Balasubramanian
Ambattur

 

[guruvayurappan]

dear sangom!
your observation is true to some extent since i have not gone deep in religious aspect . your point" It was because of several such observations that I started reading more and more about hinduism and the more I read the more I became convinced that it was like the "ration rice"—more 'kallu' & 'mudballs' than edible rice grains! "make me to feel the same

 

[sangom]

dear sangom!
your observation is true to some extent since i have not gone deep in religious aspect . your point" It was because of several such observations that I started reading more and more about hinduism and the more I read the more I became convinced that it was like the "ration rice"—more 'kallu' & 'mudballs' than edible rice grains! "make me to feel the same

At my age of 71 I am convinced that primitive man must have realized - in all his ignorance of science or the laws of nature, etc. - that there was/is some power higher than him. This position has not changed even today and I don't think such a change will happen in the remaining life-time for me. But religions, all of them without exception perhaps, are creations by Man's mind, his various imaginations of that Supreme Power. It is at best beautiful imagination, at worst priestly conspiracy to control people abjectly.

Hindus can possibly boast about one thing, the naasadiya sukta of the Rigveda. I believe it to be the words of the most honest Rishi.

 

[guruvayurappan]

dear sangom sir !
will you kindly elaborate "the naasadiya sukta "
pranamto my elder brother
narayanan(guruvayurappan)

 

[sangom]

dear sangom sir !
will you kindly elaborate "the naasadiya sukta "
pranamto my elder brother
narayanan(guruvayurappan)

I find more than 46000 web urls for nasadiya sukta. Kindly see and then give your views here.

 

[nannilam_balasubramanian]

I am also eager to know about this. Could you kindly give it precisely in
a few sentences in a nutshell. I too have read it in some books i.e.
Nasadiya Sukhta is a very famous 'hymn" from the tenth chapter of Rig
Veda. Nasadasin defining as "non-being", etc. etc. I know it is a very
big topic and spreads over to many chapters as you mentioned please.
As you are in touch with this topic, you may be able to guide.

Thanks

Balasubramanian
Ambattur

 

[guruvayurappan]

I am also eager to know about this. Could you kindly give it precisely in
a few sentences in a nutshell. I too have read it in some books i.e.
Nasadiya Sukhta is a very famous 'hymn" from the tenth chapter of Rig
Veda. Nasadasin defining as "non-being", etc. etc. I know it is a very
big topic and spreads over to many chapters as you mentioned please.
As you are in touch with this topic, you may be able to guide.

Thanks

Balasubramanian
Ambattur

dear sangom !
what i wanted from you is expressed by mr . balasubramaniam .kindly spare time and give it in a nut shell.it will make our reading more interesting while reading it in the net.
with namaskarams,
guruvayurappan

 

[sangom]

Kindly read this post and the next few. I had tried to give what best I know of nasadiya sooktam there.

 

[nannilam_balasubramanian]

Thank you very much for the information. It will take sometime for me to understand
the text what you have posted. Thank you once again.

Balasubramanian
Ambattur

 

[guruvayurappan]

dear sangom sir !
thanks for your post on Nasadiya Sukhta and it is taking time to put the meaning in to my mind.it require a patient reading and i will get bac kto you after that.in your post the english alphabets are looking dif.and also some web language included(sanskrit ]
guruvayurappan

 

[guruvayurappan]

dear sangom !
while going through the discussions in this thread ,i am getting some question about myself
1whether i am a religious man ?
2am i a good man or bad man ?
3after reading about naasadiya sukta for what nothing is made everything &viceversa.
4why this worst priestly conspiracy?
5when everything is anithiyam ,what is the purpose of equip with knowledge ?is it to keep our mind occupied or show that i am learned? or it is a moral policing as some body mentioned in this forum.
with namaskarams,
guruvayurappan

 

[sangom]

dear sangom !
while going through the discussions in this thread ,i am getting some question about myself
1whether i am a religious man ?
2am i a good man or bad man ?
3after reading about naasadiya sukta for what nothing is made everything &viceversa.
4why this worst priestly conspiracy?
5when everything is anithiyam ,what is the purpose of equip with knowledge ?is it to keep our mind occupied or show that i am learned? or it is a moral policing as some body mentioned in this forum.
with namaskarams,
guruvayurappan

Dear Shri appan,

I went through those old posts again now. Excepy one mistake in the Tamil translation (யயோ அஸ்யாத்யக்ஷஃ பரமே வ்யோமந்ந் | ) instead of யோ அஸ்யாத்யக்ஷஃ பரமே வ்யோமந்ந் |, I could not spot any other mistake.

The web-language/different-looking English alphabets are called IAST (The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts - International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Kindly see this wiki page for details.

