Hinduism 101

Lesson 1: Hinduism: Origin and Evolution.

This lesson introduces Hinduism to the student and imparts some knowledge on its origins and evolution through the ages. It also treats some myths within Hinduism such as the creation myths and the concept of transmigration of souls. The lesson ends with one test.

Introduction and Origin.

Introduction::

Hinduism cannot be said to be a single religious entity but a patchwork of religious concepts and doctrines that coalesce under one central idea. At the apex is the Eternal Brahman, the Universal Spirit, self-existent, without attributes, from whom all being – the entire universe- has existence. Since from Him all beings originate such beings, especially Jiva or living beings including Gods, humans, animals, even asuras or demons and others, have a part of Him, the Atman or soul within themselves, and Hinduism, perforce, must acknowledge love and respect for all beings. Thus the most elemental animalistic and naturalistic religious concepts like worship of stones, trees, rivers, mountains and animals like bulls, tigers, lions, etc. find place within Hinduism beside such elevated mystical philosophies like the release of the Atman (soul) from the material world in return to the Absolute, the Eternal Brahman. Whosoever has generated a religious concept and somehow has aligned it with the Brahman in some way has found place within Hinduism as a true Hindu. This catholicity has engendered a bewildering blend of Monism, Monotheism, Pantheism, Polytheism, Naturalism, Animalism and even some manners of Atheism. That is exactly the reason why Hindu savants define Hinduism as Sanatan Dharma or Universal Religion. In that sense "sanatan" also means "eternal" because the logic is that as long as there is the Universal Spirit, who is eternal, there is Hinduism, which is thus also eternal. True Hindu precepts urge the devotee to consider all religious paths as legitimate means of achieving the same God.

Hinduism is a religion with no historical founder. There is the myth of Vyasa Dev, the composer of the Vedas for which he was divinely inspired, and the orthodox tenet that only that which is Vaidika is Hinduism. The particular term Vaidika means all that is inspired by the Vedas. In contrast, anything that is not is Avaidika and quite unlikely to be admitted to the broad realm of Hinduism. Yet it is the singularity of Hinduism that no one person is acknowledged as its founder or prophet though many, including Vyasa, are revered for their inspired contributions to the religion.

Also, there is no one central authority that defines or imposes beliefs and practices upon believers. Instead Hinduism is propped up by innumerable organizations, large and small, and individuals who guide and sustain believers under their care. There are some common principles and practices that rather loosely provides a cohesive tendency to the diverse beliefs and practices that make up the religion:

• There must be faith in the infallible authority of the Vedas – what is Vaidika.

• There must be faith in the cyclic creation, preservation and dissolution of the Universe.

• There must be faith in the transmigration of souls according to the Laws of Karma.

• There must be faith in the possibility of final liberation of the soul through reunion with the Universal Spirit – The Eternal Brahman.

• There must be adherence to the Laws of Dharma that govern all stages of a believer’s life as well as all major events like birth, marriage and death that occur in it.

Hinduism also professes that true religion or Dharma is what governs this universe and maintains its balance. When Dharma becomes weak and ultimately diminishes to a nonentity the universe is destroyed in one of the periodic cataclysms. Dharma is maintained by Karma or duty. Thus, devotees of Hinduism are urged to be absolutely good and perform their duty diligently so that their religion, Dharma, is maintained.

The Origins of Hinduism: The early Deities:

The Dravidian people who seem to have pervaded all parts of India and Sri Lanka are a mixture of the indigenous people of the Subcontinent and the Proto-Dravidians who are a people who migrated to India from the north in wave after wave from 4,000 B.C. to 2,500 B.C. They set up a Neolithic village culture which gradually culminated in the Indus Valley Civilization which was a primarily city culture that was spawned around the lower course of the Indus River in the North-Western part of the Subcontinent. This city-oriented culture flourished around 2,150-1,750 B.C. after which, for unknown reasons, it disappeared. The various city sites - Harappa and Mohenjodaro in present-day Pakistan and Kalibangan in India – have thrown up archaeological evidence, mostly in the forms of baked-clay seals and idols, which point towards certain fertility cults. It must be understood that the city culture and the great wonderful cities were all based on the success of an efficient agricultural system that spawned them. Thus, for a civilization that was based on the productivity of nature, it was very essential to value fertility. This is an entirely Pre-Aryan period.

The two central deities of this cult were male and female. The male deity was found in the form of a man in a yogic sitting posture which we find later manifested in the postures of Shiva. The man had bull’s horns on his head (the bull was always a powerful symbol of male potency). Also, later, Shiva’s steed is Nandi the bull. The female figure is found often manifested accepting human sacrifice, as the later-day consorts of Shiva, particularly Durga and Kali. Attendant to these two central deities are many animal figures like deer, buffaloes, elephants, birds and others and also votive symbols of serpents. This latter feature, animal worship, may have culminated in the later-day belief of transmigration of souls from humans to animals and vice versa. Also is found the naturalistic fertility symbols of male and female union like the Mithuna male and female figures united in sexual union found in many later-day temples in India, such temples usually being associated with the Shakti cult which itself has stemmed from Tantric viewpoints. It must be noted here that the inability to decipher the inscriptions on the archaeological artifacts recovered from the Indus Valley sites has largely hampered any conclusive decision on the culture.

The Aryan invasion that began from around 1800 B.C. gradually drove the Dravidian population and culture to the extreme south and, in consequence, the deities of the Vedas were established in the upper part of the Subcontinent. Over the large period of time these deities acquired influence over the whole of India and the Dravidian culture was forgotten but the male and female deities of that culture together with certain symbols remain transpositioned in the later pantheon.

The Vedic Period (1800-900 B.C.):

The Aryans were people who had first migrated from the Urals to the Central Asian Steppes and thence to the Indian Subcontinent. They were a warlike primarily pastoral people who pursued a transitory lifestyle moving from pasture to pasture for their herds of cattle and horses. Initially they pushed the Dravidian people into the villages from their cities and, as successive hordes poured into the Subcontinent, the Dravidians disappeared totally from North India. One primary reason for the success of the Aryans was their successful adoption of iron tools and arms circa 1350-1050 B.C. The Dravidians stuck to their Bronze Age tools and weaponry and lost out.

When the Aryans arrived they brought their religion with them. Since they were not a settled race and pastoral their gods were mostly elemental and had little to do with the earth and fertility. At the time of the writing of the Vedas at around 1200 B.C., however, their religion was not in its pure form anymore and had by then inculcated elements of the local religion. This was around the time the Aryans had settled in the Ganga and Jamuna valleys and were beginning to appreciate the value of agriculture and a settled existence.

At the time of the actual writing of the Vedas – circa 1200 B.C. – the early gods, mostly deified aspects of nature, had already acquired complex mythologies and had been personalized or anthropomorphized. The earlier distinct roles they had been accorded had been blurred by overlapping of qualities and duties. This is why the first three parts of the Vedas – The Samhitas, The Brahmanas and The Aranyakas - are so preoccupied with ritualistic worship. This is to appease all the diverse deities who are all rather uncertain elements who require frequent and fervent propitiation.

1  2  3