Bd Htoday 2009-04-01 Intro to Hinduism

8/4/2019 Bd Htoday 2009-04-01 Intro to Hinduism

1/810 hinduism today april/may/june, 2009

If you ask google what is hinduism? you will get some

39,000 reslts. Many are from otsiders offering their best tae;many are from antagonists taing their best shot. Too few arenowledgeable; fewer still are athentic. Rare is the answer that

goes beyond parochial sectarian nderstandings; scarcely any en-compasses the hge gamt implied in the qestion. For these reasonsalone, this introdction to Hindism was inevitable.

Hinduism Today magazine fonder, Satgr Sivaya Sbram-niyaswami (19272001), well nderstood the challenges that allreligions face in todays world, whether from otside or within. Hewrote that every religion consists of the spirital precepts, practicesand cstoms of a people or societytransmitted from generationto generationthat maintain the connection with higher realmsof consciosness, ths connecting man to God and eeping alivethe highest ideals of cltre and tradition. Grdeva, as he wasaffectionately nown, observed that if this transmission misses evenone generation, a religion can be lost for all time, left to decay in thedsty libraries of history, anthropology and archeology. He stroveto protect the religion he loved so dearly. He wold as rhetori-cally, Where are the once prominent religions of the Babylonians,Egyptians, Aztecs, Mayans, American Indians or Hawaiians? Littleremains of them. Not long ago it was feared by some and hoped bymany that Hindismthe religion of a billion people, one sixth ofthe hman race living mostly in Indiawold meet the same fate.That it srvived a history of religios conqest and exterminationthat wiped ot virtally every other ancient religion is exceptional.

Ironically, this noble faith, having withstood the ravages of inva-sion, plnder and brtal domination by foreign invaders for over a

thosand years, stmbled into the 20th centry to meet the sbtlerforces of seclarism and the temptations of materialism. Christianpropaganda, fabricated by 16th-centry Jesit missionaries, empow-ered by the 19th-centry British Raj and carried forth today by theWestern and Indian media, had dealt heavy blows over the cent-ries to the sbjgated, prideless Hind identity. A typical Christiantactic was to demean the indigenos faith, impeaching it as rifewith sperstition, idolatry, antiqated vales, archaic cstoms andmpteen false Gods. Indias Commnist/seclar media stressed casteabse and wretched social ills, branding as radical, commnal andfndamentalist all efforts to stand strong for anything Hind.

Bt an nexpected Hind resrgence has brst forth across the

globe in the last twenty years, driven in part by the Hind diasporaand in part by Indias newfound pride and inuence. Hinduismentered the 21st centry with fervent force as recent generationsdiscovered its treasres and its relevance to their times. Hindismis going digital, woring on its falts and bolstering its strengths.Leaders are stepping forth, parents are striving for ways to convey ttheir children the best of their faith to help them do better in schooand live a fritfl life. Temples are coming p across the Earth by ththosands. Commnities are celebrating Hind festivals, paradingtheir Deities in the streets of Paris, Berlin, Toronto and Sydney ingrand style withot worrying that people might thin them odd or

pagan. Yoga is being niversally practiced, in all faith commnitieEloqent spoesmen are now representing Hindisms billion fol-lowers at international peace conferences, interfaith gatherings anddiscssions abot Hind rights. Hind stdents in high schools anniversities are going bac to their traditions, trning to the Gods ithe temples, not becase their parents say they shold, bt to satisftheir own inner need, to improve their daily life, to fulll their soulcall. When it comes time to explain or religion in any of these settings, we offer the following:

Many faiths under one naMeA major reason why those new to Hinduism nd it difcult tonderstand is its diversity. Hindism is not a monolithic tradition.There isnt a one Hind opinion on things. And there is no singlespiritual authority to dene matters for the faith. There are sev-eral different denominations, the for largest being Vaishnavism,Saivism, Shatism and Smartism. Frther, there are nmberless

schools of thoght, or sampradayas, expressed in tens of thosandsof gr lineages, or paramparas. Each is typically independent andself-contained in its athority. In a very real sense, this grand tradi-tion can be dened and understood as ten thousand faiths gatherein harmony nder a single mbrella called Hindism, or SanatanaDharma. The tendency to overlook this diversity is the common rstep to a falty perception of the religion. Most spirital traditionsare simpler, more unied and unambiguous.

