In my last piece I have talked of why I am a "Hindu" and what it means to me. From what I have written some one would surely say that the way I have argued against "God", I surely must be an atheist! How come I am pointing to a "faith" and yet talking against "God". I think it needs a bit of reflection and introspection from my part and I want to take you on that journey as well. Let the journey start from that question of "Hindu vs Spiritual". My reason for going to the specific label was not as much of a love for the "label" as much as my wonder and amazement for the treasure-trove of the choices for spiritual thinking and journeys available within and the possibility of looking through the many attempts to help me keep on at my own journey. Honestly, there is philosophically far more variety of thought within what has (in recent history) been termed as Hinduism than in all the other traditions put together. Amazingly, if one were look at the entire continuum of sub-sects within "Hinduism", you can find that someone has argued along some theological / philosophical line and also for most part liked to live in that "silo". I may not agree with all of them in their blinkered view of the Truth, because I firmly believe that if you take ONE path, you necessarily disregard the others and Truth, Infinite and Dynamic as it is, can NEVER be one-dimensional! But the mingling of the entire rainbow can potentially lead one to PURE WHITE LIGHT! So, no ONE path - however halo-ed its propounding founder may have been - has ever been able to explain the Truth. In that sense, ALL the sub-traditions within "Hinduism" (and I regard the off-shoots like Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism as part of that whole - whatever the practitioners may say to argue for distinctions despite singing hymns to the contrary), are as illusionary and incomplete in arriving at the truth, as any other human thought is. However, when you look at them as a whole - you combine the Love and self knowledge of Nanak with austerity and compassion of Buddha with duty-bound and self-less actions (violence directed nevertheless) of Guru Gobind Singh with complete non-violence of Mahavir, you find them contradicting yet coming from the same origin! That origin was pursuing the question - Who Am "I"? You cannot find ONE path necesarily.. but can see the potential and the possibilities of the Truth as a whole - its pain and love! All the colors of the rainbow suddenly become apparent, however contradictory! Everyone attempted to look at this question honestly from all their resources within. They found "an" answer. Actually, it was less of an answer but more of an experience. They tried their best to explain and "replicate" it for others. Mahavir's way was to not hurt anything because he saw everything as the same as the highest of existence. So "his" footprint was damaging to that existence. Buddha was also along the similar lines, whatever have been their theological differences. Philosophically they were similar. They both saw themselves AND the rest as the two main protagonists in the play of pain and misery! Read more