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Hinduism – a basic account
Dr.Benu Chatterjee
Contents
1. Introduction
2..Hstorical background
a)Chronological development
3. Basic philosophy
4. Sacred scriptures
a)Shruti (hearing)
b)Smriti (remembering)
l) Ashram system
ll) Caste system
5. Various Gods and temples
6. Hinduism today
7. Examples of Hindu culture
8. Final comments
Summary
Hinduism covers a time span of 5000 years and has its root in a varied scriptural tradition,
encompassing images of God in the Rig- Veda; the ashrama system relating philosophy of
rebirth and liberation or ultimate dissolution of atma (soul) in nirvana as revealed in
Upanishads; the tales of gods and heroes illustrating dharma (religion) in the Mahabharat and
Ramayan; the development of the personal deity in the Bhagabad- Gita; and the ideas of
worship in the Puranas. The determining element in the Hindu social order, the caste system,
can be traced back to Vedic times. It came into being as a measure of protection of the purity of
the race, and also to show everyone their duties and rights. The philosophy of Hinduism is
discussed. A few cues and clues of Hindu culture are highlighted along with a brief outlook on
the development of Hinduism up to the present day.
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1. Introduction
Hinduism is the religion of the majority of people in India and Nepal, and is an important
cultural force in all other continents. On visiting India, one will be stuck by the colour, sound and
vibrancy of the daily ritual observations. The centrality of religion in people’s lives becomes
obvious. There are innumerable wayside shrines of a casket or an erection over relics for paying
homage, temples for praying to local Gods and Goddesses, garlanded pictures of deities (deity: a
name for a God or Goddess of divine nature, character or attributes) or even divinized ancestors
for worshipping. One can also sometimes see saints in buses, shops and homes. Thus as Hindus
will say that Hinduism is not so much a religion, but a way of life.
The object of the present text is to explain briefly the various facets of Hinduism in simple
terms without indulging into details.There are certain words in Hinduism, such as Veda, Atma,
Dharma, Karma, Moksha etc which are unlikely to be familiar to non-Hindus. They are,
therefore, clarified (as briefly as possible) in section - 3 while dealing with the basic philosophy
of Hinduism.
2. Historical background
Hinduism covers a time span of about five thousand years and has existed over a vast
geographical area. The term Hindu first came into being as a Persian geographical term for the
people living beyond the river Indus in the north-west side of present India. It is also interesting
to note that the name Hindu may be derived from Sindhu which is the word for Indus in the
ancient language of Sanskrit. The British Empire ruling over India in the 18th century used the
word Hindu towards the end of the century by referring to people of ‘Hindustan’ living in the
area north-west of India. Eventually, ‘Hindu’ become virtually equivalent to an ‘Indian’ who was
not a Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist or Jain. The ‘ism’ was added to Hindu in around 1830 to
denote the culture and religion of the highest Hindu caste, namely Brahmins. Thus it is important
to bear in mind that the formation of Hinduism as the world religion we know today, has only
come into being since the 19th century when the term was used by Hindu reformers and western
orientalists. However, its origin and the ‘streams’which feed into it, are very ancient, extending
back to the Indus valley civilization of some five thousand years ago.
a) Chronological development
The chronology of Hinduism is primarily based on archaeological evidence of coins, pottery,
inscriptions etc. One of the clichés about Hinduism has been that it is ahistorical, and sees time
as a cyclic rather than linear which has militated against the keeping of accurate historical
records. Nevertheless, a general chronological scheme in terms of BCE( Before Common Era
which is nearly the same as BC) and CE( Common Era which is similar to AD)would be as
follows:
- The Indus Valley civilization in the period between ~2500 to 1500 BCE when elements of
Hinduism can be traced back.
- The Vedic period between ~ 1500 to 500 BCE when Vedic religion was formed. It was the
religion of the Aryans of European origin who spread westwards as far as Ireland (Eire) and
eastwards into countries such as Iran and India. They entered India around 1500 BCE,
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replaced the dominance of the existing (Dravidian) Indus Valley culture with their own and
pushed the Dravidians to the South. The origins of Hinduism thus lay in the ancient culture
of the Dravidian Indus Valley civilization and Aryan culture. It is during this period that
Veda was formulated. Texts of Dharma and rituals were composed.
- The puranic and epic period (~ 500 BCE to 500 CE) when the composition of the Puranas
(stories of ancient past) and the writing of two great Epics: Mahabharat and Ramayan were
accomplished along with the rise of a number of important kingdom including Gupta dynasty
- The medieval period (~500 CE to 1500CE) which sees the development of Bhakti to the
major Hindu deities, particularly Visnu, Siva and Devi; it was also the period of
developmenmt of devotional and poetic literature in Sanskrit and Tantric literature
- The modern period (~ 150CE to present) includes the fall of two great empires the Mughal
and the British, and the origin of India as an independent nation in 1947.
