Om Etc. Blog:: Hindu | Hinduism | Hindu Gods | Yoga

Hinduism 101

Is it a religion?  Is it a faith? Is it a tradition?
No, it is Hinduism!

What you see are lamps, flowers, fire, incense… what you do not see are the Vedas, the Vedanta and abstract concepts such as Dharma (righteousness), Karma (duty) and many others that make Hinduism what it is. 

A quest

Hinduism was never meant to be a mere religion. It does not restrict itself to just one facet of human belief or one sphere of human activity. It goes beyond being a philosophy, a religion and a set of beliefs, rituals and practices. It is a quest which seeks to give rationality to reality by questioning it and seeking to explain ‘what is’, in a manner that is easy to understand and interesting enough to uphold. It is an entity whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

A way of living

Hinduism was initially called ‘Sanātana Dharmā’ which means ‘the eternal law that supports and sustains those who practice it’. It is based on the principles of Sāmānya Dharma (ethical values common to all) and samskāras (rituals). Ethical values train people to discipline their lives to be in harmony with the society while prescribed rituals serve to fine tune daily living.   Dr. Carl Sagan, the famous astronomer said “The Hindu religion is the only one of the world's great faiths dedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite, number of deaths and rebirths. It is the only religion in which the time scales correspond, to those of modern scientific cosmology”. Modern science is able to explain many Vedic prescriptions only now! 

The Vedas – A Knowledge Bank

At the very base of Hinduism lie the four timeless Vedas, which have been handed down by the Supreme Being, to a chosen few who proved themselves worthy enough to absorb it. These four Vedas, the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sāma Veda and the Atharva Veda form a vast and deep ocean of knowledge. They answer many questions and prescribe courses of action.

The Vedas lay down the varna (caste) system, a broad structure for the society based on the division of labor, the asramās or four stages of life that cater to the basic tendencies that surface at each  stage of life and the codes of conduct and duty so that both the individual and the society flourish.

Over five thousand years, Hinduism has been interpreted, reinterpreted, modified, customized, deified, vilified, assaulted, reinvented and it still remains Hinduism, alive and thriving with all its warts and moles! Go ahead and Google the term Hinduism; there are 6,840,000 plus links for you to make the journey from the ritual to the spiritual and from the temporal to the sublime!

Bhagavad Gita in Hinduism

Though, sometimes referred to as a scripture, the Gita is not a religious doctrine in its strict sense. It is an epic poem, sung by Lord Krishna, the eighth reincarnation of Vishnu, to his friend prince Arjun at the battlefield of Mahabharata.

Picture a battlefield near Delhi; armies of five million combined, on one side are the Pandavas representing the good. On the other side are the Kauravas, their cousins, representing the evil. Prince Arjun, one of the five Pandav brothers is about to enter into a battle with his cousins, an acts he considers immoral. Arjun doubts whether it is the right thing for him to bring his own family to ruins.  Buckled under this confusion he asks, “Why am I doing this, Krishna”. Krishna replies that Arjun should carry out his duty, because all human beings are instruments in God’s eternal plan. What follows is the timeless dialog that Krishna delivers, popularly known as the Gita.

The Gita is composed of eighteen chapters. Gita teaches us to be more spiritual, not more religious and that salvation is not gained through the offices of the priest, but by attention to one’s duty. There are some apparent repetitions in the teachings of the Gita, which are believed to be deliberate. Since these ideas are very profound, these eternal truths are presented in various contexts. Scholars have written commentaries on this philosophical book of knowledge from ancient times to the modern day today, and yet the message reveals new dimensions and interpretations. The modern relevance of this message, though voiced thousands of years ago, is very vital.

Sacred Texts of Hinduism - II

Upanishads

Upanishads (700 BC) are texts that contain the philosophical essence of the Vedas. The philosophy of the Upanishads is called Vedanta and is studied even today. Some of the popular Upanishads are the Isavasya, Kena, Mundaka and Katha Upanishads. There are 108 Upanishads in all. Some authorities classify the Upanishads as Sruti.

Vedangas

To this category belong several texts like the Ayurveda (science of life and health), Dhanurveda (science of war), Gandharva veda (science of music), Arthshastra (science of polity and governance), Dharmashastras (laws) and several other subjects such as phonetics, grammar, astrology and astronomy, to name a few, are covered by the Vedangas.

Darshanas

Six metaphysical systems called Darshanas were compiled immediately before and after the time of Christ. These are theological texts meant for erudite scholars.

Itihasas

The Itihasas include great Hindu epics like the Ramayana (700–500 BC) and the Mahabharata (400 BC) besides other texts. Believed to have been narrated by renowned sages, these epics are complete social, moral and philosophical treatises.  The Itihasas aim at imparting values of life and living through narratives.  

The popular Bhagavad Gita (the Song of the Lord) is a part of the Mahabharata. What makes the Bhagavad Gita special is that its philosophy is relevant to mankind even today.

The Ramayana eulogizes Lord Rama and the Mahabharata Lord Krishna – both avatars of Lord Vishnu.

Puranas

Several mythological texts such as the Vishnu Purana, Shiva Purana, Garuda Purana and the like talk about the various gods in the Hindu pantheon. There are eighteen Mahapuranas (great texts) and a few smaller ones too. These texts were meant for those who could not understand the Vedas. They impart the same teachings in a different flavor. All the Puranas talk about the Hindu trinity – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and their consorts

The Bhagavata Purana chronicles the various avatars of Lord Vishnu.

