The world is in a time of transition. Globalization, increasing movement of people across national boundaries, environmental challenges, religious conflict, emerging economies and a multi-polar world all demand shifts in thinking to resolve age-old human dilemmas and problems.<\/p>\n
Many of the solutions offered for resolving today\u2019s challenges, seem tired, dated and inadequate. They and the institutions created to propagate them stem primarily from the worldview of the West, which has been dominant in world affairs for almost half a millennium. This worldview in turn has been profoundly shaped by the history, myths, intellectual traditions and religious beliefs particular to Europe and America.<\/p>\n
As the pendulum swings once again towards Asia and emerging economies and powers stir and find their cultural voices, we stand at a moment of opportunity. Many of us could be dismissive of the world\u2019s diverse voices as we are wont to do \u2013 especially when they challenge long-held beliefs. Or we could admit new paradigms, disruptive as they may be to the privileged position of the West, yet promising in their ability to shape the world anew not only for the benefit of Westerners, but for all humanity.<\/p>\n
One of the old paradigms which we have all heard is presupposed in the phrase \u201cgood news\u201d used by Christians. (The phrase \u201cgood news\u201d is a literal translation of the word gospel, which refers to the accounts of Jesus\u2019s life in the bible.) The Christian Good News is usually associated with the saving acts of God through the sacrifice on the cross of his only son, Jesus Christ, for the atonement of the sins of humanity. Yet Hindus find such atonement unnecessary. For man is not inherently sinful, but divine. And we, every one of us, is endowed with the same potential as Jesus, to uncover this divinity within ourselves in the here and now \u2013 without the need for someone else\u2019s past sacrifice. To explain this empowering idea I have coined the term, \u201cHindu Good News\u201d\u2122<\/p>\n
Such glad tidings are only a glimpse into the Hindu Good News\u2122, which exalts man\u2019s own potentialities, emphasizes the essential unity of God, man and the cosmos, and insists that diversity rather than uniformity are the truest understanding of reality. Some of the key promises of such a worldview include the following:<\/p>\n
\u2013 There is no such thing as Original Sin in the typical Christian sense. We are all originally divine as described by the Sanskrit term, sat-chit-ananda<\/p>\n
\u2013 Historical prophets and messiahs do not control access to spiritual truth, as in Christianity and most Abrahamic religions. Yoga and related spiritual practices allow us to achieve a state of freedom from history \u2013 including historically shaped communal identities, races, bloodlines, and claims of religious exclusivity based on some unique historical event. In other words, we are not dependent on historical prophets, or the institutions of power that evolved based on them.<\/p>\n
\u2013 There is no fundamental conflict between dharma and science, nor has there been any in the past in the dharma traditions.<\/p>\n
\u2013 There need be no fear of \u201cchaos\u201d as in much Western cosmology and myth. What is often considered chaotic in the negative sense is merely the natural and normal manifestation of reality. It is only the limits of human cognition that misinterpret nature\u2019s complexity, viewing it as fearful and evil, and worthy of annihilation.<\/p>\n
\u2013 A blissful human life is possible while remaining respectful of nature. Nature need not be ravaged in order to \u201cadvance\u201d and \u201cprogress\u201d \u2013 indeed our own evolution would be hastened without the violation of the web of interconnectivity that sustains us.<\/p>\n
\u2013 There is no need for any centralized religious authority whatsoever to advance us to our ultimate potential. One may experiment and discover one\u2019s own path using the discoveries and tools of past exemplars as guidelines.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Mutual respect among all faiths and traditions is a matter of principle in Hinduism, not a bow to \u201cpolitical correctness\u201d or a grudging necessity imposed from without. It goes far beyond mere \u201ctolerance\u201d for others who follow different paths. We reject claims of exclusiveness and mandates to convert others to one\u2019s own religion.<\/p>\n
By: Rajiv Malhotra<\/strong><\/p>\n Disclaimer:<\/strong> The facts and opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. Hinduism Now Global Press does not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The world is in a time of transition. Globalization, increasing movement of people across national boundaries, environmental challenges, religious conflict, emerging economies and a multi-polar world all demand shifts in thinking to resolve age-old human dilemmas and problems. Many of the solutions offered for resolving today\u2019s challenges, seem tired, dated and inadequate. They and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[1952],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17676"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17676\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}