Hinduism

This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings, see Hindu (disambiguation).

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Hinduism is the oldest of the major world religions and, with approximately 1.05 billion followers, the third largest religion. Hinduism originated on the Indian subcontinent, which is home to 96% of Hindus.

Historically, the word Hindu predates the reference to Hinduism as a religion; it did not denote a system of religious belief, the term is of Persian origin and first referred to people who live on the other side (from a Persian point of view) of the Sindhu, or the Indus river. During the British Raj, the term was used to denote a somewhat "fuzzy" set of religious perspectives derived from the Vedas and Hinduism began to be referred to as the religion of the Hindus.

What is Hinduism?

The relatively new nomenclature raises many points of discussion. Many consider Hinduism to be a way of life rather than an organized religion, and it is telling that the ethnically Hindu members of the religion are not known for seeking converts. Hindu was often used to refer to an ethnicity ([1][2][) just as Jew is used to refer to a particular ethnicity. The use of the term to identify an ethnicity is falling out of common use however, since Hindus comprise a larger ethnic group than that with which they were traditionally identified.

Hinduism is a Dharma religion, the others' being Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Hinduism, or the Vedic philosophies, is the progenitor of Dharma. It is the first Dharma religion in the same way that Judaism was the first Abrahaminic tradition. Dharma is a larger understanding of living life in accordance with divine and worldly understandings of harmony and order. It transcended mere social ordering and embraced concordance with nature.

According to another view, a Hindu is one who believes in the philosophy expounded by the Vedas and Upanishads and the Tantric Agamas. The Vedas are considered to be the world's oldest scriptures. Their basic teaching is that our real nature is divine. The concept of God in the Vedas is quite complex. Known as Brahman, the divine entity is viewed as the source or seed of all and manifests as many in the phenomenal universe. While referred to as He, it is understood that Brahman is without attributes and beyond description, infinite and timeless, not bound by anything, and in self-projection exists as the Gods and Goddesses, stemming from natural principles, for which Hinduism is famous. Essentially, not only is Brahman in everything, Brahman is everything. All is unity in Brahman, and realization of this fundamental unity of existence (and non-existence!) is moksha (liberation) or yoga (union) in the One.

Sanatana Dharma (Sanskrit): The Eternal Way

Sanatana Dharma is the term many Hindus use in referring to their religion. Often featuring in Hindu scriptures, the meaning of Sanatana Dharma is the 'Perennial Philosophy/Harmony/Order,' representing spiritual principles that are eternally true; in this sense it represents the science of consciousness. Religion is therefore a search for self-knowledge, a search for the divine within the self. The Vedas state that a person does not need to be "saved." He is never lost. At worst, one is living in ignorance of his true nature. It is believed that people of any religion can find God, and that all people, even animals and the inanimate, are already Sanatana Dharma.

Hindu/Vedic thought is bound by a belief that there are many different approaches to God and all are valid. Essentially, no one human system of belief, religion, has a monopoly on the truth. This is taken from the famed line of the Rig Veda, the oldest Veda, " ekam satviprah bahudha vadanti," which translates into " Truth is One, though the sages know it as many." Any kind of spiritual practice followed with faith and persistence will lead to the same state of self-realization. This is to be seen in the hymnological and ritual practices of the four Vedas, which sought to extol, meditate on and eventually merge in consciousness with the One. There are many different understandings of Divinity and Truth to be found within the four Vedas. The Brahmins, who were the priestly class, were stolid followers of the Vedic texts. However, along with the propagation of traditional Vedic religion came a diversification of belief that was not at all limited to region, class or even sacred text. Max Mueller, the famed 19th century German indologist who was the first Westerner to truly begin studies into Hinduism, termed Vedic Hinduism, from his readings of the Rig Veda, henotheistic. This view of the world and comogony sees one true divine principle self-projecting as the divine word, Vaak, 'birthing' the cosmos that we know from the monistic 'Hiranyagarbha' or Golden Womb, a primordial sun figure that is equivalent to Lord Surya. The varied gods like Vayu (of wind), Indra (King of Gods), Rudra (the Destructive element), Agni (Fire, the sacrifical medium) and the goddess Saraswati (the Divine Word, aka Vaak) are just some examples of the myriad aspects of the one underlying nature of the universe.

While the traditional Vedic 'karma kanda' (ritualistic components of religion) continued to be practiced as meditative and propitiatory rites gearing society (through the Brahmins) to Self-knowledge, more jnaan (knowledge/discrimination) centered understandings began to emerge, mystical streams of Vedic religion that focused on meditation, self-discipline and spiritual connectivity rather than more practical aspects of religion like rituals and rites. The more abstruse Vedanta (meaning literally the end of the Vedas) is the essence of the Vedas, encapsulated in the Upanishads which are commentaries on the four original books (Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva). Vedantic thought drew on Vedic cosmology, hymns and philosophy. The first Upanishad, the Brihadaranyaka, appeared as far back as 1500 BCE. While thirteen or so Upanishads are accepted as principal, over one hundred exist. The most influential Vedantic thought, based on the Upanishads, considers the consciousness of the Self - Jeevatma - to be continuous with and indistinguishable from the consciousness of the Supreme or Brahman - Paramatma.

Form and Formless

These two sides of Hindu practice are very representative of the range of Hindu practice and thought. There is the focus on Saguna Brahman (Brahman with attributes) through worship of personal deities and understanding of the world itself and then there is that of Nirguna Brahman (attributeless Brahman), the higher, more abstruse philosophical and meditative understanding of reality. Vedantic philosophy resounded through the Hindu world and ideas that ranged from reinforcement of stricly monist ideas to those that were simply monotheist emerged. The Hindu belief systems of Yoga and Tantra have, in greater or lesser terms, adopted nondualist/monist understandings and see the goal of their practices as merging soul-consciousness with consciousness of the One Entity, envisioned variously as Brahman, Atman, Parashiva, Purush, etc. Hindu texts are typical seen to revolve around many levels of reading, namely gross/physical, subtle and supramental. This allows for many levels of understanding as well, implying that the truth of the texts can only be realized with the spiritual advancement of the reader.

Thus, Vedic thought teaches respect for all religions and distinguishes itself from other major religions in that it strongly encourages tolerance for different belief systems. The common understanding is that all paths lead to the one Truth, and temporal systems cannot claim sole understanding of transcendental infinitude.

The Yogas of Sanatana Dharma

Hinduism is practiced through a variety of Yogas (spiritual practices), including Bhakti Yoga (loving devotion), Karma Yoga (selfless service), Raja Yoga (meditational Yoga) and Jnana Yoga (Yoga of knowledge and discrimination). These are described in three principal texts of Hindu Yoga: The Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Raja Yoga is the system propounded most thoroughly by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras and is sometimes referred to as Yoga; it is one of the six schools of Vedic/Hindu philosophy.

