What is a Hindu?

Now we began our look at the Eastern religions. In some ways this will be more difficult due to the fact these religions are significantly different than Christianity. On the other hand, since I’m starting out on ground zero, I’ll just rely on copying everything verbatim from Wiley Publishing, Inc.’s Religion For Dummies. Most all of the following information is from that source. Remember, this is just an overview as a full explanation of these religions is beyond the scope of my simple little blog. Many of you already know more than I can tell you. I’d be anxious for you to share your knowledge and thoughts with me.

Hinduism is the main religious tradition of India. Hindus believe in the Brahman, an eternal, infinite principle that had no beginning and has no end and is the source and substance of all existence. Hindus believe in transmigration (the soul passing into another body at death) and reincarnation (a cycle of death and rebirth). Hindus also believe in karma, the idea that your actions in one life have a direct effect on the events in your next life. To Hindus, salvation comes when they are finally released from the cycle of death and rebirth. I suspect you won’t find these same beliefs down at your typical Methodist church!

The Hindus have several holy texts. They believe that neither man nor god wrote the Vedas (Books of Knowledge). Instead, seers heard them and then transcribed them into Sanskrit. The books consist of four Vedas. They are the Rig-Veda (Wisdom of the Verses), Yajur Veda (Wisdom of the Sacrificial Formulas), Sama Veda (Wisdom of the Chants), and the Atharva Veda (Wisdom of the Atharvan Priest). Another important text for Hindus is the Bhagavad-Gita (Song of God), which explains the paths to salvation. Other Hindu holy texts include the Sutras, the satras, and the smritis, which were written by man and outline rules of conduct and behavior.

Many who practice within the Hindu faiths view suffering as having purpose. Remember, the goal of the Hindus is to find release from the cycle of birth-death-rebirth that continues until a person can finally free himself or herself from desires, which keep the cycle going. The suffering people experience in this life is a result of their actions in a former life. By acting to relieve the suffering, a person cannot escape the birth-death-rebirth cycle. In addition, many Hindus believe that by taking away the suffering, a person might be reborn in a lower life form. So, although things might be easier in this life, they could be that much worse in the next.

In Hinduism, there is a god who is the creator (Brahman), a god who is the destroyer (Shiva), and a god who is the affirmer (Vishnu). Hindus also venerate a goddess, Kali, who is another destroyer god. The Hindu religion includes hundreds of other gods and goddesses that divide responsibility for all the other parts of life in the world.

The Hindu gods are not jealous, fighting gods, and they don’t demand reverence only to them. Because of this openness, Hindus seek to include people of other faiths. For example, if a Christian person moved to a city in India, the Hindu neighbor might invite him to the temple. It would not matter that the Christian worshipped a God by another name. The Hindu neighbor would encourage the Christian to bring a picture or representation of the God to the temple to add it to the pantheon (group of gods). Most Hindus will explain that they do worship many gods and goddesses, but all of these images are part of one divine essence that permeates the universe. That essence is Brahman or Parusha.



To understand Hindus, one should probably understand the caste system. In Hinduism, human beings are divided into four classes, determined by birth. A person’s caste defines the job he or she may do, the person he or she can marry, how he or she is to dress, the religious practices the individual should adhere to, and the level of freedom to move about. If a Hindu ignores the rules of the caste system, the he may be reborn at a lower station in life. The laws regarding caste, however, are not the only factor determining the extent of good or bad karma. Hinduism offers many paths that you can take to break the bonds of the birth-death-rebirth cycle. For instance, as opposed to choosing to follow your caste, you could devote your life to a god or goddess, or you could take the path of the sannyasin and abandon life in search of the Divine. All of these, and more, influence karma and the possibilities of the next life.

To Hindus, the concept of ahimsa, or nonviolence to any living thing, demonstrates love on a grand scale. They reject violence and believe that animals, birds, and all sorts of beings become your friend when you cease to kill and eat them.

Hindu communal worship centers on temples, each of which is dedicated to a particular Hindu deity. During the service, flowers are placed around the statue of the god, which is usually in the center of the Temple. The statue is also anointed with oil. Incense is lit. Prayers are recited and holy food is served to the worshippers. Normally, the entire community does not go through the worship service together. Instead, worshippers proceed in their sacrificial offerings at their own pace.

