Throughout history, religion has caused great conflict; from the schism in the Roman Empire to the split between Palestinians and Israelites, disagreement breeds argument, but it is persuasion that truly incites conflict. A more recent example of religious differences can be seen in India, where Anti-Hindu sentiment has become prominent over the last two decades. This Anti-Hindu sentiment is embodied by the following quote from an unknown author, “It’s called karma. And it’s pronounced ha-ha-ha!” Although the goal of the quote is an obvious attempt to undermine Hinduism, the quote does not provide an effective persuasion to oppose Hinduism. A major example of how the unknown author of the Anti-Hindu quote does not build an effective argument against Hinduism is that he/she does not use descriptive language or concrete evidence. Within the quote, the author does not use any vivid language to promote opposition of Hinduism. The most commonly used word is “it”, which refers to Hinduism, but the author never establishes any evidence that Hinduism is a joke, which may not persuade people to join the opposition if there is no evidence to oppose. Due to the lack of descriptive language and concrete evidence to persuade people to oppose …show more content…
The author uses pathos at the end of the quote to belittle Hinduism and treat it as a joke when he/she claims that Hinduism is pronounced “ha-ha-ha!” This unnecessary comedy distracts from the opposition to Hinduism by introducing a light tone in a serious piece against Hinduism. Such a light tone could possibly take the reader out of the argument who may not take the opposition seriously. The lightness of tone also detracts from the effectiveness of the author’s argument because it makes the author seem very childish when he/she truly wants to be taken
...s a diversion for the evils of the world that way Hinduism can remain pure. The Buddha is seen as a possible avatar of Vishnu, who was brought to lead the critical and condemning Hindu’s away from Hinduism. (Mittal and Thursby 81) This rejection is the major reason why Buddhism and Hinduism are two separate religions. The different beliefs and ideals certainly further the separation, but had Hindus accepted the Buddha’s teachings, the relationship between Buddhism and Hinduism might have been very different.
Hindus, a.k.a. Hindus, Milton. F. Scott Fitzgerald: An Introduction and Interpretation. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1968. Matterson, Stephen.
After the British empire separated itself from India, inner-country religious problems began to arise. The Muslims and Hindus of the liberated India released their pent up anger on each other and combusted into civil war right after they won the peaceful war against Great Britain. This war distressed Gandhi, who has insight into the unity of mankind, and encouraged him to go on a hunger strike until the brutality ceased. While on his near-death bed, he is approached by a Hindu who “killed a child” because the Muslims “killed [his] son,” and in response, Gandhi said that the way out of his “Hell is to “Find a [Muslim] child, a child whose mother and father have been killed and raise him as your own,” therefore the man would be able to see the equality in all religions. Throughout his entire life, Gandhi, though a Hindu, never prosecuted anyone for their religion and was able to see through everyone’s eyes as fellow brother’s and sisters, not enemies. This ability to empathize and recognize the general unity of the human population allowed Gandhi insight into the human
Hinduism is a polytheistic religion with countless Gods and Deities, that is now the third most followed religion in the world, after Christianity and Islam. The word “hindu” originated from the Sanskrit word “Sindhu” which is a historical name of the longest river in Asia, northwest of India. Hinduism is unique, the only religion without a founder, no one scripture, and it is without a specific set of rules and expectations. It is often described as being a way of life, unlike other religions, and is said to be an assortment of different religious, philosophical ideas, and cultural practices that began in India. While it doesn’t have specific teachings, it does have sacred texts, the Sanatana Dharma, otherwise known as “The Eternal Teaching”.
A disruption of values arises as a powerful factor in the creation of Gandhi’s theory pertaining to spiritual sickness and the gener...