The Impact Of Philosophy On Worship

Hindus who worship the attributeless Brahman are known as nondualists, or Advaitists. Different sects, especially devotional ones, have their own particular supreme godhead (such as Vishnu or Shiva, Krishna or Devi). Most Hindus, based on belief of many as one, will often worship many Gods and Goddesses. They are seen as different aspects of the same manifested reality. This worship is largely done through the use of murtis. Murtis are statues or images used as windows or points of devotional and meditational focus. They are sometimes abstract, but more often representations of Gods and Goddesses like Shiva or Ganesh, Ram or Krishna, Saraswati or Kali. The idea that deities are powerful conduits of faith and representations of Truth is known as ishta-devata, or chosen deity. Since the mind is in turbulence (vritti) and unable to focus on the formless God, God is seen in form. Hindus see these Gods as either being various manifestations of the one true formless Brahman (principle, Divine Ground) or ultimate personality of god (seen as Vishnu or Shiva, etc.). Devotional (Bhakti) practices are very centered on cultivating a deep and personal bond of love with god through one of his or her forms, and often makes use of murtis.

Murti worship has been construed as idolatrous by many followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This view of murtis' being idols imposes many misapplied Judeo-Christian ideas onto Hindu practices; such accusations do not reflect actual Vedic philosophy and Hindu belief. Chief among these is the mistaken idea that Hindus view the physical statues themselves as being God and thus limit God to a gross, physical format. This is not the case with any school of Hinduism, as Hindus see murtis, like the human body, as very much material and limited, and understand that they are only pathways to finding God, not God him/her/itself. The charge of idolism by largely Western critics has been rebutted with citations of the predominant Hindu belief that world and universe are ultimately finite and limited, and that everything is pervaded by God. Murtis are but one aspect of Hindu modes of worship that see God as everything, whether living or inanimate. Murti worship is part of a large range of Hindu symbolism that includes allegorical stories and sacred sounds and pictures (like the Hindu sacred syllable Aum) that are seen as indicators of the infinite Truth.

Thus, Hinduism is alike kabalistic Judaism in being pantheistic. They differ however in that Judaism is seen to be purely monotheistic, rejecting other gods or multiple manifestations of the same God, while Hinduism interprets its many deities as many aspects of the one God. Note that this is quite different from how Hinduism is general viewed by other faiths, which have traditionally misunderstood Hinduism as being polytheistic.

The bhakti yoga sects emerged, mainly focused on Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti as quasi-monotheistic principles. While accepting the possibility of other Gods and Goddesses, these groups (known respectively as Vaishnavs, Shaivaites and Shaktas) see those figures as lesser emanations of the One God that they envision as a personal being. It is thus interesting to note that the famed pluralism of Hindus includes Vedic-rooted people who see only a Super-Soul monad, of which all Gods or conceptions of Truth are different aspects, and the more Puranic (which are related Hindu scriptures)-based bhaktas (loving devotees) of certain deities like Vishnu or Shiva who see everything else reducible to those monotheistic conceptions. What can be said to be common to all Hindus is belief in reincarnation, karma, the Divine Word of Aum and the belief that the essential spark of the Divine is in every human and living being, thus allowing for many spiritual paths leading to the One Unitary Truth. Most Hindus would be considered, in different terms, to be Theistic Monists.

Dharma in Society

Another major aspect of Hindu dharma that is common to practically all Hindus is that of the four goals of life. They are kama, artha, dharma and moksha. It is said that all humans seek kama, which is pleasure, either physical or emotional, and artha, which is power, fame and wealth, but soon, with maturity, govern these legitimate desires within a proper, moral framework of dharma, or moral harmony with all. Of course, the only goal that is truly infinite, whose attainment results in absolute happiness, is moksha, or liberation, (a.k.a. mukti, samadhi, nirvana, etc.) from samsaar, the cycle of life and death. The human life is also seen in terms of four ashramas. They are brahmacharya, grihasthya, vanaprastha and sanyaas. Essentially, the first quarter of one's life is spent in celibate, sober and pure contemplation of life's secrets under the tutelage of a guru, building up body and mind for the responsibilities of life. Grihastya is the householder's stage, alternatively known as samsaar, in which a man or woman marries and satisfies kama and artha within a married life and professional career. Vanaprastha is a gradual detachment from the daily duties of life, ostensibly giving over duties to one's sons and daughters, spending more time in contemplation of the truth, making time for holy pilgrimages. Finally, in sanyaas, the individual goes off into seclusion, often envisioned as the forest, to find God through Yogic meditation and peacefully shed the body in preparation for the next life.

The Caste system shows how strongly many have felt about each of us following our dharma, or destined path. The caste system in India was based on four varnas (meaning "colors") -- Brahmins (white), Kshatriyas (red), Vaishyas (yellow), and Shudras (black) -- each of which corresponded to an occupational class -- priests, warriors, merchants/craftsmen, and workers. In addition, these varnas described temperament and personality, and were originally based on a socially mobile system based on merit, not birth. It soon, however, devolved into the stratified system that it is today. It must be noted that the concept of enforced caste is gradually losing favor and becoming more taboo, but is still of very powerful significance within Hindu society[3]. Please see the Discussion On Caste below for a more in-depth look.

Legal Definition of Hinduism According to the Supreme Court of India

In a 1966 ruling, the Supreme Court of India defined the Hindu faith as follows for legal purposes:

Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence as the highest authority in religious and philosophic matters and acceptance with reverence of Vedas by Hindu thinkers and philosophers as the sole foundation of Hindu philosophy.
Spirit of tolerance and willingness to understand and appreciate the opponent's point of view based on the realization that truth is many-sided.
Acceptance of great world rhythm-vast periods of creation, maintenance and dissolution follow each other in endless succession-by all six systems of Hindu philosophy.
Acceptance by all systems of Hindu philosophy of the belief in rebirth and pre-existence.
Recognition of the fact that the means or ways to salvation are many.
Realization of the truth that numbers of Gods to be worshiped may be large, yet there being Hindus who do not believe in the worshiping of idols.
Unlike other religions, or religious creeds, Hindu religion's not being tied down to any definite set of philosophic concepts, as such.

"Hindu" as an ethnicity

The term Hindu sometimes referred to an ethnicity; in this sense it encompassed ethnic South Asians including Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis etc., regardless of their religion, and was often spelt "Hindoo". The use of this sense of the word was more common in the past, especially during the British Raj; it is generally not used today except as a racial slur since classing all South Asians, whose faiths include Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism, as Hindoo, is baseless stereotyping. Needless to say, the usage of Hindoo as any one of South Asian ancestry is non-existent in the subcontinent itself.

Origins

Relatively little is known about the origins of Hinduism, as it predates recorded history. The religion has been said to derive from beliefs of the Aryans, 'noble' followers of the Vedas, Dravidians, and Harappans living on the Indian subcontinent; it probably evolved from all three sources. Hinduism birthed the two other religions of Buddhism and Jainism, which in turn affected the development of their mother religion.

The earliest known Hindu texts, the Vedas, were only written down after a period of transmission via an oral tradition. They were first written down around 2000 BCE, but most scholars agree that the oral tradition sees them as far back as at least 3000 BCE. Estimates of their age and origin differ based on whether or not one believes in the ingress of ethnically different Aryan tribes from outside the Indian subcontinent or in the indigenous roots of the Aryans who always lived in the northern plains of India. If the Aryan Migration Theory is to be rejected, then the Vedas could be as old as 6000 years.

