Hindus beware, the world will respect your culture only if you respect it ! : François Gautier

Gautier wrote the points presented here on his Facebook Page on 1^st June 2017, where he appealed to Hindus that they should not use inappropriate English equivalenFrom this article it will be clear that the deep study of Hindu Dharma a French author has, no one else does.ts of original Sanskrit words.

1. Stop using ‘The God fearing’ phrase. Hindus do not fear God. Hindus believe that God is Omnipresent and we are a part of God. We are not afraid of God since He is not separate from us. We are one.

2. When a person dies, RIP (Rest In Peace) are not the correct words, do not use these.

Instead use ‘Om Shanti’, ‘Sadgati’ or ‘May his soul attain Moksha or Heavenly abode. Hindu religion does not subscribe to the words ‘Soul’ or ‘Resting’. Alternate words for Soul are ‘Atman’ and ‘Jiva’.

3. ‘Ramayan’ and ‘Mahabharat’ are not mythology. ‘Shriram’ and ‘Shrikrushna’ are not mythological characters. They are great heroes in our history.

4. There should be no guilt in performing Idol worship. Never say that this is symbolic. All religions follow different forms of Idol worship – The Cross, Holy letters or phrases, etc. The ‘murtis’ are not Idols, statues or images. Do not use these words to describe ‘murti or vigraha’. If words like ‘Karma, Guru, Yoga and Mantra’ are commonly used, why not ‘murti’ ?

5. ‘Shri Ganesh’ and ‘Shri Hanuman’ are not ‘Elephant God’ or ‘Monkey God’. Write only ‘Shri Ganesh’ and ‘Shri Hanuman’.

6. Do not call our temples ‘Prayer halls’. The temples are ‘Devalayas – The abodes of God’ and not a place to recite prayers !

7. Do not ask your children to blow out candles placed on a birthday cake and celebrate their day ‘full of darkness’. Do not spit / blow on the ‘Fire God’. Rather ask the children to light a lamp and recite this prayer – ‘Tamaso ma Jyotirgamaya’, which means – O’ God of Fire ! Lead me to light from the dark’. This has a deep impact on the mind.

8. Hindus believe that everything is Divine. The Christian missionaries and Europeans who talk of ‘Church versus the State’ and ‘Science is opposed to Religion’ doctrines have coined the terms, ‘Spirituality and Materialism’ in India.

In India, Sages are scientists and Sanatan Dharma is based on scientific ideas.

9. ‘Sin’ is not the correct equivalent of ‘Paap’ (in Sanskrit). In our religion, there are only ‘Dharma’ and ‘Adharma’. ‘Adharma’ leads to ‘Paap’ !

10. ‘Meditation’ and ‘Breathing exercises’ are not the correct equivalents of‘Dhyan’ and ‘Pranayam’. The English terms convey the wrong meaning. Use the original words – ‘Dhyan’ and ‘Pranayam’.

Always bear in mind that the world respects only a culture that is respected by its own people.