Return to Rishi's main pageKey aspects of Hinduism
Everything in the universe is filled with divine essence. Example often given in the scriptures is that gold ornaments are just different forms made out of gold. We may call them rings, bracelets, necklace or crown but they are all just different shapes of the same metal – gold. Similarly, God is god and though we might call something stone, tree, animal or human, in essence, it is different aspect of God.
God, Parabhraman,
is omnipresent and omnipotent
Hinduism is polymorphic monotheism where God can take any form God chooses.
1 Parabhraman
3 Principle Gods to rule the universe and their corresponding 3 principle
goddesses
33 main Gods of the heaven (male) and their shaktis (female)
There are several hundred Gods and Goddesses of Puranic literature
There are tens of thousands of local deities
Core Hindu beliefs about God
* God is omnipresent and omnipotent.
* God is benevolent and kind.
* God loves all his creatures equally and at all times.
* God is eternal, beyond time and space.
* God is Sat, Chit and Ananda – (the) eternal (truth), full of “life and
energy”, and blissful.
* God is formless and yet can take any form of God’s choosing.
* God has no gender.
* God has created the entire universe to amuse him/her self.
* God has created the universe out of “Himself/Herself” and so the universe is
part and parcel of the divine spirit.
Because God is polymorphic, Hindus have no problem worshiping God in any form – human, animal, plant or in abstract form.
Core principles of Hinduism
* Belief in God, simply God. Form and names are
incidental. Faith in “God” is central to Hinduism.
* Soul is eternal . It is a miniature spark of the divine.
* Law of Karma is simple – what you sow, you reap. Whatever you do comes back to
you.
* Fate is what you make of it. Your present is formed by your past. Your present
will form your future. So ultimately, you are in charge of your own future.
* Law of reincarnation – soul is eternal and so does not die; only the body
dies. Soul takes many births in many forms and species, propelled by karmic
bonds, karmic debts and unfulfilled desires.
* Samsara – Karmic bonds, karmic debts, wants, needs, desires, emotions etc are
the basis of “samsara”.
* Moksha – When the soul has paid off all its karmic debts, has fulfilled all
its desires and wants to return to the eternal, blissful and totally pure form
of energy that is God, that soul leaves the samsara and attains moksha –
liberation.
* Yuga – Time is cyclical (not linear). Universe and all that is within it
repeats itself in countless cycles of eons until God absorbs everything back
into “Himself”. Later, when God so desires, universe is created once again and
the whole cycle starts anew.
* Hindus call their religion Sanatan Dharma – the eternal religion.
Scriptures
4 Vedas, also called Samhitas with over 89,000 padas are the
most ancient scriptures known to humans.
There are several Brahmanas and Aranyakas associated with the Vedas, explaining
rituals, how to carry them out and their esoteric meanings.
There are 18 principle Upnishads, several Vedangas, Parisista and many Sutras to
help explain the Vedas.
6 Upavedas related to medicine, military, astrology,
architecture, music and dance.
18 Puranas are a collection of myths and folklores associated with various Gods
and Goddesses.
2 major Itihas, Ramayan and Mahabharata, are the ancient records of “history” of
India.
There are countless other scriptures derived from these by sages, saints and
great writers.
There are also prayers, hymns and lyrical compositions beyond count in all
languages from all over the Hindu world and across time.
There are 6 main “darshans” of how to interpret the Vedic
message.
There are two principle philosophies are – Dwaita and Advaita. In Dwaita, God
and the rest of the creation are separate entities. In Advaita, God and creation
are one and the same. Most sects of Hinduism modify these two philosophies
to suite their interpretation of the Vedic message. Sects mainly fall into 4
camps – Vaishnavs believe in Vishnu and his avatars ; Shivas believe in Shiva ;
Shaktas believe in the Goddesses ; Rest believe in pan-Hindu pantheon of Gods.
Core Hindu philosophy has given rise to Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism over the centuries.
Hindu Life
4 stages of life
Brahamcharya – Student
Gruhastha – family
Vanapratha – retirement
Sanyas – renouncement
4 aims / goal of life
Dharma – follow duties associated with your stage in life
Artha – acquire wealth
Kama – lead happy, fulfilled life
Moksha – liberation ; free yourself from the entanglement of samsara
Caste System
Across the world and through different times, humans have found different ways to organize their societies and share the tasks out between them. Societies can been described as feudal, tribal, capitalist, communist etc. Division of labour and tasks can be decided by class or caste. Class is based on status defined by wealth, work you do and sometimes on your birth. Caste is simply based on the work your ancestors did. It is not however not based on how wealthy you or your ancestors were.
According to the Mahabharata – (Yudhisthir says it to Yama)
Everyone is born as shudra. Only your deeds define (which caste) you
(are).
Hindus view the entire society as the embodiment of the
divine.
* Brahmin - Intellectuals are brains of the society.
* Kshatriya - Brave leaders are the arms of the society.
* Vaishya - Entrepreneurs are the torso of the society.
* Shudra - Workers are the legs / feet that propel the society forward.
Caste is a social system and hence has no effect on the soul.
Principle Gods and Goddesses
|
Gods Parabrahman – Universe spirit
Brahama – Creator of life in the universe, though not the
universe Vishnu – Sustainer of the universe Rama – an avatar of Vishnu, hero of Ramayana Krishna –an Avatar of Vishnu, hero of the Mahabharata Ganesh – makes all tasks easy by removing obstacles and inauspiciousness, son of Shiva Kartik – general of the heavenly army, son of Shiva Hanuman – god of strength with monkey face and companion of Rama Indra – king of heaven, god of rain, keeps thunder as his weapon Agni – god of fire, carries sacrificial offering to intended divine beings Surya – Sun god
|
Goddesses Adi-Shakti – Primordial energy of the universe visualized in female form Sarasvati – Goddess of learning and intelligence Devi /Parvarti – Goddess of strength, worshipped in many forms (see below) Lakshmi – Goddess of wealth Bhumi – Earth goddess Sita – wife of Rama Radha – friend and companion of Krishna Kali – goddess of destruction, aspect of Devi Durga – goddess of war, aspect of Devi Amba, Katyayani, Minakshi, Kumari etc – aspects of Devi Matrukas – ancestral goddesses related to each and every family |
Places of Pilgrimage
Sacred places are defined as places where the divine spirit is easier to experience.
These can be mountain tops, caves, forests, groves, rivers, pools, trees and even rocks.
Pilgrimage places help define the boundaries of ancient India –Bharata. From mount Kailash in the Himalayas, where God Shiva lives with his beautiful and powerful wife Parvati, to the Cape of Komarin at the southern tip of the subcontinent where Devi meditates as an eternal maiden. From Kamakhya temple in the Eastern regions bordered by the Arunachal mountain range to the countless lost temples west of river Sindhu in what is now Pakistan.
Pilgrimage places usually have a principle temple dedicated to the main deity of the sacred place. There is usually a sacred pool, river or beach nearby where the pilgrims can bathe and cleanse their inner and outer-selves before worshiping the deity. In a well developed pilgrimage place, there would be several other temples in the area, dedicated to aspects or avatars of the main deity. Consort of the deity may have a separate temple dedicated to them. For example, the main deity of Madurai in South India is the goddess Minakshi, an avatar of the Devi. Shiva as Sundaram (handsome God) has a separate shrine in her colossal temple covering several acres. On the western sea shore, Shri Krishna and his wife Rukshmani have separate temples in the island city of Dwarika.
Hinduism is an ancient religion, once popular from Angkor
Thom in the East to Afghanistan in the west. Now Hindus are found across the
globe.
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