Hinduism and Heathenism are closely related. I argue the point on three levels…
1. Hinduism and Pre-Christian Heathenism (along with Druidism, Greek Paganism, Zoroastrianism etc.) evolved from the same basic source, Proto Indo-European Paganism.
2. Hindu and Buddhist philosophy has been hugely influential in the Neo-Pagan movement from which Recon Heathenism was born. (And for anyone who’d like to argue that Recon Heathenism is NOT a form of Neo-Paganism, all I can say is “grow up and stop kidding yourself”.)
3. The connection just makes a lot of sense to me personally, on an intuitive level. I’ve learned a lot from studying the eastern religions and clearly I’m not alone among Heathens in feeling this way.
So where does that leave us? Actually it gives us a fantastic new tool, an idea we can use.
The ordinary conception of Heathen history is as a broken line. If we accept the influences of Hinduism and Neo-Paganism on contemporary Heathenism, we can mend the break. Consider this…
We trace our history backwards from Pre-Christian Heathenism to Proto Indo-European Paganism.
We then trace our history forward from Proto Indo-European Paganism to Hinduism and then Buddhism.
From Hinduism and Buddhism, we again trace forward to Neo-Paganism.
From Neo-Paganism we trace forward to Reconstructionist Heathenism at which point we reconnect with our ancestors and realize our religious history is no longer a broken line. It has now been revealed as a circle.
Our tradition is a very ancient one. I find great comfort in that fact.
And, this idea can be used in other ways. Let’s see how we can apply this new knowledge to a common uncomfortable scenario. Someone from work asks you if you’re religious. You have a few different options. You could…
1. Lie.
2. Refuse to discuss the issue.
3. Explain to them honestly that you practice the reconstructed polytheistic religion of pre-Christian northern Europe (and deal with the fact that they now think you’re a raving loony).
4. Say something clever.
What I usually say in this kind of situation goes something like this…
“I feel a lot closer to Hinduism and Buddhism than I do to Christianity, though I’m not really a Hindu or a Buddhist. (Or, I am and I’m not.) I feel I get a lot out of studying philosophy, psychology, history and mythology. Personally, I really get a lot out of mythology, even more than academic philosophy.”
How’s that for magic? Just few simple words, nothing but the truth, and I’ve transformed myself from “potentially dangerous psycho” into “sensitive, intelligent and obviously well read”. This routine probably would not work if delivered to a Christian fundamentalist, but living in Southern California it tends to go over pretty damn well.
Let’s face it. Being part of a new minority religion sucks. Regular people think we’re crazy. They put our books next to the reptilian conspiracy theorists instead of in the religious section and we’re classified as “miscellaneous” on the census. Buddhism and Hinduism, however, are big. They’re old. By accepting ourselves as part of that family we gain a very healthy measure of social acceptance and respectability. And the best part is you don’t need to convert! You don’t need to change a thing! Heathenism is a form of Indo-European Paganism. It is a western variant of Sanatana Dharma. Our tradition is ancient and we are a part of a great and proud religious family.
Hail Chaos!
Viva Loki!
Aum Siva-Wodinaz Aum
Tags: Chaos Heathenism, History, Spirituality
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You are right, Clint. My Tibetan friends show an immediate respect for and interest in Asatru when I explain to them that it is the indigenous religion of northern Europe. They just get a feel for it – the common Indo-European wyrd.
Clint, that’s a good approach! Nobody can deny that we are part of the Indo-European Tradition. (Not everybody accepts the term Indo-European Tradition in academia, but when academics argue about things like, say, if the toilet is half-full or half-empty, who gives a shit! :-) I also think that Ásatrú folks tend to isolate themselves too much. This is certainly NOT the way to go! Anyone of us lives in a different corner of the world, all of us know people from different cultures & countries, all of us travel the world. This kind of is reflected in our approach to our Heathen Tradition. This can happen without loosing our cultural identity and pretending that “we are all the same”. We must know where we come from & honour our ancestors, but today I see no other option than being a cosmopolitan – at least if you fully engage in the modern world.
Excellent article — its vital for us blonde blue eyed Nordic folk to embrace our Aryan heritage — and show a solidarity with Hinduism and Buddhism. They are closer to our roots and make much more sense that Christianity which was forced on our ancestors by the Romans. Its hilarious that many “white” people think that Christianity is the white man’s religion where actually Buddhism and Hinduism are much closer to us than the Middle Eastern desert religions.
Thanks. Hinduism as practised in India encompasses and even transcends all existing faiths.This post is educative.
I am a Hindu from India.I would like to know more about how Heathenism is connected to Hinduism. What are the other points which are common in both? I beieve in “Advaita” philosphy of Hinduism. Can i become member of your community?
I agree that Heathanism is similar to Hinduism and Buddhism. And it is great to see that many other people think that Mythology teaches a lot, even more than rigid so-called logical books.
