Among its roots is the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India, and as such Hinduism is often stated to be the "oldest religious tradition" or "oldest living major tradition."[3][4][5][6] It is formed of diverse traditions and types and has no single founder.[7] Hinduism is the world's third largest religion after Christianity and Islam, with approximately a billion adherents, of whom about 905 million live in India.[8] Other countries with large Hindu populations can be found across southern Asia.
Hinduism's vast body of scriptures is divided into Śruti ("revealed") and Smriti ("remembered"). These scriptures discuss theology, philosophy and mythology, and provide information on the practice of dharma (religious living). Among these texts, the Vedas and the Upanishads are the foremost in authority, importance and antiquity. Other major scriptures include the Tantras, the Agama, the Purāṇas and the epics Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa. The Bhagavad Gītā, a treatise from the Mahābhārata, spoken by Krishna, is sometimes called a summary of the spiritual teachings of the Vedas.[9]
Hindū is the Persian name of the Indus River, first encountered in the Old Persian word Hindu (həndu), corresponding to Vedic Sanskrit Sindhu, the Indus River.[10] The Rig Veda mentions the land of the Indo-Aryans as Sapta Sindhu (the land of the seven rivers in northwestern South Asia, one of them being the Indus). This corresponds to Hapta Həndu in the Avesta (Vendidad or Videvdad 1.18)—the sacred scripture of Zoroastrianism. The term was used for those who lived in the Indian subcontinent on or beyond the "Sindhu".[11] In Islam the Arabic texts - al-Hind (the Hind) also refers to 'the land of the people of modern day India'.[12]
The Persian term (Middle Persian Hindūk, New Persian Hindū) entered India with the Delhi Sultanate and appears in South Indian and Kashmiri texts from at least 1323 CE,[13] and increasingly so during British rule. Since the end of the 18th century the word has been used as an umbrella term for most of the religious, spiritual, and philosophical traditions of the sub-continent, excluding the distinct religions of Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
The term Hindu was introduced to the English. It generally denotes the religious, philosophical, and cultural traditions native to India.[14]
Typology
Hinduism as we know it can be subdivided into a number of major currents. Of the historical division into six darshanas, only two schools, Vedanta and Yoga survive. The main divisions of Hinduism today are Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Smartism and Shaktism. The vast majority of present day Hindus can be categorized under one of these four groups, although there are many other, partly overlapping, allegiances and denominations.[citation needed]
McDaniel (2007) distinguishes six more generic "types" of Hinduism, in an attempt to accommodate a variety of views on a rather complex object:[15]
• Folk Hinduism, as based on local traditions and cults of local deities at a communal level and spanning thorough to pre-historic times or at least prior to written Vedas;
• Vedic Hinduism as still being practiced by traditionalist brahmins, for example shrautins;
• Vedantic Hinduism, for example Advaita (Smartism), as based on philosophical approach of the Upanishads;
• Yogic Hinduism, especially based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali;
• "Dharmic" Hinduism or "daily morality", based on the notion of Karma, and societal norms such as Hindu marriage customs etc.
