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An oft repeated nonsense which irritates me is “Hinduism is not a religion it is a way of life!”

So then what about Judaism or Islam? They both have laws relating to every aspect of a person’s life regarding diet, dress, interpersonal conduct and religious observances etc. The Jewish code of Sacred Laws is Halakha and for Muslims its the Sharia. They are complete ways of life, governing the whole day of an individual from arising to going to sleep and the annual cycle of activities based on the Moon. These two faiths even have religious courts in every country!

Hindus also have a code of Sacred Law known as the Dharma Shastras - but only a tiny minority of Hindus pay any attention to them. How many Hindus actually follow the daily duties inculcated in the Dharma Shastra?

Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism are also “ways of life” governed by moral principles rather than rules and regulations of daily life although there is some daily observances that are required of the followers.

So if a religion is not a way of life then the only real religion left is Christianity. which certainly has a very strong moral code but doesn’t control the daily life of the believers.

Indonesians claim that Hinduism is their “culture” and Islam their “religion”. This is arguably the closest to the truth.

If you define religion as “a system of faith and worship” then Hinduism is not just that, it is far more than that it is a culture and for some people a “way of life” - I personally find the majority of Hindus I deal with on a daily basis to be ignorant of their own culture and belief system and it is certainly not a “way of life” - try getting any young Hindu to wear a dhoti AND feel proud about doing so!

And there is the argument we all know so well that Hinduism is actually “sanātana Dharma” and Hindu was a name given by invaders - blah blah blah.

BUT we live in a market place of ideas were certain words have a specific currency. I have tried telling people that I am not a Hindu I am a Sanātani. Their response is “what ? you’re a satanist?” And then I have to engage in this long discussion about were the term came from. One cannot engage in any kind of discussion where you have to constantly define and redefine common terms.

SO Hinduism is classified in most politico-legal systems throughout the world as a “RELIGION” so lets just work with that.

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