history, science, and good ole common sense should lay all of their nonsense to rest.....

You didn't mind your own business so shut the fuck up!

@Sticks48 jagatmithya viveka
satyambhaja kalpitamkuru adharmamtyaja
atmanevaatmanatustah
vayambrahmanahsmah

@JeffMesser the fact that your even on this site constitutes not minding your own business. Please take your own advice and leave. We don’t go into churches and heckle the ministers or their flock ( though I admit that would be kinda fun). Not a single church shooting, and there have been many, was perpetrated by a non- theist btw.

@Cinco 1. I've been here longer than you. you leave.
2. agnosticism and atheism are mid points, not destinations.
3. jagatmithya viveka satyambhaja kalpitamkuru adharmamtyaja atmanevaatmanatustah vayambrahmanahsmah

@JeffMesser Jeff, what do you mean that agnosticism and atheism are mid-points? What is a secular Hindu? Might it be a belief in reincarnation? GROG

Jeff, you might like to hear what Christopher Hitchens says about that. I'm sure you know Hitchens.
The problem is they, the monotheists, don't mind their own business. GROG

@GROG what do I mean? our minds discriminate and look for patterns automatically. that's what it does. we create our OS (operating system) as we grow. that OS creates the rules under which our minds do their job. you can CHANGE that OS, but you're going to have one no matter what. you can consciously strive to shape it or you can let it happen as it did when you were growing up.

A secular hindu is just what it says. "Hindu" is a misnomer. It refers to a culture in the "hindustan" area of the world (an archaic term). The belief sets in that area range from janism to buddhism to muslim to vedanta. Those with any basis in the vedas were lumped together under a single term (hinduism) by the west (UK) for simplicity. In the US it would be like lumping catholics with baptists and methodists and episcopalians and presbyterians and adventists. I don't believe in any deity ... I believe in truth through science.

Reincarnation? I don't believe in that. I do believe in some conception of rebirth, but it has nothing to do with living again as this person. I believe the self is independent of this body and karma (the true concept of karma, not this misunderstood moralistic crap) has some effect on that. But the extent to which I am unsure. In the end I believe it all has something to do with vibrations. My current "leaning" is that the uniform field theory of strings will finally be proven and the strings have vibrations. Some frequencies are resonant and some are discordant and those 2 general groupings don't blend well. So discordant freq's occupy a different "realm" with their own resonant ones as do the orderly ones. I think our lives condition us that the discordant ones are "bad" and we view them that way.

But all of this is blackbox stuff right now. A narrative I continue to test until disproven or a better one is found. We ALL hypo-test our narratives all our lives and compare events before us to them. This is where delusions come from. Some church says the earth is only 6k years old but evidence shows it is billions of years old ... the churchies narrative is challenged. Now they are obliged to change it. If they do not then they are delusional. I believe we are ALL going to the same destination and the belief sets we choose get whittled down by this hypo-testing. I have deduced this "funnel" from the vedas to guide that whittling down:

1. seek truth (satyam bhaja)
2. create order (kalpitam kuru)
3. avoid discord (adharmam tyaja)

I believe the ancient wisdom was to guide our thoughts and beliefs to ones that are all "cordant" with one another and, thus, able to escape continuous rebirth ... and finally being released to the consciousness whole where we belong. Pure knowledge, eternal existence, bliss. This is our true nature. satcitananda.

@JeffMesser Jeff what is this "self" you are talking about? I think we all feel like there is another person or "self" inside, in our mind. We even have conversations with it This is a mental construct, it is imagination. What you call the OS, to me, that is who we are. We are just one. Everything is inside and when death occurs, that's it. GROG

@GROG everything is not inside. start meditating and you'll find out.

time is artificial. it's the effects difference from the leading edge of the big bang and the effects drawing up behind it. our existence as pure awareness is one of satcitananda. pure knowledge, eternal, bliss.

@JeffMesser You have eternal stupid not bliss. If you weren't stupid you would know the difference.