3. Basic philosophy
Hinduism is a complex religion that encompasses a range of religious beliefs and practices.
It allows no sharp division between religion and the secular life of not being concerned about
religion i.e. not ecclesiastical. Complexity also arises because Hinduism does not have a single
historical founder, unlike many other monotheistic world religions, such as Jesus for Christianity
and Mohammed for Islam. There is no centralized authority and bureaucratic structure. Hinduism
is very much a religion of revelation. Legend tells us that in the dawn of prehistory, there were
seven ancient scholars/sages, called Rishis (the teachers of humankind) who received the
revelation of the original eternal truth / wisdom / knowledge (called Vedas) from God. Hindus
see their lives as part of cycles and not as straight line to God as mentioned in the Hebrew Bible
(the Christian Old Testament). Lives do not end, but keep recurring and thus embedded in the
cycle of reincarnation (Samsara). The ideological framework of Hinduism constitutes the
following basic suppositions:
1) transmigration or reincarnation of ‘atma’ (eternal self i.e. soul) occurs in the wheel of birth,
death and rebirth. Atma is a ‘particle’ of the absolute Brahman who is the essence of everything
and has no individuality. After death, the atma in human beings returns to the Brahman (the
Supreme Spirit), fuses with it and prepares for either rebirth or final liberation.
2) ultimate hope for atma to attain ‘moksha’, ‘nirvana’or ‘mukti’ which is variously translated
as escape, release or final salvation/liberation of atma from the cycle of all worldly ties i.e.
freedom from the cycle of samsara.This cessation of rebirth is associated with spiritual
fulfilment and blissful experience of realizing one’s attainment to be Brahman, the absolute
consciousness. This final attainment of moksha is the sole purpose of the spiritual quest.
Besides ‘atma’ and ‘moksha’, there are several other key concepts in classical Hinduism,
namely Veda, Dharma and Karma which are defined as follows:
a) Veda: It is the world’s most ancient scripture and contains a large body of literature in
Sanskrit (a sacred language of Hinduism). It is a timeless revelation of God and/or
knowledge of eternal value. It was not of human authorship, but received through hearing by
the Rishis. The Veda is the foundation for later developments in what is known as Hinduism.
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b).Dharma : The term is untranslatable because it has no direct semantic equivalents in any
western languages. However, ‘Religion’ in the English term is the nearest semantic word
equivalent in Sanskrit for Dharma which, however, has a wider connotation than just ‘religion’;
it incorporates the ideas of ‘truth’, ‘duty’, ‘ethics’, ‘law’ and even ‘natural law’. It is this power
which upholds or supports society and the cosmos. Dharma is revealed by the Veda.
c) Karma: It is the technical term for a religious rite and literally means action which could
be physical or spiritual. The driving force behind rebirths is due to the cause and effect of
‘karma’ which is thus important to elaborate. The idea that every action, good or bad, has an
effect which must be accounted for in this or future lifetimes, and that the experiences of the
present lifetime are the consequences of past actions, is the fundamental concept of Hinduism.
What we sow, we shall reap in this or future lives. Selfish, hateful acts will bring suffering.
Benevolent (generous/charitable) actions will bring loving reactions. Thus lives form a cycle,
and a field of tension between cause and effect is incarnated time and again; atma is reborn
within the ‘wheel of life’ until the potential energy of the web of karma is totally dissipatd i.e.
moksha is attained when the individual atma/soul would be freed from the store of karma
(action) built up over innumerable lifetimes.
d) Bhakti : It is the loving devotion to (or adoration of) a personal god, and provides refuge
in times of crisis which could be personal loss to a disaster like tsunami, earthquake, flood etc.
The search for Truth, for God is called the Sanatana Dharma or “eternal faith” because it is
inherent in the soul itself where religion begins and is considered as Hinduism known today. It
constitutes a family of myriad faiths (with four primary denominations) and share a vast heritage
of culture and belief – karma, dharma, reincarnation, temple worship, manifold Deities and a
total reliance on the Veda as scriptural authority. As the world’s most ancient religion, Hinduism
encompasses a broad spectrum of philosophies ranging from pluralistic theism to absolute
monism.
One striking feature of Hinduism is that practice takes precedence over belief i.e. what a
Hindu does is more important than what he believes. He may be a theist (believing in the
existence of Gods with or without a belief in a special revelation), pantheist (worshipping all
gods, or believing in the doctrine that identifies God with the universe), atheist (disbelief in the
existence of god), communist (believing in attaining Socialism by overthrowing Capitalism) or
whatever he likes to believe. But what makes one a Hindu, are the ritual practices he performs
and the rules he adheres to.
