Introduction
'Sanatana Dharma' or wrongly called as Hinduism
by English colonialists is one of the oldest religions
in the history of mankind. It is also one of those
religions that has been able to hold itself against
repeated onslaughts by other religious fanatics
who have tried to destroy it from time to time.
Perhaps the reason why Hinduism has been able
to hold itself together for so many years and
is still one of the major religions in the world
is the fact that it is more a way of life than
a restrictive and organized religion. In fact,
the essence of Hinduism is imbued in the psyche
of the Indian society, and permeates in the every
day life of the conservative as well as liberal
Hindu.
Analysis
The sacred elements that characterize Hindu religious
traditions, and their sublime meanings
It would be difficult to completely list all
the sacred elements that make up the Hindu religious
traditions because of the sheer vastness and depth
of the Hindu culture and traditions that have
evolved through thousands of years. Some of the
salient features of the Hindu religion are mentioned
below.
The Hindu Philosophy
Hinduism stresses on the importance of the absolute
truth. According to Hindu philosophy, God is the
absolute reality and the universe is the manifestation
of the single Supreme Being alternatively called
as the supreme consciousness. Many Hindu philosophers
equate the Hindu Brahman (the Supreme Being) to
pure consciousness, which according to Hindu traditions
have no beginning or end. The ultimate reality
is blocked from the perception of the mundane
man by Maya or delusion that makes him think that
the ephemeral world is real. The objective of
each man and woman is therefore, to go beyond
this Maya and find his true nature. In fact, Hinduism
stresses on the fact that every living organism
is a manifestation of the ultimate truth and so
in essence every being is the Lord himself.
The Hindu philosophy believes that the Brahman:
the Supreme Being, takes the form of earthly creatures.
Hence the Brahman that is localized in the earthly
creatures is called the Atman. The Atman due to
the influence of the mind is deluded, and thinks
that the world is real and final by identifying
with the sense objects (the atman may also be
called as the ego). Liberation comes only when
the Atman understands that its nature is Brahman.
Until this happens, the atman taken on successive
births as different animals and plants according
to his karma, or past actions.
The Hindu religion
The Hindu religion is strongly dependent on the
Hindu philosophy and in addition, has inculcated
a lot of rituals and practices. The Hindu religion
has 333 million gods; perhaps the largest number
of Gods in any religion. This is because the Hindu
philosophy believes that every human being is
God himself. This acceptance of the multiplicity
of the Supreme Being in many forms is the hallmark
of the Hindu religion. The Hindu religion is also
very assimilative and has accepted many faiths
into it. In fact in many parts of India, the distinction
between Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism
is very thin and inconspicuous. The Hindu religion
also allows religious freedom and does not enforce
the edicts of the religion on anyone. In fact,
Hinduism teaches that a person, in order to attain
liberation from the worldly bondage, must select
the religion that he is comfortable in. Hence,
it accepts the existence of all other religions
as a means to realize God.
The Hindu religion like other religions also
believes in the battle between the good and the
evil although at a lower level of existence. The
religion preaches that man must advance himself
through successive levels of knowledge in his
quest for the final truth. Hence, the concept
of the Devas, or the good deities and the Asuras,
the demoniac characters are very important in
the Hindu traditions. Many folklores revolve around
the battles between the Devas and the Asuras.
The important Godheads in the Hindu tradition
are Brahma, Vishnu and Siva who correspond with
the three 'Gunas' or qualities of Satva (pureness),
Rajas(action), and Tamas(darkness and inactivity).
Man is a mixture of the three gunas and the inherent
nature of a person will depend on the predominance
of the three gunas in him.
The Hindu religion has over the years become very
ritualistic. The Hindu religion offers many ways
to realize God. Hence there is the Tantra way
of attaining liberation in which the practitioner
has to undergo severe austerities and penance
to understand the Lord. The rituals that are performed
in the Temples in India are in fact, the reflection
of the Tantra traditions. Rituals are performed
by Brahmins, the priest class who use mantras
or specific sound syllables that are believed
to have specific powers.
The Hindu Social Life
The Hindu social life is caste based, which was
originally devised for the division of labor.
Hence the Hindu society has the Brahmins, the
highest class who performs rituals and is supposed
to be the most educated in terms of religion.
Then comes the Kshatriyas who are the warrior
and ruling class. Following them in importance
comes the Vaishyas, who are the business class.
Last comes the Shudras who serve the upper class.
People who do not come in these four classes were
previously classified as the untouchables who
had to do menial jobs in the society and were
looked down upon. Women were given important position
in the family even though her importance in public
affairs was greatly curtailed during the later
years of Hindu history.
The Hindu way of life has many beliefs that was
perhaps a means that offered social balance in
the society. For example, the norm of sacrifice
and the mandatory rules on feeding others helped
to provide food for the needy. Similarly, the
social practices were seen as the physical manifestations
of the philosophical edicts that Hinduism preached.
For example the practice of sacrifice to the fire
is a physical manifestation of the philosophic
ritual of giving up everything for the sake of
understanding the truth. Similarly, the belief
that the confluence of the three rivers Ganga,
Yamuna and Saraswathi is holy, is due to the Tantric
belief that the meeting point of the three nerve
centers in the body awakens the Kundalini, which
is the seat of power in the human body.
Hindu Literature
The Hindu Religious literature is very vast. The
main foundations of the Hindu literature are the
four Vedas, which is thought to have been provided
by the Gods themselves to the benefit of mankind.
The Vedas have many subcategories of hymns that
explain diverse aspects of human life like rituals,
social norms, way of living, dharma or the social
codes of righteousness etc. There are many other
associated literature likes the Shashtras, Puranas
etc that goes into specific subjects of interest.
Three works of religious literature that have
similar importance to the Vedas and are widely
read in the Indian subcontinent are The Ramayanam,
The Mahabharatam and the Bhagavatam. All the three
books are philosophic in nature and explains how
a man must conduct himself in the society, how
to attain liberation and how to balance between
personal life and a life that would ultimately
lead him to understand the Supreme Being.
Hindu Science
The Hindu religion has given rise to many scientific
branches that are very important. For example
Astrology, Astronomy, Ayurveda (Hindu medicine),
Economics, Politics, Geology etc are very important
scientific branches that were very important in
the ancient Hindu society and is still relevant.
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