Hinduism Essay, Research Paper
The religion Hinduism refers a the civilization set up on the Indus river
called the Hindus. Introduced in about 1830 by British writers, it is believed
that the Indian civilization of approximately the last 2,000 years, which
evolved from Vedism religion of the Indo- European people who settled in India
in the last centuries of the 2nd millennium BC.
?The Hindu religion ranges from a level of popular belief to one of Ritual?s,
and philosophy. Hinduism is very broad, and has many Transitional stages, as
well as many ranges of coexistence.? ?Magic, animal worship, and belief in
demons are combined with the worshiping of personal gods or with small thoughts,
discipline, and complicated and learned theological systems or doctrines only
few understand.? ?The worship of local deities does not rule out the belief
in pan-Indian higher gods or even in a single high God. Such local deities are
also often looked down on as manifestations of high god.?
Hinduism allows all forms of belief and worship without requiring the
selection or elimination of any. ?Hindus must respect the divine in every
manifestation, whatever it may be, and are doctrinally understanding, allowing
others – including both Hindus and non-Hindus ? whatever beliefs suit them
best.? ?A Hindu may allow a non-Hindu religion without ceasing to be a
Hindu, and because Hindus are likely to think unnaturally and to look upon other
forms of worship, strange gods, and different doctrines as not complete rather
than wrong or offensive.?3 Hindus tend to believe that the highest divine
powers are a balance of one another.2 Few religious ideas are considered to be
conflicting. ?The base of religion does not depend on the existence or
nonexistence of God or on whether there is one god or many.?2 Because
religious truth is said to go beyond all spoken meaning, it is not conceived in
strict terms.2 In addition, the tendency of Hindus to distinguish themselves
from others on the basis of practice rather than principle does not emphasizes
doctrinal differences.
Hinduism is both a civilization and a congregation of religions it has,
neither a beginning ,or founder, nor a central authority, hierarchy, or
organization.4 ?Being and non-being,"4 is the main reality in Hindusim,
and the ultimate cause and foundation, source, and goal of all existence.4 This
ultimate reality is called Brahman. ?As the All, Brahman causes the universe
and all beings to originate from itself, transforms itself into the universe, or
assumes its appearance. Brahman is in all things and is the Self (atman) of all
living beings.?5 Brahman is the creator, preserver, or transformer and
reabsorber of everything.5 This fundamental belief of Brachman is that ? the
One is the All.?5 This belief has continued unchanged for more than 30
centuries, and has been the main focus of India’s spiritual life5. ?A more
common view of Hinduism is that many feel that it is ‘atheistic’. An even more
common view is that it has been labeled ‘polytheistic’.?5 The term
‘polytheism’ means there is not the presence of one god but a presence of many
gods.
Hindus actually worship many such beings we call God. But obviously this
implies a very big difference in the understanding of what such a ‘God’ could
be.1 It is often said that Hindus worship three gods and they are in fact called
the Hindu Trinity.6 The gods involved are Brahma, Visnu and Siva. The first is
supposed to create the world (at the beginning of each cosmic cycle), the second
to maintain it in being, and Siva, at the end of a cosmic cycle, to destroy it
again. But then a further idea is added which is ignored by the theory of a
Hindu Trinity. It is also believed that Brahma and the others, who carry out
these functions, are merely manifestations of that highest being, or they relate
to it in some other way.1 ?This is the idea of one, powerful, eternal, and
loving God, this is the concept of Bhagavan.?1
For us outside observers Bhagavan is not one, but Many for example Siva,
Visnu, Krsna, Rama, Karttikeya and Ganesa. ?The individual now must makes a
decision as to how to regard such a figure. This means, for example Visnu could
than be the Bhagavan for some people, a minor part of Siva for others, and a
godling for a third group, possibly an evil demon like being for a fourth and
Isvara for a fifth.?7 Many Hindus who worship either Vishnu or Shiva generally
consider one or the other as their ‘favorite god’ and as the Lord and Brahman
Vishnu is often regarded as a ?special manifestation of a stabilizing aspect
of the Supreme and Shiva as opposed to the destructive function.?5 Another
god, ?Brahma, the creator, remains in the background as a demiurge. These
three great figures (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) make up the so-called Hindu
Trinity ? Trimuriti, the One or Whole with Three Forms?.6 This concept leads
people to believe that the Supreme Power is singular with the plurality of gods
in daily religious worship.
