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What About Hinduism?
The word derives from an ancient Sankrit term
meaning "dwellers by the Indus River."
Hinduism is one of the oldest of the world's
religions. It dates back more than 3,000 years,
though its present forms are of more recent origin.
Today more than 90 percent of the world's Hindus
live in India.
Hinduism is so unlike any other religion that it is
difficult to define with any precision. It has no
founder. It origins are lost in a very distant past.
It does not have one holy book but several. There is
no single body of doctrine. Instead there is a great
diversity of belief and practice. It is a religion
that worships many gods. Yet it also adheres to the
view that there is only one God, called Brahman. All
other divinities are aspects of the one absolute and
unknowable Brahman.
Another distinctive feature of Hinduism is belief in
the transmigration of souls, or reincarnation.
Associated with this belief is the conviction that
all living things are part of the same essence.
Individuals pass through cycles of birth and death.
This means that an individual soul may return many
times in human, animal, or even vegetable form. What
a person does in the present life will affect the
next life. This is the doctrine of karma, the law of
cause and effect. The goal of the individual is to
escape this cycle, or wheel of birth and rebirth, so
that the individual soul, Atman, may eventually
become part of the absolute soul, or Brahman.
The writers of the Vedic hymns seem to have believed
in a heaven and hell to which the dead pass,
depending on the quality of their earthly lives.
Sometime after 600BC, however, the belief in
reincarnation appeared. Although at first confined
to small groups of ascetics, it soon spread rapidly
throughout India. The doctrine was first expounded
in written form in a body of literature called the
Upanishads, a term that means "sitting at the foot
of a teacher." The purpose of these works is the
gaining of a mystical form of knowledge that allows
the individual to escape the cycle of rebirths.
By the time the Buddha appeared in the 6th century
BC, the belief in reincarnation was firmly
established. From that time Hinduism's main concern
became release from the cycle of birth and death
instead of making offerings to please or pacify the
gods. Sacrifice became infrequent because of an
unwillingness to destroy living things. This
doctrine of reverence for life, called ahimsa,
became one of the chief teachings in Jainism.
At this time the primary older gods of the Vedas
named Brahma (not to be confused with Brahman),
Indra, Agni, and Varuna were slowly displaced by
newer deities primarily Vishnu, Shiva, and Shakti
who still have millions of devotees. Many of the
earlier gods were absorbed by these three. The Hindu
teaching on divine incarnation (gods becoming flesh)
made it possible for the older gods to be accepted
as incarnate in the newer ones. The religious
development of this period is reflected in two great
literary works, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
The Mahabharata, or Great Epic of the Bharata
Dynasty, is the world's longest poem. It is a masss
of legendary material about the struggles for power
between two families. It is also an extensive code
of conduct (dharma) to guide those seeking release
from the birth-death cycle. Within the narrative is
one of the most famous literary works in the world,
the Bhagavadgita, or "The Lord's Song." The book is
written in the form of a dialogue between Prince
Arjuna and his charioteer, Krishna an incarnation of
Vishnu. The Ramayana, also an epic poem, is about
24,000 couplets long. Its theme is the life of
Prince Rama and his adventures.
The Puranas contain a great variety of legendary
material, their main purpose was glorifying the gods
Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma. Of the 18 principal
Puranas that survive, the most popular is the
Bhagavata-Purana on the earth life as Krishna.
In the early part of this ear, the Hindus generally
worshipped without the aids of statues or other
images of the gods. By AD 300-650, however, the
worship of images in stone temples was firmly
established. The worship of female divinities had
also become common. The Mother Goddess, most
commonly called Shakti, was worshiped in various
forms and under differing names. She was the subject
of another body of literature called the Tantras.
Some animal and human sacrifices were revived by the
end of this era, as was the practice of suttee, the
burning of a widow on the funeral pyre of her dead
husband.
In the period immediately after 550 BC, Buddhism and
Jainism emerged, religions entered on the monastic
life. A strong emphasis on the ascetic life in these
religions had a profound influence on Hinduism.
Asceticism was unknown to the religion of the Vedas,
and the priestly class of Brahmins looked down upon
it. However, more and more young men became
religious devotees and gave up the worldly life to
become wandering hermits and beggars. Asceticism
grew rapidly and has remained a prominent feature in
Hinduism.
From AD 800 to 1800 the division of Hinduism into
sects and schools of philosophy, the writing of
devotional hymns to the gods, and the influence of
Islam in India occurred. By this time the creative
vitality of Hinduism had moved to southern India,
home of several of the devotional movements
collectively called bhakti.
Six schools of philosophy emerged during this time.
The two most significant were based on the teachings
of Sankara and Ramanuja. Sankara was the chief
exponent of the Vedanta school of philosophy, from
which most of the main currents of modern Hinduism
derive. The several school of Vedanta all believe in
the transmigration of souls, the authority of the
Vedas, Brahman as the creator of the world, and the
responsibility of the individual for his actions.
Sankara taught a doctrine called monism, which means
that all things are God, the world, and the
individual soul are basically one in spite of
appearances. Ramanuja, the single most influential
thinker for devotional Hinduism, was also of the
Vedanta school. His teachings differed, however,
from Sankara.
He believed that God, the soul, and matter are three
separate realities. The goal of the soul is to serve
God, just as the body is meant to serve the soul.
The goal of meditation is the contemplation of God.
An unusual school was founded in the 12th century by
Basava. It rejected all forms of image worship, the
Vedas, and all caste distinctions. It is probable
that Basava's teachings were influenced by Islam.
A similar doctrine was taught by Kabir in the 15th
century. He denied image worship, the castes,
asceticism, sacred texts, and pilgrimages. He
accepted the doctrine of reincarnation. His God was
called Rama, thought he accepted the minor gods of
Hinduism as having some reality. He was also a hymn
writer.
