Overview:
Hinduism in the history of religions is uniquely differ from other monotheistic religions in that it does not have:
- a single founder,
- a specific theological system,
- a single concept of deity,
- a single holy text,
- a single system of morality,
- a central religious authority,
- the concept of a prophet.
Hinduism is more like an all encompasing way of life!
Hinduism is generally regarded as the world’s oldest organized religion. It consists of “thousands of different religious groups that have evolved in India since 1500 BCE.” 1 Because of the wide variety of Hindu traditions, freedom of belief and practice are notable features of Hinduism.
Hinduism has grown to become the world’s third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. It claims about 950 million followers — about 14% of the world’s population. 2 It is the dominant religion in India, Nepal, and among the Tamils in Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. Significantly Indians in UK, Canada, US and Australia.
Estimates of the number of Hindus in the U.S. vary greatly:
- Our estimate, for mid-2010, is 1.5 million.
- According to the “Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches,” there were about 1.1 million Hindus in the U.S. during 1999. 3
- The “American Religious Identification Survey” is believed to under-estimate the numbers of Hindus because of communications problems with non-English speaking households. 4 They estimated: 766,000 Hindus in 2001 and 1.2 million in 2008.
Statistics Canada estimates that there were about 157,015 Hindus in Canada during 2001. Unfortunately, they only update these numbers once each decade. 5
References:
- David Levinson, “Religion: A cross-cultural dictionary,” Oxford University Press, (1998). Read reviews or order this book
- From data published by the 2004 Encyclopedia Britiannica Book of the Year.
- Estimate from the 1999 edition of the “Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches,” National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
- “American Religious Identification Survey,” by The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, at: http://www.gc.cuny.edu/studies/
- 1991 census by Statistics Canada.
Name of the religion:
This religion is called:
- 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. 1
- 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 scholars in the 19th century. 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 Noachian 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. 2 The classical theory is now being rejected by increasing numbers of archaeologists and religious historians. The originators of the theory were obviously biased by their prior beliefs about the age of the earth and the biblical story of the flood of Noah.
- 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. Archaeologists, including Jim Schaffer and David Frawley, have established convincing arguments for this new interpretation. 3 Archaeological digs have revealed that the Indus Valley culture lasted from about 3500 to 1800 BCE. It 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 archaeologists 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.” 2 “There was no invasion by anyone.” 7
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:
Hindu sacred texts are perhaps the most ancient religious texts still surviving today. Some appear to be millennia older than the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) which conservative Christians date to circa 1500 BCE and liberal scholars date to circa 900 BCE.
- The primary sacred texts of Hinduism are the Vedas: the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. The Vedas contain hymns, incantations, and rituals from ancient India. 4 The Rig Veda (a.k.a. Rigveda) may be the oldest of the four. Estimates of its date of composition in oral form range from 1500 BCE to 4000 BCE. The Yajur and Atharva Vedas refer to the vernal equinox having occurred in the Pleiades constellation — an event dating from about 2500 BCE.The date when the Vedas were placed in written form is unknown. Various dates from 600 to after 300 BCE have been suggested.
- The Upanishadas deal with Vedic philosophy and form the conclusions of each of the Vedas. “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.” 4
Many of these sacred texts are available online. 4 One web site has a search engine available. 5
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. Although a widespread belief, this is not particularly accurate.
- 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 — one God with three persons:
- 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, most forms of Hinduism are henotheistic; they recognize a single deity, and recognizes other gods and goddesses as facets, forms, 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.” This is considered the supreme goal 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”
References:
- “Origin of ‘Hindu’,” at: http://www.hindunet.org/
- David Frawley, “The myth of the Aryan invasion of India,” at: http://www.hindunet.org/
- David Frawley, “Gods, Sages and Kings,” Morson Publ, (1991). Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
- “Sacred Texts: Hinduism,” at: http://www.sacred-texts.com/
- “Sacred Scripts” has a search engine at: http://www.sacredscripts.org
- “Ramayana,” Manas: India and its neighbors, at: http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/
- “Date of the Rigveda,” Saksi, at: http://www.vedah.com/org/
- “Vedic Astronomical Lore,” Hindu Books Universe, at: http://www.hindubooks.org/
What is the Caste System in Hindu?
