Humor is difficult. I’ve read a lot of gross, mean, and just plain unfunny “jokes” on the subject of reincarnation. A few cartoons really stood out, though! (This last one is written by the same woman who did Sita Sings The Blues) My favorite is the “I didn’t believe in reincarnation at your age either.” What’s your favorite? Read more
This might be the biggest subject religion ever has to tackle. Death as the ending of a cycle gives purpose to our lifespan and yet it is also an incredible unknown (and heading into something unknown is, frankly, terrifying). There’s a lot that Hinduism has to say about death… Death is an illusion. Our real selves are immortal. Death is like going back stage after a show before coming out for the next one. Time is an illusion and all... Read more
The big question for a lot of native Hindus is, how does anyone not born to Hinduism learn about it enough to become a Hindu? I’m not the very best example of this since I’m a bit of a hybrid. I grew up listening to Sanskrit prayers, having Mahabharata bed time stories, and seeing my parents meditate. On the other hand, I didn’t know when I was a child that any of these things were associated with Hinduism. There are... Read more
Vishnu is the center of the Hindu trinity. He is the preserver and it is he who comes to earth to help when the balance of good and evil in the world becomes off. He is better known in some of his other forms: Krishna and Rama. According to legend there are nine or ten total avatars of Vishnu, most of whom have already appeared. The only one left is Kalki, whose appearance will come at the end of this cycle of... Read more
I thought it would be nice to read along through some scriptures and discuss the passages. I have a translation of the Upanishads done by Eknath Easwaran, a teacher whom I deeply trust and love. In this book there is an introduction before each translation with some insight from Easwaran. Here is a link to the Amazon page for the book I have: The first of the principle Upanishads is the Isha. “Isha” means the supreme being, so this is... Read more
There was some amazing news recently here in America. There have been a lot of firsts in politics in the last few years and this is one I am very excited about. Hawaii elected a Hindu into congress for the first time ever. Not only a Hindu, but a female Hindu. Tulsi Gabbard took oath by swearing in on the Bhagavad Gita. Her father is Catholic (though Wikipedia says he enjoys singing kirtan) and her mother is Hindu, but here’s... Read more
I kind of hate to confess this. Particularly since I’m just now getting to know some of you. But the truth is: I have a problem with Christmas. December in America is a tough time for me. A lot of people don’t understand that. They say Christmas has become so secularized that it isn’t a religious holiday anymore, just a cultural ones. If that were true, it might be okay, but there’s a lot of Christians who are upset about the commercialization... Read more
I would venture to say that the majority of non-Indian women who become Hindus do so because they’ve fallen in love with a native Hindu man. I am not one of them. I am unusual in that I come to Hinduism as a natural step from my own upbringing and not because I learned about it from someone I was trying to build a life with. I went on a date with a Hindu man only once. It was the... Read more
I find that most people who are unfamiliar with Hinduism are very surprised to find out that there is a trinity within Hinduism. It is quite different from the Father/Son/Holy Ghost trinity of Christianity, but there are the three who are also one. There is within Hinduism a bit of a hierarchy with the Gods, some being in higher power than others. Different branches will order that list slightly differently, but the top three are almost always the top three.... Read more
UPDATE: Sorry it wasn’t working earlier! I was missing one number of the URL 🙁 *facepalm* It should be good now! To kick off talking about my personal spirituality and how I express it, I thought it would be nice to show you where I do most of my worship. Plus you get to see what I look and sound like! 🙂 Sorry the video is narrow for half of it. I used my iPod to film this… If the... Read more
The White Hindu
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In