There is no connection between Hinduism and paganism/heathenism. Hinduism is NOT paganism. This aryanism nonsense is just simply another attempt for white people wo make slaves out of us and to bastardise our religion like they have been doing for centuries.
Raj Kumar , you should be ashamed of bringing racism here. These people are doing some genuine work and are honest with their beliefs. Why cant you see any good in these people? You are delusional and paranoid. Try to respect others. You don’t have to smell conspiracy in everything.
Raj Kumar , you should be ashamed of bringing racism here. These people are doing some genuine work and are honest with their beliefs. Why cant you see any good in these people? You are delusional and paranoid. Try to respect others. You don’t have to smell conspiracy in everything.
Moron, “aryanism” itself is racist ideology. Are you forgetting how many innocent jews perished in WW2 due to this dirty ideology? White people don’t know the first thing about Hinduism…They always turn Hinduism into a hippy cult without even understanding the basics. They go into crazy phases – one second they become hindu and the next second they become muslim.
Aryanism = Filth
Dear friend
I am a Vedic people of European origin. I have been living in Bharata (India) now for almost 8 years now. You are right to an extent in your theory.
However the Vedic way of life (it was never meant to a religion) goes much beyond you can possibly think.
There was a time when the Vedic faith or way of life was practiced all over the planet and this is the reason why you find so many similarities between the Vedic way of life and ancient European cultures.
The Vedas have world history that does back to hundreds of billions of years. Unfortunately after the Christian and Moslem conquests most of these manuscripts which could have proven these facts were destroyed. However we still have a large amount of knowledge in the form of Vedas to understand the beginning of this Kalpa(phase).
I would also ask you to do some more research into this subject so that you understand how deep the rabbit hole goes. I am sure it will surprise you.
This is an incorrect article. Let me break it down.
Islam/Christianity/Judaism = Abrahamic religions
Hinduism/Buddhism/Sikhism/Jainism = Dharmic religions
Druid/wicca/norse/Heathenism (and many others) = Paganism
Hinduism is classified as a dharmic religion and not a pagan religion. Paganism is just really a set of rituals and mythological beliefs whereas Hinduism actually has a sophisticated philosophy, code of conduct and a wide range of literature and teachings in the form of the Vedas and Gita. I respect paganism just like I respect all religions but it makes me sad when I see pagans distorting Hinduism and making bogus connections between Hinduism and paganism.
Hinduism is a misnomer for Sanatana Dharma. Sanatana Dharma is as ancient as the Earth itself. There is nothing comparable to it. Don’t stop your delving in at the near past and jump on the conclusions. Go to the mother root and see where you belong. Stopping in between the chronicles of time and declaring one’s roots is always misleading and conflicting. Do not restrict your soul to a time stop in the chronicles. The soul is eternal. So is the Sanatana Dharma. As long as you identify yourself as someone as you are identified right now, you are illusioned to be secured in that identity. As long as you comfort yourself with the identified secured position, you are not realizing your eternal nature as the pure soul.
I agree with this article. Sanathana Dharma is the oldest religion of all and the mother of all religions. It definitely influenced the early Pagan religion and even the old Buddhist and Hindu sages spoke European languages and the connection between Sanskrit and Nordic is too vast to just be a mere coincidence. But I find it unfortunate that some Indians here are giving their culture a bad name. Heathens have every right to identify with Sanathana as it was certainly the biggest influence on Heathenism and yet was never forced on us. Some historians say we are the same family, some say we were conquerors .. the bottom line is we were influenced by Sanathana for sure and have greater ties with Sanathana than we do with any of the Abrahamic religions. And Sanathan does not just belong to Indians, it belongs to mankind and a lot of the most devout Hindus and Buddhists today are Caucasian.
There’s a lot of comments here that suggest to me that their author’s don’t know anything about the subject at hand.
I won’t throw stones though, I live in a glass house!
Oh, one thing that DOES need to be repeated (for the umpteenth time), Heathenism generally regards Nazism and all that crap as being, well, a heap of steaming crap.
For his part, Hitler strongly ridiculed the proto-neo-heathens of the day and promoted Christianity as his preferred religion (and may I also point out that anti-Semitism emerged from Christian theology and has no basis in pre-Christian European traditions).
Enough! I fear I am waxing self-righteous. Ganesha, please smash this klesha!
Just because Hinduism believe in Gods and Goddesses and so do pagans, it does NOT mean that they are related. Once again white people are skimming the surface and cherry picking rather than digging deeper. I am a Hindu Indian and I get really offended when I see people trying to misrepresent my religion without having a clue about it. Be they pagans, Muslims, Christians etc. You don’t see Hindus go around insulting other people’s religions so why the hell does everyone keep insulting ours??? Just live and let live guys!!