• Bhakti or devotionalism, especially as in Vaishnavism;
Definitions
The characteristic of comprehensive tolerance to differences in belief and Hinduism's dogmatic openness makes it difficult to define it as a religion according to the traditional Western conceptions.[16] While Hinduism is a clear practical concept to the majority of adherents,[citation needed] many expressed a problem arriving at a definition of the term, mainly because of the wide range of traditions and ideas incorporated or covered by it.[17] While sometimes referred to as a religion, it is more often defined as a religious tradition,[1] it is therefore described as both the oldest of the world's religions and most diverse in religious traditions.[18][3][19][20] Most Hindu traditions revere a body of religious or sacred literature, the Vedas, although there are exceptions to it; some religious traditions regard certain particular rituals as essential for salvation, but a variety of views on it co-exist; some Hindu philosophies postulate a theistic ontology of creation, sustenance, and destruction of the universe, yet some Hindus are atheists. Hinduism is sometimes characterized with the belief in reincarnation (samsara) determined by the law of karma, and that salvation is freedom from this cycle of repeated birth and death, however other religions of the region, such as Buddhism and Jainism, also believe in this, outside of the scope of Hinduism.[17] Hinduism is therefore viewed as the most complex of all the living, historical world religions.[21] Despite its complexity Hinduism is not only one of the numerically largest, but also the oldest living major tradition on earth, with roots reaching back into the prehistory.[22]
A definition of Hinduism, given by the first Vice President of India and prominent theologian, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan states that it is not "just a faith", but in itself related to the union of reason and intuition, he explicitly suggests, that it can not be defined, but is only to be experienced.[23] Similarly some academics are suggesting that Hinduism can be seen as a category with "fuzzy edges", rather than a well defined and rigid entity. Some forms of religious expression are central to Hinduism, while others are not as central but still within the category. Based on that Ferro-Luzzi has developed a 'Prototype Theory approach' to the definition of Hinduism.[24]
Hinduism as one of the world religions we know today had only occurred or perceived since the 19th century, when the term 'Hindu-ism' started being used by leaders of Hindu reform movements or revivalists,[2] and, often considered to be biased, Western orientalists or the "first Indologists". However it is clearly accepted that sources of Hinduism and the "streams" which feed in to it are very ancient, extending back to the Indus Valley civilization and earliest expressions of historical Vedic religion.[25] It is not an accepted view that Hinduism is the construction of Western orientalists to make sense of the plurality of religious phenomena originating and based on the Vedic traditions, however some many have suggested it is.[26][27][28]
Problem with the single definition or of what is actually meant by the term 'Hinduism' is often associated to the fact that Hinduism does not have a single or common historical founder. Hinduism, or as some say 'Hinduisms', does not have a single system of salvation and has different goals according to each sect or denomination. The forms of Vedic religion are seen, not as an alternative to Hinduism but as its earliest form, and there is little justification for the divisions found in much western scholarly writing between Vedism, Brahmanism, and Hinduism.[29][30] Some suggest that Hinduism does not have a "unified system of belief encoded in declaration of faith or a creed". It is therefore a very different kind of religion in these respects to the monolithic tradition of Islam, while some suggest there are stronger affinities with the structure of Judaism.[17]
From the western point of view, the understanding of Hinduism was mediated by Western notions of what religion is and how it relates to more ancient forms of belief.[31] It is further complicated by the frequent use of the term "faith" as a synonym for "religion".[17] Some academics[32] and many practitioners refer to Hinduism with a native definition, as 'Sanātana Dharma', a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law" or "eternal way".[2][33]
Beliefs
Temple carving at Hoysaleswara temple representing the Trimurti: Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu.
