Introduction to Hinduism

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Introduction to Hinduism

Hinduism became a global religion in the 20th century. For millennia restricted to the Indian subcontinent, Hindus currently reside in some 150 countries. The universal outreach has not been only geographical. Rather, the modern reinterpretation of Hindu ideas and practices has paved the way to attracting converts and sympathizers beyond the Indian people. As during the classical epoch of Hinduism, the modern epoch continues to be prosperous and dynamic in bringing forth new forms, ideas, and practices of Hindu ideas and devotion.
The term "Hinduism" is a Western construction invented in the early 19th century by British colonial administrators and Orientalists. Since then, the notion of "Hinduism" suggests a coherent religion to be found all over India. The construction fails to convey, however, the apparent diversity and heterogeneity that it both subsumes and ignores. Related to the empirical situation in the subcontinent (and now also overseas), it would be more appropriate to speak of a number of distinct but related religious traditions or religions existing side by side within so-called Hinduism. The encompassing of diverse regional religious traditions under the one heading of Hinduism has stirred up both academic and practical problems of communal and national representation. The same terminological problematic applies to the designation "Hindu," as a person is not a "Hindu in general" but rather a "Hindu in particular"—for example, a Gujarati Vaishnava or Tamil Shaivaite, placing emphasis on specific deities, sacred texts, ways of worship (puja), religious teachers, and so on.
Principal Concepts and Practices
At the close of the Vedic epoch and the shift to the epoch of the epics (or classical Hinduism), the texts of the Aranyakas and Upanishads expounded on the principal concepts of classical Hinduism. The notion of dharma started to become a leading religious concept: dharma, though untranslatable in any Western language, as it has no direct semantic equivalents, conveys the meaning of duty, norm, obligation, and cosmic law or order. A Hindu person is said to act according to the dharma of his or her varna and jati—that is, to stick to the obligations and restrictions imposed by one's birth. Birth and rebirth in specific jatis is dependent on the person's karma (action). All living beings are thought to be reborn repeatedly in the cycle of death and rebirth (samsara), this according to the cause and effect of the actions and deeds a person had performed in life. There are different "disciplines" (yoga, from the Sanskrit root yuj, to control) or "paths" (marga) to gain moksha, or liberation, from this beginningless cycle: the path of action (karma marga) entails the path of unselfish action—that is, of fulfilling one's duty (dharma) without expecting praise or blame. The path of knowledge (jnana marga) is constituted by attaining scriptural knowledge and by this "true insight" into the real nature of the universe. The path of devotion (bhakti marga), most emphasized throughout the great epic Bhagavadgita, outlines as means for final liberation the surrender to and wholehearted trust in the god venerated. Basic to these different paths is the fundamental correspondence of the all-pervading ultimate reality or truth (Brahman) and the human soul (atman). To reach liberation is to understand this basic unity of Brahman and atman. The Chandogya Upanishad explains this nonseparatedness in the famous conversation between Uddalaka Aruni and his son Shvetaku: the father asks the son to dissolve salt in water and says that Brahman and atman are united in a similar manner.
The two great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata (including the Bhagavadgita), in particular, expound on and make known the central Hindu concepts and the different paths to liberation. These epics, composed from 200 BCE to 300 CE and followed by other texts, such as the Manusmriti (codes of law), the Puranas (old stories), sutras, and shastras (normative and scientific texts), all belong to the category of smriti (remembered, handed down). Smriti texts are of human authorship; they explain, comment on, and prescribe ideas and lifestyles touched on in the Vedas. Although theoretically this literature is of lesser authority than the Vedas, it has played a far more important role in the lives and religiosity of Hindus for the last 2,000 years. In particular, the sutras and shastras provide a normative structuring of a person's obligation (dharma), both with regard to one's position in society (that is, duties according to one's varna) and with regard to one's stage of life (ashrama). These two concerns together became known as varnashrama-dharma. Its fulfillment was a sign of brahmanical orthopraxy, and in many Hindu traditions this model codified the ideal of a "true Hindu life." Smarta Brahmins are especially proud and eager to follow the teachings and prescriptions of the smriti texts. The four different stages that a male "twice-born" (dvija) is expected to take are: brahmacarya, the stage of boy student, learning the Veda; grihastha, the stage of householder, raising a family; vanaprastha, the stage of hermit or forest-dweller, retiring from the householder's duties; and samnyasa, the final stage of renouncer, concentrating on final liberation. The obligations of married women are generally referred to as stri-dharma, the duties of the wife. According to the Manusmriti, women are to be subject to male control and authority throughout their lives; they have to be docile and virtuous.
