BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Hinduism PC query?

This post is not meant to offend anyone, it is simply a question to satisfy my curiosity :-)

So a lil personal background for clarity: I am a spiritual Hindu, but I practice Buddhism as well. Many Hindus believe that the Buddha is an avatar of Lord Vishnu, so many practice both or a combination of both Hinduism & Buddhism. I do respect all religions & philosophies and am of the belief that people should freely be able to practice whatever they wish (within reason, of course! I don't advocate things like human/animal sacrifices...). I also went to Catholic school for 12 yrs (yes, the whole stereotype -- school girl uniform, nuns with rulers...) so I am also quite familiar with Christianity in the Catholic sense.

My question: I get many emails from people that end in "Jesus loves you" or "May Jesus Shine his Light on You" or similar sayings.

Now none of this offends me, in all honesty (with no offense intended) - I simply ignore it. But what if I responded with like sayings like may "Lord Ganesha shower you with blessings" or may "Lord Vishnu grant all your wishes" ...

Would that offend you? Would this be considered offensive? Any thoughts? I'm just curious :-)

It would make me smile, but then again I am a Pagan..

Oh neat! I grew up Hindu, and like you have studied and "practiced" and been involved in a variety of religious traditions... and like you, particularly Buddhism.

To answer your question: I don't know if it would "offend" necessarily. I can imagine that some would react in strong disagreement (probably most would not share it). But I can, at the same time, imagine that people who did not agree with the quote will see it as similar to the sayings they choose to include at the end of their emails...

It is common to include some quote or saying or thought that reflects a deep, inner belief at the end of emails etc. And a lot of times, these sayings aren't necessarily religious. Either way, they are expressions of our beliefs...

I do use more peace related quotes (usually by H.H The 14th Dalai Lama) that benefit all people & that are not necessary religious but just wise :-)

Yes posting a more "universal" quote makes sense if you are not attached to a single message and with the intention that it be interpreted in a particular way.

For myself, I like posting quotes that have particular meaning in my life at that moment. So I end up changing them often as life circumstances change. For me, they can be religious, spiritual or just wise, like you say

I've found the Hindu practitioners very accommodating. When I was a visiting Pagan Chaplain for the local prisons several we were welcome to use the Hindu area of the Chaplaincy if there was no specific Pagan one.