Agamas

The Agamas (6th–12th centuries AD) detail the methods of temple construction and the methodology for ritual worship. Three main divisions in the Agamas cover the three main divisions in Hinduism – Vaishnavism, Shaivism and the Shakti cult. These are followed even today.

Texts in other languages

As practicing Hindus lost their mastery over Sanskrit, texts in regional languages like the Tevaram and Divya Prabandam, and Ramayana in regional languages became popular.

The sheer number of Hindu sacred texts may seem a bit overwhelming. There is, however, an order to these texts and an unquestionable purpose to their existence. Each text has the potential to liberate a person and put him on the path to moksha – spiritual liberation, the goal of human existence. Ancient seers have truly ensured that suitable means are available for spiritual needs of all levels.

Sacred Texts of Hinduism - I

Most Hindu sacred texts are written in Sanskrit, revered as the language that gods speak. The script used for Sanskrit is Devanagri, which literally means 'from the cities of the gods'. 

Sacred Hindu literature is broadly classified as Sruti (heard) and Smriti (remembered).

Sruti – that which was heard

Vedas

The Vedas are referred to as Sruti – that which was heard when it was revealed by God for the benefit of humanity. These are the oldest of all Hindu texts and have been traced back to 1500–1000 BC. The four branches of the Vedas – Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda – are believed to contain all the knowledge that can ever exist in the world. 

There are 33 gods mentioned in the Vedas – Indra, Prajapati, twelve Adityas, 11 Rudras and 8 Vasus. Praying to these gods, as prescribed in the Vedas, assures the fulfillment of worldly goals. The Vedic gods represent the forces of nature on a macrocosmic level and the forces inside every mortal being, at a microcosmic level.

Smriti – that which was remembered

The era that we now classify as post-Vedic brought forth texts that are referred to as Smriti – that which was remembered and then recorded by ancient Hindu seers. The Vedas were segregated and categorized according to the information they contained and several rishis complied the Smriti texts based on the knowledge that they had assimilated from them. 

Swastika – a symbol wronged

Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, wore a Nazi costume complete with a swastika armband to a fancy dress party. This was just a youngster all dressed up for a theme party, but it created a major furor. He had to make a public apology for having hurt sentiments by sporting the swastika. Hitler and his Nazi army did great harm to the swastika. The Nazi swastika – a black one, a little tilted, with arms turning clockwise on a white circle against a crimson background – denotes evil to anybody who sees it even today. 

There are many theories about why Hitler chose the swastika for his flag. Some say that the swastika is a Nordic cross and that it displayed the Nazi belief in Christianity. Hitler’s Mein Kampf describes the Nazi flag, referring to the swastika as a symbol of victory for Aryans whom he believed were of a superior genetic strain and the forefathers of Northern Europe. The swastika was a common symbol for the Aryans who believed that they were a superior and pure race. Hitler borrowed both the concept and the symbol from the pre-historic Aryans. 

The association with evil has lingered since the World Wars and their aftermath and not many people are able to associate the swastika with what it originally stood for – all that is pure and good.
The swastika can be traced back to ancient civilizations over 3000 years ago in several cultures all over the world. China, Japan, southern Europe, India and even Native Americans used the symbol and had different names for it. Whatever the name, the symbol has always represented life, good luck, victory and power. While use of the symbol has slowly vanished from other religions, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism have continued to use it in the original context. 

The oldest swastika has been traced back to the Indus Valley civilization (Mature period 2600–1900 BCE), which flourished in the Indus River Basin (in modern-day India and Pakistan).  From here it went to Southeast Asia and is still in use there. In the Western world, this symbol has been found at the site of ancient Troy. 

Swastika is a Sanskrit word made up of the sounds ‘su’, ‘asti’ ,‘ik’ and ‘a’. In Sanskrit ‘su’ means good, ‘asti’ is to exist and ‘ik’ translates to “what is and what will be”, with the ‘a’ at the end denoting the feminine gender of the word. The word swastika thus means all that is good exists and will continue to exist. The symbol – an equilateral cross with right facing arms bent at right angles – denotes perpetuity of all that is good universally, with the four arms denoting the four directions.
Symbols in Hinduism are meant to be reminders of a virtuous way of living. So they are used everywhere – houses, temples, clothing, books, for ritual worship, in new homes, on new cars…in all new beginnings. Hinduism has several such practices that are meant to reinforce positive thoughts, which in turn will lead to positive actions.   

The swastika in Hinduism represents the sun’s rays, which symbolize life, health, prosperity and victory. In Buddhism it is treated as a symbol for eternality and universal harmony. In Buddhism the left facing swastika represents love and mercy and the right facing one represents strength and intelligence. The Buddhists call it manji. Hinduism does not use the left facing swastika.
There are skeptics who question the ‘power’ of the symbol. A commonly asked question is that if the swastika symbolizes victory, why did the Nazis not win? The swastika stands for victory of dharma – universal good. What the symbol stood for did win after all!  So the next time you see a swastika symbol – most likely in a Hindu home – let it remind you of eternal goodness everywhere in the world.