Contribution of the Indus-Sarasvati tradition

The archaeological excavations of the Indus Valley Civilisation, also referred to as the Sindhu-Sarasvat tradition, have not yielded much evidence of communal temples. However, there is sufficient evidence that the civilisation was certainly not purely secular. Only one Indus civilisation graveyard has been found and excavated, and has yielded no elaborate royal burials, but the personal possessions buried with the bodies may indicate that these people believed in an afterlife in which they would need these things.

Water seems to have played an important part in their social, and possibly their religious, life, judging by the large number of public baths that were constructed. The modern Hindu custom of bathing at the beginning of the day and before the main meals may well have started here.

Many figurines of female deities have been discovered. These most probably signified creativity and the origin and continuity of life, and they may have been worshipped as symbolic embodiments of the female principle of creative Energy and Power. In modern Hinduism, the counterpart of these symbols is called Shakti. These "mother Goddess" figurines may have been worshipped in the home rather than in any major state cult, but reputed scholars have seen ancient Dravidian feminine divinity sculptures in groups of seven that date back to the Harappan era which mirror the Hindu belief in a Mother Goddess (Devi) being represented in seven modes.

Figures of a male deity with elaborate horns (or horned headgear) have also been uncovered, some of them with three faces. These are perhaps the original conceptual forms of the triad that is expressed by the Trimurti of Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva (Generator-Sustainer-Destroyer) in contemporary Hinduism, but they are now said to be Pashupati, (the Protector of Animals), the prototype who evolved into the Aryan/Vedic 'Rudra' and the later Classic Hindu god Lord Shiva. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva has absorbed the names and stories related to Rudra and Pashupati, and many Shaivaite Hindus see this Pashupati figure as a mark of the nascent non-Vedic Shaivaite sects that have continued till today. It is noted by many that the Pashupati figure is similar to sculptures, paintings and bas-reliefs of horned gods in Europe, stretching as far back as the Paleolithic painting of the "sorcerer" in the cave of Les Trois Frères in France. Pashupati is seen sitting in the cross-legged posture of yogis, suggesting that yoga or inner contemplation was one of their modes of discovering the secrets of life and creation. The Hindu term 'yoga' first made its appearance in a Rig Vedic passage describing union, 'yoga,' with the primordial Hiranyagarbha, which lends additional credence to the belief that meditational practices predate even the spread of Vedism.

Current geographic distribution

The nations of India, Mauritius, and Nepal as well as the Indonesian island of Bali are predominantly Hindu; significant Hindu minorities exist in Bangladesh (11 million), Myanmar (7.1 million), Sri Lanka (2.5 million), the United States (1.7 million) Pakistan (1.3 million), South Africa (1.2 million), the United Kingdom (1.2 million), Malaysia (1.1 million), Canada (0.7 million), Fiji (0.5 million), Trinidad and Tobago (0.5 million), Guyana (0.4 million), the Netherlands (0.4 million), Singapore (0.3 million) and Suriname (0.2 million).

Discussion On Caste

The caste system originated in nomenclature and was changed through the influence of the a powerful elite into an enforced system. Indeed, the Dharmashastras (which are collections of Hindu codes and laws) say that caste is not determined by birth but by action in life. One must also keep in mind that since the dawn of Vedanta and with the increase of Tantrics of the Shiva-Shakti variety many Vedic-rooted people (i.e. Hindus) rejected the stratified and corrupted version of varna-ashram that became caste. On the other hand, caste still retained a significant influence on modern Hindu society.

Brahmin (priest), Kshatriya (warrior, nobility), Vaishya (large group of ordinary workers, merchants, businessmen, etc.) and Shudras (menial workers, janitors, sweepers, etc.) were the four varnas. Each varna was said to possess certain characteristics: i.e. the shudra was often someone with a violent temper, crude tongue, given to intoxicants, not loving of God; the Vaishya was hardworking, dutiful but given to avarice and while believing in God, was not overly spiritually inclined. The Kshatriya was noble, learned and beyond all, selfless, his or her duty being the administration of the people and fighting of battles against intruders; often very spiritually inclined. The Brahmin was kind, loving, was the society’s storehouse (especially when scriptures were memorized) of the ancient scriptures, the performer of rituals, a lover of God and the most spiritually advanced member of a community.

Thus, we see that the original conception of caste was that people who acted a certain way, fell into a certain category. If one were born into a Brahmin family, but drank and had no respect for one’s fellow living beings and God, one was simply not a Brahmin. It was considered highly auspicious if someone had the good fortune to be born into a Brahmin family and then, following the family tradition, established oneself as a Brahmin by actually living the life of a Brahmin. Hence, the term twice-born, or dvija. Clearly it is far easier to move down than up the ladder of caste.

We see in scriptural descriptions of caste another motivation: it was a way of explaining the natural inequalities into which all human societies are necessarily born. It was the unhappy truth that some people were born into poor families, or in the slums, and others into the families of holy men. Explaining to people in clear terms that the natural processes of life and death, reincarnation, led to certain circumstances with which one was confronted. Thus, the varnas were a good way of helping people who had no chance of being warriors or priests, due to their upbringing or native intelligence/ability, to live happily within their life and feel good about attaining God through proper adherence to their own dharma (overall duties).

Over and over again, the Upanishads and other great texts spoke to the nature of caste being a mere name and not defining who one was. Calling someone a Vaishya was supposed to be like calling someone a blue-collar worker today. There is the Upanishadic story of a boy who went to a Guru to learn the Hindu scriptures. His Guru asked him what his caste was. Consulting his mother, who was actually a prostitute and didn’t really know what her caste by birth was, the boy returned to the Guru and responded that he was all castes. He worshipped the Gods, thus fulfilling the duties that are ordinarily a Brahmins, he earned his keep like a Vaishya, took care of cleaning the house, like a Shudra, and protected his family’s interest like a Kshatriya. The Guru was pleased and told the boy he was fit to be taught and initiated into the Brahmin’s life.

The established Brahmins, whose duty it was to act as Gurus (teachers) for new generations of Brahmins, by culling those worthy of Brahminhood from all the young boys of the society, began discriminating based on caste. This practice began to become more ingrained, and social mobility became a thing of the past but for in a few areas of India. Even today, however, in the most traditional of circles, sanyassis (renunciates of the world) are given the utmost respect, as it is said that by leaving human society, they leave behind their distinctive social characteristics, including caste.

The Hindu tantrics are a part of Hinduism whose scriptural texts, the Agamic strand known collectively as the Tantras, assert their descent from the Vedas, especially the Atharva Veda. Claiming that the Vedic rituals no longer applied to Kali Yuga, the fourth and final age of humanity in Hinduism that sees morality ebb to complete dissolution until the end of the earth, the Tantrics see themselves as natural continuations of the Vedas through Hindu yogic practices. Among other progressions from Vedic Hinduism, the Tantrics spoke of the caste system as it had evolved as unfounded and inapplicable to humanity and spiritual growth.

