You are a bhakta.
You are the ultimate devotee of God. For you to be Hindu is to be intoxicated with the love of God. You spend your days reading the Gita Govinda or the words of the other great bhakti poets, and may chant and dance to the lyrical songs of the saints. Intimacy with the divine overshadows all worldly concerns.
Read stories of interest to you:
Stop Building Hindu Temples: In their zeal to erect temples, America's Hindus aren't asking who will maintain them years from now. By Shoba Narayan
Quiz: How well do you know Hinduism's gods and goddesses?
Pilgrimage to Ganga: A travel log to Hinduism's most sacred waters. By Marlene Goldman
When God is Your Dance Partner: When I dance, I am, for brief moments, free of my earthly ties. By Rama Balachandran
Discuss your Hindu identity with other bhakti Hindus.
Books and other products of interest to bhakti Hindus:
Bhagavad Gita, translated by Barbara Stoler-Miller
Gita Govinda, translated by Barbara Stoler-Miller
Devi: Goddesses of India, edited by John Stratton Hawley and Donna M. Wulff
CD: Divine Singing, Chaitanya Kabir
Hindu Goddesses, by David Kinsley
CD: Chants of India, Ravi Shankar
You are a philosopher Hindu.
You are philosophical and abstract. Your Hinduism is intellectual; your love of the tradition is best found in the great speculative sources of the Upanishads and the philosophical traditions of the Acharyas. In your spare time, you're sometimes caught reciting from memory Patanjali's Yoga-sutras. You read lots of books and are a true sojourner along the jnanamarg, the path of knowledge.
Read stories of interest to you:
Excerpts from the Upanishads, translated by Patrick Olivelle
-- Reaching the Seed
-- Life Itself Does Not Die
-- The Breathing Behind Breathing
Has Hatha Yoga Been Had?: The Hindu roots of yoga are nowhere to be seen in America's gyms. By Shoba Narayan
A Democratic Inclination: Are Hindu societies predisposed toward democracy? By Tunku Varadarajan
Discuss your Hindu identity with other philosopher Hindus.
Books and other products of interest to you:
Upanisads, translated by Patrick Olivelle
The Rig Veda, edited by Wendy Doniger
Vedanta Philosophy, by Swami Vivekananda
You are a traditionalist.
You are a traditionalist, staunch in your conviction that the authority of the Vedas (scripture), Shastras (rules of conduct), and Parampara (traditions) contain all that Hindus need to know about how to live. You have great reverence for the past and for tradition. You're most unwilling to cast aside what is tried and true in favor of passing fads or modern interpretations of Hinduism.
Read articles of interest to you:
A Day of Play: Celebrating Holi: By Hema Nair
Ayurveda and Indian Culture:
Anecdotal suggestions for balancing vata, pitta, and kapha. By Shoba Narayan
The Vasthu Vibe: Organizing living space according to the rules of Vasthu. By Shoba Narayan
Discuss your Hindu identity with other traditionalists.
Books and other products of interest to you:
Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion, photo book by Stephen P. Huyler
The Laws of Manu, translated
by Wendy Doniger
Beneath a Vedic Sky: A Beginner's Guide to the Astrology of Ancient India
by William R. Levacy
You are a cultural Hindu.
You are a secular or cultural Hindu, perhaps not unlike Jawaharlal Nehru (who identified himself as a Hindu, but as one with little interest in God or in some popular expressions of the faith). You are a rationalist, but value Hindu culture because it provides community and identity for yourself and your children. You are deeply committed to India and its civilizational excellence.
Read stories of interest to you:
The Invisible Religion: The place of Hinduism in American society. By Tunku Varadarajan
Tuning out the Teletubbies: How to raise Hindu children in America. By Shoba Narayan
Seven Sacred Steps: A modern Hindu couple weds in an ancient ceremony. By Tunku Varadarajan
Welcome to Our World: The message of the Hindu baby-naming ceremony remains simple, despite the glitz of computer horoscopes and temple websites. By Hema Nair
The Case for Arranged Marriages By Arthur J. Pais
Gandhi, Apu, and Me: You haven't truly arrived as a community till you've been the butt of a 'Saturday Night Live' skit. By Sreenath Sreenivasan
A Question of Identity: Do you have to be religious to be Hindu? By Tunku Varadarajan
Talk with other cultural Hindus on our boards.
Books and other products of interest to you:
India's Best Temple Architecture
Vivah--Design a Perfect Hindu Wedding
Book of Hindu Names
Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God: Retracing the Ramayana Through India,
by Jonah Blank
The Mahabharata: DVD of 1990 TV version
An Introduction to Hinduism, by Gavin Flood
Arranged Marriage: Stories, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
The Musical Donkey: A Panchatantra Classic (Karadi Tales), by Saeed Jaffrey
You are a world traveler.
You enjoy much that Hinduism has to offer, but in the spirit of Hindu tolerance, you also seek to learn from and appreciate other religious values and ideas. You are not as devout nor as literal as your bhakta or traditionalist counterparts, but you are sympathetic to Hindu practices and beliefs. A bit of dreamer, you refuse to be pigeonholed.
Read articles of interest to you:
From the Puja Room to the UU Chapel: Finding a spiritual home with the Unitarian Universalists, with the help of a Hindu priest. By Scotty McLennan
The God Commodity: The appearance of Hindu gods in the American kitsch market. By Michelle Caswell
Confessions of a Closet Vegetarian: As a Hindu, I don't eat meat--even when I have to cook it for others. I also don't preach what I practice. By Shoba Narayan
Talk with other world travelers on our boards.
Books and other products of interest to world traveler Hindus:
Video: Joseph Campbell: Mythos (DVD)
The Illustrated World's Religions, by Huston Smith
Wheel of Fire and Other Stories, edited by Shashi Tharoor
Hindu Wisdom for All God's Children, by Francis X. Clooney
Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization, by Heinrich Zimmer, ed. Joseph Campbell
A Day in the Life of India, photo book by Michael Tobias, Raghu Rai, and David Cohen
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