Hinduism

1
Hinduism
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[1]
Hinduism is the dominant religion
[2]
</ref> of the Indian subcontinent, and consists of many diverse traditions. It
includes Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism
[3]
among numerous other traditions, and a wide spectrum of laws and
prescriptions of "daily morality" based on karma, dharma, and societal norms. Hinduism is a categorisation of
distinct intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid, common set of beliefs.
Hinduism has been called the "oldest religion" in the world,
[4]
Gellman & Hartman: "Hinduism, the world's oldest religion"
[5]
Stevens: "Hinduism, the oldest religion in the world",
[6]
The "oldest living religion"
[7]
The "oldest living major religion" in the world.
[8][9]
Laderman: "world's oldest living civilisation and religion"
[10]
Turner: "It is also recognized as the oldest major religion in the world"
[11]
Smart, on the other hand, calls it also one of the youngest religions: "Hinduism could be seen to be much more
recent, though with various ancient roots: in a sense it was formed in the late 19th Century and early 20th
Century."
[12]
See also:
Urreligion, Shamanism, Animism, Ancestor worship for some of the oldest forms of religion
Sarnaism and Sanamahism, Indian Tribal religions connected to the earliest migrations into India
Australian Aboriginal mythology, one of the oldest surviving religions in the world.</ref> and some practitioners
refer to it as Santana Dharma, "the eternal law" or the "eternal way"
[13]
beyond human origins.
[13]
It prescribes
the "eternal" duties all Hindus have to follow, regardless of class, caste, or sect, such as honesty, purity, and
self-restraint.
Western scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion
[14]
or synthesis
[15][16]
of various Indian cultures and
traditions,
[15][17][14]
with diverse roots
[18]
and no single founder.
[19][20]
of the late Vedic period and its emphasis on
the status of Brahmans,
[21]
but also the religions of the Indus Valley Civilisation,
[18][22][23][24]
the Sramana
[25]
or
renouncer traditions
[17]
of north-east India,
[25]
and "popular or local traditions".
[17]
</ref> This "Hindu synthesis"
Hinduism
2
emerged around the beginning of the Common Era,
[15][26][27]
-200
[26]
BCE and c. 300 CE,
[15]
at the beginning of the
"Epic and Puranic" c.q. "Preclassical" period.</ref> the "Hindu synthesis" emerged,
[15][26]
which incorporated
shramanic
[26][28]
and Buddhist influences
[26][29]
and the emerging bhakti tradition into the Brahmanical fold.
[30]

During the Gupta reign the first Puranas were written,
[31][32]
they may have existed in some oral form before being
written down.
[33]
</ref> which were used to disseminate "mainstream religious ideology amongst pre-literate and
tribal groups undergoing acculturation."
[31]
The resulting Puranic Hinduism differed markedly from the earlier
Brahmanism of the Dharmasastras and the smritis.
[31]
</ref> and co-existed for several centuries with Buddhism,
[34]
to finally gain the upper hand in most royal circles during the 8th century CE.
[35][36]
From northern India this "Hindu
synthesis", and its societal divisions, spread to southern India and parts of Southeast Asia.
[37][38][39][40][41]
the
incorporation and assimilation of popular non-Vedic gods,
[42]
and the process of Sanskritisation, in which "people
from many strata of society throughout the subcontinent tended to adapt their religious and social life to Brahmanic
norms".
[43]
</ref>
Since the 19th century, under the dominance of western colonialism and Indology, when the term "Hinduism" came
into broad use,
[44]
Hinduism has re-asserted itself as a coherent and independent tradition.
[45]
The popular
understanding of Hinduism has been dominated by "Hindu modernism",
[46][47][48]
and neo-Hinduism.
[47]
The term
"neo" has been critisized by Halbfass for being "simplistic"
[49]
and having a "polemical undertone".
[50]
</ref> in
which mysticism
[47][51]
</ref> and the unity of Hinduism
[52]
have been emphasised.
[53][54][55][47]
During 20th
century, Hindutva ideology, a part of the Hindu politics emerged as a political force and a source for national identity
in India.
Hindu practices include daily rituals such as puja (worship) and recitations, annual festivals, and occasional
pilgrimages. Select group of ascetics leave the common world and engage in lifelong ascetic practices to achieve
moksha.
Hindu texts are classified into ruti ("revealed") and Smriti ("remembered"). These texts discuss theology,
philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna and agamic rituals and temple building, among other topics.
[56]
Major scriptures
include the Vedas, Upanishads (both ruti), Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, Puranas, Manusmti, and
Agamas (all smriti).
[56]
Hinduism, with about one billion followers is the world's third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam.
Hinduism
3
Etymology
Main article: Hindustan
Valmiki, a contemporary of Rama, composes the
Ramayana.
The word Hindu is derived (through Persian) from the Sanskrit
word Sindhu, the historic local name for the Indus River in the
northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent (modern day Pakistan
and Northern India).
[57][58][59]
WP:TOPIC</ref> According to
Gavin Flood, "The actual term 'hindu' first occurs as a Persian
geographical term for the people who lived beyond the river Indus
(Sanskrit: Sindhu)".
[57]
The term 'Hindu' then was a geographical
term and did not refer to a religion.
[60]
</ref>
The word Hindu was taken by European languages from the
Arabic term al-Hind, which referred to the people who live across
the River Indus.
[61]
This Arabic term was itself taken from the
Persian term Hind, which refers to all Indians. By the 13th
century, Hindustan emerged as a popular alternative name of
India, meaning the "land of Hindus".
[62]
</ref>
The term Hinduism was later used occasionally in some Sanskrit
texts such as the later Rajataranginis of Kashmir (Hinduka, c.
1450) and some 16th- to 18th-century Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava
texts including Chaitanya Charitamrita and Chaitanya Bhagavata.
It was usually used to contrast Hindus with Yavanas or Mlecchas. It was only towards the end of the 18th century
that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The
term Hinduism was introduced into the English language in the 19th century to denote the religious, philosophical,
and cultural traditions native to India.
Definitions
The Triveni Sangam, or the intersection of Yamuna
River, Ganges River and mythical Saraswati river.
The study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition
of "Hinduism", has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and
by Western notions of religion.
[63][47]
Since the 1990s, those
influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among
scholars of Hinduism
[63][64]
, and have also been taken over by
critics of the Western view on India.
[65][66]
Because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the
term, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult.
[57]
Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious
tradition, and a set of religious beliefs.
[67]
Colonial influences
See also: Orientalism
The notion of common denominators for several religions and traditions of India was already noted from the 12th
century CE on.
[68][69]
The notion of "Hinduism" as a "single world religious
Hinduism
4
Mangal Mahadev, 108-foot statue of Shiva at Ganga
Talao, Mauritius
tradition"
[52]
was popularised by 19th-century European
Indologists who depended on the "brahmana castes"
[52]
for their
information of Indian religions.
[52]
This led to a "tendency to
emphasise Vedic and Brahmanical texts and beliefs as the
"essence" of Hindu religiosity in general, and in the modern
association of 'Hindu doctrine' with the various Brahmanical
schools of the Vedanta (in particular Advaita Vedanta)."
[70][71]
1. The establishment by European Orientalists of a textual basis
for Hinduism, akin to the Protestant culture,
[72]
which was
driven by a preference among the colonial powers for written
authority rather than oral authority.
[72]
2. The influence of Brahmins on European conceptions of
Hinduism.
[72]
Colonialism has been a significant factor in the
reinforcement of the Brahmana castes and the
"brahmanisation"
[73]
of Hindu society.
[73]
The Brahmana castes
preserved the texts which were studied by Europeans and
provided access to them. The authority of those texts was
expanded by being the focus of study by Europeans.
[72]
Brahmins and Europeans scholars shared a perception of "a
general decline from an originally pure religion".
[72]
3. The identification of Vedanta, and specifically Advaita
Vedanta, as the "paradigmatic example of the mystical nature of the Hindu religion"
[72][74]
</ref> and the "central
philosophy of the Hindus".
[72]
Several factors led to the favouring of Advaita Vedanta:
[75]
1. Fear of French influence, especially the impact of the French Revolution; the hope was that "the supposed
quietist and conservative nature of Vedantic thought would prevent the development of revolutionary
sentiment;
[76]
2. "The predominance of Idealism in nineteenth century European philosophy";
[77]
3. "The amenability of Vedantic thought to both Christian and Hindu critics of 'idolatry' in other forms of
Hinduism".
[77]
4. The European conception of caste which dismissed former political configurations and insisted upon an
"essentially religious character" of India.
[78]
During the colonial period, caste was defined as a religious system
and was divorced from political powers.
[77]
This made it possible for the colonial rulers to portray India as a
society characterised by spiritual harmony in contrast to the former Indian states which they criticised as
"despotic and epiphenomenal",
[77]
with the colonial powers providing the necessary "benevolent, paternalistic
rule by a more 'advanced' nation".
[77]
5. The construction of 'Hinduism' in the image of Christianity
[79]
as "a systematic, confessional, all-embracing
religious entity".
[79]
Several forces played a role in this construction:
1. The European scholarship which studied India,
[79]
2. The "acts of policy of the colonial state",
[79]
3. Anti-colonial Hindus
[80]
"looking toward the systematisation of disparate practices as a means of recovering a
precolonial, national identity".
[79][81]
</ref>
Hinduism
5
Indigenous understanding
See also: Santan and Hindu reform movements
Santana Dharma
See also: Santan
To its adherents, Hinduism is a traditional way of life. Many practitioners refer to Hinduism as Santana Dharma,
"the eternal law" or the "eternal way".
[]
It refers to the "eternal" duties all Hindus have to follow, regardless of class,
caste, or sect, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, purity, goodwill, mercy, patience, forbearance,
self-restraint, generosity, and asceticism. This is contrasted with svadharma, one's "own duty", the duties to be
followed by members of a specific caste and stage of life.
[]
According to Knott, this also
... refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, and its truths have been divinely revealed
(shruti) and passed down through the ages to the present day in the most ancient of the world's
scriptures, the Veda.
[13]
According to the Encyclopdia Britannica;-
The term has also more recently been used by Hindu leaders, reformers, and nationalists to refer to
Hinduism as a unified world religion. Sanatana dharma has thus become a synonym for the "eternal"
truth and teachings of Hinduism, the latter conceived of as not only transcendent of history and
unchanging but also as indivisible and ultimately nonsectarian.
Hindu modernism
Rabindranath Tagore was Asia's first Nobel laureate and composer of India's national anthem
Swami Vivekananda was a key figure in introducing Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and USA,
[82]
raising interfaith
awareness and making Hinduism a world religion.
[83]
See also: Hindu reform movements
Major representatives of "Hindu modernism"
[46]
are Vivekananda, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Mahatma
Gandhi.
[84]
According to Flood, "Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) is a figure of great importance in the development of a
modern Hindu self-understanding and in formulating the West's view of Hinduism."
[85]
Central to his philosophy is
Hinduism
6
the idea that the divine exists in all beings, that all human beings can achieve union with this "innate divinity",
[46]
and that seeing this divine as the essence of others will further love and social harmony.
[46]
According to
Vivekananda, there is an essential unity to Hinduism, which underlies the diversity of its many forms.
[46]
According
to Flood, Vivekananda's vision of Hinduism "is one generally accepted by most English-speaking middle-class
Hindus today."
[86]
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was "one of India's most erudite scholars to engage with western and Indian
philosophy".
[87]
He sought to reconcile western rationalism with Hinduism, "presenting Hinduism as an essentially
rationalistic and humanistic religious experience."
[88]
According to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan,
Hinduism is not just a faith. It is the union of reason and intuition that cannot be defined, but is only to
be experienced.
[89]
This view has been "highly relevant and important in forming contemporary Hindu identity."
[88]
The emphasis on
experience as validation of a religious worldview is a modern development, which started in the 19th century, and
was introduced to Indian thought by western Unitarian missionaries.
[90][91]
The origins of the use of this term can be
dated further back.
[92]
Wayne Proudfoot traces the roots of the notion of "religious experience" to the German
theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher (17681834), who argued that religion is based on a feeling of the infinite. The
notion of "religious experience" was used by Schleiermacher and Albert Ritschl to defend religion against the
growing scientific and secular citique, and defend the view that human (moral and religious) experience justifies
religious beliefs.
[92]
</ref>
This "Global Hinduism"
[93]
has a worldwide appeal, transcending national boundaries
[93]
and, according to Flood,
"becoming a world religion alongside Christianity, Islam and Buddhism",
[93]
both for the Hindu diaspora
communities and for westerners who are attracted to non-western cultures and religions.
[93]
It emphasizes universal
spiritual values such as social justice, peace and "the spiritual transformation of humanity."
[93]
It has developed
partly due to "re-enculturation",
[94]
or the Pizza effect,
[94]
in which elements of Hindu culture have been exported to
the West, gaining popularity there, and as a consequence also gained greater popularity in India.
[94]
This
globalization of Hindu culture has been initiated by Swami Vivekanandaand and his founding of the Ramakrishna
Mission, and has been followed by other teachers, "bringing to the West teachings which have become an important
cultural force in western societies, and which in turn have become an important cultural force in India, their place of
origin."
[95]
Western understanding
Hinduism's tolerance to variations in belief and its broad range of traditions make it difficult to define as a religion
according to traditional Western conceptions.
[96]
Some academics suggest that Hinduism can be seen as a category with "fuzzy edges" rather than as a well-defined
and rigid entity. Some forms of religious expression are central to Hinduism and others, while not as central, still
remain within the category. Based on this idea Ferro-Luzzi has developed a 'Prototype Theory approach' to the
definition of Hinduism.
[97]
Diversity and inclusivism
Diversity
See also: Hindu denominations
Hinduism has been described as a tradition having a "complex, organic, multileveled and sometimes internally
inconsistent nature."
[98]
Hinduism does not have a "unified system of belief encoded in a declaration of faith or a
creed",
[57]
but is rather an umbrella term comprising the plurality of religious phenomena of India.
[99][100]
According
to the Supreme Court of India,
Hinduism
7
Unlike other religions in the World, the Hindu religion does not claim any one Prophet, it does not
worship any one God, it does not believe in any one philosophic concept, it does not follow any one act
of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not satisfy the traditional features of a religion or
creed. It is a way of life and nothing more".
[101][102]
Part of the problem with a single definition of the term "Hinduism" is the fact that Hinduism does not have a single
historical founder.
[57][19]
It is a synthesis of various traditions,
[14][15]
the "Brahmanical orthopraxy, the renouncer
traditions and popular or local traditions."
[17]
Also, Hinduism does not have a single system of salvation,
[57]
but consists of various religions and forms of
religiosity.
[103]
Some Hindu religious traditions regard particular rituals as essential for salvation, but a variety of
views on this co-exist. Some Hindu philosophies postulate a theistic ontology of creation, of sustenance, and of the
destruction of the universe, yet some Hindus are atheists, they view Hinduism more as philosophy than religion.
Hinduism is sometimes characterised by a belief in reincarnation (samsara) determined by the law of karma and the
idea that salvation is freedom from this cycle of repeated birth and death.
[104]
</ref> Hinduism is therefore viewed as
the most complex of all the living, historical world religions.
[105]
Roots of Hinduism
Western scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion
[14][]
Lockard: "Hinduism can be seen historically as a synthesis of
Aryan beliefs with Harappan and other Dravidian traditions that developed over many centuries."
[22]
</ref> or
synthesis
[15][]
</ref>
[16]
of various Indian cultures and traditions.
[15][17][14][][106]
</ref>
Zimmer, Heinrich (1951), Philosophies of India, Princeton University Press
[107]
Tyler (1973), India: An Anthropological Perspective, Goodyear Publishing Company. In: Sjoberg
1990,
[108][109]
</ref>
Sjoberg, Andree F. (1990), "The Dravidian Contribution To The Development Of Indian Civilization: A Call For
A Reassesment"
[110]
, Comparative Civilizations Review. 23:40-74
[111]
Flood, Gavin D. (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press
[17]
Nath, Vijay (2001), "From 'Brahmanism' to 'Hinduism': Negotiating the Myth of the Great Tradition", Social
Scientist 2001, pp. 19-50
[41]
Werner, karel (2005), A Popular Dictionary of Hinduism
[112]
, Routledge
[113]
Lockard, Craig A. (2007), Societies, Networks, and Transitions. Volume I: to 1500
[114]
, Cengage Learning
[14]
Hiltebeitel, Alf (2007), Hinduism. In: Joseph Kitagawa, "The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and
Culture"
[115]
, Routledge
[116]
Hopfe, Lewis M.; Woodward, Mark R. (2008), Religions of the World
[117]
, Pearson Education
[118][119]
</ref>
Samuel, Geoffrey (2010), The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century, Cambridge
University Press
[120]
</ref>
Among its roots are the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India,
[121][17]
itself already the product of "a composite
of the indo-Aryan and Harappan cultures and civilizations",
[122][123]
Richard Gombrich: "It is important to bear in mind that the Indo-Aryans did not enter an unhabitated land. For
nearly two millennia they and their culture gradually penetrated India, moving east and south from their original
seat in the Punjab. They mixed with people who spoke Munda or Dravidian languages, who have left no traces of
their culture beyond some archaeological remains; we know as little about them as we would about the
Indo-Aryans if they had left no texts. In fact we cannot even be sure whether some of the aerchaeological finds
belong to Indo-Aryans, autochthonous populations, or a mixture.
It is to be assumed - though this is not fashionable in Indian historiography - that the clash of cultures between
Indo-Aryans and autochtones was responsible for many of the changes in Indo-Aryan society. We can also assume
that many - perhaps most - of the indigenous population came to be assimilated into Indo-Aryan culture.
[124]
</ref>
but also the Shramana
[125]
or renouncer traditions
[17]
of northeast India,
[125]
and mesolithic
[126]
and neolithic
[127]
Hinduism
8
cultures of India, such as the religions of the Indus Valley Civilisation,
[18][22][23][24]
Dravidian
traditions,
[128][22][107][38]
and the local traditions
[17]
and tribal religions.