Many Hindu yogins and sages have, over the centuries, constantly denounced enforced caste as an aberration of any faith in God. The great non-dualist, Vedantic jnana-yogin (Yogin of discrimination) Shri Adi Shankaracharya (8th century CE), denounced caste as but one more indication of one’s weak, ego-driven self and the flouting of Brahman (the impersonal, ultimate monist basis of Hindu belief). Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (15th century CE), the powerful bhakti (loving devotee) of Brahman in its manifestations of Vishnu, also denounced caste. But like most societies across the world, the tenets of the religion were completely ignored in the face of personal gain and the corruption of power. The strongly cemented and oppressive caste hierarchy was so ingrained in the Indian consciousness that they were all but indestructible. Many Hindu yogins and sages have, over the centuries, constantly denounced enforced caste as an aberration of any faith in God. The great non-dualist, Vedantic jnana-yogin (Yogin of discrimination) Shri Adi Shankaracharya (8th century CE), denounced caste as but one more indication of one’s weak, ego-driven self and the flouting of Brahman (the impersonal, ultimate monist basis of Hindu belief). Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (15th century CE), the powerful bhakti (loving devotee) of Brahman in its manifestations of Vishnu, also denounced caste. But like most societies across the world, the tenets of the religion were completely ignored in the face of personal gain and the corruption of power. The strongly cemented and oppressive caste hierarchy was so ingrained in the Indian consciousness that they were all but indestructible.

The caste system was a blatant corruption of the very open Sanaatan Dharmic faith. The caste system corrupted the teachings of the world’s only pluralist faith-system and directly flouted the authority of, literally, hundreds and thousands of texts, under the guidance of, primarily, the priest division, with support from the warrior class. Today, it is so deeply ensconced in the consciousness that Christian converts, especially those in South India, have been known to separate church meetings for different castes. A number of Muslim communities in India have retained their caste practices as well. What was first a simple injunction to living one’s life, whatever it was, in surrender to God, became the mandate of an elite upper-class to surrender to Man.

Aspects of Hinduism: Rational Philosophy and Pure Faith

Hinduism exists today on two different planes - one based purely on faith and another based on philosophy. Often, the two planes intersect.

The Philosophical Plane

There are traditionally six ancient astika or orthodox (accepting the authority of the Vedas) schools of philosophy, or shaddarshana: Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa (also called just 'Mimamsa'), and Uttara Mimamsa (also called 'Vedanta'). (Note that the number six is traditional, and the division is somewhat artificial.) Some Hindus consider Jainism, Buddhism, and Charvaka (ancient Indian atheist materialists) to be nastika or unorthodox schools, but it is a minority view and Buddhists at least hotly dispute it.

The Faith-Based Plane

Contrary to popular belief, true Hinduism is neither polytheistic nor monotheistic. The various gods and avatars that are worshipped by Hindus are understood as different forms which the One supreme god, Brahman, has taken in order to be approachable. (Note: Brahman (pronounced braH-MUNN), the supreme being and ultimate source of all divine energy, is not to be confused with Brahma (pronounced braH-mA), the creator of this particular universe) or Brahmin, which is a term for the Hindu priestly class.

According to nondualists, much like a single individual may be referred to as the daughter of one, the friend of another, the mother of one more, or the sister of yet another, Brahman may be seen as different to different people. Hinduism encourages devotees to describe and develop a personal relationship with their chosen deity (ishta devata) in the form of a God or Goddess.

Vaishnavas, according to one census, constitutes approximately 80% of today's Hindus who worship as their main deity one of the avataras (earthly incarnations) of Vishnu. Chief among them are Rama, the seventh (third most recent) avatara of Vishnu and Krishna, variously believed to be the eighth or the ninth avatara; in addition, Krishna is known as 'purnavatar,' or full avatar, in that he represented the most evolved state of Vishnu to appear on the physical plane. Many sects exist among Vaishnavs, the most notable western group being ISKCON, which sees Krishna as ultimate. Other notable avatars (who are not usually primary deities) are Gautama Buddha, believed by some to be the ninth avatara, and Narasimha, the fourth avatara. The Vishnu purana, one of the 108 puranas (post-Vedic texts), cites as many as 108 avataras, of which the traditional 10 are major. Many of the minor avatars are worshipped as well, notable among them being Hayagriva. Most of the remaining 20% are Saivites, who worship Siva; the remainder is devoted to Shakti. It should be noted that most Hindus worship all forms of divinity, and it is the general trend that Hindus worship multiple Gods. It is common for a Hindu to worship both Vishnu and Shiva as well as Devi, along with other gods like Ganesh, Hanuman or Skanda (mainly a Southern God). Most Hindus, in spite of having one main deity, actively participate in festivals and worship of other gods. According to many Hindus, all worship is ultimately of the one divine essence, Brahman.

In an interesting parallel to the Christian trinity, there are three main gods in the Hindu pantheon: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, much like the two sides of a coin are merely different aspects of the same physical object. The God Brahma symbolizes the creator, Vishnu represents the maintainer and Shiva represents the destroyer in the cycle of existence. Some would argue, however, that the Christian trinity sees the Father as the well-spring of the Son and the Holy Ghost, whereas the Hindu trinity sees the three as elements of an ultimate One: creative, preservative and destructive principles are all equal parts of a unitary existence.

Hindu Scriptures

Hindu scripture is divided into two categories: Shruti- that which is heard (i.e. revelation) and Smriti- that which is remembered (i.e. tradition, not revelation). The Vedas constituting the former category are considered scripture by all Hindus. The post-Vedic Hindu scriptures form the latter category; the Mahabharata and the Ramayana are notable epics considered scripture by many sects. A sort of cross-over between the religious epics and Upanishads of the Vedas is the Bhagavad Gita, considered to be revealed scripture by almost all Hindus today.

The Vedas

The Vedas are referred to as the Shruti. Scholars who have made a study of world scriptures maintain that the Vedas are the oldest extant religious texts. The ideas expressed in the Vedas were traditionally handed down orally from father to son and from teacher to disciple. Therefore, these ideas had been in circulation for a long time before their codification and compilation, which are attributed to a sage called Vyasa (literally, "the compiler"). On the basis of both internal and external evidence, scholars have suggested various dates for the origin of the Vedas, ranging from approximately 1500 BC to as far back as 5000 BC.

In the traditional Hindu understanding, Vedas are said to be non-personal and without beginning or end. This means that the truths embodied in the Vedas are eternal and that they are not creations of the human mind.

There are four Vedas: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda. Each is divided into four sections:

The Samhitas - Contains the mantras and hymns
The Brahmanas - The ritualistic teachings
The Aranyakas - The theological section
The Upanishads - The philosophical section

The religion of the Vedic period, particularly at its earliest, was distinct in a number of respects, including reference to females in positions of religious authority (female rishis, or sages), an apparent lack of belief in reincarnation, and a markedly different pantheon, with Indra generally the chief god, and little mention of the later primary gods Vishnu, and Shiva, although Brahma does appear quite frequently.

Post-Vedic Hindu scriptures

The new books that appeared afterwards were called Smriti While the Sruti literature was written in Vedic and Classical Sanskrit, the smriti texts were written in the Prakrit, or common, languages of the ordinary people. Since it was accessible to all, the smrti literature established its popularity among every stratum of Indian society from the very beginning. Even today, the greater part of the Hindu world is more familiar with the smrti than with the sruti literature. Smrti literature includes Itihasas (epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata), Puranas (mythological texts), Agamas (theological treatises) and Darshanas (philosophical texts).