Hinduism celebrates the sacredness of the Ganges River. Each day, thousands of spiritual pilgrims wash in its waters for purification. The sick and the dying are brought to its waters so that they may taste liberation after the death in this world. These waters not only purify in this world, but Hindus believe the waters enable them to avoid rebirth in the next.

On the fourth night after a marriage, a Hindu couple is supposed to make love to create a child. If the father’s characteristics are dominant, the child will be a boy. If the mother’s are dominant, it will be a girl. After the child is born and the umbilical cord is cut, the child receives a sacred name from his parents, which only they will know in life. Ten or twelve days after the birth, the child receives his everyday name, often based on astrological information. This name serves as a cover for the real, secret name. Hindus believe that children should be protected, not only by name, but also by action, against the forces of evil that are in the world.

Education is completely determined by your class, the higher the class, the earlier the education. Girls normally don’t participate in very elaborate education. In traditional Hindu families, a girl comes of age on the same day she is married.

Gandhi was a world famous Hindu. He advocated nonviolence or passive resistance. In fact, he was an attorney! He was driven by his passion to help people. He entered into politics to protest the role of the British in India and set about achieving independence through nonviolent resistance of British rule and law. He simplified his life by abandoning his wealth. He also tended to the sick and the dying. He fought to bring tolerance between the Hinds and Muslims during their civil war. He was assassinated by a Hindu extremist in 1948.

Every 12 years, millions of Hindus flock to one of the sacred sites along the Ganges River to participate in a religious festival. According to the Guinness Book of Records, “the largest number of human beings to ever assemble with a common purpose, in the entire history of mankind, was at this festival in 2001. Nearly 30 million people took part in the festival that year.



Hindus hold the cow in sanctity. The idea, stemming from the importance of cows in the lives of early Indians, is that the cow represents divine and natural goodness and should be protected. You may also see a woman wearing a red dot on her lower forehead. That is simply a way of showing the world that she is married and unavailable.

That’s all I know for now. Certainly there is more when considering this religion is several thousand years old. Their beliefs and traditions are significantly different than mine. I can say that the one Hindu I know is a very gentle, kind, and a very nice person. If you have any thoughts and/or comments, don’t hesitate to let me know.

Little Boze

What is a Jew?

The next look in our series on some of the other world religions takes us to Judaism. Remember, these are very brief looks that barely scratch the surface. More information can be obtained in Wiley Publishing, Inc.’s Religion For Dummies. That’s where I got my information and am simply regurgitating their information for you. Let’s take a look at what makes a Jew.

Judaism joins Christianity and Islam as what many call the Western religions. All three trace their roots through Abraham. They believe in one single, all-knowing God who created the world out of nothing. He made everything and gave living things a special blessing. Man was made in the image of God. They believe God gave human beings the free will to decide how they would live and that He will eventually redeem the world from all its sins and imperfections and usher in an age of universal peace.



Jews receive their inspiration and guidance from the Hebrew Bible, called the Old Testament by some, but not by the Jews. They do not believe in the concept of the Trinity, as it seems to be the worship of three different Gods. They do not believe Jesus to be the Messiah or savior. Judaism required that the Messiah bring world peace and the gathering of the Jewish exiles. In their eyes, He didn’t do this, so the Messiah is yet to come. They also reflect Jesus as the son of God because God could never become human.

Judaism is one of the world’s few religions that are both open and tribal. One can convert to Judaism. That makes it open. Also, one is a Jew if your mother was Jewish. That makes it tribal. The Hebrew Bible does not include a personal Messiah. Its prophets proclaim an ethical, as well at ritual, duty to serve God. This holy book also includes a covenant with Noah that covers all peoples and a covenant with Abraham that applies only to Jews. In Judaism, God’s name is made up of four Hebrew letters, YHWH, and is unpronounceable. Some scholars translate the name as Yehweh, although no Jew would use that word because, for them, speaking the name of God is forbidden. When that name appears in the Hebrew Bible, another word, adonai, which means my lord, is said instead. Jews also believe that one can not see God and live.



