Kesari News

What Advantage is There in Becoming a Hindu?

The main advantage is a conscious connection to its traditions and lineages. It is like being part of a great family as opposed to having to struggle on one’s own. It affords a more intimate connection to the teachings. If one wants to practice Hindu-based teachings these will be more effective if one has the support of the greater tradition behind them – a tradition of over five thousand years and numerous Self-realized sages and yogis. It is like entering into a great stream that can carry one along. The tradition has a reality on the subtle planes that has great power and grace.

What About Other Vedic Disciplines Like Ayurveda or Vedic Astrology?

As in the case of Yoga one does not have to formally become a Hindu to benefit from these teachings on an outer level, like using Ayurvedic practices to improve one’s health. However, if one wants to connect to the deeper spiritual levels of these teachings one cannot do so without respecting the spiritual traditions behind them and following their principles and practices in one’s behavior.

Above all, one must have a dharmic foundation for one’s life. In this regard all the dharmic traditions of India, including Buddhism and Jainism, have used Vedic disciplines like Ayurveda and Vedic Astrology and contributed much to them.

But the origins of these teachings occur in the Vedas and their Rishi lineages, connecting to which gives a special power to them. For example, Ayurveda employs the Vedic language of Agni, Soma and Vayu, while Vedic astrology follows Vedic deities for its presentation of the zodiac, planets and Nakshatras. Through studying the Vedas one can gain a greater understanding of the original insights that brought these systems forth and which continues to nourish them.