Hinduism, the major religion of India, is a further development of Vedism in reaction to Jainism and Buddhism. In basic outlook, Hinduism is much more speculative, mystical, even pessimistic than Vedism. The religion incorporates a number of pre-Aryan ideas (also expressed in Jainism and Buddhism) such as the doctrine of reincarnation or transmigration (of souls) and the emphasis placed on asceticism in preparation for an eventual withdrawal from the world of the senses in order to achieve moksha (release) from the bonds of separate existence (earthly or heavenly).

Scriptures: (1) the Vedas (as interpreted by Hindu scholars) and the Brahmanas--maintained from Vedic times.

(2) The Upanishads (basic scriptures of Hinduism proper)--records of teachings and discussions of forest hermits, holy men who accomplished the task of transforming Vedism into Hinduism during and after the 6th century B.C.E. The earliest Upanishads date from 900 to 600 B.C.E., and represent the first development of philosophical reflections in Sanskrit literature. According to a widespread tradition the oldest Upanishads are the Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya, Brhadaranyaka, Svetasvatara, Kaushitaki, and Maitri Upanishads. The fundamental concern of the Upanishads is the nature of reality. The basic theme of the Upanishads is the unity of the individual soul (Atman) with the impersonal, absolute world soul (Brahman) as expressed in the famous formula tat tvam asi ("that art thou"), the realization that the self within and the ineffable holy power sustaining and pervading the universes are essentially one. The Vedic gods are reinterpreted as manifestations symbolizing a single divine reality, multiple reflections of one single truth. Because they are the final portions of the Vedas, the Upanishads are also known as Vedanta, "the end of the Vedas." 

(3) The Bhagavadgita ("Song of the Lord")--part of the Hindu epic, the Mahabarata. The Bhagavadgita was probably composed around the second century B.C.E. and represents a synthesis of the religious and philosophic speculation of the period. The hero of the poem, Arjuna, a noble warrior is distressed at the idea of having to do battle in a war involving members of the same family on both sides. He wants to avoid killing and does not want to fight, but is told by Lord Krishna, an incarnation of the supreme god Vishnu, disguised as Arjuna's charioteer, that as a kshatryia it is his duty to fight, especially since physical death is only an illusion, that the slayer does not slay and the slain does not die. Human beings must obey the moral and religious law according to the demands of their caste, they should not refrain from action but rather renounce the fruits of action. Everything should be done in a spirit of self-surrender and reliance upon the Holy Power which sustains the universe.

(4) The two great heroic epics, the Mahabarata and the Ramayana. The Mahabarata tells of the five Pandava brothers, princes who were cheated out of their kingdom and who, after a period of banishment in the forest, returned to fight a victorious and noble war to regain it. The Ramayana tells of Rama (an incarnation of Krishna), a gallant prince, whose wife Sita is kidnapped by the demon king of Sri Lanka, and of Rama's adventurous journey to reclaim her. In both epics Lord Krishna takes on human form in order to reestablish the proper relation of humankind to the divine realm by healing a rupture in the order of society, and thus the cosmos in general. Hence he is worshiped as the loving savior of humanity. Both epics includes countless fables, poems, and long, didactic sections which give instruction on politics, ethics, and religion. As those stories were memorized and told again and again, as they were transformed into illustrations and other works of art, Hinduism was passed on from generation to generation.

(5) The Puranas, medieval collections of legends and myths.

Gods: The three major gods of Hinduism are Brahma (the creator; paradoxically of minor importance in actual practice--possibly, since his work is completed), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer), each with a wife, to symbolize the androgyny of ultimate reality. By theologians and educated Hindus in general, these gods and their innumerable manifestations are viewed as pointing toward one transcendent reality beyond existence and non-existence, the impersonal world-spirit Brahman, the absolute unity of all opposites. In practice, however, even they generally envision the cosmos as ruled by one personal High God (or Goddess), whose identity depends on their sect. 