[128][129]
See also Peopling of India for the
variety of Indian people.</ref>
After the Vedic period, between 500
[15]
-200
[26]
BCE and c. 300 CE,
[15]
at the beginning of the "Epic and Puranic"
c.q. "Preclassical" period, the "Hindu synthesis" emerged,
[15][26]
which incorporated shramanic
[26][28]
and Buddhist
influences
[26][29]
and the emerging bhakti tradition into the Brahmanical fold via the smriti literature.
[30][26]
This
synthesis emerged under the pressure of the success of Buddhism and Jainism.
[130]
During the Gupta reign the first
Puranas were written,
[131]
which were used to disseminate "mainstream religious ideology amongst pre-literate and
tribal groups undergoing acculturation."
[31]
The resulting Puranic Hinduism, differed markedly from the earlier
Brahmanism of the Dharmasastras and the smritis.
[31][]
See also Halbfass (1991) p.1-2.
[132]
</ref> Hinduism
co-existed for several centuries with Buddhism,
[34]
to finally gain the upperhand at al levels in the 8th century
CE.
[35][36][]
From northern India this "Hindu synthesis", and its societal divisions, spread to southern India and parts of Southeast
Asia.
[37][]
Geoffrey Samuel, p.77: "[T]he Buddhist sutras describe what was in later periods a standard mechanism for the
expansion of Vedic-Brahmanical culture: the settlement of Brahmins on land granted by local rulers."
[133]
See also
Nath 2001.
[41]
Geoffrey Samuel, p.199: "By the first and second centuries CE, the Dravidian-speaking regions of the south were
also increasingly being incorporated into the general North and Central Indian cultural pattern, as were parts at least
of Southeast Asia. The Pallava kingdom in South India was largely Brahmanical in orientation although it included a
substantial Jain and Buddhist population, while Indic states were also beginning to develop in Southeast
Asia."
[134]
</ref>
[38][]
</ref>
[39][]
</ref> It was aided by the settlement of Brahmins on land granted by local
rulers,
[133][41]
the incorporation and assimilation of popular non-Vedic gods,
[42][]
</ref> and the process of
Sanskritization, in which "people from many strata of society throughout the subcontinent tended to adapt their
religious and social life to Brahmanic norms".
[][][43]
This process of assimilation explains the wide diversity of local
cultures in India "half shrouded in a taddered cloak of conceptual unity."
[135]
Inclusivism
Despite the differences, there is also a sense of unity.
[136]
Most Hindu traditions revere a body of religious or sacred
literature, the Vedas,
[137]
although there are exceptions.
[138]
Halbfass cites Renou, according to whom this reverence
is a mere
"tipping of the hat", a traditional gesture of saluting an "idol" without any further commitment."
[139]
Halbfass does not agree with this characterization
[139]
and states that, although Shaivism and Vaishaism may be
regarded as "self-contained religious constellations",
[136]
there is a degree of interaction and reference between the
"theoreticians and literary representatives"
[136]
of each tradition which indicates the presence of "a wider sense of
identity, a sense of coherence in a shared context and of inclusion in a common framework and horizon".
[136]
According to Nicholson, already between the 12th and the 16th centuries "certain thinkers began to treat as a single
whole the diverse philosophical teachings of the Upanishads, epics, Puranas, and the schools known retrospectively
as the "six systems" (saddarsana) of mainstream Hindu philosophy."
[68]
The tendency of "a blurring of philosophical
distinctions" has also been noted by Burley.
[140]
Hacker called this "inclusivism"
[137]
and Michaels speaks of "the
identificatory habit".
[56]
Lorenzen locates the origins of a distinct Hindu identity in the interaction between Muslims
and Hindus,
[141]
and a process of "mutual self-definition with a contrasting Muslim other",
[142]
which started well
before 1800.
[143]
Michaels notes:
As a counteraction to Islamic supremacy and as part of the continuing process of regionalization, two
religious innovations developed in the Hindu religions: the formation of sects and a historicization
Hinduism
9
which preceded later nationalism [...] [S]aints and sometimes and sometimes militant sect leaders, such
as the Marathi poet Tukaram (1609-1649) and Ramdas (1608-1681), articulated ideas in which they
glorified Hinduism and the past. The Brahmans also produced increasingly historical texts, especially
eulogies and chronicles of sacred sites (Mahatmyas), or developed a reflexive passion for collecting and
compiling extensive collections of quotations on various subjects.
[144]
This inclusivism
[145]
</ref> was further developed in the 19th and 20th centuries by Hindu reform movements and
Neo-Vedanta,
[90]
and has become characteristic of modern Hinduism.
[137]
Typology
Main article: Hindu denominations
The Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple in Delhi, according
the Guinness World Records is the World's Largest
Comprehensive Hindu Temple
Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a
number of major currents. Of the historical division into six
darsanas, only two schools, Vedanta and Yoga, survive. The
main divisions of Hinduism today are Vaishnavism,
Shaivism, Shaktism and Smartism.
[146]
Hinduism also
recognises numerous divine beings subordinate to the
Supreme Being or regards them as lower manifestations of
it.
[147]
Other notable characteristics include a belief in
reincarnation and karma as well as a belief in personal duty,
or dharma.
McDaniel - six generic "types"
McDaniel (2007) distinguishes six generic "types" of
Hinduism, in an attempt to accommodate a variety of views
on a rather complex subject:
[148]
Folk Hinduism, based on local traditions and cults of local deities and extending back to prehistoric times, or at
least prior to written Vedas.
Shrauta or "Vedic" Hinduism as practised by traditionalist brahmins (Shrautins).
Vedantic Hinduism, including Advaita Vedanta (Smartism), based on the philosophical approach of the
Upanishads.
Yogic Hinduism, especially the sect based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
"Dharmic" Hinduism or "daily morality", based on Karma and upon societal norms such as Vivha (Hindu
marriage customs).
Bhakti or devotionalist practices
Michaels - Hindu religions and Hindu religiosity
Michaels distinguishes three Hindu religions and four forms of Hindu religiosity.
[103]
The division into three Hindu religions corresponds with the Indian division of ritual practice into Vedic (vaidika),
village and folk religions (gramya), and sectarian (agama or tantra).
[149]
The three Hindu religions are:
1. Brahmanic-Sanskritic Hinduism: a polytheistic, ritualistic, priestly religion that centers on extended-family
domestic and sacrificial rituals and appeals to a corpus of Vedic texts as an authority.
[103]
Brahmanic-Sanskritic
Hinduism takes a central place in most treatises on Hinduism because it fulfills many criteria for a definition of
religion and because "in many regions of India it is the dominant religion into which the non-Brahman population
groups strive to assimilate.
[103][150]
Hinduism
10
2. Folk religions and tribal religions: polytheistic, sometimes animistic, local religions with an extensive oral
tradition. Often in tension with Brahmanic-Sanskritic Hinduism.
[151]
3. Founded religions: salvation religions with monastic communities, usually ascetic, often anti-Brahmanic.
[103]
Three subgroups can be distinguished:
1. Sectarian religions: for example Vaishnavism and Shaivism.
[151]
2. Syncretically founded religions: Hindu-Islamic (Sikhism), Hindu-Buddhist (Newar-Buddhism),
Hindu-Christian mixed religions like Neohinduism.
[151]
3. Founded, proselytizing religions, "Guru-ism": groups like Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Transcendental
Meditation, Satya Sai Baba and the Satya Sai Federation, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and the ISKCON,
Maharaj Ji and the Divine Light Mission, Osho.
[151]
The four forms of Hindu religiosity are:
1. Ritualism: Vedic-Brahmanistic domestic and sacrificial ritualism, but also some forms of Tantrism.
[149]
This is
the classical karma-marga, the path of action.
[152]
2. Spiritualism: intellectual religiosity, aimed at individual liberation, often under guidance of a guru. It is
characteristic of Advaita Vedanta, Kashmir Shaivism, Shaiva Siddhanta, Neo-Vedanta, modern esoteric Guruism,
and some sorts of Tantrism.
[149]
This is the classical jnana-marga.
[152]
3. Devotionalism: mystical worship of a God, as in bhakti and Krishnaism.
[149]
This is the classical
bhakti-marga.
[152]
4. Heroism: a polytheistic form of religiosity rooted in militaristic traditions, such as Ramaism and parts of political
Hindusim.
[149]
This is also called virya-marga.
[152]
History
Main article: History of Hinduism
Timetable of Indian History
v
t
e
[153]
Timeline and
cultural period
Westcoast Northwestern
India
(Punjab-Sapta
Sindhu)
Indo-Gangetic Plain Central
India
Deccan
Plateau
Southern India
Western
Gangetic Plain
(Kurukshetra)
Northern India
(Central Gangetic Plain)
Northeastern
India
(Bengal)
South Asian Stone Age (untill c. 3300 BCE) South Asian Stone Age (untill c.
1100 BCE)
Culture Paleolithicum (untill c. 10,000 BCE)
Before 10,000
BCE
Bhimbetka rock
shelters
(30,000-15,000
BCE)
Sanghao
Caves
Culture Mesolithicum (c. 10,000-7,000 BCE) Mesolithicum (c.
10,000-3,000
BCE)
c.
10,000-7,000
BCE
Hinduism
11
Culture 'Neolithicum (c. 7000-3300 BCE) Mesolithicum (c.
10,000-3000 BCE)
c. 7,000-3,300
BCE
Mehrgarh
BRONZE AGE (c. 3300-1100 BCE) NEOLITHIC (c.
3000-1400 BCE)
Culture Early Harappan
3300-2600
BCE
Early Harappan
Culture Integration Era
2600-1900
BCE
Indus Valley
Civilization
Culture Localisation
Era/Late
Harappan
OCP/Cemetery H
1900-1500
BCE
Earliest known rice
cultivation
[154]
Culture Localisation
Era/Late
Harappan
OCP/Cemetery H
Early Vedic period
Gandhara grave
culture
Megalithic
(c. 1400-1100
BCE)
1500-1300
BCE
Indo-Aryan
migration
1300-1100
BCE
Wandering Vedic
Aryans
IRON AGE (c. 1100-300 BCE)
Culture Middle Vedic Period
Gandhara grave
culture
Black and red
ware culture
1100-800 BCE Vedic settlements
Gandhara
Vedic
settlements
Kuru
Culture Late Vedic Period
Gandhara grave
culture
(Brahmin
ideology)
[155]
early Upanishads
Painted Grey
Ware culture
(Kshatriya/Shramanic
culture)
[156]
Northern Black Polished
Ware
800-600 BCE Gandhara Kuru-Pancala Kosala-Videha
Hinduism
12
Culture Late Vedic Period
Mahajanapada
Gandhara grave
culture
(Brahmin
ideology)
[157]
early Upanishads
Painted Grey
Ware culture
(Kshatriya/Shramanic
culture)
[158]
Northern Black Polished
Ware
6th century
BCE
Gandhara Kuru-Panchala Kosala
Magadha
Anga
Adivasi
(tribes)
Culture Persian-Greek
influences
"Second Urbanisation"
Later
Upanishads
Rise of Shramana
movements
Jainism - Buddhism -
jvika - Yoga
Later Upanishads
5th century
BCE
(Persian rule) Shishunaga dynasty Adivasi
(tribes)
4th century
BCE
(Greek conquests) Nanda empire
Kalinga
HISTORICAL AGE (after 300 BCE)
Culture Spread of Buddhism Pre-history Sangam period
(300 BCE 200
CE)
3rd century
BCE
Maurya Empire Early Cholas
Early Pandyan
Kingdom
Satavahana
dynasty
Cheras
Culture
Preclassical Hinduism
[159]
- "Hindu Synthesis"
[160]
(c. 200 BCE-300 CE)
[161][162]
Epics - Puranas - Ramayana - Mahabharata - Bhagavad Gita - Brahma Sutras - Smarta Tradition
Mahayana Buddhism
Sangam period
(continued)
(300 BCE 200
CE)
2nd century
BCE
Indo-Greek
Kingdom
Sunga Empire Adivasi
(tribes)
Early Cholas
Early Pandyan
Kingdom
Satavahana
dynasty
Cheras
1st century
BCE
Yona Maha-Meghavahana
Dynasty
1st century
CE
Indo-Scythians
Indo-Parthians
Kuninda Kingdom
2nd century Pahlava Varman
dynasty
3rd century Kushan Empire Western Satraps Kamarupa
kingdom
Kalabhras dynasty
Culture
"Golden Age of Hinduism"(c. 320-650 CE)
[163]
Puranas
Co-existence of Hinduism and Buddhism
Hinduism
13
4th century Gupta Empire Kadamba Dynasty
Western Ganga
Dynasty
5th century Vishnukundina
6th century Maitraka Adivasi
(tribes)
Culture
Late-Classical Hinduism (c. 650-1100 CE)
[164]
Advaita Vedanta - Tantra
Decline of Buddhism in India
7th century Maitraka Indo-Sassanids Vakataka dynasty,
Harsha
Mlechchha
dynasty
Adivasi
(tribes)
Pallava
8th century Kidarite
Kingdom
Kalachuri
9th century Indo-Hephthalites (Huna) Gurjara-Pratihara Chalukya
10th century Pala dynasty
Kamboja-Pala
dynasty
Rashtrakuta
Culture
Islamic rule and "Sects of Hinduism" (c. 1100-1850 CE)
[165]
- Medieval and Late Puranic Period (5001500 CE)
[166]
11th century (Islamic
conquests)
Kabul Shahi
(Islamic Empire)
Pala Empire
Paramara dynasty
Solanki
Eastern Ganga dynasty
Sena dynasty Adivasi
(tribes)
Chola Empire
Yadava dynasty
Western Chalukyas
Eastern Chalukyas
Kakatiya dynasty
Hoysala Empire
12th century Chola Empire
13th century Delhi Sultanate
14th century Delhi Sultanate Vijayanagara
Empire
15th century Delhi Sultanate
16th century Mughal Empire
17th century Mughal Empire
Culture British Colonisation - Company rule in India'
18th century
Culture British Colonisation - British Raj'
19th century
Culture British Raj - Independence struggle - Pakistan - India - Bangladesh'
20th century
21stSmall text
century
Hinduism
14
Periodisation
James Mill (17731836), in his The History of British India (1817),
[167]
distinguished three phases in the history of
India, namely Hindu, Muslim and British civilisations.
[167][168]
This periodisation has been criticised, for the
misconceptions it has given rise to.
[169]
Another periodisation is the division into "ancient, classical, mediaeval and
modern periods".
[170]
Smart
[171]
and Michaels
[172]
seem to follow Mill's periodisation,
[173]
as a source for "Prevedic
Religions".
[174]
</ref>, while Flood
[45]
and Muesse
[175][176]
follow the "ancient, classical, mediaeval and modern
periods" periodisation.
[177]
Different periods are designated as "classical Hinduism":
Smart calls the period between 1000 BCE and 100 CE "pre-classical". It's the formative period for the Upanishads
and Brahmanism
[178]
</ref>, Jainism and Buddhism. For Smart, the "classical period" lasts from 100 to 1000 CE,
and coincides with the flowering of "classical Hinduism" and the flowering and deterioration of
Mahayana-buddhism in India.
[179]
For Michaels, the period between 500 BCE and 200 BCE is a time of "Ascetic reformism"
[180]
, whereas the
period between 200 BCE and 1100 CE is the time of "classical Hinduism", since there is "a turning point between
the Vedic religion and Hindu religions".
[181]
Muesse discerns a longer period of change, namely between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, which he calls the "Classical
Period". According to Muesse, some of the fundamental concepts of Hinduism, namely karma, reincarnation and
"personal enlightenment and transformation", which did not exist in the Vedic religion, developed in this
time.
[182]
Smart
[171]
Michaels
(overall)
[56]
Michaels
(detailed)
[56]
Muesse
[176]
Flood
[183]
Hinduism
15
Indus Valley Civilisation
and Vedic period
(c. 30001000 BCE)
Prevedic religions
(until c. 1750
BCE)
[172]
Prevedic religions
(until c. 1750
BCE)
[172]
Indus Valley
Civilization
(33001400 BCE)
Indus Valley
Civilisation
(c. 2500 to 1500
BCE)
Vedic religion
(c. 1750500 BCE)
Early Vedic Period
(c. 17501200 BCE)
Vedic Period
(1600800 BCE)
Vedic period
(c. 1500500 BCE)
Middle Vedic Period
(from 1200 BCE)
Pre-classical period
(c. 1000 BCE 100 CE)
Late Vedic period
(from 850 BCE)
Classical Period
(800200 BCE)
Ascetic reformism
(c. 500200 BCE)
Ascetic reformism
(c. 500200 BCE)
Epic and Puranic
period
(c. 500 BCE to 500
CE)
Classical Hinduism
(c. 200 BCE 1100
CE)
[181]
Preclassical Hinduism
(c. 200 BCE 300
CE)
[184]
Epic and Puranic
period
(200 BCE 500 CE)
Classical period
(c. 100 1000 CE)
"Golden Age" (Gupta
Empire)
(c. 320650 CE)
[185]
Late-Classical
Hinduism
(c. 6501100 CE)
[186]
Medieval and Late
Puranic Period
(5001500 CE)
Medieval and Late
Puranic Period
(5001500 CE)
Hindu-Islamic
civilisation
(c. 10001750 CE)
Islamic rule and
"Sects of Hinduism"
(c. 11001850
CE)
[187]
Islamic rule and "Sects
of Hinduism"
(c. 11001850
CE)
[187]
Modern Age
(1500present)
Modern period
(c. 1500 CE to
present)
Modern period
(c. 1750 CE present)
Modern Hinduism
(from c. 1850)
[188]
Modern Hinduism
(from c. 1850)
[188]
Hinduism
16
Prevedic religions (until c. 1750 BCE)
The so-called Shiva Pashupati seal, Indus Valley civilization.
