Many people find it difficult to understand Hinduism because of the numerous deities, scriptures and schools of thought. The difficulty is primarily due to the popular concept of God – that there is a God sitting somewhere up in the heavens and controlling the happenings on earth. In fact majority of Hindus too believe in a ‘God sitting above’ but the sole difference that a Hindu can choose a personal God or Gods from the numerous deities in the Hindu pantheon who are all the representative of the Supreme Being – Brahman.
Hinduism, the real name Sanatana Dharma, should be understood step by step. The confusion arises when people directly jumps into the various schools of thought and scriptures or by forming an opinion by standing in the outskirts.
- First step, every Hindu begins by praying to a personal god or gods or goddess or goddesses. There is a goddess for learning, there is a god of wealth etc etc. Each individual’s personal god is a symbol of his/her highest ideals.
The whole confusion exists in this level. The numerous gods and goddesses exist in this step. The various schools of thoughts, numerous rituals, scriptures, the caste system, mythology, incarnations, festivals, prayers, debates, astrology, shlokas exist in this level. Most people in this level are fortune seekers – who want to lead a good life on the earth with the help of God. So they propitiate a personal god, they bribe the god and so on. The three important sects in Hindu religion – the Vaishnava (Vishnu), Shaivism (Shiva) and Shakti (Mother Goddess) is also found in this level.
Even majority of Hindus do not realize the concept of Brahman in this level. The personal god becomes the sole refuge for many. But the scriptures like the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads constantly remind people to think beyond and to find answers to questions like Who am I? or Why do I suffer? Very few find time to find answers or even dare to enter the next domain.
- The next level begins with contemplation. Some people reach at this level by questioning the very existence of God. Others by trying to find answers to questions like Who am I?
In this level the person realizes that I and God are one and therefore he studies more and more about Brahman. In this level he reads the scriptures, looks out for a Guru, and follows the teachings of ancient seers and modern day gurus. Most seekers in this level are students – they read and try to find answers. A person in this level will frequently go back to the previous level. Because it is difficult to understand Brahman or that there is only one reality and God is not going to help him in finding wealth.
- There are few souls who will get into the next level. They realize that there is only Brahman – I and Body will drop.
They will become silent or sing praises of the numerous gods or concentrate on a single personal God. Reaching this level is very difficult. But very few return back from this level. They like solitude life or become wandering monks. They find the true meaning of ‘Thou Art That’ or everything is Brahman. There is no death or birth but mere transformation. But even in this level to a small degree the Brahman remains outside.
- The next level is the highest level.
Nothing to write, nothing to talk because there is only ONE.
45 comments:
This is a helpful introduction and is even better with the new graphics, thank you.
This was indeed a good article..Can you kindly confirm the source ?
There is no source. This is what i have so far learned about Sanatana Dharma and trying to express it.
This is by far one of the most concise interpretation I have encountered and has helped me resolve some ambiguities that I have been struggling to interpret. It would be of great help if you can provide links to specific references, scriptures or interpretations that can promote further reasoning and illuminate these concepts to a greater depth.
There are no links or further scriptural interpretation that I can give. This is what I have come to learn. Stop searching outside. In fact stop searching and realize the Super Consciousness in you...see Supreme Being in you and all around you. Live in the present because that is what all is there.
Thank you. My Christian Sunday School class is studying Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism as compared to Christianity. Today we visited the local Hindu Temple and Cultural Center. Your blog combined with the explanation I got from a man at the Temple have clarified a lot. I enjoy learning how others view God and learn about God. Thank you!
What an eye opener!!! Thank you Abhilash!!
shailaja
Hello Abhilash,
Your information is helpful. But I have a number of doubts. Maybe you can help clarify them.
1. So what does one do with all the festivals (Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Dusshera, ...) and also most of the pooja ghars have so many deities. Why isn't there just one deity?
2. There are so many days dedicated to each deity. Even in the week every deity has a day.
3. Does Hinduism say that a person should be a vegetarian and eating meat is commiting sin?
4. Does one offend God by eating meat?
5. Does one need to pray everyday? I mean if I am a decent person and do not hurt anyone, mind my own business and do some good like helping charitable organizations once in a while will God be not happy with me for not praying to God everyday?
What does Sanatana Dharma say about all of this? I am just trying to get a better perspective here.
Thank you.
Aditya
Thanks Abhilash, ur article is really good, thanks again
Wonderful article. Just have faith in what Abhilash Said.
GREAT EXPLAINATION..CLEARLY ONE CAN UNDERSTAND THE NARRATION..
GREAT NARRATION..CLEARLY EXPLAINED BUT TELL ME ONETHING..HOW TO GET INVOLVED IN GOD IN OUR DAILY LIFE DOING OUR DAILY DUITIES AND STAYING WITH FAMILY..HOW TO SAY GOD THAT WE REMEMBER HIM DAILY EVERY HOUR AND SEC..