Hinduism refers to the religious mainstream which evolved organically and spread over a large territory marked by significant ethnic and cultural diversity. This mainstream evolved both by innovation from within, and by assimilation of external traditions or cults into the Hindu fold. The result is an enormous variety of religious traditions, ranging from innumerable small, unsophisticated cults to the major religious movements with millions of adherents spread over the entire subcontinent. The identification of Hinduism as an independent religion separate from Buddhism or Jainism consequently hinges on the affirmation of adherents that it is such.[34]
Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include (but are not restricted to), Dharma (ethics/duties), Samsāra (The continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth), Karma (action and subsequent reaction), Moksha (liberation from samsara), and the various Yogas (paths or practices). [35]
Concept of God
Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning monotheism, polytheism,[36] panentheism, pantheism, monism, and atheism. It is sometimes referred to as henotheistic (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an overgeneralization.[37]
Most Hindus believe that the spirit or soul — the true "self" of every person, called the ātman — is eternal.[38] According to the monistic/pantheistic theologies of Hinduism (such as Advaita Vedanta school), this Atman is ultimately indistinct from Brahman, the supreme spirit. Hence, these schools are called non-dualist.[39] The goal of life, according to the Advaita school, is to realize that one's ātman is identical to Brahman, the supreme soul.[40] The Upanishads state that whoever becomes fully aware of the ātman as the innermost core of one's own self realizes an identity with Brahman and thereby reaches moksha (liberation or freedom).[38][41]
Dualistic schools (see Dvaita and Bhakti) understand Brahman as a Supreme Being who possesses personality, and they worship him or her thus, as Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, or Shakti, depending on the sect. The ātman is dependent on God, while moksha depends on love towards God and on God's grace.[42] When God is viewed as the supreme personal being (rather than as the infinite principle), God is called Ishvara ("The Lord"[43]), Bhagavan ("The Auspicious One"[43]) or Parameshwara ("The Supreme Lord"[43]).[39] However interpretations of Ishvara vary, ranging from non-belief in Ishvara by followers of Mimamsakas, to identifying Brahman and Ishvara as one, as in Advaita.[39] There are also schools like the Samkhya which have atheistic leanings.[44]
Devas and avatars
Krishna (left), the eighth incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu or svayam bhagavan, with his consort Radha, worshiped as Radha Krishna across a number of traditions - traditional painting from the 1700s.
The Hindu scriptures refer to celestial entities called Devas (or devī in feminine form; devatā used synonymously for Deva in Hindi), "the shining ones", which may be translated into English as "gods" or "heavenly beings".[45] The devas are an integral part of Hindu culture and are depicted in art, architecture and through icons, and mythological stories about them are related in the scriptures, particularly in Indian epic poetry and the Puranas. They are, however, often distinguished from Ishvara, a supreme personal god, with many Hindus worshiping Ishvara in a particular form as their iṣṭa devatā, or chosen ideal.[46][47] The choice is a matter of individual preference[48] and regional and family traditions.[48]
Hindu epics and the Puranas relate several episodes of the descent of God to Earth in corporeal form to restore dharma in society and guide humans to moksha. Such an incarnation is called an avatar. The most prominent avatars are of Vishnu and include Rama (protagonist in Ramayana) and Krishna (a central figure in the epic Mahabharata).
Karma and samsara
Main article: Karma in Hinduism
Karma translates literally as action, work, or deed[49] and can be described as the "moral law of cause and effect".[50] According to the Upanishads an individual, known as the jiva-atma, develops sanskaras (impressions) from actions, whether physical or mental. The linga sharira, a body more subtle than the physical one but less subtle than the soul, retains impressions, carrying them over into the next life, establishing a unique trajectory for the individual.[51] Thus, the concept of a universal, neutral, and never-failing karma intrinsically relates to reincarnation as well as one's personality, characteristics, and family. Karma binds together the notions of free will and destiny.
This cycle of action, reaction, birth, death and rebirth is a continuum called samsara. The notion of reincarnation and karma is a strong premise in Hindu thought. The Bhagavad Gita states that:
“ As a person puts on new clothes and discards old and torn clothes,
similarly an embodied soul enters new material bodies, leaving the old bodies.(B.G. 2:22)[52]
”
Samsara provides ephemeral pleasures, which lead people to desire rebirth so as to enjoy the pleasures of a perishable body. However, escaping the world of samsara through moksha is believed to ensure lasting happiness and peace.[53][54] It is thought that after several reincarnations, an atman eventually seeks unity with the cosmic spirit (Brahman/Paramatman).