The Hindu caste system is unique in the world, but resembles in some ways Plato’s ideal society of philosophers, warriors and commoners. A caste is a division of society based on occupation and family lineage. Hindu caste system recognized four distinct classes or divisions among people based on these criteria and enforced it through a rigid code of conduct that was specific to each class and rooted in the dharmashastras (law books) of the later vedic period. The four main castes recognized by traditional Hindu society based primarily on hereditary occupation are mentioned below.
Brahmins
They are the priestly class, who are entitled to study the Vedas, perform rites and rituals for themselves and for others and obliged to observe the sacraments. They are the middle men between gods and men. The act as temple priests and invoke gods on behalf of others. They are expected to show exemplary behavior and spend their lives in the pursuit of divine knowledge and preservation of the traditions. According to Manu, the law maker, a brahmin was an incarnation of dharma (sacred tradition), born to serve and protect the dharma. He belonged to the excellent of the human race, endowed with intelligence and knowledge to attain Brahman. He was the highest on earth, the lord of all created beings. Whatever that existed in the world was the property of a Brahmana and he was entitled to all.
Kshatriyas
They are the warrior class, who are commanded (by tradition) to protect the people, bestow gifts to the brahmins, offer sacrifices to gods and ancestors, study the Vedas, dispense justice, and, according to Manusmriti, abstain themselves from sensual pleasures. Manu laid down that it was a king’s duty to protect his kingdom and his people. He had something in himself of the gods such Indra, Vayu, Yama, Surya, Varuna, Moon and Kubera. A king should not be despised even if he was an infant. His authority should not be questioned except when he ignored his duties in supporting and protecting brahmins. The king had the right to punish, but he must be fair in his punishment. It was king’s responsibility to protect the caste system and the social order and lavish the priests with generous gifts at every opportunity.
Vaishyas
They are the merchant and peasant classes, who are expected to tend cattle, offer sacrifices, study the Vedas, trade, lend money and cultivate the land. They had the right to perform and participate in certain vedic rituals but they were not allowed to marry women of higher castes.
Shudras
The are the labor class, whose only duty is to serve the other three castes. They were not required to observe any vedic rituals or samskaras except a few. They were not allowed to study the vedas or even hear the sacred chants. They were not allowed to eat food in the company of higher castes or marry their women.
Chandalas
The lowest of the sudras were called chandalas or the impure ones. They were treated as untouchables because of their gory religious practices, penchant for sacrifices, magical rites and unclean habits. In ancient times they were not allowed to enter a village or city during day time or walk in the same street where men of other castes walked. Even their shadow was considered impure and their very sight as a bad omen. So they lived mostly on the fringes of society, unknown and uncared for, following some esoteric religion of their own and working mostly in the graveyards and cremation grounds or as hunters, butchers and professional cleaners of human waste.
By Jayaram V
1. According to Hinduism God is One, but also Many. The One becomes many and the many have to begin their journey finally towards the One as a process of creation.
2. Hinduism believes that man is divine in nature. The basic purpose of a human being is to realize this divine nature in him.
3. Hinduism firmly declares that the ego or ahamkar is the root cause of all suffering. If an individual has to escape from suffering he has to cease to be his egoistic self and identify himself with his limitless inner self.
4. Hinduism believes unquestionably that the world is an illusion or maya. Attachment with it is the cause of birth and death. When a person overcomes this illusion through detachment and withdrawal of senses he will become qualified for self-realization.
5. The Hindus believe in reincarnation or rebirth, according to which each individual lives many lives because of his ignorance and the play of maya before he attains liberation.
6. Hinduism believes that all beings have souls, are equally important in the scheme of creation and that they all evolve continuously till they achieve final freedom. Man is but one stage in this evolution of life and in the soul’s upward journey towards such liberation. This is the reason why many Hindus choose to remain as vegetarians throughout their lives.