All too often, despite its antiqity, its profond systems of thogthe beaty of its art and architectre and the grace of its people,Hindism remains a mystery. Twisted stereotypes abond thatwold relegate this richly complex, sophisticated and spiritally

Hinds in the West are sometimes invited to give a tal explaining their religion at a local college,schoolroom, interfaith group or even a Christian church. Some have conded to me that they donot feel qualied to give such a presentation. There is clearly a need for an authentic, non-academicintroduction to Hinduism that can be presented with condence on such occasions. I prepared thisPblishers Des (drawn from or boo What Is Hinduism?)as a broad smmary of or faith that can

be drawn pon to properly edcate others in the basics of Hindism, mins all the misconceptionsand myths. Yo can get the text here: www.himalayanacademy.com/intro

PuBLISHERS DESk

Introduction to HinduismOr pblisher offers a basic smmary that yo can

prodly present to gatherings in yor commnity

B Y S AT G u R u B O D H I N AT H A V E Y L A N S WA M I


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rewarding tradition to little more than crdecaricatres of snae-charmers, cow-worshipersand yogis lying on beds of nails.

Fortnately, there is an easier, more natralway to approach the vastness of Hindism.From the contless living grs, teachers andpandits who offer clear gidance, most seeerschoose a preceptor, stdy his teachings, embracethe sampradaya he proponds and adopt the

precepts and disciplines of his tradition. That ishow the faith is followed in actal practice. Holymen and women, conted in the hndreds ofthosands, are the ministers, the defenders ofthe faith and the inspirers of the faithfl.

four Basic principlesOne way to gain a simple (thogh admittedlysimplistic) overview is to nderstand the foressential beliefs shared by the vast majority ofHinds: arma, reincarnation, all-pervasiveDivinity and dharma. We cold say that livingby these for principles is what maes a persona Hind.

Km:Karma literally means deed oract and more broadly names the niversalprinciple of case and effect, action and reac-tion which governs all life. karma is a natrallaw of the mind, jst as gravity is a law of mat-ter. karma is not fate, for man acts with freewill, creating his own destiny. The Vedas tells, if we sow goodness, we will reap goodness;if we sow evil, we will reap evil. karma refersto the totality of or actions and their con-comitant reactions in this and previos lives,all of which determines or ftre. It is theinterplay between or experience and howwe respond to it that maes arma devastat-ing or helpflly invigorating. The conqestof arma lies in intelligent action and dis-passionate reaction. Not all armas rebondimmediately. Some accmlate and retrn nexpectedly in thisor other births. The Vedas explain, According as one acts, sodoes he become. One becomes virtos by virtos action, badby bad action (Yajur Veda, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad4.4.5).

r:Reincarnation,punarjanma, is the natral pro-cess of birth, death and rebirth. At death we drop off the physicalbody and contine evolving in the inner worlds in or sbtle bodies,ntil we again enter into birth. Throgh the ages, reincarnation hasbeen the great consoling element within Hindism, eliminating thefear of death. We are not the body in which we live bt the immor-tal sol which inhabits many bodies in its evoltionary jorneythrogh samsara. After death, we contine to exist in nseen worlds,

enjoying or sffering the harvest of earthly deeds ntil it comestime for yet another physical birth. The actions set in motion in pre-vios lives form the tendencies and conditions of the next. Reincar-nation ceases when arma is resolved, God is realized and mosha,liberation, is attained. The Vedas state, After death, the sol goes tothe next world, bearing in mind the sbtle impressions of its deeds,and after reaping their harvest retrns again to this world of action.Ths, he who has desires contines sbject to rebirth (Yajur Veda,Brihadaranyaka Upanishad4.4.6).

a-pvv dv:As a family of faiths, Hindismpholds a wide array of perspectives on the Divine, yet all worshipthe one, all-pervasive Spreme Being hailed in the upanishads. As

Absolte Reality, God is nmanifest, nchanging and transcendent,the Self God, timeless, formless and spaceless. As Pre Conscios-ness, God is the manifest primal sbstance, pre love and lightowing through all form, existing everywhere in time and space asinnite intelligence and power. As Primal Soul, God is our personalLord, sorce of all three worlds, or Father-Mother God who pro-tects, nrtres and gides s. We beseech Gods grace in or liveswhile also nowing that He/She is the essence of or sol, the lifeof or life. Each denomination also venerates its own pantheon ofDivinities, Mahadevas, or great angels, nown as Gods, who werecreated by the Spreme Lord and who serve and adore Him. TheVedas proclaim, He is the God of forms innite in whose glory all

things aresmaller than the smallest atom, and yet the Creator ofall, ever living in the mystery of His creation. In the vision of thisGod of love there is everlasting peace. He is the Lord of all who, hid-den in the heart of things, watches over the world of time (KrishnaYajur Veda, Shvetashvatara Upanishad4.14-15).

