Hello all, 1st time posting in here. Actually I've never even been in RGT. Randomly came across it and decided to start a thread about my religion- Hinduism. There's SO much info and knowledge that can be utilized from people of all faiths and walks of life from this religion imho. I even hesitate to label it "religion", because of the negative connotations that word has come to acquire over time (rightfully so in many cases). Also because imo it is much more than what "religion" has come to mean to many of us in today's world (especially in the western hemisphere).

Idk why I'm starting a thread on this really, but I guess just to let people ask any questions they may have and/or to have any misconceptions/assumptions clarified. Now, I don't want that to come across as me saying I have superior knowledge/understanding of it; that is not the case. However, I feel that I do know a decent amount and can inform any curious people out there. Also, I'd be more than happy to learn any new info I can as well.

Look forward to an OPEN-minded discussion.

What is the Hindu position on the separation of Church and State?

Tbh I'm not really positive. Though I do know that it is very tolerant (some would say to a fault) in theory and usually in practice. Over recent times, there has probably been some anti-minority crimes against some of the lesser practiced religions in India, though I don't have any research on the subject. That, however is a more of a result of corrupted politics and societal issues, and not an indictment on the religion itself.

Hinduism is more a way of life/philosophy than what many of us consider as a "religion" today. The earliest texts on Hinduism and more broadly, Vedic culture are the Vedas. It says basically that the king (state) is the ruler of the people (obv). He has command to do his executive duty, but along w/ that right, comes a duty of righteousness. This duty supersedes all else, since dharma is the highest order on the "to-do list", no matter what position one is in (king, merchant, warrior, etc.). He is responsible for upholding "dharma", which can be loosely translated into the "truth."

If/when he reaches a point where he has lost sight of that, a rushi(/rishi) (ie church) has the right to remind the state of what his true aim should be, for they are respected by everyone in society for their knowledge/sacrifices. But there is no right to "overthrow" said king. If he is corrupt/unjust, everyone suffers, until there is a change of leadership.

So basically speaking, there is a belief in separation of church and state.

Do you believe that the world we live in is an illusion we must overcome and find out that your Atman is the same as Brahman and then you achieve Moksha? (This is how I understand Hinduism, correct me if wrong)

If so, and you believe in reincarnation, was everyone assigned a random spot during the *first* life cycle?

Finally - does Hinduism teach of the stations of life, like teacher, laborer, untouchables, etc, or is that a cultural thing?

whats up with that rat temple, more specifically the people who drink the milk that rats drink


"20,000-odd rats call this temple home. These holy animals are called kabbas, and many people travel great distances to pay their respects."

What country to you live in?

Is vegetarianism a part of Hinduism, or cultural, or depends on what 'sect' (if there are such things), or ..., and why?

I wouldn’t say it is an “illusion” – that makes it sound like we are not really living our lives; that we are not really in control. But it is like a quest, a journey to attain “moksha” as you said. Moksha can be translated into “salvation” or “liberation.” Reincarnation is a belief of Hinduism, for we have an eternal soul. Before you roll your eyes and say, “yeah yeah w/e…”, think about it: why is it that people of all walks of life/backgrounds and faiths always (vaguely) mention something about having a soul, or being spiritual, having knowledge of oneself, sensing your own and other people’s energy/aura, etc etc.

Basically, we (Hindus) believe that all humans (and all living things for that matter), no matter what religious affiliation, ethnicity, gender, anything- are all “descendants” of the same supreme lord. We ALL have a piece of God in us, similar to how it could be said that we all have a piece of our biological parents. To sum it up: “Brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God.” Just imagine if this simple basic thought could be spread and believed by us. The world would/could be literally a totally different place. Obv that makes it sound like a pipedream, but think of it in a smaller more direct-to-your-life perspective. What if you carried this attitude w/ you into work everyday? Or when meeting strangers? It can be applied by any/ALL people in some small degree at the very least and even that would have a considerable impact on people’s day-to-day lives.


I don’t really have any information/knowledge on this subject at my disposal. However, if I was to give my (un?)educated opinion, I would say that yes, when we start our path it is randomly done.


I’m assuming by “stations of life” you are referring to the “caste system”, used in India since forever basically. Nowadays/in modern society it has become a totally unjust and exploitative way of class discrimination. Afaik, it does not state specifically that this system should be used. However, in the Vedas, there might very well be mention of this. The thing is, in theory (and in practice a long time ago) the caste system really worked for all in society. People tend to think of it as a vertical rank system, whereas in reality it is more like the 4 legs of a chair. If one of them break, the chair cannot stand.
Could go a little more into detail but don;t want to unless specifically requested. Plus, I'm not totally sharp on the caste system's ins/outs, even though I did my history class's critical research paper in HS on the topic.

Tbh idk really. It is a sect of hinduism I guess. Over time, there have been countless sects that have arouse under the umbrella of Hinduism & Vedic culture/philosophy.

This specific sect shares milk w/ rats. Pretty crazy, I would never do this personally, and I know no one who would. That being said though, if I was to assume the meaning behind it, I would say that it is symbolism of the relationship between living beings, and the gratefulness for this animal. For whatever reason, these people have taken to these rats. Possibly similar to how some Native American tribes worshiped buffalo, because of all they received from them. Not saying these people eat rats or w/e, just making a somewhat parallel connection between the 2.

Tbh, I wouldn't be surprised if the original practice/thought process behind this has been altered/diluted over time. Nowadays many people of many sects just sort of do what their parents did, and their parents did, etc etc, without really knowing the thought/purpose behind rituals. And that is the entire point of said rituals, to understand the meaning of it and to use them as a reminder of something we can/should implement in our lives.

I live in the USA, born and raised.


