Hinduism is misunderstood all over the world. Because Hindus do not express the essence of it well.

By Maria Wirt

In recent weeks, two major American influencers, Russell Brand and Candace Owen, declared that they had been baptized. Others who are Christians like Tucker Carlson continue to emphasize the importance of Christianity for a healthy society. Jordan Peterson explained why atheism is irrational. And of course he’s right. There MUST be a power greater than man behind this wonderful, vast universe.

While I criticize Christianity, I think it is much better for normal Westerners (not clergy) to believe in Jesus and his godfather than to be rootless atheists or communists, as long as these Christians do not believe in the dogma that “only Christianity can do”. save you”.
Unfortunately, many in America (not so much in Europe) believe in the claim of supremacy, because they have only Islam and Judaism for comparison, and the Christian God of the New Testament is relatively less violent and less fiercely protective of only His own people. .

NRI Hindus generally do not talk about their faith and have allowed the Church to form a negative image of Hinduism. But even in Bharat, many Hindus do not articulate and may not know the essence of the tradition they have inherited.

I recently watched a documentary about India that was broadcast on German public television. It was very biased against Prime Minister Modi and Hindus. Yet there was one incident where a diamond businessman could have easily corrected the German viewers’ view of Hinduism:

“What is special about India,” the businessman was asked.
His beautiful answer: “we believe in God, draw our strength from Him, start our day with a prayer together.”
“Which God? You have so many,” the interviewer asked.
“Yes, we have many. Personally, I pray to Swami Narayana.” Then he asked someone standing nearby, “To whom are you praying?”

If only he had said that all the different gods are aspects of the one all-pervading Brahman, Hinduism would have looked very different to German viewers and also closer to the truth.

I recently tweeted: “Too bad Vedic knowledge/Hinduism is not known in the West. It is the best option for humanity. Unfortunately, certain forces don’t want people to know that.”

A foreigner responded to my tweet:
“Excuse me, but associating yourself with Hindu DEMON GODS is NOT the best path for humanity.”

This tweeter has clearly fallen for mischievous propaganda.

It reminded me of the World Hindu Congress in Bangkok in November 2023. I was asked to speak on “Voicing Hindu Thoughts” because this is an area where Hindus are not doing well. And unfortunately it’s true.

There are several videos on the net in which, for example, Shiva is compared to Satan – not by missionaries but by people who talk positively about the gods of ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia. Most of the time, India’s age-old tradition is not mentioned at all, and if it is, in a negative sense.

So the comment about the Hindu DEMON GODS did not surprise me, but still hurt me. Can we Hindus better communicate what Hinduism is about? (I use Hinduism because that is the term by which the Vedic tradition is known abroad, even though Hindu or Sanatana Dharma would be better, since ‘ism’ implies a dogmatic system, which Hinduism is not.)

I remembered my notes from the World Hindu Congress:

First, we must clearly articulate what is most essential in the Vedic tradition. It is: you are not what you think you are. You are not separate body and mind, but you are one with the one Brahman.
Only Brahman is true. The world is an appearance in Brahman. (Brahman satya, Jagat mithya)

Brahman is the absolute truth, and the world and everything in it is the relative truth.
It means that only Brahman is completely independent. It needs nothing else to exist and is eternal. Yet the world is dependent on Brahman and temporary. And here ‘the world’ includes not only the visible universe, but also the much-maligned ‘many Hindu gods’, who are far more powerful and long-lived than humans, and just as real as we humans, but also not absolutely true. They are also dependent on the one Brahman for their existence.

Brahman goes beyond words and thoughts. It is pure, thought-free consciousness or awareness. It is pure ‘I AM’ without ‘this or that’.

This pure consciousness is the substrate on which thoughts and everything else appear. Thoughts are also objects. I can observe ‘my’ thoughts. So, who am I? This is the most important question.

Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman) or Ayam Atma Brahma (this Atma is Brahman) claim the Vedas. Sadhana is necessary to remove the veil that hides our deepest Self. Brahman is the only subject.

So is there any doubt that “God”, as the West calls the highest truth, is within us? Aren’t we all conscious, even though we are usually only aware of the ‘objects’ (thoughts) within our ‘pure’ (thought-free) consciousness?

Discovering thought-free consciousness is the meaning of life. And this thought-free consciousness is of course very close to us. Can’t even get any closer. It is our essence, our Self.

Does this make sense? Doesn’t it sound like top philosophy?

200 years ago and even up to 40 years ago it also made sense to people in the West, to philosophers, to scientists and to many hippies. But today this profound knowledge is completely obscured. If you google ‘greatest philosophers of all time’, not a single Indian is mentioned among the 50 mentioned, while ancient Greeks, Chinese and Arabs are mentioned.
WHY???
This is certainly intriguing.

Unfortunately, even modern Indians have forgotten this basic knowledge.

Yet the Hindus who knew were not successful in communicating their knowledge. Even a few years ago, seventy years after the departure of the British, I attended an Interfaith Dialogue and was shocked that the Hindu side did not ask any direct questions to the representatives of the Abrahamic religions and the positive aspects of the Hindu dharma not mentioned.
“I can’t afford to be controversial. I have a family,” one participant explained his embarrassment to me during the tea break.

This is very unfortunate because failure to put things right could become very costly for Hindus in the future. Tens of millions of Hindus have been killed because of a terrible misunderstanding or as a result of a deliberate disinformation campaign that “Hindus are going against the will of the “one true God” who does not want other gods to be worshiped besides Him.”

The Abrahamic religions claim: “There is only one God (apart from his creation).”
The Rishis claim “there is only God/Brahman (who pervades and contains the universe)”.

Is it possible to find out who is right?
Yes that is true. Because the truth can be experienced. Even some Christian and Muslim mystics discovered their oneness with God or Allah – names do not matter for that which is unnameable. Hindus also have other names besides Brahman, for example simply Tat (Dat), Parabrahma, Parama Shiva…

Other points that speak strongly in favor of the Hindus.
For example, only Hindus pray that the whole world will be happy. “Loka samastha sukhino bhavantu.” The Abrahamic religions, on the other hand, pray only for their own group and even believe (incredibly) that their God only favors them and sends others to hell. It means that their God is more of a tribal god and not the source and basis of all that exists.

Furthermore, Hindus pray to the gods and not to the demons. Every day the gods are worshiped in thousands of temples. Gods are called devas and demons are called asuras.
The difference between them is this: the gods are compassionate and helpful. The demons are selfish and even walk over dead bodies to gain their advantage.
Both are in this world of Maya. Therefore, DEMON GODS are not possible in India/Bharat. But today even the Asuras of extinct ancient cultures are ignorantly called Gods.

Demons are more likely to be worshiped in the West than in Bharat – the selfish pursuit of one’s own advantage is of paramount importance in our times, regardless of whether other people or animals suffer.…

Christians, Muslims and atheists with an open mind should be able to understand which view is closer to the truth and which is more likely to promote harmony in society.
The Hindu view or the view of the Abrahamic religions?

Originally written in: https://mariawirth.com/hinduism-is-misunderstood-all-over-the-world-because-hindus-dont-articulate-its-essence-well/