Hinduism Research Paper

English scholars in the early nineteenth century coined the term Hinduism as a collective name for the indigenous religions of India. They added -ism to the designation Hindu, which goes back several thousand years to the Persians and the Greeks, who had so named the people living beyond the Indus River. It may be impossible to define Hinduism as one religion, but it makes perfect sense to speak of a Hindu culture and Hindu civilization. Over thousands of years there grew on the Indian subcontinent a distinctive culture embracing all spheres of human activity. From India it was carried to large parts of Southeast Asia, including Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Indonesia, and the Philippines. Ships coming from India via the Philippines may well have reached Central America centuries before Columbus. Today the various streams comprising Hinduism claim more than 900 million followers worldwide.

Origins of Hinduism

Hindus call their own tradition Vaidika dharma, “the Vedic dispensation.” Its original heartland was the Sapta Sindhava—the area watered by the seven great rivers flowing into the Indus. Later this region came to be called the Punjab, the Five-River Country, after one river had dried out and another had changed its course. Itihasa Purana, a vast ancient narrative literature that is the repository for ancient Indian history, contains tales of the beginnings of humankind and of Hindu civilization, including long lists of dynasties going back several thousand years.

To account for the close affinity of many European and Indian languages, around 1860 British scholars invented the Aryan invasion theory. Not supported by literary or archaeological evidence but based purely on linguistic speculation, they asserted that a warrior people, coming from the West, invaded India and imposed their culture, their language, and their social structure on the indigenous population. The supporters of this theory equated this invading people with the Aryans mentioned in the Vedas, India’s ancient liturgical literature (c. 1500–1200 BCE). Such an invasion would have been quite a feat, considering that the indigenous population of India at that time is estimated to have been around 23 million. When in the 1920s the first major remnants of the Indus Valley civilizations were unearthed—ruins of large, ancient, well laid-out cities—these were first identified with the fortified places described in the Vedas as having been destroyed by the Aryans’ warrior-god Indra. It later emerged that these cities were not destroyed by foreign invaders but abandoned by 1750 BCE, probably because of drastic climate changes. The Sarasvati River, described in the Rig Veda as a mighty river, had completely dried out by 1900 BCE.

There is growing agreement today that the Vedic civilization originated around 4000 BCE or earlier in northern India itself (and not in the west) and that the Indus civilization (c. 2500–1750 BCE, now called by some scholars the Sindhu-Sarasvati civilization), was part of it. When the settlements in Sapta Sindhava had to be abandoned, most of the inhabitants moved east into the densely wooded region of the land between the Yamuna and Ganges Rivers (called the Yamuna-Ganges Doab), which became the new center of Vedic civilization. Archaeologists affirm that there is no cultural break between the earlier and the later civilizations in North India.

The Hindu Holy Land

Hindu civilization was from the very beginning closely tied to the land that is present-day India. “The Motherland” has a unique emotional appeal for Indians: the physical features of the country are associated with the gods and goddesses, the religious practices, and the eschatological expectations of the Hindus. The Ganges (or, in Sanskrit and Hindi, Ganga), the Yamuna, the Narmada, the Kaveri are not only reservoirs of water and transportation ways, but also sources of inspiration and ritual purification: they are divinities to be worshipped. The towns and cities along their banks—Varanasi, Mathura, Nasik, Prayaga (Allahabad), and so on—are places where pilgrims congregate to obtain supernatural blessings and from which one can reach liberation. The Himalayas, the Vindhyas, the Ghats, and the Nilgiri Hills are the abodes of gods, sanctified by thousands of rishis (visionaries or sages) and sannyasins (renunciates) since ages immemorial. Ancient and medieval India was dotted with numerous sacred groves—large uninhabited areas in which the gods dwelled and where nobody could harm an animal or a tree with impunity. Countless temples embellish India’s landscape, visibly transforming the country into a holy land, where gods dwell among humans.

Hindu Scriptures

Hindu scriptures have come down through the ages in two major streams: the Vedas and the Agamas. The Vedas are the literature of the religious professionals, to be memorized and recited by Brahmans only. They comprise the four Samhitas (collections of hymns: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda), a large number of Brahmanas (ritual texts), the Aranyakas (forest treatises) and Upanishads (mystical writings). The Agamas are the sacred literature of the people at large. The great epics—the Ramayana and the Mahab- harata—are also important sources of Hindu religion: many Hindus consider the Bhagavad Gita, a section of the Mahabharata, to be an epitome of their religion. The Puranas, which are Bible-like sacred books, are widely read by Hindus from all classes. Texts such as the Vaisnava Samhitas, Saiva Agamas, and Shakta Tantras are considered to be divinely revealed by the followers of specific worship traditions. They contain creation narratives, genealogies of kings and patriarchs, myths of gods and goddesses, edifying stories, and eschatological lore. Based on these texts, poets and playwrights such as Kalidasa (flourished fifth century CE) and Bana (seventh century CE) produced dramatic literature of a high order in Sanskrit. Poet-saints such as Tulasidasaand Kambha (sixteenth century) created popular vernacular versions of the classics, performed in plays and (since the advent of film) dramatized on screen to this very day.

