|
| Core | Faith & Practices | Sects | Literature | Holy Places | Festivals | Hinduism, unlike many of the modern religions, has no identifiable beginning and there is no founder. It has many gods -- the conventional strength of the pantheon is 330 million. This polytheism lends Hinduism enormous flexibility in terms of modes of worship, rituals and so on. Hinduism is one of the oldest religions of the world and is considered more a way of life than a religion. A characteristic feature of Hinduism is the division of society into a hierarchy of castes.
Core
Hinduism is the religion of the Hindus, who were the original inhabitants of the Indus Valley civilisation. They have numerous Gods, they make their idols and worship them. Although as a religion, Hinduism is considered among the oldest, its oldest source, the Rigveda, can be traced only up to the 2nd millennium BC. The word Hindu is derived from the Sanskrit word Sindhu (means river, the Indus). The Persians in the 5th century BC called the Hindus by that name, identifying them as the people of the land of the Indus. The Hindus' call themselves believers of the Vedas or those who follow the way (dharma) of the four classes (varnas) and stages of life (ashramas).
Hinduism has no central authority, organisational hierarchy or organisation. It includes a variety of elements. It is a complex religion with many spiritual, social, literary and artistic aspects. It is an amalgamation of diverse doctrines, cults, and ways of life. The followers of this religion live in India, Nepal, Bali, Mauritius and Fiji. Almost 80% of India's population are Hindus.
Some of the gods are personifications of Nature and a few animal forms are also worshipped. There are altogether 330 million gods in the Hindu pantheon. Hindus are polytheistic by nature and most of the gods are anthropomorphic.
It is a religion that includes all forms of belief and worship and assimilates the properties of other faiths too. All types of gods are revered and a Hindu is as devout in a church or a mazaar as he is in a temple. No religious idea in India ever dies, it is combined with the new ideas that arise in response to it. The worship the Divine in every manifestation, are doctrinally tolerant, allowing others to practice their beliefs - whether Hindu or non-Hindu. Other forms of worship, strange gods and divergent doctrines are regarded as inadequate rather than wrong. They believe that Divine powers complement one another and that all religions are merely different paths of reaching the same goal - the Par Brahm or the one true God.
Top Faith & Practices
Hindus believe in Par Brahm, an uncreated, eternal, infinite, transcendent and all embracing power that is the only reality. This is the one which appears in its many manifestations and is worshipped by the Hindus. Brahm is the foundation and cause of all creation, its source and goal. Brahm is the self or Atma of all living beings. The Atma or the soul endeavours to unite with the Par Brahm in a desire for salvation or Moksha. This religious search for the ultimate truth and the unification of the Atma with the Parmatma or Par Brahm, has been the focus of India's spiritual life.
Karma is an important concept in a Hindu's life. Good conduct or Karma will be added as his goodness or Punya so that he is granted a better birth in his next life. Paap, or sin is accumulated if the Hindu does not conduct himself in a manner desired by the norms of the religion. If the sins are more than the good deeds he might be born lowly in his next life. Hindus believe in rebirth and transmigration of the soul or Atma and that the soul never dies, it merely takes on a new body.
An individual's deeds or Karma decide his fate in this as well as in the next life. Hindu's believe that after his death and subsequent stay in heaven or hell, he is reborn in one form or another. This cycle of birth-death-birth is the Sansar or the worldly life. All human endeavour is directed towards liberation of the soul from this cycle of birth and rebirth. This liberation is called Moksha.
The Holy Trinity in the huge pantheon of gods that the Hindus worship are the three great figures - Brahma, the creator
- Vishnu, the preserver
- Shiva, the destroyer
This is the Trimurti or the One or Whole with three forms. This is the endorsement of the belief that the Supreme Power is One, while the various gods in daily religious worship are manifestations of this power.
Hindus have Gods that are manifestations of the Trinity. Indra, the god of lightning, Agni, god of fire, Hanuman, the monkey god and many others are manifestations of natural phenomena. Ram and Krishna, avatars or reincarnations of Vishnu, are the two gods who took birth and lived like mortals.
Hindus believe that the universe is a great, enclosed sphere, a cosmic egg inside which are numerous heavens, hells, oceans, and continents, with India at the centre. Time begins from the golden age, or Krita Yuga, through two intermediate periods of decreasing goodness --- the Treata and the Dwapar Yuga --- to the present age, or Kali Yuga. Time is both degenerative and cyclic. At the end of each Kali Yuga, fire and flood destroy the universe, and a new golden age begins.
The Ascetics form an important part of the religious beliefs of Hindus. They are believed to have powers granted to them after years of religious practice. They were the religious gurus in the ancient times and even the kings consulted them for guidance.
Socially a Hindu's life is divided into four stages. - The first stage is that of a chaste student, the Brahmachari. This is the time he spends studying and making an effort towards earning a living.
