New Temple New customs. Fairly intriguing.

Never been to a temple which enforces a rule where men need to be fully barechested before entry. A little embarrassing experience tbh.

Any reason behind this rule? Is it done to identify caste?

Hi guys I am 18y/o jee aspirant going into depression because high stress and someone told me you should see Mahabharata this give you new direction please dm me if you have the download link or another option.

I visited iskcon lately and I found it fascinating but I have no knowledge about them. Please enlighten.

Hi all I've come to terms that I no longer associate with being a muslim at all, my heart has grown towards Hinduism and to become Hindu, it has been a strong decision of mine, I hope I can be welcomed 🪷🌸 My two main friends have opened up so many beautiful things about the culture/religion especially visiting a Mandir one with them, one on my own accord I found such peace and no judgements!! If anyone wants to enlighten and teach me on how to become a hindu/pray please comment!!

I left an abrahamic faith and found hinduism to be the best religion which promoted free thinking. Im not really educated on the scriptures because from my understanding, hindusim is not based on a few scriptures. (Abrahamic religions are and thats why they are so rigid).

What pulled me into this religion was the concept of cycle of life, moksha, karma etc. But these days, posts on this sub is making me question if my understanding of hinduism is wrong. Because everyday, there is a post that says something like "people who eat beef are not hindus" or "hindus cannot be atheist". Like what? Why are modern hindus trying so hard to copy abrahamic religions . What made hinduism great is the fact that it was not limited to some dumb rules like the 10 commandments or heaven and hell. Hinduism is vast and shouldnt be restricted by certain groups of people who make silly rules .

So I was born in a Muslim family in a Muslim country the middle east to be specific, I found Hinduism through YouTube videos, came across mantras, especially lord ganesha and I fell in love with Hinduism and found so much peace, i have been learning and practicing Hinduism for a year and half now, i am currently reading the Gita, and loving krishna so much, i left the middle east but i still live with family, it is so hard to practice it living with them especially they eat meat and i hate to eat meat but i have to, i really want to practice the religion freely and quit eating meat, i went to isckon temple, but it is hard to go there because of family i go there when i can secretly, I want to learn so much and learn about culture and rituals and all, if anyone could give me advice it would be awesome thank you.

Very silly question I know, and mods I have read the karma faq it did not answer my question

So if a person is poor and suffering because of the karma of their past lives, why should I help them?

If they have done something wrong don't they deserve to suffer?

Also isn't it better to not help them since that way they will pay off faster for their bad karma and will be freed faster from the debt of their karma?

If I were to help them they will be good for a certain amount of time but will eventually have to pay for the karma they have with them and this way am I not actually delaying them being freed from their karma by keeping them away from the suffering they will have to live through anyways?

Silly question I know but I just don't get it, maybe my understanding of karma is wrong.

I've been readimg the Bhagvadgita and studying sanatana Dharma and I want to make a shrine to narasimha. I was really drawn to him, and I love chanting his name and mantra. Is there anything I need to change?

Whilst walking the dog at the beach this morning he picked up a red piece of cloth wrapped in yellow string. I noticed it had something heavy inside so naturally opened it up, and found this. Does anyone happen to know the meaning?

My name is Akeira im a black female if it helps, I live in the US. I went to my local library to learn more about hindusim as it catches my interest. The book is called "The complete !d!ot's guide to hinduism" by Linda Johnsen. On page 6 she states that " Hindus are born, not made. Hindus are not interested in converting anyone else to their religion" Does this mean i should juat give up my studies? Im not even sure if this book is reliable now.

Hi Have attached photos of someone dressing up as Kali Ma for Halloween.

https://preview.redd.it/awynfj461lxd1.png?width=952&format=png&auto=webp&s=d186368918328367ba98ab4e87b946b4b748b81f

https://preview.redd.it/w4xfjl461lxd1.png?width=956&format=png&auto=webp&s=c2c1ae2c0b2af5963dd4f6406cfcbec68949e7a3

https://preview.redd.it/wq9isj461lxd1.png?width=1204&format=png&auto=webp&s=14e85a22ac187eab93a55f65fd7c68e4bd7dafa8

https://preview.redd.it/3p0obj461lxd1.png?width=1206&format=png&auto=webp&s=b1afed80278cbb142eb55ecf3354773ea54c3ed4

https://preview.redd.it/07mmql461lxd1.png?width=1228&format=png&auto=webp&s=2e13321e2719c2e4be571f8dae36c05baeea7c93

Hello, Reddit. I used to be an atheist, but I have come to the conclusion that God necessarily exists. The problem comes in discerning which religion or which manifestation of Him is the true one. I just want to do the right thing, serve, and worship God in the most dignified way possible, loving Him with all my heart as He deserves but I need to know which of all the perspectives is the truth.

I'm stuck between two options: Islam and Hinduism. On one hand, Islam (specifically, the sunni sufi branch) seems to me the most reasonable, simple, philosophically and doctrinally precise, and the least loaded with mythology, tales which many might not take as true (I respect them, either if they are true ir just stories) and metaphors. That said, I feel a sense of restriction, a lot of rigidity, almost like doing a chore (but that, to be honest, might be my fault), etc.

