Is Hinduism Really a Religion?

India, the world's second most populous country and the largest democracy has a few other identifying points too. It is predominantly Hindu. Predominantly means there are a number of other religions practiced in the country and but for politicians, have existed side by side for centuries. Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Zorastrianism, Bah'ism, some of the significant minorities, have had roots in the country for centuries now. India has always been a breeding ground for spirituality, right from the (alleged) world's oldest city, Kashi, or Varanasi, where Lord Shiva seems to come for a visit once in a while.

Hinduism differs from Christianity and other Western religions in that it does not have a single founder, a specific theological system, a single system of morality, or a central religious organization. It is actually made up of thousands of different religious groups and sects that have evolved in India over the last 5000 years ore more. Hinduism is generally regarded as the world's oldest organized religion.

Hinduism has grown to become the world's third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. It claims about 762 million followers - 13% of the world's population. It is the dominant religion in India, Nepal, and among some of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. According to the "Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches," there were about 1.1 million Hindus in the U.S. while the "American Religious Identification Survey" estimate about 766,000 Hindus in 2001. Statistics Canada estimates that there are about 157,015 Hindus in Canada.

But what is this religion? Supposed to be the world's oldest practiced faith, Hinduism is actually not a religion at all. It does not have a single God concept and it has no rules laid down. Religions that recognize the existence of multiple deities have traditionally been among the world's most religiously tolerant. Hinduism remains arguably one of the most tolerant of such religions. One does not have to take frequent visits to the temple in order to be a part of the community (indeed there is no community to speak of), and unlike Christianity, the priest is not the shepherd of his flock. The Hindu priest is merely the go between, connecting a man to his faith, blind or otherwise. He merely chants the required mantras (Sanskrit connotations to the forces of Nature that are ultimately what Gods are in Hinduism). They do not guide the Hindus to the path of righteousness, that job is left to swamis and Gurus. The priests merely collect money and disperse blessings on behalf of God. But we are going too fast.

Hindus worship a whole pantheon of Gods, their Kingdom of heaven is not where goodness resides, it is where an entire city of Gods reside, and they are ruled by Indra, a cunning, politically oriented king. Of course, his being the king does not make him superior to the Celestial Trinity, the Creator, The Keeper and the Destroyer, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Again, very opportunistic trends are observed here. The Creator, elderly Brahma with a flowing beard, three heads and Saraswati, the Goddess of learning as his consort, is not worshipped very much. He just IS. The Keeper, Vishnu, the dark skinned handsome God, with the celestial discus rotating on his little finger, reclining on the plush lotus bed with his consort Lakshmi , the Goddess of Wealth by his side, is the most incarnated God. He has steadily been making appearances on earth in the form of incarnations - principled warrior kings like Rama or political economists like Krishna. He is supposed to have taken nine incarnations in the existing era system, one for each Yuga(era). The last incarnation was Buddha, by far the most intellectual and gentle of all the incarnations, and he chose to start his own religion, Buddhism, today followed by a vast number of Asians (indeed, some pockets of Hollywood too). His consort, Lakshmi, is the most widely worshipped deity in terms of the populist votes, after all, she is identified as wealth. Accordingly, the daughter or the daughter-in-law of the house is referred to as Lakshmi, to invite wealth and prosperity.

Then there is the naked- save- the-tiger- skin Shiva, the temperamental, passionate Yogi, with the powers of the Universe at his disposal and the ash of the cremation grounds rubbed all over his dark body. He has no end and no beginning, he can destroy when he chooses to, he can bless a person with immortality and even untold power, if he so chooses. He is the ascetic who lives on Mount Kailash, in the midst of the Himalayan ranges, high up on snow clad peaks, with his wife Parvati, who takes the form of Durga, the Power. Theirs is the marriage of passion, she has died once and then been born again, but their love for each other hasn't decreased. Unmarried girls in India worship Parvati, to be blessed with a husband like Shiva in life after life, who is devoted to but one wife for centuries and eons!!! Durga, the Female power is also widely worshipped for her ability to destroy evil, in various forms, as Durga, Chandi or the Black, frightening Goddess Kali.