See also: Peopling of India
Anatomically modern humans are thought to have
arrived in South India about 73,000 - 55,000 years
back, during Paleolithic times. These people were
Australoids who may have been closely related to
Aboriginal Australians.
[189]
They are probably
almost extinct or largely covered by successive
waves.
[190]
After the Australoids, Caucasoids, including both
Elamo-Dravidians (c. 4,000
[191]
to 6,000
[192]
BCE)
and Indo-Aryans (c.2,000
[193]
-1,500 BCE
[194]
), and
Mongoloids (Sino-Tibetans) immigrated into India.
The Elamo-Dravidians
[195]
possibly from Elam,
present-day Iran,
[191][192][196][197]
Kumar: "The analysis of two Y chromosome
variants, Hgr9 and Hgr3 provides interesting data
(Quintan-Murci et al., 2001). Microsatellite
variation of Hgr9 among Iranians, Pakistanis and Indians indicate an expansion of populations to around 9000
YBP in Iran and then to 6,000 YBP in India. This migration originated in what was historically termed Elam in
south-west Iran to the Indus valley, and may have been associated with the spread of Dravidian languages from
south-west Iran (Quintan-Murci et al., 2001)."
[192]
Mukherjee et al: "More recently, about 15,000-10,000 years before present (ybp), when agriculture developed in
the Fertile Crescent region that extends from Israel through northern Syria to western Iran, there was another
eastward wave of human migration (Cavalli-Sforza et al., 1994; Renfrew 1987), a part of which also appears to
have entered India. This wave has been postulated to have brought the Dravidian languages into India (Renfrew
1987). Subsequently, the Indo-European (Aryan) language family was introduced into India about 4,000 ybp
...".
[196]
</ref> and the Tibeto-Burmans possibly from the Himalayan and north-eastern borders of the
subcontinent.
[198][199]
</ref>
The earliest prehistoric religion in India that may have left its traces in Hinduism comes from
mesolithic.
[126][200]
</ref> and neolithic
[127][201]
</ref> times. Several tribal religions still exist, predating the
dominance of Hinduism, though "[w]e must not assume that there are many similarities between prehistoric and
contemporary tribal communities."
[202]
According to anthropologist Possehl, the Indus Valley Civilization (2,600-1,900BCE) "provides a logical, if
somewhat arbitrary, starting point for some aspects of the later Hindu tradition".
[203]
The religion of this period
included worship of a Great Male God, which some (most notably John Marshall) have compared to a proto-Shiva,
and probably a Mother Goddess, that may prefigure Shakti. Other practices from the Indus religion that may have
continued in the Vedic period include worship of water and fire. However these links of deities and practices of the
Indus religion to later-day Hinduism are subject to both political contention and scholarly dispute.
[204]
Hinduism
17
Vedic period (c. 1750-500 BCE)
Main article: Vedic period
Origins
Indo-Aryan migration
v
t
e
[205]
Scheme of Indo-European migrations from ca. 4000 to 1000 BCE according to the
Kurgan hypothesis. The magenta area corresponds to the assumed Urheimat (Samara
culture, Sredny Stog culture). The red area corresponds to the area which may have been
settled by Indo-European-speaking peoples up to ca. 2500 BCE; the orange area to 1000
BCE.
[206]
Historical spread of the chariot. Dates given in image are approximate BC years.
Hinduism
18
Indo-European isoglosses, including the centum and satem languages (blue and red,
respectively), augment, PIE *-tt- > -ss-, *-tt- > -st-, and m-endings.
Frequency distribution of R1a1a, also known as R-M17 and R-M198, adapted from
Underhill et al. (2009).
The development of the Kurgan culture according to Marija Gimbutas' Kurgan
hypothesis.
Hinduism
19
Map of the approximate maximal extent of the Andronovo culture. The
formative Sintashta-Petrovka culture is shown in darker red. The
location of the earliest spoke-wheeled chariot finds is indicated in
purple. Adjacent and overlapping cultures (Afanasevo culture, Srubna
culture, BMAC) are shown in green.
Archaeological cultures associated with Indo-Iranian
migrations (after EIEC). The Andronovo, BMAC and Yaz
cultures have often been associated with Indo-Iranian
migrations. The GGC, Cemetery H, Copper Hoard and PGW
cultures are candidates for cultures associated with
Indo-Aryan movements.
Hinduism
20
Geography of the Rigveda, with river names; the extent of the Swat and
Cemetery H cultures are indicated.
Map of Vedic age.
Spread of Indo-European languages
v
t
e
[207]
Hinduism
21
Indo-European languages ca. 3500 BC
Indo-European languages ca. 2500 BC
Indo-European languages ca. 1500 BC
Indo-European languages ca. 500 BC
Hinduism
22
Indo-European languages ca. 500 AD
Main articles: Indo-Aryans and Indo-Aryan migration
See also: Indo-European migrations
The Vedic period, named after the Vedic religion of the Indo-Aryans,
[208][209]
</ref> lasted from c. 1750 to 500
BCE.
[172][210]
Flood mentions 1500 BCE.
[170]
</ref> The Indo-Aryans were a branch of the Indo-European language
family, which originated in Kurgan culture of the Central Asian steppes.
[211][196][212][213]
</ref>
[214][215]
</ref>
The Indo-Aryans were pastoralists
[216]
who migrated into north-western India after the collapse of the Indus Valley
Civilization,
[217][218][219][220][221]
due to a lack of archaeological evidence and signs of cultural continuity,
[217]
hypothesizing instead a slow process of acculturation
[217]
or transformation.
[218]
Nevertheless, linguistic and
archaeological data clearly show a cultural change after 1750 BCE,
[217]
with the linguistic and religious data clearly
showing links with Indo-European languages and religion.
[222]
According to Singh, "The dominant view is that the
Indo-Aryans came to the subcontinent as immigrants."
[221]
</ref> The Indo-Aryans were a branch of the
Indo-Iranians, which originated in the Andronovo culture
[223]
in the Bactria-Margiana era, in present northern
Afghanistan.
[224]
The roots of the Andronovo culture go back further to the Sintashta culture, with funeral sacrifices
which show close parallels to the sacrificial funeral rites of the Rig Veda.
[225]
The Indo-Aryans split-off around 1800-1600 BCE from the Iranians,
[226]
where-after they were defeated and split
into two groups by the Iranians,
[227]
who dominated the Central Eurasian steppe zone
[228]
and "chased them to the
extermities of Central Eurasia."
[228]
One group were the Indo-Aryans who founded the Mitanni kingdom in northern
Syria
[224]
(ca.1500-1300 BCE). The other group were the Vedic people, who were pursued by the Iranians "across
the Near East to the Levant (the lands of the eastern Mediterranean littoral), across Iran into India."
[229]
During the Early Vedic period (c. 1500 - 1100 BCE
[216]
) Vedic tribes were pastoralists, wandering around in
north-west India.
[230]
After 1100 BCE, with the introduction of iron, the Vedic tribes moved into the western Ganges
Plain, adapting an agrarical lifestyle.
[216][231][232]
Rudimentary state-forms appeared, of which the Kuru-tribe and
realm was the most influential.
[216][233]
It was a tribal union, which developed into the first recorded state-level
society in South Asia around 1000 BCE.
[216]
It decisively changed the Vedic heritage of the early Vedic period,
collecting the Vedic hymns into collections, and developing new rituals which gained their position in Indian
civilization as the orthodox srauta rituals,
[216]
which contributed to the so-called "classical synthesis"
[120]
or "Hindu
synthesis".
[15]
Hinduism
23
Vedic religion
Main article: Historical Vedic religion
See also: Proto-Indo-European religion and Proto-Indo-Iranian religion
The Indo-Aryans brought with them their language
[234]
and religion.
[194][235]
The Vedic beliefs and practices of the
pre-classical era were closely related to the hypothesised Proto-Indo-European religion, and the Indo-Iranian
religion.
[236]
According to Anthony, the Old Indic religion probably emerged among Indo-European immigrants in
the contact zone between the Zeravshan River (present-day Uzbekistan) and (present-day) Iran.
[237]
It was "a
syncretic mixture of old Central Asian and new Indo-European elements",
[237]
which borrowed "distinctive religious
beliefs and practices"
[236]
from the BactriaMargiana Culture.
[236]
At least 383 non-Indo-European words were
borrowed from this culture, including the god Indra and the ritual drink Soma.
[238]
The Vedic religion of the later Vedic period co-existed with local religions, such as the Yaksha cults,
[120][239][240]
and was itself the product of "a composite of the indo-Aryan and Harappan cultures and civilizations".
[122]
David
Gordon White cites three other mainstream scholars who "have emphatically demonstrated" that Vedic religion is
partially derived from the Indus Valley Civilizations. Their religion was further developed when they migrated into
the Ganges Plain after c. 1100 BCE and became settled farmers,
[216][241][242]
further syncretising with the native
culturs of northern India.
[120]
Texts
The Vedic Samhitas are the textual artefacts from which this period derives its name. The Vedic texts were the texts
of the elite, and do not necessarily represent popular ideas or practices.
[243]
The oldest of these Vedic texts is the
Rigveda, composed between c.1500-1200 BCE,
[244][245][224]
though a wider approximation of c.1700-1100 BCE has
also been given.
[246][247]
Oberlies (p. 158) based on 'cumulative evidence' sets wide range of 17001100. Oberlies (1998:155) gives an
estimate of 1100 BCE for the youngest hymns in book 10.
[248]
The EIEC (s.v. Indo-Iranian languages, p. 306) gives 15001000.
Flood and Witzel both mention c.1500-1200 BCE.
[244][245]
Anthony mentions c.1500-1300.
[224]
Some writers out of the mainstream claim to trace astronomical references in the Rigveda, dating it to as early as
4000 BC, a date corresponding to the Neolithic late Mehrgarh culture; summarized by Klaus Klostermaier in a 1998
presentation
[249]
</ref> The Vedic texts were codified when the Indo-Aryans started to settle the Ganges-plain,
making the transition from a pastoralist to an agricultural society, and the need for a more stratified organisation of
society arose. This new society had to include older habitants of the Ganges-plain, and subsumed them under the
Aryan varnas, delegating political and religious authority to the Brahmins and Kshatriyas.
[120]
The Vedas centre on
the worship of deities such as Indra, Varuna and Agni, and on the Soma ritual. Fire-sacrifices, called yaja, are
performed by chanting Vedic mantras.
[250]
The 9th and 8th centuries BCE witnessed the composition of the earliest Upanishads.
:183
Upanishads form the
theoretical basis of classical Hinduism and are known as Vedanta (conclusion of the Veda). The older Upanishads
launched attacks of increasing intensity on the rituals. The diverse monistic speculations of the Upanishads were
synthesised into a theistic framework by the sacred Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita.
Hinduism
24
Universal order
Ethics in the Vedas are based on the concepts of Satya and Rta. Satya is the principle of integration rooted in the
Absolute.
[251]
ta is the expression of Satya, which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and
everything within it.
[252]
Conformity with ta would enable progress whereas its violation would lead to
punishment. Panikkar remarks:
ta is the ultimate foundation of everything; it is "the supreme", although this is not to be understood in
a static sense. [...] It is the expression of the primordial dynamism that is inherent in everything...."
[253]
The term "dharma" was already used in Brahmanical thought, where it was conceived as an aspect of Rta.
[254]
The
term rta is also known from the Proto-Indo-Iranian religion, the religion of the Indo-Iranian peoples prior to the
earliest Vedic (Indo-Aryan) and Zoroastrian (Iranian) scriptures. "Asha" is the Avestan language term corresponding
to Vedic language "ta".
[255]
"Second Urbanisation" (c. 500-200 BCE)
Main article: Shramana
Increasing urbanisation of India in the 7th and 6th centuries BCE led to the rise of new ascetic or shramana
movements which challenged the orthodoxy of rituals. Mahavira (c. 549477 BCE), proponent of Jainism, and
Buddha (c. 563-483), founder of Buddhism, were the most prominent icons of this movement.
:184
According to
Heinrich Zimmer, Jainism and Buddhism are part of the pre-Vedic heritage, which also includes Samkhya and Yoga:
[Jainism] does not derive from Brahman-Aryan sources, but reflects the cosmology and anthropology of
a much older pre-Aryan upper class of northeastern India - being rooted in the same subsoil of archaic
metaphysical speculation as Yoga, Sankhya, and Buddhism, the other non-Vedic Indian
systems.
[256][257]
and S.K. Belvakar & R.D. Ranade in History of Indian philosophy, 1974 (1927), p.81
& p.303-409.
[258]
</ref>
The Shramana tradition in part created the concept of the cycle of birth and death, the concept of samsara, and the
concept of liberation, which became characteristic for Hinduism.
[259][260]
Pratt notes that Oldenberg (1854-1920), Neumann (1865-1915) and Radhakrishnan (1888-1975) believed that the
Buddhist canon had been influenced by Upanishads, while la Vallee Poussin thinks the influence was nihil, and
"Eliot and several others insist that on some points the Buddha was directly antithetical to the Upanishads".
[261]
which had a specific understanding of Indian religions: "The inclusivist appropriation of other traditions, so
characteristic of neo-Vedanta ideology, appears on three basic levels. First, it is apparent in the suggestion that the
(Advaita) Vedanta philosophy of Sankara (c. eighth century CE) constitutes the central philosophy of Hinduism.
Second, in an Indian context, neo-Vedanta philosophy subsumes Buddhist philosophies in terms of its own Vedantic
ideology. The Buddha becomes a member of the Vedanta tradition, merely attempting to reform it from within.
Finally, at a global level, neo-Vedanta colonises the religious traditions of the world by arguing for the centrality of a
non-dualistic position as the philosophia perennis underlying all cultural differences."
[47]
</ref>
Hinduism
25
Classical Hinduism (c. 200 BCE-1100 CE)
Sacred Mount Kailash in Tibet is regarded as the spiritual abode of
Lord Shiva.
Pre-classical Hinduism (c. 200 BCE-300 CE)
Between 500
[15]
-200
[26]
BCE and c. 300 CE developed
the "Hindu synthesis",
[15][26]
which incorporated
shramanic and Buddhist influences
[26][29]
and the
emerging bhakti tradition into the Brahmanical fold via
the smriti literature.
[30][26]
This synthesis emerged
under the pressure of the success of Buddhism and
Jainism.
[130]
According to Embree, several other religious traditions
had existed side by side with the Vedic religion. These
indigenous religions "eventually found a place under
the broad mantle of the Vedic religion".
[262]
When
Brahmanism was declining
[263]
</ref> and had to compete with Buddhism and Jainism,
[264]
</ref> the popular
religions had the opportunity to assert themselves.
[262]
According to Embree,
[T]he Brahmanists themselves seem to have encouraged this development to some extent as a means of
meeting the challenge of the more heterodox movements. At the same time, among the indigenous
religions, a common allegiance to the authority of the Veda provided a thin, but nonetheless significant,
thread of unity amid their variety of gods and religiou practices.
[262]
According to Larson, the Brahmins responded with assimilation and consolidation. This is reflected in the smriti
literature which took shape in this period.
[265]
The smriti texts of the period between 200 BCE-100 CE proclaim the
authority of the Vedas, and acceptance of the Vedas became a central criterium for defining Hinduism over and
against the heterodoxies, which rejected the Vedas.
[266]
Most of the basic ideas and practices of classical Hinduism
derive from the new smriti literature, which form the basic inspiration for most Hindus.
[265][267]
</ref>
The major Sanskrit epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, which belong to the smriti, were compiled over a protracted
period during the late centuries BCE and the early centuries CE. They contain mythological stories about the rulers
and wars of ancient India, and are interspersed with religious and philosophical treatises. The later Puranas recount
tales about devas and devis, their interactions with humans and their battles against rakshasa. The Bhagavad Gita
"seals the achievement"
[268]
of the "consolidation of Hinduism",
[268]
integrating Brahmanic and shramanic ideas
with theistic devotion.
[268][269][270][271]
In early centuries CE several schools of Hindu philosophy were formally codified, including Samkhya, Yoga,
Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Purva-Mimamsa and Vedanta.
"Golden Age" (Gupta Empire) (c. 320-650 CE)
Main article: Gupta Empire
During this period, power was centralised, along with a growth of far distance trade, standardization of legal
procedures, and general spread of literacy.
[185]
Mahayana Buddhism flourished, but orthodox Brahmana culture
began to be rejuvenated by the patronage of the Gupta Dynasty,
[272]
who were Vaishnavas.
[273]
The position of the
Brahmans was reinforced,
[185]
the first Hindu temples dedicated to the gods of the Hindu deities, emerged during the
late Gupta age.
[185][274]
George Michell notes that earlier temples were build of timber, brick and plaster, while the
first stone temples appeared during the period of Gupta rule.
[275]
</ref> During the Gupta reign the first Puranas were
written,
[31]
which were used to disseminate "mainstream religious ideology amongst pre-literate and tribal groups
undergoing acculturation."
[31]
The Guptas patronised the newly emerging Puranic religion, seeking legitimacy for
their dynasty.
[273]
The resulting Puranic Hinduism, differed markedly from the earlier Brahmanism of the
Hinduism
26
Dharmasastras and the smritis.
[31]
This period saw the emergence of the Bhakti movement. The Bhakti movement was a rapid growth of bhakti
beginning in Tamil Nadu in Southern India with the Saiva Nayanars (4th to 10th centuries CE) and the Vaisnava
Alvars (3rd to 9th centuries CE) who spread bhakti poetry and devotion throughout India by the 12th to 18th
centuries CE.
[276]
According to P.S. Sharma "the Gupta and Harsha periods form really, from the strictly intellectual standpoint, the
most brilliant epocha in the development of Indian philosophy", as Hindu and Buddhist philosophies flourished side
by side. Charvaka, the atheistic materialist school, came to the fore in North India before the 8th century CE.