- The second is that of a married householder, Grihastha, where a man is supposed to fulfil his social obligations by getting married and raising children.
- The third is the beginning of the stage of retirement from this world of temptations or Maya and is called Vanaprastha
- the last, Sanyasa is the stage of the wandering ascetic in search of truth. These rules have been modified according to the passage of time.
For the ordinary Hindu, the main aim of worldly life lies in conforming to the social and ritual duties, adhering to the traditional rules of conduct of one's caste, family and profession. This is his Dharma or laws and duties. The Hindus do not eat beef and killing cows is a great sin. They worship the cow as their mother and giver of bounties.
Top Sects
Three sects developed out of Hinduism - Vaishnavism, followers of Lord Krishna
- Shaivism, followers of Shiv
- Saktism, or followers of Shakti or the Mother Goddesses.
Tantrism was another form of worship that gained popularity. They believed in sacrifice of animals and black magic.
Buddhism and Jainism were the new religions formed around 2nd century BC to 4th century AD.
Top Literature
The religious books of the Hindus are the Vedas Other books are Aranyaks or books studied in the forests, Dharma Sutras, Puranas, Upanishads, the Bhagvad Geeta and the Epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata.
The Rig Veda is the earliest proof of Indo-European languages. It is a collection of prayers offered to Agni, Indra, Mitra, Varuna and other Gods by various families of poets and sages. It consists of ten Mandalas or books, of which Books II to VII form its earliest portion. Books I and X seem to have been later additions. It was probably composed between 1300 and 1000 BC and consists of 1,028 hymns to a pantheon of gods. It has been memorised syllable by syllable and preserved orally to the present day. The Rig Veda has many things common with the Avesta, which is the oldest text in an Iranian language. The two texts use the same names for several gods and even social classes.
The Vedas give an account of the social, religious and cultural life of the Aryans and describe their gods, rituals and customs.
Vedas are considered to be the eternal truth, the absolute religious authority for almost all sects of Hinduism. The sacred scriptures of the Hindus are called Vedas (Knowledge). The rituals mentioned in the Vedas revolve round fire sacrifices. Parts of the Veda are memorised and recited as a religious act of great significance. The mantras contained in them are considered to be healing to the world and provide inner strength and harmony to those who chant them. They are the literary records of the social, spiritual and cultural life of the Aryans in the Vedic period (2nd millennium to 7th century BC)
The practice of animal sacrifice is also mentioned and though not popular then, became a popular practice later.
Basic funeral rites mentioned in the Rigveda were the cremation of the dead though other burial rites were practised. Children were buried. Sati Pratha(burning of the wife on the funeral pyre of the dead husband) is mentioned, but was not actively practised.
Munis (saints), who worshipped Shiva were important figures mentioned in the Veda. They were saints with extraordinary healing, magical and psychic powers.
Yajurveda and Samveda are extensions of the Rigveda. They contain the hymns and prayers that priests recited while performing various rituals.
The Atharvaveda is divided into 20 books and contains prose and hymns.
The Vedic texts divided the universe in three layers or worlds (lok) - Heaven - the abode of the Sun and other gods
- Atmosphere - the layer of clouds
- Earth(Vasundhara) is considered to be a wheel and the container of treasures
The world is composed of five elements or Panch Tatv - sky (Akasa)
- Wind (Vayu)
- Fire (Agni)
- Water (Apas)
- Earth (Bhumi)
Top
Holy Places
Hindus constitute the major chunk of India's population and the country is full of places that are of religious importance. Of the sacred cities in India seven are considered to be the most important. They are Varanasi, Haridwar, Ayodhya, Mathura, Dwaraka, Kanchipuram and Ujjain which are known as Tirtha sthals.
The scenic Himalayas is considered to be the abode of gods and hence is dotted by religious places. Amarnath temple, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Kailash Parvat, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Vaishno Devi temple are a few of the temples in the Himalayas.
Other places of religious importance are Tirupati, Mahabalipuram, Kanyakumari, Puri, Cuttak, Kamrup-Kamakhya in Assam, Kurukshetra and Gaya to name just a few.
Temples of Konark and Khajuraho; and Rajrajeshwar temple in Tanjavur are a few of the famous temples of India not so popular for their religious value as for their exquisite craftsmanship.
Top
Festivals
There is an abundance of festivals in the Hindu religion and almost every occasion is turned into a celebration. They celebrate life and the religious ceremonies, spectacles, worship, prayer, processions, dance and music relate to different cycles of life.
The important festivals are Holi, Janmashtami, Dussehra, Ganesh Chaturthi, Shivratri, Diwali, Navratri, Bhai Dooj, Govardhan Puja, Onam, Pongal and many more.
Top
|
![[ click here for Home ]](/headline/images/home_to.gif){kind=small}