The ultimate goal of life, referred to as moksha, nirvana or samadhi, is understood in several different ways: as the realization of one's union with God; as the realization of one's eternal relationship with God; realization of the unity of all existence; perfect unselfishness and knowledge of the Self; as the attainment of perfect mental peace; and as detachment from worldly desires. Such a realization liberates one from samsara and ends the cycle of rebirth.[55][56]
The exact conceptualization of moksha differs among the various Hindu schools of thought. For example, Advaita Vedanta holds that after attaining moksha an atman no longer identifies itself with an individual but as identical with Brahman in all respects. The followers of Dvaita (dualistic) schools identify themselves as part of Brahman, and after attaining moksha expect to spend eternity in a loka (heaven),[57] in the company of their chosen form of Ishvara. Thus, it is said the followers of dvaita wish to "taste sugar", while the followers of Advaita wish to "become sugar".[58]
Objectives of human life
Main article: Purusharthas
Classical Hindu thought accepts the following objectives of human life, known as the puruṣārthas: dharma "righteousness, ethikos", artha "livelihood, wealth", kāma "sensual pleasure", mokṣa "liberation, freedom [from samsara]".[59][60]
Yoga
Main article: Yoga
In whatever way a Hindu defines the goal of life, there are several methods (yogas) that sages have taught for reaching that goal. Texts dedicated to Yoga include the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and, as their philosophical and historical basis, the Upanishads. Paths one can follow to achieve the spiritual goal of life (moksha, samadhi or nirvana) include:
• Bhakti Yoga (the path of love and devotion)
• Karma Yoga (the path of right action)
• Rāja Yoga (the path of meditation)
• Jñāna Yoga (the path of wisdom)[61]
An individual may prefer one or some yogas over others, according to his or her inclination and understanding. Some devotional schools teach that bhakti is the only practical path to achieve spiritual perfection for most people, based on their belief that the world is currently in the Kali Yuga (one of four epochs part of the Yuga cycle).[62] Practice of one yoga does not exclude others. Many schools believe that the different yogas naturally blend into and aid other yogas. For example, the practice of jnana yoga, is thought to inevitably lead to pure love (the goal of bhakti yoga), and vice versa.[63] Someone practicing deep meditation (such as in raja yoga) must embody the core principles of karma yoga, jnana yoga and bhakti yoga, whether directly or indirectly.[61][64]
Practices
A large Ganesha murti from a Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai
Main articles: Puja, Yajna, Murti, Mandir, Hindu iconography, Japa, and Mantra
Hindu practices generally involve seeking awareness of God and sometimes also seeking blessings from Devas. Therefore, Hinduism has developed numerous practices meant to help one think of divinity in the midst of everyday life. Hindus can engage in pūjā (worship or veneration),[43] either at home or at a temple. At home, Hindus often create a shrine with icons dedicated to their chosen form(s) of God. Temples are usually dedicated to a primary deity along with associated subordinate deities though some commemorate multiple deities. Visiting temples is not obligatory,[65] and many visit temples only during religious festivals. Hindus perform their worship through icons (murtis). The icon serves as a tangible link between the worshiper and God.[66] The image is often considered a manifestation of God, since God is immanent. The Padma Purana states that the mūrti is not to be thought of as mere stone or wood but as a manifest form of the Divinity.[67] A few Hindu sects, such as the Ārya Samāj, do not believe in worshiping God through icons.
Hinduism has a developed system of symbolism and iconography to represent the sacred in art, architecture, literature and worship. These symbols gain their meaning from the scriptures, mythology, or cultural traditions. The syllable Om (which represents the Parabrahman) and the Swastika sign (which symbolizes auspiciousness) have grown to represent Hinduism itself, while other markings such as tilaka identify a follower of the faith. Hinduism associates many symbols, which include the lotus, chakra and veena, with particular deities.
Mantras are invocations, praise and prayers that through their meaning, sound, and chanting style help a devotee focus the mind on holy thoughts or express devotion to God/the deities. Many devotees perform morning ablutions at the bank of a sacred river while chanting the Gayatri Mantra or Mahamrityunjaya mantras.[citation needed] The epic Mahabharata extols Japa (ritualistic chanting) as the greatest duty in the Kali Yuga (what Hindus believe to be the current age).[citation needed] Many adopt Japa as their primary spiritual practice.[citation needed]
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