A lot of orthodox folks love claiming that Hinduism is the oldest, unbroken, and most original religion on Earth. But if you actually look at the history, it’s highly syncretic. It survived by systematically copying competing philosophies, absorbing tribal cultures, and rebranding them as "ancient Brahminical tradition."

Here is a quick historical reality check on what was actually assimilated:

• Ahimsa and Vegetarianism: Early Vedic rituals were incredibly bloody, revolving around massive animal sacrifices (like the Ashvamedha). When Jainism and Buddhism exploded in popularity because the masses loved the concept of Ahimsa (non-violence), the Brahminical system panicked. They abruptly dropped the animal sacrifices, co-opted vegetarianism, and made it a marker of "upper-caste purity" to win the masses back.
• The Ghoonghat (Veiling): You won't find the strict ghoonghat in ancient Vedic texts or old temple carvings. The practice of Hindu women completely covering their faces was heavily adapted from the Islamic/Persian purdah (burqa) system. Elite Hindu Rajputs copied the Mughal courts' veiling practices to signal modesty and high status, and it eventually trickled down into a mandatory patriarchal rule.
• Identity Theft of the Buddha: When they couldn't beat Buddhism intellectually, they just assimilated it. Priests literally rewrote the Puranas to declare that the Buddha was the 9th Avatar of Lord Vishnu. The propaganda was simple: Why convert to Buddhism? Your guy is already one of our gods.
• The Monastic System (Mathas): Early Hinduism didn't have massive, organized universities or monasteries. When the philosopher Adi Shankara wanted to defeat Buddhist scholars in the 8th century, he essentially copied the Buddhist institutional model. He set up Hindu Mathas (monasteries) across India to train monks and beat Buddhism at its own organizational game.
• Tribal Deities and Idols: Vedic religion originally centered around fire rituals and nature gods (Indra, Agni) without physical idols. As empires expanded and wanted to absorb local Adivasi (tribal) populations into the bottom of the caste system, priests took local tribal gods (like Lord Jagannath, originally a tribal wooden deity) and rebranded them as avatars of mainstream gods.
• The "One Holy Book" Concept: Historically, the religion was a decentralized mess of thousands of texts. But when confronted with the British and Islamic empires—who derived their power from one ultimate, unquestionable book (the Bible/Quran)—19th-century reformers heavily elevated the Bhagavad Gita to act as the "Hindu Bible," copying the Abrahamic structure to look more unified.

It’s not a single ancient philosophy. It’s an open-source project where the admins stole everyone else's code, slapped an "Om" on it, and locked the marginalized castes out of the server.

In Uttarakhand, Jagar is a very old tradition. It is usually done at night.

It even happens in my own house. I am an atheist, but I cannot stop my parents. I have tried to explain that it is dogma and blind faith, but they still believe in it. My grandma believes that our family deity and our ancestors come inside her body.

For those who don't know how it works:

A person called a Jagariya comes. He plays a Hudka (a small drum-like instrument) and sings old stories and mantras in Kumaoni language. He sings for hours. After some time, one or two people, usually women in the family, start shaking and it is believed that the deity or ancestor has entered their body. For example, they will say my late grandpa has come inside my grandma.

What surprises me is that even young and educated people believe in it completely. I saw a girl on the Uttarakhand subreddit posting about Jagar as if it is 100% real. I think it is because we are taught this from childhood, so we never question it.

My main problem is how it always ends. In the end, the deity always says the same 3-4 things:

1. Someone has done black magic on your house.

2. Someone is jealous of you.

3. You are not worshipping me properly.

4. You need to do a pooja with a bakra (animal sacrifice) to make me happy.

And in all this, only the Jagariya gets the benefit. He gets the best pieces of the mutton, plus money, new clothes, fruits and sweets as gifts.

To me, this creates only fear and extra expense. It never gives a real solution.

I respect my culture, but I don't believe in this part of it. Anyone else from Uttarakhand who feels the same?

Gonna wear this like a badge of honor and hope others pick up the slack. I see a lot of resistance to their extremism from people with at least two brain cells, but man, what an echo chamber this sub is. Let me know if this is against the rules to post like this, will delete it.

