On Friday 12 Jun 2009 10:15:59 pm . wrote: > On Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 9:57 PM, ss<[email protected]> wrote: > > er - with respect - have you bothered to read the post with a modicum of > > attention? Even the small part that you have quoted is self explanatory > > and does not even remotely suggest what you alllege I am saying. > > > > Here is what you have quoted: > >> But, whether you like it or not, the Indian (Hindu?) thrust has always > >> been > > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > No allegations. After seeing one religion in brackets with a question > mark, it was a question "what is the co-relation between an > individual's religion and basic civic sense (or the lack of it)?"
Well here is the entire paragraph. > the Indian (Hindu?) thrust has always been > towards emancipation and release of the individual. It is always about > keeping oneself pure, keeping oneself safe, keeping oneself above all bad > things. It is very much a set of guidelines to look after yourself in > person, with very little to tell you what to do about your neighbor other > than shun him if he does things that may sully your personal purity. I still do not see the connection with the paragraph and your second question - specifically > Do you mean to say that > followers of other religions dont spit on the street, throw garbage, > deface walls, stick posters, etc....in India? Your first question was: > > umm... what is the co-relation between an individual's religion and > > basic civic sense (or the lack of it)? The answer, in some detail below was implied in the paragraph that you did not quote in full. Hindu teaching is all about personal purity and personal cleanliness. Use the left hand to clean yourself after defecation. Use the right hand to eat. Wash in this manner. Remove your footwear before coming into my clean house. Cook in this manner. Do this after seeing a dead body. Wash your hands before you cook, eat and after you defecate or urinate. Wash hands and feet before you enter the house. Wash your hair after a haircut. Bathe every day. If you are having a period - get out and stay out until after the period, when you can come in after a bath. And no you can't cook for us while you are having a period. You may cook for yourself though. These lessons are part of a definition of what is clean and what is not, and it is all about cleanliness of one's body and mind and one's immediate proximate surroundings. The only concession to "community" in these rules is that when you are cooking you need to do it after a ritual bath, with clean hands and ensure that saliva does not get into the food. I am aware of no Hindu teaching that says "Defecate away from areas where it may bother others. Collect garbage and dispose of that garbage in the following manner.. Do not spit in these areas. When you blow out a glob of snot, have some awareness of where you are trying to make it land. Out of sight, out of mind is the implication. In other words Hindu culture teaches people about personal cleanliness but not about civic sense and I am pointing that out. If this is true for all other religions you will have to tell me about it. I don't know about this aspect of other religions and I am therefore not commenting about non Hindu religions one way or another. And once again - who says Hindu"ism" is a religion and that all these are religious rules? They are social rules of Hindu culture. i dispute the assertion that Hindu"ism" is a religion. Religion is a subset of Hindu"ism". shiv
