Hinduism - 3

[Guest guest]

 

3. Nine Beliefs of Hinduism

 

Beliefs are the building blocks of the mind. Our beliefs determine our thoughts

and attitudes about life, which in turn direct our actions. By our actions we

create our destiny. Beliefs about sacred matters—God, man and cosmos—are

essential to one’s approach to enlightenment. But beliefs are not mere matters

of agreement. They are what we value and hold as true. Hindus believe many

diverse things, but there are a few bedrock concepts on which most Hindus

concur. The following nine beliefs, though not exhaustive, offer a simple

summary of Hindu spirituality.

 

·        1) I believe in the divinity of the Vedas, the world’s most ancient

scripture, and venerate the Agamas as equally revealed. These primordial hymns

are God’s word and the bedrock of Sanatana Dharma, the eternal religion which

has neither beginning nor end.

 

·        2) I believe in a one, all-pervasive Supreme being who is both immanent

and transcendent, both Creator and non evidential Unmanifest Reality.

 

·        3) I believe that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation,

preservation and dissolution.

 

·        4) I believe in karma, the law of cause and effect by which each

individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words and deeds.

 

·        5) I believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through many births

until all karmas has been resolved, and moksha, spiritual knowledge and

liberation from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be

eternally deprived of this destiny.

 

·        6) I believe that divine beings exist in unseen worlds and that temple

worship, rituals, sacraments as well as personal devotionals create a communion

with these devas and Gods.

 

·        7) I believe that a spiritually awakened master, or sat guru, is

essential to know the Transcendent Absolute, as are personal discipline, good

conduct, purification, pilgrimage, self-inquiry and meditation.

 

·        8) I believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and

therefore practice ahimsa, " no injury. "

 

·        9) I believe that no particular religion teaches the only way to

salvation above all others, but that all genuine religious paths are facets of

God’s Pure Love and Light, deserving tolerance and understanding.

 

Hinduism, the world’s oldest religion, has no beginning—it precedes recorded

history. It has no human founder. It is a mystical religion, leading the devotee

to personally experience the Truth within, finally reaching the pinnacle of

consciousness where man and God are one. Hinduism has four main

denominations—Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Smartism. The above nine

beliefs form a common ground for all Hindu sects.