The Dharmashastras (law books) are considered by many to form part of the smrti. From time to time great law-givers (eg Manu, Yajnavalkya and Parashara) emerged, who codified existing laws and eliminated obsolete ones to ensure that the Hindu way of life was consistent with both the Vedic spirit and the changing times. However, it must be noted that the Dharmashastras have long been discarded by many groups of Hindus, namely those following Bhakti, Yoga and Tantra streams of Hinduism.

The Hindu philosophy reflected in the epics is the doctrine of avatar (incarnation of God as a human being). The two main avatars of Vishnu that appear in the epics are Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, and Krishna, the chief protagonist in the Mahabharata. Unlike the gods of the Vedic Samhitas and the abstract Upanishadic concept of the all-pervading and formless Brahman god, the avatars in these epics are human intermediaries between the Supreme Being and mortals.

This doctrine has had a great impact on Hindu religious life, for it means that God has manifested Himself in a form that could be appreciated even by the least sophisticated. Rama and Krishna have remained beloved and adored manifestations of the Divine for thousands of years among Hindus. The Upanishadic concept of the all-embracing Brahman is undoubtedly the pinnacle of Indian thought, but the concept of the avatars' acting as manifestations of the ultimate force has been the medium of higher philosophy to the average Hindu. This is evident in one of the primary Hindu texts, the Bhagavad Gita.

The Bhagavad Gita

Many a Hindu has said that the most succinct and powerful abbreviation of the overwhelmingly diverse realm of Hindu thought is to be found in the Bhagavad Gita. Essentially, it is a microcosm of Vedic, Yogic, Vedantic and even Tantric thought of the Hindu fold. Composed between the fifth and second centuries BCE, the Bhagavad Gita (literally: Song of the Lord) is a part of the epic poem Mahabharata and is revered in Hinduism. It is not limited to Vaishnavs, as some people incorrectly assume, since it is accepted by Tantrics and non-denominational yogins of all Hindu streams as a seminal text. Indeed, the Bhagavad Gita refers to itself as a 'Yoga Upanishad,' thereby establishing itself as more than just a text based on Krishna, but rather one that speaks of truths through Krishna. In verse, based on the third-party retelling by the Kaurav couriter Sanjay, King Dritarasthra's chief advisor, it relates the lesson imparted to Arjuna, a warrior prince, by his mentor and friend, an avatar (reincarnation) of the Lord Vishnu, Krishna, who is steering his chariot for the great battle of Kurukshetra. It is set in the great Hindu epic of the Mahabharata. Arjuna and Krishna have ridden out into the middle of a battlefield, with armies arrayed on either side of them, just before the battle has begun, signaled by the blowing of conch shells. Seeing friends, teachers and relatives in both armies, Arjuna is heartbroken at the thought that the battle will cost him many loved ones. He turns to Krishna for advice.

Krishna counsels Arjuna on a wide range of topics, beginning with a tenet that since souls are immortal, the deaths on the battlefield are just the shedding of the body, which is not the soul. Krishna goes on to expound on many spiritual matters, including the yogas (or paths) of devotion, action, meditation and knowledge. Fundamentally, the Bhagavad Gita proposes that true enlightenment comes from suppression of the ego, of "I," "my" and "mine" consciousness, and to realize that the only truth is the immortal Self (soul), Atman, which is none other than Brahman (the ultimate divine consciousnesss). Through dispassion for the senses, extreme jubilation and bereavement, the yogin is able to subjugate his mortality and attachment for the material world and see the infinite.

To demonstrate the infinitude of Brahman, which is unknowable, indescribable and ineffable in human knowledge, Krishna temporarily gives Arjuna the cosmic eye and allows him to see him in all his divine glory. He reveals that he is fundamentally both the ultimate ground of being behind the universe and the material body of the universe, as well as an avataar for the personalized Lord Vishnu. This three-fold understanding of the nature of God has led to the Bhagavad Gita becoming the basis for many varying philosophies of the Hindu faith and the fountainhead text of Yoga. It must be noted however, that there are indeed some schools of Hinduism, especially among devotional Vaishnavs (such as the Gaudiya school, within which exists ISKCON), the above is not disputed inasmuch as the fundamental Brahman is seen to be nothing but Krishna, the Supreme Personality of God, essentially a good example of monotheistic brands of Hinduism that are widely ascribed to.

The Gita has been the favorite book of many great thinkers, sages, devotees and figures of Hindu India. Among some of the most well-known are Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who represents the truest example of bhakti yoga (yoga of love and devotion) of Krishna, exemplifying what Vaishnavs (followers of Vishnu) saw as a great devotee of Krishna. It was he who first sang the "Hare Krishna" mahamantra (great mantra). Needless to say, he was steeped in the Bhagavad Gita. Mahatma Gandhi, who interpreted the war of the Mahabharata - an obvious aspect of the philosophical/religious epic mythology - as a metaphor for the confusions, doubts, fears and conflicts that trouble all people at one time or another. He thus used the culminating message of the Gita to aid him in his own struggle against the rapacious colonial rule of the British.

The Gita addresses this discord within us and speaks of the yoga of equanimity - a balanced outlook. According to Krishna, the root of all suffering and discord is the agitation of the mind caused by desire. The only way to douse the flame of desire, says Krishna, is by stilling the mind through discipline of the senses and the intellect. The term yoga covers a wide range of meanings, but in the context of the Bhagavad Gita it describes a unified outlook, serenity of mind, skill in action without attachment, and the ability to stay attuned to the glory of the Self (Atman), which is ultimately one with the ground of being (Brahman) (or, alternatively, Krishna as God). It is the basis of all yoga philosophy.

Other Hindu Texts

Other famous texts of Hinduism include those of the bhakti yoga school (loving devotion to God) such as the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas (an epic poem on the scale of Milton's Paradise Lost based on the Ramayana), the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva (a religious song of the divine love of Krishna and his consort Radha) and the Devi Mahatmya (the tales of Devi, the Hindu mother goddess, in her many forms as Shakti, Durga, Parvati, etc.).

Still more are listed under the schools to which they pertain following hence.

Hindu Philosophy: The Six Vedic Schools of Thought

Main article: Hindu philosophy

The Astika (Believers or the orthodox school of thought) philosophies are elaborated below. The nastika philosophies are omitted as they are not descriptive of Hinduism.

Nyaya

The Nyaya school of philosophical speculation is based on a text called the Nyaya Sutra. It was written by Gautama (not to be confused with the founder of Buddhism), also known as Akshapada, round about the fourth or fifth century B.C. The most important contribution made by this school is its methodology. This is based on a system of logic that has subsequently been adopted by most of the other Indian schools (orthodox or not), much in the same way that Western science, religion and philosophy can be said to be largely based on Aristotelian logic.