In addition to worshiping a High God, ordinary believers take comfort in taking their troubles to countless gods and goddesses, demigods and spirits, who are always available to help villagers, in a manner strikingly similar to the saints of medieval European Catholicism. In addition to major and minor gods, people, animals, and ordinary objects can become manifestations of divinity. The well-known (and by Westerners usually misunderstood worship of the cow symbolizes not only gratitude for bovine gifts of dairy products but also reverence for Mother Earth herself, the source of all life and nourishment. Monkeys, snakes, and various trees and plants are considered holy. Villages have sacred trees which must never be cut down. Mountains and rivers (particular the Ganges) are divine. Unlike followers of the Judeo-Christian religions (Judaism, Islam, Christianity), Hindus (as well as Jains and Buddhists) see themselves always in the presence of the divine; there is no sharp dividing line between the sacred and the profane, between humanity, nature, and divinity. Nature is seen as living mother, who should be cherished and protected from injury, rather than an opponent to be subdued, a resource to be exploited. Brahmins and holy men are routinely called gods on earth. 

While Judaism developed monotheism by focusing on jealous, majestic Yahweh and excluding rival divinities, Hinduism did so by assimilating local deities into one of the great gods. Hence, Hinduism has no sense of heresy or idolatry. Each individual is free to worship divinity by any name, in any shape, as one as well as many. In the Bhagavad Gita Lord Vishnu himself is quoted as saying: "Whatsoever (divine) form any devotee with faith seeks to worship, for every such (devotee), faith unswerving I ordain that same to be. He, disciplined with that faith, seeks to propitiate that (divine being), and obtains therefrom his desires, because I myself ordain them" (7. 21-22). Hence, until the twentieth century, intolerance and religious persecution were almost unknown among Hindus. Westerners tend to perceive reality in dualistic terms as a battle between matter and spirit, good and evil, truth and lie; Hindus envision the cosmic process as the growth of one mighty organism, the self-actualization of divinity which contains within itself all opposites.

Sects: The three main sects of Hinduism are Vaishnavism (High God: Vishnu), Shaivism (High God: Shiva), and Shaktism (High Goddess: Shakti, the female aspect of Shiva). Unlike the loving Vishnu, Shiva is in many ways a terrifying god, a destroyer who calls his followers to reject normal society and pursue the path of the lone mystic who seeks release from the world through ascetic self-control.

Terms and Concepts:

Atman: Soul or self of the individual organism. 

Brahman: Absolute world-soul which pervades and underlies the cosmos.

Maya: Cosmic illusion--that which we tend to consider real before we understand the Atman-Brahman identity.

Karma (literally "action"): the moral law of causation involving actions done in the past which determine the sequence of reincarnations.

Samsara: The passage of a soul through countless bodies as determined by its karma (which is in turn shaped by its fulfillment of the dharma of previous incarnations).

Dharma: Doing one's duty for caste and family, renouncing egotistical desire for the sake of the common good. Dharma sets distinct duties for different classes, each of which is expected to play a specific role in the ideal society. The extent to which one's dharma is fulfilled, determines one's karma in future incarnations. Besides the duties which are rooted in the individual's class and station, general duties are shared by all human beings. These include courage, faith, honesty, nonviolence (in treating animals as well as humans), purity, selfcontrol, and service.

Kama: Enjoyment of desires (primarily erotic).

Artha: Pursuit of material prosperity. Both kama and artha are considered legitimate aims of life during their appointed "season" (the stage of householder explained below) and if tempered by regard for one's dharma.

Moksha: Liberation from earthly entanglements; escape from the wheel of birth and rebirth and absorption into Brahman, the highest and only permanently satisfying human goal. Moksha is pursued with increased intensity by those in the final two life stages, the nivritti who are renouncing the world.

Asramas: Stages of life appropriate to social and spiritual demands. Through the asramas Hinduism balances the need for social involvement and family life with the demand for eventual renunciation of worldly ties. Those stages are: (1) student (dedicated to preparation and probation), (2) householder (involved in family life and social responsibilities), (3) forest-dweller (beginning a gradual withdrawal from the world), (4) samnyasin (has reached a stage of total renunciation and non-attachment) hoping for Moksha. These stations apply to males only. The position of women in Hinduism is ambiguous. They are both worshipped as goddesses and considered inferior beings. Traditionally, women were expected to serve their fathers/husbands and to have no independent lives. Eventually guidebooks were written for each of the four aims of life, such as the Code of Manu (duties of caste), the Kamasutras of Vatsyayana (pleasure), the Arthasastra (political power), and countless philosophical treatises on how to achieve liberation. 
 

©  1997 Ingrid H. Shafer
Last revised 6 January 2002