dm:When God created the niverse, He endowed itwith order, with the laws to govern creation. Dharma is Godsdivine law prevailing on every level of existence, from the ss-taining cosmic order to religios and moral laws which bind sin harmony with that order. In relation to the sol, dharma is themode of condct most condcive to spirital advancement, theright and righteos path. It is piety and ethical practice, dty

dinodia

a : A young Hindu family share in morning worship, as father performsthe traditional rite of worship called puja, honoring and invoking the blessings of the

Elephant-Headed Lord of Dharma, a Deity worshiped by Hindus of all lineages.



and obligation. When we follow dharma, we are in conformitywith the Trth that inheres and instrcts the niverse, and wenatrally abide in closeness to God. Adharma is opposition todivine law. Dharma is to the individal what its normal develop-ment is to a seedthe orderly fulllment of an inherent natureand destiny. The Tirukural (verses 3132) reminds s, Dharmayields Heavens honor and Earths wealth. What is there thenthat is more fritfl for a man? There is nothing more reward-ing than dharma, nor anything more rinos than its neglect.

hinduisMs unique Value todayThere are good reasons for Hinds and non-Hinds alie to stdyand nderstand the natre of Hindism. The vast geographical andcltral expanses that separate continents, peoples and religions arebecoming increasingly bridged as or world grows closer together.Revoltions in commnications, the Internet, bsiness, travel andglobal migration are maing formerly distant peoples neighbors,sometimes relctantly.

It is crcial, if we are to get along in an increasingly plralisticworld, that Earths peoples learn abot and appreciate the religions,cltres, viewpoints and concerns of their planetary neighbors.The Sanatana Dharma, with its sblime tolerance and belief in theall-pervasiveness of Divinity, has mch to contribte in this regard.

Nowhere on Earth have religions lived and thrived in sch closeand harmonios proximity as in India. For thosands of years Indiahas been a home to followers of virtally every major world religion,the exemplar of tolerance toward all paths. It has offered a refgeto Jews, Zoroastrians, Sus, Buddhists, Christians and nonbelievers.Today over one hndred million Indians are Mslim, for the mostpart magnanimosly accepted by their majority Hind neighbors.Sch religios amity has occrred ot of an abiding respect for allgenine religios prsits. The oft-qoted axiom that conveys thisattitde is Ekam sat anekah panthah, Trth is one, paths aremany. What can be learned from the Hind land that has givenbirth to Bddhism, Sihism and Jainism and has been a generosprotector of all other religions? Indias original faith offers a rareloo at a peacefl, rational and practical path for maing sense ofor world, for gaining personal spirital insight, and as a potentialbleprint for gronding or society in a more spiritally rewardingworldview.

Hindism boasts teachings and practices reaching bac 8,000years and more, its history dwarng most other religions. In fact,there is no specic time in history when it began. It is said to havestarted with time itself. To emphasize the relative ages of the majorreligions, and the antiqity of Hindism, Raimon Paniar, athorofThe Vedic Experience, cleverly redced them to proportion-ate hman years, with each 100 years of history representing oneyear of hman life. Viewed this way, Sihism, the yongest faith,is ve years old. Islam, the only teenager, is fourteen. Christianity

jst trned twenty. Bddhism, Taoism, Jainism and Confcianismare twenty-ve. Zoroastrianism is twenty-six. Shintoism is in itslate twenties. Jdaism is a matre thirty-seven. Hindism, whose

birthday remains nnown, is at least eighty years oldthe white-bearded grandfather of living spiritality on this planet.

The followers of this extraordinary tradition often refer to it asSanatana Dharma, the Eternal Faith or Eternal Way of Condct.Rejoicing in adding on to itself the contribtions of every one of itsmillions of adherents down throgh the ages, it brings to the worldan extraordinarily rich cltral heritage that embraces religion,society, economy, literatre, art and architectre. unsrprisingly, it isseen by its followers as not merely another religios tradition, bt asa way of life and the qintessential fondation of hman cltre andspiritality. It is, to Hinds, the most accrate possible descriptionof the way things areeternal trths, natral principles, inherent in

the niverse that form the basis of cltre and prosperity. under-standing this venerable religion allows all people to fathom thesorce and essence of hman religiosityto marvel at the oldestexample of the Eternal Path that is reected in all faiths.

