On April 23, 2004, I was flying from JFK NY Airport to SFO to attend a meeting at Monterey, CA.
An American girl was sitting on the right side, near window seat.
It indeed was a long journey – it would take nearly seven hours!
I was surprised to see the young girl reading a Bible – unusual of
young Americans! (Later I came to know that September 11 has changed
mind-set of lot of US citizens. They suddenly turned religious, it
seemed.)<!--more-->
After some time she smiled and we had few acquaintances talk. I told her that I am from India.
Then suddenly the girl asked: “What’s your faith?”
“What?” I didn’t understand the question.
“I mean, what’s your religion? Are you a Christian? Or a Muslim?”
“No!” I replied, “I am neither Christian nor Muslim”.
Apparently she appeared shocked to listen to that.
“Then who are you…?”
“I am a Hindu”, I said.
She looked at me as if she is seeing a caged animal.
She could not understand what I was talking about.
A
common man in Europe or US know about Christianity and Islam, as they
are the leading religions of the world today. But a Hindu, what?
I explained to her – I am born to a Hindu father and Hindu mother. Therefore, I am a Hindu by birth.
“Who is your prophet?” she asked.
“We don’t have a prophet,” I replied.
“What’s your Holy Book?”
“We don’t have a single Holy Book, but we have hundreds and thousands
of philosophical and sacred scriptures,” I replied.
“Oh, come on…at least tell me who is your God?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Like we have Yahweh and Muslims have Allah – don’t you have a God?”
I thought for a moment. Muslims and Christians believe one God (Male
God) who created the world and takes an interest in the humans who
inhabit it. Her mind is conditioned with that kind of belief.
According
to her (or anybody who doesn’t know about Hinduism), a religion need to
have one Prophet, one Holy book and one God. The mind is so conditioned
and rigidly narrowed down to such a notion that anything else is not
acceptable. I understood her perception and concept about faith. You
can’t compare Hinduism with any of the present leading religions where
you have to believe in one concept of god. ..............................Click here to read full article..........................http://udaypai.in/?p=7
By Udaylal Pai
P.S: I
have written this article on December 07, 2007 and more than 50
publications all over the world have re-published it - hence this is my
most read article.
Let's share and care. Let's get connected
E-mail: uday.pai@aol.com
Facebook: udaylal.pai
Twitter: udaylalpai
Website: udaypai.in
Copyright: Udaylal Pai. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing at uday@udaypai.in
Link to Other Articles
Are You ENLIGHTENED?
Do You Believe in GOD?
Why should a GOD be so INSECURE?
Why am I NOT a SINNER?
Am I a Hindu
Bye-bye Positive Thinking
Chat with an ex-film star: Fall from the sky! Life, that is
Love and Marriage: An Indian Perspective
Why am I a vegetarian?
Please stop Brahmin bashing
Is Vedic Astrology the world’s oldest con?
Was there a caste system in Hinduism ?
Why suicide rate is highest among young Indians?
No comments:
Post a Comment