You don’t need to run away from family to realize god. That Supreme Being is in you whether you are in family or forest or anywhere. Do your duties. Develop independent thinking. Control ego and anger. Finally, the most important part is to realize that you are part of this Nature and not above it – Everything in this universe is nothing but Brahman – the Supreme being.
Wow !! The best concise explanation of the concept of Hinduism. You my friend has even surpassed a lot of holy man who can't clearly explain the concept Hinduism so simply and clearly.
Great Interpretation!!!!
Nice one. We all try to bribe the god without doing God.
SEKHAR
Good job man
But Abhilash, you have not given reply to the questions, posted by Anonymus
I have some more doubts, which I find difficult to remove
1. What is the difference between Ishwar and Bhagwan?
2. There are so many dieties, so who make the coordianation among them in the matter of conflict?
3. Can God be so weak to be taken care of by others, like Shri Ram and Shri Krishna during thier childhood?
Please remove the doubts, as some of my chritian friends embarrased me by this questions
Excellent understanding Abhilash. But tell me something, are you able to apply it in your daily life? I seem to be on the level 2, seeking, searching and not getting anywhere much. Who knows how many janams it will take to move on. On the intellectual level, I think anyone who reads a little on spirituality, accepts the SOHAM part. But yet the duality of it all exists and we are not able to get beyond it. At least I have not been able to.
But thanks for your post. It is very interesting and far more simply put than numerous books that one could read.
Hello Abhilash
Though the title of your subject is understanding Hinduism. Don't you think this applies to every faith. They might not have many Gods or Godesses but they still have a personal God.
And the actual truth that by and large all religions teach is that only "God" exists.
Bulleh Shah, a Sufi Saint, put it very beautifully. He said "tu hain main na hi sajna tu hain main na hi". In other words he realised that he did not exist. It was all an illusion.
May I take the liberty of trying to answer some questions that Aditya put forth?
1. Firstly the numerous deities worshipped by Hindus have not been created by Hinduism per se. Hindusim is a philosophy, a way of life and not a religion. Religions are man made. And just like religions are man made, the deities have been given form and shape by man. There was a lovely comment in the Readers Digest once which said " God made man in his image. Man, being a gentleman, reciprocated.
All the deities represent a facet of human beings or nature. Durga represents Shakti, Hanuman represents courage and bhakti, Ram represents the true manifestation of truth and principle etc. Man chose to give each aspect a shape in the form that pleased him/her. And then we started worshipping that form. We do not want to accept the fact that actually that shakti, courage, truthfulness all exist within us. And all that is Godly is God so God is within us. We find it easier to put the onus of all problems on someone else's shoulders. So we use God (whichever form suits us at that particular time). Instead of tapping those qualities within ourselves and trying to become pure and Godly, we start seeing ourselves as "this" and place God on a pedastal as "that". Therein the duality.As for celebrations, it gives us a cause to celebrate life. For example, Dussehra is celebrated because Ravan was destroyed. Ravan represents arrogance. Why don't we destroy the arrogance within us and then celebrate? And deities are just for the concentration of our eyes. Do we need a deity? If our aatma is the only thing that is eternal, is it different from the Param aatma? But the form (aakar) helps us to concentrate till we can understand the 'nirakar'.
2. The days consigned to each deity are once again decided by someone at some time because it suited them. We don't eat non-veg on Tuesdays, but we don't stop to rationalise why. Why is one day different from another? There is no difference. It is all a mind set. However, if one can give up eating non-veg on some days at least, it is discipling.
3. Every religion says that to kill is wrong. So either one accepts the fact that the being which you are eating has been killed and that is wrong, or you can justify yourselves by saying "but we did not kill". However, I think what we need to understand is that we kill for wrong reasons. For eg. when a lion kills it is to satisfy his hunger and not because he has a choice. A human being has been given a choice and yet he chooses to kill. So it is really a matter of personal understanding.
By and large every religion says that killing is a sin. So when one eats by killing, it is up to us how we wish to understand that. I don't think there are any laid down rules about eating. All the rules are man made for one's own suitability.
4. We are back to point one. Is there a separate God? If yes where is he? If no, then who are we offending? We are actually offending/pleasing our own sensibilities.
5. Why pray everyday? When you are a decent person and don't hurt anyone and do good, isn't that enough, you asked. By and large that should be good. But is that enough to awaken the divinity inside you (which we choose to call GOD)? When we do good we feel mighty good ourselves and take pride in it. How to get rid of that ego, that pride? By prayer. Prayer is not something which can really be defined. It is actually an offering to the divinity within us to awaken and arise so that slowly we become one with the Param aatma. Even if our daily prayer consists of offering gratitude to anyone and everyone it will teach us to be grateful. Very few of us know how to be grateful, to appreciate the basic things in life. So prayer is very important. You feel you are a decent person. Have you ever tried to see how others view you? There might be something we need to change in ourselves to make us better everyday. For that we need to pray.