While 860 million Hinds live in India, forming 85 percent ofthe poplation, tens of millions reside across the globe and incldefollowers from nearly every nationality, race and ethnic grop inthe world. The uS alone is home to 2.4 million Hinds, roghly twothirds of Soth Asian descent and one-third of other bacgronds

hindu scripturesAll major religions are based upon a specic set of teachingsencoded in sacred scriptre. Christianity has theBible, for exampleand Islam has theKoran. Hindism prodly embraces an incred-ibly rich collection of scriptre; in fact, the largest body of sacredtexts nown to man. The holiest and most revered are the Vedas an

Agamas, two massive compendia ofshruti(that which is heard),revealed by God to illmined sages centries and millennia ago. It isaid the Vedas are general and theAgamas specic, as theAgamasspea directly to the details of worship, the yogas, mantra, tantra,

temple bilding and sch. The most widely nown part of the Vedare the Upanishads, which form the more general philosophicalfondations of the faith.

The array of secondary scriptre, nown as smriti(that whichis remembered), is eqally vast, the most prominent and widelycelebrated of which are theItihasas (epic dramas and historyspecically theRamayana andMahabharata) and thePuranas (sacrehistory and mythology). The ever-poplarBhagavad Gita is a smalportion of theMahabharata. The Vedic arts and sciences, incldinayrveda, astrology, msic, dance, architectre, statecraft, domesticduty and law, are reected in an assembly of texts known as Vedan

gas and Upavedas. Moreover, throgh the ages God-Realized sols

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sharing their experience, have pored forth volme pon volmethat reveal the wonders of yoga and offer passionate hymns of devo-tion and illmination. The creation of Hind scriptre contines tothis day, as contemporary masters reiterate the timeless trths togide sols on the path to Divinity.

A clear sign that a person is a Hind is that he embraces Hindscriptre as his gide and solace throgh life. While the Vedas areaccepted by all denominations, each lineage denes which otherscriptres are regarded as central and athoritative for its followers.Frther, each devotee freely chooses and follows one or more favoritescriptres within his tradition, be it a selection ofUpanishads, the

Bhagavad Gita, the Tirumantiram or the writings of his own gr.This free-owing, diversied approach to scripture is unique to theHind faith. Scriptre here, however, does not have the same placeas it does in many other faiths. For genine spirital progress to taeplace, its wisdom mst not be merely stdied and preached, btlived and experienced as ones own.

the nature of GodSome descriptions of Hindism wrongly state that Hinds do

not believe in a one Spreme Being bt worship a mltiplicity ofspreme Gods. A common way that this misconception shows pis in the idea that Hinds worship a trinity of Gods: Brahma, theCreator, Vishn, the Preserver, and Siva, the Destroyer. To the Hind,these three are aspects of the one Spreme Being. Indeed, withits vast array of Divinities, Hindism may, to an otsider, appearpolytheistica term avidly employed as a criticism of choice, as ifthe idea of many Gods were primitive and false. Bt as any Hind,and he will tell yo that he worships the One Spreme Being, jst asdo Christians, Jews, Mslims and those of nearly all major faiths. Ifhe is a Saivite, he calls that God Siva. If a Shata Hind, he will adoreDevi, the Goddess, as the ltimate Divinity. If he is a Smarta Hind,

he will worship as spreme one Deity chosen from

a specic pantheon of Gods. If a Vaishnava Hindu,he will revere Vishn or one of His earthly incarnations, called avatars, especially krishna or Rama.

Ths, it is impossible to say all Hinds believethis or that. Some Hinds give credence only tothe formless Absolte Reality as God; others acceptGod as personal Lord and Creator. Some venerateGod as male, others as female, while still othershold that God is not limited by gender, which is anaspect of physical bodies. This freedom, we coldsay, maes for the richest nderstanding and per-ception of God. Hinds accept all genine spiritalpathsfrom pre monism, which concldes that

God alone exists, to theistic dalism, which ass,

When shall I now His Grace? Each sol is free tond his own way, whether by devotion, austerity,meditation, yoga or seless service.

God is nimaginably transcendent yet biqi-tosly immanent in all things. He is creator andHe is the creation. He is not a remote God whorles from above, bt an intimate Lord who abideswithin all as the essence of everything. There is nocorner of creation in which God is not present. He

is farther away than the farthest star and closer than or breath. IfHis presence were to be removed from any one thing, that thingwold cease to exist.

