Are you looking for a detailed description of Hinduism? or do you have to write a paper about it for school or study? Then you can find all the information you need here š
What is Hinduism?
Hinduism is one of the oldest living religions. It is the faith of people called Hindus who mainly live in India, where Hinduism started. Religion plays an important role in the life of Hindus. It has to do with the way people live there, what they eat and how they view the world. Actually, the Hindus do not call their religion Hinduism, that word was coined by Western scholars in the 19th century. Hindus call their faith ‘Sanatana Dharma’ which means ‘eternal teaching’ or ‘eternal law. Hinduism is a lively, colorful and flexible faith that can be shaped in different ways
How long has Hinduism existed?
Hinduism developed between 1200 and 800 BC from an Indo-Germanic religion, incorporating many elements from local religions.
The history of Hinduism begins with the arrival of the Aryans in India. The name Hindu is taken from ‘The people who lived on the other side of the river Sindhu’. The Aryans recorded their religious knowledge and practices in the four Vedas. This contains not only knowledge but also religious texts and thoughts. They consist of religious hymns about God(s), spiritual philosophy, the universe, nature and right living. The word ‘Veda’ is etymologically related to the verb to know and means knowledge.
There is no reliable dating yet for the origin of the Vedas. The oldest Veda, the Rig Veda, is said to have originated outside India among Aryans, who lived from the 5th millennium BC. entered India. The later Vedas are said to have largely been viewed in India by so-called rishis or wise clan heads.
Attempts have been made to date the Vedas on the basis of astronomical references. The dates range from 12,000 BC to 4000 BC. The Hindu religious view assumes that the Vedas are timeless and were revealed at the origin of humanity. Others argue that the individual mantras of the Vedas were ‘received’ by meditating rishis (scholars/seers) and later compiled.
The Four Vedas
The 4 Vedas are:
- the Rig Veda: basic Veda with the hymns that are also partly reused in the others
- the Sama Veda: song form
- the Yajur Veda: black and white
- the Atharva Veda: rituals
The Vedas are written in a very ancient form of Sanskrit. Words can have a large number and many different meanings. This makes many different interpretations of one text possible. Sometimes it seems intended that way, but often not.
God/gods and Philosophy
There are many different movements within Hinduism. There are Hindus who are monotheistic, Hindus who are polytheistic and Hindus who are monistic. The monotheists see each ‘god’ as a facet of the one God. The monists believe that God and the soul are one.
Some of the most famous deities are:
- Brahma – Brahma represents the generative or creative aspect of GOD in the trinity of Generator/Sustainer/Destructor (Destroyer)
- Vishnu – Vishnu is the sustaining (protective) aspect of God and pervades everything in this universe
- Shiva – Shiva represents the transmuting or destructive aspect of God. Everything in creation exists only temporarily and will sooner or later be transmuted or destroyed
- Krishna – Krishna is called the God of bhakti or devotion. But He is also the king who fought alongside Arjuna in the Mahabharata war. Krishna is also seen as a great historical Guru associated with Yoga
- Rama – Rama is the hero of the beautiful epic the Ramayana, which tells the story of his victory over the evil king Ravana. Rama is worshiped as the ideal human being: brave, handsome, faithful and kind. He is a great hero, a good husband and a just king. The monkey god Hanuman, who helps Rama to defeat Ravana, is also worshiped as a god himself. Rama is the seventh incarnation of Vishnu.
- Durga – Durga is considered one of the forms of Devi (the Goddess). She embodies the center of power (Shakti) with which the universe was created. She is often depicted with many arms holding weapons and riding a tiger. With this she is said to have defeated many demons.
- Ganesha – Ganesha, the ,elephant-headed, god, removes obstacles and is the patron saint of travelers. Hindus pray to Ganesha before starting something new, such as a new job or when moving.
The two most important books are: ‘the Pamayana’ and the Mahabharata’
The Mahabharata, sometimes simply called Bharata, is a very extensive religious and philosophical epic from India. The Mahabharata is the third largest literary work in the world and consists of 18 parts (so-called parvas), each of which is subdivided into smaller parts. The title (with the emphasis on bha) is derived from Maha (Sanskrit: great) and Bharata (Sanskrit: India/world/all). So Mahabharata means something like ,Great India, or ,Whole World,.
Reincarnation & Karma
Reincarnation is the belief that the non-corporeal part of a living being (sometimes called a soul) does not disappear after death but is reborn into another living being. The idea of reincarnation has existed since many thousands of years before Christ, and occurs in various religions and cultures throughout the world. It is best known as part of Hinduism and Buddhism.
The idea behind reincarnation is sometimes that human life is a learning experience; a soul reincarnates into another living being to ,learn, new things and gain new experiences through that other living being .
Karma (PÄli: Kamma) is a concept from Hinduism and Buddhism, which involves the idea that everything we do, think and say comes back to us. Karma embraces the complete cycle of cause and effect. Karma is the sum of all individual impulses, thoughts, words, actions in the present, past and future. The effect of this creates the experiences (of present, past and future) and makes each individual responsible for his own life, joy and pain, for himself and for others.
In the religions based on reincarnation, karma extends through the present and many past and subsequent lives. Karma is seen as a law of nature. It is the law of ,action and reaction,. So there is not a God who immediately punishes, but an inherent balancing mechanism is at work in nature. Nature naturally seeks balance in everything. A beneficial action naturally has beneficial consequences for development, and bad (amoral) actions have bad or unpleasant consequences.
The result of the karma that is made now can arise in this life or, with some delay, in the next life. Things we are experiencing now can therefore be a result of an action we performed in the current life or in a previous life. The result of an action is called vipÄka (pÄli).
The striking thing about Hinduism is that this religion – unlike other religions – has no founder, no prophet, no dogmas (firm articles of faith) and no supreme government.