Who is a Hindu?
by Kathiresan, Hindu Centre Yuva Shakti
  
Who is a Hindu? This is a question we seldom ask ourselves. Many of us, Hindus, take this word 'Hindu' for granted and define it to suit our needs and use it to ow convenience. Most of our Hindus do not give a thought to this question, which is very important, as many wrong notions have been superimposed on the word 'Hindu', due to ignorance. Before answering this question let us examine another question. "Who is an Engineer?" For this question the only answer we can give is someone who has the knowledge of engineering. That person not just knows engineering but practices engineering. Only then can he be called an engineer. In the same way, a doctor is a person who has the knowledge of medicine and practices medicine. Only then can he be called a Doctor. Now if we were to ask ourselves who a Hindu is, than definitely the only answer would be a person who knows what Hinduism is and practices it to the best he can.

Normally, when we pose this particular question to our Hindu brothers and sisters, the general answer goes like, "a Hindu is someone who goes to the temple" or "someone who adorns vibhuti or kumkum" or even "someone who is born in a Hindu family". Let us examine these answers and see if they are valid. If someone who goes to the temple is a Hindu, then tourists who visit our temples should be rightfully called Hindus. But this is not so. It is because the purpose of visiting the temple for the Hindus and tourists is different.

Recently a friend told me this story that back in the 60's when many Indians stayed in kampongs in Singapore, people had dogs as pets and gave them names like Ramu. Siva, Sakthi, Suresh etc. They even went to the extent of applying Vibhuti and Kumkum for their pets. Now does that mean that these pets qualify themselves to be Hindus? The answer is definitely NO!

If one is born to parents who practice Hinduism, it does not make one a Hindu automatically. He may be exposed to a Hindu way of life and the teachings may be taught to him. However, if he refuses to be taught or refuses to practice the dharma, how can he be a Hindu? Only his family members are Hindus. You would have now realized that none of these answers clears the doubt and none of these answers sufficiently define the qualities of a Hindu. Now let us take it a step further.

Now let us look at this analogy. We know of many cars and many cars are on the road. Have you ever witnessed cars colliding into each other on their own? Have you witnessed road accidents without the involvement of a vehicle driver? Definitely there must have been a driver involved in any accident because we need an intelligent cause for such a thing to happen. So cars do not collide but drivers collide. A car does not move on its own. There must be a driver in there. Similarly, just like a car which needs a driver to be driven, the body needs a driver which is the mind, the intelligent principle.

A person brings his body to the temple because his mind is conditioned with Hindu values and ideals. Not that he is going to the temple, therefore he has Hindu values. This should be properly understood first before attempting to answer the question of one being a Hindu. Therefore the name 'Hindu' does not refer to the body but to the mind, which is the intelligent principle behind our body. In our Vedas, it is said that our body is Jada, meaning inert. It does not do anything by itself. It needs a driver called the mind. The mind has to be filled with Hindu values and ideals before we can call a person Hindu. Therefore, the Hindu is located not in the body, but in the mind. Many youths fail to realize this and we call our religion outdated. Hindu values have to instilled into the mind of person before he becomes a Hindu.

We should be very careful how we say this. Now the whole perspective changes. So people who go to temples are not Hindus but a Hindu goes to a temple. A person adorning vibhuti is not a Hindu BUT a Hindu adorns vibhuti. A person worshipping Lord Shiva is not a Hindu BUT a Hindu worships Lord Shiva. We have to be very careful as to not place the cart before the horse in this case. This is where we Hindus go wrong and take for granted the definition of the word Hindu.

Therefore we should be very clear that the mental constitution determines who a Hindu is and who isn't. This should be the true definition of a Hindu. So now let us see what are the beliefs necessary for a Hindu to be a Hindu. Here is a checklist of 7 points that we can countercheck with the ideas we have about Hinduism.

You are a Hindu if you:

1. Believe in One Supreme God
The One Supreme God which is formless, infinite, absolute, one without a second and of the nature of Sat-chit-ananda (Existence-knowledge-bliss) manifests itself as various forms through which we communicate with the Supreme. Those forms can be Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Kali, Murugan etc...

2. Accept the authority of the Vedas
The Vedas are our main scriptures just like the Bible is to the Christians. There are also accept various other scriptures/texts that hold the Vedas as its authority, like the Bhagavad Gita, Thirumanthiram, Puranas etc…..

3. Follow the path of Dharma
Dharma can be called the way of righteous living. We can learn about Dharma from reading many stories from the Puranas, and Itihasas like Ramayana and Mahabharata.

4. Accept the law of karma
What you sow you must reap, or what you give is what you get. This is a natural scientific law. Energy cannot be destroyed therefore what goes around comes around. We have to be responsible for our actions.

5. Believe in reincarnation
Without this dogma many questions cannot be answered like the inequality among people. This is closely connected to the law of Karma.

6. Believe that there are many ways to God
The ways to God are many. Some may prefer Bhakti, devotion and some may like Jnana, knowledge and others may like Dhyana (meditation). In our tradition we are given the freedom of choice to choose the path we like to attain God. There is no single way to God in our tradition.

7. Have respect for other religions
We have to respect other religions as valid means to God and see that One God in all other religious traditions.

From the above we can now conclude that a Hindu is a person who has the knowledge of Hinduism and must also be a practicing Hindu as well. Let us all aspire to be the Ideal Hindu.