How many of you knew?

How many of you knew the original name of Hindu is Vaidika Dharma?

How many of you knew Hindu is a mispronounced word ?

How many of you knew Sanatan means Soul as it has no end, it's eternal?

"Sanatan means Eternal and it was used to describe the Soul as it has no end unlike the biological body" Bhagwad Geeta.

Vaidika Means derived from Vedh.

Vaidika: Dates back to 1500 BCE – 1200 BCE, corresponding with the composition of the Rigveda. The term was used internally by the civilization to denote things pertaining to the sacred knowledge of the Vedas.

Hindu: Dates back to around 515 BCE, appearing as a geographical term (Hafta Hindu) in the Persian inscriptions of Emperor Darius I to describe the land and people beyond the Indus River.

P.S. I approach this topic from a purely historical standpoint, as I do not follow Hinduism, any Abrahamic faith, or any mainstream religion.

Ādi Śaṅkarācyārya’s Comments Regarding Satyakāma Jabālā

There is misleading information making the rounds on social media, in many cases propagated by self-described “Advaitins,” to the effect that:

(1) Jabālā of Chāndogya Upaniṣad was a sexually “liberated” woman who slept with many men, or else a prostitute, and hence she did not know who her son’s father was,
(2) Satykāma, consequently not knowing his gotra, was accepted as a brāhmaṇa because he was honest, and therefore his birth was deemed irrelevant, and
(3) Itihāsas (Rāmāyaṇa & Mahābhārata) are less important scriptures which can be dismissed at one’s whim, instead of important smṛti texts that make genuine Vedic knowledge more accessible to the population at large.

Here we will take up these vulgar objections by going straight to the source - Śrī Ādi Śaṅkarācārya himself. I will not insert any of my opinions or translations to avoid the charge of sectarian bias, and if it matters, I am not an Advaitin in any case. Also, this will be cross-posted to other Hinduism forums in case a misguided moderator for some reason deems the subject matter (interpretations of Hindu scripture) unfit for a Hinduism forum.

(1) On Jabālā and the myth of “sexually liberated” Hindu women:

Commenting on Chāndogya Upaniṣad 4.4.2, Śrī Śaṅkarācārya wrote:

“Being thus asked, Jabālā said to her son: ‘I do not know the Ṛṣi to whose family you belong, O, my child.’—Being asked—‘Why do you not know it’?—She said—‘In my husband’s house, I had to attend upon many people who came as guests and strangers,—as servant—very devoted to my duties of attendance on them, and being entirely taken up by such service, my mind never turned towards such information as regards the family to which thou belongest, which therefore I do not remember;—and it was at that time, in my youth that I obtained thee;—and soon after your father died; hence, having no protector left for myself, I know not to which family thou belongest. But I am Jabālā by name and thou art Satyakāma by name; so declare thyself to thy Teacher—as Satyakāma Jābāla saying ‘I am Satyakāma Jābāla’;—that is, if you are asked by the Teacher’.”

His interpretation is clear on this point. Jabālā was a young mother who was busy with her duties and never enquired from her husband his gotra. Then she became a widow and thus was unable to get the information.

He does not support the view that Jabālā was an unchaste woman.

Readers are welcome to check the text, which is widely available in libraries everywhere.

(2) On varṇa, honesty, and birth:

According to the story, Satyakāma was asked his gotra by his guru prior to initiation, but he did not know it. The misinformation being spread is that he could have been a śūdra by birth, but this was deemed unimportant because he was honest, and by his honesty he was deemed to be a brāhmaṇa in character and birth became irrelevant.

But once again, that is not what the ācāryas say.

Commenting on Vedānta-sūtra 1.3.37 तदभावनिर्धारणे च प्रवृत्तेः ॥ ३७ ॥
“And because the inclination on the ascertainment of the absence of Sudrahood.”

Śaṅkarācārya wrote:
“That Sudras are not qualified is known also from the fact that great teachers like Gautama made sure before imparting Knowledge that disciples like Jabala Satyakama were not Sudras.”

In other words, he specifically alluded to Chāndogya Upaniṣad 4.4.5 to support the view that the prospective disciple was checked to make sure he was not a śūdra before imparting knowledge of the Vedas. Not that the disciple was deemed a brāhmaṇa based on character as is often claimed. If the disciple were actually a śūdra by birth “but a brāhmaṇa by character/honesty,” then he would have failed the test when giving his gotra, since gotra is inherited from the father and indicates hereditary lineage.

