I am an Hindu i just asked a question about Hinduism, Hinduism is the oldest religionand most tolerant one but

Question

But why the peace lovers and spirituals in USA and in Europe do not embrace this religion which is the oldest and most tolerant and secular one.
Yes it is only in India(worlds biggest democracy because of its Hinduism where a muslim can be a President and christian be a prime minister) but still Hinduism is not known to USA and Europe. Do not u give a serious thought about Hinduism do not you want to know more about it.

Answer 1

Hey! I'm Hindu too, living in the US, here's my take on it.

For one thing, America is a predominantly Christian nation. An aversion to supposedly polytheistic religions comes with the territory. We come across as backward and primitive when they look at our pantheon and pass off our faith as superstition.

Secondly, they justify Hinduism's lack of credibility by looking at the state of India today. India is still pretty poor, there is rampant corruption, and there are conflicts. Besides our being poor (that's a result of history, not of faith), the rest of the world has the same last two problems. It's just that because of the flowing money, it doesn't seem as apparent. So naturally, there will be conclusions made that the state of the country is a result of the faith, especially the caste system. What people don't realize is that religion--and that too any religion--has become slowly corrupted in its practice over time. The caste system was never meant to be a physical hierarchy, it was meant as a spiritual one, and that too not by birth but by spiritual merit.

Third, we may be poor, materially, but we have a lot of spiritual wealth. Yoga was developed in India thousands of years ago, the Bhagavad Gita was spoken on the battlefields of Kurukshetra millenia ago (and has become of great interests to people of all faiths), and we have hundreds of spiritually realized people who seek to bring the rest of the masses to that same, end goal. Money wasn't the most important thing in pre-colonial, Indian society, spiritual merit was.

At the very least, it would be great to see Hinduism taught without the air of amusement that I have seen when it has been taught in the past. Teach objectively, aim to clear misconceptions (not create them), and be able to show that really it does fit in the general scheme of religious thought.

Answer 2

Hindu is the oldest established religion, but Able, Noah, Abraham etc. worshiped the God of the bible, which would be older than Hinduism.

Hinduism is the most like ancient Babylonian beliefs. All the different God's, reincarnation etc...Most Hindu's do not even know all the 100's of 1000's of gods there are in Hinduism.

Since USA and Europe are predominantly Christian, this is one of the reasons Hinduism is not big. The only reason there is any Hinduism is because Hindu's have moved to these countries. I have a friend from India that is Hindu, she doesn't have anything nice to say about Muslims. She had always said that were violent even before the 911 incident.

Answer 3

I'm sorry but I just have to do this:

I am a Hindu, I just asked a question about Hinduism, Hinduism is the oldest religion and the most tolerant one,
But why is it that peace lovers and spiritual people in the USA and in Europe do not embrace this religion which is the oldest, most tolerant, and secular religion.
Yes it is only in India(worlds biggest democracy because of its Hinduism where a muslim can be a President and Christian be a prime minister) but still Hinduism is not known to USA and Europe. Do you not give serious thought about Hinduism? Do you not want to know more about it?

Look at my changes please, it's called english.

Answer 4

I honestly do not know a lot about Hinduism, but that is fine with me. It does seem more peaceful than some other beliefs that are growing in the USA though. Once you have searched and really found God, you can't turn away. I don't believe in reincarnation. I believe in an afterlife with My Heavenly Father.

May God Bless you.

Answer 5

I studied all major religions, for I have a degree in Art and Philosophy. My teacher received his PhD at Benares Hindu University. I am not religious, but I like Hinduism and its offshoots Buddhism, Jainism, etc. better than Judaism and its offshoots Christianity, Islam and Mormonism. I am interested in China and Japan. My #1 gal now is Miyuki from Japan.

Answer 6

Yes it's known in the US and Europe, but Christianity tends to reign in these regions. I do know that Hinduism believe in reincarnation and that's why cows are sacred to them, because they believe you can come back as an animal and they do not believe in cosuming milk products because of that. They have hundreds of holy books called Vedas and worship many gods and goddesses, one of the main ones being Shiva, the goddess with the blue skin and many arms.