If one takes a look at thousands of years of Hindu history, it appears that various other
traditions had developed from Hinduism, essentially for social and political reasons. Among
them were Budhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Budha, a prince (a member of the Khshatriya caste),
was a reformer and became founder of a new religion Budhism. At about the same time (around
500 BCE) as Budha lived and taught, an individual named Mahavira proclaimed a doctrine from
which Jain religion developed. The reform movement of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh
movement, took over the monotheistic thought similar to Islam. However, all of them rejected
the one and only basic Hindu scripture Vedas, and thus emerged as completely distinct religions
by apparent dissociation from Hinduism. However, they all believed in the fundamental concept
of the wheel of birth. Thus what most sharply distinguishes Hinduism and its offshoot from
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religions of semitic origin, is its unquestioning acceptance of the doctrine of rebirth,
reincarnation or transmigration of atma (soul).
4. Sacred literature
The earliest scriptures of the faith now known as Hinduism, are believed to have been
composed between 1200 and 1000 BCE by the Aryans who began to settle in north-west India in
about 1500 BCE. This was the start of the vast amount of sacred literature produced during a
period of 1000 years between 1200 and 200 BCE which is known as the Vedic age since the
scriptures are called the Veda.
There are two distinct sources for the sacred literature in Hinduism:
a) Shruti (via hearing), and
b) Smriti (via memory)
a) Shruti
It comprises the Vedas and nothing else, and is dated between 1200 and 1000 BCE. The
contents of the literature are believed to be the eternal words, ‘heard’ by the Rishis directly from
God. For centuries, they have been received by pupils verbally from their teachers exactly as
they heard them (word of mouth), and have been thus preserved orally for thousands of years (at
least ~ 3000 years). The earliest written manuscript, namely Rig-Veda ( Rig can be translated as
‘verse’)dates back to 15th century CE. Most modern scholar priests, however, prefer to recite
Vedic text from memory while performing rituals in a temple, even though the text is now
available in print forms as books. As a result, a student might search in vain for the sacred text in
a temple, and is likely to have the impression that such text does not play a central part in
Hinduism, as it does in some other faiths. However, the truth is that the sacred scripture is always
there in the words spoken by the priest (from memory) performing the ritualVeda (1200 – 1000
BCE), which comprises four different compositions, namely Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva,
and each one of them consists of four parts with following chronological development:
a) Samhitas (1500 – 1200 BCE) which is a collection of hymns and formulas
b) Brahmanas (800 – 500BCE) consists of prose manuals of ritual and prayers for the guidance
of priests
c) Arannyakas (400 – 200BCE) which resulted from discussion in the tranquil atmosphere of
forests about worship, meditation and ritual
d) Upanishads (400 – 200 BCE) contains mystical concepts of Hindu philosophy including the
doctrines of karma and samsara. In the word Upanishad, ‘upa’ means near to you, ‘ni’ means
down and ‘shad’ means sit. So freely translated, the term means ‘sit next to someone. These
texts, therefore, refer to sitting at the feet of the guru to receive confidential secret mystical
teaching, like tutorials.
All four types of Veda can be described by each of the above four parts. For example,
1) Rig -Veda Samhita : hymns praising God under different names
2) Yajur – Veda Samhita : handbook for priest performing Vedic sacrifices which are not
necessarily animals,, but more commonly offering of milk into the fire
3) Sama – Veda Samhita : songs based on Rig-Veda, but with instruction for melodies, and
indicates tunes for singing hymns at special sacrifices
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4) Atharva – Veda Samhita : preserving pre-Aryan traditions in dealing with spells, charms and
magical formulae.
Many mantras which are sac red formulae usually in Sanskrit from these texts, are used in
modern Hindu worship and ritual. The Gayatri verse from Rig-Veda is widely recited in daily
worship. Verses from the first two Vedas are used as mantras in the “sacred thread” (upanayana)
and marriage ceremonies.
.b) Smriti
These texts are composed by human beings. Smriti does not quite rank in theory with
Shruti as eternal truth; it is what is remembered by the race and transmitted down from
generation to generation. Most devout Hindus accept the teachings of Smriti texts as long as they
do not conflict with those of the Shruti which are believed to be direct word of God and remain
supreme authority. Smriti is generally understood to comprise the the two most popular Hindu
Epics : Mahabharat and Ramayan, the Puranas (mythological works in verse extolling gods
and goddesses of Hinduism), and the Dharma Sutras/Sastras (book containing customary law
relating to social conduct).
