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A UK based news, opinions and lifestyle site, providing a Hindu perspective on current affairs
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Could you create an article for Vietnam Champa Hindus?
A very interesting and informative article. Why do most of these Hindu’s eat beef?
I visited Bali in 1998 and felt really at peace and harmony due to Hindu religious practices and life styles.
My wife, on seeing a few Hindu Temples remarked,” Where are ‘our’ gods and goddesses?” “Hindu deities take the form of the people around them,” I responded.
I have been to Bali few times and although i am not an expert in hinduism nor do i understand why balinise perform certain rituals, i noticed that on certain days eg full moon, balinese take live animals to the temple as offerings. I am right to think that thousands of years ago, our gods used to sacrified animals, as offerings to suprem gods?? Perhaps someone with more knowledge in this field can throw some light on this.
If anyone is intrested, then there is a place called ‘tirtha ganga’ (tirth ganga). It is a place and the story is that there was a hindu temple on this river ganga, and people used to worship here. Few hundred years ago, the volcano eruped behind this place and hot lava burned everthing including the palaces BUT somehow this temple and little pond where people used to bathe (kund ) survived!! Aparentely lava spread on all directions but leaving this place untouched in the middle. I did visit this holly place and did darshan to this temple and soaked my feet in the holly water. Local people came for darshan, bathe in the kund and filled bottles with holly water from the stream. Any similarities you know??????
Also Balinese performs culture dances for tourist and they are the stories of ramayana. If anyone is interested then then there is 1 called monkey dance story of hanuman and there is 1 fire dance in the evening, again story of how sita was captured. These are worth every penny.
There is also a cave temple where they discovered a ganesh temple.
It is a highly informative article, well presented.
Hinduism in danger all the world over.
We need to follow the Balinese system of defending in a more modern way.
Vishwa Mohan Tiwari
Great article, but does not touch upon the pains of the minority Hindus in Muslim lands such as Bali/Indonesia/Pakistan/Kazhak…our history is their but being marginalised by extermist Muslims
I have been to bali , jakarta and Bata Island in Indonesia . We have started a Hindu coordination center at Bali and a computer institute . there is a Hindu university in Bali, those who are interested in supporting bali hindus may visit hinducoordinationcenter.blogspot.com
After reading this Id definitely want to meet some Balinese Hindus and ask them about their Hinduism.
When Gen. Sukarno was President of Indonesia said, ‘Indonesia claims to be Islamic but its people live a Hindu life’. This statement could apply to all the countries in present day humanity. There is a reason for it. Hindu religion teaches to live in diversity. It teaches us the true nature of our creator and this understanding itself makes one to lead a more spiritual life along with modern and new material comforts that science produces. Other religions are man-made and put the followers in boxes which prevent them from living in diversity. Hindu religion do not have prophet and priest’s duty is to only translate and explain the Vedas, Geeta and perform the rituals as prescribed in Yajurveda. These rituals teach us to respect Brahamatatwa the God’s creation. For such honest duties Hindu followers have to protect the priests administratively and worst comes to worst physically. For this reason Hindu priests carry a heavy burden of remaining honest, chaste and fair to all. Unlike priest of other religions a Hindu priest cannot act as go-between or an agent promising communication with God to satisfy a follower.
In the current situation Balinese Hindus have remarkably kept their traditions and spirituality envied by Muslims of the country and Christian tourists from non-descript places like Australia. I would expect VHP to keep in touch with Balinese people with help and guidance as necessary. I only sincerely hope the Indonesian Government appreciates and understands what its great leader Gen. Sukarno once said.
Thanks for a great story.
The western diaspora tends to become focused on India (as does India itself). Hinduism must go beyond geography politically and socially, of course it is beyond materialism and so it is natural for it to do so.
We have an ancestral debt to those Hindus that came before us, but we all have a debt to the diverse Hindus in our modern times standing up for this great eternal dharma so necessary in this age.
hariaum
Whenever there is an opportunity to explain Hinduism and India it reminds me of what Mark Twain wrote many years ago about India:
“India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grand mother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of Man are treasured up in India.”
What makes my blood boil is despite such accolades from a learned American writer our own Indian youngsters in the name of modernity are listening and doing dirty work for foreigners like Evangelicals, Vaticans, C of E and Saudi Arabian Sheikhs in India. It has taken us 200 years to get rid of white rule and if not careful these Christian and Muslim idiots will give back India to foreigners again on a plate for the destruction of Hinduism and India with it.
What is badly needed in India is with knowledge and strength our youngsters developing habit of questioning the foreigners and taking charge of daily activities at grass routes for maintaining the true Hinduism and unity in the interest our magnifiscent India as Mark Twain knew it and respected. Believe me Abrahamic religions do not even know who their creator is.
I like ur thoughts Karmachari.I live in Maharashtra.But I really like the hinduism in several countries.Our religion is third highest in the world though approximately 80 or 90% of them living in India.Therefore,I don’t know why,I love the hindus who are living abroad.I want to write a thysis on these people around different countries.I want to go countries like Mauritius,Fiji,West Indies where number of Indian diaspora is living.I want to communicate with them &want to know there feelings about India which is their origin,want to know what they know about India,what they thought about India,are all of them living peacefully?
That’s I want to do in my future.I am just 16 years old now.But this is my initiative.I want help from people like you and above all who has better experience and knowledge than me
thank you very much
Dear Friends,
The only thing I have to say is – We Hindus have lost millions of square kilometer of territory to Muslims and Millions of Hindus have forceibly been converted to Islam and Christinity in the last 1,400 years. Now let all of us unite and save this great religion from extinction.
Thanks,