Among the important holidays for the Jews is Passover, which commemorates God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. They also celebrate Hanukkah, which celebrates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem. They offer communal prayers for the high holidays of Rosh Hashanah (New Year’s Day) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). Regular Jewish prayer must be said three times a day. A formal Jewish prayer service requires a minyan, which is a group of then Jewish male adults.

While Jews have very different rituals and beliefs from most other religions, they share many of the same ethics and morals. Their faith offers a path to salvation from sin. For Jews, our journey is a way to show love of God by performing his commandments, which will change and save us, as well as change and save the world.



Jews hold that a code of law was revealed by God in the Torah, the first five books of the Jewish Bible. Judaism has a long tradition of arguing with God. This questioning of God’s ways isn’t a sin. Such questioning is encouraged as a way of coming to understand the sacred texts and the ways of God in the world. They also believe that God chose the Jewish people as vessels of his covenant and as witnesses of his love. Being chosen as part of his covenant doesn’t make the Jewish people more holy or better than other people. It only makes them a carrier of God’s words and will, an awesome spiritual responsibility.

The Jewish religious quest is to mitzvot. Which means, they seek out God’s commandments and try to do as many of them as possible in their lives. Judaism traditionally lists 613 total mitzvot, or commandments. Some of them are positive, which means things God wants you to do, and some of them are negative, which means things God does not want you to do. Some of the positive commandments have to be performed as set times of the day or year.

Jews believe in a heaven and that hell is the final place of torment for the souls of the wicked. In Judaism, hell is called sheol, and it is just generally a kind of wastebasket for misused souls, where they are destroyed.

Girls are considered adults at the age of 12, while boys are adults at the age of 13. If these events are marked by a ceremony, the girls will have a bat mitzvah (“daughter of the commandments”) and the boys will have a bar mitzvah (“son of the commandments”). To emphasize this tradition, the child studies for years in order to be able to perform difficult adult tasks like reading from the Torah scroll and leading a prayer service. This occasion marks a deeper commitment to Jewish life. After the ceremony in the synagogue, the family, friends, and members of the community gather for a feast.

Judaism does contain some dietary laws, as provided in the Torah. For example, you can eat animals with cloven hooves and animals that chew their cud. You can also have fish with fins and scales, flying birds that eat grain and vegetables, separated milk and meat products, and properly killed animals. However, a Jew should not eat pork, eels, shrimp, or shellfish, birds of prey, cheeseburgers, or road kill.

In Judaism, a speedy burial is a law and a firm tradition. Burial within a day is preferred, but a burial can be delayed if a mourner has to come from another city. Jewish law does not permit a rabbi to marry Jews to unconverted non-Jews. The Jewish concept of charity is that everything belongs to God and we should share what we have with those that have not been given enough.

For Jews, Jerusalem is the holiest place on earth. It’s the place where Abraham proved his faith to God. Of course, Christianity and Islam claim Jerusalem to be very important to them and their religions. That is some of the reason the city is such a hot spot for discontentment between these groups. Ironically, the name Jerusalem comes from the words ir shalom, which means City of Peace. Jerusalem is where King Solomon built the temple. The temple was destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed, rebuilt, and destroyed. The only thing left is the Western Wall. Because of the sacredness of this site, Jews place notes into the cracks of the wall. The inner sanctuary of the temple is where the Ark of the Covenant, the chest containing the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed, was kept. Only the high priest could enter this holy area and only once a year, on Yom Kippur. He entered with ropes tied to his ankles so that if he died while he was in the inner chamber, the people could pull him out.



The Jewish calendar is different than ours. Why would they use the year 2006 when that is in reference tied to the death of Jesus Christ. Therefore, they are in their year 5767, which they calculate based on what they believe to be the year of creation. There are several sects of Jews including Orthodox Jews (Hasidic and Modern), Conservative Jews, Reform Jews, and Reconstructionist Jews. They share many core beliefs but differ in some ways.