I am sorry this post is so long. And it is really only my small understanding and is not meant to agree or disagree with anyone's way of thinking.
I appreciate your attempt at understanding Hinduism. But alas, I am afraid, you have missed the bus. Hinduism will stand the test of time b'cause it is based on an ancient science which is much much advanced than the present day science.To understand Hinduism and impart it to modern man our approach should be to understand Hindu concepts of 1.Time;2.Space;3.Creation;4.Purpose of creation;5.Purusharthas(four objectives);6.Social order (varnashrama dharma);7.Shruti & Smriti
S L Kulkarni
This is a wonderfully simple and clear. Thank you very much for this blog and the other long comment which explains so many questions in every Hindu's mind.
I am very clear about the explanation till Step 3. But Step 4 leaves me puzzled. Are you saying there is no God and no I and just the universe? Or are you saying everything is just one. This obviously relates to Moksha. Can you please clarify.
I really don't know if I can explain, because I am not sure if I understand it myself, but I am going to give it a shot anyway.
The Vedas say "first there was that"!. What is that? The way I see it, with my limited knowledge, is "that" is the energy which is the only thing that exists. It is that energy of which we are a part. This body, made up of five elements is actually nothing. The fact that we exist is our illusion. If we could recognise that fact, we would stop giving so much importance to "I", "me", "myself". But because that part of the energy is separated from the supreme energy and has taken shape as gross matter, it starts giving itself an identity.
When the body dies, the five elements mix again with the element and the body ceases to exist. But does that mean that the energy which we call "Aatma" that is "that" is no more? No!! That energy is always there. When waves arise from the ocean and some water which comes up to the beach stays there, does that mean it stops to exist as the ocean? No it is still the ocean with the same potential. But if it considers itself a drop of water, then it remains a drop and dries up (vanishes nevertheless). But if the drop merges again with the ocean, it is the ocean. It is not a drop, it has no separate identity.
Similarly we are the energy, the soul, the Aatma which is just segregated from the supreme energy. The energy is just waiting to merge with the supreme energy, the Param Aatma.
The same energy has the power to give shape to everything, so to bring up all the energy together, takes shape sometimes as Avtaars. The same potential that exists in them exists in us. With the difference that they realise their potential and we don't.So when they take the gross body it is with the intent of collecting all the energy together and merging it into the supreme energy, namely GOD.
But I don't think there is a man or woman shaped God sitting somewhere doling out justice. Because we are so limited in this gross matter body, that we cannot see ourselves as "that" so we feel "that" is powerful and we gave it a separate name, i.e. GOD. In other words GOD is actually "that" and we all are a part of "that". And I feel it is when we will start trying to accept this, then all the wrong doings would stop, because it is only a matter of accepting that there is no difference between you, me, him, her etc. The same energy exists everywhere.
Maybe I don't make much sense but I sincerely hope that you can make something out of what has been written.
thanks for whtevr u wrote....i really accept it and its makin me soo much better...ppl may try not to accept much or gt confused about what u wrote because it a too difficult for a humna mind with strong beliefs to accpt such a fact..only a person wid an open mind can do so...thnx a lot...it was very well explained and written...i have made these points in book and will b sharin it wid others too..good stuff...
There is no such thing as HINDUISM. It is Sanatan Dharam
Hi this is good. a valuable addition in the ''who am I stage'' would be that of first realising at a mental level that ''I'' am only the ''breadth''. (when breadth leaves the body there is no you or yours). And breadth as equal to life energy that animates all things in nature. (Hence the importance of Yoga). From this starts the search to realise unity or oneness...ie: not just understanding it at a mental level, but pursuiing the truth through sadhana and realising it for yourself.
To anonymous:"First there was that". This "that" is not the energy. Actually "that"cannot be explained by words,only hints can be given to realize. What do you experience when you sleep and do not see any dream?Can you explain it?--A pure awareness remains!Sages use "that" word for "Awareness".Awareness(all knower,ever-bliss,ever-new)is self and in sanskirit self means Atman.Energy is vibration of this Awareness called karna body(chit) then comes mind(thoughts) and then physical body(matter). And in Truth:Whole world is projection of this "Awareness",in other words Atman or God himself manifestied as a world.There is neither five elements nor any body or shape but only Atman exists and we all are always ONE with this Truth."I Me Myself and thoughts of separation from the supreme is only illusion due to the duality.