?Brahma, is the first of the three Hindu gods, he is called the Creator; he
is the father of gods and men, the lord of creators. The term is used for the
Absolute, or the Ultimate Principle, beyond which nothing exists or has any
reality.?6 In the Upanishads, Brahma is said to be beyond all description. ?This
universe was surrounded in darkness – unperceived, indistinguishable,
undiscoverable, unknowable, as it were, entirely sunk in sleep. The irresistible
self existent lord, undiscerned, creating this universe with the five elements,
and all other things , was manifested dispelling the gloom. He who is beyond the
insight of the senses, subtle, indiscernible, eternal, who is the essence of all
things, and inconceivable, himself shone forth.?8 ?He, is looking to produce
various creatures from his own body, first created the waters, and in them put a
seed. This (seed) became a golden egg, an egg as bright as the sun, in which he
himself was born as Brahma, the ancestor of all worlds. The waters are called
Nara, because they are the offspring of Nara; and since they were formerly the
place of his movement (Ayana), he is therefore called Narayana . Being formed by
that First Cause, indiscernible, eternal, which is both existent and
non-existent, that male is known in the world as Brahma. That lord having
continued a year in the egg, divided it into two parts by his mere
thought."8
In pictures, Brahma is represented as a ?red man with four heads, though in
the Puranas
he is said to have had originally five. He is dressed in white garments, and
rides upon a goose. In one hand he carries a staff, in the other a dish for
receiving alms.?6 A legend in the "Matsya Purana", gives the
following account of the formation of his numerous heads "Brahma formed
from his own immaculate substance a female who is celebrated under the names of
Satarupa, Savitri, Sarasvati, Gayatri, and Brahmani. Beholding his daughter,
born from his body, Brahma became wounded with the arrows of love and exclaimed,
‘How surpassingly lovely she is !’ Satarupa turned to the right side from his
gaze; but as Brahma wished to look after her, a second head issued from his
body. As she passed to the left, and behind him, to avoid his amorous glances,
two other heads successively appeared. At length she sprang into the sky; and as
Brahma was anxious to gaze after her there, a fifth head was immediately
formed".5 In current times, Brahma is not largely worshipped by the
Hindus.7 It is believed that the universe will come to an end at the end of
Brahma’s life, but Brahmas too are countless, and a new universe is reborn with
each new Brahma.7
VISHNU is called the second person of the Hindu Trimuriti or Trinity: though
called
second, but this does not mean that he is regarded in any way inferior to
Brahma. In some books Brahma is said to be the ?first cause of all things, in
others it is as strongly asserted that Vish
is claimed for Siva.?4 As Brahma’s special work is creation, Vishnu?s is
preservation. In the following passage from the "Padma Purana", it is
taught that Vishnu is the supreme cause, thus identifying him with Brahma, and
also that his special work is to preserve: ? In the beginning of creation, the
great Vishnu, desirous of creating the whole world, became threefold ; Creator,
Preserver, Destroyer. In order to create this world, the Supreme Spirit produced
from the right side of his body himself as Brahma ; then, in order to preserve
the world, he produced from his left side Vishnu ; and in order to destroy the
world, he produced from the middle of his body the eternal Shiva Some worship
Brahma, others Vishnu, others Shiva ; but Vishnu creates, preserves, and
destroys : therefore let the pious makes no difference between the three.?8 In
pictures Vishnu is represented as a ?black man with four arms in one hand he
holds a club ; in another a shell ; in a third a chakra, or diseus, with which
he slew his enemies , and in the fourth a lotus. He rides upon the bird Garuda,
and is dressed in yellow robes.?6 This god is worshipped not only under the
name and in the form of Vishnu, but also in one of his many incarnations. ?Whenever,
any great hardship occurred in the world, or the evil of any of its people
proved an unbearable problem to the gods, Vishnu, as Preserver, had to lay aside
his invisibility, and come to earth in some form, generally human.?9 When his
work was done, he returned again to the skies. There is no certainty, as to the
number of times he has become real. ?Ten is the commonly received number, and
these are the most important ones. Of these ten, nine have already been
accomplished ; one, the Kalki, is still future. Some of these Avatars are of an
entirely cosmic character ; others, however, are probably based on historical
events, the leading personage of which was gradually endowed with divine nature,
until he was regarded as the incarnation of the god himself."9 These are
Fish (Matsya), Tortoise (Kurma), Boar (Varaha), Man-Lion (Narasimha), Dwarf (Vamana),
Rama-with the Ax (Parasurama), King Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and the future
incarnation, Kalki. Preference for any one of these manifestations is largely a
matter of tradition. Krishna is one of the preferred ones.
