Hinduism: Myth vs. Reality
They say that 85% of Indians are Hindus. How accurate are these numbers and more importantly who is a Hindu? Human beings by default do not have a religion. Religion is something that parents teach their kids. The version of the religion they teach is obviously influenced by their own religious beliefs and their cultural and linguistic background. This is a complicated process in itself but becomes even more complicated when the religion in question is Hinduism. In this article I have attempted to answer a few questions about Hinduism that I have asked myself hundreds of times.
Is Hinduism a religion? In my opinion it is not. The word Hinduism simply stands for a group of religions and beliefs found in the Indian subcontinent. Some of these religions have common characteristics and common scriptures while others are totally distinct. There are a lot of scriptures that are part of “Hindu” scriptures but their importance (if any) may depend on the region of India we are in or the caste that one belongs to.
Experts over the years have tried to explain this diversity and complexity by saying that Hinduism is not a religion in the traditional sense but a philosophy. I disagree with this definition. Philosophy in general is a study of issues (question of existence, suffering etc.) using rational arguments. There are groups within Hinduism that adopt this approach. But there is no question that mysticism (which in many ways is the opposite of philosophy) is very popular among certain groups of Hindus as well. So Hinduism is not just philosophical but also mystical.
Is Hinduism about nature worship? This is partially true and for that matter this can be said of almost all major religions in the world today. Some Hindus do believe that Hinduism is about nature worship and nobody can deny the fact many Hindus worship the Sun, certain trees or plants and even consider the cow to be sacred. But this is not the complete story. Hinduism today has thousands of gods and the list of gods we pray to is evolving constantly. Many spiritual teachers, movie stars and politicians who we obviously know are human beings have been elevated to the status of god and given god-like treatment.
What are the principles of Hinduism? It is like asking “what are the ingredients of Sambar” (classic South Indian dish). The ingredients will depend on which township you are living in!! If you ask a Hindi speaking North Indian, you are likely to hear words from the bygone era like Dharma and Karma and so on. Most South Indians or for that matter Northeastern Indians are slightly ambivalent to such questions. There are some good reasons why and to understand it we should understand Indian history better.
There have been debates for some time about the origin of the Vedas and the messages epics like Mahabharata are trying to convey. Are these epics written by “Indians”? Are the stories like the battle between the Pandavas and Kauravas just stories or are they trying to convey something deeper like describing the invasion of India by “foreigners”? We might never know the answer.
But what we do know is that in our recent history (within the past 5000 years) there has been migrations to India from places like Southern Russia and Ukraine (Please read the article “History of India: The First Indians” for more information about what DNA tells us). These nomadic people are credited with domesticating the horse, inventing the chariot and for their horse sacrifice. In addition you will find Indo-European languages spoken wherever they migrated to (some of the well known Indo-European languages are Latin, German, English, French, Spanish and Sanskrit).
The Vedas (which many North Indians point to as the foundation of Hinduism) are written in “Vedic Sanskrit”. The Vedas also describe epic wars involving chariots and also provides details about horse sacrifice (Krishna riding his four horse chariot is classic Hindu imagery but you will not find this in South Indian traditions). The question is whether “Hinduism” is original to India or did aspects of Hinduism already exist in India under different names?
The genetic marker (M17) carried by these immigrants from Southern Russia are found in large numbers among North Indians (almost 33% of the population in places like Delhi). But the numbers are small in the rest of the country (less than 10% in South India). The few people who have these genes in the South are mostly the Upper Caste Hindus (including Brahmins and certain Nairs). This distribution provides insight into the brand of Hinduism practiced in India. The roots of this “religion” is stronger in the North than in the rest of this country.
In the North the version of Hinduism practiced is a lot closer to some of the concepts mentioned in the Vedas and other Sanskrit scriptures (we have to keep in mind that the majority of the gods of the Vedas are no longer mainstream gods of Hinduism). In South India this form of Hinduism is just a religion of the “courts”.
Very many South Indian “Hindus” continue their own traditions and worship their gods (“Hinduism” has attempted to integrate South Indian deities like Ayyappan, Murugan, Mariamman and Venkateshwara into Hinduism by adding them into Hindu myths or by considering them as avatars of major Hindu deities). There is definitely a major difference between the brand of Hinduism practiced in Southern parts of India when compared to the North.
Is Hinduism a missionary religion? On the surface it appears as if it is not. You are unlikely to be solicited by a Hindu in a street corner. But appearances are deceptive. Certain aspects of Hinduism like its spirituality and the yogic traditions have been used to effectively recruit new members to the faith. If Hinduism is not missionary religion then I would assume that the question of who follows and who does not would be moot. But certain sections of Hindu society are very vocal when it comes to their opposition to Hindus converting to other religions.
