Hinduism
Hinduism differs from
Christianity and other Western religions in that it does not have a
single founder, a specific theological system, a single system of morality,
or a central religious organization. It consists of "thousands
of different religious groups that have evolved in India since 1500
BCE."
Hinduism has grown to become the world's third largest religion,
after Christianity and Islam. It claims about 762 million followers
- 13% of the world's population. It is the dominant religion in India,
Nepal, and among the Tamils in Sri Lanka. According to the "Yearbook
of American & Canadian Churches," there are about 1.1 million
Hindus in the U.S. 2 The "American Religious Identification Survey"
is believed to be more accurate. They estimated smaller number: 766,000
Hindus in 2001. Still, this is a very significant increase from 227,000
in 1990. Statistics Canada estimates that there are about 157,015
Hindus in Canada.
Hinduism is generally regarded as the world's oldest organized religion.
Religions which recognize the existence of multiple deities have
traditionally been among the world's most religiously tolerant. Hinduism
remains arguably one of the most tolerant of such religions. However,
during the past few years, a Hindu nationalistic political party has
controlled the government of India. The linkage of religion, the federal
government and nationalism has led to a recent degeneration in the
separation of church and state in India. This, in turn, has decreased
the level of religious tolerance in that country. The escalation of
anti-Christian violence is one manifestation of this linkage.
Names of
Sanatana Dharma, "eternal religion," and Vaidika Dharma,
"religion of the Vedas," and Hinduism -- the most commonly
used name in North America. Various origins for the word "Hinduism"
have been suggested: It may be derived from an ancient inscription
translated as: "The country lying between the Himalayan mountain
and Bindu Sarovara is known as Hindusthan by combination of the first
letter 'hi' of 'Himalaya' and the last compound letter 'ndu' of the
word `Bindu.'" Bindu Sarovara is called the Cape Comorin sea
in modern times. It may be derived from the Persian word for Indian.
It may be a Persian corruption of the word Sindhu (the river Indus)
It was a name invented by the British administration in India during
colonial times.
Early history of Hinduism
Beliefs about the early development of Hinduism are currently in
a state of flux:
The classical theory of the origins of Hinduism traces the religion's
roots to the Indus valley civilization circa 4000 to 2200 BCE. The
development of Hinduism was influenced by many invasions over thousands
of years. The major influences occurred when light-skinned, nomadic
"Aryan" Indo-European tribes invaded Northern India (circa
1500 BCE) from the steppes of Russia and Central Asia. They brought
with them their religion of Vedism. These beliefs mingled with the
more advanced, indigenous Indian native beliefs, often called the
"Indus valley culture.". This theory was initially proposed
by Christian academics some 200 years ago. Their conclusions were
biased by their pre-existing belief in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old
Testament). The Book of Genesis, which they interpreted literally,
appears to place the creation of the earth at circa 4,000 BCE, and
the Noahic flood at circa 2,500 BCE. These dates put severe constraints
on the date of the "Aryan invasion," and the development
of the four Veda and Upanishad Hindu religious texts. A second factor
supporting this theory was their lack of appreciation of the sophisticated
nature of Vedic culture; they had discounted it as primitive. The
classical theory is now being rejected by increasing numbers of archeologists
and religious historians.
Emerging Theory
The Aryan Invasion view of ancient Indian history has been challenged
in recent years by new conclusions based on more recent findings in
archaeology, cultural analysis, astronomical references, and literary
analysis. One scholar, David Frawley, has established a convincing
argument for this new interpretation. Archeological digs have revealed
that the Indus Valley culture was not "destroyed by outside invasion,
but...[by] internal causes and, most likely, floods." The "dark
age" that was believed to have followed the Aryan invasion may
never have happened. A series of cities in India have been studied
by archeologists and shown to have a level of civilization between
that of the Indus culture and later more highly developed Indian culture,
as visited by the Greeks. Finally, Indus Valley excavations have uncovered
many remains of fire altars, animal bones, potsherds, shell jewelry
and other evidences of Vedic rituals. "In other words there is
no racial evidence of any such Indo-Aryan invasion of India but only
of a continuity of the same group of people who traditionally considered
themselves to be Aryans...The Indo-Aryan invasion as an academic concept
in 18th and 19th century Europe reflected the cultural milieu of the
period. Linguistic data were used to validate the concept that in
turn was used to interpret archeological and anthropological data."