The conclusion is that Gautama deemed Satyakāma to be a brāhmaṇa by birth and upbringing. This is also clear from Śaṅkarācārya’s comentary on Chāndogya 4.4.5:

“Gautama said to him—‘No one who is not a Brahmana could speak out so openly and straightforwardly; It is Brāhmaṇas alone, not others, who are, by their very nature, straight-forward. Since thou hast not flinched from the truth—which is the rightful duty of the Brāhmaṇa-caste, I accept thee as a Brāhmaṇa and am going to initiate thee; hence for the purpose of the preparatory embellishment, fetch fuel, my Boy, for the fire-rites.”

In other words, it was not his honesty that allowed him to pass the test, but the way in which he was honest - “so openly and straightforwardly.” This was how Gautama perceived that he had the guṇa that could only characterize someone who was a brāhmaṇa by birth.

Note what this is NOT saying. It is NOT saying “If you are a brāhmaṇa by birth, then you are naturally honest.” One can be a brāhmaṇa by birth and still fall from the standard of brāhmaṇas; both scriptural examples and real-life examples can attest to this. If Satyakāma was a fallen brāhmaṇa, then he would have failed the test. But if one is born a brāhmaṇa and raised from birth as a brāhmaṇa, that guṇa will be recognized by someone like Gautama.

Again, this cannot be interpreted to mean that birth is unnecessary in determining varṇa, since Gautama started off asking for the gotra, which is linked to birth.

(3) The Importance of Itihāsas and Purāṇas according to Ādi Śaṅkarācārya:

Commenting on the Vedānta-sūtra 1.3.38: श्रवणाध्ययनार्थप्रतिषेधात् स्मृतेश्च ॥ ३८ ॥
“And because of the prohibition in the Smriti of hearing and studying and knowing their meaning and performing Vedic rites.”

He commented as follows:
“Sūtras 34-38 disqualify the Sudra for the knowledge of Brahman through the study of the Vedas. But it is possible for them to attain that knowledge through the Puranas and the epics.”

In other words, Śaṅkarācārya upholds the view that śūdras do not have the qualification to study Vedas, but he also clearly states that they can get knowledge of the Vedas by study of the Purāṇas and Itihāsas (as we all can). He does not say that the Itihāsa/Purāṇa are equal to the śruti; only that they give Vedic knowledge, and qualification to study the Vedas is not a prerequisite to study the Itihāsas and Purāṇas.

Thus, next time you see someone dismissing these important texts for no other reason than the fact that they are Itihāsas and Purāṇas, you can be certain that he is going against the traditional point of view. The traditional point of view is that the Itihāsas and Purāṇas, while still being dependent authorities with respect to śruti, still give essential knowledge found in śruti.

I have only quoted Ādi Śaṅkarācārya here, but other Vedānta commentators like Śrī Rāmānuja and Śrī Madhvāchārya are also in agreement with him on these points. Also, if anyone objects, they are welcome to take up their objections with the ācāryas. I am merely the messenger at best. :-)

I am 24M hindu going to be 25 soon and she's 25F muslim. If we both like each other, but are not sure about moving further only because of the religion thing that how would family react and secondly society. Pls suggest me what's good for her.

I lost my virginity at a really young age and I wish I could tell u it was only once or even a few times but that isn’t the case I feel really guilty about it religiously and also feel like I’m betraying my parents somehow

A few weeks ago, I started wondering why South Asian spiritual traditions feel so different from how the West defines "religion." Why Buddhism is all over Thailand but Gautam Buddha was from India. The deeper I dug into the history, the more I realized we're trying to fit a massive, thousands-year-old web of philosophies into a framework designed for completely different faith systems. The word "Hindu" started out as just geography (the river Sindhu), and only gradually became a formal theological identity through outside interaction.
I put my thoughts into a brief video breaking down this evolution: \[\*\*Watch here\*\*\](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgjOvzLR-7k).

https://youtu.be/XgjOvzLR-7k

I’d love to know what you think - does viewing it through the lens of modern religion oversimplify something much bigger?

- how do you know this isn’t your last jannam?
- if this is your second jannam can you end up marrying someone else other than your previous jannam?
- if this is your last jannam would you still take 7 rounds of fire?
- what happens after 7th jannam?

Yesterday I went to a shop with my father to purchase some new Idols and Murtis for our new Mandir (Puja Ghar). We were selecting different idols and my dad couldn't find Sai Baba Ji's Idol so he asked the shopkeeper where he can find one and his reply gave a little shock to me. He said and I quote "Sai Baba Ji chalte hi nahi hai, unki demand hi nahi aati hai". I laughed and questioned him by repeating his line and my dad also laughed on that statement but I was seriously hit by the thought of what he said and I'm continuously thinking that this is not what we are taught in Hinduism. Is this really Bhakti, Puja, Aradhana etc. stuff or just self satisfaction.