The Mahabharat, an epic of universal proportions, is the longest epic poem in the world,
comprising 100,000 verses. It revolves around the conflict between two kingdoms (Pandavas and
Kauravas) and their great battle (of Kurukshestra) near modern Delhi ~ 1424 BCE. While the
text is enjoyed simply as a story of conflict between social groups, the plot has countless
discourses on philosophy, religion, astronomy, cosmology, polity ( constitution of the civil
government of a State), economics and many stories illustrating simple truths and ethical
principles. It was compiled over several centuries beginning from the first half of the first
millennium BCE i.e. 500 BCE, reaching its established form by the first century CE, though still
being formulated by the fourth century. The original author of the text was the sage Vyass who
composed 7,000 verses. The second, slightly shorter epic the Ramayan, the story of King Rama,
is attributed to Balmiki. The text was certainly in circulation by the first century CE. The early
scriptures were in the Vedic language of old Sanskrit, perhaps of Dravidian origin. But from
about the 7th century CE, they were brought to the ordinary people through writings in regional
Indian languages.
Tucked away in the middle of the Mahabharat is the most important, influential and
luminous of all Hindu scriptures, the Bhagavat – Gita or song of the Lord. It takes the form of
a dialogue between prince Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna who turns out to be an incarnation
of the supreme God, Vishnu.This scripture marks a turning point in Hinduism, because here for
the first time a totally new element in Hindu spirituality makes itself felt – the love of God for
man and of man for God.
Purana literally means ancient. In contrast to the Epics, the Puranas containing 18 major
sections, deal with stories of the ancient past, and are vast body of complex narratives which
contain geneologies (successive stages of descent) of deities and kings up to the Guptas,
cosmological teachings relative to Gods, man and the world, law codes and descriptions of ritual
and pilgrimages to holy places. They contain essential material for understanding the religions
of gods, such as Vishnu (sustainer of dharma), Siva (defined as ‘All’- a creator, preserver and
destroyer to be able to maintain cycles of life), Agni (the god of fire) and Goddess (Devi). With
the Puranas, we are dealing with oral traditions which were written down . Influences from the
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Epics, Upanishads, Dharma literature and ritual texts are apparent in the Puranas where bulk of
the material was established during the reign of Gupta.(~ 320 – 500 CE).
Dharma Sutras, a
part of secodary revelation (Smriti), are texts concerned with customs and correct human
conduct. Dharma Shastras are slightly larger group of texts elaborating topics of Sutra
literature. Shastras also differ from Sutras in that they are composed in verse in contrast to the
prose or mixture of verse and prose of Sutras. There are two concerns in particular which
dominate the Dharma Sutras/Shastras, namely
1) obligation with regard to one’s stage of life (ashrama), and
2) obligation with regard to one’s position in society i.e. class (Varna) leading to the caste
system.
Fulfilment of these two concerns collectively known as Varnasrama – Dharma, is part of an
essential definition of a Hindu and is discussed next.
I) Ashrama system
Hindu tradition holds that a man passes through four stages as he goes through life towards
the final goal of spiritual liberation, or moksha/nirvana. These four stages, called ashramas which
arose during the fifth century BCE as a result of changes within the Brahmanical tradition, are of
unequal length.. They are regarded as lifestyle choices open to ‘twice- born’.:
1) student life - Brahmacharya : on attaining the age of reason and being invested with the
sacred thread, the youth should embark upon a long course of study of the Vedas and other
scriptures. During this period, the student leads a life of absolute celibacy.
2) householder – Girhastha : after completing either Vedic education or western type of
education in line with the present day reality, he should obtain employment, take a wife and raise
a family. However, in the Hindu family structure, he does not necessarily become the head of the
household if his father or grandfather is still living with him.
3) retirement stage – Vanprastha : a man does not, in practice, leave home to live in a forest
to meditate and study religious scriptures. He would, nevertheless, hand over most of his
responsibilities to his eldest son, and exercise his influence over major family decisions, such as
marriage, as an interested bystander. Traditionally, this stage is reached when a man sees his son
taking over householder’s duties.
4) renunciation stage – Sannyasi : a man may enter this stage once all his family duties are
done. He gives up his earthly possessions, devotes his remaining life to pilgrimage, meditation
and study of scriptures. In other words, he prepares his spiritual quest towards the attainment of
Moksha.
The householder stage is considered to be the most important, and in order to be of some
service to society, a man has a religious duty to marry and have children who will continue the
family name and traditions. It is interesting to mention that in a Hindu household, the most senior
woman sets up the standards of cleanliness and ritual purity which the younger helpers follow.
For a new daughter-in-law, she needs to have had training under similar rules of ritual purity.
And this is one of the reasons why Hindu marriages are arranged by the parents.