A crcial point, often overlooed, is that having one SpremeGod does not repdiate the existence of lesser Divinities. Jst asChristianity acnowledges great spirital beings who dwell nearGod, sch as the cherbim and seraphim (possessing both hmanand animal featres), so Hinds revere Mahadevas, or great angels,who were created by the Spreme Lord and who serve and adoreHim. Each denomination worships the Spreme God and its ownpantheon of divine beings. The elephant-faced Lord Ganesha isamong the most poplar, and is perhaps the only Deity worshipedby Hinds of all denominations. There are Gods and Goddesses ofstrength, yoga, learning, art, msic, wealth and cltre. There arealso minor divinities, village Gods and Goddesses, who are invoedfor protection, health and sch earthy matters as a fritfl harvest.

the nature of the soulWhat does Hindism say abot the sol? The driving imperative tonow oneselfto answer the qestions Who am I? Where did

I come from? and Where am I going?has been the core of allgreat religions and schools of philosophy throghot history. Hindteachings on the natre of self are as philosophically profond asthey are pragmatic. We are more than or physical body, or mind,emotions and intellect, with which we so intimately identify everymoment of or life, bt which are temporary, imperfect and limitingOr tre self is or immortal sol, the eternal, perfect and nlim-ited inner essence, a pre being of scintillating lightnseen by thehman eye, ndetectable by any of the hman senses, which are itstools for living in this physical world.

Or sol is the sorce of all or higher fnctions, incldingnowledge, will and love. It is neither male nor female. The essence

fv : Perhaps nothing better capturesthe grandness of Hinduism than the Kumbha

Mela, here celebrated in Haridwar by tens ofmillions of devotees. It is the largest human

gathering on the planet, a devotional conclavethat has been observed for centuries.



of or sol, which was never created, is immanentlove and transcendent reality and is identical andeternally one with God. The Vedas explain, Thesol is born and nfolds in a body, with dreams anddesires and the food of life. And then it is reborn innew bodies, in accordance with its former wors. Theqality of the sol determines its ftre body; earthlyor airy, heavy or light.

The Vedas teach that the Divine resides in all

beings. Or tre, spirital essence is, lie God, eternal,blissfl, good, wise and beatifl by natre. The join-ing of God and the sol is nown as yoga. We spendso mch of or time prsing beaty, nowledge andbliss in the world, not nowing that these objects ofor desire are already within s as attribtes of orown sol. If we trn or focs within throgh wor-ship and meditation, identifying with or tre spiri-tual self, we can discover an innite inner treasurethat easily rivals the greatest wealth of this world.

Hindism is a mystical religion, leading the devoteeto personally experience the Truth within, nallyreaching the pinnacle of consciosness where therealization is attained that man and God are one. As

divine sols, we are evolving into nion with Godthrogh the process of reincarnation. We are immor-tal sols living and growing in the great school ofearthly experience in which we have lived many lives. knowing thisgives followers a great secrity, eliminating the fear and dread ofdeath. The Hind does not tae death to be the end of existence, asdoes the atheist. Nor does he loo pon life as a singlar opportnity,to be followed by eternal heavenly existence for those sols whodo well, and by nending hell for those who do not. Death for theHind is the most exalted of experiences, a profond transition fromthis world to the next, simltaneosly an end and a new beginning.

Despite the heartening glory of or tre natre spoen of in scrip-tre, most sols are naware of their spirital self. This ignoranceor veiling grace is seen in Hindism as Gods prposefl limitingof awareness, which allows s to evolve. It is this narrowing of orawareness, copled with a sense of individalized ego, that allowss to loo pon the world and or part in it from a practical, hmanpoint of view. The ltimate goal of life, in the Hind view, is calledmosha, liberation from rebirth. This comes when earthly armahas been resolved, dharma has been well performed and God isflly realized. All sols, withot exception, are destined to achievethe highest states of enlightenment, perfect spirital matrity andliberation, bt not necessarily in this life. Hinds nderstand thisand do not delde themselves that this life is the last. While seeingand attaining profond realizations, they now there is mch to bedone in fullling lifes other three goals: righteousness, wealth andpleasre.

