A World at War with Itself
The podcast will be for a year, where Julie Finch-Scally, writer and broadcaster can interview people about life and the current situation of the world. She will discuss how so many things have changed over the past 80 years since her birth, and what the world needs to change to improve and save the planet from ourselves.
A World at War with Itself
HInduism
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This is the final episode of the investigation into religions. What is different about Hinduism? It is more a way of life than a religion, but strangly enough that can be said about the other religions we have discussed. I am sure you will find it interesting in what the Hindus beleive.
Hi there, this is Julie Finch Scaly with you for another episode of A World at War with Itself. Thank you for joining me today. Today I am continuing with the category of religions and discussing Hinduism with Christian Agarwal, a scholar and a follower of the religion, who has come into the studios today to help us understand it all. Welcome, Christian, to the World at War with Itself podcast.
SPEAKER_00Thank you.
SPEAKER_01Firstly, would I be correct in thinking that Hinduism began as an Indian faith?
SPEAKER_00Hindu is a way of life, our culture, and that culture leads to religion. We believe that human mind is superior to other and that's why it has got capability then relating to God. Our main object of life is to keep a good connection, not a contact, but a good connection with the God. And that's where we start off that we want to do everything what is right and stay away from what is wrong. We have been taught that we believe in reincarnation and that means that whatever you do today is what you will get later on. If you saw a good crop you will have a good fruit at the end. And that's where we strongly believe that we should always do the right thing and keep doing the right thing all our life. Our first main object in life is to keep thinking of God, God as a guide, God as a friend, God as the almighty God, God as our well wisher, and God will keep telling you're on the wrong track or you're on the right track. First thing in life is to go and pray to God. Hindu religion is one of the few religions where every Hindu home has got a small temple. Every member of the family, whether child from the age of three, four and whether grown up, go and pray to God. We treat God as a friend. We always believe that we must do the right thing, pray to God, and then God will keep us as a guide. Do this, don't do this. So the main issue in Hindu life is to have a good connection with the God. We always believe that the God lives in my heart. He is never away from me. Our main issue in whole life is to do the right thing, constructive thing, and interesting things, and do what the God thinks is the right way.
SPEAKER_01Each religion I've had talked to, they've told me there is a specific book from which they take their message. What is the one the Hindu believers have?
SPEAKER_00The big difference between Hindu religion and the others is we have large number of books, but each of those books was written by a sage. He writes a book. And this book is about how we say God has given us a blessing.
SPEAKER_01You've got shrines, but is that the only buildings where you go and worship, or do you have other special buildings like a temple or something? When you go and pray.
SPEAKER_00We believe that you should not live in a city where there is no temple. In Canberra, we got four temples, fifth one under construction, known as Mandir, M-A-N-D-I-R, and Mandir in Hindi word is temple. That temple which has got proper traditional architecture, we got domes.
SPEAKER_01All right.
SPEAKER_00Yes. And on the boundary we got pillars which shows the traditional temple. And then when you go inside the columns, the pillars, they are all differently decorated. On top of the dome also we have got idols. Every morning there are twenty-thirty people, they are in a hurry to go, but they will come, park the car, get out and pray to that God and go. Some people they have got more time. The temple is open 365 days of the year. And in the morning, that temple is open from 8 o'clock till eleven o'clock, and then in the evening from 5 p.m. till 9 p.m. If you go in the evening, you will see hundred, 150 people.
SPEAKER_01So when do you use shrines?
SPEAKER_00In the temple, we have got seven or eight shrines.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Okay? And like Ganesh is one god, Shiva is a second one, Murgun is a third one, then Vishnu is a fourth one, and then Ram and Krishna, fifth and sixth, then the mother, Devi, goddess. We also believe in astrology. When a person is born, the location of the planets determines his whole life. And our astrologers, they can forecast your entire life.
SPEAKER_01Really?
SPEAKER_00This is what will happen. Marriage time. We match the horoscope. Okay? If the horoscope does not match, marriage will not go ahead. Oh really? No. We always believed in matching horoscopes and perfect life, all happy. So this is the big difference between followers and non-followers.