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ll) Caste system
The class/caste system based on Varna meaning colour, refers to a symbolic colour
reflecting the social hierarchy. The use of Varna probably arose because of an effort to draw
distinction between the light-skinned Aryan invaders and the dark-skinned aboriginals. While the
term Varna refers to the four classes of Vedic society mentioned below, the term Jati refers to
those sections of Hindu society which we know as ‘caste’. How the four great Varnas described
below, proliferated into the hundreds of caste that exist today, is not clear. However, according
to Mahabharat and Law books, all the hundreds of castes and sub-castes that developed later
on were due to the inter-marriage between the classes. The orthodox view is that one can not
become a Hindu unless you were born into a caste by rebirth.The four original classes were as
follows :
1) Brahmins who were associated with white, the colour of purity and lightness,
2) Khastriyas with red, the colour of passion and energy,
3) Vaisyas with yellow, the colour of earth, and
4) Sudras with black skin, the colour of darkness.
There is another class called the Schedule cast or Untouchables which existed in the first
millennium BCE.
Castes are arranged in a hierarchical structure in any region of India, with the Brahmins
at the top and the Untouchables (Gandhi called them Harijans meaning ‘children of God’)
originating from cross-caste marriages, at the bottom. The other castes are between them. Caste
hierarchy is based on the distinction between purity and pollution, the Brahmins being the most
pure, the Untouchables the most impure. The Untochables were totally excluded from the Vedic
society. However, any rejection of Untouchables by Hindus was considered by Gandhi as a
crime against humanity. Caste should not have anything to do with religion – it is harmful to
both the spiritual and national growth. Any discrimination of the Untouchables is now legally
prohibited in India.
A verse from the hymn called Purusha-sukta in Rig-Veda describes the creation of the
world by the gods who sacrifice and dismember a cosmic giant man (‘Purusa’). The cosmos and
society and even the verses, songs and formulae of the Veda itself are believed to be formed
from different parts of the body. The highest sacred class the Brahmin (the noble) came from his
mouth as society’s voice for reciting and teaching scriptures; the warrior class the Khastriya as
society’s strength to defend his country from the enemies, came from the arms; the common
people working as a merchant or a farmer the Vaisya came from his thigh for transporting goods
for commerce or for working in a field, and the labourer the Sudra on whom society stands, came
from his feet.
Membership of a class was hereditary. According to the ancient Hindu Dharma, men are
not born equal: they are born in a particular station of life for which their past Karma (duty) has
fitted them. The inequalities imposed and made permanent by the system were not being
generally felt to be unjust. This is because they were quite simply considered at the time to be the
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result of good and bad deeds performed in former lives. It was believed that only the advent of
Bhakti cults that can save them from Samsara (which encompasses the total pattern of
successive cycle of earthly lives of birth, death and re-birth experience by a soul) by the grace of
God.
The top three classes based on ‘varnas’, are called the ‘twice born’, because the boys
between age 8 and 12 undergo formal initiation (upanayana) into Vedic study with the investiture
of the ‘sacred thread’. It is considered as second spiritual birth, and signifies entrance into one of
the three upper castes. This rite of passage thus separates the twice-born from the fourth class,
the Sudras, and clearly marks the boundary between those who have access to the Vedic tradition
and those who do not. Brahmins are the most pure, and their Karma (duty) is to teach the Veda,
perform Vedic rituals and sustain spirituality in the community. The Khastriya are the rulers or
warriors protecting the community. The Vaisyas are commoners who should tend animal
husbandery, practise agriculture and money-lending. Sudras should serve the other three classes
and practise art. There is, however, another caste classed as the poorest of the poor - the
Untouchables who came into being later on. They are the people whose Karma has determined
that they would be born into no cast or have lost their membership of a caste by perhaps
illegitimate marriage between persons of different castes which is against the prevailing law.
In the earliest period, there seems to have been some rivalry between the two highest
classes the Brahmins and Kashtriyas. At first, the nobility and the warrior caste, the Kshatriyas,
were at the uppermost level of the hierarchy; there was no real priesthood. But in the course of
time, it became obvious that the correct selection and recitation of sacred texts, and performance
of religious tasks needed ‘specialists’ who then became the priesthood, and the caste of Brahmin
came into being. Many myths and legends following controversy that was harsh and often
bloody, bear eloquent testimony to confirm the superiority of Brahmins among all castes,. Once
emerged triumphant, the Brahmins armoured themselves with powers and privileges that would
be difficult to parallel in any other civilization. They were able to do this by claiming themselves
as the depositories of Brahman who is the God with sacred power/ absolute consciousness/ nondual reality that keeps the world in being. (Brahman must not be confused with Brahma who is
the Hindu Creator aspect of Brahman)
In modern India, the caste system has been abolished by the Indian constitution, but it has
no way disappeared from the hearts and minds of people. Looking at Indian history, there have
been plenty of attempts to abolish or at least to weaken the caste system. Attempts to reform
were made as long as 2500 years ago, prompted by the excessive harshness of Brahmin social
structure. Budhism, Jainism and Sikhism reject the division of people by castes. Alongside these
movements which undertook a socio-political revolution, there was another religion Islam which
led to unbridgable hostility between Hindus and Muslims over the last few centuries, also rejects
caste system as well as polytheism of the Hindus. In this present context of discrimination, it
would be worth recalling the British history where the rules of life governed its own civilization.