?In the Mahabharata, Krishna is primarily a hero, a chieftain of a tribe,
and an ally of the
Pandavas, the heroes of the Mahabharata. He accomplishes heroic feats with
the Pandava prince Arjuna. Typically he helps the Pandava brothers to settle in
their kingdom, and when the kingdom is taken from them, to regain it.?4 In the
process he emerges as a great teacher who reveals the Bhagavadgita, ?the most
important religious text of Hinduism.?4 In the further development of the
Krishna myth, it is found that as a child, ?Krishna was full of boyish pranks
and well known for his favoring for milk and butter. He would raid the dairies
of the gopies (milkmaids) to steal fruit, milk, and butter, and would accuse
others for his crimes.?4 Krishna is the most celebrated god of the Hindu
pantheon. ?He is worshipped as an independent god in his own right, but is
also regarded as the eighth incarnation of Vishnu. In the course of life he was
supposed to have had 16,108 wives and 180,008 sons.?4 In the epic he is a
hero, a leader of his people, and an active helper of his friends.
Shiva is the third person of the Hindu Trinity. As Brahma was Creator, Vishnu
Preserver, in order to complete the system, as all things are subject to come to
and end, so a Destroyer was necessary and destruction is regarded as the unusual
work of Siva. ?It must be remembered that, according to the teachings of
Hinduism, death is not death in the sense of passing into non-existence, but
simply a change into a new form of life.?9 ?He who destroys, therefore,
causes beings to assume new phases of existence – the Destroyer is really the
re-creator ; therefore the name Siva, the Bright or Happy One, is given to him,
which would not have been the case had he been regarded as the destroyer.?6
According to the ancient Indians, ?Shiva primarily must have been the divine
representative of the fallow, dangerous, doubtful, and much-to-be-feared aspects
of nature.?6 He is the great foundation of all existence and the source and
ruler of all life, but it is not clear whether, Shiva is invoked as a great god
of ?frightful aspect, capable of conquering ungodly power.?9 He is a
terrible and mild, creator and an agent of reabsorption, eternal rest and
endless activity. His myths describe him as the ?absolute mighty unique One,
who is not responsible to anybody or for anything.?9 ?As a dancer, his
affectation expresses the eternal rhythm of the universe; he also catches the
waters of the heavenly Ganges River, which destroys all sin; and he wears in his
head dress the crescent moon, which drips the nectar of everlasting life.
Sometimes in the act of trampling on or destroying demons, he wears around his
black neck a serpent, and a necklace of skulls, furnished with a whole device of
external emblems, such as a white bull on which he rides, a trident , tiger’s
skin, elephant’s skin, rattle, noose, etc. He has three eyes, one being on his
forehead, in reference either to the three Vedas, or time past, present and
future and in the end of time, he will dance the universe to destruction.?6 It
is said that without his consort Mother Goddess, no Hindu god is much use or
value to anyone. He may strut about, but his powers are limited. To be complete
he requires a Devi, "Goddess," who takes many different names and
forms, but always embodies Shakti. In some myths Devi is the prime mover, who
commands the male gods to do work of creation and destruction.2 Brahma, Vishnu
and Shiva, all three have their own consorts.
Sarasvati, the goddess of wisdom and science and, the mother of Vedas, is
Brahma’s wife. She is represented as a ?fair young woman, with four arms; with
one of her right hands, she is presenting a flower to her husband, by whose side
she continually stands ; and in the other she holds a book of palm-leaves,
indicating that she is fond of learning. In one of her left hands, she has a
string of pearls, called Sivamala (Shiva’s garland) and in the other a small
drum.?1 Lakshmi, or very commonly known as Sri, is the wife of Vishnu.
"Sri, the bride of Vishnu, the mother of the world, is eternal, immortal ;
as he is all-pervading, so she is godlike . Vishnu is meaning, she is speech ;
Hari is polite, she is prudence ; Vishnu is understanding, she is intellect ; he
is righteousness, she is devotion Sri is the earth, Hari is the support. In a
word, of gods, animals, and men, Hari is all that is called male Lakshmi is all
that is termed female ; there is nothing else than them." Lakshmi is
regarded as the goddess of Love, Beauty, and Prosperity and is also known as
Haripriya, "The beloved of Hari", and Lokamata, "The mother of
the world".1
The law of Hinduism is basically defined by what people do rather than what
they think. Therefore, far more steadiness of behavior than of belief is found
among Hindus, although very few practices or beliefs are shared by all. A few
usuages are Observed, by almost all Hindus: respect for Brahmans and cows, not
eating meat (especially beef); and marriage within caste (jati), in the hope of
producing male heirs. Most Hindus worship Shiva, Vishnu, or the Goddess (Devi),
but they also worship hundreds of additional minor deities depending on the
particular village or even to a particular family. Although Hindus believe and
do many apparently conflicting things, each individual perceives an orderly
pattern that gives form and meaning to his or her own life. No doctrinal or
clerical power structure exists in Hinduism, but the complex hierarchy of the
social system gives each person a sense of place within the whole.