SPEAKER_01Now hang on, let's let's get some other things here. I want to ask you. You said there were several gods. Do people praise those gods for specific reasons? Like if somebody wanted to be safety through a pregnancy or something, do you have a specific god that would do that?
SPEAKER_00All the gods that we have, like water is a god, air is a god, fire is a god. All the gods, they work for the welfare of the community. Good time, good king, there will be no flood, no fire, but if the king is not good, that's when you get floods and fire like we have now. Because our king is not good.
SPEAKER_01Which king are you talking about though? I mean we've got several kings throughout the whole of the world. So you can't blame it on just one of them, or if it is one of them, it how do you work it?
SPEAKER_00We have like all other cultures, we have Brahman, priest, then Kshatriya, which is the fighter class, the fourth one is the traders, and the fifth one is the cleaners. The priest class is supposed to be praying to God all the time, and because they pray to God, so they always go to heaven. In his kingdom everybody does their own thing and everybody is happy. The fighter class do not pray. They pray when they invite the priest and say, Today I want to celebrate this. So then he does and they worship this, that, and all that. One cleaner who said, Why shouldn't I also pray go to heaven? So he started praying like a priest. He was a cleaner class. Not alone.
SPEAKER_01I'm I'm sorry, I'm gonna say something here because I've been a cleaner, and to me, cleaners are the hygiene managers of the world, but nobody gives them credit for it. So anyway, look less move on a bit. Is there a separation between males and females when they worship? Oh, good, lovely. You treated equally?
SPEAKER_00No, both males and females, both of them come. When they come to the temple, they come with whole family.
SPEAKER_01Oh, right.
SPEAKER_00Whole family, boys, girls, father, mother, they all come together. They sit together. There are some uh places where females sit separate, males sit separate. But that's about the only thing. Otherwise they pray together.
SPEAKER_01And do they all go to church every day?
SPEAKER_00Few people go every day, but because they have to do work, earn money, this, that, some people, retired people, they go about five days, six days a week.
SPEAKER_01But what about the rest of the population?
SPEAKER_00Non-legion is also taking hold everywhere. Forty percent go three days a week. And maybe another twenty percent go two days a week.
SPEAKER_01Right. So there's no specific day set down like um the Christians have Sunday. Is is a holy day.
SPEAKER_00There is some r relationship.
SPEAKER_01Right, okay.
SPEAKER_00There's some reason. Because gods have got different birthdays and different holy days. So some people go only on that God.
SPEAKER_01So do they have preferences for gods and they choose to pray to that God when the need arises?
SPEAKER_00Most people they love all gods. There no Hindu, he will love only one God. And there are some days, like Ganesh, that we do once a year, and that time two thousand people will come. Oh gosh.
SPEAKER_01And is there one supreme being or are all the gods equal?
SPEAKER_00Different days. Every god can be worshipped every day. We do not go by the solar calendar. We only go by the lunar calendar. We don't have days of the week. We only have days of the month.
SPEAKER_01Lots of people they say there's a supreme being, even though there are other gods. So is there such a thing as a supreme being in Hinduism?
SPEAKER_00Every god has got two, three days a month.
SPEAKER_01All right. So there must be festivals, because I've heard of the festival of light. How many festivals do the Hindus have?
SPEAKER_00Again, we have got what we call big festivals, like Diwali, which is the festival of light. But then there is also birthday of Lord Krishna, birthday of Lord Ram, birthday of Lord Vishnu, and every year.
SPEAKER_01I have one final question. Hinduism is a more of a way of life than a religion, but what do you find satisfying about it?
SPEAKER_00There are three ways. Hindus are different from the other religions. We pray every day.
SPEAKER_01And before breakfast. That's good.
SPEAKER_00So but the second one is respect for the elders and everybody. What you call word love, we just say respect.
SPEAKER_01And the third one?
SPEAKER_00Third one is love for the animals.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, Christian, for speaking to me today about Hinduism. I've been discussing Hinduism with Christian Agobal, a scholar and a follower of the religion. And that's the final episode in this category of religion. But I will be back next Wednesday with more of a world at war with itself. This is Julie Finch Scalys, hoping you will join me then.
unknownBye.