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[hindusuggestion]

hi there/kwehkwe! i hope this is alright to ask! an acquaintance told me a long time ago that depictions of third eyes in or out of the context of chakra practice (trad-occult art is guilty but so is casual "witchy" art) are very appropriative, i never questioned it. but now when i look at sources when i do my own research, i cannot find anything definitive on the subject. would you be willing to contribute to the disccussion of whether third eye depictions is appropriative or not? thank you!

i haven’t actually done any proper research in this exact field but i feel like the idea of an ‘inner’ or generally other ‘eye’ should be universal? as in the phrase ‘mind’s eye’. perhaps they were referring to a specific mudra or yantra, in which case that would be appropriative, as those designs belong in a specific context and half been divorced from them

[hindusuggestion]

How do you propose to simply dispose of multiple texts and even parts of other texts? How does one accomplish this without a centralised truth-governing agency akin to the Catholic church? Can there really not be caste in texts that were written at times when only Brahmins had the right to write? It's a cafeteria religion, and if someone wants to follow the books saying they're the best caste, really, how do you stop them while also encouraging people to continue their ancestors' (their castes')

(cont’d) practices? Is picking and choosing which practices to continue and which ones should be dropped something that should be up to Hindus? If so, how is that any different from the fact that the upper castes have always had a monopoly on deciding how religion should be run, and that they have yet to make the needed changes in past 1000s of years?

That’s a good point; I hadn’t thought of that. Thank u very much for engaging with me!

i’ll be honest idk. i’ve had this idea (and pls pls take this w a grain of salt) where there’s a foundation or sangha or smth where we take brahmin and academically trained teachers (regardless of caste), but we have a reservation (i’m thinking 50+%) of (Dalits and Shudras? tho im not sure if the more correct term would be OBC? do correct me here please), and the rest non brahmins, and maybe like. single authoritative body bc flexibility of interpretation is important to preserve i think. Perhaps just. ‘authoritative’) body with which to interpret texts.

To your point abt the FC’s holding the monopoly on the interpretation, perhaps it’s bc the lower castes were barred from learning the Vedas and other texts. this isn’t to say that lower castes simply have no ‘proper’ conception of what hinduism is, but that the study of the Vedas would legitimize their stances (i’m woefully uneducated with regards to the history of lower caste theologians and theorists wrt the Sruti texts, so perhaps this argument has already been made and debunked).

Or, i suppose, the easiest way would be to [redacted due to violation of ToS] all of the FC’s who insist on clinging to caste. my main thing is, i want to worship God. i find it directly counter to my devotion to Her to condemn anyone of lower caste. i don’t care the caste of the person who conducts puja for/with me, as long as they kno what they’re doing. the best way to please Her, for me, would be to alleviate suffering, so if that means burning shastras, i will burn shastras. if that means doing a Parasuraman but to brahmins, (well that’d need preparation and time to psych myself up for it but) i’ll do it perhaps this is v naive, and pls do tell me if it is. i don’t care too too much abt the things that came after the Vedas (i’m not sure if ppl classify the Upanishads as coming after the Vedas; if so, then those r the one thing tht i do care a lot abt). i care abt honoring God, bc i owe Her a lot. 

i apologize if i come off as non-committal or wishy-washy. im just very scared to put my foot in my mouth. as well, im not (and i doubt ill ever be) educated enough to provide a solution to the problem of hinduism, as it is quite a vast subject. what would you suggest, asker? (i mean this in all sincerity) do you have any solutions of your own? im quite interested in what you have to say! also, it would probably be better to direct all further questions to @post-brahmanism 

[hindusuggestion]

When was being Hindu not "a bit tricky" with regard to the casteism, religious intolerance, and subjugation of women? Has there been a time in history like that? Do you think there will be one in the future? How will that come about?

ive been thinking abt this question all day. caste has been kinda tricky for me bc 1) my parents and I were born in Malaysia (not to say tht the south asian community there hasnt brought over caste but i feel like its somewhat diluted?) 2) ive lived the majority of my life in america and my parents wasted absolutely no time at all in assimilating,, so i never rly understood what my traditions were, let alone if it were caste based. 

from what (little) ive read of Dr Ambedkar, he seems to say tht the mix of the dharmashastras and casteist injunctions plus the belief in divine beings perpetuates caste. he also says that hindus dont mean to be casteist, its just a part of their religion, and they are casteist bc they are religious. im not sure if thts a fair representation of his beliefs, so i apologize. 

i would like to think that under the Jain and Buddhist rulers, caste was less of a problem, just given the fact tht it was the basis of those religions. even under the Muslim rulers, i like to think that it was a little better, given that i dont think caste wouldve been compliant w the Shari’a (but idk there couldve been rulings perpetuating caste bc it would make the population easier to control maybe? haven’t read to much abt it). from what ive read (which i dont think is enough) caste became the issue it is today bc the british w the help of the uppercaste Hindus had exploited it as a division, along w religion (but ofc i could and most likely am wrong)

i think, according to Dr. Ambedkar, we’re going to have to get read of ‘’’Hinduism’’’’. from what i understand, Hinduism is made up of the corpus of the dharmashastras, like how Christianity is based in the Bible. the shastras necessarily talk abt and factor in and perpetuate caste. therefore, they have to be done away with. im not sure if this includes the Vedas, as the one sukta that actually refers to caste (the Purusha Sukta) was a later addition according to linguists, aka brahmins literally putting words in the mouth of God to justify and consolidate power. that sukta also must go. basically anything and everything that mentions caste must be burned.

