Acharya Prashant begins by stating that Sikhs have their central scripture, and Jains also have their central philosophy. The moment one says the word 'non-violence', Jains come to mind. He then questions which central scripture Hindus have. He points out that one can be a Hindu even without having read any scripture, or even without being able to name any of their scriptures. There isn't just one scripture; there are so many. Among all these scriptures, the common Hindu does not give a central or supreme place to any single one. He illustrates this by saying that when he tells people to read the Gita, which emphasizes the oneness of the soul, people come to him in opposition, citing the Manusmriti and the Garuda Purana. For such people, the Gita and the Garuda Purana are the same, and the Upanishads and the Manusmriti are equal. They do not know which scripture to give the highest place to. First, they haven't read any scripture. Second, even if they have, they don't know which of the thousands of scriptures is central. He then moves to philosophy (Darshan), noting that there are six main theistic philosophies and two or three atheistic ones, each with numerous branches and sub-branches. It's a complete free-market democracy where anyone can believe anything and still be called a Hindu. Because of this, anything is permissible, even destroying one's own pilgrimage sites in the name of modernization and beautification. This is not possible among Jains. If a Jain eats meat, he cannot call himself a Jain, at least not openly. Similarly, if a Sikh says he does not believe in the Guru Granth Sahib, he will no longer be considered a Sikh. In Hinduism, however, people claim to be Hindu for various reasons: because their father was a Hindu, because they celebrate Holi and Diwali, or because they eat certain foods. Anything goes in Hinduism. The two things that are actually at the center of a religion are its philosophy (Darshan) and the scripture that contains its exposition. For Hindus, these are the Upanishads and the philosophy of Vedanta. But in Hinduism, these two things, despite being present, are as good as absent.