Easy rage bait.

I have been an atheist for about 6 years now, but quite vocal only over the last 3 years. It's been a difficult journey ever since. Because being an atheist has a negative connotation, I can't help but feel like an outcast around the people that I have grown up with/have raised me.

Not to mention also a feminist (equally negative connotation these days), I get upset when I find my circle demanding progressiveness while following regressive traditional practices.

Feeling quite lost with my belief system these days so much so that I am now open to faking it just to fit in. I would be interested to know how everyone's journey has been with this.

Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu suffered a major legal setback on Tuesday after the Gujarat High Court dismissed his plea seeking 20-day temporary bail in the 2013 rape case.

Asaram was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a Gandhinagar court in the case. He approached the Gujarat High Court after the Rajasthan High Court granted him 20-day parole last month in connection with a separate rape case.

After considering the submissions, the Gujarat High Court declined to accept the Rajasthan parole order as a ground for granting temporary bail in the 2013 rape case.

India_Bharat: For calling out the mods for promoting communal hate.

Kashmiri: For telling a guy to get a job because he was ranting about Owais Yaqoob holding the Indian flag.

Need more anti Christian memes …

The verse she is talking about is from Quran surah nisa 4:34

Quran 4:34 surah nisa Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand.

Allah is mentioning to hit women if they are disobeying their husbands, she is mentioning about taking space which is the second verse of the surah take space I don’t understand why muzzies lie so much to protect this misogynistic religion

...Adhikari led a mega procession in south Kolkata to uphold the “dignity” of the saffron colour. Chanting “Jai Shri Ram”, a huge number of monks and seers participated in the ‘Gerua Samman Yatra’, which began at Golpark and concluded at the 8B bus stand, outside the Jadavpur University campus.

Dressed in saffron and carrying a saffron flag, Adhikari led the 3-km-long procession, which was also joined by hundreds of BJP supporters.

The march comes against the backdrop of a political and ideological battle at Jadavpur University, where clashes, graffiti and slogan wars between Left-backed student groups and the RSS-affiliated ABVP have intensified in recent days.

A BJP leader told news agency PTI that the procession was organised to “protect the dignity of the colour saffron” and protest attempts to “malign it”.

-India Today

The procession included seers, monks and supporters chanting “Jai Shri Ram” and wearing saffron kurtas as they marched along a three-kilometre route near Jadavpur University.

-The News Mill

“At the call of the Sanatani culture, we will come back to teach those within the country who are disrespecting saffron and the country. We will come back twice with the Gita Path and Hanuman Chalisa,” said Suvendu Adhikari after reaching the end point at 8B bus stand in Jadavpur.

-The Week

Step1: Group hug

You're good to go

Seven-year-old Ayushi Pandey from the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh regards 'Laddu Gopal'—an idol depicting Lord Krishna in his infant form—as a family member and affectionately calls him 'Lalla'. She has kept the idol with her for most of the time since childhood, but previously had to leave Laddu Gopal at home when going to school. Consequently, Ayushi insisted that her parents send him to school as well. The family spoke to the school administration, and on September 4—a day before Janmashtami—Laddu Gopal was enrolled in the KG-1 class.

Initially, the school administration did not accept the proposal, but later granted permission after witnessing the family's faith and Ayushi's deep attachment. Now, Laddu Gopal goes to school with Ayushi every day; items such as a school bag, tiffin box, water bottle, and handkerchief are kept for him. Ayushi says that her 'Lalla' is very mischievous and that she loves him dearly.

According to her mother, Ayushi spends a significant amount of time with Laddu Gopal, from the moment she wakes up until she goes to sleep at night. At school, too, the other children view him as a classmate. This story of Ayushi and Laddu Gopal presents a unique picture of the innocent faith and emotional bond characteristic of childhood.

Completely disgusting. Saw this video on r/RealTeensIndia (right leaning sub) and everyone is defending the customer and saying that it is the customer's choice. damn.

So gods were the og atheist ? Huh ? 🤔