Hindu reader/writer - able to help with dialogue?

Lineykins said:

Hi,

Just hoping that someone can help me with a line of dialogue for a character I have who is Hindu.

Would they be likely to say something like "Brahma protect us all" when finding out about a huge, world-altering problem?
I guess I need something similar to "God help us all" being uttered, but keeping true to what a Hindu might say.

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Not Hindu here. I did take Hinduism class and am currently working on a character who is Hindu with someone who is Hindu. (My attempts to find more than one person failed. They are all busy or I can't find them.)

And no, it doesn't work that way. Totally different religious bases. And totally different philosophies on how to define the divine. So entirely different ways of cursing. (And the idea of taking a deity's name in vain/invoking them is *mostly* a Christian thing from the religions I've studied. In other religions you pray for help, formally. You ask...)

As a side note, the Old Testament was huge, huge on names and the power of names. I've never seen a religion outside of Judeo-Christian that was so obsessed with names. That's probably why calling the lord's name and asking for guidance using God's name is a big deal.

My character is a teenage boy in New York, parents from India, highly intelligent, Hindu, vegetarian, believes in non-violence, karma and reincarnation as a means of eventually becoming one (enlightenment, self-realization) with Brahma, the eternal spritual truth.
Hope I have given enough information?

Many thanks for any help that can be offered.

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What part of India? Which district of India do his parents come from? What's his surname (which is broken by district)?

BTW, not all Hindus are vegetarian, really. Mostly the ban is on eating cow. Milk and dairy are *sometimes* fine. But that depends on the caste your boy is from and how observant he is. (Also what region)

Also kinda seems like you need to study a bit more on Hinduism overall. Brahma is a God. He is not the eternal truth... He is an aspect of the truth. Yes, there are sects that hold him up as being the highest form, but you don't actually "merge" with him...

Anyway, you need: surname (which will contain the caste), location in India (which will limit the surnames), and the sect of Hinduism (which most likely will be by region.)

BTW, outsiders of Hinduism mostly think that Hinduism is about multiple Gods and worshipping them in that ever-so self-serving "You are pagan" way. In fact, that's why they choose Hinduism... but that's not the core of the religion. It has two parts... and to ignore the inner spiritual part rather than just the God part is kinda like having blinders on...

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

padnar is Hindu. She's currently bereaved, but shows up sometimes. You could try PMing her.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Lineykins said:

Thank you Rachel - and good pick-up - I left a letter off - should have typed "Brahman". I think I really need to talk to person who is Hindu to get help with the line of dialogue, but I appreciate your contribution. Hinduism is (to my little brain) quite a complex religion/way of life, that seems to have many variations.

Many thanks Siri - that is a great idea, but as Padner is bereaved (sorry to hear) I won't bother her about this. But thank you very much for the suggestion.

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yeah I am Padma . I lost my son . I was haunting this board because I wanted to know whether there is a book where I can talk to my dead son. I found this post

You can show as if the guy falls in the feet of elders . Elders will bless live long . What language you character speaks ?

@lineykins

Asking my Hindu friend again, but I swear I asked her this before and she said No. 'cause I tried it and she said, "Sorry, that's wrong." As in there is no way. As I said earlier.

Invoking names is a Christian/Jewish/Islam thing, especially in the way you're thinking. It's not universal. It's my big nitpick with Fantasy religions too. (as in the genre).

Also, you still need to narrow the sect/region his parents come from which will influence both the surname and the language he speaks. (Also time period, but it seems modern).

For example, my friend comes from Bengal, so speak Bengali, but Bengali isn't spoken in other regions. Her surname comes from the highest caste for her region alone, it's that specific. She said that her hometown celebrates a certain goddess in the Hindu religion (I'm not specifying for her privacy). The shared language of India is English and Hindi.

Padnar comes from a different region of India... her answers also will need the region.

Hinduism is a lot more fractured than you're thinking... so narrowing the sect is a good thing. It's not as unified as Christianity and the different regions often disagree with each other (as my Indian friend highlighted to me.)

Narrow your field. Makes it easier on the people answering your questions.

To give you a concrete idea of why I'm insisting this:
http://www.mapsofindia.com/culture/indian-languages.html

http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/religionsinindia.htm

And of Hinduism, there are many, any sects which are dependent on the region more than distributed evenly. The geography is important for setting up the background of your character.

Narrow the region and sect. >.<;; I got this lecture already from several Indian people. I had to fix a lot of things because of it. So trust me on it. Pick your geography. Really. It does matter *that* much.