The numerous gods and goddesses represent respect for life because our sages have discovered the truth that there is no differnce between GOD and WORLD out there.
God is the name for the Supreme Energy that created the universe and laid down the rules of physics, mathematics and all sciences that we know. A Chinese girl once told me that according to her Science is God. U.S. follows humanism - a kind way of saying we are also Gods. Hinduism says the same thing, that each one of us is really part of the whole, a drop of the ocean, a ray of the brilliant light - into which we get to merge back when we leave this body. We are here each to fulfil some mission, some part in the supreme design and each one of us is really part of the big picture and fit in neatly into his plan, according to the roles he designs. He - the supreme God is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and omnivalent. He manifests himself in any shape, gender and form we divine him to be. Ancient sages and relatively modern masters too have seen the deities appear to them in the forms they were worshiped. We have historic evidence in Hindu texts of great sages, poets and musicians who have composed great works in response to divine appearance and encouragement. Hinduism believes that complete devotion and continuous thought of the divine regardless of one's status or hardships or pleasures in life, is the only path to God and salvation. Hinduism also believes that every chance of a human birth is only a way given to the soul to train itself to strive for and achieve that salvation. No other form of life has the resource, knowledge, ability and competence to know, understand and reach for God. Every civilization on the earth, regardless of its origin or place in time and geographical situation, has found its own unique form of wondering, questioning, reaching out and trying to understand this one supreme being. Based on their time in space, their climate, flora and fauna, they have developed ways and means to show their love, gratitude and appreciation to the supreme being and to pass on that understanding to their next generations. They have used their time, possessions, lives, talent and built great houses of worship in the best way they knew, always reaching upwards. That part is common among all religions - to reach out to the divine - to thank him for his wonderful creation.
In Hinduism, this has been done with almost singular mindedness. Reaching out to the divine is the one and only main goal of a Hindu.Everything else is besides and for the purpose of reaching out to God and attaining salvation. God is seen as the only wise entity that is whole and the rest of us as ignorant and incomplete without him. Thus God becomes a necessary part of life and not a choice. Hindus believe that the closer they come to being detached of worldly pleasures and ties, the closer they are to God. Hindus are strongly advised to clasp on to the permanent and hold fast to spirituality rather than hanker after worldly things. Hindu Gods are believed to not be forgiving ones that will relent if we beg for mercy. Hindus believe that devotees are tested again and again to see if they will stay steadfast in their faith and principles and not sway from the right path and remain devoted and true to Sanathana Dharma. So Hindus normally believe in fatalism and karma and cause and effect and choose to lay all burdens on their favorite deity and move on with life, trying to stay in the favor of their chosen deity. Every Hindu knows that they are worshipping one form of the various interpretations of the same supreme being. Marriage between Gods, are all symbolic. Shiva and Shakthi represent Matter adn Energy in the Universe. Shiva is nothing without Shakthi - Husband is nothing without a consort or another interpretaion could be Matter by itself cannot achieve anything positive without Energy. Shakthi is accompanied by Wealth and Wisdom - Lakshmi and Saraswathi. Narayana or Vishnu is the protector and wise man and the consort of Wealth. Wisdom and wealth are both desired and needed for everyone to live happily. Shivam destroys ignorance and arrogance by his dance and makes room for new things in the universe. Woe to those who anger Shiva. Ramayana and Mahabharatha show every nuance of life and how it should be lived with exemplary characters depicting all kinds of human traits - evil and good. Repeating these stories to kids are like gospel and cultivate good nature and principles and warn them of what to avoid. Eating meat and so on depends on one's vacation and time in life. A hunter who offered meat daily to Lord Shiva out of love attained salvation according to PeriaPuranam - an epic describing the lives of Shiva devotees. Kshatriyas - Kings and warrior clans always ate meat, there is no taboo for them, because they needed it to sustain their occupation.
Faith and complete devotion, faith removed of doubts, true self-less love for God under any circumstance - regardless of which form you choose to worship the Supreme Being by - that is what is asked of a human being, as a Hindu. Being tolerant to every other religion - because of the fact that we see each life on the earth as only a part of the whole supreme being is a must. Yes, we should not kill, but Hinduism also says that one may do so to protect oneself if we or our loved ones are in danger. All the avatars did go to war when they had t- even Rama and Krishna. It will be foolish not to protect oneself from enemies.