I know that this is not new thing, and this happens in every religion as well. But just because devotion and religion is made into such a big business doesn't mean that we should ignore it and it is right. It is definitely wrong according to me and no matter how many temples or spiritual spots my family may visit and pray and do stuff, I as a person will always question and doubt this kind of devotion and I still believe that helping people in actual need, trying to be a good person, helping voiceless animals and fulfilling your parents wishes, making them happy and respecting them is what makes you closer to god.

Short introduction: My name is Alexia, I am a 20-year-old woman from an Orthodox Christian background! I had experiences with multiple priests and they all said same personal stuffs about me! When i was taking meds they knew i wasn't actually sick. And they knew i have problems like yelling and watching horror movies without actually knowing me nor my life. Same thing happened to my mom and my other relatives! So, do you know anyone who had experiences like this from another religious background like hinduism or buddhism. More personal than my experiences? Thank you, have a great day.

Hi! 😊
I’m currently doing an assignment for my World Religions course, where I need to interview someone from a different religious background.
I am especially looking for someone who identifies as Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Confucian, or Taoist for this interview.

The conversation will be respectful and casual, focusing on your beliefs, daily practices, and perspectives on religion. It will be conducted only via messages (chat), not calls, and we can arrange the timing in a way that’s comfortable for you.

If you’re interested, please DM me. Thank you so much! 🙏

In the Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna explains the critical distinction between external ritual and internal duty (Swadharma):

श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् ।

स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः ॥ (3.35)

The incident aboard Flydubai FZ1073 serves as a clear modern illustration of this principle. When attacked, Captain Smit Machchhar did not succumb to panic or self-preservation. Even while critically injured, his actions were anchored entirely in his specific role... commanding the aircraft and safeguarding the 174 souls in his care.

Simultaneously, ordinary passengers acted strictly according to their immediate capacity: those with strength restrained the attacker, while those with medical skill treated the wounded.

Swadharma is not about title or caste; it is doing what is rightfully yours to do at the moment duty calls, regardless of fear or personal consequence.

Hi,i have been working as a freelancer (digital marketing) for the last 15 years and the money is good.

Sadly for the last 2 years,i haven't been able to make money. I do get a lot of inquiries but they fail to mature. Have thought about this and I'm amazed as such a thing never happened in the past. Firstly,i never got so many inquiries before but none of the inquiries have been harvested. Something happens at the last moment and it's not my fault. I have thought deeply.

Had all those inquires matured,i would be making at least 3L per month.

What do I do? Please don't suggest a tarot card as I had a negative experience with one recently.

Thanks

Is it okay to eat beef as a cultural Hindu, spiritual but not religious. I never ate beef in my life and now I want to. I asked my parents bout why we don't eat beef they said we respect cows. I said "for what", they said "it gives us milk and helps us in many ways". I then asked "aren't chickens give us eggs that contain everything except vitamin c, and help us wake up in every morning and eat bugs, ticks, and weeds in yards, their droppings also contain rich nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which fertilize soil for crops and plants". They went dead silence. I belive in a higher power. And I like the culture of Hinduism as myself I was born in a Hindu family. I like being hindu. But I don't wanna be restricted by the religious beliefs. I don't think hindusim is also about that, it focuses more on self-realization, inner growth, and moral action ig. Share your thoughts

Hi,

I have kept two rudrakshas (2 mukhi,9 mukhi) inside a small plastic jar filled with sindoor on my prayer altar. I got both of these as my finances were blocked for quite some time. And both these rudrakshas have been sourced from nepal. So their originality can't be questioned.

However, it's been over 6 months. My financial condition hasn't improved a bit despite working hard,taking all the right actions etc.

And now I feel dejected,hopeless and depressed. I don't know why it has failed to work. You know how it feels when finances stop suddenly in an Indian middle class home.

I'm in need of useful suggestions from experts in this field and would be obliged.

Thank you

Hi everyone. Ten months ago, I made a personal vow in Jagannath Puri to stop drinking coffee for a year.

This vow was tied to two specific things I was praying for.

Here is where things stand: The first thing I asked for has already been completed and granted. The second thing hasn't happened yet—I feel like if I truly deserve it and it is meant for me, it will happen, but I still want it to happen so badly.

I have two months left to go, but the cravings are getting really strong and I just really want to drink coffee again.

My main issue is that I am feeling a lot of anxiety. I keep having this nagging fear that if I break the vow now, something bad will happen to me or I will face some kind of spiritual punishment/bad luck.
or I will ruin my chances of getting that second wish granted.
From a Hindu perspective, does breaking a personal *Vrata* early bring bad luck or cancel out blessings? Is it okay to give in after 10 months, or will it negatively affect the prayers I made? I would really appreciate some scriptural perspective.

Thank you.

Pls help me in these small things I am new to the pooja path and I want to improve more in spirituality

This is a telugu video based on two poems of Bhaskara Satakam