The Ramayana, or story of King Rama, exists in a multitude of versions, the most widely known being the one attributed to Valmiki. The main plot of the story is the abduction of Princess Sita, wife of Rama, by the demon Ravana and the freeing of Sita and her return to Ayodhya with the help of the monkey general Hanuman. The story's moral centers on the fulfillment of one's dharma—that is, on loyal obedience to one's social role and obligations. In the same way, the Mahabharata highlights the virtues of devoted service to and dutiful observance of one's dharma. The main part of the story circles around struggles for throne succession among cousins, culminating in a battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The eve of the battle sets the scene for the Bhagavadgita (Song of the Lord), the well-known dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna. Doubtful Arjuna, who is hesitant to fight his relatives, is convinced by his charioteer Krishna that it is his social and religious obligation, or dharma, to go into the war. As a member of the warrior class, he has to fulfill his duty. Krishna, though disguised as charioteer, is really the supreme Lord, and he offers Arjuna guidance in the same way a teacher (guru) instructs his pupil. In the 18 chapters of the Gita, the 3 principal disciplines or paths to attain liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth are also explained prominently, among many further themes.
Philosophical Systems in Hinduism
The shaping and codifying of basic Hindu concepts and norms from the middle of the first millennium BCE on was accompanied by the development of different philosophical systems and the growth of so-called sectarian or tradition-wise worship of particular deities from the middle of the first millennium CE. From around the third to the sixth centuries CE, theologians and philosophers worked out six so-called orthodox perspectives or systems (darshana) commonly identified in Hindu thought. Each system is based on a specific text and commentaries, containing logic, analysis, and scriptural exegesis. The samkhya darshana advocates a dualistic and atheistic differentiation of self or spirit (purusha) and matter (prakriti). The yoga darshana, based on the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali (fifth century), builds on the dualism of samkhya. It focuses, however, on the spiritual discipline required for the self to attain moksha, or liberation. The mimamsa darshana places its emphasis on right action (dharma), whereas the nyaya darshana elaborates on a system of logic, leading to liberation. The vaisheshika darshana constitutes a system of atomistic analysis of the categories of dharma and their constituent elements. Finally, the Vedanta darshana, like the mimamsa darshana a system of Vedic exegesis, concentrates on the Upanishadic teaching on ultimate reality (Brahman).
In the following centuries, the Vedanta system was differently interpreted by philosophers and renouncers. Most prominent among the many have become Shankara (Sankara), Ramanuja, and Madhva. Shankara favored the nondualist, or advaita, Vedanta and established that viewpoint as the touchstone of a revived smarta orthodoxy. He was founder of 10 orders of samnyasis (renouncers) and set up 4 (or 5) principal monasteries (mathas) or seats of learning (vidyapithas). The leading men of these seats are renowned spiritual and normative leaders known as Shankaracharyas (masters [in the tradition] of Shankara), playing an important role through the centuries and up to the present. Ramanuja taught a qualified nondualist, or vishishtadvaita, Vedanta different from Shankara's theology. He disagreed with Shankara on the nature of Brahman, the individual selves, and the world. Ramanuja was the leader of a Shri Vaishnava Order (followers of Vishnu), arguing that Vishnu-Narayana is the ultimate Brahman, his relation to the world and souls being "qualified" as substance to attribute.
Forms of Worship
Worship and the veneration of the chosen deity take many different forms in the Hindu traditions and sampradayas. To the vast majority of people, the above sketched philosophical investigations are rather less known. The bulk of devotees engage in the recitation of the name of the deity, in praying to the various gods and goddesses and receiving darshan, in joint singing at a meeting (samkirtana, bhajana singing), in night vigils of prayer and song, and in attending fire sacrifices in the temple or at home. Individual prayer is more prevalent than congregational forms of worship. A devotee may concentrate on a mental image of a god or pray in front of an image that expresses a divine spirit (murti). The honoring and worship can be daily, or it can be performed occasionally before the home shrine and without a foot ever set in a temple. Also, some may go on a pilgrimage (tirthayatra) to the holy spots in India, while many will attend the various specific festival days (utsava, yatra), celebrated throughout the year. One of the most popular forms of worship is the puja, the ritual offering of hospitality to a god or goddess as a most welcome and honored guest. The Brahmin offers flowers, camphor, water, light, fruits, and food, as well as mantras to venerate the deity. At specific days and occasions, a ritual bathing (abhishekam) will take place, the Brahmin offering a number of precious ingredients to the deity. As an expression of one's faith and devotion, a devotee may give gifts (dana) and undertake fasts and vows (vrata). In life-cycle ceremonies, memorial rites, and rites of expiation, the favor of the deity is sought through prayer and invocations.
Of particular practical importance for many Hindus is the knowledge of auspicious times according to astrological constellations. In ancient times these were used to determine the appropriate times for Vedic sacrifices, and it has become a common belief that terrestrial events correspond to celestial phenomena. The constellations are held to have a direct effect on important life events. Hindus consult an astrologer or a Brahmin to have a horoscope cast, providing information about beneficial and unfavorable times. According to the days and hours specified, children's ritual names are selected, marriages arranged and performed, debts paid, businesses started, travels undertaken, and much more. In contrast to Western astrologies, the Hindu system considers the Moon rather than the Sun to be of fundamental importance.

Martin Baumann