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Hinduism
An Overview of
Hinduism
A Little History
 All
the dates that I will give are according to western scholars and not what
many Hindus themselves believe. Roots of Hinduism go back to at least 2500
BC to the Indus valley civilization which lasted to about 1900 BC. The
writing of the era is not yet deciphered so much of what has been said is
speculative but there are figurines of mother goddess and a Shiva (a God
of Hindu trinity) like figure in Yogic posture (meditation pose) attest to
the fact that the beginnings of Hinduism are here. The people of Indus
valley had cities with as many as 40,000 people with planned streets, a
sewer system and bathing tanks. A large number of seals with writing on
them have been found.
Around 1750 BC, it is believed that Indo-Europeans who call themselves,
Aryas come upon the scene. They are Sanskrit speaking, nomadic, war-faring
people. They ride horses and have chariots. Up until this time there is no
evidence of horses on the subcontinent. Their Chief God is Zeus-like Indra,
the God of the thunder-bolt, They have holy books called “Vedas.” These
are probably world’s most ancient books. There are four Vedas; chief
amongst them is the Rigveda which consists of 1028 Suktas or songs.
Individual verses of the Suktas or called Mantras. These earliest parts of
the Vedas are called Samhitas or collections. The Aryas worship powers of
nature like fire, waters, thunder, sun, moon and so on but there are many
hymns in the Vedas which indicate that all the gods that they worship are
really manifestation of the same basic reality which is called ,
“Brahman.” A famous line says, “There is only one truth but the Wise call
it by many names.” Main mode of worship is sacrifice. Both animal and
vegetable offerings are made to the fire which through its flames takes
the offerings to the gods above. Mantras from the Rigveda are used to
invoke Gods. The verses from the Vedas are used to this day for the main
rites of birth, marriage and death etc.
Around 900 BC, books called Brahmanas are composed which try to explain
the significance of rituals. A little later Aranyakas (the forest books)
and lastly the Upanishads (the philosophical parts of the Vedas) are
composed. The roots of more elaborate philosophical and theological
systems developed later are in the Upanishads. Vedic literature consists
of Sanmhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads.
Buddha comes around 500 BC. Buddha Dharma is partly a rebellion against
the ritualistic religion of the Vedas. Actually so are the Upanishads but
they emphasize the internal sacrifice of your ego, pride, greed, lust and
so on rather than animals and grains.
The two epics Ramayana (the story of Rama) and Mahabharata (story of the
great battle) are composed around 200 BC but tell of the events of about
1000 years earlier. Probably the most popular Hindu religious and
philosophical work is Bhagavadgita. It is a short work of 700 verses which
actually forms a chapter of the Mahabharata. Manusmriti, the Hindu Law
Book was also written around first century BC. Books called Puranas
(ancient lore and mythology) are written in the Gupta period which lasted
from about 300 AD to 600 AD.
The religion of the Vedas goes through many transformations and syntheses
to produce modern Hinduism. Probably the most formative years are 500 BC
to 500 AD.
One God or Many Gods
As I already eluded to Hindus believe in only one God. Many gods of
Hinduism refer to the manifestation of the same basic reality called
“Brahman” in the Vedas but more commonly called, “Bhagavan” or “Ishwara”
in modern Hinduism.
God is one but we speak of him in three roles Brahma, the creator, Vishnu,
the sustainer and Shiva, the destroyer. This is the Hindu Trinity. The
three are of course one. For the reasons too intricate to go into here,
Brahma is rarely worshipped. Most commonly worshipped Gods are Vishnu (as
himself or in his incarnations Rama and Krishna), Shiva and the Goddess
Durga. The Goddess who is known by many names is generally considered the
wife of Shiva. Other prominent Goddesses are Lakshmi (the Goddesss of
wealth, wife of Vishnu) and Saraswati (the Goddess of learning and all
fine arts). My name happens to be Lakshmi-Narayan, i.e. Narayan who is the
husband of Lakshmi i.e. Vishnu.
Vishnu is the one who descends to earth from time to time, (generally in
human form but not always) to set things right when they have gone wrong
terribly.