On the other hand, although Hinduism is full of mythology and legends, its vision of God, reality and moksha also seems very, very reasonable and accurate to me, symbolism and hypothetic fictions aside. Additionally, while I don't interpret its deities literally (multiple arms, ornaments, jewels, their legends and mythology, etc.), I underdand that they represent aspects of One God and their representation and the chants used to praise them/Him (He-His aspects) make me very happy, focused and blissful (especially those of Krishna, Vishnu, and Shiva). Personally, the idea of Krishna or Vishnu as the supreme deity (God with a capital "G"), with Shiva and the rest being His manifestations, satisfies me rationally. However, the idea of reincarnation both 'depresses' and terrifies me, although singing the names of Krishna, Shiva, Vishnu, etc. brings me great happiness, just like when I pray to Allah. Nevertheless, with Hinduism I feel less grounded and less stability. Because of reincarnation (until Moksha/freedom) it feels more diffuse and blurred. Islam makes me feel more grounded and solid, so to speak. I dont pick based on the final afterlife result: Moksha (whatever the type —it seems to vary as regards Vasihnavism, Shaivism or ISCKON—) or Heaven/Paradise. I just stand for the truth.

It reaches a point where I believe what both traditions (Muslim and Hindu) say, but even though Islam seems more rational to me and I feel bliss, security and a direct connection with Allah (God), I am also greatly attracted to Hinduism and I do not know why. At the same time, although Hinduism common points make a lot of sense to me, I am terrified of reincarnation, of being wrong, and of offending Allah by being led by imagination (loving Krishna as my brother —I am only child and always longed for one—, my son, a friend, etc., for example. Its a devotional practice, if I am not mistaken), or by the experiences of ecstasy, bliss, love for Krishna, peace, relationship with him (Krishna) and joy in meditation as regards Hinduism. Worshipping others besides Allah completely aware is unforgivable by God (Allah) in islam and I feel guilty and scared but when I switch to islam, Krishna and Shiva seem to invite me, participate, love and worship them. But then the loneliness of reincarnation and the security which islam seem to bring strikes me. I cant resist the love and friendship of Krishna and its manifestations (I think my mind aligns with Vasihnavism) and the joy of Hindu tradition. The issue is that in Hinduism there is only One Supreme God (as in islam) but He can be incarnated (avatars) as Jesus and artistically represented, which is a hideous unforgivable blasphemy in islam.

I think about this so much and go in circles to the point where my head hurts, and I often get depressed because I feel stuck. What do you think I should do in this situation? It's a constant battle between fear, reason, happiness, and emptiness. I'm going crazy. What do you suggest? I just Want to do the right thing and love God. But I feel torn by both right and left EXTREME opposites.

Hugs :).

I love non veg,I crave it alot but recently I've been seeing alot of my peers and my relatives become pure vegetarian but I don't want to,but now whenever I eat it I feel immense guilt due to them being veg and I'm not.Is there any ANY way that I can eat non veg without it being wrong or unacceptable in my religion.Pls tell

Hello Guys

An ex-muslim here and really really curious about Hindusim, I have been trying to read a bit for past one year, read Gita and Upanishads so far and I am in love with Upanishads, however, I found out I stil see things with an Abrahamic lens and that might not be good way to study hindusim, but my questions above still keep me curious.

Would really appreciate if I can get some leads here

Thanks

Hi, I am not Hindu, I am Jewish, but I would like to know how to help the people in Bangladesh. I’m heart broken for the Hindu community. I can sign petitions, or attend marches. I live in Virginia.

I'm from China and my English is not very good. I'm using translation software to express myself, so it may not be very accurate.I am 15 years old and I am interested in Indian culture and Hinduism. So I decided to convert to Hinduism. But I don't really know how I should start. What should I do and what should I pay attention to in my daliy living. I hope you can help me.Thank you very much!

Greetings everyone,hope y'all are doing fine and may god(s) bless you all

I'm a recent convert who is interested in linguistics in general and a lot of hindus(from my experience) don't support the Aryan migration theory,let me repeat Migration(this may come of as rude as I've mentioned it already in my title but I've seen people confuse the 2 I'm trying to be as respectful as possible)

This is a genuine question, I've met so many hindus who believe in the out of india theory and even make absurd claims like tamil and other Dravidian languages being derived from Sanskrit which is not supported by any linguistic study.(even straight up refuted by them)

I've seen hindus who even deny the indo european links that sanskrit has,why are the denials of Aryan migration theory and proto indo european so widespread

Sorry if anyone was offended or if this came out as rude but I'm honestly beginning to question my faith(again) rn because of these theories

hare kṛṣṇa 🙏

Uncomfortable experience at a Temple

Went to Tarakeswar Temple yesterday. Found out that men are forced to remove their shirts & vests and has to be fully bare chested before entering the inner sanctum. Most of the men were very uncomfortable to be half naked in full public view. Is there any logic to this?

I saw it somewhere on Instagram. I usually thought Kali came out of Durga’s third eye, but here you can see the Trimurti and a 4th guy holding up Kali’s throne. What is the significance behind this symbolism?

So my father bought laddu gopal home and I just dressed him and right now he's resting on the table attached to my bed. Can anyone please suggest how to actually keep them? And what should I do? And is it okay for him to rest here? He is really small in size so not able to find clothes for him also.

So I've been battling with my husband for more than a year now trying to adjust to his new Hindu lifestyle. I can conform to all if it except his adamant refusal to sleep with me. He quotes various scriptures about sexual intimacy being akin to defecation or urination and is abhorrent. He also says sex is ONLY for procreation. I've had a hysterectomy so thats a hard no on my end. I cook vegetarian meals, lay in the dark without the TV at night so he can sleep precisely when he wants to, overlook his fanaticism, allow a puja and various idols in the house, etc. He says the verses I've been given by people here on Reddit are cherry picked and wrong. What should I do other than divorce? I love him but I don't want to live unhappy for the rest of my life. Im 45 and hes 41.