What is Hinduism?

Answer 1

Hinduism is not a religion.

The most obvious misconception about Hinduism is that we tend to see it as a religion, a faith. Hinduism is a way of life, a Dharma. Dharma does not mean religion, it is the law that governs all action. Thus, contrary to popular perception, Hinduism is not a religion. For centuries the world has misinterpreted this, and out of this misinterpretation, has come most of the misconceptions about Hinduism.

Words like Hindu or Hinduism are ananchronisms. They do not exist in the Indian cultural lexicon. People have coined them to suit their needs in different points of history. Nowhere in the scriptures is there any reference to Hinduism.

Hinduism does not have any one founder, and it does not have a Bible or a Koran to which controversies can be referred for resolution. Consequently, it does not require its adherents to accept any one idea. It is thus cultural, not creedal, with a history contemporaneous with the peoples with which it is associated.

Writings we now categorise as Hindu scriptures include not just books relating to spirituality but also secular pursuits like science, medicine and engineering. This is another reason why it defies classification as a religion. Further, it cannot be claimed to be essentially a school of metaphysics. Nor can it be described as 'other worldly'. In fact one can almost identify Hinduism with a civilization that is flourishing even now.

The Aryan Invasion Theory having been completely discredited, it cannot be assumed that Hinduism was the pagan faith of invaders belonging to a race called Aryans. Rather it was the common metafaith of people of various races, including Harappans. The Sanskrit word 'aryan' is a word of honourable address, not the racial reference invented by European scholars and put to perverse use by the Nazis.

Evidence that Hinduism must have existed even circa 10000 B.C. is available: The importance attached to the river Saraswati and the numerous references to it in the Rigveda indicates that the Rigveda was being composed well before 6500 B.C. The first vernal equinox recorded in the Rigveda is that of the star Ashwini, which is now known to have occurred around 10000 B.C. Subhash Kak, a Computer Engineer and a reputed Indologist, 'decoded' the Rigveda and found many advanced astronomical concepts therein. The technological sophistication required to even anticipate such concepts is unlikely to have been acquired by a nomadic people, as the Invasionists would like us to believe. In his book Gods, Sages and Kings, David Frawley provides compelling evidence to substantiate this claim.

Many believe that multiplicity of deities makes Hinduism polytheistic. Such a belief is nothing short of mistaking the wood for the tree. The bewildering diversity of Hindu belief - theistic, atheistic and agnostic - rests on a solid unity. "Ekam sath, Vipraah bahudhaa vadanti", says the Rigveda : The Truth (God, Brahman, etc) is one, scholars call it by various names. What the multipicity of deities does indicate is Hinduism's spiritual hospitality as evidenced by two characteristically Hindu doctrines: The Doctrine of Spiritual Competence (Adhikaara) and The Doctrine of The Chosen Deity (Ishhta Devata). The doctrine of spiritual competence requires that the spiritual practices prescribed to a person should correspond to his or her spiritual competence. The doctrine of the chosen deity gives a person the freedom to choose (or invent) a form of Brahman that satisfies his spiritual cravings and to make it the object of his worship. It is notable that both doctrines are consistent with Hinduism's assertion that the unchanging reality is present in everything, even the transient.

Answer 2

Hi,

I'm no authority on Hinduism, but I can point you at a great book about it, if you want to know more.

Read "The Religions Of Man" by Huston Smith. He surveys the major religions of the world, including Hinduism, with tremendous knowledge and fairness. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Hinduism is a way of life (Dharma) practiced by people mostly with origins from India....

Answer 4

Hinduism (Sanskrit: हिन्दू धर्म, IAST: Hindū Dharma), also known as सनातन धर्म, (IAST: Sanātana Dharma) and वैदिक धर्म, (IAST:Vaidika Dharma ) is a set of religious traditions that originated mainly in the Indian subcontinent. It is not a single well-defined religion, in the sense that it consists of several schools of thought and traditions. Hinduism encompasses many religious rituals that widely vary in practice, as well as many diverse sects and philosophies. The majority of contemporary Hindus follow the Vedanta philosophy and believe in a cosmic spirit called Brahman, that is worshipped in many forms such as Vishnu, Shiva or Shakti.
Hinduism encompasses a belief in the permanence of certain spiritual principles. These principles are understood not as constructed from human or divine thinking, but instead as self-evident means of knowledge. The main means of knowledge accepted by all present day Vedantic sects include the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras, forming the canon for all the Vedantic schools of Hindu philosophy. A much-quoted mantra from the Rigveda, that emphasises the diversity of paths to the one goal, is:

ekam sat viprā bahudhā vadanti
Truth is one, the Brahmins call it by many names
—Rig Veda 1:164:46.
Themes common to the value system of Hinduism are the belief in Dharma (individual ethics, duties and obligations), Samsāra ("rebirth"), Karma ("actions"), and Moksha ("salvation") for every soul. The means of salvation are held to be from a variety of paths, viz, Bhakti Yoga ("the path of devotion"), Karma Yoga ("the path of action"), Rāja Yoga ("the path of meditation") and Jñāna Yoga ("the path of enlightenment"). However some Vedantic schools hold only one or two of these paths as leading to salvation. For example, the Dvaita school holds that Bhakti ("devotion") is the only path. Brahman, held to be the granter of salvation, is viewed by the various schools as personal or attributeless or both. According to Hindu philosophy, all souls are born from Brahman ("Cosmic Spirit") and finally merge in it or attain its abode.
The philosophy of Karma lays forth the results of free-willed actions, which leave their imprint on the soul or the self, called ātman. These actions determine the course of life and the life cycle for the soul in its subsequent life. Virtuous actions take the soul closer to the Supreme Divine and lead to a birth with higher consciousness. Evil actions hinder this recognition of the Supreme Divine, and the soul takes lower forms of worldly life.

Answer 5

http://www.hinduwisdom.info/contents.htm

Answer 6

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