There are some key differences with the mainstream religions and thought processes in our indigenous vaidika belief and behavioural system that we must not lose sight of, as that would mean the extinction of such alternate ways of knowing and being. 

When we constantly crib that Hinduism is not taught properly, we don’t have a formal Sunday school nor a regular madrasa, that we have no clue why we do what we do, that there are no books that teach us who we are, where we come from, that sometimes foreigners know more about us and explain it better to us about our own religion and so on, all these gripes point to the various ways in which our sanatana dharma is alien to the modern day worldview and how far we are from actually being practicing Hindus.

The fight for the title aside (‘Hindu’ or not), we must also appreciate that religion in the formal sense is too narrow a definition for something as vast, ancient, intricate, and structured as what we have received from our ancestors. Each region in our bhaaratavarsha abounds in various pantha-s, mata-s existing harmoniously for the most part in a celebration of human imagination and thought that is inconceivable for most outsiders. And therefore, the fear mongering, the name-calling, the labelling. This holds true for all the deracinated Indians who are Hindu In Name Only (HINOs). Lacking the wherewithal to appreciate their own traditions, their ancient roots, and the antiquity of their genetic makeup in relation to the present, they prefer to shrug off millennia of systematic exploration into the heart of the matter; who are we, where do we come from, where are we going.

NO civilization has answered these questions as satisfactorily and as painstakingly in such copious amounts as the Hindu; the Indus-Saraswati civilization. Having lost the essential connection to our previous generations, the knowledge systems they carried in their memories, we resort to clutching at straws and patchwork our understanding, and when we fail repeatedly, we blame our people, our faith.

In today’s age of online Zoom classes by the second, NO one is deprived of any learning if they so wish, and if they insist on being ignoramuses despite such a glut of schooling out there, we can be rest assured that they were insincere to begin with in their spiritual quest.

Hinduism (and why is it termed an +ism by the non-practitioner is something we must all ponder on) or more appropriately sanatana dharma may be complex but that does not mean that it is beyond reach, on the contrary. The whole philosophy is so beautifully encased in the very day-to-day culture and living of the people that it escapes most of us who are not used to abstract or critical thinking. It has trickled down with intention via the various epics and texts, via song and dance, via sculpture and weave. So, what is missing really, if we are already living the Hindu life, if we are painstakingly following the dharma shaastra-s, performing our samskaara-s, and celebrating our utsava-s? (If we are not - well we must start there!). Nothing. 

We need to be aware of the fact that no belief system talks of freedom in the here and now. The promises of jannat and heaven are for AFTER life. And those are permanent slots reserved for believers only, handed out by a male god who has a specific address somewhere. Hence a person’s whole life is lead in a hurry to meet that target, to become somebody in this linear timeline of history, with FOMO and YOLO as benchmarks and RIP as the label on the tombstone until there is qayamat or resurrection (which by the way will happen ONLY when the whole world has converted to either Islam or Christianity which explains the immature therefore dangerous focus on conversion). 

On the other hand, when we say moksha is possible in the here and now we mean that any of us can get out of this cycle of birth and death (which is NOT a linear timeline) via saadhanaa. That spiritual practice which is experiential and leads us to a place where we no longer identify with the body-mind-complex instead go beyond it to identify with the one and complete reality which thereby makes us free of all wants/ desires/ needs/ fears/ insecurities. By doing karma our duty as per our dharma (which is literally based on varNaashrama, or one’s role and station in society at a particular time and place) and upaasanaa (meditation on the higher being) we make ourselves worthy of appreciating subtle truths (via the Upanishads and guru-s) which show us the mirror - you are that complete self, that poorNam you were searching for all your life, that complete whole being with no regrets, guilt, or victimhood.

For living such a life, one does not need a Sunday school, we need to simply follow our ancestors' way of living, or our ancient texts which are expressed as ‘Indian Culture’ to this day. When and where the Hindus came from holds no water as that is a moot question best left to the foreign academic steeped in modernism wanting to prove superiority of the Abrahamic over the pagan. History is not important, what IS, is important. What IS, is right now. And this moment holds the eternal truth for all vaidika-s/ sanaatani-s/ hindu-s. The right to be free is for all, we do not discard anyone saying you are a kafir or sinner if you do not believe what we believe! How can we? Belief is also a mental activity and is to be discarded as mere information aparaa jnaanam, at the altar of the paraa, the supreme wisdom. 

What book is needed to teach me TO BE? To live life joyously knowing that all is one, I am that one and that I lack nothing! What institution needs to teach me to give and share in gratitude, as dharma is nothing but expressing thank you in daily actions via pancha mahaa yajna-s, for what we ALREADY HAVE (this body, this life). What is definitely needed is a quiet mind, to appreciate all this, to comprehend this vision of the Rishis. We need shamAdi shaTkasampatti, that spiritual wealth which is ours for the asking that will lead us to the grand finale of freedom in the here and now. shama, dama, uparati, titiksha, shraddha, samaadhaanaa, viveka vairaagya, mumukshutvam. This is the only real sampatti, wealth, that any of us can hope to acquire that will last forever. That which will never leave us nor can be stolen from us.

Without discernment of what is temporary in this world and what is permanent, without having a certain studied detachment to that which is temporary, without a desire for the permanent and everlasting, without a desire to be free from the clutches of this bondage that ties us to this temporary world, we cannot hope to live as Hindus. If karma, puNya-paapa, punarjanma and avidya are not part of our vocabulary and belief system then we are not living a Hindu life. We are unaware of our real nature, that we are sat-chit-aananda, that is the ignorance which causes the myriad samsaara related sorrows, we drop the avidya, the ignorance, by knowing. And that knowing is obtained by studying at the feet of a qualified guru with a prepared mind. And that keen mind is prepared via acquiring the six-fold wealth as mentioned above. 

So you see instructional books, religious schools, historical narratives .. none of these figure in the life of a practicing Hindu, a vaidika. We simply need to stop becoming, wanting to become who we are not, groping at the external world for answers, we need to turn inwards and the answers will present themselves. To be a real Hindu, we simply need to follow dharma and BE.

Image source: Desh Videsh