This is the English version and the first post of the series which I am writing for a popular e-zine in Tamil.
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Hinduism – An
Introduction
Many people think Hinduism is a religion. It is a massive system
containing within itself a large number of religions, beliefs, cultural and
linguistic traditions, codes and principles of life within each region,
universal ethical principles applicable to all human societies and much more.
The term ‘Hindu’ was given to the people living in the east of
the river Sindhu. The word ‘Sindhu’ also refers to a river, a
wide body of water or sea. The Persians, who were trying to invade India, could
not pronounce the word ‘sindhu’ and instead pronounced it as ‘hindu’.
So, in a larger sense, Hinduism is a name of one massive code box, huge
system, comprising religions, belief systems, codes and mores, cultural and
linguistic traditions, etc., which emanated from Indian sub-continent and
thereabouts. So, one would find within Hinduism a cluster of religions which
hold Vedas as supreme & follow the rules laid in that tradition [वेदसम्मत – Vedasammata] and also the traditions which do not hold Vedas as supreme. In the same
way some schools and systems within the fold of Hinduism place importance on
fire in rituals and ceremonies while some others do not. Some traditions place
local deities much above widely accepted Indian gods and goddesses, while some
advocate worship of nature and natural objects such as rivers, mountains, trees
and some animals too. So, any and all attempts to simplify or generalize Indian
faiths and beliefs is downright foolish and fly in the face of hard fact and
evidence.
There are certain unique features to the cultural components of all the
systems which emanated from Indian sub-continent. Some of them were
incorporated later in other cultures and religions. Of course some historians
have argued few of these components came from cultures outside the
sub-continent.
First is the focus of Hindu religions. Volumes have been written about
the foggy, dreamy, other-worldly and impractical nature of these religions. Nothing
could be farther from truth than that. In fact, Hindu religions are highly
‘man’ centric in nature. Be it religions of Kashmir or Tamil Nadu or the
religions which rose as reactions to mainstream religions – Jainism and
Buddhism, one thing that connects all schools of philosophy of India and
religions is the release of a being from the cycle of birth and death.
Whatever
name it carries, nirvana, moksha, mukti, it is all about letting the fly out of
the fly-bottle. Some, out of partial understanding, argue that this focus on
‘release’ is more to justify the creation and existence of heaven and the world
of gods in myths of Hindu religions. If that is so, there is no explanation for
schools like Buddhism which do not accept even the existence of soul, leave
alone God, to focus on end of samsara. From Vedas to Upanishads to later code
digests in Sanskrit dominated scriptures and in the Saiva schools of Tamil Nadu
or Kashmir or Vaishnava schools spread across India or any of the mainstream
six religions of Hinduism or even Jainism, it is the cessation of suffering of
a human that dominates the spectrum and their universe. That ‘partial
understanding’ need not be a wrong understanding and in fact puranas and
auxiliary scriptures have excess of world of gods etc. I will write about these
later. So, in short, Hinduism is probably the first ‘existentialist’ philosophy
in the world which put ‘man’ at the center.
Next is the nature of time and what is made of matter. It is very
crucial to understand this, if one were to get a better grasp of religions of
Hinduism. According to these religions, without exception, time is cyclical. In
Hindu cosmology from a second to an epoch, periods of time are defined and divided.
Not only for the periods of time on earth, but also for the world of gods. Why
the world of gods? Anything that exists, can be experienced or visualized or
thought of is material. Hindu religions divide matter into two broad categories
– gross matter or sthoola and subtle matter or sookshuma. By this
understanding, the mind, thoughts, jiva (individual soul), the world, karma,
the gods and goddesses, Brahma (the creator) and everything that falls under
human experience is material. Because they are matter, they obey the physical
laws of creation, existence and destruction. Again, in Hindu religions the end
of time is defined variously for various entities, beings and worlds. In this
series, we will see more of that later – pralaya. This is the reason why there
are different creators, seers and worlds exist in Hindu religions for different
time cycles. The credit for identifying karma as matter should go to Jainism
rather than mainstream Hindu religions or schools of thought.
Hindu religions place highest emphasis on individual development,
evolution and release over worship, doing rituals etc. The latter are also
important, but individual development is perceived seriously as essential.
These religions lists out eight essential qualities as a pre-requisites for
evolution. These eight essential qualities takes precedence over religion and
material development. The point is one cannot have one’s foot in the kingdom of
gods while one’s hand is stealing from another’s pocket.
Every human being is different from another. Given the divergent nature
of biological constituent components and cultural conditioning of each, it is
no surprise that there is a plethora of interests, aptitudes and behavioral
patterns in the human world. What appeals to one person or a group of persons
need not appeal to another. To address this fundamental issue in religious
sphere, Hindu religions promote multitude of gods, goddesses, natural objects
fit for worshiping and provides freedom to individuals to choose the object of
worship. There are some who love to adorn their bodies with varieties of
clothes and jewels. Same way some like to worship an object which may be
repulsive to others. Hindu religions provide options here too – formless
worship for those who love to tread that path. Some people are extrovert by
nature while some others are introverted. For those who would like to be in
thick of action all the time, Hindu religions provide temples, pilgrimages,
rituals and much more, while those who are not inclined towards constant action
can aspire to reach godhead through more subdued and personal approaches.
In the traditional and conservative communities in rest of the world
atheists are seen as bad, counterproductive and negative people. In the Indian
philosophical systems, however, agnosticism and atheism alongside purely
materialistic thought which deny anything apart from the physical world, are
also given due importance. Balance is very important for any given society. In
the religious sphere, it is atheistic school of thought which provides balance.
Hindu religions perceive atheism as a valid school of thought and in reality
they are the conscience keepers of religious schools to prevent people from
committing constant excesses in the name of religion and god. Later in the
series I will write in detail about Carvaka and other schools with similar
philosophies.
Rebirth for human beings and reincarnation for gods is another important
and unique feature of Hindu religions. Again unlike many other religions, Hindu
religions accept and promote a large number of scriptures as Holy. They range
from purely mythical to metaphysical to highly localized legends about temples,
towns and rivers. Another unique feature of Hindu religions is the presence of
'Guru.' Guru is more than a master, a preceptor, a teacher – he is seen as
possessing necessary qualities to dispel darkness from the lives of those who
approach him. Essential nature of Guru is not to teach anything, not to have
disciples or an institution, but to lift one and all those who approach Him or
Her.
These and much more I hope to write in this series and also some people
will read and find these beneficial. Hindu religions contain some of the
noblest and loftiest thoughts unparalleled in the human history. The highest
philosophical principles contained therein do not prevent these religions from
caring for lowest of the low and poorest of the poor. It is exhaustive and is
like a large tree with a large number of branches that provides shade, comfort
and nutrition to everyone under sun. What has been presented here are but a few
of the fundamental characteristics as a sort of introduction to the deeper
philosophical and metaphysical truths contained in it.
Next in the series will be about eight aatma gunas or eight essential qualities.