Do Hindus believe in reincarnation? A guru once told me that I could be an atheist and still consider myself a Hindu. There is a lot of truth in it. Astika refers to a school of thought that recognizes the authority of the Vedas but does not necessarily believe in the existence of god. It is generally agreed that there are six Astika schools of philosophy. Of the six, Samkhya and early Mimamsa rejects the concept of god as creator. In addition Buddhism, Jainism and Carvaka are considered as Nastika (non belief of the Vedas and therefore atheist) by Hindus. NOTE: Buddhism is clearly a separate religion although Hinduism has long claimed that Buddha was a Hindu first. Reincarnation is something many Hindus believe in today but not all. Skepticism regarding the creator god concept is deep rooted in the Hindu mind.
What are the challenges facing Hindusim? One of the greatest challenges facing Hinduism today is the fact that a relatively small but very vocal group is beginning to speak on behalf of Hindus and Hinduism. It is difficult to generalize their core beliefs. But in general they are intolerant and do not understand nor do they care about the diversity of India and Hinduism. They want India to adhere to the core beliefs of Hinduism as they interpret it. They do not think that anything good in going on in India today. They yearn for the good old days, when the rest of us were doing their bidding !!
“I am boundless space. The world is a clay pot. This is the truth. There is nothing to accept. Nothing to reject. Nothing to dissolve.” - Ashtavakra Gita 6:1
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- Eat Pray Love Hinduism
- Thirumala Venkateswara Temple: From Buddhism to Hinduism
- Lord Krishna and Caste System in India
Category: Culture & Religion
What an amazing coincidence, i was reading about it yesterday only. WATCH this
http://www.ted.com/talks/devdutt_pattanaik.html
Thank you for attaching the link. TED is a great site and the speech by Devdutt was very informative. I am not sure whether I agree with all of what he says (the concept of One and Infinity is not necessarily East vs. Western thought. The Greek and the Roman mythologies were as much about infinity as the Indian was).
A religion is not a writeup, it’s a faith. And there are no clear boundaries to it.
Well-thought-of post.
Welcome and thank you for your feedback Abhishek. You are right about religion having no boundaries. Hinduism is a great example.
For those how are superficially involved in the customs and traditions of the Hindu way of worship of Gods without questioning their meaning and intention are indeed following Mystical Hinduism.
I would say that Hinduism is not a religion at all, it has become a set of rituals/customs that make you Indian more than anything else!
God was never in the picture as is now. Astavakra Gita talks about an energy…may be the sun…that is the supreme entity…if you wish to call that energy ‘GOD’, so be it!
On a lighter note…though one respects and is in awe of the Sun, one shouldn’t try to dissolve the Ozone layer just to feel its presence a little more!
I liked your environmental message at the end. We should not get too close to god. It is in our best interests to maintain a safe distance :)
From the time I was a kid, I’m disgusted by the rituals performed unnecessarily by people at home or otherwise without even knowing their significance/meaning. I think most people in India just don’t have a conscience, they just do what people around them are doing. They are scared to question their beliefs.
Hello Keerthana,
Your last sentence is a good one. I think some of us are afraid to question because in many cases we know the answer and the answer makes us uncomfortable. We are much more comfortable ignoring the whole issue.
Some of your understanding is quite correct. Hinduism is a group of faiths.
“Hindu” the word itself is foreign. Everyone that Arabs found on this side of river ‘Sindhu’ were called Hindu. The real name of the religion most of the hindus follow is ‘Sanatan Dharma’. There are various streams of faith in it. You can read more about it in Wikipaedia.
If you want to know more about Karma and re-incarnation you must study ‘Geeta’.
Welcome Ujjwal. Thank you for providing your feedback. I am familiar with the concepts of Karma and Re-incarnation (I am no expert). I always wonder why Indians have to learn about our language, culture, religions and so on, on our own. Why do we not learn about all this when we are in school?
The confusion today with religion and Hinduism is with the advent of monotheistic religions. Hinduism was never considered in old days as a single entity of religion as Christianity or Islam is. It is a way of life and many groups have their own way of life. Loosely, it derived various inspiration from vedic sampradayas to various degree during various period. In short, Hinduism is kind of open source technology where people can invent and reinvent the knowledge where as Abrahamic religions are proprietary institutions.
I think you hit it on the nail Lakshmi Rajan. I liked your IT reference. But I think that there is a lot of reinventing going on in the Abrahamic religions as well. Looking from afar we might think that Abrahamic religions are not evolving or reinventing but that might be the same way they might be looking at us.
They might be evolving but they have to evolve within their own strict codes. Islam can’t evolve beyond the tenets of Koran. Christianity can’t go beyond the gospels of Jesus. Yes they do evolve but not when we take the varied stance of Hinduism. Hinduism has a flavour for everyone – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, Vedanta. One can find, invent and reinvent any version unlike the monotheistic religions.
I agree that the rate of variation between Hinduism and Islam and Christianity is different. But aspects like Sufism in Islam and Gnosticism in Christianity extend way beyond the traditional boundaries set by the Koran or the Bible.
@Lakshmi
Good one abt th open source! so true! :)