You can’t really explain one of the world’s oldest religions in such a short text. However, I hope you have been enlightened at least somewhat. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. We’ll see what we can do to learn more. Hang in there.

Little Boze

What is a Muslim?

This is the first in a series of looks at some of the religions around the world. Many of you probably already have a better understanding than what I can provide. For those of you who don’t, I hope this is at least a wee bit enlightening. I know it was for me. All of the information is derived from the Wiley Publishing, Inc. book, Religion For Dummies. Basically, none of this information is mine, with exception of a comment here and there!

We’ll start with the religion of Islam. It’s thought to be the fastest growing religion in the world. It seems as though most of the news in the world involves someone from the Muslim faith. I think it is safe to say there are more Muslims in America every day.



Islam joins Judaism and Christianity as what many refer to as the Western religions. Each of these religions traces themselves back through Abraham and claim to have descended from him. All of these traditions believe in one single, all-powerful, all-knowing God. All three of the traditions worship the same God. Muslims refer to him as Allah. They believe He created the world out of nothing. He made everything in the world and gave living things a special blessing. They believe humans were made in the image of God and were given free will to decide how they would live. They also believe that God will eventually redeem the world from all its sins and imperfections and usher in an age of universal peace, which may be preceded by terrible wars. I would think all of this would sound very familiar to all my Christian friends.

They believe God reveals things to them through prophets and the written word. The written word of God for them is the Qur’an. They do not believe in the Trinity, as this concept appears to be the worship of three Gods. They believe Jesus to be one of the great prophets, similar to Moses, Abraham, and Muhammad. They do not hold him to be the Messiah, or the son of God, for that matter.




The Qur’an is made up of 114 chapters and outlines what Muslims’ moral and religious duties are in light of God’s wishes and in preparation for the Day of Judgment. It is an instructional book on how to build a society that’s compatible with the moral life that Allah demands. The Qur’an considers Muhammad to be the most recent and final prophet of Allah. It traces the Islamic tradition back to Abraham’s second wife’s son, Ishmael, as the founder of their religion and heritage. Muslims believe the Qur’an continues and culminates the revelations that God began in the Old and New Testaments. They also believe that it cannot be adequately translated and should preferably be read in Arabic.

One of the traditions or rituals for Muslims is to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in their life. About one and a half million Muslims make this pilgrimage each year. The entire ritual takes between six and ten days. This place is so holy, that Non-Muslims are not even allowed to visit it. It is in Saudi Arabia. Muslims fast during the holy month of Ramadan and celebrate the night that the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven and descended into hell. He made this trip to tell the Muslims about the rewards and punishments that awaited moral and immoral people. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset during this period. This sacred month of Ramadan is devoted to acts of charity and the seeking and granting of forgiveness.

Muslims observe certain dietary restrictions. They can eat only the food that is allowed (halal). They can eat meat that has been ritually slaughtered, for example, but they must never eat meat from animals that have died of themselves or that have been clubbed to death or gored by other animals. Nor can they eat pork. If no other food is available, however, Muslims can eat even forbidden foods, as long as they don’t enjoy it or get used to it.

Five times a day, Muslims remember Allah and their relationship with him. The content of their prayer includes praise, gratitude, and supplication. The prayer’s purpose is to keep life, and their place in it (submissive to God), in perspective. They must be clean and facing Mecca when they pray. Men and women usually pray in separate areas. Muslims affirm God by reciting the shahadah: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is his prophet.” This is the first of the Five Pillars of Islam. At least one time during his or her life, every Muslim must say the shahadah aloud, correctly, and with purpose. This is how they acknowledge they are Muslim.




Most all religions of the world have very different beliefs and rituals. However, most of them have very similar ethics and morals. This is true for Islam. Islam offers a path to salvation from sin. Muslims believe that our journey is a way to prove our loving surrender to the will of Allah, so that after being judged on the Last Day, one may cross the bridge that leads to the gardens of paradise. Otherwise, one’s soul ends up in the Fire, or hell.