For example, how many generations is it really since the nobility and the clergy were strictly
separated from ‘the rest of the people’? Was it not the fixed structure of the social hierarchy
which offered little or no room for development? If we think in historical terms, all this is not so
far back in the past.
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5. Various Gods and temples
The Rig – Veda refers to 33 gods, which is thought to mean that there are 11 gods in the
heavens, 11 in the atmosphere and 11 on earth. However it can be sensibly said that Hindus have
only One Divinity which can be worshipped in various appearances and under different names.
Some Hindus may not believe in One God, but have faith in impersonal cosmic (pertaining to the
universe) principle which signifies cosmic order (Rta) or the regularity of cosmic processes,
such as day and night, the various seasons, springtime, harvest time, the intrinsic justice, moral
law and order underlying all things. Hindus believe in transcendent God (supreme/ superior in
excellence) who is beyond the universe, and yet within all living beings. He can be approached
in a variety of ways. Thus the Supreme can be worshipped in many forms : a handsome young
man, a majestic king, a beautiful girl or even as a featureless stone. Hinduism charaterized as
being polytheistic (belief in many Gods), leads to a multiplicity of divine forms from pan-Hindu
deities, such as Shiva, Vishnu, deities in temples such as Lord Jagannath in Puri and deities in
local village shrines. Worshipping deities is regarded as manifestation of sacred power and
provide refuge in times of crisis (tsunami or earthquake etc) or even final liberation leading to
moksha/nirvana. Broadly speaking, there can be the following three groups of Hindu
worshippers :
1) Vishnu and Lakshmi or Vishnu’s important incarnations, Rama, Krishna and Narashinha
2) Shiva in the form of Lingam or as the cosmic dancer, Natarajan, and
3) the Mother Goddess Shakti variously named as Pavati, Durga or Kali, Mahalakshmi.
Temple or mandir is the home of murtis (images or statues) made of clay, which are material
representations of the divine spirit of God (deity), and there are many temple complexes in India
that have murtis representing all three above patterns of mainstream worship. Worshippers visit
the temple for his own particular needs, because worship in Hinduism generally takes place at
home, and attendance at the temple is optional. Thus some may go to temple to weep and seek
consolation in times of sorrow, while at the same time others will be there to rejoice in their good
fortune or on occasions like marriage to sing God’s name in thanksgiving.
Puja constitues basic elements of Hindu rituals and involves worship of a murti through
water, lights and flowers in temples and shrines. Some of the Puja festival of worshipping deities
are pan-Indian, others are local. For example, the most popular Puja in Bengal is the Durga puja
festival celebrating the slaying of the demon Mahisha by Goddess Durga. All pujas and other
rituals, such as marriage or sacred thread ceremony are performed by priests who are Brahmins.
There is no centrally trained and ordained priesthood in Hinduism. The efficiency and
scholarship of a priest is largely determined by the scholarship of the teacher. Any prospective
priest would have the ability to learn Sanskrit, undertake a long course of study under the
guidance of a local scholar and study the various scriptures including Vedas. One of the most
striking features of all Hindu rituals is the repetition by the priest of Mantras. Central to Hindu
rituals is the idea of purity. Anyone undertaking a ritual should be as free from pollution as
possible, and it is the Hindu view that a constant repetition of mantra would purify thought and
open up the possibility of concentrating on a deity. There is constant repeat of the sacred word
Hari Om. Hari means God. And Om is the mantra which is used most frequently. This word is
difficult to explain. In similarity with the fact that all leaves are held together by a stalk, one can
extend the thought that all sound is held together by a cosmic sound of mantra “aum”. While Om
is not semantically meaningful, it is revered as the sound of “absolute” which manifests the
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cosmos, the essence of Veda. The most famous Vedic mantra, as mentioned earlier, is the
Gayatri which is taught to young Brahmins during their sacred thread ceremony. Puja mantras
are mainly taken from the Puranas.
