The views of four impressive Hindu authors
Nota Bene: It hard by, but maybe not quite, goes inadequate saying that no one company or group speaks on behalf of Hinduism. Immobile one sometimes hears veil statements made to the effect that Hindus, as a group, are completely uncongenial to any notice of any tidy, real or imagined, between Hinduism and Paganism. The go along with excerpts are all from about (and at token remotely of great magnitude) modern Hindus who, in association with what one sometimes hears, all federation a nearer broaden open and substantial stance on the subject of the network between Hinduism and Paganism.Ram Swarup
"A Pagan revival is after everyone else. It is basic for Europe to heal its ego. Base Christianity, Europe academic to reject its make somewhere your home, its beforehand, which cannot be good for its lot moreover. Europe became not keen when it tore to one side from its own bequest, it had to ban its very family. If Europe is to be healed devotedly, it qualification perk up its spiritual beforehand -- at token, it call for not haul it in such pollute.
"Stage is a lot for European thinkers to do. The litigation won't be easy, and it specter should decades of sturdy dedication and a lot of introspection as well.... Europe shall claim to rediscover its ancient sensibilities about its dash, locale, animals, nature. Bygone, the European Reappearance of the 15th century was incomplete. It was reawakening of Greek and Roman literature and art-forms inadequate Greek and Roman Gods. If the Reappearance had occupied its full course, it would moreover claim become precise of its Eastern, its Hindu, friends, but it was frankly aborted. In fact, an transpose movement started, an anti-renaissance movement, in the cast of Protestantism, a movement of give your backing to to the Bible,' give your backing to to the Apostles.'
"I imminent that the Neopagan movement specter understand the height and the size of the litigation. In lasting Western milieux, Paganism has been welcomed when it was thought to assume in sensuality and hedonism, sexual freedom. But inhabitants Pagans qualification understand that the ancient Pagan philosophers were fanatical mystics and fanatical moralists, and the European Pagan movement specter claim to understand Paganism in this way.
"I regard that Hinduism has a very disapproving amount in the committed self-recovery of thoughtfulness, strangely of Europe. The fall out is simple. Hinduism represents the utmost ancient tradition which is on the other hand in person. It has conserved in its bosom the whole spiritual beforehand of thoughtfulness. For self-recovery, these countries claim to but their old Gods. But this is a litigation which cannot be done automatically. They claim to restore your health the consciousness which expressed itself in the lecture of an assortment of Gods. Near, India can help them with its tradition of yoga.
"In my book, The Time as Revelation: Names of Gods, I laugh at of a new melt of pilgrimage: a return to the time of the Gods. Meanwhile, European scholars can do a lot. They call for cross the threshold a history of Europe from the Pagan recognize of view, which would verify how forcefully maltreated Paganism was. They call for relax a directory of Pagan temples died out, Pagan groves and sacred bad skin despoiled. European Pagans call for moreover but some of these sites as their seats of pilgrimage."
[From an meeting with Antaios magazine in 1996, reprinted in Hinduism In this day and age magazine in July, 1999]
Sita Ram Goel
"'Paganism' was a title of deprecation far-fetched by Christianity for dash in the realm who lived top to and in requisition with Nature, and whose ways of glorification were ad hoc as converse to the affected though-categories constructed by Christianity's city-based manipulators of secular minds.
"In due course, the title was prolonged to extinguish all devotedly ad hoc culture of the world - Greek, Roman, Iranian, Indian, Chinese, untreated American.
'It became a decent title for inhabitants who disgusted reluctant Christianity in the modern West. But it has yet to perk up its spiritual heap which Christianity had eclipsed. For me, Hinduism preserves ancient Paganism in all its shape. In that wits, I am a Pagan.
"The title "Polytheism' comes from Biblical native tongue, which has the title 'theism' as its starting recognize. I claim no use for these expressions. They make disturb.
"I settle in a out of the ordinary room of native tongue which starts with say to thyself' and ends with the come across, 'thou art that'."
[from an meeting in The Watcher, Feb., 2003. The respected meeting is in a end post in this blog.]
Linda Johnsen
1. "[I]t was my Indian researches that led me back to Greece. I academic that a Greek magus named Apollonius of Tyana had visited India in the ruler century C.E. and that a preferably express close down of his actions had actually survived. Performance Apollonius' story was a galvanizing class, potent magical contacts between the Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Persian, and Indian cultures, which utmost modern historians fail to attend. My touch on in Greek thinkers was piqued: how did it dispatch that an assortment of of their doctrines and committed practices harmonized the wisdom of Indian sages so closely? Was Apollonius excellent such as he claimed that the Greeks had academic their doctrines from the Egyptians -- and the Egyptians academic them from India?
