Hinduism

## Overview

### Introduction

Hinduism originated in India and is prevalent among most of India's inhabitants as well in areas where Hindu families have migrated to (East Africa, South Africa, Southeast Asia, the East Indies, England). Hindus define their community as those who believe in the Vedas and follow the dharma of the four varnas and asharamas.

Although Hinduism finds its basis in a social and culture system originating in Indian history and tradition, it encompasses a wide variety of foreign elements that have been absorbed over time. Since there can be so much variation in what behaviors make someone Hindu, this wiki will define Hinduism according to what the majority of Hindu's practice.

### Fundamental Principles

Most Hindus:

* Revere cows and Brahaman
* Abstain from meat
* Marry within their cast
* Chant the gayatri hymn to the sun at dawn
* Worship Shiva, Vishnu, or Devi

### Sacred Texts

#### The Vedas

The Vedas are the primary texts of Hinduism. They contain hymns, incarnations, and rituals from ancient India.

##### Rigveda (Knowledge of the Verses)

The oldest of the four Vedas. 1,028 hymns that were preserved orally before being written down. Content concerns truth, reality, the universe, war, and weddings.

##### Yajurveda (Knowledge of the Sacrifice)

A collection of mantras (sacred invocations/incantations) that concern sacrificial rites and rituals. The Yajruveda has been grouped into two main parts: the black (unarranged, unclear collection of verses) and the white (arranged, clear).

Black Yajurveda

White Yajurveda

##### Samaveda (Knowledge of the Chants)

Hymns set to music in praise of the gods.

##### Atharvaveda (Knowledge of the Fire Priest)

Charms, curses, spells, daily rituals, learning, marriage, funerals, royal rituals, and duties of the priest.

#### Upanishads

Vedic philosophy continued in later times. These texts concern/ elaborate upon meditation, contemplation practices that help the Atman to be united with Brahman, and Karma.

#### Puranas

The narrative of the Universe from creation to destruction. There are 18 canonical Puranas (written after the Vedas) containing genealogies of kings, heroes, demigods, Hindu cosmology, and geography.

#### Epics

##### Mahabharata

Recounts a war between the Pandava family and the Kauravas who are battling for the throne. Krishna, the eight incarnation of Vishnu, is featured in this story. This is the longest poem in the world--5x the length of the bible and 8x the length of the Iliad/Odyssey combined.

Read more

##### Ramayana

The story of Prince Rama (the 7th incarnation of Vishnu) who goes on a quest to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana.

Read more

## Vision of/for Life

### Purusarthas (4 Proper Goals)

Hindu philosophy may be identified with a set of core values known as the Purusarthas, four proper goals: dharma, artha, kama, and moksha. \*Note: different schools of Hindu philosophy will recognize/emphasize different Purusarthas.

#### Dharma (Duty)

Dharma is religious and moral duty. Sadharana dharma applies to everyone while svdharma refers to dharma that is specific to one's duties within a class or area of life.

#### Artha (Material Wealth)

Pursuit of material well-being is necessary, beneficial, and appropriate within moderation. Artha must always be checked by dharma.

#### Kama (Sensual Pleasure)

Many schools of Hindu philosophies are critical of Kama, of erotic love/pleasure, because it can be ruinous.

#### Moksha (Liberation)

Spiritual liberation from samsara. Moksha is a state of bliss that is a result of total absorption into the oneness of Brahman.

### Varna (Caste)

Caste is a system that organizes people into different classes with specific obligations and privileges. In India, its strictness is enforced in varying degrees both inside and outside of Hinduism. Many Hindu schools are openly critical of caste.

* Bhramin (priests and scholars)
* Kshatriyas (royalty and warriors)
* Vaishyas (farmers, traders, merchants)
* Shudras (laborers)
* Dalits (outcasts, untouchables, street sweepers, latrine cleaners)

### Ashrama (4 Stages of Life)

There are four stages of life that a Hindu will ideally go through. Moksha should be pursued in the last two stages.

1. The student (brahmacari): obedience and devotion to one's teacher
2. The householder (grihastha): marriage, children, family life, supporting priests, respecting ancestors and gods
3. The forest dweller (vanaprastha): ascetic living, pursuit of solitude after birth of grandchildren, less concern with material
4. The homeless renouncer (sannyasi): renouncing possessions, relying on begging for food, wandering, only goal is to unite with Brahman

## Who is God?

### Brahman

In Hinduism, there are a seemingly endless amount of gods and goddesses that personify cosmic phenomena. While there are many gods that take on a variety of forms, Hindu's believe that all deities are differing manifestations of a single transcendent being known as Brahaman. Brahaman is the eternal, infinite, conscious entity who contains the universe within his being.

