024 – From Islam to Hinduism
Discussing with Farhan Qureshi on Islam and Hinduism. Subscribe to Farhan at Youtube
Timestamps:
0:00 Introductions
1:13 Farhan’s background as a Muslim and how he ended up leaving Islam. Salafism and the differences between Salafism and Sunnism
9:00 Did Farhan look into Sufism or did he just bypass it to Salafism?
17:01 How dogma limits peoples’ potential in life. Is atheism a dogma?
18:50 Farhan’s take on Dawkins and Sam Harris. The perennial philosophy and the truth of oneness – What does this even mean?
22:10 Meditation and psychedelics. What is the experience of people on psychedelics (shrooms) like? What does science say about psychedelics?
31:25 What is Idealism? Advaita Vedanta.
34:10 How Farhan ended up leaving Islam. Why did Farhan choose Hinduism and not other religions or atheism?
39:50 Farhan’s planned debate with Muhammad Hijab. Hijab’s clip straw-manning David Wood.
43:07 Farhan’s view of Hinduism – meditation, mindfulness. Why did Farhan take up the Hindu label? The Jungian archetypes
50:52 What is God to Farhan? Does a God exist? How does suffering, which is an integral part of the human experience, relate to the idea of a God? The problem of suffering – Is it beneficial?
58:01 Reincarnation – Is it even possible? Is there any truth to the people who claim to be reincarnated and remember their past lives? Near-Death experiences (NDEs) – How common are such experiences?
1:06:10 Does Farhan believe in Karma? What are Karma and consequentialism?
1:09:14 Hinduism and meat-eating. What Karma comes to meat-eaters? Shaktism and animal sacrifice – diversity in the Hindu community. Evolution of Hinduism.
1:20:50 What aspects of Hinduism are bad? Problems with the Guru-follower relationships and how they quickly devolve into cults. The caste system and its connection to the Hindu scriptures.
1:28:58 The problems with putting religious texts on the higher epistemological ground and using them to make policy without questioning them.
1:33:45 Farhan responds to the theory that the Kaaba is a Shiva temple and that Muslims do Hindu rituals e.g. the way they dress. Did Jesus go to India? If yes, when? Is Muhammad from Petra?
1:36:40 Are the caste system and tribalism natural?
1:39:59 How can people find accurate information about Hinduism given the relative perceptions and subjectivity in Hinduism?
1:41:10 What was Farhan’s basis to describe hell in Islam? What is the mainstream Islamic position on hell?
1:45:20 Final remarks.
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