...al features of “Orientalism” such as the spirituality and mysticism of India have been embraced by natives of the “Orient” as positive and aided the construction of an indigenous national identity. The singular, unitary modern world religion known as “Hinduism”, while originally constructed in the most part by Western scholars, is arguably not merely an “Orientalist concept”. This view, advocated by von Stietencron is flawed in that it fails to recognise the development of the “religion” and its associated culture since the nineteenth century. While it is doubtful that an “essence” of “Hinduism” exists, to reduce the religion to a being a “Western construct” in the twenty-first century is to deny the Indian people who label themselves as being “Hindu’s” the opportunity to value and develop their own national culture, albeit still influenced by their colonial past.
Throughout history most religions have been primarily based around putting their God above all others, and showing love and acceptance, however in today’s society religion appears to be the fuel to a fire of hate. Religion as a whole has become the most controversial and the most violent cause behind some of the most world breaking news, from wars in the Middle East, to death threats to doctors in my home town. This violent mentality of religion first is demonstrated in the short story A Father by Bharati Mukherjee. In this short story the main character, Mr Bhowmick, creates a miserable life for himself based on what his religion says is acceptable. His family, however, lived life and cherished the freedoms of living in America by creating happiness and accomplishment in their lives. The jealousy of Mr. Bhowmick for a more joyful existence is demonstrated when his religion drives him to an act of violence out of anger and hate.
“If I were asked to define the Hindu creed, I should simply say: Search after truth through non-violent means. A man may not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu. Hinduism is a relentless pursuit after truth... Hinduism is the religion of truth. Truth is God.”
Hinduism is unlike many other religions in that it does not have a single founder or text, but is more like an umbrella in ways of life. In death and life for the Hindu, “The ultimate goal of the soul is liberation from the wheel of rebirth, through reabsorption into our identity with the Oversoul (Brahma)-- the essence of the universe, immaterial, uncreated, limitless, and timeless” (Leming & Dickinson, 2011, p. 134).
In Hinduism, people are born into their respective caste, determined by parentage. The four main castes are: Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (common people), or Shudras(servants). Each caste has its own duties to attend to, and each is expected to do so without regard to personal thought or choice. If duties are not attended to in the way befitting one’s caste, it is thought that the individual would suffer from bad karma. If an individual responds to situations in a way befitting of their caste, they are likewise rewarded with good karma. This insinuates an easy way to manipulate people into behaving in ways that they might not otherwise behave.
India is the center of a very serious problem in the world today. It’s a very diverse place with people from many different religious backgrounds, who speak many different languages and come from many different regions. They are also separated economically. Two of the country’s religious sects, Muslims and Hindus, have been in conflict for hundreds of years. Their feelings of mistrust and hatred for each other are embedded in all those years and will not leave easily. What’s most disturbing is that there seems to be no plan for reconciliation available. There are numerous reasons for this conflict.
In this week’s reading Willard G. Oxtoby states that Hinduism is a religion that does not have a name or a word to describe itself and also how Harappa and Mohenjo were the roots of Hinduism. Additionally, how veda was considered as Indian’s earliest surviving compositions.
Dogma, Urmilla, pgs. (3-29) Hinduism the oldest religion of Infinite adaptability and diversity: Ramesh Chander Dogma
Out of all the different beliefs in the world today, Hinduism is a religion that seems different and interesting. Hinduism is one of the oldest living religions in the world. The religion is over 4,000 years old. Hinduism was originated in India and the religion’s first known believers were known as the ancient people, the Aryans (Hinduism). Like most religions in the universe, Hinduism is unique in its own way. Hinduism is unique because it did not start off as a religion. Hinduism was actually a culture for people in India and then later turned into a religion (Hinduism on Fun Facts).
The reason perhaps religion is attacked so much is because of certain religious people who misuse religion and violate the rules and regulations of religion for personnel gains. Some even force religion onto others so that when the other one accepts his or her religion they can be praised in society. Saadat Hasan Manto, Munshi Premchand and Rabindranath Tagore with their short stories give an insight to certain kinds of people and psychological and social impact religion has on the society.