Answer 7

Ya know... I've lived and traveled all over the world, but have yet to make it to that part of asia... so I've never met a hindu... Many westerners view hinduism much like greek mythology, just something they see on cable tv. Sorry...

Answer 8

I would love to know more about it and would welcome a greater constituency of Hindus in the US, but Christianity has a hold on our country.

I guess the reasons Hinduism is not so popular here are the same as why Christianity is not so popular there.

Answer 9

But Hinduism also espouses social inequality through the caste system and reincarnation. Hinduism states that you're poor because you were wicked in a past life and therefore do not deserve any aid.

Answer 10

Islam is the oldest religion
Hinduism is not the oldest of all the religions. It is Islam which is the first and the oldest of all religions. People have a misconception that Islam is 1400 years old and that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the founder of this religion. Islam existed since time immemorial, ever since man first set foot on this earth. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was not the founder of Islam. He was the last and final Messenger of Almighty God.

The oldest religion need not be the purest and the most authentic religion
A religion cannot be claimed to be most pure and authentic, only on the criterion that it is the oldest. It is similar to a person saying that the water he has kept in an open glass, in his house, outside the refrigerator, for three months is purer than the water which has just been collected in a clean glass, immediately after it has been purified.

The latest religion need not be the purest and the most authentic religion
On the other hand a religion cannot be claimed to be the purest or authentic, only on the criterion that the religion is new or the latest. A bottle of distilled water which is sealed, packed and kept in the refrigerator for three months is much purer than a bottle of water freshly collected from the sea.

For religion to be pure and authentic, it should not have interpolations, changes and revisions in its scriptures revealed from God
For any religion to be pure and authentic, its scriptures should not contain any interpolation, addition, deletion or revision. Moreover the religion’s source of inspiration and direction should be Almighty God. The Qur’an is the only religious scripture on the face of the earth which has been maintained it its original form. All the other religious scriptures, of all the other religions have interpolations, additions, deletions or revisions. The Qur’an has been in the memory of a multitude of people, intact in its original form ever since its revelation, and now there are hundreds of thousands of people who have preserved it in their memory. Moreover, if you compare the copies made by Caliph Uthman from the original Qur’an which is yet present in the museum in Tashkent and in Koptaki museum in Turkey, they are the same as the ones we possess today.

Allah (swt) promises in the Qur’an, in Surah Al Hijr, chapter 15 verse 9

"We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)."

The oldest religion need not be best religion
A religion cannot be claimed to be the best religion only on the criterion that it is the oldest. It is similar to a person saying, that my 19th century car is better than a Toyota car manufactured in 1998, because it is older. He would be considered to be a fool to say that his 19th century car which required a rod to be turned in circles to start it, is better than a key-start 1998 Toyota car, just because it is older.

The latest religion need not be the best religion
On the other hand a religion cannot be called as the best religion only on the criterion that the religion is new or that it came later. It is similar to a person who says that my 800 cc Suzuki car manufactured in 1999 is better than a 5000 cc Mercedes 500 SEL manufactured in 1997. To judge which car is better, a person should compare the specifications of the car e.g. the power of the car, safety measures, the capacity of the cylinders, the pickup, the speed, the comfort, etc. 5000 cc Mercedes, 500 SEL car manufactured in 1997, is far superior and better than a 800 cc Suzuki (Maruti Suzuki 800) manufactured in 1999.

A religion is best, if it has the solutions to the problems of mankind
For a religion to be considered the best, it should have the solution to all the problems of mankind. It should be the religion of truth, and should be applicable to all ages. Islam is the only religion which has the solution to all the problems of mankind. e.g. the problem of alcoholism, surplus women, rape and molestation, robbery, racism, casteism, etc.

Islam is the religion of truth, and its laws and solutions are applicable to all the ages. The Qur’an is the only religious book on the face of the earth, which has maintained its purity and authenticity proving itself to be the word of God in all the ages. i.e. previously, when it was the age of miracles, literature and poetry and in present times when it is the age of science and technology. Moreover, Islam is not a man-made religion, but a religion revealed and inspired by Almighty God. It is the only religion acceptable in His Sight.