04-14-2007, 03:12 AM
I have a simpler, geopolitical definition of Hindu. It doesn't serve the purpose of this thread fully because of the narrative aspect.
A Hindu is somebody that has an ancestry in India and someone whom a jihadi would have no compunction killing or converting or EJ would have no compunction proselytizing. This makes all indic religions Hindu - whether they currently feel part of it or not (undoubtedly they were Hindus in some distant past).
Samuel<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Would it also be possible to get list of people actively constructing the Hindu narrative in our times? <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
As Shiv mentioned, the narrative should be a broad-based effort.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I tend to think of the narrative as my story-- just what am I about in relation to Bharath and Hinduism. It starts out simply as things about my childhood, my family, and how they came to be. It then brings in my ancestors and how they came to be, our village, the dialect and how all that came to be. It catalogs regular and peculiar customs of our community and what we've endured, how we screwed up, and where we shined. At some point all that mingles with your story and the next, becoming our narrative. From such kathopÄgyÄna may emerge a modern ArthaÅÄstra that serves as the compass of our destiny. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Precisely.
A Hindu is somebody that has an ancestry in India and someone whom a jihadi would have no compunction killing or converting or EJ would have no compunction proselytizing. This makes all indic religions Hindu - whether they currently feel part of it or not (undoubtedly they were Hindus in some distant past).
Samuel<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Would it also be possible to get list of people actively constructing the Hindu narrative in our times? <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
As Shiv mentioned, the narrative should be a broad-based effort.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I tend to think of the narrative as my story-- just what am I about in relation to Bharath and Hinduism. It starts out simply as things about my childhood, my family, and how they came to be. It then brings in my ancestors and how they came to be, our village, the dialect and how all that came to be. It catalogs regular and peculiar customs of our community and what we've endured, how we screwed up, and where we shined. At some point all that mingles with your story and the next, becoming our narrative. From such kathopÄgyÄna may emerge a modern ArthaÅÄstra that serves as the compass of our destiny. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Precisely.