With all the similarities, including worshiping the same God, it seems like we Christians have a hard time getting along with many of the Muslims of the world. The truth is, as I see it, much of the problem comes from the fact that we attempt to separate Church and state in our country, while most countries that are predominantly Islamic, tend to run their country in that manner. Therefore, they politicize their religion. While a Jew and a Muslim could probably live peacefully down the street from each other here in San Angelo, the political and religious conflicts between Israel and Palestine make that common life nearly impossible in the Middle East. There are two major sects of Islam, the Sunni and the Shi’ism.

In general, Islam tolerates other religious beliefs, believing each person should choose his or her path and that conversions should be voluntary and not forced. However, the Muslim teachings about unbelievers, has led fundamentalist Muslims to the idea that the only religion for the world must be Islam and that Muslims must endeavor to make this happen. The hijacking of Islam by fanatical Muslim extremists is a painful example of a perverted religion. Several Islamic fundamentalist branches have radicalized their messages and their ways of bringing purity to their religion using tactics like jihad or holy war, and the use of force to attain their goal of a pure Islamic state. These groups use the Qur’an to justify their actions, even though these actions conflict with the ancient Islamic teachings. By employing Islamic beliefs for their own political and social goals, these Muslim radicals and those mullahs, ayatollahs, and imams who support them pose a threat to the majority of Muslims who reject their teachings and violence. Islam does not teach that killing non-Muslims is the will of Allah, nor does it teach that terrorists will be received in heaven as holy martyrs. True Muslim leaders have made these points, but their words are often drowned out by words of hate wrongly spoken in the name of one of the great religions of the world.

This is only an overview. Hopefully, it will add something to your knowledge. If you have any thoughts and/or comments, let me know.

Little Boze

Census Is Out

New Revealing Information

A 2005 census reported what most of us could guess. Minorities continue to make up more of the population of each state than they use to, with the exception of West Virginia. This information was obtained from a recently reported Associated Press article. None of this information is mine.

Among the findings:

Education levels increased in every state from 2000 to 2005. Nationally, the share of adults 25 and older with at least a high school diploma increased from 80 percent to 84 percent. The share of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree increased from 24 percent to 27 percent.

Every state is getting older. Nationally, the median age — the one at which half the population is older and half is younger — went from 35.3 in 2000 to 36.4 last year.

Hispanics increased their hold as the country’s largest minority group, at 14.5 percent of the population, compared with 12.8 percent for blacks.

Whites are a minority in four states — Hawaii, New Mexico, California and Texas — and the District of Columbia. The share of white people fell below 60 percent in three other states — Maryland, Georgia and Nevada. Nationally, non-Hispanic whites make up about 67 percent of the population, down from 70 percent at the start of the decade.

What do we make of this? I suppose I was a little surprised that the total adult population with at least an undergraduate degree is at 27%. I would have guessed much lower. I do believe that all of these trends will continue for the foreseeable future. I grew up in a neighborhood that was at least 50% Hispanic back in the 60’s and 70’s. I guess we were just ahead of our time.

From a long-term business perspective, it would seem smart to have your children groomed for an occupation that would cater to the growing groups. If that means medical equipment or fast food restaurants, then so be it.

I think the following ventures could be promising:

1. Privately owned detention facilities
2. Baby Miss Latino pageant operator/coordinator and consultant
3. Small loan finance companies
4. Custom Car detailing w/ Matching tattoos shop
5. WWE or Ultimate Fighting Themed Park with related Wave Pool

You can probably think of some good ideas from your own observations. If so, let me know and let’s discuss how we can capitalize on the population trends of our nation.

Little Boze

Are You My Friend?

A friend recently reminded me of one of our joint pet peeves. It seems every week or two, soneone, let's refer to them as an "alleged" friend, sends me an e-mail with a special message for me. Sometimes it's patriotic and sometimes it's more spiritual. It usually touches your heart just a little bit and makes you feel better about the world you live in.

Then you reach the bottom. Scripted for your review is a message that reads something like, "You must now forward this message to 10 of your friends. Do not break this chain. If you will forward it, something good will happen to you today. This is not a joke. Something good has already happened to me. You must trust me on this one."