Hinduism incorporates the divine aspect into everything an individual does in life. God is always the priority and main factor that governs every conscious act in the life of a Hindu. Again the choice of deities and way of worship is flexible with not many hard and fast rules. From the minute the Hindu gets up from bed to the time he goes to sleep, God is entwined automatically into the daily routines of life. Nothing is done without remembering God, in one form and way or the other. For example, getting up and cleansing oneself first is a must - a ritual, tied to awareness of God. Facing the sun or a favorite deity, performing worship comes next - to thank the almighty, ask for his presence and guidance in everything that is done before the start of the day. Preparation of food is done with God in mind - so the ingredients are clean and fresh and the food prepared with the mind set that it is to be offered to the most precious entity of all - God first. So care goes into it and the food is eaten after being offered and graced by the Lord - whichever deity the individual prefers. Starting work and performing it is called karma yoga - again the typical Hindu is supposed to strive to do their very best because they are working for God - the bigger picture really - not just for the boss handing out wages. So the Hindu looks at his daily work as really a work he is doing as part of the big plan. This makes him stay honest and do his best. Charity and helping those in need is essential in Sanadhana Dharma. The word Dharma has no literal translation in other languages - because Dharma defines many aspects - love and devotion to the almighty, respect for parents, teachers and wise men and elders, compassion for those who do not have or are in pain and suffering, kindness and gratitude to all animals especially to those that help us survive and work for us - like the cow and the bullock, being dutiful in whatever role we are playing - children to their parents, students to their teachers, wife to husband, husband to wife, employee to employers, businessmen to customers, and so on.
Even leisure, entertainment, culture and art, festivals, enjoyment - everything is tied to remembering God and his wonderful nature and creation. Every classical art form in Hinduism, literature, dance, music, drama, sculpture, architecture - overflows with only one theme - love for God, admiration for his beauty and aesthetic sense, supreme power and generosity - for he loved us all so much that he made such beautiful worlds and showered it with all its wonderful creatures and so many pleasures, that we can only wonder with awe.
Even love and sex is tied to divinity and has rules that are rigid and entwined with God and his symbolism. Shiva as the supreme male form - Mahadeva and Shakthi as the supreme female form - the mother of everythin, both can be infinitely graceful and create wonders but also become filled with anger and destroy when they see arrogance and ignorance that causes harm to the populace.
Thus the Hindu is constantly made conscious of God and his presence every minute of the day and is made to understand that everything they see is really Maya - an illusion and temporary with the permanent, real truth resting only with the Supreme Being - and one can find true happiness only when we reach that sublime form.
Once this understanding becomes established, everything else falls into place. Troubles, and situations we feel are not good or make us feel unhappy, no longer appear great or take on significance. We are able to move on and get past difficulties, if our concentration is placed beyond these and is held fast by the supreme being. We rest our burdens and perform better. We aim for salvation and strive for that goal forgetting petty matters.
Festivals are many and scattered all around the year, and incorporate social behavior, making of favorite foods, dressing in beautiful clothes and decking of homes and streets - while at the center of everything is the worship and praise of one of the numerous deities. Again, this is a a very effective way of keeping the God at the center of all celebrations and entertainment. It keeps religion from becoming a chore and boring, and serious. I believe as children, I got attracted into religious activities because of these festivals.
The form of deities of worship is not as important as following the basic principles of Sanadhana Dharma in every thought, word and action.
Hinduism recognizes women as an essential piece of the whole.
Arthanareeshwarar is a form of Shiva and Shakthi appearing as halves merged into one - showing that male and female have equal status. This is unique among all religions, a special and valuable factor that uplifts women in a male dominated world.
Navrathri is a festival entirely dedicated to women and exists for women fellowship in society.
Women decorate their homes, welcoming Shakthi, Lakshmi and Saraswathi into their homes - celebrating them for nine days. Every woman goes through three stages in life.
First - Kanniga - a virgin endowed with all the qualities, playfulness, attractive form, quest for knowledge, courage and beauty combined - personified as Durga.
When the girl grows up and marries she becomes the wealth and center of the household - the source of well being and satisfaction, maintaining the home and caring for all within it. Now she is Lakshmi for that home.
When the woman ages and crosses middle age she becomes filled with wisdom and learning, fulfils the role of teaching the younger generation and guide them into being good Hindus. She is now adept and well versed in the Hindu texts and rules and is able to be an example and leader for the household. Now she is Saraswathi.
So Navarathri celebrates the three forms of womanhood as Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswathi. Children participate in decorating the home, setting up idols and other statues depicting scenes and characters in the epics and vedas, incorporating local flora and fuana, decorations , vocational figures. Everyday women get dressed up in beautiful clothes, visit each other's homes, exchange gifts and delicacies, sing hymns and felicitate each other.
On the ninth day, Durga, Lakshmit and Saraswathi are all worshipped together as one. Saraswathi puja, Durgashtami, Vijaya Dasami these are the days ending the festival - celebrating and thanking Saraswathi for education to win over ignorance, Durga for courage to defy arrogance, and Lakshmi for a prosperous year ahead.