Vegetarianism is a part of Hinduism, and the Vedic culture. Afaik it doesn't actually explicitly state "thou shall not eat meat" or something 10 Commandment style. (This is quite often the case actually).

However, one of our basic thoughts is that we are ALL (human and otherwise) living beings w/ "God in us", and we have no right to take life. Like, take a step back from all our normal routines of ordering turkey subs for lunch and hamburgers for BBQs, and just think: we kill animals for our own gain. Living beings, and what gives us this right to do this? Just because we can? This where some of us say "yeah, well survival of the fittest...". But our advantage in life is that we are blessed to be humans, with intellect, gratitude, and just generally an ability that can never be matched by any of our fellow inhabitants on earth. So why should we adhere to the same "rules" as animals? We are fully capable and can be above that. We should be above that imo.

And a meat-diet is not something that is essential, we can survive (healthily) w/o any in our diet. (Disclaimer: I too eat meat, ate it as a kid growing up, then quit for a few years, then got back on it (so damn good!), though I've slowed down quite a bit the last couple years, especially w/ red meat). It's just that we have become so accustomed to this way of life that we think it'd be impossible to live w/o. Just fyi, my culture has been around for ~10,000 years+, never depending on meat in their diet, and we are still here. So many of the diseases that we in the western world are being plagued by (heart disease, certain cancers, general obesity, diabetes, etc etc) can be linked to our diets. And mainly our diets consist of meat.

Also, I forget where exactly but I came across a study that basically stated that we as humans, our bone/jaw structure and even our chemical/bodily makeup (digestive/intestinal/stomach areas) are not meant to eat meat/be carnivores. We are supposed to be herbivores. And this is a science/gentic POV, nothing to do w/ beliefs of right/wrong etc.

Just some food for thought.

I highly doubt the reliability of such a study. Our teeth and gut flora make it abundantly clear that we evolved as an omnivorous species, and there is copious evidence to suggest that an increase in meat consumption was correlated with brain development in our ancestors. It's actually rather difficult for humans in most of the world to get sufficient nutrition from an all plant-based diet (it would be basically impossible outside of temperate belts). Incidentally, India and parts of South Asia are rich in plant foods that would allow fairly diverse vegetarian diets that would satisfy nutritional requirements. That vegetarian religion developed there and not in Scandinavia shouldn't be a big surprise.

There is no *first* life cycle. Hindus (along with many non-Judeo-Christian cultures) see time as both eternal and cyclical.

In any case, it's very difficult to describe uniform "Hindu" practices, since traditions and beliefs vary so much from region to region. There is very little agreed-upon body of core beliefs or practices as there are in Judaism, Islam (both orthopractic religions) or Christianity (an orthdoxic religion). In fact, attempts at creating a uniform religion with a set of core practices drawn from central texts is an invention of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British imperialism, as they encouraged their Indian subjects to adopt this type of religion (which more closely models the Western understanding of what constitutes "religion"; a set of dogmas and prescriptions written down in some ancient text... Eastern religions don't fit that kind of mold).

Point taken. As I said, I wasn't sure of this study, didn't see/read it 1st hand, heard it from someone else.


There is no *first* life cycle. Hindus (along with many non-Judeo-Christian cultures) see time as both eternal and cyclical.

In any case, it's very difficult to describe uniform "Hindu" practices, since traditions and beliefs vary so much from region to region. There is very little agreed-upon body of core beliefs or practices as there are in Judaism, Islam (both orthopractic religions) or Christianity (an orthdoxic religion). In fact, attempts at creating a uniform religion with a set of core practices drawn from central texts is an invention of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British imperialism, as they encouraged their Indian subjects to adopt this type of religion (which more closely models the Western understanding of what constitutes "religion"; a set of dogmas and prescriptions written down in some ancient text... Eastern religions don't fit that kind of mold).[/QUOTE]

I agree with this also. It is hard to try and say that "this is the way" and not "that". However, I wouldn't go so far as to say the British were responsible for it becoming what it is today. I "credit" that to people just flat-out being complacent and losing the true thoughts/purposes of so many of the beliefs and rituals they do today. They do them because in their minds they are doing something "for God", and He will "like it". In the most basic/primitive of senses, this is true. However, this is sort of the tactic that is used to gives kids and less advanced people something to believe in. To advance further than that most basic of steps, one must realize what the meaing behind things is. Sort of like in poker, you might 3b oop w/ a crappy hand, because you saw someone else do it, or u "heard" its the right play. You could very well get away with this and benefit (short-term), but w/o knowing the "why" behind our 3b, we are not actually advancing/maturing.

Also, all of Hinduism/Vedic culture is derived originally from the Vedas, which is the oldest known text in existence, religious or otherwise. The word "veda" can be loosely translated into "knowledge". It is an eternal text, that was written over generations, and with the intent of being applicable in all times, all conditions, etc.* This is not meant solely for Hindus, it does not differentiate between one religion over any other, it is meant for any/all human beings. This is also the same w/ the Bhagavad Geeta, considered to be equivalent to the Hindu "bible" or "qu'ran". Never once in this text is the word Hindu mentioned, or anything saying that one must convert and prove his/her faith to this religion before being accepted as "one of us." It truly can be picked up by anyone from any walk of life, in any time period, in any predicament, and be of great use. Some saying I've heard, something like: "It is not the book of Hindus, it is the book of Humanity."

*For example, just recently scientists have begun to understand more in depth one of the "sections" of the Vedas, known as "Ayurveda". This can be loosely translated to mean "longevity knowledge." Basically it consists of medical/health knowledge. They are discovering that many of the remedies and/or treatments listed actually have an effect in today's world. Just one general example; there are many which I'm not on point with at the moment.