My 1st post

"I am a Hindu." 

 When asked about my religion, those are the words that come out of my mouth.  It's pretty simple.  I mean, Hinduism is one of the largest and oldest religions in the world.  Everybody knows what it is, right?  India has a population of over a billion people, and 80% of those people utter the same words when asked about their religion.  So, obviously, people must know what being a Hindu means.  Duh. 


Okay, maybe not.  I have been calling myself a Hindu since I could speak (about 25 years now), and it wasn't until a few years ago that I realized I have no idea what being a Hindu is.  Yeah, I went to the mandir (temple) when my parents would drag me there.  I'd sit and listen to various Sadhus speak about various topics, but nothing really made sense to me.  I'd have that red dot put on my forehead and the string tied around my wrist.  This is what makes me a Hindu.  As long as I follow each ritual step by step, I will be on the right track to my destiny.  Simple.


Then, I decided to read a book on Hinduism.  The Hindu Mind by Bansi Pandit was an eye-opener.  I realized that everything I thought I knew about Hinduism was way off-base.  I also realized that the more I read about Hinduism, the less I understood the religion.  Before researching, I thought we Hindus believed in many gods with many different powers.  Wrong.  Okay, fine, we believe there is one god, but he has different forms.  Wrong.  Hinduism is not polytheistic.  It is not monotheistic. It is pantheistic.  


The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Pantheism as "a doctrine that equates God with the forces and laws of the universe".  
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pantheism 


So basically, the supreme power, God, is nature.  This completely contradicts what we see everyday. There are idols and pictures of different gods everywhere.  There are many different mandirs dedicated to these gods, but now I am learning that Hinduism believes that God IS nature? What??? Okay, I must define Hinduism.  Done.


Define Hinduism...hmmm.  This might take awhile.