I've been reading some postings here about religion and wanted to write my views on hinduism.

Hinduism is a very sexist religion. A woman's place seems to be at a man's feet. Most hindu religious practice blatantly put a woman's place like a man's slave. A wife is supposed to bow to her husband's feet every day. In some cultures even drink the water off the man's feet.

They even wanted widows to burn in funeral pyres.

Although hinduism teaches some good points about family life, it scorns and condemns the women as a man's slave and that's what I don't like about hinduism.

Hinduism is a sexist religion you are right.
Some other things that I have issues with

- Respect with elders.
Well, elders should be respected. I have no qualms about it. But what do you do when you know for a fact that the elder is wrong. Do you respectfully obey your elder even if he is wrong? I have seen a lot of my friends unable to speak out to their fathers although they are wrong about things.

Why should Respect replace Truth?

disrespect the ideology respect the elder. respect does not mean you don't speak out when they are wrong about things, that means you are equally supporting them in their wrongfulness (not sure if that is even a word) anyway if they don't see what is wrong with their ideals then they are either too stubborn to own up to it and make changes or just plain blind stupid.

Its not just respect the elders.Its respecting them when they are moral and right.U ppl forgot the war of mahabharat?? had it just been respecting elder ,the war wouldnt have taken place.whats ur say?

there are always pros and cons . If you keep on digging the cons of any stuff you will end up digging more. Being a Hindu, I'd know more about my own religion (good and bad) and would see some good points in other religion (not necessarily knowing the complete picture of other religion). Likewise, a Christian ( just an example) might see good points about Hindu. Human beings always have a tendency to see the negativity of what you have and the positivity of the others. Grass is always greener on the other side. For ex- no matter how beautiful/handsome your wife/husband is, you will somehwat/always be attracted to some other random starnger guys/girls.

there are always pros and cons . If you keep on digging the cons of any stuff you will end up digging more. Being a Hindu, I'd know more about my own religion (good and bad) and would see some good points in other religion (not necessarily knowing the complete picture of other religion). Likewise, a Christian ( just an example) might see good points about Hindu. Human beings always have a tendency to see the negativity of what you have and the positivity of the others. Grass is always greener on the other side. For ex- no matter how beautiful/handsome your wife/husband is, you will somehwat/always be attracted to some other random starnger guys/girls.

Nilasha,
Like many religion, Hinduism has its pros and cons but if your title were "What I don't like about (any other religion beside Hinduism), you thread would have been lot longer. 

Main things I oppose abt Hinduism are animal sacrifices to "please" the god/goddess....also respecting elders like it's an order is more culture than religion..which will change in coming generation..which I hope atleast ...

It's is also hypocritical for instance kukur tihar n next day most folks wouldn't think twice to hit them with stone...

I guess everybody takes Hinduism here in sajha as some cultural identity not as ladder to heaven or something like that. I completely agree to Nilasha about the situation of women in our society but don't you agree it's not the same as 10 years ago. All we need is to change the ingrained thought that is in us since childhood. Make our decision based on facts and critical reasoning rather then on books written by people 10-15 centuries ago.

@ Nelisha

i beleive u r quite confused between relgion n traddition here. Those points u pointed r just a traddition observerd n created by Pandits back in those days to keep the society male dominated.

Before we argue about any relgion one should or have to have a thorough understandin of that relgion. recently i have seen so many threads regarding the hindu religion or God and so on but i dont see any valid point raise by any thread originator. Its a human nature to point out negativity of anything because we have brain to use logic. but if u say i don't believe in God or this n that relgion than you need to prove me first why am i wrong to follow tht relgion or God? Do u have any concreat prove to proof there is no God other than those so callled Books written by some people.

Saying that iam a hindu n proud to say tht but not the suppoter of those priest who manipulated the relgion for their sake n those r the things that creat confussion in the society. There is no where in any religious book you can find saying animal sacrifices or SATI system. those r just the wrong manipulation of the relgion by those selfish Priest.

Well all i can say is you r who u r but don't judge anything from surface. Respect other mother but worship urs.

Om Shanti.

In Hinduism: A Saying goes like...

 यत्र नार्यस्तु पूज्यंते रमंते तत्र देवताः।

यत्र तास्तु न पूज्यंते तत्र सर्वाफलक्रियाः॥

Translation :
Where women are worshipped, goddesses dwell.
Where they are not worshipped, all actions are fruitless.

Similarly, In Buddhism ....

