The symbolic elements which have significance for me would be mainly superstitious beliefs, like black cats, or certain elements of karma and various eastern philosophies, like respect for life and all of god's creatures.

I believe that the earth and all of its creatures are governed by a system of good and evil, karma to be exact. I believe that a man named Siddharta is god incarnate, and that he reached that level by becoming one with the universe, through good deeds, prayer, and total ego loss and a massive amount of self reflection.

1. My supernatural beings are all superseded by an all powerful god, but there are certain deities, such as Ram, Krishna, and various others that I still have a respect for. In my religion, Hinduism, there are hundreds of different gods.
2. The religious specialists in my religion are limited to a certain caste of people, called Brahmin's. Only they can perform religious rites and becoming members of the priesthood in India, at least traditionally.

Some supernatural abilities are people that claim to be able to create something out of nothing, basically making matter appear. Others are extreme resistance to pain, levitation and other miracles.

Some rituals include going to the Ganges river, a holy river in India, when you are born and when you die. Others include cremation upon death, and annual festivals, like Divalil, the festival of lights.

The pathway to ecstasy in my religion is complete and utter ego loss, which is akin to connecting to the greater universe, also, transcending human desires is very good.

Hinduism has a tradition that dates back thousands of years with many sculptures, art, monuments, writings and a plethora of other religious themed art.

Daily life is affected by the extreme nonviolence, not eating any meat, and having respect for certain sacred animals, like cows and monkeys

I believe in Hinduism mainly because I was born into it. I realize that had I been born an orthodox Jew, or into a Muslim family, I would probably practice that religion, but since my father is from India, and I am half Indian, I follow that tradition. For me, religion is more about retaining my culture and heritage in a different country, than an actual belief in Hindu symbols. That is not to say I do not believe in god, but I do take the majority of religious texts, Hindu or not, as mainly metaphorical, and not literally at all. I think Hinduism is a good choice for me because it allows a great amount of freedom, especially the sect which I belong to. There are very few extremely dogmatic rules in Hinduism, and mostly people are allowed to pick and choose which tenets they follow extremely well, and those that are ok to break sometimes. Nonviolence is very important, but it is not the be all and end all.

It is good that we practice it during peacetime, but looking at Indians history, they are not absolutely opposed to using force, it is a last resort though. I follow very few traditions, but I will outline the ones I do subscribe to. I try not to hurt living things unneedlessly, but I am an avid hunter, and I also have no problem eating meat. A few rituals that I am involved in are a holy festival of lights, called “Divali”, basically the Indian version of Christmas. We are given presents and have a huge party, in which we all get bags of different colored paint, and throw it on each other. It is meant to symbolize love of life, and the brilliant moments in which humanity shines.

Another tradition I took part in was the cremation of my grandfather, and the journey my father and I took to the heart of India, to the ganges river, in order to rest my grandfathers ashes in the holiest of all rivers. This was a very eye opening experience for me, and it was one of the first times I connected with my religious history in any meaningful way. I enjoyed going to India and going among my own people. Donating money to the poor is also a very big part of Hinduism, and I try to help those that are less fortunate than me as much as I can. I feel that as a hindu, I do practice the basic tenets of the religion, but I do not get caught up in the seedier aspects, which go against the basic premise of the religion, such as ethnic or sectarian violence, rigid adherence to a caste system, and the belief that only certain families may be born into religious positions.

All in all it works out well for me. I think that keeping my religion is essential to my well being as an Indian American, and not just an American. If I lose sight of my heritage and all the benefits it brings, I will have lost a part of my soul and disappointed my ancestors in a very bad way. Not only are there benefits like that, there is also a certain camaraderie and love of man that this brings, and it serves my interests as a human being well, in order to communicate with my fellow man. This has long reaching implications for not only my social health, but my economic health as well.