The building plan underlying the Hindu temple is an apparent expression of an age-old
mystical basic concept: the square which symbolizes absoluteness of Brahman. A typical temple
is built with special significance in each part of the structure. The murti is installed in the inner
sanctum. A spire symbolizing sanctity, is built directly above it to refer to the heavenly chariots
of the deities mentioned in mythology. The devotees stood in front of the shrine but in an
assembly hall separated from the inner room with raised platform. In large temples, there are
other parts or separate buildings which are used for various functions, such as the preparation of
food for the deity and the devotees, the chanting of prayer or mantra or serving as the dancing
hall for the temple dancers.
The sizes of temples in India vary enormously. A shrine dedicated to some minor deity and
situated near a winding mountain road is no larger than a medium-sized fridge. It is constructed
with rough stone slabs with an egg-shaped stone covered with red pigment to symbolize the
deity. As it is believed to protect travellers, drivers passing through sometimes stop to make
offerings of food or small coins. A temple in a village could be as large as a double garage or
bigger in a more prosperous village and is usually made of brick with a short spire above the
murti (likely to be stone-built). Worshippers make their prayers, make offerings and go round the
murti in a clockwise direction taking God’s grace in their hands. In many towns near rivers all
over India, there are stone built temples above the steps leading down to the river. They are
mostly dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu or the Mother Goddess and given the local names of these
deities. Some temples are situated in high mountains. A few of the well-known Shiva temples are
Kedarnath in the Himalayas, Somnath in Gujrat, Vishveshwer at Varanasi and Rameshwer at
the southern tip of India.
6. Hinduism today
Hindu traditions with the emphasis on continuity and the importance of the teacher or Guru
for the transference of knowledge, are essentially conservative and resistant to change. Of
course, there is a fine balance between conservatism (which preserves tradition) and the
necessity to adapt to prevalent historical conditions. Thus some Hindu traditions have faded,
while others have arisen with the impact of modernisation, civil rights (including rights of
Untouchables), women’s movement and nationalism. . The revaluation of Hinduism of modern
times started by the reform movements of the 19th century, but reached the hearts of the Indian
people by Mahatma Gandhi who seemed to incarnate all that was best in Hinduism.
In recent time, there has been a resurgence of Hindu nationalism accompanied by a
suspicion of Islam and Christianity as alien to India and threatening to Hindu values. Even the
moderate Hindus are saying that they have been too tolerant to the minority religions. There has
been a recent rise in militant Hinduism which saw the growth of parties like BJP and RSS, and
particularly, RSS wanted a Hindu state. These organisations were founded in opposition to the
pluralistic stance of Indian reformers such as Tagore, Ramkrishna,Vivekananda, Nehru and
Gandhi who advocated the establishment of a secular state i.e. a state in which all religions are
given equal respect, and none is given a position of advantage. With Gandhi, one is able to see
one way in which Hinduism and modern nationalism mix together.
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Gandhi’s contribution in the context of inter-religion tension ( Hindu-Muslim conflict in
Ayodhya and also Hindu -Sikh dispute in Punjab) lies in the fact that he provided an alternative
to sectarian violence with his political philosophy of letting people keep their own religion and
become better within it, and passive resistance to realize social change. This did not mean
building barriers, but to bridge divisions. An important teaching of Gandhi was the doctrine of
the Jain concept of non-violence (ahinsa). He renounced violence. Based on his strong belief in
truth- force, Gandhi’s fundamental idea is that Truth (satya), God who is the supreme being (sat)
and self (atma) are one in essence. Because all are united in an essential oneness, there should be
harmony and non-violence between people. Gandhi also did a great deal, as mentioned earlier,
for the untouchables. In the post-independence India since 1947, the idea of untouchability has
been officially abolished, and it is now an offence to disadvantage a person in education or
profession because of untouchability.
Gandhi is, however, considered in some respect a figure of the past because of his attitude
towards western technology and products. He preached the gospel of swadeshi which stipulates
the use of only Indian-produced cloth and other raw material. But the majority of Indians look to
the West and its technology for solutions to their economic difficulties. Detached observers,
mostly western, feel that what India needs is a technological revolution. Although introduction of
international “call centres” in India is a great technological breakthrough, there are still some
Indian politicians who are, however, suspicious of this suggestion of ‘technological revolution’
as being the latest Western ploy to keep power in the hands of Europe and America. This is a
dilemma for India whose wish is unlikely to be related to a return to its pre-industrial past.
Gandhi’s importance in this respect is doubtful. There is a mixed feeling among Hindus, many of
whom wish to maintain secular principles of the Indian constitution and turn again to the
teachings and practices of Gandhi. It is apparent that a happy compromise needs to be made by
apraising and reforming from within itself for the Indians in order to be able to compete with the
rest of the world.
7. Examples of Hindu culture
Each of the religions of the world has its own culture with many beautiful refined qualities.
