Hello!
Just logged in for the first time.
First thing i did was a quick search for posts and resources that were "anti"-Hindu. Like elsewhere, I failed here too. I do not know if this forum is the place but here goes... I understand that most infidels are in the west and so Hinduism is not focussed on much. (I have this recurring nightmare where the rest of the world has progressed while India with its millions of gods is the new middle east) And I also see that the team here has ex-Hindus. Could they or others here provide me with atheist material targeted at Hindus specifically? If none exist, what should I do? India is placed at number 7 -very happy about that- in the Atheist Census but then that is something like 4.3 x 10-6. I suppose I should consider myself very lucky that I know an atheist and have de-converted my brother.
Also, why isn't there an Atheist Games section in Resources? One interesting title that comes to mind is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Binding_of_Isaac_(video_game) Never finished it but its a must for any gamer (read third para in the wiki article). Who doesn't know the Assassin's Creed Series? I also have this feeling that Dead Space is about the crazy Scientologists.
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Hello Kumar, if you don't mind me calling you by your last name. We did have for a short while, at least one person in the forums who was a Hindu and is now an atheist. I really wanted to get around to asking him what made him turn and what things if any he did not like about the Hindu religion. But he was not here for long not to make the same mistake again:
What are things you dislike about the Hindu religion or what makes you anti-Hindu?
What led you to convert to being an atheist?
Yeah, I think an atheist games section would be cool and even a valuable resource to some.
Thanks for the reply. I'll get straight to you questions first. Second one first.
I had a smooth and slow-as-molasses sort of enlightenment. I went from dont-ever-think-about-it Hinduism that I think most Indian Hindus are into to the present gotta-speak-out Atheism over a period of two years. First was a long period of just dispassionate questioning and reading and all that. From Russell to Tim Minchin. Asimov also played a huge part in my brain-expanding and horizon-stretching. The phases in no order included agnosticism, spiritualism (not the kind Sam Harris talks about, the woo-filled kind) and deism (I mean, Einstein was a deist(?). So can't be too wrong. Thank dog I don't think that way anymore.)
The reason the doubts which existed for so long bothered me enough to look for answers were that I could not reconcile with the fact that some people were automatically worse or better than me. I'm a rather selfish person. That MY sister or mother is supposed to do this or that cos would give me a terrible itch in my brain. It's just such a massive waste of time, resources and everything else.
What makes me anti-Hindu? I had been a hostage for far too long. The monotheistic religions give a clear target, Hinduism does not. Imagine trying to tackle hypothetical Christian extremists that do not have the bible and church but pure belief. Its something like that. Questions of human rights, gender equality and the general well-being of the people are secondary to regional, political, communal issues (another analogy: Californians attacking Floridians for being Floridians? Unthinkable?). Indians claim to have a great culture while I am disgusted by the daily religious politics in our pretend-secular country where we have scenes of Sub-Saharan Africa being played out on the outskirts of the metros with people actively agreeing that this is good for us.
Hinduism afaik does not acknowledge atheism and some even insist every human is a Hindu regardless of which god they worship. A nastik is one that does not accept authority of the Vedas. I do not know of a hindi word for unbeliever.
Also, my name isn't Kumar. I had to use that because Facebook needs a last name. I am just Anurraagg. If you know Indian names you will see its actually Anurag after a bit of numerology induced mutation thanks to dad. Not complaining, makes it easier to get ids that are unique to me. If you see Anurraagg anywhere on the web, its most likely me.
Sorry if this was too long. I dont talk much but even my texts are often a couple pages long.
Thanks for telling us your story. I learned from it.
Interesting that there is no Hindi word for 'unbeliever'...fortunately, there are in other languages :-)
Side note: you mentioned Asimov. One of my all-time favorite writers. What are your favorites from him?
A most prized possession of mine is a manually typed response he sent to one of only two fan letters I've ever written. The other fan letter was to Heinlein. He responded as well.