In some Hind traditions, the destiny of the sol after liberationis perceived as eternal and blissfl enjoyment of Gods presence in

the heavenly realms, a form of salvation given by God throgh grace,similar to most Abrahamic faiths. In others, the sols destiny isperfect union in God or in the Innite All, a state of oneness.

the nature of the worldFrom the Hind perspective, the world is the place where or des-tiny is shaped, our desires fullled and our soul matured. Withoutthe world, nown as maya, the sol cold not evolve throgh expe-rience. In the world, we grow from ignorance into wisdom, fromdarness into light and from a consciosness of death to immortality.The whole world is an ashram in which all are evolving spiritally.We mst love the world, which is Gods creation. Those who despise,

hate and fear the world do not nderstand the intrinsic goodness oall. The world is a glorios place, not to be feared. The Vedas advise

Behold the niverse in the glory of God, and all that lives and moveon Earth. Leaving the transient, nd joy in the Eternal.

There is a false concept, commonly fond in academic texts,that Hindism is world-negating. This depiction was foistedpon the world by 19th-centry Western missionary Oriental-ists traveling in India for the rst time and reporting back aboutits starest and strangest aspects, not nlie what Western jor-nalists tend to do today. The wild-looing, world-renoncingyogis, taing refge in caves, denying the senses and ths theworld, were of sensational interest, and their world-abandonmentbecame, throgh the scholars eyes, characteristic of the entirereligion. Hindisms essential, time-tested monastic traditionmaes it no more world-negating than Christianity or Bd-dhism, which liewise have traditions of rennciate men andwomen living apart from the world in spirital prsits.

While Sanatana Dharma prodly pholds sch severe ways oflife for the few, it is very mch a family-oriented faith that sp-ports acqisition of wealth, the prsit of lifes pleasres and a fllengagement in societys spirital, intellectal and emotional joys.The vast majority of followers are engaged in family life, rmlygronded in responsibilities in the world. Yong Hind adltsare encoraged to marry; marriages are encoraged to yield anabundance of children; children are guided to live in virtue, fullldty and contribte to the commnity. The emphasis is not on self

fulllment and freedom but on duty and the welfare of the community, as expressed in the phrase, Bahujan hitaya, bahujan sukhayameaning the welfare of the many and the happiness of the many.

Hind scriptres spea of three worlds of existence: the physicasbtle and casal. The physical plane is the world of gross or mate-rial substance in which phenomena are perceived by the ve senseIt is the most limited of worlds, the least permanent and the mostsbject to change. The sbtle plane is the mental-emotional spherethat we fnction in throgh thoght and feeling and reside in fllydring sleep and after death. It is the astral world that exists withinthe physical plane. The casal plane plsates at the core of being,deep within the sbtle plane. It is the sperconscios world where

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the Gods and highly evolved sols live and can be accessed throghyoga and temple worship.

Hinds believe that God created the world and all things in it. Hecreates and sstains from moment to moment every atom of theseen physical and nseen spirital niverse. Everything is withinHim. He is within everything. God created s. He created time andgravity, the vast spaces and the nconted stars. Creation is not themaing of a separate thing, bt an emanation of Himself. God cre-ates, constantly sstains the form of His creations and absorbs thembac into Himself. According to Hindism, the creation, preserva-tion and dissoltion of the niverse is an endless cycle. The creationand preservation portion of each cycle is a period of approximately309 trillion years, at which point Mahapralaya, the Great Dissoltion,occrs. Mahapralaya is the absorption of all existenceincldingtime, space and individal consciosness, all the worlds and theirinhabitantsin God, a retrn of all things to the sorce, sometimesliened to the water of a river retrning to the sea. Then God aloneexists ntil He again isses forth creation.

hinduisM in practiceHindism has three sstaining pillars: temple worship, scriptreand the gr-disciple tradition. Arond these all spirital disci-plines revolve, inclding prayer, meditation and rital worship in thehome and temple, stdy of scriptre, recitation of mantras, pilgrim-age to holy places, austerity, seless service, generous giving, goodcondct and the varios yogas. Festivals and singing of holy hymns

are dynamic activities.Temples hold a central place of importance in Hind life. Whether

they be small village sanctaries or towering citadels, they areesteemed as Gods consecrated abode. In the temple Hinds drawclose to the Divine and nd a refuge from the world. Gods grace,permeating everywhere, is most easily nown within these holy pre-cincts. It is in this puried milieu, where the three worlds (physical,astral and casal) commne most perfectly, that devotees can estab-lish harmony with God, the Gods and their angelic helpers, calleddevas. Traditional temples are specially sanctied, possessing a rayof spirital energy connecting them to the celestial worlds.