It is nature's law that rivers wind, trees grow wood, and, given the opportunity, Women work iniquity. - Lord Buddha

Religion itself doesn't teach humans to be sexist, it's the human who uses religion to act foolishly :) Peace

Totally agreed with lovestosuggest

Totally agree with you, Goddamn,

Look at #4 below. These are the megatrends of Modern Hinduism.

People like Nilasha need to wake up and see the sunlight. We are modern men. We are not like our fore fathers. Times have changed and these Hindu women need to wake up and see what kind of men are standing in front of them. Stop living in the past. Look at the present of the men that are in front of you and stop comparing us to our great-great grand father's policies of treating women. We are not like that.

So please, Nilasha, educate yourself. Update your software with a patch.

http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=5044

1. Hindu Meekness to Hindu Pride
Though Swami Vivekananda began this trend a hundred years ago, even up to recent times Hindus were afraid to identify themselves as Hindus, or as members of a particular Hindu sect. Through the effort of many people and organizations, Hindu pride and self-confidence have replaced the self-doubt and timidness instilled during centuries of foreign rule. Native dress becomes fashionable.

2. Village to Global Awareness
Hindus have lived outside of India in countries such as South Africa or Fiji for over a century, but only now are we reaching beyond a limited village worldview, achieving a global consciousness and establishing worldwide communication. Among other results of this trend, Hindus are taking a prominent place among the other world religions in every forum.

3. East Only to East and West
Not only have our people moved from East to West, but our Hindu truths have found welcome homes in many corners of Western life. The civil rights movement, the health/vegetarian movement, the ecumenical movement, the "New Age" movement and the concern for the environment are all deeply affected by Hindu thinking. Subtle Hindu ideas find their way into mainstream world thought.

4. Men Only to Men and Women
Reflecting a global trend among all nations, Hindu women are rapidly becoming more involved at all levels of Hindu religion. Some are influential religious leaders; others are instrumental in running large Hindu organizations. Hindu women are joining the work force and confronting "feminist" issues from an Eastern point of view. They no longer tolerate unfair treatment, such as forced marriages, abuse by their husbands or economic disadvantage.

5. Temple Decline to Temple Revival
Ever since the last Hindu kings lost power, Hindu temples and our priesthood have deteriorated. Right now, we are rediscovering their intrinsic value and religious necessity. Not only are new temples being built in many places outside of India, old temples in India are being renovated and the problems of the priesthood addressed. Likewise, other traditional family observances, e.g. samskaras, are being revitalized.

6. Introverted to Extroverted
Responding to internal pressure and outside threats, Hindus creatively reach out to help and serve others. Various forms of institutionalization and ministry reflect stronger Hindu social consciousness. Our introverted village awareness has extroverted, leading to aggressive (and occasionally violent) solutions to our challenges and difficulties.

7. Limited Tools to Great Resources
Increased literacy in India and the need to teach Hinduism in multi-religious environments in other countries all lead to the development of sophisticated teaching tools--childrentos courses, Hindu schools and universities, academies for art, dance and music, Hindu encyclopedias, Sanskrit studies and more. Talented western scholars provide unexpected resources with unbiased and in-depth studies of Hinduism.

8. Colony to Superpower
India is emerging as the world's newest superpower. This augments Hinduism's new-found strength and unity, just as the success of western countries lent strength and authority to Christianity in the past.

9. Agricultural to Technological
Rapid technological advancement in Asia permanently transforms India and thus Hinduism. India's mastery of nuclear power, space and computers will bring modern conveniences into even remote areas of India with unprecedented speed, bypassing some stages of development experienced in other parts of the world. The broadcasting of the Ramayana throughout India is just one example of how this affects Hinduism.

10. Major Blows to Fewer Setbacks
Sporadic abandonment of Hindu ideals causes localized setbacks, but nothing such as we've suffered in the past. The occasional adoption of violence to achieve some ends is the most obvious compromise of our ideals. Other negative trends include the neglected religious education of children in the West (which has possibly caused the loss of an entire generation); the failure to encompass the inevitable intermarriages outside Hinduism; and the tendency to give up the vegetarian ideal. External hazards may continue along the lines of the failed attacks upon us by "anti-cult" movements and the worldwide confusion caused by non-Hindu Rajneesh.

