My husband made a comment here on the blog a few days ago that really struck a chord with me about the difference between belief and practice in religion. It’s on this post: What Is The Purpose of Life?
I feel exactly the same way about Hinduism. It’s not about belief. Belief is rather irrelevant.
Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) has a lot of practices and wisdom from being one of the oldest religions in the world (if not *the* oldest!) and your job is to try them out. Try the practice and observe how it effects you. Read the wisdom and see how it resonates with you. You are always testing everything against your own instincts because God resides within you so in your heart of hearts you know the answer. You just need to clear away anything getting in the way of hearing that “still, small voice” (as Christianity calls it).
Not everything has to have proof, but I think it is important to be paying attention to the evidence in the world. You want your beliefs to be fluid enough to handle new information if it comes to light. So when something is scientifically observable about the world, your response can’t be to pretend it didn’t happen or close your eyes and hum. Your religion is useless if it can’t match up with what is observably true.
So not everything I believe is proved or provable but everything I believe fits into the framework of the world as we observe it to be. I am operating with a theory and weighing evidence as I find it. Because Hinduism is not rigid and is about personal experience first and foremost, I am able to continue to grow and learn and come to a better and better understanding of Truth as time goes on.
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On the Youtube channel today I have a video that I’m particularly proud of! Here is a little clip:
See the full video: How Do Hindus View Other Religions here
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