Late-Classical Hinduism - Puranic Hinduism (c. 650-1100 CE)
See also Late-Classical Age and Hinduism Middle Ages.
After the end of the Gupta Empire and the collapse of the Harsha Empire, power became decentralised in India.
Several larger kingdoms emerged, with "countless vasal states".
[186][277]
(7701125 CE
[186]
),
in the west and north the Gurjara-Pratihara
[186]
(7th10th century
[186]
),
in the southwest the Rashtrakuta Dynasty
[186]
(752973
[186]
),
in the Dekkhan the Chalukya dynasty
[186]
(7th8th century
[186]
),
and in the south the Pallava dynasty
[186]
(7th9th century
[186]
) and the Chola dynasty
[186]
(9th
century
[186]
).</ref> The kingdoms were ruled via a feudal system. Smaller kingdoms were dependent on the
protection of the larger kingdoms. "The great king was remote, was exalted and deified",
[278]
as reflected in the
Tantric Mandala, which could also depict the king as the centre of the mandala.
[279]
The disintegration of central power also lead to regionalisation of religiosity, and religious rivalry.
[280][281]
</ref>
Local cults and languages were enhanced, and the influence of "Brahmanic ritualistic Hinduism"
[280]
was
diminished.
[280]
Rural and devotional movements arose, along with Shaivism, Vaisnavism, Bhakti and Tantra,
[280]
though "sectarian groupings were only at the beginning of their development".
[280]
Religious movements had to
compete for recognition by the local lords.
[280]
Buddhism lost its position after the 8th century, and began to
disappear in India.
[280]
This was reflected in the change of puja-ceremonies at the courts in the 8th century, where
Hindu gods replaced the Buddha as the "supreme, imperial deity".
[282][283]
</ref>
The early mediaeval Puranas were composed to disseminate religious mainstream ideology among the pre-literate
tribal societies undergoing acculturation.
[31]
With the breakdown of the Gupta empire, gifts of virgin waste-land
were heaped on brahmanas,
[41][284]
to ensure provitable agrarical exploitation of land owned by the kings,
[41]
but
also to provide status to the new ruling classes.
[41]
Brahmanas spread further over India, interacting with local clans
with different religions and ideologies.
[41]
The Brahmanas used the Puranas to incorporate those clans into the
agrarical society and its accompanying religion and ideology.
[41]
According to Flood, "[t]he Brahmans who followed
the puranic religion became known as smarta, those whose worship was based on the smriti, or pauranika, those
based on the Puranas."
[285]
Local chiefs and peasants were absorbed into the varna, which was used to keep "control
over the new kshatriyas and shudras."
[286]
The Brahmanic group was enlarged by incorporating local subgroups,
such as local priets.
[41]
This also lead to a stratification within the Brahmins, with some Brahmins having a lower
status than other Brahmains.
[41]
The use of caste worked better with the new Puranic Hinduism than with the
shramanic sects.
[286]
The Puranic texts provided extensive genealogies which gave status to the new kshatriyas.
[286]
Buddhist myths pictured government as a contract between an elected ruler and the people.
[286]
And the Buddhist
chakkavatti
[287]
</ref> "was a distinct concept from the models of conquest held up to the kshatriyas and the
Rajputs."
[286]
The Brahmanism of the Dharmashastras and the smritis underwent a radical transformation at the hands of the
Purana composers, resulting in the rise of Puranic Hinduism,
[31]
"which like a colossus striding across the religious
firmanent soon came to overshadow all existing religions".
[288]
Puranic Hinduism was a "multiplex belief-system
which grew and expanded as it absorbed and synthesised polaristic ideas and cultic traditions"
[288]
It was
Hinduism
27
distinguished from its Vedic Smarta roots by its popular base, its theological and sectarioan pluralism, its Tantric
veneer, and the central place of bhakti.
[288]
Many local religions and traditions were assimilated into puranic Hinduism. Vishnu and Shiva emerged as the main
deities, together with Sakti/Deva.
[3]
Vishnu subsumed the cults of Narayana, Jagannaths, Venkateswara "and many
others".
[3]
Nath:
[S]ome incarnations of Vishnu such as Matsya, Kurma, Varaha and perhaps even Nrsimha helped to
incorporate certain popular totem symbols and creation myths, specially those related to wild boar,
which commonly permeate preliterate mythology, others such as Krsna and Balarama became
instrumental in assimilating local cults and myths centering around two popular pastoral and agricultural
gods.
[289]
Rama and Krsnabecame the focus of a strong bhakti tradition, which found expression particularly in the Bhagavata
Purana. The Krsna tradition subsumed numerous Naga, yaksa and hill and tree based cults.
[290]
Siva absorbed local
cults by the suffixing of Isa or Isvara to the name of the local deity, for example Bhutesvara, Hatakesvara,
Chandesvara.
[3]
In 8th-century royal circles, the Buddha started to be replaced by Hindu gods in pujas.
[]
</ref> This
also was the same period of time the Buddha was made into an avatar of Vishnu.
[291]
The non-dualistic Advaita Vedanta, which was influenced by Buddhism
[292][293]
and "that the nature of the world is
the four-cornered negation".
[294]
Gaudapada "wove [both doctrines] into a philosophy of the Mandukaya Upanisad,
which was further developed by Shankara".
[292]
Gaudapada also took over the Buddhist concept of "ajta" from
Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka philosophy,
[295][296]
which uses the term "anutpda".
[297]
</ref> was reformulated by
Shankara who systematised the works of preceding philosophers.
[298]
In modern times, due to the influence of
western Orientalism and Perennialism on Indian Neo-Vedanta and Hindu nationalism,
[47]
Advaita Vedanta has
acquired a broad acceptance in Indian culture and beyond as the paradigmatic example of Hindu spirituality.
[47]
Islamic rule and sects of Hinduism (c. 1100-1850 CE)
Main article: Islam in India
Though Islam came to Indian subcontinent in the early 7th century with the advent of Arab traders and the conquest
of Sindh, it started to become a major religion during the later Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent. During
this period Buddhism declined rapidly and large number of Hindus converted to Islam. Numerous Muslim rulers or
their army generals such as Aurangzeb and Malik Kafur destroyed Hindu temples
[299][300]
and persecuted
non-Muslims; however some, such as Akbar, were more tolerant. Hinduism underwent profound changes, in large
part due to the influence of the prominent teachers Ramanuja, Madhva, and Chaitanya. Followers of the Bhakti
movement moved away from the abstract concept of Brahman, which the philosopher Adi Shankara consolidated a
few centuries before, with emotional, passionate devotion towards the more accessible Avatars, especially Krishna
and Rama.
[301]
According to Nicholson, already between the 17th and the 16th century, "certain thinkers began to
treat as a single whole the diverse philosophival teachings of the Upanishads, epics, Puranas, and the schools known
retrospectively as the "six systems" (saddarsana) of mainstream Hindu philosophy."
[302][303]
Lorenzen locates the
origins of a distinct Hindu identity in the interaction between Muslims and Hindus,
[141]
and a proces of "mutual
self-definition with a contrasting Muslim other",
[142]
which started well before 1800.
[143]
Both the Indian and the
European thinkers who developed the term "Hinduism" in the 19th century were influenced by these
philosophers.
[68]
</ref> Michaels notes that a historicization emerged which preceded later nationalism, articulating
ideas which glorified Hinduism and the past.
[144]
Hinduism
28
Modern Hinduism (from c. 1850)
Russian Krishnaites celebrating Ratha Yatra. In the late 20th century
forms of Hinduism have grown indigenous roots in parts of Russia,
significantly in Altay where Hinduism is now the religion of 2% of
the population.
With the onset of the British Raj, the colonization of
India by the British, there also started a Hindu
renaissance in the 19th century, which profoundly
changed the understanding of Hinduism in both India
and the west.
[44]
Indology as an academic discipline of
studying Indian culture from a European perspective
was established in the 19th century, led by scholars
such as Max Mller and John Woodroffe. They brought
Vedic, Puranic and Tantric literature and philosophy to
Europe and the United States.Wikipedia:Citation
needed Western orientalist searched for the "essence"
of the Indian religions, discerning this in the Vedas,
[304]
and meanwhile creating the notion of "Hinduism" as a
unified body of religious praxis
[305]
and the popular
picture of 'mystical India'.
[305][44]
This idea of a Vedic
essence was taken over by Hindu reform movements as the Brahmo Samaj, which was supported for a while by the
Unitarian Church,
[306]
together with the ideas of Universalism and Perennialism, the idea that all religions share a
common mystic ground.
[307]
This "Hindu modernism", with proponents like Vivekananda, Aurobindo and
Radhakrishnan, became central in the popular understanding of Hinduism.
[308][53][54][55][47]
Influential 20th-century Hindus were Ramana Maharshi, B.K.S. Iyengar, Paramahansa Yogananda, Prabhupada
(founder of ISKCON), Sri Chinmoy, Swami Rama and others who translated, reformulated and presented
Hinduism's foundational texts for contemporary audiences in new iterations, raising the profiles of Yoga and
Vedanta in the West and attracting followers and attention in India and abroad.
In the 20th century, Hinduism also gained prominence as a political force and a source for national identity in India.
With origins traced back to the establishment of the Hindu Mahasabha in the 1910s, the movement grew with the
formulation and development of the Hindutva ideology in the following decades; the establishment of Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1925; and the entry, and later success, of RSS offshoots Jana Sangha and Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) in electoral politics in post-independence India. Hindu religiosity plays an important role in the
nationalist movement.
[309][310]
and D.T. Suzuki, who conjuncted Zen to Japanese nationalism and militarism, in
defense against both western hegemony and the pressure on Japanese Zen during the Meiji Restoration to conform to
Shinbutsu Bunri.
[311][312]
</ref>
[]
</ref>
Temple (Devasthana)
Main article: Hindu temple
Hinduism
29
Koneswaram Temple a 6th-century BCE Tamil
Saivate temple in Tirukonamalai, Sri Lanka
Amarnath Temple, attraction to pilgrimages as
before as 300 BCE.
The worship place is commonly known as Temple. Usually regarded as
Devasthana (God's place) or Mandir by the followers, construction of
temple and mode of worship is governed by several Sanskrit scriptures
called agamas, which deal with individual deities. There are substantial
differences in architecture, customs, rituals and traditions in temples in
different parts of India.
[313]
Hindus can engage in puja (worship or veneration), either at home or at
a temple. At home, Hindus often create a shrine with icons dedicated to
their chosen form(s) of God. Temples are usually dedicated to a
primary deity along with associated subordinate deities though some
commemorate multiple deities. Visiting temples is not obligatory, and
many visit temples only during religious festivals. Hindus perform
their worship through icons (murtis). The icon serves as a tangible link
between the worshiper and God. The image is often considered a
manifestation of God, since God is immanent. The Padma Purana
states that the mrti is not to be thought of as mere stone or wood but
as a manifest form of the Divinity. While there are Hindus who, do not
believe in worshiping God through icons, most notably those of rya
Samj.
Practices
Main articles: Puja (Hinduism), Yajna, Murti, Mandir, Hindu iconography, Japa and Mantra
See also: Initiation
The sacred Tulsi plant in front of the house.
Worship
Hindu practices generally involve seeking awareness of God and
sometimes also seeking blessings from Devas. Therefore,
Hinduism has developed numerous practices meant to help one
think of divinity in the midst of everyday life.
Mantras are invocations, praise and prayers that through their
meaning, sound, and chanting style help a devotee focus the mind
on holy thoughts or express devotion to God/the deities. Many
devotees perform morning ablutions at the bank of a sacred river
while chanting the Gayatri Mantra or Mahamrityunjaya mantras.
The epic Mahabharata extols Japa (ritualistic chanting) as the
greatest duty in the Kali Yuga (current age, 3102 BCE- present).
Many adopt Japa as their primary spiritual practice. Yoga is a
Hindu discipline which trains the consciousness for tranquility,
health and spiritual insight. This is done through a system of
postures and exercises to practise control of the body and
mind.
[314]
Hinduism
30
Hymns (Bhajans)
Main article: Bhajan
A Bhajan is any type of devotional song. It has no fixed form: it may be as simple as a mantra or kirtan or as
sophisticated as the dhrupad or kriti with music based on classical ragas and talas.
[315]
It is normally lyrical,
expressing love for the Divine. The name, a cognate of bhakti, meaning religious devotion, suggests its importance
to the bhakti movement that spread from the south of India throughout the entire subcontinent in the Moghul era.
Anecdotes and episodes from scriptures, the teachings of saints and descriptions of gods have all been the subject of
bhajans. The Dhrupad style, Sufi qawwali
[316]
and the kirtan or song in the Haridasi tradition are related to bhajan.
Nanak, Kabir, Meera, Narottama Dasa, Surdas and Tulsidas are notable composers. Traditions of bhajan such as
Nirguni, Gorakhanathi, Vallabhapanthi, Ashtachhap, Madhura-bhakti and the traditional South Indian form
Sampradya Bhajan each have their own repertoire and methods of singing.
According to Gag Rm Garg ;-
Hindu music is as old as the Sanskrit literature itself. And as a written science, the Hindu system of
music is the oldest in the world.
[317]
Rituals
Offerings to Agni during Vivah-homa in a Hindu
wedding
The vast majority of Hindus engage in religious rituals on a daily
basis. Most Hindus observe religious rituals at home. but this
varies greatly among regions, villages, and individuals. Devout
Hindus perform daily rituals such as worshiping at dawn after
bathing (usually at a family shrine, and typically includes lighting
a lamp and offering foodstuffs before the images of deities),
recitation from religious scripts, singing devotional hymns,
meditation, chanting mantras, reciting scriptures etc. A notable
feature in religious ritual is the division between purity and
pollution. Religious acts presuppose some degree of impurity or
defilement for the practitioner, which must be overcome or
neutralised before or during ritual procedures. Purification, usually
with water, is thus a typical feature of most religious action. Other
characteristics include a belief in the efficacy of sacrifice and
concept of merit, gained through the performance of charity or
good works, that will accumulate over time and reduce sufferings
in the next world. Vedic rites of fire-oblation (yajna) are now only
occasional practices, although they are highly revered in theory. In Hindu wedding and burial ceremonies, however,
the yaja and chanting of Vedic mantras are still the norm. The rituals, upacharas, change with time. For instance, in
the past few hundred years some rituals, such as sacred dance and music offerings in the standard Sodasa Upacharas
set prescribed by the Agama Shastra, were replaced by the offerings of rice and sweets.
Occasions like birth, marriage, and death involve what are often elaborate sets of religious customs. In Hinduism,
life-cycle rituals include Annaprashan (a baby's first intake of solid food), Upanayanam ("sacred thread ceremony"
undergone by upper-caste children at their initiation into formal education) and rddha (ritual of treating people to
a meal in return for prayers to 'God' to give peace to the soul of the deceased). For most people in India, the betrothal
of the young couple and the exact date and time of the wedding are matters decided by the parents in consultation
with astrologers. On death, cremation is considered obligatory for all except sanyasis, hijra, and children under
five.
[318]
Cremation is typically performed by wrapping the corpse in cloth and burning it on a pyre.
Hinduism
31
Pilgrimage
See also: Hindu Pilgrimage sites, Pilgrimage in Hinduism, Yatra and Tirtha and Kshetra
Pilgrimage to Kedarnath
Following pilgrimage sites are most famous amongst Hindu
devotees:
Old Holy cities as per Puranic Texts: Varanasi formerly known
as Kashi, Allahabad formerly known as Prayag,
Haridwar-Rishikesh, Mathura-Vrindavan, and Ayodhya.
Char Dham (Famous Four Pilgrimage sites): The four holy sites
Puri, Rameswaram, Dwarka, and Badrinath (or alternatively the
Himalayan towns of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and
Yamunotri) compose the Char Dham (four abodes) pilgrimage
circuit.
Kumbh Mela: The Kumbh Mela (the "pitcher festival") is one of the holiest of Hindu pilgrimages that is held every
12 years; the location is rotated among Allahabad, Haridwar, Nashik, and Ujjain.
Major Temple cities: Puri, which hosts a major Vaishnava Jagannath temple and Rath Yatra celebration; Katra,
home to the Vaishno Devi temple; Three comparatively recent temples of fame and huge pilgrimage are Shirdi,
home to Sai Baba of Shirdi, Tirumala - Tirupati, home to the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple; and Sabarimala,
where Swami Ayyappan is worshipped.
Shakti Peethas: Another important set of pilgrimages are the Shakti Peethas, where the Mother Goddess is
worshipped, the two principal ones being Kalighat and Kamakhya.
While there are different yet similar pilgrimage routes in different parts of India, all are respected equally well,
according to the universality of Hinduism.
Pilgrimage is not mandatory in Hinduism, though many adherents undertake them.
[319]
Symbolism
Hinduism has a developed system of symbolism and iconography to represent the sacred in art, architecture,
literature and worship. These symbols gain their meaning from the scriptures, mythology, or cultural traditions. The
syllable om (which represents the Para Brahman) and the swastika sign (which symbolises auspiciousness) have
grown to represent Hinduism itself, while other markings such as tilaka identify a follower of the faith. Hinduism
associates many symbols, which include the lotus (padma), chakra and veena, with particular deities.
Hinduism
32
Festivals
Main article: Hindu festivals
The festival of lights- Diwali, is celebrated by Hindus all over the world.
Hindu festivals (Sanskrit: Utsava; literally:
"to lift higher") are considered as symbolic
rituals that beautifully weave individual and
social life to dharma.
[320]
Hinduism has
many festivals throughout the year. The
Hindu calendar usually prescribe their dates.
The festivals typically celebrate events from
Hindu mythology, often coinciding with
seasonal changes. There are festivals which
are primarily celebrated by specific sects or
in certain regions of the Indian subcontinent.
