Namaste all,

What do you all think of the BAPS (Swaminarayan) movement? I believe they are a very good group. I am friends with a devotee of theirs and he is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. I've learned quite a bit from him on personal ethics and behavior in response to certain circumstances. I don't know if I believe Swaminaryan is God, I'm still on the fence with that one. But I do believe the movement is great. They give Hinduism a very good name, in my opinion, despite a lot of the fallacies of non-Hindus and social ills we have within our Hindu society at the moment. My hat goes off to BAPS!

Regards,

ganesh_bhakta

Namaste Maya,

Their website is http://www.baps.org

Regards,

ganesh_bhakta

Namaste Invictius,

Yeah, they are strict. But as far as foods go, I think vegetarianism and no garlic or onion is a traditional Hindu diet. I'm not vegetarian yet since I'm still at home, but when I get my own place I'm going cold turkey.

You're right, as far as I know, BAPS only worships Swaminarayan, but they respect all the other Gods. There is actually nothing wrong with a Hindu only worshiping one God. I've even heard of atheist Hindus. I don't know how that works, but they're Hindu nontheless. There was a whole system of philosophy based on atheism. I think it was called Sankhya. I don't know if it's still followed anymore. Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken. :)

Regards,

ganesh_bhakta

Ganesh Bhakta

There are nine major Hindu schools of philosophy. These are broadly divided into ‘Astika’ schools and ‘Nastika’ schools. While the terms ‘Astika’ and ‘Nastika’ are loosely translated to mean ‘theist’ and ‘atheist’, they technically refer to belief in the Vedas (four of the ‘holy books’ of Hinduism) rather than belief in God. The six schools which fall under the title ‘Astika’ believe in the teachings of the Vedas, even if they do not subscribe a Creator-God.

Of the ‘Astika’ schools, the Samkhya and Karma-Mimasa thinkers can be described as atheists. Samkaya believed in the material world (Prakriti) and the existence of the spirit (Purusha) but not in God. The Karma-Mimasa school believes strongly in natural Karmic law (that good deeds are rewarded and bad deeds punished) and has no need of an omnipotent being to enforce it.

The three Nastika schools - Buddhism, Jainism and Carvaka - reject the doctrine of the Vedas. However, they are not necessarily atheist. Buddhism is, perhaps, the only agnostic religion in existence. Jainism rejects the idea of an omnipotent manager, believing instead that the universe has always existed, will always exist and is governed by natural laws.

Carvaka is the most strongly atheist of the three schools. Also called the Lokayata, it is named after its founder, Carvaka. It seems to have originated somewhere around 300 BC and died out around the 1400s AD. The original works of this school have been lost and our knowledge of it is based upon criticism of Carvaka philosophy written by Hindu and Buddhist opponents.

Maya,
It depends on what school of Vedanta (conclusion of the Vedas) or philosophy you choose.  I myself
believe that Hinduism is monotheistic disguised as Polythestic

Weird, when I made a quote above suddenly it said: Reply WIth Quote, you see it above. I did not write that. Hmmm?
I thought that maybe it did it automatically...not sure what is going on. Anyway... I'll do it again.

It depends on what school of Vedanta (conclusion of the Vedas) or philosophy you choose. I myself
believe that Hinduism is monotheistic disguised as Polythestic

I see, I thought that you didn't know.

Maya