SURVEY OF RELIGIONS & CULTS

LECTURE 2

HINDUISM

(The following are excerpts from ‘Encyclopedia of World Religions, Cults and the Occult’)

Overview

Hinduism is so diversified in its theoretical premises and practical expressions that it has been called a “museum of religions.” Hinduism is a way of life or a Dharma. It involves living a life of purity and simplicity and having a sense of natural justice.

The word “Hindu” is derived from the name given to a major river, the River Sindhu, which flows in the north-western region of the Indian subcontinent. The people who lived beyond this river were called Hindus by the ancient Greeks and Armenians. Then when the Muslims came to the subcontinent, they called the people living in the region “Hindustanis” to distinguish them from the foreign Muslims. Subsequently, when the British established their rule, they gave all the local religions the collective name of Hinduism.

The following definition of a basic Hindu was quoted in India’s Supreme Court on 2 July 1995:

Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence; recognition of the fact that the means or ways to salvation are diverse; and the realization of the truth that the number of gods to be worshiped is large, that indeed is the distinguishing feature of the Hindu religion. (B.G. Tilak)

Hinduism has no apparent [human]founder; it is the second oldest religion in the world (next to the Jewish religion); there are currently more than 1 Billion followers! Hindus claim that their religion was founded by God himself, and is therefore God-centered, while other religions, which were founded by prophets, are prophet-centered:

In some ways it is more accurate to define Hinduism in terms of a civilization and a culture than a religion.

Hinduism is rooted in the merging of two basic religious systems: that of the ancient civilization found in the IndusRiverValleyfrom the third millennium BC, and the religious beliefs brought to India by the Aryan (European) people who began moving into the IndusValley some time after 2000 B.C..

Hinduism has given birth to innumerable other cults and religious movements. Buddhism started as an offshoot of Hinduism. Today, the New Age Movement, Transcendental Meditation, Wicca, and many forms of pagan worship trace their roots back to Hinduism.

Today, Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, simply known as Swamiji, is recognized globally by thousands as one of the great Self-Realized Masters who has brought the ancient science of yoga to the West. His insight and understanding of the problems of modern society led him to create a unique and comprehensive system of yoga called “Yoga in Daily Life.”

Demographics

Hinduism, which claims to have over 1 billion followers worldwide, is the third largest religion in the world, after Christianity and Islam.

96% of Hindus live in the Indian subcontinent. They live mainly in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Mauritius, and Indonesia.

80% of India is Hindu (800 M.); 90% of Nepal is Hindu (20 M.); and, 12% of Bangladesh is Hindu (13 M.)

In the USA, the state that has the highest proportion of Hindus in its population, is New YorkState, where the percentage stands at just over 5%.

The 4 major branches of Hinduism are: Vaishnavites 600,000,000 ; Shaivites 230,000,000 ; Neo-Hindus and reform Hindus 25,000,000 ; Veerashaivas (Lingayats) 11,000,000

Hindu Holy Books

Hindu scripture is voluminous. Unlike many other religions, Hindus do not have one “holy book” but many sacred texts.

Sruti consists of the four Vedas - Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda, together with explanatory texts and commentaries called Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads. The Rig Veda is divided into 21 sections, the Yajur Veda into 109 sections, the Sama Veda into 1,000 sections and the Atharva Veda into 50 sections. In all, the whole Veda is thus divided into 1,180 hymns addressed to gods.

Smriti is composed of traditional sacred texts that are not as directly inspired as sruti.

Somewhere between shruti and smriti are the sutras (“threads”), which are composed of terse statements with an attached commentary.

Hindus consider the (4) Vedas to be the most sacred of all literature.

In the Smitriare what is called the Epics : Historical accounts of avatars (that is, incarnations of the gods) and heroes of ancient Bharat.

The Mahabharata, is the longest poem in the world, and is the second major epic tale of India. It consists of some 100,000 verses and was composed over an 800-year period beginning about 400 B.C.. Contained within this work is a great classic, the Bhagavad Gita, or the “Song of the Blessed Lord.” [(do you remember? Iron Butterfly’s classic song; and George Harrison’s ‘My Sweet Lord’)]

The Bhagavad Gita, has sometimes been called “the Bible of Hinduism” because it is so popular.