Hinduism also uplifts children - male and female - into a special place within the religion, again another unique feature among all others. Baby Krishna, Baby Murugan and Kanya Kumari are endowed with magical, mystical qualities and power and worshipped in endearing ways. There are numerous famous beautiful temples dedicated to these deities in the child form.
Children get all excited and participate in fun filled festivals like Krishna Jayanthi, Karthikai, Durgashtami and Navrathri. Temples hold 10 to 14 day festivals where processions and rituals depict incidents from the Hindu texts. Children enjoy and have fun while learning that good vs evil is a battle and the Gods always fight and destroy bad entities. Soora Samharam festival is one such example of a fun activity that shows the young Murugan destroying the bad Sooran, children have great fun throwing paper arrows at the Sooran in this religious festival. Without knowing it, and in a fun filled way, the child learns its religion and its basic principles and gets drawn into it.
Hinduism also promotes awareness and respect for animals. Ganesh - the deity with the head of an elephant is revered first before other deities. This reinforces respect and love for animals. Most animals are revered in one form or the other. Animals are depicted as vahanas used by the deities - starting from the lower ones like the rat and snake to bigger animals like the ox, the cow, and the elephant. Garuda - the Kite/Eagle is vahana for Vishnu and is held sacred.
Children are acclimatized to these beings and inherit respect and love for these animals which then grows into a general love for animals and all forms of life.
Cleanliness and hygiene is incorporated into the religion - one has to worship their deities daily but has to be clean before they do so - so daily personal hygiene is no longer a choice for the individual.
Local flora and fauna is appreciated and used in daily religious rituals as a must, so that plants and flowers, trees and herbs are nurtured and nourished without fail. Flowers, garlands, fragrance from roots, woods and resins, ornamental sheaths made of cocanut palm leaves, beads and nuts woven into rosaries and other form of local condiments are used to cleanse and decorate the deities. This ensures that religious practices pervades and improves horticulture, agriculture and other healthy occupations around the region.
Various forms of physical activities described in Hindu texts are designed to improve the mind and body. Yoga and meditation with controlled breathing is well known and proven to improve general mental and physical health if practiced properly and regularly.
Hinduism is not only a religion but is also mainly a culture that tries to improve the spiritual, mental and physical well being of humans in general. Hinduism also promotes peace in general.Buddhism and Jainism which were born from Hinduism as the root - promote and emphasize the message of peace and non-violence more than the parent religion.
Hindus are not known to be aggressive or oppressive in the past. Ancient Hindu kings from North India like Ashoka and from the South like Mahendra Pallava encouraged religious tolerance.
It is best to remain true to the basic Hindu principles and remain tolerant and peace loving.
But being a minority religion of ancient value and considering the nature of Hindus to avoid confrontation - Hinduism is in danger of extinction by other aggressive external forces.
Since resorting to violence and aggression or using unfair means like money and power is against the gentle, just nature of the typical Hindu, legal steps should best be take to preserve Hinduism from being overridden by roughshod forces. Religious conversion and aggressive occupation by other sects should be controlled and prohibited. Giving a classical endangered status to Hindus and Hinduism in all parts of the world in all countries could be one way to preserve this ancient religion that has still stood the test of time. Governments should always be secular and freedom of religion is one of the most important rights of any peoples. Hence force and aggression or cheating to convert and push should be identified and prevented.
At the same time divisions within the Hindu religion and competition for power within inside factions should be avoided, this is new and not advisable and tends to confuse the general populace.
Typical Hindu families have no restriction in the choice of worship. Within the same family there will be devotees of Shiva, Vishnu, Devi and so on, as they feel. Many Hindus study in Christian and other institutions and have no ill feelings in visiting other places of worship - since the typical Hindu views every being as part of the whole Brahman - the Paramathma - the Supreme Being. But this nature could endanger Hinduism and its continuance. However, losing that trait of being tolerant and kind to all is the basic block upon which Hinduism is built so losing that trait would also remove one's status as a true Hindu.
So it rests upon law and govt to protect the ancient religions like Hinduism from being wiped out by newer, more aggressive ones.
Religion should not get involved in politics. The result is dangerous to both and devastating to all as history tells. We have the wars in other parts of the globe - and more recent ones - all waged based on the religion - politics mix.
Division within the religion and those divisions spilling onto the political scene and being taken up by various parties to be used as weapons or tools to throw against or gain support from or for anti-campaigning will bring disastrous results.
The state of all govts is mostly secular now and if not should be secular for the simple reason that no country is now home to one set of religious people. There is always a majority but that majority too can no longer subsist alone within an island of themselves. The world has become a global village and transport and subsistence of peoples is no longer rigidly tied to a region or country or religion. So the govt functions, industry and business is now upheld typically by a mix of all kinds of people, regardless of the location of the entity.