The language of the most ancient literary documents of Hinduism, Vedic, is an archaic form of Sanskrit, the refined language standardized around 400 BCE by Panini. Sanskrit was called deva vani, the “language of the gods,” a sacred language. It became the language of Hindu scholarship as well as Hindu religious literature.

Hindu Rituals

Domestic and public rituals were a prominent feature of early Vedic culture, considered indispensable for the well-being of society and individuals. The praxis and the theory of yajna (sacrifice) can justly be called a science: hundreds of intricate and interrelated rules had to be memorized and observed. The construction of the altars required the solution of difficult arithmetic and geometric problems. The altars were built with special bricks arranged in a prescribed geometric pattern, and were conceived of as symbols of the human body as well as of the universe: the 360 bricks of an altar represented the 360 days of the year and the 360 bones in the human body. Additionally, astronomical knowledge of a fairly high order was required to determine the right time for the performance of Vedic sacrifices, and ancient text explained how to determine the positions of celestial bodies at different times of the year.

The routine of fixed, or obligatory, rituals structured the course of the year and the lifecycle, creating a framework supporting communities and families. Rituals accompanied the change of seasons, as well as the stages in the development of persons: public offerings ensured the fertility of fields and domestic animals, while home rituals accompanied birth, adolescence, marriage, and death. Occasional, nonobligatory, rituals were available to give spiritual support in special circumstances and additional comfort to individuals. In later centuries, when puja, the worship of great gods like Vishnu and Siva associated with images and temples, became the predominant form of religion, the old Vedic rituals were not given up. Besides the pujas the performance of Vedic rites continues to this very day: Brahmans recite Vedic hymns at initiations, marriages, and last rites.

Many Hindus participate in daily temple pujas and partake of consecrated food. Major temple festivals are great public events for every village and town. The performance of numerous domestic rituals, such as offering food to the image of a deity or, in the evening, rotating a plate with burning pieces of camphor before the image, is still very widespread in India.

Music is an important part of Hindu rituals. Vedic hymns are recited according to a definite pattern of pitches. Instrumental and vocal music, together with ritual dance, are indispensable ingredient in temple worship.

Societal Hierarchy and Government in Hinduism

Traditional Hindu society functioned on the assumption that humans are not born equal and that their birth in different varnas (classes) defines their specific rights and duties. Brahmans, born from the Great Being’s mouth, were the custodians of the Veda, the highest in rank. Kshatriyas, born from the chest, were rulers and warriors. Vaishyas, born from the belly—businesspeople, artisans, farmers, and clerks—had to provide the necessities of life for society at large. Sudras, originating from the feet, were to serve the upper three classes. Ati-sudras, the people below the Sudras, are known in English as “untouchables.” They were outside the pale of Hindu society proper and were relegated to work that was considered ritually polluting, such as skinning carcasses, cleaning latrines, and disposing of the dead. They were not allowed to dwell in the village proper and were not entitled to using amenities reserved for caste people. Today, in spite of legislation forbidding discrimination, they are still often exposed to disadvantage and mistreatment. Each of the four classes comprise of hundreds of jatis (subcastes) that also observe ranking among each other.

Duties varied not only according to varnas, but also with respect to one’s stage in life. Men of the upper three varnas were to spend the first twelve years after their initiation with a reputable teacher. They then had to marry and to produce children. After the children had grown up they were to live lives of simplicity and meditation, and finally they were to become renunciates and as homeless pilgrims were to visit holy places till death relieved them of the burden of their bodies. In reality, relatively few men actually ended their lives as homeless pilgrims.

An important element of the Hindu tradition was the theory and practice of government. Kings were usually Kshatriyas, but Brahmans had great influence as advisers and ministers. One of the aims of the Hindu awakening that began in the early twentieth century was to reestablish Hindu dominion after centuries of rule by non-Hindus. The Hindu Mahasabha, the first modern Hindu political party, proclaimed in its manifesto: “Hindus have a right to live in peace as Hindus, to legislate, to rule themselves in accordance with Hindu genius and ideals and establish by all lawful and legal means a Hindu State, based on Hindu culture and tradition, so that Hindu ideology and way of life would have a homeland of its own” (Pattabhiram 1967, 217).