Some widely observed Hindu festivals
include:
Makar Sankranti
Maha Shivaratri
Pongal
Holi
Navaratri
Vasant Panchami
Thaipusam
Ram Navami
Krishna Janmastami
Ganesh Chaturthi
Shigmo
Dussera
Durga Puja
Diwali
Gudi Padwa
Ugadi
Bihu
Bonalu
Rath Yatra
Guru Purnima
Raksha Bandhan
Onam
Gowri Habba
Chhath
Vishu
Hinduism
33
Some widely observed Hindu festivals
Holi in Utah, United
States
Official Diwali
celebrations in Mysore
Devi Shakthi at
Parashakthi
Temple, Pontiac,
USA adorned as
Goddesses
Lakshmi, Durga
and Saraswathi
during Navaratri
Ram (center), with
consort Sita, brother
Lakshmana and
devotee Hanuman
worshipped during
Ram Navami
The Jagannath Puri with
the three chariots of the
deities with the
Jaggannath Temple in the
background.
Goddess
Saraswati
during
Vasant
Panchami
in the
streets of
Kolkata.
A procession of
Akharas marching over
a makeshift bridge over
the Ganges river,
Kumbh Mela at
Prayag.
Ganesh Visarjan in
Mumbai.
Durga idol from a Durga
Puja pandal at West
Bengal
Krishna
Janmastami
youth
breaking
Dahi handi
in Mumbai
Lord shiva at
Banglore Maha
Shivaratri
Colourful
kites
being
sold in a
Shop in
Lucknow
during
Makar
Sankranti
An office
in Tamil
Nadu
decorated
for the
festival of
Pongal
Thiruvathira Kali
during Onam in
Kerala
Devotees observing
Chhath in Janakpur,
Nepal
Hinduism
34
Beliefs
Temple carving at Hoysaleswara temple representing
the Trimurti: Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu.
The identification of Hinduism as an independent religion separate
from Buddhism or Jainism consequently hinges on the affirmation
of its adherents that it is such.
[321]
Hinduism grants absolute and complete freedom of belief and
worship. Hinduism conceives the whole world as a single family
that deifies the one truth, and therefore it accepts all forms of
beliefs and dismisses labels of distinct religions which would
imply a division of identity. Hence, Hinduism is devoid of the
concepts of apostasy, heresy and blasphemy.
Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include (but are not restricted
to), Dharma (ethics/duties), Samsra (the continuing cycle of
birth, life, death and rebirth), Karma (action and subsequent
reaction), Moksha (liberation from samsara), and the various Yogas (paths or practices).
Concept of God
Main article: God in Hinduism
Krishna displays his Vishvarupa (Universal Form) to
Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning
monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism,
monism, and atheism among others; and its concept of God is
complex and depends upon each individual and the tradition and
philosophy followed. It is sometimes referred to as henotheistic
(i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the
existence of others), but any such term is an
overgeneralization.
[322]
The Nasadiya Sukta (Creation Hymn) of the Rig Veda is one of
the earliest texts
[323]
which "demonstrates a sense of metaphysical
speculation".
[323]
It says:
[324]
Who really knows?
Who will here proclaim it?
Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation?
The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this
universe.
Who then knows whence it has arisen?
The same hymn also speaks of "The One":
Then there was neither death nor immortality
nor was there then the torch of night and day.
The One breathed windlessly and self-sustaining.
There was that One then, and there was no other.
[325]
At first there was only darkness wrapped in
darkness.
All this was only unillumined water.
That One which came to be, enclosed in nothing,
arose at last, born of the power of heat.
[326][327]
Hinduism
35
Most Hindus believe that the spirit or soul the true "self" of every person, called the tman is eternal. According
to the monistic/pantheistic theologies of Hinduism (such as Advaita Vedanta school), this Atman is ultimately
indistinct from Brahman, the supreme spirit. Hence, these schools are called non-dualist. The goal of life, according
to the Advaita school, is to realise that one's tman is identical to Brahman, the supreme soul. The Upanishads state
that whoever becomes fully aware of the tman as the innermost core of one's own self realises an identity with
Brahman and thereby reaches moksha (liberation or freedom).
The schools of Vedanta and Nyaya states that karma itself proves the existence of God.
[328]
Nyaya being the school
of logic, makes the "logical" inference that the universe is an effect and it ought to have a creator.
Dualistic schools (see Dvaita and Bhakti) understand Brahman as a Supreme Being who possesses personality, and
they worship him or her thus, as Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, or Shakti, depending upon the sect. The tman is dependent
on God, while moksha depends on love towards God and on God's grace. When God is viewed as the supreme
personal being (rather than as the infinite principle), God is called Ishvara ("The Lord"), Bhagavan ("The
Auspicious One") or Parameshwara ("The Supreme Lord"). However interpretations of Ishvara vary, ranging from
non-belief in Ishvara by followers of Mimamsakas, to identifying Brahman and Ishvara as one, as in Advaita. In the
majority of traditions of Vaishnavism he is Vishnu, God, and the text of Vaishnava scriptures identify this Being as
Krishna, sometimes referred to as svayam bhagavan. However, under Shaktism, Devi or Adi parashakti is considered
as the Supreme Being and in Shaivism Shiva is considered Supreme.
The multitude of devas are viewed as avatars of the Brahman.
[329]
</ref> In discussing the Trimurti, Sir William
Jones states that Hindus "worship the Supreme Being under three forms Vishnu, Siva, Brahma...The fundamental
idea of the Hindu religion, that of metamorphoses, or transformations, is exemplified in the Avatars.
In Bhagavad Gita, for example, God is the sole repository of Gunas (attributes) also as:
[330]
His hands and feet are everywhere, He looks everywhere and all around, His eyes, ears and face point
to all directions, and all the three worlds are surrounded by these.
Atheistic doctrines dominate Hindu schools like Samkhya and Mimamsa. The Samkhyapravachana Sutra of
Samkhya argues that the existence of God (Ishvara) cannot be proved and hence cannot be admitted to exist.
[331]
Samkhya argue that an unchanging God cannot be the source of an ever changing world. It says God was a necessary
metaphysical assumption demanded by circumstances. Proponents of the school of Mimamsa, which is based on
rituals and orthopraxy states that the evidence allegedly proving the existence of God was insufficient. They argue
that there is no need to postulate a maker for the world, just as there is no need for an author to compose the Vedas
or a God to validate the rituals. Mimamsa considers the Gods named in the Vedas have no existence apart from the
mantras that speak their names. To that regard, the power of the mantras is what is seen as the power of Gods.
Hinduism
36
Devas and avatars
Main articles: Deva (Hinduism) and Avatar
Detail of the Phra Prang, the central tower of the Wat
Arun ("Temple of Dawn") in Bangkok, Thailand -
showing Indra on his three-headed elephant Erawan
(Airavata)
Krishna, the eighth incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu or
Svayam bhagavan, worshiped across a number of
traditions
The Hindu scriptures refer to celestial entities called Devas (or
dev in feminine form; devat used synonymously for Deva in
Hindi), "the shining ones", which may be translated into English as
"gods" or "heavenly beings".
[332]
The devas are an integral part of
Hindu culture and are depicted in art, architecture and through
icons, and mythological stories about them are related in the
scriptures, particularly in Indian epic poetry and the Puranas. They
are, however, often distinguished from Ishvara, a supreme
personal god, with many Hindus worshiping Ishvara in one of its
particular manifestations (ostensibly separate deities) as their ia
devat, or chosen ideal. The choice is a matter of individual
preference, and of regional and family traditions.
Hindu epics and the Puranas relate several episodes of the descent
of God to Earth in corporeal form to restore dharma to society and
to guide humans to moksha. Such an incarnation is called an
Avatar. The most prominent avatars are of Vishnu and include
Rama (the protagonist in Ramayana) and Krishna (a central figure
in the epic Mahabharata).
Karma and samsara
Main article: Karma in Hinduism
Karma translates literally as action, work, or deed, and can be
described as the "moral law of cause and effect". According to the
Upanishads an individual, known as the jiva-atma, develops
sanskaras (impressions) from actions, whether physical or mental.
The linga sharira, a body more subtle than the physical one but
less subtle than the soul, retains impressions, carrying them over
into the next life, establishing a unique trajectory for the
individual. Thus, the concept of a universal, neutral, and
never-failing karma intrinsically relates to reincarnation as well as
to one's personality, characteristics, and family. Karma binds
together the notions of free will and destiny.
This cycle of action, reaction, birth, death and rebirth is a
continuum called samsara. The notion of reincarnation and karma
is a strong premise in Hindu thought. The Bhagavad Gita states:
As a person puts on new clothes and discards old and
torn clothes,
similarly an embodied soul enters new material
bodies, leaving the old bodies. (B.G. 2:22)
[333]
Hinduism
37
Samsara provides ephemeral pleasures, which lead people to desire rebirth so as to enjoy the pleasures of a
perishable body. However, escaping the world of samsara through moksha is believed to ensure lasting happiness
and peace.
[334][335]
It is thought that after several reincarnations, an atman eventually seeks unity with the cosmic
spirit (Brahman/Paramatman).
The ultimate goal of life, referred to as moksha, nirvana or samadhi, is understood in several different ways: as the
realization of one's union with God; as the realization of one's eternal relationship with God; realization of the unity
of all existence; perfect unselfishness and knowledge of the Self; as the attainment of perfect mental peace; and as
detachment from worldly desires. Such realization liberates one from samsara and ends the cycle of rebirth. Due to
belief in the indestructibility of the soul, death is deemed insignificant with respect to the cosmic self. Thence, a
person who has no desire or ambition left and no responsibilities remaining in life or one affected by a terminal
disease may embrace death by Prayopavesa.
The exact conceptualization of moksha differs among the various Hindu schools of thought. For example, Advaita
Vedanta holds that after attaining moksha an atman no longer identifies itself with an individual but as identical with
Brahman in all respects. The followers of Dvaita (dualistic) schools identify themselves as part of Brahman, and
after attaining moksha expect to spend eternity in a loka (heaven),
[336]
in the company of their chosen form of
Ishvara. Thus, it is said that the followers of dvaita wish to "taste sugar", while the followers of Advaita wish to
"become sugar".
Objectives of human life
From the Ramayana
Main article: Purusharthas
See also: Initiation, Dharma, Artha, Kma and Moka
Classical Hindu thought accepts the following objectives of human
life, that which is sought as human purpose, aim, or end, is known
as the purusarthas:
[337]
Dharma (righteousness, ethics)
Main article: Ethics of Hinduism
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad views dharma as the universal
principle of law, order, harmony, all in all truth, that sprang first
from Brahman. It acts as the regulatory moral principle of the
Universe. It is sat (truth), a major tenet of Hinduism. This
hearkens back to the conception of the Rigveda that "Ekam Sat,"
(Truth Is One), of the idea that Brahman is "Sacchidananda"
(Truth-Consciousness-Bliss). Dharma is not just law, or harmony,
it is pure Reality. In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad's own words:
Verily, that which is Dharma is truth, Therefore they say of
a man who speaks truth, "He speaks the Dharma,"
or of a man who speaks the Dharma, "He speaks the Truth.", Verily, both these things are the same.
(Brh. Upanishad, 1.4.14) (2)
In the Mahabharata, Krishna defines dharma as upholding both this-worldly and other-worldly affairs. (Mbh
12.110.11). The word Santana means 'eternal', 'perennial', or 'forever'; thus, 'Santana Dharma' signifies that it is the
dharma that has neither beginning nor end.
Hinduism
38
Artha (livelihood, wealth)
Artha is objective & virtuous pursuit of wealth for livelihood, obligations and economic prosperity. It is inclusive of
political life, diplomacy and material well-being. The doctrine of Artha is called Arthashastra, amongst the most
famous of which is Kautilya Arthashastra.
Kma (sensual pleasure)
Kma (Sanskrit, Pali; Devanagari: ) means desire, wish, passion, longing, pleasure of the senses, the aesthetic
enjoyment of life, affection, or love. However, this is only acceptable within marriage.
Moka (liberation, freedom from samsara)
Moksha (Sanskrit: moka) or mukti (Sanskrit: ), literally "release" (both from a root muc "to let loose, let
go"), is the last goal of life. It is liberation from samsara and the concomitant suffering involved in being subject to
the cycle of repeated death and reincarnation.
Yoga
Main article: Yoga
A statue of Shiva in yogic meditation.
In whatever way a Hindu defines the goal of life, there are several
methods (yogas) that sages have taught for reaching that goal.
Texts dedicated to Yoga include the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga
Sutras, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and, as their philosophical and
historical basis, the Upanishads. Paths that one can follow to
achieve the spiritual goal of life (moksha, samadhi or nirvana)
include:
Bhakti Yoga (the path of love and devotion)
Karma Yoga (the path of right action)
Rja Yoga (the path of meditation)
Jna Yoga (the path of wisdom)
An individual may prefer one or some yogas over others,
according to his or her inclination and understanding. Some
devotional schools teach that bhakti is the only practical path to
achieve spiritual perfection for most people, based on their belief that the world is currently in the Kali Yuga (one of
four epochs which are part of the Yuga cycle).
[338]
Practice of one yoga does not exclude others. Many schools
believe that the different yogas naturally blend into and aid other yogas. For example, the practice of jnana yoga, is
thought to inevitably lead to pure love (the goal of bhakti yoga), and vice versa.
[339]
Someone practicing deep
meditation (such as in raja yoga) must embody the core principles of karma yoga, jnana yoga and bhakti yoga,
whether directly or indirectly.
Scriptures
Main articles: ruti, Smriti and List of Hindu scriptures
Hinduism is based on "the accumulated treasury of spiritual laws discovered by different persons in different
times".
[340][341]
The scriptures were transmitted orally in verse form to aid memorisation, for many centuries before
they were written down. Over many centuries, sages refined the teachings and expanded the canon. In post-Vedic
and current Hindu belief, most Hindu scriptures are not typically interpreted literally. More importance is attached to
the ethics and metaphorical meanings derived from them. Most sacred texts are in Sanskrit. The texts are classified
into two classes: Shruti and Smriti.
Hinduism
39
Shruti
The Rigveda is one of the oldest religious texts. This Rigveda manuscript is in Devanagari
Shruti (lit: that which is heard)
[342]
primarily refers to the Vedas, which form the earliest record of the Hindu
scriptures. While many Hindus revere the Vedas as eternal truths revealed to and heard by the ancient sages
(is),
[343]
some devotees do not associate the creation of the Vedas with a god or person. They are thought of as the
laws of the spiritual world, which would still exist even if they were not revealed to the sages.
[344]
Hindus believe
that because the spiritual truths of the Vedas are eternal, they continue to be expressed in new ways.
[345]
There are four Vedas (called g-, Sma-, Yajus- and Atharva-). The Rigveda is the first and most important
Veda.
[346]
Each Veda is divided into four parts: the primary one, the Veda proper, being the Sahit, which contains
sacred mantras. The other three parts form a three-tier ensemble of commentaries, usually in prose and are believed
to be slightly later in age than the Sahit. These are: the Brhmaas, rayakas, and the Upanishads. The first two
parts were subsequently called the Karmaka (ritualistic portion), while the last two form the Jnaka
(knowledge portion). While the Vedas focus on rituals, the Upanishads focus on spiritual insight and philosophical
teachings, and discuss Brahman and reincarnation.
A well known shloka from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is:
Lead Us From the Unreal To the Real
Lead Us From Darkness To Light
Lead Us From Death To Immortality
Om Let There Be Peace Peace Peace.
[347][348]
Hinduism
40
Smritis
Bhagavad Gita, a 19th-century manuscript
Hindu texts other than the Shrutis are collectively called the
Smritis (memory). The most notable of the smritis are the epics,
which consist of the Mahbhrata and the Rmyaa. The
Bhagavad Gt is an integral part of the Mahabharata and one of
the most popular sacred texts of Hinduism. It contains
philosophical teachings from Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu,
told to the prince Arjuna on the eve of a great war. The Bhagavad
Gt, spoken by Krishna, is described as the essence of the
Vedas.
[349]
However Gita, sometimes called Gitopanishad, is
more often placed in the Shruti, category, being Upanishadic in
content.
[350]
Puras, which illustrate Hindu ideas through vivid
narratives come under smritis. Other texts include Dev
Mahtmya, the Tantras, the Yoga Sutras, Tirumantiram, Shiva
Sutras and the Hindu gamas. The Manusmriti, is a prescriptive
lawbook which lays the societal codes of social stratification
which would later help the society to create Indian caste system.
A well known verse from Bhagavad Gita describing a concept in
Karma Yoga is explained as follows
[351][352]
To action alone hast thou a right and never at all to
its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive;
neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction.
(2.47)
Institutions
Denominations
The Mother Temple of Besakih in Bali, Indonesia.
Main article: Hindu denominations
Hinduism has no central doctrinal authority and many practising
Hindus do not claim to belong to any particular denomination.
However four major denominations are recognised: Vaishnavism,
Shaivism, Shaktism and Smartism.
[353]
The denominations differ
primarily in the god worshipped as the Supreme One and in the
traditions that accompany worship of that god.
Vaishnavas worship Vishnu as the supreme God; Shaivites
worship Shiva as the supreme; Shaktas worship Shakti (power)
personified through a female divinity or Mother Goddess, Devi;
while Smartas believe in the essential oneness of five (panchadeva) or six (Shanmata
[354]
</ref> deities as
personifications of the Supreme.
Vaishnavism is the sect within Hinduism that worships Vishnu, the preserver god of the Hindu Trimurti ('three
images', the
Hinduism
41
Padmanabhaswamy Temple, the richest temple in the
world
Trinity), and his ten incarnations. It is a devotional sect, and
followers worship many deities, including Ram and Krishna, both
thought to be incarnations of Vishnu. The adherents of this sect are
generally non-ascetic, monastic and devoted to meditative practice
and ecstatic chanting. Vaishnavites are mainly dualistic. They are
deeply devotional. Their religion is rich in saints, temples and
scriptures.