Each religious culture naturally embodies the beliefs of that religion as followers live on their
convictions and goals at all levels of life. There are countless ways the Hindu attitudes of
compassion and respect are expressed; some of them are briefly described below.
Respect
Respect for elder:- Respect for elders is a keystone of Hindu culture. This genuine
acknowledgement of seniority is demonstrated through customs such as sitting to the left of
elders, not speaking excessively, not sitting while they are standing, not contradicting or arguing,
giving them first choice of seats, inviting them to take their food first or serving them first.
Name protocol :- Young people never address their elders by their names. Younger brother, for
example, refers to his elder brother as dada or elder sister as didi (in Bengali), not by his name.
Only men of same age will address each other by first/nick name. A Hindu wife never speaks the
name of her husband. When referring to him, she uses terms such as “my husband”, “him”or, for
example, “Anita’s dad”.(if daughter’s name is Anita).
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Touching feet in respect :- One touches the feet of elders, called pranam, as a sign of respect in
terms of recognition of their humility and inner attainment. Children, for example, touch the feet
of their parents at special times, such as birthdays, Puja and before parting for a journey.
Respect to paper :- If a paper whether blank or written, is on the floor or touched by foot, it is a
sign of disrespect to Saraswati, the Goddess of wisdom and arts. The only way to be pardoned
for this act is to pick up the paper and place it at a level where it can not be touched by foot; at
same time, one should raise the right hand fingers lifting the piece of paper, to touch his own
forehead and chest for forgiveness.
Sacred cow :- Cow is a sacred animal in India, because it is a symbol of “giver of life”, and also
the seat for Vishnu; a white bull (Nandi) is a symbolic mount for Shiva.
Purity
Eastern culture regards purity as more than just physical. Somebody may be perfectly clean,
and yet be impure or polluted by thought. Here are several ways purity is preserved in Hindu
culture.
Purity and food :- Food is central to the concept of purity. In a market place, one should not
touch food they don’t intend to buy. A spoon used to taste a cooked food, must not be put back in
the pot. Similarly, one would not touch the lips to a water vessel that is used by others. Nor
would one share something from which someone has taken a bite or a sip.
No shoes inside home or temple :- Shoes are considered impure objects. A cultured Hindu would
always leave shoes while entering a temple or shrine. This is because leather used for shoes, is
considered to be spiritually impure. In the house, one must avoid carrying shoes in hands from
one part of the premises to another.
Caution with footwear :- It is very important to apologize immediately if one touched someone
with their shoe or sandal. This is done by touching with his right hand the area where foot
touched the other person, and then raising the right hand to touch the forehead and chest.
Use of left hand :- In Asian culture, the left hand is considered impure because it is used for
personal hygiene by washing after answering the call of nature. Handing another person anything
with the left hand may be considered a subtle insult.
Greetings
Giving and receiving with both hands :- Giving and accepting things from one to another,
presenting gifts to the Deity etc., is most properly done with both hands. The reason for this is
that with the gift, prana (the animating force of the cosmos to breath to stay alive) is also given
through both hands, thus introducing more energy to the object. The recipient of the gift also
receives it with both hands along with the prana from the gracious giver. It is known that this
exchange of energies is vital for friendship.
Shaking hands :- The traditional way that Hindus greet one another is with palms held together,
extending their hands to one another for a two-handed handshake in a deliberate transfer of
prana.
Greeting women :- However, Hindu men never shake hands with women who are greeted only
by placing hands in the prayerful gesture.
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Modesty
Interactions in public between men and women are usually much more restrained in Asian
than Western culture. In Asian culture, men socialize with men, and women with women. Men
never touch a woman in public. Married couples do not hug, hold hands or kiss in public.
The Hindu culture is a culture of love, respect, honouring others and humbling one’s own
ego so that the inner nature, which is naturally pure and modest, will shine through. Western
culture gives freedom to the individual, which can be sometimes irrespective of the hurt one may
cause to elders, spouse and children. In contrast, the sense of duty is the foundation of Hindu
culture which gives freedom within the bounds of duty to others.
8. Final comments
A Hindu will naturally feel that his faith is the broadest, the most practical and effective
instrument of spiritual fulfillment. But he would include in his Hindu mind all the religions of
the world as expressions of the one Eternal Path and understand each proportionately in
accordance with its doctrines and dogma. He knows that certain beliefs and inner attitudes are
more conducive to spiritual growth than others, and that all religions are not the same. They
differ in important ways, and thus there is no sense whatsoever in Hinduism to preach as the
“only path”. A devout Hindu is supportive of all efforts that lead to a pure, virtuous life and
would consider unthinkable to dissuade a sincere devotee from his own chosen faith.