First off, this "alleged" friend normally turns out to be someone from my highschool that I haven't spoken to in nearly 25 years. All of a sudden they want something good to happen to me? I'm touched that they remembered me in such a positive light. I really think it's possible they just created a list of 10 people just for this purpose. I'm on their "e-mail chain guilt list," which is only used for occassions such as this.

Of course, I'm more practical than to participate in such a scenario. I think if my "alleged" friend wants something good to happen to me, they should sneak up and take my dogs to the groomer for a haircut, pay for it, and deliver my clean puppies back to my house. Or maybe they could leave a bunch of newly purchased school clothes for my 13 year old daughter on the porch. That way, they could ensure that something truly good has happened to me and I wouldn't be left to guess when and if it ever happened. If they'd still like me to read the "feel good" story, I'd be honored to do such.

This sending someone a positive e-mail with an obligation at the end is quite dissappointing. It's sort of like opening a can of porkin' beans and finding someones severed thumb in it. As much as you like them, it would probably take a while to warm back up to porkin' beans.

If you want something good to happen to one of your friends, just do something practical for them from the start. Take them a bananna pudding or mow their lawn while they're on vacation. They will appreciate it and you can ensure that something good has happened to them. And you'll be a winner, too. While I'm too mature to believe in Internet lucky charms, I do believe in the old "what goes around, comes around" phylosophy. Do your part to make our world a better place.


In case you needed to know, Hannah is a size Womens medium and we will be back from vacation on September 17th.

Little Boze

Apparently, I'm a Greek God

I just returned from a family trip to Sea World in San Antonio and had occasion to spend some significant time around the Lost Lagoon water park. This would good for the soul. I have included some observations below.

Bathing Suits

Bathing suits tend to be the great equalizer. With little to hide, one can easily see how people are shaped. On this particular day, I think I would have been the starting running back on the water park's football team. I was much leaner and athletic than the majority of the people. I couldn't believe it myself, but I felt like a Greek God as compared to many of these folks. Our nations downfall may be that in another couple of generations, we will not even be able to defend ourselves. Our enemies will simply stand up hill from us and we will be hopeless.

Larry Mondelo

Back in my day, every neighborhood use to have one chubby kid. Based on what I observed, chubby and/or fat kids are now the norm. Again, the long-term effects on our society are inevitable. It seems like we'd have a large drain on our healthcare system headed our way.

Rich Poor Kids

I know we are the richest country in the world. I can tell because our poor people can afford to go to the water park at Sea World. My family of four cost $196 just to enter the park. Refreshments are also very expensive. The same poor folks, and I'm going on what appears to me to be poor folks, also tend to be hefty. See the point above. Back in the day, poor people use to be skinny. That is not the case anymore. They have a diet consisting of large amounts of fast food. The tend to swim in their regular clothes as they won't spend money on a real bathing suit. In general though, at least one family member has some University of Texas National Championship gear on.

Royalties for the Champion

I wish I had the royalties for all of the University of Texas gear being sold. It is everywhere, especially at the theme parks. If I received a portion of each sell, "me thinks me would not be working." The basketball free-throw game had 3 sets of balls as prizes. Each set contained roughly 200 basketballs with the logos of (1) Sea World, (2) UTSA, and (3) Texas A&M. I asked the vendor (carney) why they did not have any UT logo balls. He stated that they could not keep them in stock. In fact, all new shipments have already been promised to previus winners waiting on those balls to come in. This is for a simple $2 logoed basketball. I don't think I'd even make the trip back out to the park for that. Especially not at $3/gallon gas.

Tattoo's

How about a logo on your body? They have never appealed to me. Apparently, however, they appeal to lot's of other people. I've known that they have become more popular, but I didn't know how much so. It may be too late to capitalize on this idea. However, I would think there is potential in a nice, family oriented, safe environment type tattoo salon in the big cities. Maybe add a fun area for the kids with food and drinks. Junior could get a fake "Hannah Montanna" tattoo while Momma gets a Orange County Chopper brand.

These are just a few random thoughts and musings. Maybe I'm just getting old in my ways. I'm sure there is room for improvement in all of us, myself included. However, if you're feeling down and need to pick up your self image, go to the water park at Sea World. You, too may be a Greek God.

Little Boze