7. Hinduism believes in the concept of incarnation of God. According to this concept God is an active and dynamic principle, who sometimes descends into the earth’s consciousness directly and assumes human form to protect the weak and restore world Order.
8. Hinduism has given to the world the concept of karma, according to which all actions produce positive or negative reactions and effect our lives. There is however no scope here for fatalism. Actions done as an offering to God do not effect us. Sacrifice through surrendering to God is therefore the basis of salvation. Hinduism offers the best way to live a life devoid of anxieties and worries. It says, “Live your normal life, offering all your actions and possessions mentally to God in the spirit of sacrifice without bothering about the results of your actions.”
9. Hinduism gives immense freedom to each individual to choose whatever path he or she wants to choose. It does not believe in super imposition of faith from outside, nor changing of ones faith to another because it is more attractive. Each has to pursue the path of God according to his or her inner nature and evolution. Hinduism says, “Follow your own self, live according to your own dharma and discover you own truth that is in harmony with yourself.”
10. Finally Hinduism does not believe in converting people from one faith to faith in an organized way. If an individual want to change his religion that is his inner choice. But no one should force him or tempt him to change. Hinduism strictly prohibits teaching of the scriptures to people who are not inclined to understand them or follow them. There are many ways in which one can approach God. All paths in the end lead to Him only.
Courtesy : religioustolerance.org, hinduwebsite.com
Holly Books – An overview
The most sacred scriptures of Hinduism are the Vedas (“Books of Knowledge”), a collection of texts written in Sanskrit from about 1200 BCE to 100 CE. As sruti, the Vedas are regarded as the absolute authority for religious knowledge and a test of Hindu orthodoxy (both Jains and Buddhists reject the Vedas). “For Hindus, the Veda is a symbol of unchallenged authority and tradition.” {1} Selections from the Vedas are still memorized and recited for religious merit today. Yet much of the religion presented in the Vedas is unknown today and plays little to no role in modern Hinduism.
As historical and religious literature often is, the text is written from the perspective of the most powerful groups, priests and warrior-kings. Scholars say it is therefore unlikely that it represents the totality of religious belief and practice in India in the first millennium BCE. This perspective is especially evident in the earlier parts of the Vedas, in which the primary concerns are war, rain, and dealing with the “slaves,” or native inhabitants of India.
Initially, the Vedas consisted of four collections of mantras (Samhitas), each associated with a particular priest or aspect of ritual: Rig Veda (Wisdom of the Verses); Sama Veda (Wisdom of the Chants); Yajur Veda (Wisdom of the Sacrificial Formulas); and Atharva Veda (Wisdom of the Atharvan Priests).
Over the centuries, three kinds of additional literature were attached to each of the Samhitas: Brahmanas(discussions of the ritual); Aranyakas (“books studied in the forest”); and Upanishads (philosophical writings).
In these later texts, especially the Upanishads, the polytheism of the earlier Vedas has evolved into a pantheism focused on Brahman, the supreme reality of the universe. This concept remains a key feature of Hindu philosophy today.
Samhitas
As noted above, the Samhitas (“Collections”) are the oldest components of the Vedas, and consist largely of hymns and mantras. There are four Samhitas (also called Vedas): Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda.
The Rig Veda
Composed as early as 1500 BC, the Rig Veda or Rg Veda (“Wisdom of the Verses”) is the oldest of the four Vedic collections and one of the oldest surviving sacred texts in the world. The Rig Veda consists of 10,552 verses (collected into 10 books) of hymns and mantras used by the hotri priests.
The hymns of the Rig Veda focus on pleasing the principal gods Indra (war, wind and rain), Agni (the sacrificial fire), Surga (the sun) and Varuna (the cosmic order) through ritual sacrifices. Along with governing important matters of life such as rain, wind, fire and war, the Vedic gods also forgive wrongdoing (5.85.7) and mete out justice in the afterlife (1.97.1).
