About Hinduism

Religion

Religion is a Latin term that originally meant to bring or tie back. It is all that returns to or connects to God, and it demonstrates the attainment of God-realization. Religion satisfies a profound inner longing in a man seeking divine consolation, peace, and solace. Religion is a broad concept that encompasses a variety of beliefs. The different worship modes are Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. This paper examines Hinduism, including its values and traditions.

According to Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism

According to Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism, the Charleston Advisor (10-13), Hinduism is faith or way of life for Hindus and is the world’s oldest religion. Practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanatana-Dharma which stands for the eternal law or the eternal way beyond the human species and Vaidika-Dharma which means the religion of other Vedas who are the foundational scriptures of Hinduism. Unlike other religions, like Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam, which owe their origin to their ancient prophets and have fixed dates, Hinduism is not founded by any prophet and has no fixed dates. Rather, Hinduism is a religion free from religious fanaticism, is not born by the teachings of a particular prophet, nor is based on a set of dogmatic teachings done by a particular set of teachers. It is regarded as a fusion or synthesis of different Indian cultures and traditions with diversified roots and have no particular founder. A Hindu is a believer who believes and practices Hindu beliefs. However, different definitions are given to the word Hindu depending on the individual understanding of the Hindu religion or a unique practice. In one of the meetings with Santana Dharma Sabha, Lokamanya Tilak says: “A Hindu is he who believes that Vedas contains self-evident and axiomatic truths.” The Hindu Maha Sabha defines Hindu as ”A Hindu is an individual who believes in a religion that has its origin in India”. According to their unique practice of cremation, the Hindus are known as those who burn their dead and preserve the ashes.

Origin and Significance

In Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism, The Charleston Advisor (10-13), the origin and significance of the term Hindu date back when a part of the great Aryan race moved from Central Asia settling in a district that is adjacent to River Sindhu. The Aryan people were called Hindu from the word Sindhu which was mispronounced by the Persians. This makes the word Hindu a corrupt word. The Persians gave them their current name to all the districts between Punjab and Benaras as they spread all the way to Genga. The name Hindu is of geographical, national, and racial importance. This is because the history of their nation is bound up with that name.

Hindu Denominations

Joshipura and Smita in Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism state that the Hindu religion can be subdivided into a number of currents. The historical division has six philosophies’ (darsanas), two of which are schools and are the most prominent (Vendata and Yoga). The other four are classified by primary deities (Viashanavism/Vishnu, Shaivsm/Shiva, Shaktism/Devil and Smartism/ treating five different deities equally). According to Quuack, Hinduism, Atheism, and Rationalism, it is stated that Hinduism has the acceptance of numerous divine beings where many Hindus consider deities to be aspects and manifestations of a supreme being. Notable features include a belief in the existence soul, reincarnation and karma, as well as the belief in Dharma. The existence of a soul is known as Atman, the reincarnation is thus done on an individual’s atman (soul/self), and the belief in Dharma is a belief in duties, rights, laws, virtues, conduct, and the right way to live.

Field Report

I had a one-to-one discussion with one Indian man so that I could come to terms with their in-depth beliefs, doctrines, philosophies, and worship ways. I was privileged to interact with one of the Indian women, born of the Hindu religion and staunch at that, Pinky (email address - [email protected]).

Hindu Worship

Worship is defined as an expression of devotion, reverence, and love for God. Usually, the devotee prays to God with gratitude for granting him intense devotion and delivering them from the veil of ignorance. Worship is an effort of the Upasaka, from the word Upasana, which means sitting near God. It is an approach to the chosen ideal or object of worship through meditation, and according to Sastara and Guru’s teachings, it dwells steadily in the current of one’s thought compared to a thread of oil poured from one vessel to another (Tailadharavat). The Indians worship a deity they know as Mahavir, the twenty fourth and last ford maker. Pinky is not certain on how Mahavir became a deity but according to Hinduism, Atheism, and Rationalism by Quuack, (631), it is stated that Mahavir was born of a royal family, the current Bihar. He left his home at the age of 30, to pursue the awakening of spirituality. He became a monk after abandoning worldly materials including clothes, and for the next twelve years of his life, he practiced severe penance and intense meditation, after which he attained Omniscience. He travelled all over India, teaching virtues and like non-violence, truth, chastity, and non-attachment. It is believed that he attained liberation from death and life at 7. Pinky explains that worshiping purifies their hearts, generates harmony within oneself, steadies the mind, and leads to communion, fellowship, and God-realization. Ritual worship among them entails worship of an object which is used as an image, or a picture, or an emblem. The choice is made naturally because of the perceived effect on the mind. Usually know as Puja, an image represents a divine form and is used as a tool for worship and is adored. The object of adoration is the same for different worshippers but is named differently due to the difference in worshippers. The Indians have ultimate respect, or all the religions believe that God reveals Himself in different ways to worshipers depending on the way a worshipper worships Him as stated in Hinduism, Atheism, and Rationalism by Quuack. Therefore, there is no religion that is better than another and there is only one God worshiped.

