The actual word "Hindu" is non-Hindu in origin

The dreaded "H-word" Hindu Voice UK. Anish Shah analyses the psychology behind the widespread tendency of many Hindu-inspired spiritual or yoga groups to vehemently deny any connections with Hinduism

Another place where the "H"-word is avoided is in the commercial publishing world. Again most Yoga books won't mention any Hindu connection. A famous example of this is the writer Deepak Chopra who has made millions of dollars selling Hindu spirituality in America without mentioning the roots of where his teachings come from. He is also an adviser to Virgin Comics who have recently marketed a series of Hindu based comics without actually mentioning the "H"-word. What these people do sometimes (but not always) concede is that they are inspired by "traditional Indian" or "ancient Indian" stories, teachings and history.

Actually, I have met lots of ordinary Hindus who always tell their non-Hindu friends that they are "Indians" when asked about their background or when asked more specifically about religion will say something like "my parents are Hindus" or "I am spiritual, not really 'religious'". Now I'm not saying any of this is lying or false but it does contrast with my Muslim and Sikh friends who always answer with their religion when asked about their identity.

So the question really is: why is the "H"-word so bad? Most people who fall into the groups I have described so far sometimes tend to argue as follows: "Hindu" is a foreign word so doesn't really describe us. That's true - the actual word "Hindu" is non-Hindu in origin, but then so is the word "Indian" and is derived from the word "Hindu" anyway, so is that really any better?

Digging deeper, you find that another reason that a lot of Hindus or Hindu-influenced people do not acknowledge Hinduism is because the word "Hindu" itself has become a dirty word. "Hindu" has become associated with anything which (other) people see as negative - for example: polytheism, idol worship, caste, poverty, extremism, weakness, conservatism - but that anything positive - for example: art, yoga, conservation, tolerance, pluralism, music, dance, spirituality - is seen as separate from "Hinduism". This article isn't about the various negative things associated with Hinduism which need discussion elsewhere but obviously it is unfair to only look at one side of the story.

Communist historians, politicians and intellectuals in India are also quite prominent in claiming that they are not Hindus and that Hinduism hasn't really contributed much to India . In fact, they go a step further and have championed the notion that Hinduism doesn't even originate in India but from somewhere else. However, this is one group that we shouldn't be too surprised about as they have also at the forefront of telling the one-sided negative story of "Hinduism". Sometimes non-Indians just love India too much to be taken in by all this negativity fed to them by these Indian born people with Hindu-sounding names but that's usually the best time to tell them that everything they love is not "Hindu" but "Indian".

One group which has at least recognised the Hindu origin of Yoga has been the Catholic Church has long discouraged all of it's followers from taking up what they perceive as an evil and Pagan practice. Many extremist Christians in America have also condemned Yoga because they see it as Hindu. Other Christian groups have recognised that yoga is too popular and the yoga-banners too mad for that argument to work. So instead they have come up with "Christian-Yoga" which believers can now practice without having to incur the sin of taking up Paganism.

So everywhere you look, you'll see that the people who teach and make a living from Hindu teachings are ashamed of the Hindu roots. Even individuals seem to be ashamed of their Hindu roots. And ironically, the only people who are willing to accept the Hindu origin of teachings and practices such as Yoga are the ones who do not like those practices anyway. So the formula is simple - pick something you hate and call it "Hindu", pick something you like and call it "better than Hinduism". And eventually you get the ridiculous situation where you can have "Christian Yoga" but you can't find "Hindu Yoga" anywhere or even just "Yoga" where the Hindu origin is acknowledged. Ultimately I guess every Hindu reading this needs to ask how they themselves see "Hinduism" and the word "Hindu".

• To me it represents not just the heritage of my parents and all my ancestors but represents the oldest living tradition in the world today.
• It represents an unequalled richness in literature, art, architecture and history.
• It represents a culture of scholars and ascetics who would not even put their own names to their teachings, a culture of warriors who fought bravely in the face of all sorts of enemies and brutalities to ensure the survival of Hinduism when her sister civilisations died one after another.
• It represents a constantly evolving society which has always moved and renewed itself and has always been an open, tolerant and pluralist society.
• It represents a wisdom which belongs to everyone, which has benefited the world in the past, benefits the world today and will continue to benefit the world in future long after we are all dead.
• It represents this and a whole lot more and to me all of these are positive things and therefore to be called "Hindu" should be a matter of pride and honour for anyone, not the swearword that people see it as. CLICK HERE TO COMMENT / DISCUSS