Deceased ancestors are able to influence the living (10.15.6), so they are also appeased with rituals (10.15.1-11). The afterlife of the Rig Veda is eternal conscious survival in the abode of Yama, the god of the dead (9.113.7-11). It is the gods, not karma, that are responsible for assuring justice in this life and the next (7.104).
Yajur Veda and Sama Veda
Both the Yajur Veda (“Wisdom of the Sacrifical Formulas”) and the Sama Veda (“Wisdom of the Chants”) are liturgical works consisting primarily of selections from the Rig Veda. The Yajur Veda was used by udgatri priests and contains brief prose to accompany ritual acts, many of which are addressed to the ritual instruments and offerings. The Sama Veda was chanted in fixed melodies by the adhvaryu priests. Each contain about 2,000 verses.
Atharva Veda
The Atharva Veda (“Wisdom of the Atharvan Priests) was added significantly later than the first three Samhitas, perhaps as late as 500 BC. It consists of 20 books of hymns and prose, many of which reflect the religious concerns of everyday life. This sets the Arharva Veda apart from the other Vedas, which focus on adoring the gods and performing the liturgy of sacrifice, and makes it an important source of information on the practical religion and magic of the time.
Books 1 through 8 of the Atharva Veda contain magical prayers for long life, prosperity, curses, kingship, love, and a variety of other specific purposes. Books 8 through 12 include cosmological hymns, marking a transition to the loftier philosophy of the Upanishads. The remainder of the books consist of magical and ritual formulas, including marriage and funeral practices.
Brahmanas
The mythology and significance behind the Vedic rituals of the Samhitas are explained in the Brahmanas. Although they include some detail as to the performance of rituals themselves, the Brahmanas are primarily concerned with the meaning of rituals. A worldview is presented in which sacrifice is central to human life, religious goals, and even the continuation of the cosmos.
Included in the Brahmanas are extensive rituals for royal consecration (rajasuya), which endow a king with great power and raise him to the status of a god (at least during the ceremony). Part of the ritual is the elaborate horse sacrifice (asvamedya), in which a single horse is set free, followed and protected by royal forces for a year, then ritually sacrificed at the royal capital.
Aranyakas (“Forest Books”)
The Aranyakas contain similar material as the Brahmanas and discuss rites deemed not suitable for the village (thus the name “forest”). They also prominently feature the word brahmana, here meaning the creative power behind of the rituals, and by extension, the cosmic order.
Upanishads (“Sittings Near a Teacher”)
The word “Upanishad” means “to sit down near,” bringing to mind pupils gathering around their teacher for philosophical instruction. The Upanishads are philosophical works that introduce the now-central ideas of self-realization, yoga, meditation, karma and reincarnation.
The theme of the Upanishads is the escape from rebirth through knowledge of the underlying reality of the universe. The Encyclopaedia Britannica explains how this change in perspective came about:
Throughout the later Vedic period, the idea that the world of heaven was not the end-and that even in heaven death was inevitable-had been growing. For Vedic thinkers, the fear of the impermanence of religious merit and its loss in the hereafter, as well as the fear-provoking anticipation of the transience of any form of existence after death, culminating in the much-feared repeated death (punarmrtyu), assumed the character of an obsession.
The older Upanishads are affixed to a particular Veda, but more recent ones are not. The most important Upanishads are generally considered to be the Brhadaranyaka (“Great Forest Text”) and the Chandogya (pertaining to the Chandoga priests). Both record the traditions of sages (rishis) of the period, most notably Yajñavalkya, who was a pioneer of new religious ideas. Also significant are:
- Mandukya Upanishad
- Kena/Talavakara Upanishad
- Katha Upanishad
- Mundaka Upanishad
- Aitareya Upanishad
- Taittiriya Upanishad
- Prashna Upanishad
- Isha Upanishad
- Shvetashvatara Upanishad
References
- “Vedas.” Encyclopedia Brittanica. Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service. 2004.
- Merriam-Webster’s Encyclopedia of World Religions
- Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
- Cambridge Illustrated History of World Religions
- The Hindu Universe
Courtesy : religionfacts.com
Dream. Explore. Discover! 