Some Central Concepts
Let us start with a discussion of our perception of reality. My reality is
my image of the world by the mirror of my sense organs. The image that my
organs create is my individual sansara, distinct but similar to your
sansara. This similarity makes communication possible.
This sansara continues so long as my decision to experience it continues
i.e. so long as I am attached to and desire things of this world, I
continue in this world. The momentum of my desires propels me into my next
life. This is the psychological basis for the principle of rebirth or
reincarnation, a central concept in the Hindu world-view. The story is
told of a Rishi (a holy man) who had relinquished all desires but then
took pity on a fawn whose mother had died and took it in his Ashram. He
became so attached to it that soon after when he died he was born as a
deer. As he was quite spiritually advanced, he remembered his previous
birth and was able to minimize the damage.
The exact instrument of it is the doctrine of Karma which essentially
means that you will reap what you sow. Literal meaning of Karma is action
not fate as sometimes thought of. Of course your karma determines your
fate. Your actions of your past lives dictate what your present life is
and your deeds in this life dictate what your next life would be.
Dharma
Dharma in one sense of the word means ethical and moral principles by
which you should live your life so that you satisfy and fulfill your needs
and desires without infringing on the rights of others.
Artha or wealth is needed to satisfy our wants and desires. Desires are
called Kama. This brings together the three aims of life Dharma, Artha and
Kama. One should earn money (Artha) by righteous means (Dharma) to satisfy
his desires (Kama).
Yet there is a fourth aim. Man thirsts for meaning in this life. Moksha
(release), nirvana, salvation, self-realization, God; call it what you
may; is the fourth and, some will say, the most important aim of life.
According to Hindu view, so long as your thirst, your hankering for the
things of this world continues your sansara continues and salvation can’t
be had. You can even go to heaven and hell but you will be back as soon as
your thirst continues. In Hinduism both heaven and hell are transitory
where you may go between births or think of them as alternate worlds where
you may be born and will die. Yes, even gods in Indra’s heaven die or fall
as they say.
There is a charming story in
one of the Puranas (Books that deal with the ancient lore and mythology)
of Indra, the king of heaven who became too arrogant and had to be
humbled. I think I will tell the story briefly as it will bring out many
of the central ideas. Once there was a terrible demon named Vritra who had
encircled all the waters of the three worlds and all the creatures were
dying of hunger and thirst. Indra who is also the god of clouds and
thunder struck the demon’s head by a thunderbolt and freed the waters. Now
Indra’s glory increased and he started having visions of grandeur and he
started building a palace unmatched in heaven and earth. Vishwakarma was
Indra’s architect. Now every time Indra came to inspect construct he will
add to and/or alter the plans. Vishwakarma, distraught by Indra’s plans
sought Brahma’s help. Brahma assured him that it will all be taken care
of. Next day, a young Brahmin boy showed up at Indra’s court. Indra
greeted him and asked the purpose of his visit. Boy told him that he had
heard of his palace under construction and came to see it. Boy told him
that he had seen many Indras and Vishwakarmas before him and wanted to see
how this palace compared with theirs. Indra was dumbfounded as to how this
young boy could have seen many Indras. The boy explained to him how each
eon has an Indra and he has seen millions of eons pass by and seen more
Indras than there are particles of sand on a beach. Now the boy saw a
train of ants crawling on the floor and he laughed. Indra wanted to know
why he laughed. The boy says, “Don’t ask. You will not like the answer.”
Indra insists. Boy says that each one of these ants was an Indra in its
time. Needless to say Indra’s pride was cured and Vishwakarma got his
well-deserved rest.
We come back to the fourth aim
of life, the Moksha. The thing to realize is that regardless how much
wealth you amass, how much success you have in this world, you can never
be really satisfied until you know who you are. Each one of us is a Jiva,
an individual soul and God is “Brahman” the universal soul. So long as the
Jiva is bound to Sansara by attachments and clings to his little ego, he
considers himself to be separate from Brahman. In reality he is not. Just
as the light of a light bulb is not really different from the light of the
sun, Jiva is not different from Brahman. Just as the space enclosed in a
box is not really different from the space outside, Jiva is not different
from Brahman. Just as when a clay pot is broken, the space within the pot
and outside the box becomes one. When the bonds of Sansara are broken, and
the little ego is extinguished, Jiva becomes Brahman. Many a Muslim sufi
saints cried out, “Analhaq’ meaning, “I am God.” when this realization
came to them and were put to death by Muslim rulers for their acts of
blasphemy. Zen Buddhists talk of the little mind and the big mind. It is
the same story but with a different terminology. This is what the famous
sentence from the Hindu Scripture, “That thou art.” You are what you are
seeking. Once you realize this, you are everywhere in the sun and moon and
stars, this world and other world. Theoretical knowledge is not enough.