Saivism is the Hindu sect that worships the god Shiva. Shiva is
sometimes depicted as the fierce god Bhairava. Saivists are more
attracted to asceticism than adherents of other Hindu sects, and
may be found wandering India with ashen faces performing
self-purification rituals. They worship in the temple and practice yoga, striving to be one with Siva within.
Cults of goddess worship are ancient in India. The branch of Hinduism that worships the goddess, known as Devi, is
called Shaktism. Followers of Shaktism recognize Shakti as the power that underlies the male principle, and Devi is
often depicted as Parvati the consort of Shiva or as Lakshmi the consort of Vishnu. She is also depicted in other
guises, such as the fierce Kali or Durga. Shaktism is closely related with Tantric Hinduism, which teaches rituals and
practices for purification of the mind and body. The Mother Goddess has many forms. Some are gentle, some are
fierce. Shaktas use chants, real magic, holy diagrams, yoga and rituals to call forth cosmic forces.
Smartism, a relatively modern Hindu tradition (compared to the three older traditions ), invites the worship of more
than one god including Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha (the elephant god) and Surya (the sun god) among other gods
and goddesses. It is not as overtly sectarian as either Vashnavism or Saivism and is based on the recognition that
Brahman (God) is the highest principle in the universe and pervades all of existence. Generally Smartas worship the
Supreme in one of six forms: Ganesha, Siva, Sakti, Vishnu, Surya and Skanda. Because they accept all the major
Hindu Gods, they are known as liberal or nonsectarian. They follow a philosophical, meditative path, emphasizing
man's oneness with God through understanding.
The Western conception of what Hinduism is has been defined by the Smarta view;Wikipedia:Citation needed many
Hindus, who may not understand or follow Advaita philosophy, in contemporary Hinduism, invariably follow the
Shanmata belief worshiping many forms of God.Wikipedia:Citation needed One commentator, noting the influence
of the Smarta tradition, remarked that although many Hindus may not strictly identify themselves as Smartas but, by
adhering to Advaita Vedanta as a foundation for non-sectarianism, are indirect followers.
[355]
Other denominations like Ganapatya (the cult of Ganesha) and Saura (Sun worship) are not as widespread.
There are movements that are not easily placed in any of the above categories, such as Swami Dayananda Saraswati's
Arya Samaj, which rejects image worship and veneration of multiple deities. It focuses on the Vedas and the Vedic
fire sacrifices (yaja).
The Tantric traditions have various sects, as Banerji observes:
Tantras are... also divided as stika or Vedic and nstika or non-Vedic. In accordance with the
predominance of the deity the stika works are again divided as kta (Shakta), aiva (Shaiva), Saura,
Gapatya and Vaiava (Vaishnava).
Hinduism
42
Varnas
Main article: Varna (Hinduism)
See also: List of Shudra Hindu saints and Dalit saints of Hinduism
Hindu society has been categorised into four classes, called varnas.They are,
the Brahmins: Vedic teachers and priests;
the Kshatriyas: warriors, nobles, and kings;
the Vaishyas: farmers, merchants, and businessmen; and
the Shudras: servants and labourers.
Goddess Adi Shakthi at the Parashakthi Temple in
Pontiac, US
The Bhagavad Gt links the varna to an individual's duty
(svadharma), inborn nature (svabhva), and natural tendencies
(gua). Gita's conception of varna allowed Aurobindo to derive
his doctrine that "functions of a man ought to be determined by his
natural turn, gift and capacities." The Manusmiti categorises the
different castes.
[356]
Some mobility and flexibility within the varnas challenge
allegations of social discrimination in the caste system, as has been
pointed out by several sociologists, although some other scholars
disagree. Scholars debate whether the so-called caste system is
part of Hinduism sanctioned by the scriptures or social
custom.
[357]
</ref> And various contemporary scholars have
argued that the caste system was constructed by the British colonial regime. The religious teacher Sri Ramakrishna
(18361886) explained that
Lovers of God do not belong to any caste... . A brahmin without this love is no longer a brahmin. And
a pariah with the love of God is no longer a pariah. Through bhakti (devotion to God) an untouchable
becomes pure and elevated.
A renunciant man of knowledge is usually called Varnatita or "beyond all varnas" in Vedantic works. The bhiksu is
advised to not bother about the caste of the family from which he begs his food. Scholars like Adi Sankara affirm
that not only is Brahman beyond all varnas, the man who is identified with Him also transcends the distinctions and
limitations of caste.
[358]
Hinduism
43
Ashramas
Main article: Ashrama
A Balmiki Ashram
Traditionally the life of a Hindu is divided into four shramas
(phases or stages; unrelated meanings include monastery). The
first part of one's life, Brahmacharya, the stage as a student, is
spent in celibate, controlled, sober and pure contemplation under
the guidance of a Guru, building up the mind for spiritual
knowledge. Grihastha is the householder's stage, in which one
marries and satisfies kma and artha in one's married and
professional life respectively (see the goals of life). The moral
obligations of a Hindu householder include supporting one's
parents, children, guests and holy figures. Vnaprastha, the
retirement stage, is gradual detachment from the material world.
This may involve giving over duties to one's children, spending
more time in religious practices and embarking on holy
pilgrimages. Finally, in Sannysa, the stage of asceticism, one
renounces all worldly attachments to secludedly find the Divine
through detachment from worldly life and peacefully shed the
body for Moksha.
[359]
Monasticism
Main article: Sannyasa
A sadhu in Madurai, India.
Some Hindus choose to live a monastic life (Sannysa) in pursuit
of liberation or another form of spiritual perfection. Monastics
commit themselves to a life of simplicity, celibacy, detachment
from worldly pursuits, and the contemplation of God. A Hindu
monk is called a sanys, sdhu, or swmi. A female renunciate is
called a sanysini. Renunciates receive high respect in Hindu
society because their outward renunciation of selfishness and
worldliness serves as an inspiration to householders who strive for
mental renunciation. Some monastics live in monasteries, while
others wander from place to place, trusting in God alone to
provide for their needs. It is considered a highly meritorious act
for a householder to provide sdhus with food or other necessaries. Sdhus strive to treat all with respect and
compassion, whether a person may be poor or rich, good or wicked, and to be indifferent to praise, blame, pleasure,
and pain.
Ahimsa, vegetarianism and other food customs
Main articles: Ahimsa, Vegetarianism and religion and Cattle in Religion
There are a number of animal sacrifices mentioned in the Vedas such as mantras for the sacrifice of a Goat in the
Rig,
[360]
the Horse sacrifice (Ashwamedha) and the Human sacrifice (Purushamedha) in the Yajur,
[361]
whilst in the
Jyotistoma sacrifice three animal-sacrifices are performed, namely, Agnisomiya, Savaniya and Anubandhya.
[362][363]
The Yajurveda is considered the Veda of sacrifices and rituals,
[364][365]
and consists of a number of animal
sacrifices, such as mantras and procedures for the sacrifices of a white goat to Vayu,
[366]
a calf to Sarasvati, a
speckled Ox to Savitr, a Bull to Indra, a castrated Ox to Varuna and so on.
[367][368]
Hinduism
44
A reaction against these sacrifices came from the Charvakas, who documented their criticism in the Barhaspatya
sutras in the 3rd century BCE as follows:
If a beast slain in Jyotistoma rite will itself go to heaven, why then does not the sacrificer forthwith offer
his own father?
[369]
The Buddha forbade drinking and Buddhist kings such as Ashoka influenced society by banning animal sacrifices.
During the rule of the Buddhist king, Ashoka Maurya, an edict was passed and inscribed in a rock proclaiming:
This is the edict of the beloved of the Gods, Raja Piyadasi. The putting to death of animals is to be
entirely discontinued.
From here on, social reaction with regard to the sacrificial (brahmanas) texts can be traced. Panini says there are two
kinds of brahmanas, the old brahmanas and the new brahmanas. In the old brahmanas, such as the Aitareya
Brahmana of the Rig, sacrifices were really offered, but in later brahmanas such as the Shatapatha Brahmana animals
were let loose after being tied to sacrificial posts. This was a reaction to the rise of the Shramanic religion, such as
Buddhism and Jainism; which resulted in Ahimsa put into practice amongst practitioners of the Brahmanas.
Hindus advocate the practice of ahis (non-violence) and respect for all life because divinity is believed to
permeate all beings, including plants and non-human animals.
[370]
The term ahis appears in the Upanishads, the
epic Mahabharata
[371]
and Ahis is the first of the five Yamas (vows of self-restraint) in Patanjali's Yoga
Sutras.
[372]
and the first principle for all member of Varnashrama Dharma (brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra)
in Law of Manu (book 10, sutra 63 : Ahimsa, satya, asteya, shaucam and indrayanigraha, almost similar to main
principles of jainism).
[373][374]
A goshala or cow shelter at Guntur
In accordance with ahis, many Hindus embrace vegetarianism
to respect higher forms of life. Estimates of the number of lacto
vegetarians in India (includes adherents of all religions) vary
between 20% and 42%.
[375]
The food habits vary with the
community and region: for example, some castes having fewer
vegetarians and coastal populations relying on seafood. Some
avoid meat only on specific holy days. Observant Hindus who do
eat meat almost always abstain from beef. The cow in Hindu
society is traditionally identified as a caretaker and a maternal
figure,
[376]
and Hindu society honours the cow as a symbol of
unselfish giving.
[377]
Cow-slaughter is legally banned in almost all
states of India.
There are many Hindu groups that have continued to abide by a strict vegetarian diet in modern times. One example
is the movement known as ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), whose followers "not only
abstain from meat, fish, and fowl, but also avoid certain vegetables that are thought to have negative properties, such
as onion, garlic and mushroom."
[378][379]
A second example is the Swaminarayan Movement. The followers of this
Hindu group also staunchly adhere to a diet that is devoid of meat, eggs, and seafood.
[380]
Hinduism
45
Rajasthani thali.
Thus, another reason that dietary purity is so eminent within
Hinduism is because of "the idea that food reflects the general
qualities of nature: purity, energy, [and] inertia." It follows that a
healthy diet should be one that promotes purity within an
individual.
Based on this reasoning, Hindus should avoid or minimise the
intake of foods that do not promote purity. These foods include
onion and garlic, which are regarded as rajasic (a state which is
characterised by "tension and overbearing demeanor") foods, and
meat, which is regarded as tamasic (a state which is characterised
by "anger, greed, and jealousy").
[381]
Some Hindus from certain sects - generally Shakta, certain Shudra and Kshatriya castes and certain Eastern Indian
and East Asian regions; practise animal sacrifice (bali), although most Hindus, including the majority of Vaishnava
and Shaivite Hindus abhor it.
Conversion
See also: List of converts to Hinduism and Conversion to Hinduism
Spread of Hindu practices
Hindu practices such as yoga, ayurvedic health, divination (astrology, palmistry, numerology), tantric sexuality
through Neotantra and kama sutra have reached beyond Hindu communities and have been accepted by several
non-Hindus:
"Hinduism is attracting Western adherents through the affiliated practice of yoga. Yoga centers in the
Westwhich generally advocate vegetarianismattract young, well-educated Westerners who are
drawn by yoga's benefits for the physical and emotional health; there they are introduced to the Hindu
philosophical system taught by most yoga teachers, known as Vedanta."
[382]
It is estimated that around 30 million Americans and 5 million Europeans regularly practice some form of Hatha
Yoga.
[383]
In Australia, the number of practitioners is about 300,000.
[384]
In New Zealand the number is also around
300,000.
[385]
Demographics
Hinduism - Percentage by country
Hinduism
46
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edit
[386]
Hinduism is a major religion in India. Hinduism was followed by around 80.5% of the country's population of 1.21
billion (2012 estimate) (960 million adherents).
[387]
Other significant populations are found in Nepal (23 million),
Bangladesh (15 million) and the Indonesian island of Bali (3.3 million). The majority of the Vietnamese Cham
people also follow Hinduism.
Countries with the greatest proportion of Hindus from Hinduism by country (as of 2008[388]):
1. Nepal 81.3%
[389]
2. India 80.5%
3. Mauritius 48.5%
4. Guyana 28%
[390]
5. Fiji 27.9%
[391]
6. Bhutan 25%
[392]
7. Trinidad and Tobago 22.5%
8. Suriname 20%
[393]
9. Sri Lanka 12.6%
[394]
10. Bangladesh 9.6%
11. Qatar 7.2%
12. Runion 6.7%
13. Malaysia 6.3%
[395]
14. Bahrain 6.25%
15. Kuwait 6%
16. Singapore 5.1%
17. United Arab Emirates 5%
18. Oman 3%
19. Belize 2.3%
20. Seychelles 2.1%
[396]
Demographically, Hinduism is the world's third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam.
Hinduism
47
Notes
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Hinduism& action=edit
[2] Hinduism is variously defined as a "religion", "set of religious beliefs and practices", "religious tradition" etc. For a discussion on the topic,
see: "Establishing the boundaries" in Gavin Flood 2008 (2003), pp. 1-17.<ref name="FOOTNOTEFlood20081-17">Flood 2008, p.1-17.
[3] [3] Nath 2001, p.31.
[4] [4] See:
"Oldest religion":
Fowler: "probably the oldest religion in the world"<ref name="FOOTNOTEFowler19971">Fowler 1997, p.1.
[5] [5] Gellman 2011.
[6] [6] Stevens 2001, p.191.
[7] [7] Sarma 1953.
[8] [8] Merriam-Webster 2000, p.751.
[9] [9] Klostermaier 2007, p.1.
[10] [10] Laderman 2003, p.119.
[11] [11] Turner 1996-B, p.359.
[12] [12] Smart 1993, p.1.
[13] [13] Knott 1998, p.5.
[14] [14] Lockard 2007, p.50.
[15] [15] Hiltebeitel 2007, p.12.
[16] [16] Samuel 2010, p.193.
[17] [17] Flood 1996, p.16.
[18] [18] Narayanan 2009, p.11.
[19] [19] Osborne 2005, p.9.
[20] Among its roots are the Vedic religion<ref name="FOOTNOTEFlood199616">Flood 1996, p.16.
[21] [21] Samuel 2010, p.48-53.
[22] [22] Lockard 2007, p.52.
[23] [23] Hiltebeitel 2007, p.3.
[24] [24] Jones 2006, p.xviii.
[25] [25] Gomez 2013, p.42.
[26] [26] Larson 2009.
[27] After the Vedic period, around the beginning of the Common Era,<ref group="note">Between 500<ref
name="FOOTNOTEHiltebeitel200712">Hiltebeitel 2007, p.12.
[28] [28] Fuller 2004, p.88.
[29] [29] Cousins 2010.
[30] [30] Hiltebeitel 2007, p.13.
[31] [31] Nath 2001, p.19.
[32] The date of the production of the written texts does not define the date of origin of the Puranas;<ref
name="FOOTNOTEJohnson2009247">Johnson 2009, p.247.
[33] [33] Johnson 2009, p.247.
[34] [34] Samuel 2010, p.193-228.
[35] [35] Raju 1992, p.31.
[36] University of Oslo, The Mauryan Empire, study course (http:/ / www. uio. no/ studier/ emner/ hf/ iakh/ HIS2172/ v09/
undervisningsmateriale/ HIS2172-Mauryan_Empire.pdf)
[37] [37] Samuel 2010, p.193-228, 339-353, specifically p.76-79 and p.199.
[38] [38] Larson 1995, p.81.
[39] [39] Flood 1996, p.129.
[40] It was aided by the settlement of Brahmins on land granted by local rulers,<ref name="FOOTNOTESamuel201077">Samuel 2010, p.77.
[41] [41] Nath 2001.
[42] [42] Nath 2001, p.31-34.
[43] [43] Flood 1996, p.128, 129, 148.
[44] [44] King 2002.
[45] [45] Flood 1996.
[46] [46] Flood 1996, p.258.
[47] [47] King 1999.
[48] Also called "Hindu modernism"<ref name="FOOTNOTEFlood1996258">Flood 1996, p.258.
[49] [49] Halbfass 2007, p.307.
[50] [50] Halbfass 1995, p.9,21(n33).
Hinduism
48
[51] As reflected in the emphasis on personal "religious experience" as the validation of religious truths.<ref
name="FOOTNOTERambachan1944">Rambachan 1944.
[52] [52] King 1999, p.171.
[53] [53] Muesse 2011, p.3-4.
[54] [54] Doniger 2010, p.18.
[55] [55] Jouhki 2006, p.10-11.
[56] [56] Michaels 2004.
[57] [57] Flood 1996, p.6.
[58] The word Sindhu is first mentioned in the Rigveda.<ref>"India", Oxford English Dictionary, second edition, 2100a.d. Oxford University
Press.
[59] Rig Veda (http:/ / www. sacred-texts. com/ hin/ rigveda/ rv10075. htm)
[60] Gavin Flood adds: "In Arabic texts, Al-Hind is a term used for the people of modern-day India and 'Hindu', or 'Hindoo', was used towards
the end of the eighteenth century by the British to refer to the people of 'Hindustan', the people of northwest India. Eventually 'Hindu' became
virtually equivalent to an 'Indian' who was not a Muslim, Sikh, Jain or Christian, thereby encompassing a range of religious beliefs and
practices. The '-ism' was added to Hindu in around 1830 to denote the culture and religion of the high-caste Brahmans in contrast to other
religions, and the term was soon appropriated by Indians themselves in the context of building a national identity opposed to colonialism,
though the term 'Hindu' was used in Sanskrit and Bengali hagiographic texts in contrast to 'Yavana' or Muslim as early as the sixteenth
century".<ref name="FOOTNOTEFlood19966">Flood 1996, p.6.
[61] Thapar, R. 1993. Interpreting Early India. Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 77
[62] In ancient lietrature the name Bharata or Bharata VRasa was being used.<ref name="FOOTNOTEGarg19923">Garg 1992, p.3.
[63] [63] Sweetman 2004.
