The Many Paths of Hinduism

Longfellow said:
Or if not, can you agree that there is value and usefulness in using analogies, and no reason not to, if they are used properly, with awareness and understanding of their limitations?
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I do not dispute that, but I do not generally use them. Why allegories and analogies, say what you want to say directly. Allegories and analogies lead us to ambiguities.
 
Aupmanyav said:
I do not dispute that, but I do not generally use them. Why allegories and analogies, say what you want to say directly. Allegories and analogies lead us to ambiguities.
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Okay that might be enough for you to understand what I’m thinking, even if you don’t agree with it. I’m thinking that we develop our powers and learn wisdom from our experience, from our elders, and from the other sources including the ones you listed. One way or another the power and wisdom all come from nature including human nature including our own. Within/without and self/other are false dichotomies.

The power and wisdom do not only come in ways that we have learned to measure and explain in mechanical ways. Sometimes when power and wisdom come to people without them seeing how it comes to them, they call it “divine” and use analogies and allegories to describe it. Sometimes those analogies and allegories include gods, other celestial beings, avatars, and messengers. The analogies and allegories are different and sometimes contradictory, but the power and wisdom that they represent are coming from the same parts of nature. Even if you don’t agree with that, maybe you can understand my way of thinking.

(if you want to :))
 
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Speaking of false dichotomies, I think that one of them is between eastern and western divinities, avatars and messengers. There might be some grounds for blaming Europeans/Abrahamics for that, but that’s no excuse for perpetuating it.
 
Longfellow said:
Within/without and self/other are false dichotomies.

The power and wisdom do not only come in ways that we have learned to measure and explain in mechanical ways. Sometimes when power and wisdom come to people without them seeing how it comes to them, they call it “divine” ..
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I do not clearly understand what you are pointing out here.
Wisdom comes only with knowledge and experience. Why should it be called 'divine'? What power are you pointing at?
 
Longfellow said:
.. working together each in their own way, that makes a guru a guru.
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Guru means teacher, one who understands his subject. The person won't need to be termed as 'guru', if there are no students.
Does a guru understand what he is talking about? Has he/she have the requisite knowledge? What kind of bias does he/she have? There are many pretenders.
Somewhere in Hindu books, I read of a guru who told his student, "Son, I have told you what I knew, go ahead and find more."
 
Aupmanyav said:
Wisdom comes only with knowledge and experience. Why should it be called 'divine'?
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I'm not saying that it should be called divine. Only that sometimes it is.
Aupmanyav said:
What power are you pointing at?
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Some examples are moral strength, courage, and the power to be generous, patient, honest and responsible. People don't always see where that power is coming from, and I myself don't think that it's *only* from knowledge and experience. Two people can have the same knowledge and experience and one have more power than the other to be all that.
 
Longfellow said:
Some examples are moral strength, courage, and the power to be generous, patient, honest and responsible. People don't always see where that power is coming from, and I myself don't think that it's *only* from knowledge and experience. Two people can have the same knowledge and experience and one have more power than the other to be all that.
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That comes with "Samskaras", the totality of learning - upbringing, education, family and social influences, etc.
Wikipedia defines it in this way:
"In Hindu Philosophy, samskaras are mental impressions, recollections, or psychological imprints that color one's thoughts and actions, and form the basis for the development of karma theory."
 
Aupmanyav said:
The problem is that I do not believe in existence of any God, that is why I would not term anything as 'divine'.
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Going back to my original story, people don't always see where the knowledge, wisdom and power are coming from for them to develop their character and capacities and do their duty, or they don't have a mechanical or naturalistic way of explaining it. Then sometimes they use stories about it coming from somewhere up above. Sometimes in those stories that includes gods and celestial beings. Those are different in different societies, but it's all stories about where the knowledge, wisdom and power is coming from for people to be all they can be, when they don't have mechanical or naturalistic explanations for where it's coming from.
 
Longfellow said:
Going back to my original story, people don't always see where the knowledge, wisdom and power are coming from for them to develop their character and capacities and do their duty, or they don't have a mechanical or naturalistic way of explaining it. Then sometimes they use stories about it coming from somewhere up above. Sometimes in those stories that includes gods and celestial beings. Those are different in different societies, but it's all stories about where the knowledge, wisdom and power is coming from for people to be all they can be, when they don't have mechanical or naturalistic explanations for where it's coming from.
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I have mentioned my views in my posts #25 and #28. for wisdom and power. I do not find anything 'divine' in it. I do not use that incorrect term. :)
 
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