Apparently, some people claiming to be Sanatanis are too protective of " #Hinduism", like it is some intellectual property. I can understand where such a fear is coming from - some westerners have done appropriation of such things in the past.

#DoNotFightOverYoga

But taking it on the offensive and that too in the 21st century does not seem apt for our Indian right wing folks. The whole world knows that #yoga originated in India. But no, some of our right-wingers want to brand Yoga as Hindu and are fighting about it.

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Is the debate itself wrong? No.

But I would like to have a clear definition of what Hindu is. If one defines Hindu as a geographical identity, it is very obvious that the Yoga as a science & art originated in the land of Bharat and that is known universally.

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The word 'Hindu' came about as reference to the lands to the east of the 'Sindhu' river or 'Indus' as the people outside the land called it.

Was there any particular religion only followed in this land? No. There were and are hundreds of belief systems here.

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Sanatanis themselves never referred to their culture and practices using the term Hindu or Hinduism.

One can be a believer and be a Hindu. One can be a non-believer of a God and be a Hindu. It is a phenomenon peculiar only among the Hindus.

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You cannot be a non-believer and be a Muslim or a Christian - it simply does not work so in other religions. But, if there is an atheist who resides in a Christian dominated country like the USA, are they deprived of their citizenship rights? Obviously no.

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Then why are we trying to do that kind of boxing for 'Hinduism' alone?

'Hindu' as a cultural entity embraces all sorts of people, whether they are astikas or nastikas or someone who wants to stay outside of even these two buckets.

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If we see Hindu as a geographical entity, only then it is all encompassing of one's culture, belief systems, etc. including even one's clothing habits. That would make the most sense to even foreigners who have difficulty trying to understand us as a group.

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Now, the peril of calling a science & art like Yoga as Hindu, in a strictly religious connotation is, that it does not give us an opportunity to embrace and bring in people of other faiths who want to understand & perhaps even transition into Sanatana Dharma.

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Yoga is the doorway through which many logical minds can step inside the castle of Sanatana Dharma and see its true inner beauty.

But if we close that doorway branding the doors in the name of religion, that would be a tragedy in my opinion.

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I would dare say neither Krishna nor Swami Vivekananda nor Adi Shankara who revived and spread the Sanatana Dharma at various points of time all over this land and taking it to many other parts of the world, would approve of such a tragical step.

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