@Sticks48 you live in denial of the true reality. the entire universe around you that you think exists is all created in your mind. so if either of us exists in ignorance that would be you. jagat mithya - the world is an illusion. viveka! discriminate. satyam bhaja - seek truth. kalpitam kuru - create order. adharmam tyaja - avoid discord. atmaneva atmana tustah - seek happiness within yourself. vayaṃ brahmanah smaḥ. we are brahman. Humans knew this 75,000 years ago and you have still yet to figure it out. that makes you the stupid one.

@JeffMesser You live in the dark. You are also a coward or you would put your picture on this site. I really can't listen to an ignorant cowardly person. I can see why you wouldn't put your picture here, but it does not bode well for your credibility.

@Sticks48 that was your answer and you're calling ME ignorant? you have a LOT of learning to do.

@Sticks48 you need to stop calling people names and learn to disagree without being a schmuck.

@JeffMesser You just called ms a name. You need to quit being a hypocrite. I am not calling you names. If you were tall and I saw you I would say you are tall. If you said something intelligent, and I said you were intelligent, you would not accuse me of name calling, but that is what it would be. We make it through life by making judgements and coming to conclusions on a daily basis. This is all I am doing. We know we are not going to agree. I don't care for you and you don't care for me, and that is okay.

@Sticks48 really? so calling someone a "pussy" isn't calling them names? no wrestler x ... you don't get to hide the pipe wrench back in your shorts and feign ignorance.

@JeffMesser No it is a judgement. You are a pussy. It is no different than you coming to the conclusion I am schmuck, proving once again you are not bright.

@Sticks48 no, it's calling someone a name. it doesn't turn on your perception ... it turns on mine. and any time you think you are more intelligent than I then you just scurry up to OKC and we can have a debate. otherwise pull your head out of your ass.

@Sticks48 ahhh, so you're a yipping dog. got it. jagatmithya viveka satyambhaja kalpitamkuru adharmamtyaja vayambrahmanahsmah
Om shanti shanti shanti

@JeffMesser Yes if you can't be glib, that does require intelligence, just type gibberish. You just can't let this go. I find it quite amusing.

@Sticks48 being shallow requires intelligence? no. gibberish? hardly. what amuses me is your grandiose demeanor inside your tiny little snowball. you just keep being king of your snowglobe. it's all about you.

@JeffMesser That is all you have got. Come on. BORING! Being king of my snow globe is better than being another moron such as you in a state overpopulated with morons. Your turn.

@Sticks48 not when your snowglobe results in you being a tart, apathetic prick. even if you want to be hedonistic about it then adding in a utility argument justifies supporting socially adaptable behavior instead of striving for selfishness. "more people get more" for you less intellectual types. but instead you're living in a persimmony bubble of no hope and no future. you're going the same place I am ... I will just be happier getting there than you. and you'll have been an unsociable prick for nothing.

@JeffMesser Thats it again. You would go to a gunfight with a knife. I don't even know what you are talking about anymore. You are not only ignorant you can't keep a train of thought, but you are consistently ignorant. I guess there is something to be said for that. Your turn again. This is so easy, and there is nothing on TV.

You may be right, but we must try to clarify our position in the universe. It is delusional to believe that it was created just for us. GROG

Problem is, that when enough of them buy into it others suffer as well. I don't know about the UK but some countries in Europe actually tax people who belong to churches.

@JackPedigo That’s fine...as long as they don’t tax people who don’t belong to them. I can’t see any problem there!

A warning label. That is a good start. It would help too if the wall between government and religion were stronger. GROG

@Marionville There is no problem and it is actually good. People have to decide if their beliefs are really strong enough to financially support it. This was the case in Germany and many left religion (at least on paper). The big issue now, in this country is that religions, christianity [sic] actually feel they have a right to get tax money to pay for maintenance of their beliefs. It is against most state constitution and even the US but the spinners are making it an issue of 'translation'. It is even before our Supreme Court. This harms others.