I attended a gathering of people from India and they recited a Jai Sri Ram chant. Some would recite, others would recite for a short while and go back to talking or just sitting. What is the purpose of chanting?
Finally!! There are many types of chanting. Priests at our temples chant in Sanskrit to invoke the deities through sound. (Somewhat like a Latin mass in Catholicism) The other type of chanting is called bhajan, and it is singing praise to any or all of our Gods. So I'm not sure which type you'd be referring to. The purpose in bot, very generally is to invoke the presence of God, and uplift the spirits of everyone in attendance.
Does it matter what language the chant is in? I understand that Islam believes the Qu'ran can only be understood properly in the Arabic, that it is somehow holy, is the same said for Sanskrit?
The original type is almost always in Sanskrit. The devotional singing can be in any Indian language like Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, or a few dozen more. Yes Sanskrit is considered the liturgical language ... the language Gods most likely understand.
How long have you been a Hindu? Were you born into a Hindu family? I was born into a non-religious family.
I was born into agnosticism as well, and Hinduism found me this lifetime at this body's physical age 19. What was the event, or series of events that got you searching? I'm not sure if I've ever met a person who went from non-religious to Christian before.
A friend of mine married a Hindu lady that converted to Christianity. Her family refused to talk to her for a few years and I guess that sparked my curiosity. The couple has been married for 15 years now and the family has come to accept them both. I'm friends with the family on social media and noticed they post jokes about Christianity and make fun of Christian beliefs so I thought it was time to investigate Indian religious philosophy to finally figure out what they believe.
Ah, lol, I thought you were asking why did I want to learn about Hinduism. It’s a pretty good story but I’ll shorten it. When I was 18 I spent an evening arguing with a Christian about the existence of God. After a few hours of discussion I realized I didn’t understand Christianity very well so I borrowed a Bible and started to read sections here and there, looking for holes in their religious argument. After a few years I picked up the Bible again to try and give it an honest read, by the time I finished the first book of the New Testament I believed that what Christ taught was true. After another year or two I read through the Psalms and experienced true repentance and conversion. That was about 15 years ago. I left out a lot of details but you get the picture. I found a copy of “Hinduism for Dummies.” I’ll try to read that over the next week.