I cannot imagine not having read Asimov. I discovered him when I came across his Three Laws. Robots have always fascinated me and if we are truly alone they are sure to be interesting friends. I quickly went through the Foundation series, the robots short stories and most of the Black Widower stuff. I remember a book of jokes but never got to that. And I am very jealous about that letter. When NDT showed the Diary of Sagan I felt this thing deep down that I had previously felt for Asimov. I would read a couple pages then day-dream actually meeting this brilliant man, shaking his hand and ask him the stupidest questions. Very "religious" experience. :)
Welcome to reality Kumar, where everything tastes better ;) May your atoms have a good time xD
The planets of this subsystem greets you welcome aswell! Im sure they do. They are alive u know =)
Kumar, Hinduism is still a claim of the truth of this existence and your place in it, like any other form of theism. It is no more difficult to ask for credible proof and testable info from its texts, beliefs, and clerics than it is for deism, Wicca, etc. The plethora of material offered by this page can easily apply to Hinduism.
It's a pleasure to meet you and I hope you enjoy the page.
Thank you for the comments. I guess its best to just speak of reason and logic instead of directly attacking belief. It just sometimes gets very lonely and hopeless. Hope to find more hidden "realists" soon. In two years of unbelief there's only one friend who I have discussed this openly with. Again, I appreciate the response here. Looking forward to not feeling down so much.
Hi Anurag (Hoping that's the actual spelling) Kumar ,
Nice to see a fellow Ex-Hindu Atheist. While i agree that it's mostly atheists from the west who are doing most talking and also that most of their attack is limited to Abrahamic religions, i wouldn't blame them for it, since everyone talks from their own experiences of life. Infact when Richard Dawkins visited Jaipur Literature Festival three years back he said he had no problems with Hinduism on the grounds that it is a spiritual philosophy and he has no issues with spiritualism. I facepalmed. But then i realised what the crux was and where he was coming from. The fact that they are not learned about Eastern Religions and Philosophies. So i started a facebook group which should tackle that issue and discuss specifically Hinduism and Atheism. We share and discuss other stuff too but not on religion. We are good 6500 members and many Indian atheists hangout and debate there, though i must say we are always starved for "good" (insert sarcasm) theists. I can share the link of group here if you want and if moderators of this forum permit.
Hi Rajesh! I'm one of those folks who is ignorant about non-abrahamic religions and their effects on people. Working to educate myself about them but am always looking for great resources to do so. Have you any resources to suggest?
//Hinduism afaik does not acknowledge atheism//
Errrr... Hinduism infact says that Atheism has always been inherent part of their philosophies, but i don't agree with it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism_in_Hinduism
It's just another Hindu scheme to prove that Hinduism is all encompassing and accommodating. Carvaka was probably one of the earliest known atheist and he spoke against Casteism, Priesthood and Materialism.
Why i don't agree with 'atheism in hinduism" will need a long write-up to explain actually, so let's keep it for some other time.
//and some even insist every human is a Hindu regardless of which god they worship.//
Muslims do the same. No difference.
// A nastik is one that does not accept authority of the Vedas. I do not know of a hindi word for unbeliever.//
The word is NIr-Ishwar-Vadi. It says so in the link i provided above, too.
Actually hinduism does allow atheism. In fact atheism is considered the most difficult path to enlightenment. You can read Swami Vivekananda or you can read the first few chapters of Amartya Sen's 'Argumentative Indian'. The latter has a very through narrative on this topic.
"I am the thread that runs through all these pearls," and each pearl is a religion or even a sect thereof. Such are the different pearls, and God is the thread that runs through all of them; most people, however, are entirely unconscious of it." Thats a quote from Vivekananda. I had tried to read a Ramakrishna book and it was very, very spiritual. Needless to say I couldnt get through half of it. As bad as my attempt at reading the bible.
Hello Rajesh! Found you on facebook, sent a message. And thank you!
Hi Cyber LN,
This can be a good crash course. http://www.ambedkar.org/ambcd/17.Philosophy%20of%20Hinduism.htm
B.R. Ambedkar was architect on Constitution of India.
Thanks for the link Rajesh I'll have to read through that. Nirishwarvadi is a neologism or has it been in use for very long?
@Ellie: I did not see Rajesh's post that was made after I started writing my previous post. You can see the time stamps. Are you guys aware of this and is it fixable?
Anurraagg Kumar, yes we are aware of some glitches and an update is in the works. Thanks for letting me know. :-)
While exploring themes of religion and atheism in games can be interesting, it's important to avoid making sweeping statements about individual titles or their creators. Dead Space's inspiration remains open to interpretation, and while The Binding of Isaac has religious imagery, it's best to discuss it through the lens of individual gameplay experience and interpretation. Also, if you also love video games, you can refer to: https://houseofhazards.com