Hinduism

‘Hinduism’ is often regarded as the world’s ‘oldest living major tradition’ with its roots dating back to the Vedic religion of Iron Age India. It was previously known as Sanatana dharma, a Sanskrit phrase, meaning - ‘the eternal law’. The term ‘Hindu/Hinduism’ was never used before 12th century AD and does not have a single mention in any of the Vedic, Brahmanical or Buddhists texts. For the first time, the term ‘Hindu’ was imposed on the South Asian nations by Mohammad Ghori of Afghan dynasty in the 12th century. Later on, the British writers introduced the term, ‘Hinduism’ in about 1830 AD which is widely used till date. It is the dominant religion in India dating back to 5000 or more years and it denotes the religious, cultural and philosophical traditions of the Hindus.

The evidence of its existence dates back to the early Harappan period and the development of this religion was influenced when the Aryans invaded India in 1500 BC attacking the Harappan people. With the passage of time, both the groups adopted each others beliefs where the Aryans believed in worshiping multiple gods and Harappan’s believed in sanctity of fertility. The caste system, introduced by Aryans, ranked the society according to its occupational class: priests are Brahmins; soldiers, king-warrior class are Kshatriyas; merchants, farmers, Sutras laborers and craftspeople are Vaishyas; and "untouchables" are Harijans believed to be the descended from the Harappan aboriginal people who are extremely poor and discriminated against. The higher the person’s caste the more the person is privileged and vice versa. This system was abolished in 1948 but this system is still important Hindus and regarded as a proper way to classify society.

Vedas meaning knowledge, is one of the oldest forms of Hindu scriptures contain prayers, hymns and ritual texts composed during the period of a thousand years. The Upanishads are a collection of mystical teachings including unrevealed ideas about man and universe. The focus within this group is on the word ‘Brahman’ which is the basis of reality and ‘Atma’, which is the soul. The epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana, were complied over an extended period of the late centuries BC and early centuries CE. These epics contain stories about the rulers and wars of ancient India. The ‘Puranas’ recount the stories of gods and goddesses, their interaction with humans and their battles with demons. To demonstrate the importance of bhakti, dharma and caste, this scripture, throws light on the pilgrimages and rituals of the Hindus.

Hinduism is a diverse religion, therefore, there is a variation in the worship of particular deities and in local practices. However, the central idea which unifies the religion as one is its belief in ‘Brahman’; the underlying universal force that embodies existence. The highest aim of Hinduism is to achieve ‘Moksa’ (liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth).Hindus are very aware of the absurdities that make up the universe. The ‘trimurti’ or triumvirate consists of three gods namely; Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva who responsible for creation, upkeep and destruction of the world. All happenings are a result of the chemistry between male and female, dark and light, hot and cold. According to Vedic medicine, to maintain social, bodily and cosmic well-being, keeping the above opposite forces in balance is utmost important.

Hindu worship or puja, involves the images or icons, prayers and yantras (diagrams of the universe).Central to the worship is the image or icon which can either be worshiped in a temple or at home. The puja is an individual act in which the name of the deity is chanted and mantra is repeated. Flowers, water, fruits and incense offered as a token of love and respect. Pilgrimage is a site where the god has appeared or manifested in the world. Therefore is also an important aspect of the religion undertaken to see or be seen by the deity where the god. River Ganga, Amarnath, Banares, Varanasi, Kumbh Mela and Haridwar are only few of the many important pilgrimages in India. Marriages, birth rites and death are occasions which involve elaborate religious customs.

The most striking feature of this community is that they celebrate and accept the multi-leveled and sometime the inconsistent nature of their religion because for them Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life.