The Indian struggle for independence from the British in the twentieth century was fought by many for the purpose of reviving Hindu civilization. Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964), the first prime minister of India (1947–1964), advocated secular socialism and state-promoted industrialization, calling steel mills and hydroelectric dams the “temples of the new India,” but under his successors the revitalization of Hindu culture became a major issue.

In former centuries Hindu rulers built temples and supported religious endowments. Today government-appointed temple boards oversee the activities and budgets of most large temples. Businesspeople and industrialists, together with the followers of famous gurus, found new temples all over India. Since independence in 1947, more new Hindu temples have been built in India than in the five hundred years before, amongst them the well-known Birla Temple in New Delhi. Today more than 25 million Hindus live outside India. In Southeast Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, Australia, and Oceania hundreds of Hindu temples have been built, often replicas of famous Indian temples, with Hindu priests performing Hindu ceremonies. The Vishva Hindu Parishad, or World Association of Hindus, founded in 1964 in Mumbai, is active in India and among overseas Hindus protecting and promoting Hindu culture.

The Transmission of Tradition

Vedic religion was family based: specific branches of the Veda were preserved in individual families. The home was also a center for religious practices. The sacred hearth fire was not allowed to die out. Husband and wife together had to perform the domestic rituals. Families were responsible for the lifecycle rituals. Young boys moved into the families of gurus, to be taught. The role of the guru reached great prominence when specific worship communities developed under the leadership of charismatic personalities, who often claimed to be the embodiment of a deity. These religious leaders helped to shape mainstream Hinduism and still exercise great influence on Hindus at large. They regulate the lives of their followers and reinterpret scriptures and traditional teachings. Their writings—especially the commentaries on the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma sutras—are the main texts for students of Hindu theology. In some circles Vedic tradition has remained intact—in others, it has not. Instead of leaving home with a guru, many boys in big cities receive the sacred thread at the appropriate age and begin being taught traditional ethics and lore by a senior relative or a Brahmin who is a family friend.

Pluralism was a hallmark of Hindu religion from its very beginning. Many gods and goddesses are invoked in Vedic hymns, and Hindus continue to worship a great variety of deities in their temples. There is no creed to which all Hindus subscribe and no one doctrine or practice that is common to all Hindus, except perhaps the nominal acceptance of the Vedas as revealed scripture and the belief in karma and rebirth.

Education in Hinduism

The initiation ceremony at which the sacred thread was given to a young boy (now increasingly again to young girls) was the “second birth” which entitled someone to receiving instruction. It was given to the three higher varnas: Brahmans, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas. Sudras and Ati-sudras were excluded. Traditionally, education was a high priority for Brahmans, whose early life was devoted to study and for whom life-long education was a duty. In addition to learning from a guru in his home, a student could attend a school attached to an ashram or temple. The well-organized, publicly and privately sponsored ancient Indian universities, such as Taksasila (now Taxila, established c. 700 BCE) in the Punjab, and Nalanda (traditionally dated to the sixth or fifth century BCE, though archaeological evidence points to establishment around the fifth century CE) and Vikramasila (established c. 800 CE) in Bihar, had thousands of teachers and tens of thousands of students. They taught not only the Vedas, but also the “eighteen sciences,” later supplemented by the “sixty four arts.” The basic curriculum included linguistics, arts and crafts, medicine, logic and dialectics, and spirituality.

High ethical standards were expected both from students and teachers. Students not only had to pass stringent examinations to prove their aptitude, they also had to live an austere and pure life. Hindus believed in a balance of values, however, as expressed in the four “aims of life.” It was legitimate to acquire wealth and to enjoy life, but one also had to practice morality and religion and to seek final emancipation from the bonds of this existence in order to lead a fulfilled life.

Ayurvedic Medicine

Ayurvedic medicine, whose principles derive from the Vedas, was cultivated systematically from early on. It was mainly oriented towards preventing diseases and healing through herbal remedies. Good health was not only considered generally desirable, but also a precondition for reaching spiritual fulfillment. The practice of medicine as a form of charity was widely recommended and supported by Hindu rulers. It was considered a charitable act to provide medicine to the sick free of charge, and it was one of the activities in which monks were encouraged to participate. Two Indian medical handbooks, the result of centuries of development, became famous in the ancient world far beyond India: the Caraka samhita (dating from 200 BCE to 300 CE) and the Sushruta samhita. Ayurveda was also applied to animals and plants; there is an ancient handbook for professional gardeners and a text for cattle-veterinarians. Other texts deal with veterinary medicine relating to horses and elephants. Ancient India also had veterinary hospitals as well as animal clinics. Goshalas, places in which elderly cattle are provided for, are still popular in some parts of India. The scientific value of Ayurvedic pharmacology is being recognized today by major Western pharmaceutical companies, who apply for worldwide patents on medicinal plants discovered and described in ancient Indian texts.