The story revolves around man’s duty, which, if carried out, will bring nothing but sorrow. The significance this story has on Hindu belief is its endorsement of bhakti, or devotion to a particular god, as a means of salvation, since Arjuna, the story’s main character, decides to put his devotion to Vishnu above his own personal desires. The Gita ends with Arjuna’s devotion to Vishnu. He is ready to kill his relatives in battle.

Hindus believe that there are three paths which lead directly to establishing a relationship with God. According to the Bhagavad Gita these paths have been designated as: the yoga of perfect actions; the yoga of perfect devotion; the yoga of perfect knowledge

Each chapter is called a yoga. Yoga is the science of the individual consciousness attaining communion with the Ultimate

Consciousness. So each chapter is a highly specialized yoga revealing the path of attaining realization of the Ultimate Truth. [There are 18 chapters.]

Yogas

Hinduism is practiced through a number of spiritual practices, known as yogas. “Yoga” is a Sanskrit word (Sanskrit is the foundational language of the Hindu religion) meaning “union of Atman (individual Soul) with Brahman (Universal Soul).”

The Sanskrit root for yoga is yuj; that is “to yoke” [to the Spirit]. This is similar in meaning to the English word “religion,” which is derived from the Latin word religio, meaning “to link-back” [to the Spirit]. Thus it is a fallacy to argue that yoga is not religion. In the Hindu religion all the many forms of yoga are found.

To practice yoga has been defined as “to yoke oneself to God within.” Yoga is often the primary focus of a Hindu’s religious activities. It consists of spiritual practices akin to meditation, prayer and healthy exercise.

For the Hindu on the journey to Spiritual-Realization, the many yoga/Hindu spiritual disciplines take into consideration all aspects of one’s being. The classic yogas are progressive in nature:

·Karma yoga (ethics)

·Bhakti yoga (devotion)

·Raja yoga (meditation)

·Jnana yoga (inner wisdom or enlightenment).

These are the classic four yogas within which are several other forms of yoga. Hatha yoga (worshipful poses), for example, is part of Raja yoga training. Some of the other forms of yoga are Nada yoga (music), Mantra and Japa yoga (chanting and on beads)and Kundalini yoga (study of the psychic centers or chakras).

Bhakti yoga is the way of spiritual discipline and love of God. Most people in India follow this path. It involves self-surrender to one of the many personal gods and goddesses of Hinduism. Such devotion is expressed through acts of worship, prayers, temple rituals, and pilgrimages.

Karma

Hindus seek moral harmony in all (dharma). They do this through the pursuit of purushartha, the “four goals of life.” These are: kama, artha, dharma, moksha.

Everyone seeks kama (pleasure, both physical pleasure and emotional pleasure), as well as artha (power, fame and wealth). But dharma stands for a superior quest, the moral harmony in all. The only completely satisfying goal is to be found in moksha (happiness and liberation from the endless cycle of life and death.)

Karma is the law that states that good begets good, and bad begets bad. Every action, thought, or decision one makes has consequences - good or bad and these consequences will return to each person in the present life, or in one yet to come.Karma is basically energy. Hindus believe that everyone throws energy out through thoughts, words and deeds.God does not give us karma. We create our own.

The doctrine of karma emphasizes that God is not a remote, heavenly judge, but an indwelling being (the Self) who works in us here and now through the moral law. Awareness of this is achieved through Karma yoga in which one must perform one’s duties with a sense of detachment. Sacrifice through surrendering to God is the basis of salvation.

The Hindus believe in reincarnation (“life after life,” or rebirth), according to which each individual lives many lives.

Hindus believe the soul is immortal and keeps re-entering a body of flesh time and time again in order to resolve experiences and thereby learn all the lessons that life in the material world has to offer. Reincarnation explains the natural way the soul evolves from immaturity to spiritual illumination.

Reincarnation is also known as “transmigration of souls.” Every individual soul returns to earth several times by rebirth to perform proper karma to purify itself. Once purified by good karma, the soul reaches liberation with no-rebirth.

With good karma, a person can be reborn into a higher caste, or even to godhood. Bad karma can relegate one to a lower

caste, or even to life as an animal, in their next life.

