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How it was described by my Indian friends was that, at least in their households, the religious stories were treated more like 'campfire stories'; not practical
by Aromasin 8y ago
How it was described by my Indian friends was that, at least in their households, the religious stories were treated more like 'campfire stories'; not practically real, but entertaining, and good for teaching morality (that's not to say that there aren't Hindus that take it very seriously). This is as opposed to how most westerners treat religion, in a very literal sense - Moses/Muhammed/Jesus DID exists and their teachings ARE the word of God, and they must be strictly adhered to.
- danans 8y agoYes, that description represents my experience also. Even religious rituals were treated that way - as a means to develop focus and self-discipline. That said, in the same households, people can still be very superstitious, because practically, sometimes being that way helps you explain otherwise difficult things that happen in life.
- snambi 8y agoHindus care about the actions and their effects rather than details such as the equipment used, the date it happened , place etc. The details may be important to "prove" something, but it doesn't really help the "listener" in any meaningful way. Hindus mostly care about how it helps the listener, what is that it must be learned from that experience. This is one of the reason why newer ideas don't replace older ideas for Hindus. As long as the old knowledge is meaningful and adds value, it will be in use. If the newer knowledge or idea, adds value it will be added with the old useful one. That's all. Hindus follow a simple and pragmatic system.