Philosophy of Hinduism

India does not know the division between philosophy and theology that characterizes much of modern Western intellectual history. It is natural for Hindus with an enquiring mind to analyze and investigate the teachings of their traditions, and professional philosophers with a Hindu background deal also with religious issues in a philosophically meaningful way. Hindu philosophical systems are not mere abstract constructs, but paths for the realization of the highest purpose of life. Among the qualifications required for beginning philosophical study is the earnest desire to find liberation from the sufferings of the cycles of rebirth and death, which are caused by ignorance of the true nature of reality.

Among the six orthodox systems of philosophy (darsanas) is Samkhya, which teaches a general theory of evolution based on the interactive polarity of nature and matter on the one hand with spirit and soul on the other. All reality is subsumed under fivetimes- five principles that originate from one substratum. The twenty-five categories to which Samkhya reduces the manifold world became widely accepted in Hindu thought. A second darsana, the Yoga system of Patanjali, which dates to around 200 BCE, is wholly based on it.

Vaisesika, the third of the six darsanas, offers a theory of atomism that is possibly more ancient than that of the Greek philosopher Democritus (c. 460–c. 370 BCE), as well as a detailed analysis of qualities and differences. It also developed the notion of impetus.

Adhyatma vidya (the term refers to spirituality in general—not a specific system), the spiritual or inner sciences, which relate to Brahma, the supreme reality, was considered the highest: it employed personal experience, a coherent epistemology, and the exegesis of revealed utterances. The Upanishads mention thirty-two vidyas, paths leading to the goal of all science. The knowledge aimed at through these was of a particular kind, involving a transformation of the student. The ideas of the Upanishads were further developed into the system of Vedanta philosophy laid down mainly in commentaries on the Brahma sutras ascribed to Badarayana (first centuries CE). Beginning with Shankara (eighth century CE) and continuing with Ramanuja (c. 1017–1137) and Madhava (1296?–1386?), the greatest spiritual minds of India have endeavored to cultivate that science of the eternal reality of the spirit.

Hinduism in World History

Membership in the Hindu community was for many centuries restricted to those who were born from Hindu parents and who had undergone the various sacraments that made a Hindu a full member of the Hindu community both here and in the beyond. Hinduism was always a “world religion” due to the fact that India has always been a densely populated, large country and thus home of a considerable part of humankind. In its heyday (prior to the Muslim invasion which began in the eighth century CE) India attracted students and pilgrims from all over Asia who studied at the large indigenous universities or visited holy places associated with such figures as the Buddha.

During the first half of the first millennium Hinduism also spread into most of Southeast Asia, as mentioned earlier. This period was followed by a prohibition to cross “the black seas” under threat of loss of caste. This prohibition was most likely a move to protect the Hindu community from erosion after the Muslims had invaded India and pressured Hindus to convert to Islam. Hindu thought and culture, however, were adopted by many foreigners who came into contact with India during this time. With the establishment of British rule in India in the eighteenth century and the advent of Christian missions, Hindus’ interest in spreading their religion abroad was awakened: the much-celebrated presentations of Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago 1893 and his subsequent journey through the United States and Great Britain resulted in the establishment of Vedanta centers in many places and a fairly widespread interest in Hinduism. The coming of ever more Hindu swamis and gurus to the West since the 1960s familiarized thousands with sectarian Hinduism and attracted many Westerners to Hindu religious communities. It was no longer deemed necessary to have been born Hindu, one could become a Hindu by accepting Hindu doctrines and ritual practices and by receiving initiation from a qualified Hindu guru.

By now millions of Hindus have settled all over the world and have brought Hinduism as their inherited faith to the places where they now live. Scientists with a Hindu background often endeavor to integrate their scientific specialties with Hindu traditional thought and thus consciously promote Hinduism as a modern faith. New Age literature, popular among the educated all over the Western world, is replete with Hindu ideas and images, which it presents as having anticipated modern scientific discoveries and insights. Both by virtue of the large number of adherents and the sophistication of its culture and philosophy, Hinduism is bound to be a major influence on the global civilization of the future.

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