Politics, business, industry and govt should necessarily separate ways with religion at all times. Religion is a choice, secularism is not a choice but a must.
I am a strong supporter of Hinduism and a born Hindu and will never give up my rights and choice to practice the Hindu religion with devout love and sincerty. But I would never allow my beloved religion to be used to gain support for political, financial or business purposes. That would disrespect the religion.
I would also strongly oppose those who seek to use religion to promote separatism or radicalism and seek to push for disunion from the center govts, under any circumstance. Preserving the union is as important as preserving the Hindu religion in its entirety.
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CVRajan
That is correct. After all there is only one god. That god is not a human, or any other sentient being including aliens or inanimate beings/objects. The god is not in any real form and only has certain qualities. The god is not linked to any prophet/sage/demi-god,demi-goddess. Such supernatural people can never understand god, can never have a relationship with god, can never reach god nor any part of their being touch god. They might have a had a little bit of privy to some mysteries or secrets like a fleeting glimpse but cannot ever claim to be with god or know the sole path to god. Different sages/prophets/demi-gods, demi-goddesses have elaborated on paths to the the so called elusive divine power based on their own experiences. There is bias as the culture, environment, circumstances all play a role in that being's spiritual experience. Also the being has had their own learning in legends, folklore, and the education afforded at that time and place(s) so when they speak their preaching then they have already learned to speak words and understand their meaning and it is not as spontaneous as it may seem. Other beings may not be acquainted with the preacher's knowledge and so think that it could be important and so start to follow due their own lack of knowledge and experience. These beings then aggrandise the preaching beyond what they are i.e. make a bandwagon and then jump onto it to carry the preacher and themselves through the multitudes causing near hysteria without the participants both on the bandwagon and in the multitude not having the inclination to examine the facts and think logically, i.e. going with the fashion/trend. This leads to confusion, mix ups, conflicting statements from the same preachers that are ignored in all the rush leading to the the folowers having a poor level of faith and the opening up of so many sects basing themselves/focusing themselves on certain preachings that differ from others. From these more learning is added and beings claim to have spiritual experiences from following certain of the preachings. whilst everyone is concentrating on these things the secular aspects of learning are neglected or upheld by a few. It is with these secular aspects that scoiety moves ahead and not with spiritual experience or some divine beings stepping in and doing all the work. Time spent on non-secular alternative pursuits should be held in balance with secular pursuits. All the modern education system the world over is secular with a little peppering of religious/spiritual fanfare.
When one has a fleeting glimpse then in their own understanding they feel with their limited knowlegde and experience that they have felt/experienced god or the something divine. It is said that all parts of creation and everything that we know belong in the end to a higher power but to that being that claims to have witnessed/felt something amazing and spiritual is not always clear. The being would have come from a strong atmosphere of spiritualism and religiosity that pushes the beings towards certain personalities or levels through devotion, mediatation and prayer. There may be an expectation that eventually something will be achieved and they may have emotions that cannot be put into words and so they assume it was a divine being or god that they felt and sensed. With all the background of that focus already there thay would naturally be a bias towards describing a phenomenon/phenomena as being that which was sought after. These expereinces are not always as they seem. The higher power conjures up phenomena to satisfy our cravings (otherwise our own mind is very capable of doing such inventions). Even when the being claims to have felt or experienced such events of a deity(s) or supernatural being(s) that they met manifesting itself, then they comsider this an achievement on their part i.e. the part of the devotee. In the process the supernatural unexplained being is said to communicate ideas. The prophet/sage/demigod, demigoddess then goes on to comunicate their experiences with others with the bias of what they think they have achieved by witnessing such an event using their own knowledge and understanding. This then propagates their ideas and so forth.
When the being starts to propagate ideas and experiences, other beings around begin to take heed. They understand each in their own way. They may only sense certain parts of the ideas communicated by the being that felt experiences maybe because they were only interested in particular parts of the discourses. They may only understand particular parts of the discourses because they are not well grounded in the other areas. The parts they grasp, they mull over and focus and themselves propagate these ideas with their own ideas and understanding making their own interpretations and coming to some conclusions on some issues. The beings that took heed at the start all had different interests and understanding on the ideas and discourses of the being that had felt experiences and so their own ideas would each be different from the ideas given out in the discourses by the being that felt experiences and their own experiences would also play a part in the dissemination of information where they too would relate their events in their lives to others. Others would be inspired by these events and would take heed of discourses of learning given by the different beings that had firstly taken heed of the being that felt experiences. They too would add learning and preaching and teaching. Other layers of knowledge would be added by successive teachers and preachers. The information available would be too much for most beings to fathom and only some being would have the experience and learning to understand all the disourses and events. These beings would bring together much information into a format that was better to understand again not necesarily taking everything into account and making the focus on most issues but not all. Seminaries would be set up giving the oppurtunity for individuals seeking to be taught the knowledge accumulated. This would be taught in interpretive fashon to give meaning to the somewhat unintelligible information. Along the way interpretations would dominate the study and many details would be left out as not convenient for the motivation of the patrons and scholars work. Eventually many sects arise that all seem to be teaching thorough material but are yet quite different from each other. The various ranks of clergy and devotee are content with the preaching as it suits them as individuals. The study and teaching is sometimes tailored to their needs. They now have many personalities that they respect in their own traditions each having made a contribution and rituals have increased the attempt at getting more meaning. Outside these traditions that have accrued over time there are other traditions that have been practiced among beings. These also contain within them much meaning and learning that also requires understanding with thought and depth. These traditions have a different style and feel to them and can lead the individual to a better sense of the world around but still keep the power of inquiry and awareness of the unknown continuous.