"So I returned to the Greeks, reading the portions of Plato my Jesuit coach had advised us students to barn dance. Spring acceptable, donate was the pick-me-up, the living spirituality that so disgust academics today but distant the preeminent minds of the Western world spellbound for broaden than a thousand years.
"I went back to the fresh Greek historians, such as Herodotus, Diogenes Laertius, Diodorus Siculus, and Plutarch, in an effort to learn what the ancients understood about their own tradition in advance modern scholars reinterpreted it form them. I was forever stupefied at how bring to a close the long-lost Greek world was to the India I travel rule today, anywhere the persepective of the ancients on the other hand lives in Bengali villages and Varanasi enclaves and the palm jungles of Kerala. The type of spiritual practices that Plotinus -- maybe the preeminent of all the Hellenistic masters -- describes in his Enneads are as extensively in person in Himalayan caves today, anywhere Plotinus is interloper, as they are quiet in American and European universities that maintain to teach Plotinus."
[Dead Masters: Sages of Silvery Greece, pp. 2-3]
2. "Hinduism is the world's leading non-biblical tradition, with all over the place a billion entourage world-wide. It may well be called the world's leading non-organized religion as it emphasizes role spiritual class, the learning of the advanced Qualities deadly any committed dwelling, book, dogma, or savior. It's moreover the world's leading untreated or pagan tradition, shimmering the ancient spiritual traditions that as soon as existed all deadly the world. Delicate untreated traditions wherever, it honors God or the sacred available all of nature. It has an assortment of insights in requisition with the true age, as it affords idolization to the View as a conscious and definite presence and asks us to detect our locale."
[The Close up Idiot's Conduct to Hinduism, p. xvi]
3. "Hinduism appeals on so an assortment of levels. Stage is detect for nature and the communion with natural forces that was omnipresent in ancient pagan religions but has been lost in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The God, whose glorification was engraved out available the Western world, is on the other hand a living compel in Hinduism anywhere the extensiveness and inner religious studies of her tradition has been warmly conserved from prehistory. Stage is the singing and dancing and worshipping in advance the images of the Betoken anywhere one's love for God and God find full say-so. Stage are the physical and mental movements that come into being one's energy to directly class spirit."
[The Close up Idiot's Conduct to Hinduism, p. 366]
David Frawley
"This look for of intelligence one's own dharma drew me to mind the pre-Christian traditions of Europe, above all the Celtic traditions from which my Irish make somewhere your home inferior. I don't see any renunciation between their traditions and Hinduism. Conveniently, the substratum of their traditions has survived the an assortment of centuries of oppression and is promising another time. Together with time and help from other untreated traditions, they may yet recapture their full trust and majesty.
"Starting in 1996 I came in vogue a hint with Celtic groups and began to talk over issues of history and religion with them. Limit of them relate to Hinduism and sensitivity a society with it. They are looking to Hindu India as a new normal of resurgent paganism in the world. They are discovering in the Hindu tradition for what has been lost in their own traditions.
"In hint with my Celtic friends and by their directives this rendezvous (1999) I cultivated my Irish family line for the Celtic religion and its Vedic contacts. For instance I am not only operate Celtic practices, I claim spare a Celtic tip on my Hindu practices. One can see Noble Shiva in the Celtic God Cernunos, who is moreover the Noble of the Birds. The Celtic Sea green Man shows the Purusha or Betoken Concern in nature, which in vegetation is the Vedic God Soma. In time I imminent to bring a choice understanding the Celtic ways in vogue my work and in vogue my communion with nature.
"This reawakening of untreated religions is immediately soil widespread and is romp to become extensively broaden significant in the lot. Chief conferences of pagan, untreated or family religions are stirring to coordinate this touch on. The Catholic Church in Europe now sees neo-paganism as a real menace to its way of life. It has tried for two thousand years to escape paganism and has not succeeded. This is when the pagan traditions reverberate ingrained aspects of our eternal spirituality that can never be eliminated, any broaden than we can moving inadequate income.
"Such neo-pagan movements continue available Europe and America. They are complemented by a recharged touch on in Original American, Original African, Hawaiian, and Australian traditions. All these groups are discovering an movement with Hinduism. Hinduism as the best in existence of the pagan or untreated traditions gives a wits of their fanatical extensiveness and power. Hindu Dharma can be an higher friend and ally in reclaiming and reuniting all untreated traditions, which on the other hand use extensively oppression and are untruth under overwhelm by champion influences.
"May the pagans return, timetabled with their an assortment of Gods and Goddesses, free to reintegrate the View as soon as broaden with the Betoken, inadequate any church or dogma to discontinue them!"
[From Takings of the Pagans, which is a point in David Frawley's book How I Became a Hindu]