Hindu Philosophy

According to Indians and as explained in Hinduism, Atheism, and Rationalism by Quuack, (631), the form or image that they worship is said to be an external symbol of God for worship. As explained to me by Pinky, the individual I interviewed, Hindus believe that an idol is a support for a neophyte and a prop for their spiritual childhood and acts as a reminder of God. Steadiness of mind is obtained by image worshipping, and the symbol is believed to have an absolute indispensable capability to fix the mind. Without the help of an external aid in the initial stages (the image), the mind can never be centralized, Pinky expounds to make me understand. They highly support their idol worship practice by claiming that the worship of an idol makes a man’s concentration easier and simpler, and it is a known mode of self-realization. However, it is a wonder and a miracle how regular worship and applying different modes of demonstration of inner feelings of divine recognition in an idol brings the idol to life and how the idol is then able to speak and can solve presented problems and answer questions.

Hindu Mythology

Hindus mythology is their concretized philosophy. It is an inspiration to readers through precepts and laudable examples which guide them to attain perfection. Mythology has reference to anything that is unreal but has a presented truth as clothed in conceptual categories. Mythology helps one grasp a subtle philosophical truth through what is considered a myth. Through instructive stories and illumination of discourses, Pinky says, mythology stamps on mind of subtle and abstract teachings of the Vedas and paves the way for men to lead a divine life and attain perfection, immortality, and freedom.

Hindu Symbols

Symbols are a necessary and beneficial part of one’s material, as well as spiritual, life. Hindus value different symbols which have different meanings. Tilaka, also known as a mark of auspiciousness, is put on the forehead with a sandal paste (by devotees of Siva), sacred ashes (by devotees of Vishnu), or Kumkuma (by worshippers of Devi). It is usually applied between the eyebrows and indicates the point at which the spiritual eye opens. Saivas apply three horizontal lines while Vaishnavas apply three vertical lines, but some apply just one. According to the scripture as written in the Hinduism, Atheism, and Rationalism by Quuack (628):

”An individual whose forehead has no Tilaka is compared to a woman with no husband, and a mantra whose meaning is not known while doing Japa, a head that fails to bend before Holy personages, a merciless heart, a house that has no well, a village where there is no temple, a country which has no river, a society with no leader, wealth that is denied to charity, a preceptor who as no disciple, a country with injustice...........all of which deserve condemnation, because they only exist for the sake of their names.”

That Scripture gives a clear significance of the Tilaka. The tuft (utility and significance) is the most scientific and religious mark. It states that religious acts must be performed after tying the tuft, except for funerals and death anniversaries, when the tuft has to be untied. Pinky affirms that it has a salutary effect on an essential part of the brain and the central nervous system.

Beliefs

Some of the prominent themes in Hindu belief include Dharma which stands for ethics and duties, samsara which stands for a continuing cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth, Karma which is an action, intent, and outcome/consequence among others.

Dharma is considered an utmost goal of human beings, and its concept includes behavior that is considered to be in one accord with the order that is responsible for making life and the universe a possibility. All the human beings are expected to accept and respect it for there to be sustenance in harmony and order in the world.

Karma is a translation for an action, work, or a deed. It is a Vedic theory where moral law is the cause and effect. This theory is interpreted as explaining the present circumstances of an individual with reference to their past actions. According to Pinky, one of the major Hindu teachings state that the future is a function of the current human efforts, derived from free will and past human actions that set the circumstances, and for one to escape paying for their wrong deeds, prayer for forgiveness is the remedy. Vices like stealing and hurting others are sins which can be forgiven through prayer.

Conclusion

Knowledge of India and its religious beliefs and practices will only bring us to long their ways. This is because it has within it all the universal religious features and soul-elevating ethics. When compared to the past, today’s generation is not keen on following the Indian religion.

Works Cited

Joshipura, Smita. ”Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism.“ The Charleston Advisor 17.3 (2016): 10-13.

Quack, Johannes. ”Hinduism, Atheism, and Rationalism.“ Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism 4 (2012): 626-632.