[irrelig]Well, you asked for it. Leighton does all of the research and most of the talking, and I sit back and attempt to add some color to the weird, weird story of Hinduism. If you’ve ever wondered what the hell is going on with the third largest religion in the world, well, we can’t really help you. We don’t understand it either. But go ahead and give it a listen here anyway.
[adbrite]
15 Responses to “63: Hinduism”
Loved it. Lots of stuff I didn’t know about Hindu.
And, since you guys aren’t able to do a simple wiki search, it’s up to your listeners to find the info on the sacred cows.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_in_religion
I blame Leighton.
Great podcast guys.
Wow… Leighton, I didn’t know the Hindoos spoke Polish. Hell, I didn’t know you spoke Polish. Or Czech.
I like spelling it Hindoo — that’s how Mark Twain and stuffy Brits spelled it a century ago.
I’ve lived around cows enough to know I don’t want to re-incarnate as one.
Now on to more obscure stuff like Jainism and Gnosticism!
To be honest I’m a bit disappointed in you guys, when talking about the christian sects or Islam you went for the throat and then mocked them relentlessly, you were a bit nicer to Hinduism. I blame Leighton.
I think the reason that theological reasoning for why the cow is sacred is so sparse is because is that it is more of an evolved cultural tradition than a religious edict.
I enjoyed the podcast, guys. It is a real difficult assignment to trash the Hindu religion as a whole.
Let’s face it…Hinduism is not threatening to us Westerners because it isn’t all up in our faces. Hindus are not knocking down the door trying to convert the masses nor are they demanding money as a means of pleasing god and securing a favorable place in the afterlife. Thus Hinduism comes across as being less “cultish” than the Big Two (Christianity and Islam).
Still, there are “cultish” offshoots of Hinduism such as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) that sprung up in NYC during mid 1960s. I think ISKCON would give you guys all the fodder needed for a great podcast. Or the guys could look into Osho or some of the other figureheads at the larger ashrams. Those are very cult-like. Lots of material there.
On another topic: I was giving the LDS Temple Ceremony another listen last week. I’d love to hear the same story from the woman’s perspective.
Keep up the great work.
A very enjoyable podcast guys. I think Leighton should do more work more often (but please don’t make me play the drinking game when he’s talking about a non-English based religion). Chuck, I will refrain from commenting on your penchant for bovine golden showers. I couldn’t help but think of this “Simpsons” scene throughout the whole podcast:
Homer buys a crate of Duff beer and a packet of cigars at the Kwik-E-Mart.
Homer: Apu! I see you’re not in church!
Apu: Oh, but I am! I have a shrine to Ganesha, the god of worldly wisdom, located in the employee lounge!
Homer: (approaching the shrine) Hey, Ganesha, want a peanut?
Apu: Please do not offer my god a peanut.
Homer: No offense Apu, but when they were handing out religions, you must have been out taking a whiz.
Apu: (angrily) Mr. Simpson, please pay for your purchases and get out and (cheerfully) come again!
I look forward to the next reincarnation of Irreligiosophy….
While on the subject of Hinduism, you should have spoken of the unique position of God-men. The most famous of them is Sathya Sia Baba. He and catholic priest have somethings in common. Apart from talking a lot of shit, they both like to abuse little boys.
Gee, being a female in Australia, I can’t decide whether to click on the ad for Viagra, or “job vacancies in Australia”. Where’s the respect?
I second Gnosticism.
Only because after reading a lot on Wicca, in preparation to a trip to Wicca World, it sounds an awful lot like Gnosticism, except wearing bondage pants and eyeliner.
This would be helpful a couple of years ago when I was preparing to migrate to the UK.
Then again, I was listening to Karl’s podcast while I was packing because you had delayed yours.
I also blame Leighton
Sorry, make that a couple of weeks ago.
I should really go to sleep now
Hey Leighton and Chuck, I can actually explain Sramana and Dharmic variant of Indian
religion to you (Buddhism and Jainism are Sramanic religions). I am highly critical of Dharmic and Sramana religions, but they do seem to come from same thinking process as stoic and neo-platonic metaphysics.
Anyway, I think Hinduism actually illustrates some of the problems that would have happened in Western Paganism of the late classical era IF the Abrahamic faiths came along.
taiki-
Wicca is even more amusing when taken in light of it being an offshoot of Crowley’s Order of the Golden Dawn.
Chuck and Leighton-
I’d love to see you guys take on the Neo-pagans, as I used to be one. They’re even more insane Pentecostal Christians (and I was once one of those too).
And for some bizarre religious news fodder….
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6681511.stm
Do a show on that AND keep a straight face.
Hi both, I seems I am the first person of Hindu origin to comment. Have been fairly interested in the history and myths of india, loosely called Hinduism. While you were basically spot on, there were several things that we may talk about. Get in touch if you want to take this further. But no softball this time. There’s plenty crazy in my former faith.