But Nyaya is not merely logic for its own sake. Its followers believed that obtaining valid knowledge was the only way to obtain release from suffering. They therefore took great pains to identify valid sources of knowledge and to distinguish these from mere false opinions. According to the Nyaya school, there are exactly four sources of knowledge (pramanas): perception, inference, comparison and testimony. Knowledge obtained through each of these can of course still be either valid or invalid, and the Nyaya scholars again went to great pains to identify, in each case, what it took to make knowledge valid, in the process coming up with a number of explanatory schemes. In this sense, Nyaya is probably the closest Indian equivalent to contemporary Western analytical philosophy. An important later development in Nyaya is the system of Navya Nyaya (New Logic).

Vaisheshika

The Vaisheshika system, which was founded by the sage Kanada, postulates an atomic pluralism. In terms of this school of thought, all objects in the physical universe are reducible to a certain number of atoms.

Although the Vaishesika system developed independently from the Nyaya, the two eventually merged because of their closely related metaphysical theories.

In its classical form, however, the Vaishesika school differed from the Nyaya in one crucial respect: where Nyaya accepted four sources of valid knowledge, the Vaishesika accepted only perception and inference.

Samkhya

Samkhya is widely regarded as the oldest of the orthodox philosophical systems in Hinduism. Its philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two eternal realities: purusha and prakrti. The purushas (souls) are many, conscious and devoid of all qualities. They are the silent spectators of prakrti (matter or nature), which is composed of three gunas (dispositions): satva, rajas and tamas (steadiness, activity and dullness). When the equilibrium of the gunas is disturbed, the world order evolves. This disturbance is due to the proximity of Purusha and prakrti. Liberation (kaivalya), then, consists of the realisation of the difference between the two.

Yoga

The Yoga system is generally considered to have arisen from the Samkhya philosophy. Its primary text is the Bhagavad Gita, which explores the four primary systems (see Bhagavad Gita); the sage Patanjali wrote an extremely influential text on Raja Yoga (or meditational) entitled the Yoga Sutra. The most significant difference from Samkhya is that the Yoga school not only incorporates the concept of Ishvara (a personal God) into its metaphysical worldview, which the Samkhya does not, but also upholds Ishvara as the ideal upon which to meditate. This is because Ishvara is the only aspect of purusha that has not become entangled with prakrti. It also utilizes the Brahman/Atman terminology and concepts that are found in depth in the Upanishads, thus breaking from the Samkhya school by adopting Vedantic monist concepts. The Yoga system lays down elaborate prescriptions for gradually gaining physical and mental control and mastery over the personal, body and mind, self, until one's consciousness has intensified sufficiently to allow awareness of one's real Self (the soul, or Atman) (as distinct from one's feelings, thoughts and actions). Realization of the goal of Yoga is known as moksha, nirvana and samadhi. They all speak to the realization of the Atman as being nothing other than the infinite Brahman. See Yoga for an in-depth look at its history.

Purva Mimamsa

The main objective of the Purva ("earlier") Mimamsa school was to establish the authority of the Vedas. Consequently this school's most valuable contribution to Hinduism was its formulation of the rules of Vedic interpretation. Its adherents believed that revelation must be proved by reasoning, that it should not be accepted blindly as dogma. In keeping with this belief, they laid great emphasis on dharma, which they understood as the performance of Vedic rituals. The Mimamsa accepted the logical and philosophical teachings of the other schools, but felt that these paid insufficient attention to right action. They believed that the other schools of thought, which pursued moksha (release) as their ultimate aim, were not completely free from desire and selfishness. In Hinduism, we are all illuminated under the light of god. When we have moksha, we believe that we become closer to god. According to the Mimamsa, the very striving for liberation stemmed from a selfish desire to be free. Only by acting in accordance with the prescriptions of the Vedas could one attain salvation (rather than liberation). At a later stage, however, the Mimamsa school changed its views in this regard and began to teach the doctrines of God and mukti (freedom). Its adherents then advocated the release or escape from the soul from its constraints through what was known as jnana (enlightened activity). While Mimamsa does not receive much scholarly attention these days, its influence can be felt in the life of the practising Hindu. All Hindu ritual, ceremony and religious law is influenced by it.

Uttara Mimamsa: The Three Schools of Vedanta

The Uttara ("later") Mimamsa school, more commonly known as the Vedanta, concentrates on the philosophical teachings of the Upanishads rather than on the ritualistic injunctions of the Brahmanas. But there are over a hundred Upanishads and they do not form a unified system. They are traditionally classed into twelve or thirteen primary Upanishads, most notably one of the largest and the first to be written down (approximately 1500 BCE) called the Brihadaranya Upanishad. Their systematisation into one coherent treatise was undertaken by Badarayana, in a work called the Vedanta Sutra, also knkown as Brahma Sutra.

The cryptic way in which the aphorisms of the Vedanta texts are presented leaves the door wide open for a multitude of interpretations. This led to a proliferation of Vedanta schools. Each of these interprets the texts in its own way and has produced its own series of sub-commentaries - all claiming to be faithful to the original.

Monism: Advaita Vedanta

This is probably the best known of all Vedanta schools. Advaita literally means "not two"; thus this is what we refer to as a monistic (or non-dualistic) system, which emphasises oneness. Its first great consolidator was Shankara (788-820). Continuing the line of thought of some of the Upanishadic teachers, and also that of his own teacher Gaudapada, Shankara expounded the doctrine of Advaita - a nondualistic reality. By analysing the three states of experience (waking, dreaming and deep sleep) he exposed the relative nature of the world and established the supreme truth of the Advaita: the non-dual reality of Brahman in which atman (the individual soul) and brahman (the ultimate reality expressed in the trimurti) are identified absolutely. His theories were controversial from the start and some of his contemporaries accused him of teaching Buddhism while pretending to be a Hindu. However, many more see Adi Shankara drawing from the monist concepts that were visibly ingrained in formerly existing texts, those pre-dating Buddhism, like the more abstuse sections of the Vedas as well as the older, pre-Buddhist Upanishads.

Subsequent Vedantins debated whether the reality of Brahman was saguna (with attributes) or nirguna (without attributes). Belief in the concept of Saguna Brahman gave rise to a proliferation of devotional attitudes and more widespread worship of Vishnu and Shiva. Advaita Vedanta is strictly grounded in a belief that the ultimate truth is nirguna Brahman. The Vishistadvaita and Dvaita schools believed in an ultimately saguna Brahman.

Qualified Monism: Vishistadvaita Vedanta

Ramanuja (1040 - 1137) was the foremost proponent of the concept of Sriman Narayana as the supreme Brahman. He taught that Ultimate reality had three aspects: Ishvara (Vishnu), cit (soul) and acit (matter). Vishnu is the only independent reality, while souls and matter are dependent on God for their existence. Because of this qualification of Ultimate reality, Ramanuja's system is known as qualified non-dualism.

Dualism: Dvaita Vedanta

Like Ramanuja, Madhva (1199 - 1278) identified god with Vishnu, but his view of reality was purely dualistic and is therefore called Dvaita (dualistic) Vedanta.

Forms Of Worship

Puja

Mantra

Origin Of The Mantra in Vedic Brahminism/Hinduism Mantras can first be seen in the great Hindu scriptures, the Vedas. Within practically all Hindu scriptures, the writing is formed in painstakingly crafted two line ‘shlokas’ and most mantras follow this pattern, although mantras are often found in single line or even single word combinations.