[64] [64] Sweetman mentions:
Wilhelm Halbfass (1988), India and Europe
IXth European Conference on Modern Asian Studies in Heidelberg (1989), Hinduism Reconsidered
Ronald Inden, Imagining India
Carol Breckenridge and Peter van der Veer, Orientalism and the Postcolonial Predicament
Vasudha Dalmia and Heinrich von Stietencron, Representing Hinduism
S.N. Balagangadhara, The Heathen in his Blindness...
Thomas Trautmann, Aryans and British India
Richard King (1989), Orientalism and religion
[65] [65] Nussbaum 2009.
[66] See Rajiv Malhotra and Being Different for a critic who gained widespread attention outside the academia, Invading the Sacred, and Hindu
studies.
[67] [67] Hinduism is variously defined as a "religion", "set of religious beliefs and practices", "religious tradition" etc. For a discussion on the topic,
see: "Establishing the boundaries" in Gavin Flood (2003), pp. 1-17.
[68] [68] Nicholson 2010, p.2.
[69] [69] Lorenzen 2006, p.1-36.
[70] [70] King 1999, p.169.
[71] Sweetman identifies several areas in which "there is substantial, if not universal, agreement that colonialism influenced the study of
Hinduism":<ref name="FOOTNOTESweetman200413">Sweetman 2004, p.13.
[72] [72] Sweetman 2004, p.13.
[73] [73] Sweetamn 2004, p.13.
[74] Sweetman cites Richard King (1999) p.128.<ref name="FOOTNOTEKing1999">King 1999.
[75] [75] Sweetman 2013, p.13-14.
[76] [76] Sweetman 2004, p.13-14.
[77] [77] Sweetman 2004, p.14.
[78] [78] Sweetman 2004, p.14-15.
[79] [79] Sweetman 2004, p.15.
[80] [80] Sweetamn 2004, p.15, 16.
[81] Sweetman cites Viswanathan (2003), Colonialism and the Construction of Hinduism, p.26
[82] [82] Feuerstein 200, p.600.
[83] [83] Clarke 2006, p.209.
[84] [84] Flood 1996, p.256-261.
[85] [85] Flood 1996, p.257.
[86] [86] Flood 1996, p.259.
[87] [87] Flood 1996, p.248.
[88] [88] Flood 1996, p.249.
[89] Bhagavad Gita, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
[90] [90] King 2001.
Hinduism
49
[91] It can be traced back to William James, who used a term called "religious experience" in his book, The Varieties of Religious
Experience.<ref name="FOOTNOTEHori199947">Hori 1999, p.47.
[92] [92] Sharf 2000.
[93] [93] Flood 1996, p.265.
[94] [94] Flood 1996, p.267.
[95] [95] Flood 1996, p.267-268.
[96] [96] Turner 1996-A, p.275.
[97] Ferro-Luzzi, (1991)The Polythetic-Prototype Approach to Hinduism in G.D. Sontheimer and H. Kulke (ed.) Hinduism Reconsidered. Delhi:
Manohar. pp. 187-95
[98] [98] Doniger 1999, p.434.
[99] [99] Smith 1962, p.65.
[100] [100] Halbfass 1991, p.1-22.
[101] [101] Klostermaier 1994, p.1.
[102] [102] Koller 1984.
[103] [103] Michaels 2004, p.21.
[104] Other religions of the region, such as Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, also believe in karma, outside the scope of Hinduism.<ref
name="FOOTNOTEFlood19966">Flood 1996, p.6.
[105] [105] Beversluis 2000, p.50.
[106] Ghurye: He [Hutton] considers modern Hinduism to be the result of an amalgam between pre-Aryan Indian beliefs of mediterranean
inspiration and the religion of the Rigveda. "The Tribal religions present, as it were, surplus material not yet buit into the temple of
Hinduism".<ref name="FOOTNOTEGhurye19804">Ghurye 1980, p.4.
[107] [107] Zimmer 1951, p.218-219.
[108] [108] Sjoberg 1990, p.43.
[109] Tyler, in India: An Anthropological Perspective(1973), page 68, as quoted by Sjoberg, calls Hinduism a "synthesis" in which the Dravidian
elements prevail: "The Hindu synthesis was less the dialectical reduction of orthodoxy and heterodoxy than the resurgence of the ancient,
aboriginal Indus civilization. In this process the rude, barbaric Aryan tribes were gradually civilised and eventually merged with the
autochthonous Dravidians. Although elements of their domestic cult and ritualism were jealously preserved by Brahman priests, the body of
their culture survived only in fragmentary tales and allegories embedded in vast, syncretistic compendia. On the whole, the Aryan contribution
to Indian culture is insignificant. The essential pattern of Indian culture was already established in the third millennium B.C., and ... the form
of Indian civilization perdured and eventually reasserted itself.<ref name="FOOTNOTESjoberg199043">Sjoberg 1990, p.43.
[110] https:/ / ojs.lib.byu. edu/ spc/ index. php/ CCR/ article/ download/ 13469/ 13403
[111] [111] Sjoberg 1990.
[112] http:/ / books. google. nl/ books?id=HvuQAgAAQBAJ& dq=hinduism+ synthesis& hl=nl& source=gbs_navlinks_s
[113] [113] Werner 2005, p.8-9.
[114] http:/ / books. google. nl/ books?id=yJPlCpzOY_QC& pg=PA50
[115] http:/ / books. google. nl/ books?id=kfyzAAAAQBAJ& printsec=frontcover
[116] [116] Hiltebeitel 2007.
[117] http:/ / books. google. nl/ books?id=BVbiMBDVrdEC& pg=PA79
[118] [118] Hopfe 2008, p.79.
[119] Hopfe & Woodward: "The religion that the Aryans brought with them mingled with the religion of the native people, and the culture that
developed between them became classical Hinduism."<ref name="FOOTNOTEHopfe200879">Hopfe 2008, p.79.
[120] [120] Samuel 2010.
[121] [121] Samuel 2010, p.41-42.
[122] [122] White 2006, p.28.
[123] [123] See:
David Gordo White: "[T]he religion of the Vedas was already a composite of the indo-Aryan and Harappan cultures and civilizations."<ref
name="FOOTNOTEWhite200628">White 2006, p.28.
[124] [124] Gombrich 1996, p.35-36.
[125] [125] Gomez 2002, p.42.
[126] [126] Doniger 2010, p.66.
[127] [127] Jones 2006, p.xvii.
[128] [128] Tiwari 2002, p.v.
[129] Tiwari mentions the Austric and and Mongoloid people.<ref name="FOOTNOTETiwari2002v">Tiwari 2002, p.v.
[130] [130] Nath 2001, p.21.
[131] [131] nath 2001, p.19.
[132] [132] Halbfass 1991, p.1-2.
[133] [133] Samuel 2010, p.77.
[134] [134] Samuel 2010, p.199.
[135] [135] Gombrich 2006, p.36.
Hinduism
50
[136] [136] Halbfass 1991, p.15.
[137] [137] Nicholson 2010.
[138] [138] Flood 1996, p.35.
[139] [139] Halbfass 1991, p.1.
[140] [140] Burley 2007, p.34.
[141] [141] Lorenzen 2006, p.24-33.
[142] [142] Lorenzen 2006, p.27.
[143] [143] Lorenzen 2006, p.26-27.
[144] [144] Micaels 2004, p.44.
[145] Hackel, in Nicholson 2010<ref name="FOOTNOTENicholson2010">Nicholson 2010.
[146] Adherents.com (http:/ / www. adherents.com/ Na/ Na_659. html), which itself references many sources; The World Almanac & Book of
Facts 1998 being especially relevant.
[147] [147] Flood, Gavin. D. 1996. An introduction to Hinduism. 1996. P.14
[148] J. McDaniel Hinduism, in John Corrigan, The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Emotion, (2007) Oxford University Press, 544 pages, pp.
52-53 ISBN 0-19-517021-0
[149] [149] Michaels 2004, p.23.
[150] See also Sanskritization, Indo-Aryanization and Vedantification.
[151] [151] Michaels 2004, p.22.
[152] [152] Michaels 2004, p.24.
[153] http:/ / en.wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Indian_History& action=edit
[154] [154] Samuel (2010) p.49
[155] [155] Samuel
[156] [156] Samuel
[157] [157] Samuel
[158] [158] Samuel
[159] [159] Michaels (2004) p.39
[160] [160] Hiltebeitel (2002)
[161] [161] Michaels (2004) p.39
[162] [162] Hiltebeitel (2002)
[163] [163] Micheals (2004) p.40
[164] [164] Michaels (2004) p.41
[165] [165] Michaels (2004) p.43
[166] [166] Flood (1996) p.21-22
[167] [167] Khanna 2007, p.xvii.
[168] [168] Misra 2004, p.194.
[169] [169] Kulke 2004, p.7.
[170] [170] Flood 1996, p.21.
[171] [171] Smart 2003, p.52-53.
[172] [172] Michaels 2004, p.32.
[173] Michaels mentions Flood 1996<ref name="FOOTNOTEFlood1996">Flood 1996.
[174] [174] Michaels 2004, p.31, 348.
[175] [175] Muesse 2003.
[176] [176] Muesse 2011.
[177] [177] Muesse 2011, p.16.
[178] Smart distinguishes "Brahmanism" from the Vedic religion, connecting "Brahmanism" with the Upanishads.<ref
name="FOOTNOTESmart200352, 83-86">Smart 2003, p.52, 83-86.
[179] [179] Smart 2003, p.52.
[180] [180] Michaels 2004, p.36.
[181] [181] Michaels 2004, p.38.
[182] [182] Muesse 2003, p.14.
[183] Flood & 1996 21-22.
[184] [184] Michaels 2004, p.39.
[185] [185] Michaels 2004, p.40.
[186] [186] Michaels 2004, p.41.
[187] [187] Michaels 2004, p.43.
[188] [188] Michaels 2004, p.45.
[189] Nicky Phillips (2009), DNA confirms coastal trek to Australia, ABC Science (http:/ / www. abc. net. au/ science/ articles/ 2009/ 07/ 24/
2635149.htm)
[190] [190] Cavalli-Sforza 1994, p.241.
Hinduism
51
[191] [191] Thani Nayagam 1963.
[192] [192] Kumar 2004.
[193] [193] Flood 1996, p.34.
[194] [194] Flood 1996, p.30.
[195] Called such, so as to distinguish them from the modern Dravidian populations of India, which are of predominantly Australoid racial stock
[196] [196] Mukherjee 2001.
Thani Nayagam: "... together with the evidence of archaeology would seem to suggest that the original Dravidian-speakers entered India
from Iran in the fourth millennium BC ...".<ref name="FOOTNOTEThani Nayagam1963">Thani Nayagam 1963.
[198] [198] Cordaux 2004.
[199] Cordaux et al: "Our coalescence analysis suggests that the expansion of Tibeto-Burman speakers to northeast India most likely took place
within the past 4,200 years."<ref name="FOOTNOTECordaux2004">Cordaux 2004.
[200] Doniger: "Much of what we now call Hinduism may have had roots in cultures that thrived in South Asia long before the creation of textual
evidence that we can decipher with any confidence. Remarkable cave paintings have been preserved from Mesolithic sites dating from c.
30,000 BCE in Bhimbetka, near present-day Bhopal, in the Vindhya Mountains in the province of Madhya Pradesh."<ref
name="FOOTNOTEDoniger201066">Doniger 2010, p.66.
[201] Jones & Ryan: "Some practices of Hinduism must have originated in Neolithic times (c. 4,000 BCE). The worship of certain plants and
animals as sacred, for instance, could very likely have very great antiquity. The worship of goddesses, too, a part of Hinduism today, may be a
feature that originated in the Neolithic."<ref name="FOOTNOTEJones2006xvii">Jones 2006, p.xvii.
[202] PHILTAR, Division of Religion and Philosophy, University of Cumbria, Tribal Religions of India (http:/ / www. philtar. ac. uk/
encyclopedia/ india/ tribal.html)
[203] [203] Possehl 2002, p.154.
[204] Possehl 2002, p.141156.
[205] http:/ / en.wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Indo-Aryan_migration& action=edit
[206] Christopher I. Beckwith (2009), Empires of the Silk Road, Oxford University Press, p.30
[207] http:/ / en.wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Spread_of_IE-languages& action=edit
[208] [208] Singh 2008, p.185.
[209] Michaels: "They called themselves arya ("Aryans," literally "the hospitable," from the Vedic arya, "homey, the hospitable") but even in the
Rgveda, arya denotes a cultural and linguistic boundary and not only a racial one."<ref name="FOOTNOTEMichaels200433">Michaels
2004, p.33.
[210] There is no exact dating possible for the beginning of the Vedic period. Witzel mentions a range between 1900 and 1400 BCE.<ref
name="FOOTNOTEWitzel19953-4">Witzel 1995, p.3-4.
[211] [211] Anthony 2007.
[212] [212] Allchin 1995.
[213] Allchin: "There has also been a fairly general agreement that the Proto-Indoaryan speakers at one time lived on the steppes of Central Asia
and that at a certain time they moved southwards through Bactria and Afghanistan, and perhaps the Caucasus, into Iran and India-Pakistan
(Burrow 1973; Harmatta 1992)."<ref name="FOOTNOTEAllchin1995">Allchin 1995.
[214] [214] Kulke 1998.
[215] Kulke: "During the last decades intensive archaeological research in Russia and the Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union as
well as in Pakistan and northern India has considerably enlarged our knowledge about the potential ancestors of the Indo-Aryans and their
relationship with cultures in west, central and south Asia. Previous excavations in southern Russia and Central Asia could not confirm that the
Eurasian steppes had once been the original home of the speakers of Indo-European language."<ref name="FOOTNOTEKulke1998">Kulke
1998.
[216] [216] Witzel 1995.
[217] [217] Michaels 2004, p.33.
[218] [218] Flood 1996, p.30-35.
[219] [219] Hiltebeitel 2007, p.5.
[220] The Aryan migration theory has been challenged by some researchers,<ref name="FOOTNOTEMichaels200433">Michaels 2004, p.33.
[221] [221] Singh 2008, p.186.
[222] [222] Flood 1996, p.33.
[223] [223] Anthony 2007, p.410-411.
[224] [224] Anthony 2007, p.454.
[225] [225] Anthony 2007, p.375, 408-411.
[226] [226] Anthony 2007, p.408.
[227] Beckwith & 2009 33, 35.
[228] Beckwith & 2009 33.
[229] Beckwith & 2009 34.
[230] [230] Samuel 2010, p.41-48.
[231] [231] Samuel 2010, p.41-93.
[232] [232] Stein 2010, p.48-49.
Hinduism
52
[233] [233] Samuel 2010, p.61-93.
[234] [234] Samuel 2010, p.53-56.
[235] [235] Hiltebeitel 2007, p.5-7.
[236] Beckwith & 2009 32.
[237] [237] Anthony 2007, p.462.
[238] [238] Anthony 2007, p.454-455.
[239] [239] Basham 1989, p.74-75.
[240] Encyclopedia Britannica, yaksha (http:/ / www.britannica. com/ EBchecked/ topic/ 651312/ yaksha)
[241] [241] Samuel 2010, p.48-51, 61-93.
[242] [242] Hiltebeitel 2007, p.8-10.
[243] [243] Singh 2008, p.184.
[244] [244] Flood 1996, p.37.
[245] [245] Witzel 1995, p.4.
[246] [246] Oberlies 1998 p.158
[247] It is certain that the hymns post-date Indo-Iranian separation of ca. 2000 BCE and probably that of the Indo-Aryan Mitanni documents of c.
1400 BC. The oldest mention of Rigveda in other sources dates from 600 BCE, and the oldest available text from 1,200 CE. Philological
estimates tend to date the bulk of the text to the second half of the second millennium:
Max Mller: "the hymns men of the Rig-Veda are said to date from 1500 B.C."<ref>('Veda and Vedanta'), 7th lecture in India: What Can
It Teach Us: A Course of Lectures Delivered Before the University of Cambridge, World Treasures of the Library of Congress Beginnings
by Irene U. Chambers, Michael S. Roth.
[248] [248] Oberlies 1998 p.155
[249] http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20110815231734/ http:/ / content. iskcon. org/ icj/ 6_1/ 6_1klostermaier. html
[250] [250] Singh 2008, p.195.
[251] [251] Krishnananda. Swami. A Short History of Religious and Philosophic Thought in India, Divine Life Society. p. 21
[252] [252] Holdrege (2004:215)
[253] [253] Panikkar (2001) 350-351
[254] Day, Terence P. (1982). The Conception of Punishment in Early Indian Literature. Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. P. 42-45.
ISBN 0-919812-15-5.
[255] [255] Duchesne-Guillemin 1963, p.46.
[256] [256] Zimmer 1989, p.217.
[257] Zimmer's point of view is supported by other scholars, such as Niniam Smart, in Doctrine and argument in Indian Philosophy, 1964,
p.27-32 & p.76,<ref name="FOOTNOTECrangle19947">Crangle 1994, p.7.
[258] [258] Crangle 1994, p.7.
[259] Flood, Gavin. Olivelle, Patrick. 2003. The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. Malden: Blackwell. pg. 273-4
[260] [260] Flood: "The second half of the first millennium BCE was the period that created many of the ideological and institutional elements that
characterise later Indian religions. The renouncer tradition played a central role during this formative period of Indian religious history [...]
Some of the fundamental values and beliefs that we generally associate with Indian religions in general and Hinduism in particular were in
part the creation of the renouncer tradition. These include the two pillars of Indian theologies: samsara - the belief that life in this world is one
of suffering and subject to repeated deaths and births (rebirth); moksa/nirvana - the goal of human existence."Nath 2001, p.31.
[261] Richard King notes that Radhakrishnan was a representative of Neo-Vedanta,<ref name="FOOTNOTEKing1999">King 1999.
[262] [262] Embree 1988, p.277.
[263] Michaels: "At the time of upheaval [500-200 BCE], many elements of the Vedic religion were lost".<ref
name="FOOTNOTEMichaels200438">Michaels 2004, p.38.
