#like you can be a hindu without celebrating a highly politicized construction of a temple over a demolished mosque. just as an example

[snixx]

Hey .. I'm new on tumblr but I'm also desi like you (I'm from Delhi) and I'm just confused. I love being a Hindu, I wholeheartedly believe in my religion and you could consider me moderately religious. But recently, after seeing BJP and Hindu supremacists and their actions I feel guilty to be Hindu. I'm scared that people will look at me like I'm the bad person. I believe in secularism I really respect other religions too but sometimes I feel so bad that I'm happily following my religion but others cannot. And I feel like I sound like a bigot and a hypocrite everytime I practice my religion at the expense of others. :(((. Just a rant lol

ok so firstly no one is going to think you're a bad person just for being hindu lol. any indian who thinks that is going around hating 80% of the people around them by default so tell me if that sounds like a plausible way to live in a society to you (not to mention that 80% of people are literally hindu themselves)

religion is a really personal thing that means different things to different people. and what we think of as hinduism today is an amalgamation of so many different belief systems. and the most popular interpretation of it which is how most people perceive it is a deeply flawed at least partially man-made system. unfortunately organized religion pretty much always comes with a lot of horrible baggage + bigotry, meaning it's always gonna be a breeding ground for really shitty people. that makes it hard to separate from said shittiness for a lot of people (like me personally for example; i believe that if the gods exist i dont like them very much for all the hell they allow on earth in their name), which is valid. but it is obviously possible to follow any religion you want and be a good person as long as you critically engage with it and are compassionate to people outside your religion and their experiences with being persecuted for not following said religion. there are lots of cool things about hinduism. embrace those, discard the bad stuff, and keep your eyes open and stand up for the people who are systematically hurt by the popular wacko fascist interpretation of it that's destroying our country. it counts for a lot. people are always more willing to listen to people like them, unfortunately. feeling bad about being part of a majoritarian/oppressor demographic ultimately helps nobody. do something about it. read about caste and the fight for its annihilation. talk about these things with other more radicalised hindus and get them to see the harmful stuff theyre complicit in. it could go a long way.

personally im so used to interacting with bhakts IRL im just really glad to meet religious hindu people who don't blindly condone bigotry lol