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1 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. 2 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, 3 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. 4 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 5 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 6 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 7 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. 8 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 9 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. 10 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 11 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. 12 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). 13 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. 14 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.