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
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.
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.
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.
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
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