These are the broad high-end deities. Thereafter there is the vast number of deities that originate from various natural forces, Agni Dev (the God of Fire), who is the witness to Hindu marriage vows, Vayu, the God of wind, Varun, the God of Water, Surya, the Sun God, Chandra, the Moon God...the list is as long as the list of elements of nature. These probably take up a bulk of the Gods.

Then there are character-oriented Gods, there is Hanuman, The Monkey God, who is worshipped because he was a devotee of Rama, who was the incarnation of Vishnu. His power is in his celibacy and modesty. Krishna and Rama are worshipped as incarnations, though they are completely different in character. Rama is the self-righteous warrior, who agreed to live in exile because of a promise his father had made; Krishna is the God of all things worldly. He was a greedy, naughty and extremely pampered child, who started flirting with the milkmaids of his village while still a toddler. He is the biggest anathema of Hinduism, he is not perfect, he is completely immersed in worldly pleasures, and indeed there are dances devoted entirely to his flirtations with an older and married woman, Radha. The tolerance and indulgence that Hindus show to their Gods is reflected here, in abundance. The Radha-Krishna pairing is unethical by social standards, she was older, and a married woman. But Radha-Krishna are the symbol of passionate love, some interpret it as love between a devotee and God, while others see it as love between a man and a woman, but the fact remains that Radha and Krishna are worshipped as a couple, he with his divine flute, and she, hanging on his arm. It is actually ironic that his wife, Rukmini (who came into his life much later), is an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, but they are seldom seen together. Such is the open heartedness of Hinduism.

Krishna is also a very intelligent person, the Gita, the extract of Hindu philosophy, is sermon given to another warrior king on the battlefield, during the epic war, the Mahabharat (believed by many historians to have been the first nuclear war).

Incidentally, Indian Gods have never been divine creatures, never shied away from human duties, vices or pleasures. It is almost as if Hindus see their own lifestyle in their Gods. There is no looking up to Him; there is no fear, only immense love. Perhaps that is what makes the religion also completely open, tolerant and also surviving for thousands of centuries.

In addition to these main Gods, there are local deities across each region. The country is much bigger culturally, than it is geographically. There is a great difference between the religious beliefs between the North, South, East and West of India. The South worships Shiva's elder son (born from a seed of grass) Kartikeya. The West worships his younger son (born of Parvati's' skin), with an elephant head, Ganesha. The North worships the incarnations and of course, Durga, the Female power and the East worships Durga primarily. Apart from this, the regions where each of these Gods lie is also pilgrimage points, and accordingly, every year millions go for a visits up in the Himalayas, the abode of Shiva, and that of the Mother Goddess, braving snow, hail, mountain trails, and now, terrorism. Hindus seem to believe, either have full faith, or none at all.

A very important part of Hinduism is manifestations, which of course, is the case in almost every religion. The interesting thing about Hinduism is that the manifestations are part of the routine, while a Christian may go to Church every Sunday, a Muslim may say the namaz five times daily, a Hindu's faith will manifest itself into his daily chores. He will feed the birds before eating (birds are considered ancestors' souls, come for peace of their mind), worships the cow as Mother, worships the snake, worships the banyan tree, rivers, lakes, ponds, the seas, the mountains...you name it. His whole attitude is of perpetual obeisance, every force of nature around him is a God in one form or the other. So a visit to the temple is not really required,. His Gods are flesh and blood creatures, they lived, fought, married, ate, cried and even procreated like him...which is why Hinduism is the only religion, perhaps, where parents are also revered, children touch their feet and take blessing from them, at every stage, in some areas, even after wearing a new dress. This is one reason why the Hindu society is still so strong on the family systems.

Respect for nature has made Hindus non-violent by ethics, though some can and do get violent for other reasons, so a large majority stays vegetarian all their lives. Jobs decide the caste and also vice versa, so social differentiation is very rigid. All these things, though not contributing to the religious sentiment, do make up a cultural scenario. And by now everyone would agree, what else is Hinduism, if not just a broad, tolerant cultural philosophy? It is a way of life, a way of looking at creation. It is no better or worse than any other organized religion, but one can even be a Hindu without subscribing to any of its manifestations or beliefs...and that's what makes him or her a Hindu.