Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Chana M.'s avatar

Oh, Ruth! You actually brought me to tears. Gorgeous writing. I embraced Hinduism and adored Mira Bai and women saints as a young girl disenchanted with modern Reform Judaism. I asked my mother if I could become a nun because I wanted to marry God then and she said Jews didn’t have nuns. I adored the Gita and Upanishads, became a vegetarian, raptured in mystic poetry, meditation, yoga for yoking the soul to God and embraced anything that gave me a feeling of intimacy with the Divine. Of course my family was not particularly proud of this. In the early 1990’s I began writing for the Times of India’s Speaking Tree and later for its editor long after she left. So you brought back much of myself to me. And the beauty of devotion to God, service and values I cherished and that enabled me to survive an extremely difficult life. I’m grateful you’re such a gifted writer and look forward to reading more. 🙏🏽

Expand full comment
Shelah Horvitz's avatar

» All are viewed as manifestations to different degrees of universal divine consciousness that is both in the universe and beyond it.

A couple of months ago, Adam Zagoria-Moffe, the rabbi of the St. Albans, Masorti synagogue, said in a podcast that of all the religions, Hinduism is the closest to Judaism. I think he’s right.

I got interested in Hinduism about 20 years ago when I was a yogini. Later when I studied kabbalah, the fact that the gods of the Hindu pantheon represent aspects of Brahman, gave me a way of understanding how the sephirot are all aspects of the Jewish G-d.

You mention Ganesh and I love the way Ganesh is the remover of obstacles. While Hanuman jumps over his obstacles, Ganesh puts his head down and pushes his way through. He is all about perseverance.

It can be useful to have an aspect of G-d that you can visualize as a role model. We Jews don’t have such a thing but it can be a useful tool.

I don’t believe there is such a thing as a One True Faith. The Dalai Lama once said it comes down to the culture in which you were raised, and there’s some truth to it.

What matters to me is whether your faith helps you live an ethical life that honors life, and that within the tradition you choose, you find whatever sustenance you need.

Best wishes.

Expand full comment
10 more comments...

No posts