The most basic mantra is thought to be ‘Aum,’ which in Hinduism is known as the ‘pranava mantra,’ the source of all mantras. The philosophy behind this is the Hindu idea of nama-rupa (name-form), which supposes that all things, ideas or entities in existence, within the phenomenological cosmos, have name and form of some sort. The most basic name and form is the primordial vibration of Aum, as it is the first manifested nama-rupa of Brahman, the unmanifest reality/unreality. Essentially, before existence and beyond existence is only One reality, Brahman, and the first manifestation of Brahman in existence is Aum. For this reason, Aum is considered to be the most fundamental and powerful mantra, and thus is prefixed and suffixed to all Hindu prayers. While some mantras may invoke individual Gods or principles, the most fundamental mantras, like 'Aum,' the 'Shanti Mantra,' the 'Gayatri Mantra' and others all ultimately focus on the One reality.

In the Hindu tantras the universe is sound. The supreme (para) brings forth existence through the Word (Shabda). Creation consists of vibrations at various frequencies and amplitudes giving rise to the phenomena of the world. The purest vibrations are the var.na, the imperishable letters which are revealed to us, imperfectly as the audible sounds and visible forms.

Var.nas are the atoms of sound. A complex symbolic association was built up between letters and the elements, gods, signs of the zodiac, parts of the body – letters became rich in these associations. For example in the Aitrareya-aranya-Upanishad we find:

"The mute consonants represent the earth, the sibilants the sky, the vowels heaven. The mute consonants represent fire, the sibilants air, the vowels the sun… The mute consonants represent the eye, the sibilants the ear, the vowels the mind" In effect each letter became a mantra and the language of the Vedas, Sanskrit, corresponds profoundly to the nature of things. Thus the Vedas come to represent reality itself. The seed syllable Om represents the underlying unity of reality, which is Brahman.

Japa

Japa was a concept of the Vedic sages that incorporates mantras as one of the main forms of puja, or worship, whose ultimate end is seen as moksha/liberation. Essentially, japa means repetition, and has become an established practice of all Hindu streams, from the various Yoga to Tantra. It involves repetition of a mantra over and over again, usually in cycles of auspicious numbers (in multiples of three), the most popular being 108. For this reason, Hindu malas (bead necklaces) developed, containing 108 beads and a head ‘meru’ bead. The devotee performing japa using his/her fingers counts each bead as he/she repeats the chosen mantra. Having reached 108 repetitions, if he/she wishes to continue another cycle of mantras, the devotee must turn the mala around without crossing the ‘meru’ bead and repeat.

It is said that through japa the devotee attains one-pointedness, or extreme focus, on the chosen deity or principle idea of the mantra. The vibrations and sounds of the mantra are considered extremely important, and thus reverberations of the sound are supposed to awaken the prana or spiritual life force and even stimulate chakras according to many Hindu schools of thought.

Some Hindu Mantras

The most representative mantra of all the Hindu mantras is the famed ‘Gayatri Mantra’:

Aum Bhurbhuvaswaha Tatsaviturvarenyam Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi Dhiyo Yo Naha Prachodayat

An elegant but thorough explanation of its meaning and symbolism can be found here:

http://www.indiaoz.com.au/hinduism/prayer/gayatri_mantra.shtml

In short, however, it is considered one of the most universal of all Hindu mantras, and invokes the universal Brahman as the principle of knowledge and the illumination of the primordial Sun. Many Brahmins till today, in a tradition that has continued unbroken for at least 5,000 years, perform `morning ablutions at the bank of a sacred river and, while holding the sacred thread given to them at adolescence, repeat the Gayatri Mantra.

Lead me from Ignorance to Truth

"Aum Asato ma sad gamaya, tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, mrityor ma aamritaam gamaya"

"Aum Lead me from ignorance to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality."

Hare Krishna Mantra

A very famous mantra is that created by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a great Vaishnava bhakta (loving devotee) of the Hindu Lord Vishnu in the 15th century. It is beloved by most Hindus as very powerful, Vaishnavs and Shaivaites alike:

“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare”

When A.C. Bhaktivedanta brought his ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) brand of Hindu Vaishnavism to the West, he framed the “Hare Krishna” mantra as the sole mantra for moksha/liberation and his sect is now commonly known in the West by the name ‘Hare Krishnas.’

Shanti Mantra : The Mantra of Peace

Aum Shanti Shanti Shantihi

Aum Peace, Peace, Peace

One of the most fundemental aspects of Hinduism is an understanding that worship and prayer, meditation and love, bring the mind tranquility. The only way one can see one's true soul is to still the waters of the mind and thus allow the reflection of the Self to appear undisturbed.

"Thou Are That"

Tat Twam Asi

This is the fundamental proclamation of the Vedas, speaking to humanity as being, intrinsically, divine.

To list most of the main Hindu mantras would take reams of paper. Indeed, simple two-lined shlokas from holy texts like the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, even the Mahabharata and Ramayana, are considered powerful and finely honed enough to be repeated to great effect.

A very common mantra is formed by taking a deity’s name and saluting it with in such a manner: “Aum namah ------“ or “Aum Jai (Hail!) ------“ or several such permutations. Common examples are “Aum namah Shivaya” (Aum to Lord Shiva), “ Om Jai Jagadish Hare” (Salutations to the Universal God Vishnu), “ Aum Shri Ganeshaya Namah” (Aum to Shree Ganesh) and “Jai Ma Kali.” Needless to say, there are more mantras of this sort than names of the Hindu deities. Another example of Hindu mantras is seen in the Surya Namaskara, whose practice is found recorded as far back as in the Hindu scripture of the Ramayana. As each of the twelve postures is performed, a salutatory mantra is recited to the Lord Surya, the Sun.

The Hindu Bija Mantra

In Hinduism the concept of mantra as mystical sounds was carried to its logical conclusion in ‘seed’ (bija) mantras that have no precise meaning but instead are thought to carry within their sounds connections to various spiritual principles and currents. For example, worship of the Mother Goddess Kali, in mantra form, is famously reduced to the powerful Bija mantras of the Shakta tradition of Hinduism:

“Aum Kreeng Kreeng Kreeng Hoong Hoong Hreeng Hreeng Dakshina Kalike

Kreeng Kreeng Kreeng Hoong Hoong Hreeng Hreeng Swaha ||”

Of course, the most revered of all Bija mantras is Om/Aum.

The Bija mantra is part of the Hindu monist understanding that while reality manifests itself as many/multiple, it is ultimately one.

Tantrism

According to the most famous and Tantrik scholar, Sir John Woodroffe (pseudonym Arthur Avalon): "The Indian Tantras, which are numerous, constitute the Scripture (Shastra) of the Kaliyuga, and as such are the voluminous source of present and practical orthodox 'Hinduism'. The Tantra Shastra is, in fact, and whatever be its historical origin, a development of the Vaidika Karmakanda, promulgated to meet the needs of that age. Shiva says: 'For the benefit of men of the Kali age, men bereft of energy and dependent for existence on the food they eat, the Kaula doctrine, O auspicious one! is given' (Chap. IX., verse 12). To the Tantra we must therefore look if we would understand aright both ritual, yoga, and sadhana of all kinds, as also the general principles of which these practices are but the objective expression." (Introduction to Sir John Woodroffe's translation of "Mahanirvana Tantra.")