Part of the human experience is to be spiritual. From what is known beings that are animate do not seem to worship or meditate in their lives. In the sleeping hours it may be said that they do not dream or imagine of the so called higher lifestyle rather they gather and/or consolidate nutrients or only seem to think of their everyday lives in a fantasy manner and during waking hours strive and ponder on their survival (The vast majority of the living species know as humans that have ever lived and that will ever live are like this).It has been noted though that animals do have strong senses that are much superior to ourselves and have been celebrated and remembered in every culture with many stories giving them a human feel. Inanimate objects from our understanding do not exhibit any sort of spiritualism but may give off energy that can be thought of as spiritual power e.g crystals, totems, symbols, motto statements in solid of sound energy form etc. Planets may also possess such qualities as can comets and other heavenly bodies. Aliens are said to have elaborate systems of religion and are considered far more spiritually mature than the simple human.
By being spiritual one may also hone on certain craft that sharpens the senses and lets the individual do things that defy known scientific laws and may also allow one to to be a bearer of energy that can have odd but postitive effects. Living without any sort of spiritual feeling or pursuit leaves one open to the rigours of daily life that can take over and hold one at its mercy but a spiritual being fullfills a natural part of itself that otherwise cannot be helped along by other means giving it more feeling and understanding of anything and everything.
Trees and plant life are scientifically classified as living beings. They are animate but grow or move very slowly. They seem like rocky outcrops when they are living, dying or dead. Tree spirits are supposed to exist giving them a mysterious feel; they could be classed as between animal and plant animate species and supposedly inanimate non living rocks and stone.
Of the many personalities that that have given knowledge to others and have caused a process of thought provoking, a few details are kept. The clothes, mannerisms, diet, ornaments, style, skills, life events and virtues are remembered. The followers of these great individuals seeking an other-worldly fellowship with them go to great lengths to imitate and emulate not only in the philosophy they imparted but also in more ordinary matters. They try to become that greatness that they hold so dear to themselves. Nearly all are like a tangent line that allegedly just touches the curve or shape that it is approaching but could also be said that it never really touches the target shape at all. The tangent line does not suddenly fall into place with the curve or shape it is aiming for and follow the pattern of the target shape but it just continues on its own path. Maybe later in its route it may become a curve or another shape making a pattern of its own to which other tangent lines are aiming to reach and have that touch which may never even occur.
Many of the great sentient beings of human species or of a similar human like nature have made use of numbers to classify numbers of repetitions, rituals, followers, rewards, time other miscellaneous data and geometry that can be reflected in architecture but mathematics is not noticeably dealt with.
When one goes through the practice of meditation and prayer then one must be cautious. The feelings that one gets from such activites can grab the senses of some taking control of the innermost parts of the feeling system. This system then becomes accustomed to these sensations and other parts of the feeling system are neglected having been not stimulated. This takeover can render the being not to function at its desired ability making the being far off from its predetermined level of function, just continuing its existence ordinarily.
Confucius (Kong Zi/ Kung fu-tzu) and many of the ilk knew how to control the takeover of the feeling system and maintain ability. If this did not happen then the humanity would have been a little more uncivilised and this planet would have stayed mundane and primitive like much of the rest of the planets and stars.
Dear Anonymous,
Thank you for your explanation. I really appreciate it. Thank you for taking out time to answer my questions. Can you point me to any resources that I can read to gain a better understanding?
Thank you again.
Thank you.
sincerely,
Aditya
A very well written article
Excellent Abilash! Adding this to my fav list!
Religion carries with it culture, heritage and traditions. These are very often from the environment that they were brought up in. There is a rustic feel to religion as it takes one to a more natural way of living, preserving tradtional lifestyle. Some of the religion has a primitive meaning taking one to a time of human ancestry and the ideas and philosophy of those periods. A legacy of these times is the beautiful artwork, costume, poetry, and architecture that are attractions today.
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