### The Goddess

Some Hindus exclusively worship female goddesses and collectively refer to these goddesses as the Goddess (Shakti: the feminine power/ female aspect of the godhead)

### The Trimurti

The Trimurti, inspired by the concept of the Christian Trinity, is a Western interpretation of the main deities in Hinduism which consists of:

#### Brahma the Creator

Brahma is the creator of the Vedas, good and evil, light and dark, gods, demons, men, the earth, and all things on it. Certain myths describe him as being born from a golden egg, but there are other versions that describe him as coming from a lotus.

Read more:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brahma-Hindu-god

https://www.worldhistory.org/Brahma/

#### Vishnu the Preserver

Vishnu is the guardian of men and protector of dharma. He comes to earth in various incarnations, avatars, to maintain cosmic order. Vishnu's ten avatars:

* Buddha
* Krishna (the hero)
* Rama (the hero)
* Parashurama (the hero)
* Nara-Simha (the man-lion)
* Vamana (the dwarf)
* Matsya (the fish)
* Kurma (the tortoise)
* Varaha (the boar)
* Kalki (the final avatar who will appear at the end of Kali Yuga and herald the beginning anew of Krita Yuga [see Where am I? for more information about Yuga's])

Read more:

https://www.worldhistory.org/Vishnu/

#### Shiva the Destroyer

Shiva destroys the universe at the end of each cosmic cycle. He is the model of asceticism for Hindus.

Read more:

https://www.worldhistory.org/shiva/

\*Most Hindus are fall into four denominations: Vaishinavas (followers of Vishnu), Shaivas (followers of Shiva), Shaktas (followers of Shakti) Smartas (allegiance to entirety of Hindu pantheon, follow the sutra texts which are Hindu literature outside of the Vedas)

## Who am I?

### Atman (Soul)

The Atman is the universal self, it is the core of each of us that is identical to Brahman. We are all one with Brahman who is the universal soul.

## Where am I?

Hindu's believe that the universe is a cosmic egg of concentric, heavens, hells, oceans, and continents, with India at its center. They believe that time is degenerative and cyclical--beginning with Krita Yuga (the golden age) and then moving through decreasing periods of goodness until Kali Yuga (the present age) which is destroyed by fire and flood. Then, the universe begins anew.

## What is the problem?

### Samsara (Reincarnation)

Samsara is a cycle of life, death, and rebirth that repeats until moksha is achieved. Positive/negative karma can mean favorable/unfavorable rebirth moving a person closer/farther from moksha in the next incarnation.

### Karma

Nothing exists independently of causes and conditions. In other words, everything that happens is a result of something else happening. Karma, translated from Sanskrit, literally means "action." It can be understood as something that propels us to do things or influences occurrences,but is not necessarily the actions or occurrences themselves.

## How do I fix it?

### Moksha

Hindu's believe that the human experience is characterized by the delusion of not realizing their Atman (soul) is identical with Brahman. Until one realizes their essential sameness with all living beings, they will remain trapped in Samsara and cannot be absorbed into the peaceful unity of Brahman.

### Darshans (The Six Views of Reality)

Darshans are differing schools of Indian philosophy that designate distinctive approaches to Hinduism.

#### Nyaya

Emphasizes the pursuit of knowledge, the use of logic, epistemology, and inference to eliminate the human suffering that results from ignorance.

#### Vaisheshika

This school holds that reality is composed of a different combination of atoms of earth, water, fire, and air. The atoms are inactive in and of themselves, but are put into motion through divine will.

#### Sankhya

Adopts a system of dualism between matter (prakriti) and eternal spirit (purusha). Confusion happens when the eternal spirit believes itself to be merely matter. This school is concerned with rightly distinguishing the spiritual eternal substance from the temporal material.

#### Yoga

Yoga is concerned with stilling the perturbations of the mind, of calming oneself. Various methods of abstention, breathing, meditation, etc. are practiced to help achieve a moral life and ultimately liberation from Samsara.

#### Vedanta

The Vedanata school holds fast to the ultimate authority of the Vedas and unanimously reject any non-Vedic philosophies.

#### Dvaita

This school identifies Brahaman with a personal god, Vishnu. This school emphasizes devotion between a devotee and a personal god (bhakti) which ultimately leads to moksha. Devotion includes, but is not limited to, study of scriptures, performing dharma, etc.

## Resources

### Helpful Videos

Hinduism Brief Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlBEEuYIWwY

### Websites for General Info

https://www.history.com/topics/religion/hinduism

https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/socialsciences/ppecorino/phil\_of\_religion\_text/chapter\_2\_religions/hinduism.htm

https://iep.utm.edu/hindu-ph/

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/beginners-guide-asian-culture/hindu-art-culture/a/principal-deities-of-hinduism