MEGATRENDS is a term coined by futurologist John Naisbett in 1982 to name the major underlying forces that are transforming society and shaping the future. To formulate these ten Hindu megatrends, we solicited the advice of the following prominent Hindu religious leaders, scholars, priest and business people. Each contributed to our analysis, however, the final conclusions as given above are the responsibility of Hinduism Today alone: Swami Bhasyananda, Vivekananda Vedanta Society, Illinois; Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Arsha Vidya Pitham, Pennsylvania; Swami Parvati Devyashram, Sri Rajarajeshwari Peetham, Pennsylvania; H.H. Sri Swami Satchidananda, Integral Yoga Institute, Virginia; Pundit R. Ravichandran, priest, California; Mr. Vidyasagar Anand, Chairman, European Council of Hindu Organizations, United Kingdom; Dr. Mahesh Mehta, President, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, Massachusetts; Dr. S.M. Ponniah, Advisor, Malaysia Hindu Sangum; Dr. David Knipe, Professor of South Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin; Dr. Seshagiri Rao, Professor of Hindu Religion, University of Virginia; Dr. H. Daniel Smith, Professor of Religion, Syracuse University, New York; Mr. Arvind Ghosh, publisher, Texas; Mr. Srikumar Poddar, businessman, Michigan.

How about a Cast system? not allowing dallitis to the temples. untouchables and stuff like that?

what is a cast system?

Homoji anyone can quote a book. it just re-iterates how good a follower you are.

It's good to read your thoughts on this. Yes those things I mentioned might be cultural but the cultural is very much a result of religion since both religion and culture are intertwined. Those things are slowing down thesedays but not fast enough. Things may have changed a little bit in the city but most of Nepal is villages and things are very much the same there, unless you only consider the cities to be Nepal.

Nilasha ji,

I agree with what you are saying. So please, as a woman, guide us men in being part of the solution instead of the problem. I mean it. What do you feel us men could do? Many of us are ready to do it. We just need guidance from wise women who are educated and well-read and understand the dynamics of the modern world. So please, if you have any concrete advise about what we men could do, please speak.

I am, atleast, listening to you with open ears.

 I am glad you brought up this topic.  Some of the practices in our religion/culture are a result of the wrong interpretation of the holy texts while some are because of the ignorance and illiteracy prevailing on our society. And, there are some stuffs on the text which may not apply to the present context. How long ago do you think those Vedas were written? Obviously, some of the things wouldnot apply to the present day. There is no doubt there are some practices which makes a woman feel inferior and I dont think bowing to husband's feet is one of them. Let me tell you why. If you recall, all the people in your family has been bowing to your feet ever since you were born(i m assuming your a girl).  Even after you get married and when you go back to your parents home, they still do the same thing. Your brother,mother,uncle,father everybody puts their head on your feet. I bow my head to the feet of my sisters,parents and I dont feel like I have been slave to my sisters and parents. We show our respect that way. Since we developed as a patriarchal society, obviously you are obliged to do more things for your husband.  There are some dumb head husbands in our socities who are ignorant and feel proud and make their wives do lot of non sense stuffs but thats not the actual picture. There is a saying "चामलको बोरामा अली अली ढुङ्गा हुन्छ " and it applies to those wicked husbands. When I talk to Nepali girls, I usually ask them what do they think about that tradition? All of them said they donot have any problem doing that and "it just makes them love more" (actual excerpt so i m quoting here). Do you feel like your a slave even if he is treating you right just because you bow your head in his feet? Did your parents feel they were slaves when they bowed their head in your feet? Did you mom feel she was a slave when she bowed her head in your dad's feet? Did your sister feel she was a slave when she bowed her head in your Bhinjau's feet? Ask those questions to your self and the family memebers. Don't you see the difference how women are treated here in America vs in our culture? Since we are family oriented societies, we do lot of stuffs for each other which doesnot make any sense in western world. 
About being the sexiest, Hinduism depicts different facets of the life and sex is one of them. I donot think we have a huge influence of sex in our socities. I bet you guys are more aware of the sex postures and ways after coming here than you were back home.

p.s~ Just to make sure, I am not trying to justify the wrong doing against the women and I donot support the supremacy of Men over women. I believe women should be treated right and they deserve it.

nilasha, I think exactly the same way you do :D 
keep going.
every religion has it's flaws. I say no religion,
but I'm religious
not religion 'religious' but  no-religion 'religious'
:D)
 

Nilasha,

I agree with much of what you have written. But us sisters need to talk about the solution also. We can't always just keep complaining about the problem and expect the men to solve all of the problems. This is disempowering to the women. Instead, we need to figure out the solution and then tell them how to act and what they should do. But few women take the time to see what the solution should be.

Women like you and I need to step forward. There is a whole other generation of Western educated Nepali women like us that can make a difference. The traditional minded Nepali men might not like that. Oh, well, you can't make all people happy all the time. Right?