Temple ritals, performed by Hind priests, tae the form of pja,

a ceremony in which the ringing of bells, passing of ames, present-ing of offerings and intoning of chants invoe the devas and Gods,who then come to bless and help the devotees. Personal worshipdring pja may be an expression of festive celebration of importanevents in life, of adoration and thansgiving, penance and confes-sion, prayerfl spplication and reqests, or contemplation at thedeepest levels of sperconsciosness. The stone or metal Deityimages enshrined in the temple are not mere symbols of God andthe Gods; they are not mere inert idols bt the forms throgh whichdivine love, power and blessings ood forth from the inner world ofthe Gods into this physical world. Devot Hinds adore the imageas the Deitys physical body, nowing that the God or Goddess isactally present and conscios in it dring pja, aware of devoteesthoghts and feelings and even sensing the priests gentle toch onthe metal or stone.

Priests, nown aspujaris, hold a central place of honor and impor-tance. Each temple has its own staff of priests. Some temples appoinonly one, while others have a large extended family of priests totae care of the many shrines and elaborate festivals. Most are welltrained from early childhood in the intricate litrgy. These men ofGod mst be flly nowledgeable of the metaphysical and ontologi-

cal tenets of the religion and learn hndreds of mantras and chantsreqired in the rital worship. Generally, pjaris do not attend tothe personal problems of devotees. They are Gods servants, tendingHis temple home and its related dties, never standing between thedevotee and God. Ofciating priests are almost always married menwhile their assistants may be nmarried yong men or widowers.

Hinds consider it most important to live near a temple, as it isthe center of spirital life. It is here, in Gods home, that the devoteenrtres his relationship with the Divine. Not wanting to stay awaytoo long, he visits weely and strives to attend each major festival,and to pilgrimage to a far-off temple annally for special blessingsand a brea from his daily concerns.

a m g: Traditional priests, 121 in all, poseat Sringeri Sadhana Center in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania,during a break in the 1997 Vedic worship ceremony,the biggest ever performed on American soil



For the Hind, the nderlying emphasis of life is on maingspirital progress, while also prsing ones family and professionalduties and goals. He is conscious that life is a precious, eeting

opportnity to advance, to bring abot inner transformation, and hestrives to remain ever conscios of this fact. For him wor is wor-ship, and his faith relates to every department of life.

Hindisms spirital core is its holy men and womenmillions ofsadhs, yogis, swamis, vairagis, saints and satgrs who have dedi-cated their lives to fll-time service, devotion and God Realization,and to proclaiming the eternal trths of Sanatana Dharma. In day-to-day life, perhaps no facet of dharma is as crcial as the spiritalteacher, or satgr. These holy men and women are a living spiritalforce for the faithfl. They are the inspirers and interpreters, thepersonal gides who, nowing God themselves, can bring devoteesinto God consciosness. Hinds believe that the blessingwhethera loo, a toch or even a thoghtcoming from sch a great solhelps them in their evoltion, changes patterns in their life by clean-ing p areas of their sbconscios mind that they cold not possiblyhave done for themselves. They frther believe that if his shati isstrong enogh, and if they are in tne with him enogh, they will beempowered to really begin to meditate.

In all Hind commnities there are grs who personally looafter the spirital practices and progress of devotees. Sch precep-tors are eqally revered whether they are men or women. In fewother religions are women allowed sch access to the highest seatsof reverence and respect.

Within the Hind way is a deeply rooted desire to lead a prodc-tive, ethical life, following dharma. Among the many virtes instilledin followers are truthfulness, delity, contentment and avoidance ofgreed, lst and anger. A cornerstone of dharma is ahimsa, noninjrytoward all beings. Vedic rishis who revealed dharma proclaimedahimsa as the way to achieve harmony with or environment, peace

between people and compassion within orselves. Devot followerstend to be vegetarian and see to protect the environment. Manyindividals of all faiths are concerned abot or environment andproperly preserving it for ftre generations. Hinds share this con-cern and honor and revere the world arond them as Gods creation.Their traditions have always valed natre and cared for it. Theynd it natural to work for the protection of the Earths diversity andresorces to achieve the goal of a secre, sstainable and lastingenvironment.

Seless service to God and humanity, known as seva, is widelyprsed as a way of softening the ego and drawing close to theDivine. Charity, dana, is expressed thogh myriad philanthropic

activities, especially feeding others.Hinds wear sectarian mars, called tilaa, on their foreheads as

sacred symbols, distinctive insignia of their heritage. Rather thanbrial, they prefer cremation of the body pon death, which qiclreleases the sol from its earthly frame, allowing it to contine itsevoltionary jorney.