More significant than Hindu schools influenced by
Islam was the emergence of Sikhism. It was founded
by Kabir's disciple Nanak. Sikhism's theology is
basically Hindu, but it took over a number of
elements from both Islam and Christianity. It, too,
denies the use of images, and has a form baptism and
a communion meal. In the long run Hinduism probably
had a more powerful influence on Muslims living in
India than Muslims did on Hinduism.
Hindu devotional literature and hymns honoring
Vishnu and Shiva were first written in the Tamil
language. Collections appeared as early as the 17th
century. By the time Europeans arrived in large
numbers in India, they found a conservation religion
steeped in tradition. The chief aim was preserving a
rigid social order by means of complex rituals and
regulations.
British colonialism and the arrival of Christian
missionaries were the primary influence on Hinduism
from the early 19th century. Because of both
Hinduism underwent a revival.
While rejecting the doctrines of Christianity,
Hinduism was strongly influenced by its social
consciousness.
Although many divinities may be worshiped, modern
Hindus are generally divided into followers of
Vishnu, Shiva, or Shakti. Nearly all Hindus look
upon one of these as an expression of the ultimate
being, the one in charge of the destiny of the
universe.
Each group of followers holds the Vedas in high
regard, but each also has its own scriptures. In the
Bhagavadgita, for example, Vishne is honored in his
incarnation Krishna. Another incarnation, Rama, is
the hero of the Ramayana. Vishnu is the protector
and preserver of the world, and he is worshiped by
many cults in various forms besides Krishna and Rama.
The worship of the god is called Vaisnavism. The
beginnings of this cult were about the 7th century
BC> Shiva, a Sanskrit word meaning "auspicious one,"
is a more remote god than Vishnu. His worship is
called Shivaism. Shiva is a more difficult god to
understand than is Vishnu. He is regarded as both
destroyer and restorer. Doctrines about Shiva may
have merged roles that were once assigned to various
earlier gods.
Shiva has a female consort who goes under several
names. He is occasionally paired with Shakti, the
mother goddess. They and their sons Skanda and
Ganesa live on top of Mount Kailasa in the
Himalayas. He is depicted in a number of forms such
as a wandering beggar, half man and half female, or
a dancer.
Shakti is the mother goddess. Like Shiva, she can be
either beneficial or fierce, depending on her form.
As Parvati she is depicted as a beautiful woman in
middle age. As Kali she is a giantess with black
skin, a blood-red tongue, and large tusks.
Kali carries an assortment of weapons and wears a
garland of human skulls around her neck. The mother
goddess thus stands for all aspects of nature from
birth to death.
In addition to the three primary deities, there are
several others who are still worshiped. Ganesa, the
elephant-headed son of Shiva and Shakti, is prayed
to before all undertakings. Lakshmi, the wife of
Vishnu, is patroness of wealth. Sarasvati is the
goddess of learning and arts. Hanuman is the
monkey-god associated with adventures of Rama. He
appears as the personification of the power of God
on Earth. Manasa, the goddess of snakes, is
worshiped by peasants in some areas.
Many animals and plants are also regarded as sacred.
Most notable is the cow. All cattle are protected,
and even among castes that are not vegetarian, beef
is not eaten. Monkeys, tree squirrels, and some
snakes are also considered holy. Among sacred trees
are the banyan and the tulsi. All rivers are
considered somewhat holy, but the Ganges in the
north of India is the holiest of rivers because it
supposedly flows from the head of Shiva. It is the
focus of pilgrimage for millions.
People are also sacred according to their station of
life. Thus parents are holy to their children and
teachers to their students.
Temples of any significance hold a festival at least
once a year. Festivals are combinations of religious
ceremonies, processions of the locally favored god,
music, dances, and other forms of celebration. Most
festivals are related to the cycles of nature. The
New Year celebration, Diwali, takes place with
exchanges of gifts, lighting of ceremonial lamps,
gambling (a ritual designed to gain luck for the
coming year), and fireworks to frighten away spirits
of the dead.
Pilgrimages to holy places have been common since
the Vedic period. Certain places are considered
sacred because of a specific historical event,
connection with a legendary figure, the appearance
of a god, or location on the bank of a holy river.
Visits to sacred places are supposed to confer some
benefit upon the pilgrim frequently the healing of a
dread disease. People who travel to Varanasi (Benares)
when death is near hope to be released from the
birth-death cycle by dying near the Ganges Rover.
Services are not carried out at fixed times as the
are in Western religions. The worship itself is an
act of calling forth for god's presence and
entertaining the deity as a royal guest. Temple
visitors may take part in chanting or listening to
doctrinal expositions. Images of the gods are
honored with gifts of flowers, fruit, or perfumes,
and visiting worshipers are given small portions of
consecrated food.
In addition to temple worship, there are daily
household rites, including an offering of food,
often fruit, or flowers to the gods and recitation
of the Vedas. Household worship focuses on the
transitions in a person's life, such as the rite of
passage from childhood to adult responsibility,
marriage, or childbirth.
The intention of this pamphlet has been to point out
some similarities between Hinduism and many of the
New Age concepts and philosophies that are slowly
diluting the message of Christ. In particular is the
changing attitude from us being good stewards of
Gods creation to making that creation god itself,
and having overall rights (sometimes greater than
mans).
Very few people in the western world would in this
day and age invite a cow into their house and
entertain it as God; however when things are placed
in front of us in a very logical and scientific
manner we are often eager to make that leap. Mother
nature now becomes more important than the Deity of
Christ and His teachings.
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TLEM