General Beliefs

Hinduism does not require its adherents to accept any one idea: no single dogma is imposed on everyone.

In Hinduism, sin is committed against oneself, not against God. They teach that salvation is the release from the wheel of life, the cycle of rebirths, through which we must work to better ourselves, and realize our oneness with Brahman. It must be worked out by each individual through successive lives.

For many thousands of years, Hinduism has been known as the Eternal Way.

Hindus believe that certain spiritual principles always remain true and that each person’s life is a quest to discover the divine within the self. This search for the one truth is known as the dharma.

An example of the pervasiveness of this truth-seeking spirituality in Hinduism is the bindi, an ornamental mark worn by women on the forehead between the two eyebrows. It symbolizes the need to foster supramental consciousness, which may be achieved by opening the mystic “third eye.”

Hindus view human life as four phases or stages (ashramas): First quarter of life is spent celibate, sober, and pure; Second stage is marriage, fame, and wealth; Third quarter is a gradual detachment from the material world; and the Fourth quarter is spent preparing for the next life and seeking God through Yogic meditation.

Hindus believe that as all streams and rivers lead to the same ocean, and all genuine religious/ spiritual paths lead to the same goal, that is, the worship of every form of “God.” All people are allowed to worship, in their own ways, whoever they conceive to be God.

The Hindu religion is both monotheistic (the worship of one God) and henotheistic (belief in and worship of one God without denying the existence of others). Hindus were never polytheistic (worshiping many gods).

Hindus believe in one supreme God who created the universe and who is worshiped as Light, Love and Consciousness.

Hindus believe that there is one all-pervasive God who energizes the entire universe. This concept of God as existing in and giving life to all things is called “panentheism.” It is different from pantheism, which is the belief that God is the natural universe and nothing more. Panentheism says that God is both in the world and beyond it; that the world is a part, but not the whole of God’s being.

There are millions of Hindu gods and goddesses, as many as 330 million, but this is not seen as polytheism. These gods are ways of approaching the one god.

Contemporary Hinduism is traditionally divided into four major divisions:

1. Saivism: Siva/Shiva is worshipped as the Supreme God.

2. Shaktism: Shakti, the Divine Mother, is worshipped.

3. Vaishnavism: Vishnu or one of his avatars (incarnations) is worshiped as the supreme God.

4. Smartism: They accept and worship all major forms of God.

In Vaishnavism there have been 10 forms or avatars that their Lord Vishnu (Brahman) is said to have taken to rescue his followers. The last 3 are: Krishna – who was a warrior, king, and now is a god; Buddha – who was entitled ‘the completely enlightened one’; and Kalki – this is the 10th avatar who is still to come.

Hindus are not idol worshipers. They do not worship stones or statues. They do, however, invoke the presence of great souls, living in higher consciousness, into stone images so that they may feel the presence of God. Thus, although Hindus may have a stone image of a God, they are not worshiping that image, but are invoking the physical presence of the God into the stone image so that they may be blessed.

Cow Worship – Hindus believe in ahimsa, or non-violence and non-injury, in all activities and also in all thoughts, words, and deeds.Mahatma Gandhi once described Hinduism as, “A quest for truth through non-violence.” This ideal is the basis of the pacific character of Hindu civilization. It is also the reason for the vegetarian diet of many Hindus.

Hindus regard all living creatures, mammals, fish and birds as sacred. The cow symbolically represents all creatures, and is the living symbol of Mother Earth. The cow is therefore particularly sacred. Feeding the cow is an act of worship in itself.

The cow represents life and the sustenance of life. It represents our soul, our obstinate intellect, our unruly emotions. But the cow supersedes human beings because it is so giving, taking nothing but grass and grain. It gives and gives and gives.

The cow is vital to life, the virtual sustainer of life for human beings. The cow is a complete ecology, a gentle creature and a symbol of abundance.

Nirvana is the goal of the Hindu. Hindus believe that all living things are Brahman, or god. Enlightenment is attained by becoming tuned in to the Brahman within. Then one reaches Nirvana. This brings release (moksha) from the wheel of life and gives access to Nirvana.

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