that still leaves us with quite a lot tho; the Upanishads, the Aranyakas, quite a few Puranas (tho there would def have to be a lot of rewriting ofc). most of this stuff is transcendental knowledge which (from what i understand) doesnt rly factor in caste. so tht, i think, is what ‘’’Hinduism’’’ would have to be.

wrt to religious intolerance and the subjugation of women; i think thts the same problem almost all religions have. as in, there r followers who r more tolerant and less misogynistic than others, based on their personal beliefs and the interpretations of their texts. also, smth tht i feel is a little unique to Hinduism is how regional it is (this is also present in other religions ofc, but from what i understand, not the extent of Hinduism? bc other religions have central canons, but we dont) i kno tht for example in Kerala the Nairs use(d) a matrilineal, matrilocal, and matrifocal family system. conversely, the practice of sati (again, from what ive read) is mostly a northern thing. tht is, ive never heard of anyone in the south practicing smth like tht (although im sure there mustve been some incidents of tht). so i think the key thing would be to move away from shastras, and more towards our regional cultures, and clip away the traditions that dont have merit

[hindusuggestion]

The hands of an old Ram nam woman The hands of an old Ram nam woman that has her entire body tattoed with the name of god Ram. Chhattisgarh, India (via Instagram: Sabrina Nicolazzi)

[hindusuggestion]

(feel free not to answer) i was raised into hinduism but idk i slowly kinda lost contact w my religiosity and spirituality ppl bc ppl at my school were kinda shitty towards religion (idk how 2 describe exactly but not a good environment). i rlly want to rediscover my connection w hinduism but i’m not too sure how to go about it. if u had any resources that would be lovely 💖

oh lol it’s ok!!! and yah lol i felt tht; there was this kid in middle school who, after i told him abt the gods n stuff, ate a muffin, chewed up the wrapper, spat it out, and named it R*tardo. then he’d threaten to throw the spit ball at us if we didn’t ‘pray’ to it. so like. i feel u LMFAO. 

but also being Hindu is a bit tricky rn?? as in u absolutely have to b aware of any Islamophobia and casteism u might have, among other biases, so always keep that in the back of ur head. but tbh for me, j listen to music tbh. like folk songs, bhajans, kritis, etc etc; for me it makes me feel so excited and alive i love it!!!!! also don’t forget tht ur ethnicity is also important to ur Hinduism bc Hinduism in Mumbai is different from Hinduism in Alapuzha which is different from Hinduism in Dispur. so read up on ur culture too, and see what practices ur ancestors did tht also call to u (tht arent casteist/shitty in gen lol)

if u have anymore questions, or if anyone wants to add to this, feel free to!!!!!

[hindusuggestion]

Worship a deity bc their folk songs slap

[hindusuggestion]

Vishnu about to say smth casteist

[hindusuggestion]

🥀M A N A S A🐍 feminine identity independent of masculine parameters.

[hindusuggestion]

It’s ok to have a complicated/no relationship w God

[hindusuggestion]

THE FEELING U GET WHEN U MAKE A NEW FRIEND. THTS GOD. THT FEELING IS GOD

[hindusuggestion]

Bhakti Yoga should not be used as a substitute for Karma Yoga

[hindusuggestion]

the whole point of religion is being highly aware that there is a higher power which by default should humble your postition as a creation on this earth so I don’t even understand how people can produce so much arrogance and superiority once they have decided to indulge in religious practices 

[hindusuggestion]

Maybe misusing the name of God isn’t so much about saying the shallow words, “Oh my God,” as it is about using the name of God to justify discrimination, oppression, injustice, racism, slavery, xenophobia, poverty, sexism, islamophobia, ableism, homophobia, war, & the list can go on. 

[hindusuggestion]

wishing all of my muslim followers a beautiful and peaceful ramadan!

[hindusuggestion]

Others argue that Islam has a strong tradition of reason, knowledge, and science, and that if Mohammed were around today he’d choose the more precise scientific calculations over sending the guy at the mosque with the best eyesight outside to squint at the night sky.

To make things even more fun, some argue that the whole world should just follow the official moon-sighting decrees of Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and the location of its holiest sites. But not everyone thinks that’s such a swell idea — especially rival countries like Pakistan and Iran, which balk at the idea of treating Saudi Arabia as the ultimate authority on anything having to do with Islam.

All this means that each year Muslims around the world get to experience the delightful lunacy of “moon-sighting fighting.” Indeed, it’s such a familiar feature of Ramadan that there are memes about it:

or moon sightings are srs business yo

[hindusuggestion]

Using ahimsa as an excuse to not fight and defend against fascists is adharma

[hindusuggestion]

[First picture: illustration of two hands holding a medicine bottle with the caption “tough pills to swallow”. Second picture: illustration of a hand holding three pills while the other hand is pointing at them. The caption reads: “South Asian representation is pointless if all we’re representing is a community that continues to eagerly perpetrate colorism, anti-Blackness, patriarchy, Hindu/Indo-centrism that ignores the indentured diaspora and Indian / Pakistani violence, homo/transmisia, Indigenous erasure, anti-fatness, ableism, carcerality, capitalism, IPV, and Brahmin supremacy.”]