And I really do NOT mean to offend white people, but the mentality that is required to be a true Hindu is simply not permitted by caucasian genetics. The values and principles of dharma (duty), loyalty, dedication, selfless love and sewa (charity), the eradication of ego is simply not a part of the white man’s mentality. He cannot, as hard as he tries, comprehend these things. Sorry if I have offended anyone but that is the truth. Caucasian people should just stick to Christianity because that is far more commensurate with their gentic makeup.
F***** weirdos
Oooh, I had no idea I’d caused such a little controversy.
Isn’t it interesting that the assertions for Hinduism being completely seperate and unrelated to anything else are so strongly remeniscent of the B.S. we hear from folkish Heathens and white supremacists? I’d like to argue this is another example of consistency among Indo-Europeans, but unfortunately it’s been my experience that racists are much the same regardless of where they come from.
For those of you who enjoyed my little opinion piece…cheers, thanks for reading.
After the blast of Mahabharata in Aryavart, All the Aryas has spread through out the world. They came into the contact of the tribes or they themselves established many colonies outside and the new races come into the existence. I won’t hesitate to say that all the human races are complete or partial result of Arya culture. Those who think that the Vedas and other Arya Arts are only the heritage of the Hindus of India are completely wrong because we all are same for our ancestors Arya. Suppose a person has two sons and one of them settles abroad. It doesn’t mean that he is no more the son of that person. The blood relations and the qualities of the blood never come to an end and the same thing is with the children of Arya who are scattered through out the world.
Well…I’m more inclined to believe that we Indo-Europeans originated from somewhere around the Black Sea, but I wouldn’t rule out the “Out of India” hypothesis as completely impossible.
In any case, yes, we are spiritual brothers. I would even go as far as to say that Hindus should be regarded as “elder brothers” by European Heathens and Pagans.
Our paths are not identical, but they are certainly closely related.
Europe, come back to your roots! We (India) are the last link to the ancient world and we have been keeping the christians and muslims at bay for thousands of years.
Can you imagine the dilemma of the first converted christians in Europe? Their God’s carried weapons and were strong (see any picture’s of Hindu deities and they all carry weapons) and instead they have been made to worship a ‘God’ who allowed himself to be nailed onto a cross.
Alfred Hillebrandt spoke of India as the ‘fatherland of mankind’ which ‘gave the original religion of our race,’ and he expressed the hope that European peoples, ‘who stemmed from Asia,…would re-attain the religion of their home.’
[...] recently made the point that we Heathens can learn a lot from the Indo-European traditions that are cousins to our own. In [...]
I don’t understand, are Europeans embarrassed of their own culture?
Like blonde haired blue eyed aryan, your not aryan and you never will be. Aryans are from the northern region in india and have light brown skin, and black hair and sometimes coloured eyes.
Europeans have NO connection whatsoever with Hinduism and it’s history aryans are indians so don’t call yourself something your not.
Keshav Parkash says:
“I don’t understand, are Europeans embarrassed of their own culture?”
Yep, sometimes. Sometimes proud, too.
“Like blonde haired blue eyed aryan, your not aryan and you never will be. Aryans are from the northern region in india and have light brown skin, and black hair and sometimes coloured eyes.”
Agreed. Europeans are not Aryans.
Aryan refers to a branch of the Indo-European family that migrated east and became the ancestors of the Persians, Afghans, Pakistanis, Northern Indians and probably some others that I’m forgetting.
“Europeans have NO connection whatsoever with Hinduism and it’s history aryans are indians so don’t call yourself something your not.”
I never called myself an Aryan and I never would. I want nothing to do with racism, socialism or nationalism of any kind. Don’t put words in my mouth.
On the other hand, European language and culture definitely is related to Indo-Iranian culture.
If you take the time to learn a little about ancient European mythology you’ll see a lot of paralells to Hinduism right away. If you look into early Greek philosophy, you’ll find a lot of ideas that are similar or identical to those expressed in Hindu or Buddhist philosophy.
I know you guys must be sick of Americans coming in, ripping off your culture and turning it into a new age pop abomination. That’s not what we’re trying to do here.
I’m not a Hindu and I’m not pretending to be. I’m simply acknowledging that I’ve learned a lot from Hindu philosophy and I still think it has a lot to offer. (Though from the number of angry comments I’ve gotten, I’m starting to wonder.)
I’m a Heathen, not a Hindu. I believe the two are related, but not identical. Is that clear enough for you all?
I am a heathen not a Hindu but I think all heathens can learn a few things from Hinduism. Hinduism is a very Beautiful culture with very intelligent philosophies.
Clint — don’t let self-loathing Indians intimidate you. Most Indians today know nothing about Hinduism or Buddhism anyway. And yes, we share a lot with Hindu and Buddhist philosophies and pantheons — though not with Indians. Google Stephen Knapp for more research on this. Heilsa!