Coming to your doubts,

* 'religious' is a comparative and nebulous term in hinduism; if you believe in some part of hinduism you are religious.
* this creation, this universe (and now astrophysicists say multiverse - an array of universes) are all a mystery. Human ability has not yet understood its dimensions, aspects, purpose or creator, if there is one such. In such sheer ignorance it is our duty to try to know more, not to leave it saying "why should we bother? The whole thing looks purposeless." Of course, it is not that each individual human being should start exploring like David Livingstone did in Africa; we may consider the entire humanity itself as one expedition team and each one of us do whatever duty falls to our lot.
* I will not say 'priestly conspiracy'. If you learn history, you will find the witch doctor and subsequently the priests, were supposed to be repositories of all knowledge by the people who were still primitive and uncultured, sort of. So the witch doctor/priest just could not afford to tell "I don't know"; he had to invent some story on the spot and pretend himself to be quite confident about it too. (A similar situation is faced by astrologers even today; one who tells 'I don't know' better close his shop!). Hence the priests must have been compelled to formulate entire belief systems in due course.
* "anityam" is again relative, if you really ponder over it. You and I and probably much of everything else we see around us will perish and disappear, but the earth, the solar system, this universe, etc., are long-lasting. Hence the human saga if we may so call the sum total of the achievements of this human race, may outlive humanity itself in some way. So, we need not have a nihilistic outlook, imho. Knowledge of some sort is a must even if one decides to live an animal-like existence, and animals also have knowleedge. We should therefore acquire as much knowledge as possible, for each of us, and try our best to spread it, disseminate it. If some people look at it as "showing off" let us not bother as long as that idea (show-off) is not in our minds.

 

[prasad1]

Dear Shri appan,

I went through those old posts again now. Excepy one mistake in the Tamil translation (யயோ அஸ்யாத்யக்ஷஃ பரமே வ்யோமந்ந் | ) instead of யோ அஸ்யாத்யக்ஷஃ பரமே வ்யோமந்ந் |, I could not spot any other mistake.

The web-language/different-looking English alphabets are called IAST (The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts - International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Kindly see this wiki page for details.

Coming to your doubts,

* 'religious' is a comparative and nebulous term in hinduism; if you believe in some part of hinduism you are religious.
* this creation, this universe (and now astrophysicists say multiverse - an array of universes) are all a mystery. Human ability has not yet understood its dimensions, aspects, purpose or creator, if there is one such. In such sheer ignorance it is our duty to try to know more, not to leave it saying "why should we bother? The whole thing looks purposeless." Of course, it is not that each individual human being should start exploring like David Livingstone did in Africa; we may consider the entire humanity itself as one expedition team and each one of us do whatever duty falls to our lot.
* I will not say 'priestly conspiracy'. If you learn history, you will find the witch doctor and subsequently the priests, were supposed to be repositories of all knowledge by the people who were still primitive and uncultured, sort of. So the witch doctor/priest just could not afford to tell "I don't know"; he had to invent some story on the spot and pretend himself to be quite confident about it too. (A similar situation is faced by astrologers even today; one who tells 'I don't know' better close his shop!). Hence the priests must have been compelled to formulate entire belief systems in due course.
* "anityam" is again relative, if you really ponder over it. You and I and probably much of everything else we see around us will perish and disappear, but the earth, the solar system, this universe, etc., are long-lasting. Hence the human saga if we may so call the sum total of the achievements of this human race, may outlive humanity itself in some way. So, we need not have a nihilistic outlook, imho. Knowledge of some sort is a must even if one decides to live an animal-like existence, and animals also have knowleedge. We should therefore acquire as much knowledge as possible, for each of us, and try our best to spread it, disseminate it. If some people look at it as "showing off" let us not bother as long as that idea (show-off) is not in our minds.

Sir Sangom,
A brilliant piece of knowledge.
This exactly what I was looking for when I started the thread. I wish you would write a blog with these gems. It is written by a master teacher without malice to any one. Hats off to you, and thanks.

 

[guruvayurappan]

dear sir !
i am really enlightened and very fortunate to be guided by veteran like you.it will be answer for more people like me .you have correctly pointed that anithiyam for our life and not for nature.
with namaskarams,
guruvayuappan

 

[Saab]

I am visiting this blog after a very long time. Older men get privileged to get older faster than others and I am a proud member of that club! So forgive me if I do not visit as often or even again.

I see too many advertisements like a news paper! Looks like lots of mundane topics in which many participate. Brahmins have their focus frittered, that is unfortunate.

I tried to read some postings but got exhausted. This thread is good enough for me. I suggest readers should have a comprehensive understanding of Hinduism. The topic on the formation of society and in our case the dharma that knits it in tact should be the first to be learnt. Someone forwarded me this url which some of you may feel interesting. A gentleman is adding a topic periodically and it is continuous. Worth reading:
[h=1]The Myth of Capitalism and its asuric Aura[/h]That is it for now.