Differences

I used to love bacon, chicken nuggets, and steak fajitas. When with friends Id occasionally and casually drink alcohol and I generally (I sin!) follow the ten commandments.

Now I'm dating Vikas (who is in India right now for 25 days, dangit!)who has a very interesting spiritual practice in addition to Hinduism. I don't know a lot about Hinduism but from what I can tell this spiritual practice (Dera Saucha Sauda) actually takes priority over Hinduism. Vikas doesn't discredit Christianity, Judaism,Islam, and of course Hinduism, he respects all religions. (Beyond this description you'd have to ask Vikas personally for his beliefs, I get confused.)

We don't celebrate the same holidays. His family celebrates Christmas, perhaps not for the same reason I do, but they accept my reasons. They also celebrate Thanksgiving (Indian style). His family celebrate Hindu holidays...holidays I can't even pronounce but I have the gist of them. There is a holiday for brothers and sisters and there is one where you throw colored powder at eachother (or something like that) called Holi(I think).

Followers of Dera Saucha Sauda do not eat meat nor eggs. Neither do they drink alohol. I usually find myself trying to find other reasons not to meat and eggs so when people ask my reasons I wont say "Well..my boyfriend doesnt eat them so I stopped.". It does reek of a controlling significant other, which is NOT the case. I am a lacto-vegetarian (pro dairy vegetarian but not pro ovo (eggs)) by choice. I don't drink alcohol anymore by choice.

We have many differences but these have been some of the bigger ones. We aren't trying to work through them we are just trying to work with them. We both sacrifice and adjust. The more we sacrifice for each other the more we find it's a sign of strength rather than weakness or subservience. Its an interesting life.