A Glimpse of Hinduism
Hinduism is a diverse and ancient Indian religious tradition with a history stretching back over 4,000 years. It is sometimes referred as a henotheistic religion. i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others. Hinduism hasn’t got a founder or set of doctrines, but rather a collection of related traditions, beliefs, and practices. Hinduism has evolved over time, incorporating various philosophical and spiritual traditions.
Hinduism is the world’s third-largest religion, with over 1 billion followers, most of whom live in India, Nepal and Mauritius, while there are significant Hindu communities in other parts of the world, including the United States, UK, Guyana, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago, Bhutan, Suriname, Srilanka, and Indonesia.
While Hinduism doesn’t have a single holy book like some other religions, it has a rich tradition of sacred texts, including the Vedas [Rigveda (RV), Yajurveda (YV), Samaveda (SV) and Atharvaveda (AV)], Itihasas [Ramayana, Mahabharata], Puranas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita. The Vedas are considered the oldest collection of Sanskrit texts.
Origins
Most scholars believe Hinduism started between 2300 B.C. and 1500 B.C. in the Indus Valley, near modern-day Pakistan. Persian influence in India began with the conquests of Cyrus the Great around 535 BCE, who established the Achaemenid Empire and controlled territories in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, including Gandhara.
When the Persians came to India, the civilisation flourishing in the Indo Gangetic Plain, in the existing language of the time, was known as “Sindhu- Ganga Samatala”. So they called them “Sindhus” regarding the place they lived. Due to some peculiar reason, the letter “S” was replaced by the letter “H” and thus became Hindus. Westerners coming into this land added “ism” as the religion they followed, thus coining the word “Hinduism”.
Before the British began to categorise communities strictly by religion, Indians generally did not define themselves exclusively through their religious beliefs; instead identities were largely segmented on the basis of locality, language, caste, sub caste, occupation, and sect. Starting in the 17th century, European merchants and colonists adopted “Hindu” (often with the English spelling “Hindoo”) to refer to residents of India as a religious community. The first Indian to use the term “Hinduism” may be Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1816–17. By the 1840s, the term “Hinduism” was used by those Indians who opposed British colonialism, and who wanted to distinguish themselves from Muslims and Christians.
Raja Rammohan Roy is known as the father of the Hindu Renaissance. Central to his philosophy is the idea that the divine exists in all beings, that all human beings can achieve union with this “innate divinity”, and that seeing this divine as the essence of others will further love and social harmony. Raja was a major influence on Swami Vivekananda, who was “a figure of great importance in the development of a modern Hindu self-understanding and in formulating the West’s view of Hinduism”. According to Vivekananda, there is an essential unity to Hinduism, which underlies the diversity of its many forms. The Indian Philosopher Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan sought to reconcile western rationalism with Hinduism, “presenting Hinduism as an essentially rationalistic and humanistic religious experience”
What is Hinduism based on?
Hinduism is based on a collection of beliefs prevailed in the Indian sub-continent during the by gone era. It is not exactly a religion in the strict sense of the term, but a way of life. Hindu beliefs are vast and diverse, and thus Hinduism is often referred to as a family of religions rather than a single religion. Many practitioners refer to the “orthodox” form of Hinduism called Vedic Dharma and also ‘Sanatana Dharma’.
Brahma is the creator god responsible for bringing the universe, all beings, and the sacred texts into existence. Brahma, along with Vishnu and Shiva, is part of the Trimurti (Trinity in Hinduism), which represents the different aspects of the supreme being Brahman. As per Vedic Dharma, the Brahma has four faces, which represent the four Vedas. He has four hands which represents the four directions. In each hand, he holds the following: The Vedas representing the Knowledge; a counting Rosary representing the Time, a Water pot representing the whole universe which evolved out of water and a Sceptre representing authority, power and divine protection.
Hinduism includes different schools of thought, such as Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism, each with its own emphasis on specific deities and practices. Hinduism embraces a vast array of deities, including Vishnu, Shiva, Ram, Ganesha, Krishna, Ayyappa and goddesses Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, and many other deities. Hinduism emphasizes spiritual practices like meditation, yoga, and devotion to help individuals achieve self-realization and liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
In Hinduism, nature worship is a deeply ingrained aspect, where the natural world is seen as sacred and divine. The worship of the ‘Pancha Bhoota’, the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and space), in Hinduism, involves honoring their inherent power and role in creation and sustenance. While not worshipped as intensely as deities, they are revered for their essential functions and should be honoured through actions that reflect their presence. For example, the Earth is often depicted as a goddess, and before construction works on land, a “Bhoomi Pooja” ritual is performed to seek forgiveness from Mother Earth and to solicit the blessings. Classical dancers also worship Mother Earth at the beginning of the dance. The Sun is revered as Lord Aditya or Surya Devan, whilst the Moon is revered in both male and female versions as Chandra Devan and Goddess Anumathi according to Hindu culture.
