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Hinduism: Facts and Terms
Hinduism—3rd largest world religion (800 million); name comes from Sindhus, the Persian word
for the Indus River in India, given to designate the people living east of the Indus River by
conquering Muslims, and later by British to talk about non-Muslim natives in India. As such,
some contest whether it really is “a religion” or rather a group of religions.
-everything from monotheism to polytheism to atheism; nonviolent ethics to blood
sacrifices; scholastic philosophical to mystical experiential.
-the major religion of India but note also Nepal (the world’s only officially Hindu
nation), Pakistan (3% Hindu) and Bangladesh (16%), Sri Lanka (15%), Malaysia (5-10%),
approximately 1 million Hindus across North America
-in Canada (approx. 300,000; 1% of population); Nova Scotia (approx. 1200; 0.1% of
population)
Hindu Nationalism—with the rise of BJP party in India, the officially secular state has faced
challenges of rising Hindu fundamentalism and nationalism (treating India a Mother Goddess,
etc.), with famous clashes with Muslims inside India
Ancient Vedic Religion—the ancient Indic religion known from the 4 Vedas—a collection of
over 1000 hymns to the gods, likely collected by elite social groups circa 1500-500 BCE. The
religion is centered on fire sacrifices which required the expertise of a special hereditary
priesthood known as Brahmins. Written in Sanskrit. Major deities include Agni, fire god needed
for ritual success in sacrifices; Indra, warrior deity with greatest number of hymns who subdued
alien deities; Soma, god of the psychoactive substance by the same name which was drunk by
humans and gods before battles and after rituals; and Varuna, giver of rewards and punishments.
Afterlife had two possibilities, either becoming an ancestor (pitri) reaching a heavenly afterlife
(pitriloka) or being dissolved back into the earth.
Upanishads—literally “sitting near devotedly”, tracts written by gurus developing new teachings
and appended to Vedas after 1000 BCE. Introduce the idea of samsara, “the world”, and all
humans suffer from samsara’s “fire” (pain and suffering) until they realize that there is one
underlying reality to all, the unchanging spirit (Brahman). The individual soul (atman) wanders
from birth to death to reincarnation until it finds release (moksha) by realizing that it is nothing
other than Brahman.
Karma—the natural law operating throughout samsara and affects the destiny of the atman—
good deeds lead to good consequences, bad deeds lead to bad consequences
Yoga Sutras—a text which describe a meditation tradition for the highly advanced spiritual elite
attempting to escape samsara and the burning up of all past karma. Included vegetarianism, study
of inner reality teachings, postures and breathing control to focus body’s primal energy, focusing
on a single object and ultimately a trance state (samadhi).
Dharmashastras—most famous is The Laws of Manu, text which assume one’s birth location is
indicative of one’s karma, i.e., the higher born, the better one’s previous life’s karma. Hence it
divides society into very discrete groups, each with its own natures and capacities (caste system).
Written circa 300-100 BCE.
Caste System—four main varnas (“classess”/”groups”); brahmins (traditionally masters of vedic
and ritual practices); kshatriyas (rule and protect society, esp. the Brahmins); vaishyas (artisans
and traders responsible for wealth of society); shudras (laborers and menial workers) . Below
these are the chandalas who must perform polluting tasks such as street sweeping and carrying
dead bodies. Also subject castes within each group. To “work” the system, one must fulfill the
task of one’s caste so as to move up in the next life, eventually being reincarnated as a Brahmin
male and from their salvation.
Epics—Mahabharata (most famous part is the Bhagavad Gita) and Ramayana are stories of
heroic battles of the ancient Aryans through which explore and relay religious ideals. Written
circa 100 BCE - 400 CE.
Puranas—texts which function as a sort of “Fifth Vedas”, describing new deities which offer
benefit to unselfish devotees (bhakta). The ideal of bhakti is close to a universal trait in
Hinduism. Bhakti gurus argue that multiple deities are needed to meet the diverse needs of a
diverse humanity. The ideal is to honor all gods but equally important was the move toward
choosing a personal deity (ista deva), to be the center of one’s devotional life.
Key Deities include—Ganesh (elephant-headed god, the kind “fix-it” god in the pantheon);
Shiva (the creative energies that saturate the world; both the god of ascetics who wanders the
woods as well as the divine householder who fathers Ganesh and Kumara, seen by some
devotees as the “supreme god”); Vishnu (devotees see this god as the one underlying all reality,
is incarnated in many forms to battle threats to creation, beget Brahma who begins another cycle
of creation); Rama (warrior king who represents harmonization of divine and natural world);
Krishna (many forms, again his devotees believe him to be the reality from which all gods
originate)
Devis—Hindu goddesses, born of the earth and bestow its wealth, especially Rivers which are all
goddesses in Hindu religion. The earth goddess is addresses as Ambika (mother), Sita (born of
the tilled furrow), Sati (the virtuous). In Hindu theology, male deities marry female deities.
Ashram—a residence for Hindu gurus (spiritual teachers who attract students), a community in
which residents perform rituals, meditate, and study under guru.
Utsavas “Festivals”—Hinduism involves following an elaborate yearly cycle of festivals—each
important deity having has special day and procession (jatra).
Pilgrimage (darshan—“viewing the divine”)—land bounded by Himalaya mountains and oceans
is holy, mountains and rivers of this region are home to gods. Hence a tradition of pilgrimage to
see sacred persons and places, dwelling in sacred prescincts for spiritual powers, do rituals
related to temples, etc. Himalayas, Ganges River, Prayag (where Ganges, Yamuna, and invisible
Saraswati Rivers meets, a huge pilgrimage known as Kumbha Mela).