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Brief Summary Of Hinduism |
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Hinduism is a collection of the spiritual beliefs of the Indian people followed by nearly 85% of the country’s population. Unlike many other religions it does not have one person that can be called the founder. Instead, Hinduism slowly took shape first as a source of help and guidance to obtain practical, real world necessities and later as a spiritual religion like that of today. The evolution of Hinduism was initially influenced by two factors, geography and agriculturally fertile land. First, geographic isolation provided by the Himalayan Mountains to the north and the oceans to all other directions protected India from outside invaders and influences. This allowed the Indian society to remain unchanged for centuries. Consequently, when Indian people felt unhappiness with their lives they did not seek to change society instead they sought change from within themselves. Secondly, the strong agricultural tradition of the society provided a deep connection and understanding of nature and its cycles. As early agricultural people they sought a religion that would help them to survive their difficult living conditions. Much later they would seek to explain the spiritual world.
The religion began with the Indus people w
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Hinduism is centered upon the belief that all things in the universe are connected and are a part of the one single existing thing, called Brahman. Unlike in the western religions, this central being is not a personal god in which humans pray to and have a relationship with. Instead, humans are an expression of Brahman as are all other creatures and objects in the universe. This is illustrated by the Bhagavad-Gita, a Hindu text, when Arjuna asks Lord Krishna to show him his true form and Krishna responds, “Arjuna, see all the universe, animate and inanimate, and whatever else you wish to see; all stands here as one in my body” (Gita, page 98) When Arjuna witnesses Krishna’s true form as Brahman he says, “I see your boundless form everywhere, the countless arms, bellies, mouths, and eyes; Lord of All, I see no end, or middle or beginning to your totality.” When Arjuna sees Lord Krishna he sees the entire universe because everything in the universe is part of Brahman therefore Lord Krishna is everything. During one’s lifetime it is believed that they are just one piece of Brahman called the Atman which is immortal and experiences many lifetimes. Lord Krishna describes the Atman in The Bhagavad-Gita, “Our bodies are known to end, but the embodied self is enduring, indestructible, and immeasurable…it will never not be; unborn, enduring, constant, and primordial, it is not killed when the body is killed” (Gita, page 32). The Atman obtains a human body at birth and uses it through its lifetime to serve a purpose within the Dharma and to try to free itself from Samsara.
The caste system plays an immense role in the religion and vice versa. While the caste system did not exist in the Aryan culture it was first mentioned in a hymn from the Rigveda telling the story of a man who was sacrificed and from his body parts were formed the rest of the world. “The Brahman was his mouth; his two arms became the rajanya; his thighs are what the vaisya is; from his feet the sudra was produced” (Rigveda 10.90). This tells the hierarchy of the classes according to the position and perception of the corresponding body part. The top class is the religious leaders giving them great power and influence in society. The religious beliefs of karma and anti-materialism make it easier for the lower classes to endure their lives and accept the caste system.
There are many different methods used to achieve Moksha some of which are raja yoga, bhakti, and tantra. The first method is a type of meditation which is a technique to gain awareness and consciousness. There are four types of consciousness, including normal waking consciousness, inner dialogue or daydream consciousness, and deep sleep without dreams consciousness, each deeper than the last ending with Brahman consciousness. Raja yoga was created by a man named Patanjali. In his classic writings called yoga sutras he said that there are eight stages to realizing one’s union with Brahman. These stages are restraint, observance, posture, breath control, abstraction, concentration, meditation, and finally Samadhi. In practicing these steps one must disregard senses from the outside world and concentrate totally on one thing. When one is finally able to push that one last thing out of the way and see all things as one Samadhi or Brahman consciousness is reached. Krishna expresses this idea in the Bhagavad-Gita, “When, like a tortoise retracting its limbs, he withdraws his senses completely from sensuous objects, his insight is sure” (Gita, page 37).
The caste system also dictates when people should seek enlightenment. The Law of Manu says that there are four stages of life called Kama, Artha, Dharma, and Moksha. Kama, the first, is the period of youth which is filled with no responsibilities and focuses on experiencing pleasure. As a p
Some topics in this essay:
Consequently Indian,
Advaita Vedanta,
Lord Krishna,
Samsara Brahman,
Moksha Kama,
Veda Rigveda,
Samsara Dharma,
Brahma Vishnu,
Dharma Karma,
Atman Samsara,
lord krishna,
gita page,
caste system,
embodied self,
indus people,
brahman consciousness,
religious beliefs,
aryan people,
real world,
arjuna lord krishna,
discards worn-out,
atman receives body,
gita page 32,
karma set motion,
body” gita page,
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Approximate Word count = 2608
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)  |
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