1. How Our Eyes Lie to Us

Cognitive Psychologists in the past two decades have been experimenting on narrative fallacy. They say that our minds create stories or narratives which do not portray reality as it is, but as our minds perceive them.

1. Understanding the Muslim Mind

Hindu View of Christianity and Islam – Part 3

It is necessary to understand the Muslim psyche in order to understand the problems of co-existence that all non-Muslim societies encounter with them. The Quran and the Hadith are the sources.

2. Shri Ram Swarup did a deep study for years on these sources and came out with a book called ‘Understanding Islam through Hadis’. Islam is basically a system of law, overarching law which covers all aspects of life. To understand Muslim psyche these laws have to be studied.

3. “Islam is not merely a theology, or a statement about Allah and his relationship with His creatures. Besides containing doctrinal and creedal material, it deals with social, penal, commercial, ritualistic, and ceremonial matters.” It leaves nothing to individual discretion.

4. “It enters into everything, even into such private areas as one’s dress, marrying, and mating. In the language of the Muslim theologians, Islam is a complete and completed religion.” Every human action is pre-decided by Islam. Nothing is left to imagination.

5. “It is equally political and military. It has much to do with statecraft, and it has a very specific view of the world peopled by infidels. Since most of the world is still infidel, it is very important for those who are not Muslims to understand Islam.”

1. How Christianity created the lethal blend of Prophetic Monotheism

Hindu View of Christianity and Islam – Part 2

Shri Ram Swarup explains how the lethal blend of Prophetic Monotheism was created by Christianity. Judaism wasn't particular on conversion. Christianity added it.

2. Jesus started his career by trying to become a Jewish prophet. The initial times are marked by his words which seek audience only in Jews. It was only when Jews considered him dangerous enough to bring Roman ire on Israel that he turned his attention to Gentiles.

3. Gentiles were the pagans of Israel/ Palestine of those times. And this change of audience in attention from Jews (monotheistic people) to Gentiles (pagan people) has its marks on the character of Christianity, mainly in the things that it borrowed from both cultures.

4. From Messiah to Savior

"Jesus himself was converted from a Messiah into a Saviour, into God's First Begotten Son, the Intermediary between God and man. This indeed was a great leap and a great promotion from the humble figure of a Jewish Messiah."

5. Jesus's story is sold as a unique happening in the history of mankind. But that’s false. When Christianity was born there were too many saviors around. Mithras, a Persian god, famous in Roman Empire had a story too similar to Jesus. (All quotes are Shri Ram Swarup’s words)

1. Is ‘Dharma’ not ‘Religion’?

If not, then what is it? Is it free for all?

It is true that ‘dharma’ isn't ‘religion’. It is a non-translatable & can't be translated as ‘religion’ in English. That much is true. But it is not free for all at all. Here is how.

2. To discuss religion first, religion is what we know as Prophetic Monotheism with features like: One True God, Last Prophet, Divided Time, Divided Humanity, Historic Origin and Last Judgment.

3. All that matters in a religion is Belief. Actions are null and void against belief. If you have right belief, you go to heaven. If you have wrong belief, you go to hell. Actions mean nothing. This is where it differs starkly from a dharmic system.

4. Dharma dictates that one can never escape one’s karma. He can be shown the right path by a guru, he can put in course correction, but he has to undergo his prarabdha; the fruits of his own actions. So everyone is responsible for his own actions.

5. This thread is not to list out the differences between Dharma and Religion. That is job for another day; another thread. This thread is to clarify whether dharma is free for all or not? The clear answer is no. It is not free for all. Unlike some filmi celebrities today claim.

1. लेबनान रातों-रात मुस्लिम बहुल देश कैसे बना?

लेबनानी गृहयुद्ध से हिंदू क्या सीख सकते हैं?

इस्लाम के अधूरे एजेंडे - केस १ - लेबनान

इस थ्रेड में हम देखेंगे कि कैसे राजनीतिक इस्लाम समकालीन युग में भी एक गैर-मुस्लिम देश को नष्ट करके मुस्लिम बहुल बना लेता है।

2. किसी गैर-मुस्लिम द्वारा शासित देश में मुस्लिम को रहने की अनुमति नहीं है। ऐसा इसलिए है क्योंकि गैर-मुस्लिम, इस्लामिक योजना में, मुसलमानों से नीचे माने जाते हैं। और मुसलमानों से वाँछित है कि वे हर उस देश को मुस्लिम बहुल देश में बदलने का प्रयास करें जो अभी गैर-मुस्लिम बहुल है।

3. लेबनान पश्चिम एशिया में भूमध्यसागरीय तट पर स्थित एक छोटा सा देश है। १९७० के दशक में, इज़राइल को छोड़कर, यह इस क्षेत्र का एकमात्र गैर-मुस्लिम बहुसंख्यक देश था। और यह एकमात्र लोकतंत्र भी था। और यह उसका लोकतंत्र था जिसके कारण अंततः यह देश मुस्लिम बहुल हो गया।

4. लेबनान एक प्राचीन देश है जिसका उल्लेख बाइबल में किया गया है। इसकी बेका घाटी समुद्र के पास पहाड़ी क्षेत्र के रूप में प्रसिद्ध है। १९७५ तक लेवेंटाइन संस्कृति का अर्थ ही था लेबनान । मौसम और संस्कृति में भी सौम्य। अच्छा भोजन, आतिथ्य और विविध संस्कृति।

5. इसकी राजधानी बेरूत को पूर्व का पेरिस कहा जाता था। संसाधन संपन्न होने के बाद भी, यह सदैव एक उत्कृष्ट नगर था क्योंकि लेबनान लेवान का एक हिस्सा है, जो अफ्रीका, एशिया और यूरोप को जोड़ता है और इसलिए सदैव तीन महाद्वीपों के चौराहे पर होने के कारण यह व्यापार और समृद्धि का केंद्र रहा।

1. 'Hindu' is a word which is often objected to: both by the left-liberals and even by many Hindu nationalists. The disbelief in the word arises from the same historical truth: that the word 'Hindu' is not indigenous and it was a name given to us by the others, by the outsiders.

2. Whether it was a corruption of the word 'Sindhu' by the Iranians who couldn't pronounced 's' as 'h' is now a matter of great debate, but everyone agrees that the word itself is foreign in origin.

3. Anti-Hindus claim that since the word itself is foreign in origin there is no such thing as the Hindu society & Hinduism, & India is a British creation! They mistake the word for the civilization, and proving former’s foreign origin, reject the very existence of the latter.

4. The Hindu Nationalists believe that since the name is foreign in origin, so we should completely reject it and use the name 'Bharat' for our country and 'Sanatana Dharma' and 'Sanatani' for referring to our Dharma and our people.

I disagree.

5. I have no problem with the phrase Sanatana Dharma and I use it quite often. But the word 'Hindu', and the phrase 'Hindu Dharma' are quite useful, easy and we have been using them for the past few centuries very very well to identify ourselves.