Perhaps one of Hindisms most refreshing characteristics is thatit encorages free and open thoght. Scriptres and grs encor-age followers to inqire and investigate into the natre of Trth, toexplore worshipfl, inner and meditative regimens to directly experience the Divine. This openness is at the root of Hindisms famedtolerance of other cltres, religions and points of view, capslatedin the adage, Ekam sat viprah bahuda vadanti, meaning Trthis one, the wise describe it in different ways. The Hind is freeto choose his path, his way of approaching the Divine, and he canchange it in the corse of his lifetime. There is no heresy or apostasin Hindism. This, copled with Hindisms natral inclsiveness,gives little room for fanaticism, fndamentalism or closed-mindedness anywhere within the framewor of Hindism. It has been aptcalled a threshold, not an enclosre.

Dr. S. Radharishnan, renowned philosopher and president ofIndia from 1962 to 1967, smmarizes in The Hindu View of Life: ThHind recognizes one Spreme Spirit, thogh different names aregiven to it. God is in the world, thogh not as the world. He doesnot merely intervene to create life or consciosness, bt is woringcontinosly. There is no dalism of the natral and the spernat

ral. Evil, error and gliness are not ltimate. No view is so tterlyerroneos, no man is so absoltely evil as to deserve complete cas-tigation. There is no Hell, for that means there is a place where Godis not, and there are sins which exceed His love. The law of armatells s that the individal life is not a term, bt a series. Heaven anHell are higher and lower stages in one continos movement. Evetype has its own natre which shold be followed. We shold do odty in that state of life to which we happen to be called. Hindismafrms that the theological expressions of religious experience arebond to be varied, accepts all forms of belief, and gides each alonhis path to the common goal. These are some of the central prin-ciples of Hindism. If Hindism lives today, it is de to them.

dv g: At the height of puja, a priest lights the sacredlamp which he will lovingly wave before the Deity as an actof veneration, carrying out liturgy that is thousands of years

old. Such ceremonies facilitate communion between thisphysical world and the realms of the Gods and angels.

thomaskelly


8/8april/may/jun e, 2009 h i n d u i s m t o d ay 17

These nine beliefs smmarizing the essential Hind theology are drawn from chapter forteen ofor boo What Is Hinduism? That chapter also presents nine corresponding beliefs of Christianity,

which can be referenced if yor tal is being given to a Christian grop. Seeing the two side-by-sideis quite revealing for those understanding Hinduism for the rst time.

Nine Beliefs of Hinduism

Reverence for Our

Revealed Scriptures1

All-Pervasive

Divinity2

3Three Worlds and

Cycles of Creation

The Laws of

Karma and Dharma4Reincarnation

and Liberation

5Temples and the

Inner Worlds6

7Yoga Guided

by a Satguru

Compassion and

Noninjury8Genuine Respect

for Other Faiths9

Hinds believe in the divinity of the Vedas, the worlds most ancientscriptre, and venerate theAgamas as eqally revealed. Theseprimordial hymns are Gods word and the bedroc of Sanatana Dharma.Dharma, the eternal religion which has neither beginning nor end.

Hinds believe in a one, all-pervasive SpremeBeing who is both immanent and transcendent,both Creator and unmanifest Reality.

Hinds believe there are three worlds of existencephysical,astral and casaland that the niverse ndergoes endlesscycles of creation, preservation and dissoltion.

Hinds believe in armathe law of case and effect bywhich each individal creates his own destiny by his thoghts,words and deedsand in dharma, righteos living.

Hinds believe that the sol reincarnates, evolving throgh many

births ntil all armas have been resolved, and moshaspiritalnowledge and liberation from the cycle of rebirthis attained.Not a single sol will be eternally deprived of this destiny.

Hinds believe that divine beings exist in nseen worlds andthat temple worship, ritals, sacraments as well as personaldevotionals create a commnion with these devas and Gods.

Hinds believe that a spiritally awaened master, or satgr, is essentialto now the Transcendent Absolte, as are personal discipline, goodconduct, purication, pilgrimage, self-inquiry and meditation.

Hinds believe that all life is sacred, to be loved andrevered, and therefore practice ahimsa, noninjry.

Hinds believe that no particlar religion teaches the only way tosalvation above all others, bt that all genine religios paths are facetsof Gods Pre Love and Light, deserving tolerance and nderstanding.

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Bd Htoday 2009-04-01 Intro to Hinduism

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