Several personalities and even gods in other religions are held as sacred, and even worshiped in Hinduism. However, some Hindu scholars consider Hinduism also as a monotheistic religion, which may have been misunderstood as polytheistic in its concept, by the majority of people, even among Hindus. The difficulty comes because of words like “deva”, “Iswara”, and Brahma, which in the English language translate as equivalent to God. The three mentioned words are, in fact, different levels of the concept of God. The greatest tragedy today is that many people are trying to understand Hinduism through the English language, the vocabulary of which inadequately translates the language in which Hinduism originates – Sanskrit.
The 7 Creeds of Vedic Dharma
1. Belief in God, the Supreme Reality, the Eternal Truth
2. God manifests as the Creative and Preserving Power of the whole universe.
3. God assumes forms from time to time to bring erring humanity to the correct path
4. Human is not only the body, the organ, the mind, or the intellect but something greater.
5. The Soul is essentially divine, by nature pure and perfect, infinite in power and free. It will never die, but will pass from one form to the other.
6. Law of Karma means, we are creators of our own destiny. Our present condition will be due to our past thoughts and conduct. Our future
will depend on our past and present actions.
7. The Vedas contain the eternal truth.
The Fundamental Doctrines are the Doctrine of Karma and the Doctrine of Reincarnation.
Hinduism allows flexibility and practicality. There are no set of rules that govern you, but a way of life that makes you think about others, as the essence is about Karma. The cycle of life. It means that every good thought, word, or deed begets a similar reaction. Good deeds will always be rewarded, and your mistakes will allow growth as you learn from them. Hinduism teaches tolerance and acceptance. It is building good character. Fasting teaches the discipline of resistance and resilience. Yoga has the same teaching, but on a different level, and also conveys self-realization.
Hinduism teaches that we are passing through this world, but are all heading to the same destination, each on our own journey. Hinduism begins with the story of Brahma depicted as possessing many hands and many heads. This is an attempt to capture many forms, many strengths, and power that God represents.
Classical Hindu thought accepts four proper goals or aims of human life, known as Puruṣārthas – Dharma (moral duties, righteousness, ethics), Artha (the means or resources needed for a fulfilling life), Kama (sensory, emotional and aesthetic pleasure) and Moksha (liberation, freedom from suffering).
Dharma includes the religious duties, moral rights and duties of each individual, as well as behaviours that enable social order, right conduct, and those that are virtuous. All existing beings must accept and respect dharma to sustain harmony and order in the world.
Artha is the virtuous pursuit of means, resources, assets, or livelihood, for the purpose of meeting obligations, economic prosperity, and to have a fulfilling life. It is inclusive of political life, diplomacy, wealth, career, financial security and material well-being. A central premise of Hindu philosophy is that every person should live a joyous, pleasurable and fulfilling life, where every person’s needs are acknowledged and fulfilled.
Kama means desire, wish, passion, longing, and pleasure of the senses, the aesthetic enjoyment of life, affection and love, with or without sexual connotations. It is described as the agreeable and desirable experience generated by the interaction of one or more of the five senses with anything associated with that sense, when in harmony with the other goals of human life (dharma, artha and moksha).
Moksha is a concept associated with liberation of life from sorrow, suffering and the liberation of soul from wandering in the afterlife. Moksha when viewed as a psychological concept, implies a setting free of fettered faculties, a removing of obstacles to an unrestricted life, permitting a person to be more truly a person in the fullest sense. This concept presumes an unused human potential of creativity, compassion and understanding which had been previously blocked and shut out.
The caste system in Hinduism.
Hindu society has been categorised into four classes of people, called varṇas. They are the Brahmins (Vedic teachers and priests); the Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers); the Vaishyas (farmers and merchants); and the Shudras (servants and labourers). Outside these classes were the aboriginal tribes and the marginalised sections of the community, who were classed as Untouchables or Dalit communities. Several historians and sociologists pointed out that there have been allegations of social discrimination in the caste system. Due to modern education, there is a growing tendency amongst the communities to mingle more with other communities within Hindu religion and to showcase a unified front. This serves as an acknowledgement that we are all equal with different strengths in different fields.
Hindus in Bristol and West of England region
Bristol is home to approximately just under 4000 Hindus, of whom 3000 might be under 45 years of age, according to Cllr Tom Aditya. The nearby districts of South Gloucestershire got 2,896 Hindus, Bath and North East Somerset got 875 Hindus and North Somerset got 428 Hindus as per 2021 census. There are 27,476 Hindus in the whole of South West England region. The Hindu Temple is situated on Church Road, Redfield, Bristol.
Useful Links
»» Bristol Hindu Temple, 163b Church Road, Redfield, Bristol, BS5 9LA, www.hindutemplebristol.co.uk
»» The Hindu Council of the UK: www.hinducounciluk.org