Namaskar everyone! Hinduism & Hindus

[Guest guest]

Thank you Vishy for your questions. Please do not stop. Ask as many

questions as you like for from questioning each other we learn,

develop and grow. If you refer to many of the tantras text it is

always written in a dialogue form : Parvati inquires of Siva

concerning a great many subjects : ritual, meditation, mythology,

dharma and philosophy. Siva as we all know an ascetics and always

immersed in yoga, is indifferent to the world and to his devotees. At

the prompting or in response to Parvati queries, Siva reveals

everything form the esoteric Tantaric rituals to the nondual wisdom

of Vedanta, thereafter awakening his concern for the world so that

his great wisdom and knowledge, gained by his heroic eons of yogic

meditation and brooding, can be revealed to the humanity.

 

I am not a person of great wisdom nor am I knowledgeable, but I will

try to answer to your question base on my ability. And hopefully

other members will come forward to add or to correct me.

 

Now to your question : What is Hinduism?

 

Somebody asked this same question sometime back, and I remember some

new members have email me privately asking me to explain to them in

simple term about Hinduism. Perhaps it's a good idea to have this

questions in the FQA section of our group. There are many sites

explaining in great detail about Hinduism. We should put this into

the book mark section of the group.

 

The word Hinduism itself is not the original name for this religion.

The name was acquired in the later historic times. Whereas the

religion had been in existence since the timeless beginning. The

beginning of which cannot be traced at all.

 

The word "Hindu" was far, far later origin during the Greek

Period of

history. Greeks and west Asians used the term Indu/Hind with

reference to the people living beyond the eastern banks of the River

Indus and later the name began to be ascribed to the religion of the

land. Also "Hindu" thus had only a geographical connotation

and

derivation; nevertheless, it has come to stay.

 

The more appropriate name for this religion is Santhana Dharma which

means the "law eternal". "Dharma" means "that

which upholds" that is

which upholds the Creation which sustain and keeps up the harmony in

the universe. Sanathana means eternal that is "which has an

eternal

validity and holds good for all time and forever"

 

So base on these two terminologies, we can therefore conclude that

Sanathana Dharma means the religion which delineates and embodies

values and doctrine which one of eternal validity. It is the majesty

of moral and spiritual law which upholds the harmony in the creation.

 

Hinduism has no single founder and it is centered around the

teachings revealed by God to the sages and seers of long long ago

after they had contemplated, concentrated and meditated on God for

long, and hence were able to `tune themselves to God on the same

frequency' to receive His teachings. These were later complied by

great sage Vyasa into 4 Vedas.

 

The Basic tenets and belief of Hinduism are as follows { this is base

on what im being taught]:

1. "Ekam Sat" states the Rig Veda. God is only one. Who is

impersonal and formless. But because of HER love and compassion for

mankind, SHE manifests as various forms.

2. our soul is divine and eventually returns to GOD after

gradually attaining perfection, which is only possible after taking

numerous birth.

3. reincarnation is also necessary for the law of karma to

function perfectly is for sowing what we reap.

4. Acceptance of the Vedas as our basic and primary scriptures.

5. Four aims of life ( Purusharthas ) : dharma, Kama, Artha and

Moksha

6. Love and compassion to all beings including to all animals

7. Acceptance ( not just a mere tolerance ) of the other

religions too as they too lead to God.

 

Having said all that lets touch on the subject of being a Hindu. What

is a Hindu? In my own understanding based on what I have just

presented, I could say that a Hindu is a person who have assimilated

and adopted a set of belief systems originated in India. This belief

system have flourish and thrive to such an extent that it has spread

itself over a vast period of geographical area.

 

1. In the South East Asia it is popular known as the process of

Indianisation/Hindunisation. In Bali for example where the majority

of the people there are hindus have develop their own unique brand of

Hinduism.

 

2. In Egypt: various writers have strongly propounded the idea

that the religion system of India and Egypt were originally the same.

 

How do they justify this claims?

A story is said about a British Sepoy, on their overland route from

India, upon beholding the ruins of Dendera, prostrated themselves

before the remains of the ancient temples and offered adoration to

them. When they are being asked to explain the reasons for their

strange conduct, they declared that they "saw sculputered before

them

the god/goddess of their country"

 

3. There have been suggested that a lot of western paganism

religion, myth and culture has risen out of ancient India. Both

religions : Paganism and Hinduism are typically viewed as being a

separate belief systems, but if one were to explore into both these

belief system, one cannot ignore the similarities.

 

Now the main question being asked : Is this conception of Deity were

spread broadcast over the entire earth originating in India [ since

Hinduism is said to be one of the oldest form of religion and

sometimes considered as the mother of all religions]alone or it is

due to the universal law of unity which governs human development?

This is still debatable.

 

Max Muller in his article : Origin and Growth of Religion, Page 48,

states that " though each religion has its own peculiar growth,

the

seed from which they spring is everywhere the same " and that in

much

later theory it is being agreed that the divergence in religious

ideas among the various peoples of the earth are attributed to

variations in temperament caused by changed condition of life. Which

means that the divergence in the course of religious development has

doubtless been due to the environment.

 

 

Om ParaShaktiye Namaha