During the first few centuries CE, many sects were created, each
dedicated to a specific deity. Typical among these were the Goddesses
Shakti and Lakshmi, and the Gods Skanda and Surya.
Sacred Texts
Among the most important of all Hindu sacred texts are the Vedas:
the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. Rig Veda (a.k.a.
Rigveda) is the oldest, having been composed about 1500 BCE and written
down about 600 BCE. They contain hymns, incantations, and rituals
from ancient India. Another group of primary texts are the Upanishadas.
They are "a continuation of the Vedic philosophy, and were written
between 800 and 400 B.C. They elaborate on how the soul (Atman) can
be united with the ultimate truth (Brahman) through contemplation
and mediation, as well as the doctrine of Karma-- the cumulative effects
of a persons' actions." The Mahabharata, were written 540 to
300 BCE, and have been attributed to the sage Vyasa. They record "the
legends of the Bharatas, one of the Aryan tribal groups." The
Bhagavad Gita is the sixth book of the Mahabharata. It is a poem describing
a conversation between a warrior Arjuna and the God Krishna. It is
an ancient text that has become central to Hinduism and other belief
systems. Another important text is the Ramayana. It is "a moving
love story with moral and spiritual themes." It is dated to the
first century CE and has been attributed to the poet Valmiki.
Other texts include the Brahmanas, the Sutras, and the Aranyakas.
Hindu Beliefs and Practices
Categorizing the religion of Hinduism is somewhat confusing:
Hinduism has commonly been viewed in the west as a polytheistic
religion - one which worships multiple deities: gods and goddesses.
Some have viewed it as a monotheistic religion, because it recognizes
only one supreme God: the panentheistic principle of Brahman, that
all reality is a unity. The entire universe is seen as one divine
entity who is simultaneously at one with the universe and who transcends
it as well.
Some view Hinduism as Trinitarian because Brahman is simultaneously
visualized as a triad: Brahma the Creator who is continuing to create
new realities Vishnu, (Krishna) the Preserver, who preserves these
new creations. Whenever dharma (eternal order, righteousness, religion,
law and duty) is threatened, Vishnu travels from heaven to earth in
one of ten incarnations. Shiva, the Destroyer, is at times compassionate,
erotic and destructive. Strictly speaking, Hinduism is a henotheistic
religion -- a religion which recognizes a single deity, but which
recognizes other gods and goddesses as facets or manifestations or
aspects of that supreme God.
Most urban Hindus follow one of two major divisions within Hinduism:
- Vaishnavaism: which generally regards Vishnu as the ultimate deity
- Shivaism: which generally regards Shiva as the ultimate deity.
However, many rural Hindus worship their own village goddess or an
earth goddess. She is believed to rule over fertility and disease
-- and thus over life and death. The priesthood is less important
in rural Hinduism: non-Brahmins and non-priests often carry out ritual
and prayer there.
Hindus believe in the repetitious Transmigration of the Soul. This
is the transfer of one's soul after death into another body. This
produces a continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth through
their many lifetimes. It is called samsara. Karma is the accumulated
sum of ones good and bad deeds. Karma determines how you will live
your next life. Through pure acts, thoughts and devotion, one can
be reborn at a higher level. Eventually, one can escape samsara and
achieve enlightenment. Bad deeds can cause a person to be reborn as
a lower level, or even as an animal. The unequal distribution of wealth,
prestige, suffering are thus seen as natural consequences for one's
previous acts, both in this life and in previous lives. Hindus organize
their lives around certain activities or "purusharthas."
These are called the "four aims of Hinduism," or "the
doctrine of the fourfold end of life." They are: The three goals
of the "pravritti," those who are in the world, are: dharma:
righteousness in their religious life. This is the most important
of the three.
- artha: success in their economic life; material prosperity.
- kama: gratification of the senses; pleasure; sensual, sexual, and
mental enjoyment.
The main goal for the "nivritti," those who renounce the
world. is:
moksa: Liberation from "samsara," the This is considered
the supreme end of mankind.
Meditation is often practiced, with Yoga being the most common. Other
activities include daily devotions, public rituals, and puja, a ceremonial
dinner for a God.
Hinduism has a deserved reputation of being highly tolerant of other
religions. Hindus have a saying: "Ekam Sataha Vipraha Bahudha
Vadanti," which may be translated: "The truth is One, but
different Sages call it by Different Names".