You have to know that it is so in your very bones. This is what the
mystical experience, the Krishna consciousness or the Christ-
consciousness or the oceanic consciousness that William James described is
all about.
There are many paths to God-realization, just as a summit can be reached
in many ways. All religions strive to get to the top. To say that there is
only path is to Hindus wrongheaded. This attitude can only hinder an
aspirant’s progress. In Gita (7.22 & 9.23), a Hindu holy book, Krishna
says, “No matter which God a man worships, he worships only me. All
prayers come unto me.” For a Hindu, this establishes the equal status of
all religions.
Let us say a little about some of the
paths to self-realization
The Way of Knowledge: Constant meditation on the question, “Who am I?”
eventually makes one realize what one is seeking. What you are looking for
is your own true nature. Let me tell of a story to illustrate the point.
Once there was a lion cub lost in the forest and found by a goat herder
who brought him up with his goats. The cub grew up to bleat like a goat
and eat grass. One day a lion passed by and saw this strange phenomenon.
The goats ran away leaving behind cub. The lion asked the cub what he was
doing with a bunch of goats. The cub answered, “What do you mean? I am a
goat.” The lion took him to river and let him see that the cub was no goat
but a lion and gave him a piece of meat to eat. The cub gagged on it but
once he got a taste of it, he gave his first lion roar. We are all lions
behaving like goats, not knowing our true nature.
The Way of Devotion: Worship the lord with all your heart and eventually
you will reach him.
The Way of Action: Perform all your actions in a detached way i.e. in a
disinterested manner, not seeking the fruit of your action but not falling
into sloth either. Leave the fruits of your actions to the lord.
The Way of Meditation: Our mind is like an ocean with our thoughts and
emotions like waves and ripples. If we can stop these ripples, the ocean
becomes calm and you can behold the joy of eternity.
The Iconography of the Nataraja Statue
Shiva is also Nataraja, the lord of dancers. Here Shiva incorporates all
three functions of the Gods of Trinity and can be considered as the
personification of the absolute, a term used by the great German
Indologist Heinrich Zimmer. This image represents the cosmic dance of the
lord. In his upper right hand is a drum. While beating this drum, Shiva
dances and brings the creation into being. In the upper left hand he
carries a flame, the symbol of destruction. Creation and destruction are
the two sides of the same coin. It can’t be otherwise. Any one who is born
must die. The raised lower right hand says, “Don’t be afraid.” The other
left hand points toward the raised left foot wherein lies the salvation of
the devotee. Under the right foot is the demon representing ignorance or
forgetfulness. The image is enclosed in a ring of flames representing the
vital processes of the universe. Shiva, also called Mahakala, the Great
Time is perpetually dancing this dance of creation and destruction. His
face is mask-like representing the enigma of universe.
– Dr. Laxmi N. Gupta
June 12, 2005
Originally from Kanpur, India, Laxmi-Narayan
Gupta is a professor in the Department of
Math and Statistics at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester,
NY. He had his early education in Kanpur with a M.Sc in Mathematics and
after spending a year at IIT, Kanpur as a research scholar, he came to
State University of NY at Buffalo where he finished his Ph. D. in 1972.
He taught in a small college in Buffalo before joining RIT in 1980.
He has been writing Hindi poetry for several years. Some of his poems
have been published in "Vishwa", "Vishwa-Vivek", and "Bhasha Setu." The
former two are quarterly magazines published from Us and the latter is
published from India. He has done a Hindi verse translation of Gita
published in 1998 by the Reliance Press of New Delhi. An associate editor
of Vishwa, Professor Gupta has also done a Hindi verse translation of "Ishopanishad,"
published on Hindinest.com
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Hinduism
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