The word "tantra" means "treatise", and is applied to a variety of mystical, occult, medical and scientific works as well as to those which we would now regard as "tantric". Most tantras were written in the late middle ages and sprang from Hindu cosmology and Yoga.

While Hinduism is typically viewed as being Vedic, the Tantras are not considered part of the orthodox Hindu/Vedic scriptures. They are said to run alongside each other, The Vedas of orthodox Hinduism on one side and the Agamas of Tantra on the other. However, it is notable that throughout the Tantras, such as the Mahanirvana Tantra, they align themselves as being natural progressions of the Vedas that exist for spiritual seekers in the age of Kaliyuga, when Vedic practices no longer apply to the current state of morality and Tantra is the most direct means to realization. Thus, aside from Vajrayana Buddhism, much of Tantrik thought is Hindu Tantra, most notably those that council worship of Lord Shiva and the Divine Mother, Kali.

The Bhakti (Devotional) Schools

Adoration and loving devotional worship of a personal god (bhakti) is part and parcel of most religious traditions. In Hinduism, too, it has been found since the earliest days, but only in the second millennium A.D. do we start to see organised movements advocating this type of religious behavior. Among the first was the Vira-Shaiva school, in the thirteenth century. Its founder, Basava, rejected the caste system, denied the supremacy of the Brahmins, condemned ritual sacrifice and insisted on bhakti and the worship of the one god, Shiva. His followers were called Vira-Shaivas, meaning "stalwart Shiva-worshippers".

The Shaiva-Siddhanta school is a form of Shaivism (Shiva worship) found in the south of India and was established around A.D. 1300. Based on Tantra, it espouses the belief that Shiva is God, and his infinite love is revealed in the divine acts of the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe, and in the liberation of the soul.

In the period between 1400 and 1650, a great bhakti movement swept through Northern India. The implications of this movement were that people could cast aside the heavy burdens of ritual and caste and the subtle complexities of philosophy and simply express their overwhelming love for God.

This period was also characterised by a spate of devotional literature in the ethnic languages of the various Indian states or provinces.

In Southern India, there had been two parallel devotional movements just before this period, one centering on Vishnu and the other on Shiva. It was the Vishnu movement that mainly spread to the north, where it itself divided into two camps, the one worshipping Vishnu mainly in the form of his avatar Rama, the other in the form of Krishna.

The leader of the bhakti movement focussing on the Lord as Rama was Ramananda. Very little is known about him, but he is believed to have lived in the first half of the 15th century. He taught that Lord Rama is the supreme Lord, and that salvation could be attained only through love for and devotion to him, and through the repetition of his sacred name.

Ramananda's ashram in Varanasi became a powerful centre of religious influence, from which his ideas spread far and wide among all classes of Indians. One of the reasons for his great popularity was that he renounced Sanskrit and used the language of the people for the composition of his hymns. This paved the way for the modern tendency in northern India to write literary texts in local languages.

Devotees of Krishna worship him either as an adult together with his first wife and queen Rukmini (Rukmani) or, far more commonly, as an adolescent together with his childhood sweetheart and eternal consort Radha, who is regarded as an incarnation of Lakshmi and the embodiment of devotion. Two major systems of Krishna worship developed, each with its own philosophical system. Still others see Krishna as 'Gopal.' the infant Krishna who loved to eat butter and the beloved of his little village in northern India.

Vallabhacharya (1479 - 1531) called his system of thought Shuddhadvaita (pure monism). According to him, it is by God's grace alone that one can obtain release from bondage and attain Krishna's heaven. This heaven is far above the "heavens" of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, for Krishna is himself the eternal Brahman.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1485 - 1533) named his system of philosophy Achintya Bheda-Bheda (incomprehensible dualistic monism). It attempts to combine elements of monism and dualism into a single system. Chaitanya's philosophy is one of the main elements in the belief system of the contemporary International Society for Krishna Consciousness, better known by Chaitanya's mantra as the Hare Krishna movement.

Beyond the confines of such formal schools and movements, however, the development of bhakti as a major form of Hindu practice has left an indelible stamp on the faith. Philosophical speculation had always been a minority interest, in India as elsewhere, which really only left the general population with increasingly archaic rituals and increasingly onerous religious duties to perform. Bhakti practice, however, was instantly available to all. If it did not do away with the worst features of the caste system, then at least it gave people a temporary respite from it.

Heaven, Hell and other Worlds

Hindu Cosmology provides for belief in existence of numerous worlds, planets and planes of existence. Of the multitude of worlds, heaven (Svarga) and hell (Narka) stand out as nearest and most relevant to our own planet, the Earth. Svarga or Heaven is the planet of the Demigods ruled by King Indra. On Svarga, the ability to enjoy physical senses is enhanced while Life in Narka, the netherworld ruled by the King of Justice, Dharamraj Yama is subjected to pain and misery. It should be noted that both Heaven and Hell are temporary abodes for life and once the Karma that is responsible for birth in Heaven and Hell is exhausted, the soul transmigrates to other forms and worlds of existence.

Two of the other most important worlds in Hindu Cosmology are the 'Realm of Brahma', the highest possible plane of existence where Souls of extraordinary Karma reside before attaining Moksha, and The Vaikuntha, or the Realm of Vishnu. However, it is notable that this spheres of existence are seen as temporal in that those who find themselves in those spheres of existence eventually live out their karmas and return to earth in another 'bid' to attain moksha, which transcends such ultimately limited worlds.

Related faiths

Buddhism and Jainism

While scriptures or teachings of Buddhism and Jainism are not actively followed by Hindus, they are seen as equally valid paths to God. The founders of these two faiths lived in a proto-Hindu environment and denied the ultimate authority of the Vedas. Gautama Buddha's primary difference with Hindu beliefs was in the existence of Brahman, the Ultimate Self. He believed in Shunyata, or void, and also did not endorse the ritual aspects of the Vedas. In his Brahmajala Sutta, he expounds his own beliefs as they differ from Hindu thought. It is not fair, however, to say that Buddhism and Jainism completely rejected Vedic/Hindu thought, since both religions grew from Hindu understandings of Dharma, samsaar, Maya, reincarnation, liberation, Yoga meditation, and many symbols which are now common to all Dharmic faiths, such as the Lotus, the Chakra and even certain Hindu goddesses who were absorbed into Buddhist beliefs of boddhisattvas. Certainly Buddhists and Jains deparated in many ways from Hindu beliefs, but they were not independent growths.

Sikhism emerged from a synthesis of Hindu and Islamic ideas following the Islamic conquest of the Indian subcontinent. Buddhism and Jainism cannot be seen as a complete rejection of Hinduism. Fundamentally arising within a Vedic mindset, they grew from Hindu ideals of Dharma, Karma, reincarnation (in Buddhism modified to rebirth) and concepts of moksha. They certainly departed from Hindu teachings in that they deny the Vedas as spiritually supreme source of knowledge.

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