[264] Hiltebeitel: "The emerging self-definitions of Hinduism were forged in the context of continuous interaction with heterodox religions
(Buddhists, Jains, Ajivikas) throughout this whole period, and with foreign people (Yavanas, or Greeks; Sakas, or Scythians; Pahlavas, or
Parthians; and Kusanas, or Kushans) from the third phase on [between the Mauryan empire and the rise of the Guptas].<ref
name="FOOTNOTEHiltebeitel200713">Hiltebeitel 2007, p.13.
[265] [265] Larson 2009, p.185.
[266] [266] Hiltebeitel 2007, p.14.
[267] Larson: "[I]n contrast to the sruti, which "Hindus for the most part pay little more than lip service to."<ref
name="FOOTNOTELarson2009185">Larson 2009, p.185.
[268] [268] Hiltebeitel 2007, p.20.
[269] [269] Scheepers 2000.
[270] [270] Raju 1992, p.211.
[271] Arthur Llewellyn Basham, Hinduism - The Bhagavad Gita, Encyclopdia Britannica (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ EBchecked/ topic/
266312/ Hinduism/ 59830/ The-Bhagavadgita)
[272] [272] Nakamura 2004, p.687.
[273] [273] Thapar 2003, p.325.
Hinduism
53
[274] Axel Michaels mentions the Durga temple in Aihole and the Visnu Temple in Deogarh.<ref
name="FOOTNOTEMichaels200440">Michaels 2004, p.40.
[275] [275] Michell 1977, p.18.
[276] [276] Flood 1996, p.131.
[277] *In the east the Pala Empire<ref name="FOOTNOTEMichaels200441">Michaels 2004, p.41.
[278] [278] michaels 2004, p.41.
[279] [279] White 2000, p.25-28.
[280] [280] Michaels 2004, p.42.
[281] This resembles the development of Chinese Chn during the An Lu-shan rebellion and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
(907960/979), during which power became decentralised end new Chn-schools emerged.<ref name="FOOTNOTEMcRae2003">McRae
2003.
[282] [282] Inden 1998, p.67.
[283] "Before the eighth century, the Buddha was accorded the position of universal deity and ceremonies by which a king attained to imperial
status were elaborate donative ceremonies entailing gifts to Buddhist monks and the installation of a symbolic Buddha in a stupa [...] This
pattern changed in the eighth century. The Buddha was replaced as the supreme, imperial deity by one of the Hindu gods (except under the
Palas of eastern India, the Buddha's homeland) [...] Previously the Buddha had been accorded imperial-style worship (puja). Now as one of the
Hindu gods replaced the Buddha at the imperial centre and pinnacle of the cosmo-political system, the image or symbol of the Hindu god
comes to be housed in a monumental temple and given increasingly elaborate imperial-style puja worship."<ref
name="FOOTNOTEInden199867">Inden 1998, p.67.
[284] [284] Thapar 2003, p.325, 487.
[285] [285] Flood 1996, p.113.
[286] [286] Thapar 2003, p.487.
[287] The king who ruled not by conquest but by setting in motion the wheel of law.<ref name="FOOTNOTEThapar2003325">Thapar 2003,
p.325.
[288] [288] Nath 2001, p.20.
[289] [289] Nath 2001, p.31-32.
[290] [290] Nath 2001, p.32.
[291] Holt, John. The Buddhist Visnu. Columbia University Press, 2004, p.12,15 "The replacement of the Buddha as the "cosmic person" within
the mythic ideology of Indian kingship, as we shall see shortly, occurred at about the same time the Buddha was incorporated and
subordinated within the Brahmanical cult of Visnu."
[292] [292] Raju 1992, p.177-178.
[293] Gaudapada, the teacher of Shankara's teacher Govinda Bhagavatpada, took over the Buddhist doctrines that ultimate reality is pure
consciousness (vijapti-mtra)<ref name="FOOTNOTERaju1992177">Raju 1992, p.177.
[294] [294] Raju 1992, p.177.
[295] [295] Renard 2010, p.157.
[296] [296] Comans 2000, p.35-36.
[297] [297] Bhattacharya 1943, p.49.
[298] [298] Nakamura 2004, p.680.
[299] [299] Studies in Islamic History and Civilisation, David Ayalon, BRILL, 1986, p.271; ISBN 965-264-014-X
[300] See also "Aurangzeb, as he was according to Mughal Records" (http:/ / www. aurangzeb. info); more links at the bottom of that page
[301] [301] J.T.F. Jordens, "Medieval Hindu Devotionalism" in
[302] [302] Ncholson 2010, p.2.
[303] The tendency of "a blurring of philosophical distinctions" has also been noted by Burley.<ref name="FOOTNOTEBurley200734">Burley
2007, p.34.
[304] King & 2002 118.
[305] [305] King 1999-B.
[306] [306] Jones 2006, p.114.
[307] [307] King 2002, p.=119-120.
[308] [308] King 2002, p.123.
[309] [309] Rinehart 2004, p.196-197.
[310] This conjunction of nationalism and religion is not unique to India. The complexities of Asian nationalism are to be seen and understood in
the context of colonialism, modernization and nation-building. See, for example, Anagarika Dharmapala, for the role of Theravada Buddhism
in Sri Lankese struggle for independence,<ref name="FOOTNOTEMcMahan2008">McMahan 2008.
[311] [311] Sharf 1993.
[312] [312] Sharf 1995-A.
[313] Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple. University of Calcutta, Calcutta, 1946.
[314] [314] Encyclopaedia of Hindu Gods and Goddesses - Page 178, Suresh Chandra - 1998
[315] David Courtney: http:/ / www. chandrakantha.com/ articles/ indian_music/ bhajan. html
[316] Anna King, John Brockington, The Intimate Other: Love Divine in Indic Religions, Orient Longman 2005, p 359.
Hinduism
54
[317] Page 86 Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World: A-Aj - Volume 1 By Gag Rm Garg
[318] [318] Garces-Foley 30
[319] [319] The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India [Paperback], Fuller 2004
[320] Hindu culture, custom, and ceremony (http:/ / books. google. co. in/ books?ei=NfLTTerKOcnVrQel9smeCQ& ct=result&
id=s2dDAAAAYAAJ& dq=Hindus+ observe+ sacred+ occasions+ by+ festive+ observances& q=Festivals#search_anchor), p195, Brojendra
Nath Banerjee, Agam, 1978, 26 May 2009
[321] [321] "It is Hindu self-awareness and self-identity that affirm Hinduism to be one single religious universe, no matter how richly varied its
contents, and make it a significant and potent force alongside the other religions of the world."
[322] [322] See and
[323] [323] Flood 1996, p.226.
[324] [324] Kramer 1986, p.34.
[325] :
:
[326]

[327] Avinash Sathaye, Translation of Nasadiya Sukta (http:/ / sanskritdocuments. org/ all_pdf/ naasadiiya. pdf)
[328] See Theistic Explanations of Karma, pg. 146 of Causation and Divine Intervention by BR Reichenbach, citing Uddyotakara,
Nyaayavaarttika, IV, 1, 21, at http:/ / ccbs. ntu.edu.tw/ FULLTEXT/ JR-PHIL/ reiche2. htm
[329] Toropov and Buckles: The members of various Hindu sects worship a dizzying number of specific deities and follow innumerable rituals in
honor of specific gods. Because this is Hinduism, however, its practitioners see the profusion of forms and practices as expressions of the
same unchanging reality. The panoply of deities are understood by believers as symbols for a single transcendent reality.<ref
name="FOOTNOTEToropov2011">Toropov 2011.
[330] The Lord'S Song Gita (http:/ / books.google.co. in/ books?id=9ClOmR1Q37YC& pg=PA33& dq=gOD+ Gita& hl=en&
ei=YXwVTu3bFsjVrQf8hcDCDw& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=book-preview-link& resnum=8& ved=0CFcQuwUwBw#v=onepage&
q=sole repository of attributes& f=false), Dr. Sant K. Bhatnagar, Pustak Mahal, 2009, ISBN 978-81-223-1032-0
[331] Skhyapravacana Stra (https:/ / archive.org/ stream/ thesamkhyaphilos00sinhuoft/ thesamkhyaphilos00sinhuoft_djvu. txt) I.92.
[332] For translation of deva in singular noun form as "a deity, god", and in plural form as "the gods" or "the heavenly or shining ones", see:
Monier-Williams 2001, p.492. In fact, there are different ranks among the devas. The highest are the immortal Mahadevas, such as Shiva,
Vishnu, etc. The second-rank devas, such as Ganesha, are described as their offspring: they are "born", and their "lifespan" is quite limited. In
ISKCON the word is translated as "demigods", although it can also denote such heavenly denizens as gandharvas. See: "Vedic cosmology"
(http:/ / www. veda. harekrsna. cz/ planetarium/ index. htm). Vedic Knowledge Online. VEDA - Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Retrieved 25 June
2007.. For translation of devat as "godhead, divinity", see: Monier-Williams 2001, p.495.
[333] [333] Bhagavad Gita 2.22
[334] [334] See Bhagavad Gita XVI.8-20
[335] [335] See 301-02 (8th Printing 1993)
[336] The Christian concepts of Heaven and Hell do not translate directly into Hinduism. Spiritual realms such as Vaikunta (the abode of Vishnu)
or loka are the closest analogues to an eternal Kingdom of God.
[337] as discussed in Mahbhrata 12.161; Bilimoria et al. (eds.), Indian Ethics: Classical Traditions and Contemporary Challenges (2007), p.
103; see also ,
[338] [338] For example, see the following translation of B-Gita 11.54: "My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I
am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding." ()
[339] [339] "One who knows that the position reached by means of analytical study can also be attained by devotional service, and who therefore sees
analytical study and devotional service to be on the same level, sees things as they are." ()
[340] [340] Vol I
[341] [341] Vol III
[342] [342] Rinehart 2004, p.68.
[343] [343] Flood 2008, p.4.
[344] [344] Note: Nyaya-Vaisheshika believe that the Vedas were created by God, not eternal.
[345] [345] Vol II
[346] Rigveda is not only the oldest among the vedas, but is one of the earliest Indo-European texts.
[347] [347] Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28
[348]

[349] gvo, etc. (Gt Mhtmya 6). Gt Dhynam, cited in Introduction to Bhagavad-gt As It Is (http:/ / www. bhagavadgitaasitis. com/
introduction/ en).
[350] Thomas B. Coburn, Scripture" in India: Towards a Typology of the Word in Hindu Life, Journal of the American Academy of Religion,
Vol. 52, No. 3 (September, 1984), pp. 435-459
[351] [351] , p. 119
Hinduism
55
[352] The Bhagavad Gita (http:/ / books.google.co.in/ books?id=a-Oh_-rK5SQC& printsec=frontcover& dq=The+ Bhagavadgt& hl=en&
ei=ba8UTrSDIcasrAf0q7GHBA& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=book-preview-link& resnum=1& ved=0CDQQuwUwAA#v=snippet&
q="(karma-phala):" you have& f=false), Eknath Easwaran, Edition 2, Nilgiri Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58638-019-9
[353] iskcon.org, The Heart of Hinduism: The Four Main Denominations (http:/ / hinduism. iskcon. org/ tradition/ 1200. htm)
[354] Tamil Hindus add Skanda)<ref group=web> Hindu Way of Life (http:/ / www. mailerindia. com/ god/ hindu/ index. php?skanda)
[355] iskcon.org, The Heart of Hinduism: The Smarta Tradition (http:/ / hinduism. iskcon. org/ tradition/ 1204. htm)
[356] Manu Smriti Laws of Manu (http:/ / www. bergen. edu/ phr/ 121/ ManuGC. pdf) 1.87-1.91
[357] Venkataraman and Deshpande: "Caste-based discrimination does exist in many parts of India today.... Caste-based discrimination
fundamentally contradicts the essential teaching of Hindu sacred texts that divinity is inherent in all beings."<ref group=web>
[358] P. 143 Aspects of Hindu Morality By Saral Jhingran
[359] [359] S.S. Rama Rao Pappu, "Hindu Ethics", in
[360] Rig 1.162.2 (http:/ / www. intratext. com/ IXT/ ENG0039/ __P4I. HTM)
[361] Ralph Thomas Hotchkin Griffith (2003). The Vedas: With Illustrative Extracts, p.56-66. Book Tree. ISBN 1585092231 (http:/ / books.
google.com/ books?id=BtpcpsZEiYMC& pg=PA56& dq=animal+ sacrifice+ veda& hl=en& sa=X& ei=31afUu34AbPUsATP8oC4DQ&
ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage& q=animal sacrifice veda& f=false)
[362] A. B. Gajendragadkar and R. D. Karmarkar (editors). The Arthasamgraha of Laugaksi Bhaskara, p.34 (http:/ / books. google. com/
books?id=ySoGJJDSFeEC& pg=PA34& dq=animal+ sacrifice+ jyotistoma& hl=en& sa=X& ei=klafUq-aNuHksATPnoJY&
ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage& q=animal sacrifice jyotistoma& f=false)
[363] AB Keith. The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads, p.324-326 (http:/ / books. google. com/
books?id=p9zCbRMQbyEC& pg=PA324& dq=animal+ sacrifice+ veda& hl=en& sa=X& ei=31afUu34AbPUsATP8oC4DQ&
ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage& q=animal sacrifice veda& f=false)
[364] Ramanuj Prasad. Vedas A Way Of Life, p.32 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=q1KDTh3Vtn0C& pg=PA32& dq=animal+ sacrifice+
yajur& hl=en& sa=X& ei=T0yfUru7MqfKsASZ9IDoDg& ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage& q=animal sacrifice yajur& f=false)
[365] Arthur Berriedale Keith and Ralph T.H. Griffith. The Yajur Veda, iii.2.2 - iii.2.3 (http:/ / books. google. com/
books?id=0Z19AAAAQBAJ& pg=PT294& dq=animal+ sacrifice+ yajur& hl=en& sa=X& ei=T0yfUru7MqfKsASZ9IDoDg&
ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet& q=sacrifice & f=false)
[366] Wout Jac. van Bekkum, Jan Houben, Ineke Sluiter and Kees Versteegh, (1997). The Emergence of Semantics in Four Linguistic
Traditions: Hebrew, Sanskrit, Greek, Arabic, p.77 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=uU9IAAAAQBAJ& pg=PA77& dq=white+ goat+
vayu& hl=en& sa=X& ei=GFGfUrW8AsbesATL7YGoAg& ved=0CDQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage& q=white goat vayu& f=false)
[367] The texts of the White Yajurveda, p.212-223 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=HAHqvUGHO6cC& pg=PA218& lpg=PA218&
dq=white+ goat+ to+ vayu& source=bl& ots=FtpFtuappT& sig=rVBpciGqdYb-X9oRzg8NfrgCRh4& hl=en& sa=X&
ei=21CfUue_C63lsATwrYCQAQ& ved=0CEEQ6AEwBg#v=onepage& q=animals that are tied to stakes& f=false)
[368] Arthur Berriedale Keith and Ralph T.H. Griffith. The Yajur Veda, i.8.17 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=0Z19AAAAQBAJ&
pg=PT1035& dq=white+ goat+ vayu& hl=en& sa=X& ei=GFGfUrW8AsbesATL7YGoAg& ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&
q=castrated& f=false)
[369] Dale McGowan (editor), (2012). Voices of Unbelief: Documents from Atheists and Agnostics, p.10 (http:/ / books. google. com/
books?id=wWWU32YNq4UC& pg=PA10& dq=animal+ sacrifice+ jyotistoma& hl=en& sa=X& ei=klafUq-aNuHksATPnoJY&
ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage& q=animal sacrifice jyotistoma& f=false) ISBN 1598849786
[370] Monier-Williams, Religious Thought and Life in India (New Delhi, 1974 edition)
[371] For ' as one of the "emerging ethical and religious issues" in the see: Brockington, John, "The Sanskrit Epics", in Flood (2003), p.
125.
[372] For text of Y.S. 2.29 and translation of ' as "vow of self-restraint", see:
[373] - , ahims satyamstenam shaucmindrayanigrahah, etam smsikam dharmam
cturvanaryabravn manu (http:/ / wikisource. org/ wiki/ _10)
[374] The Laws of Manu X (http:/ / www. sacred-texts. com/ hin/ manu/ manu10. htm)
[375] Surveys studying food habits of Indians include: "Diary and poultry sector growth in India" (http:/ / www. fao. org/ WAIRDOCS/ LEAD/
X6170E/ x6170e09.htm#TopOfPage), "Indian consumer patterns" (http:/ / www. fas. usda. gov/ htp/ highlights/ 2001/ india. pdf) and "Agri
reform in India" (http:/ / www. ers. usda.gov/ amberwaves/ February04/ Features/ ElephantJogs. htm). Results indicate that Indians who eat
meat do so infrequently with less than 30% consuming non-vegetarian foods regularly, although the reasons may be economical.
[376] [376] Walker 1968:257
[377] [377] Richman 1988:272
[378] [378] Narayanan, Vasudha. "The Hindu Tradition". In A Concise Introduction to World Religions, ed. Willard G. Oxtoby and Alan F. Segal.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2007
[379] Culture - Food (http:/ / content. iskcon. org/ culture/ food/ )
[380] [380] Williams, Raymond. An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism. 1st. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 159
[381] [381] Rosen, Steven. Essential Hinduism. 1st. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2006. Page 188
[382] Changing the Game: Why the Battle for Animal Liberation Is So Hard and How We Can Win It By Norm Phelps
[383] P. 250 Educational Opportunities in Integrative Medicine: The a to Z Healing Arts Guide and Professional Resource Directory By
Douglas A. Wengell
Hinduism
56
[384] "Yoga Therapy in Australia" by Leigh Blashki, M.H.Sc. (http:/ / www. iayt. org/ site_vx2/ publications/ articles/ yogaaus. aspx)
[385] "The Growing Global Interest In Yoga" (http:/ / www. wellpark. co. nz/ blog/ 2012/ 4/ the-growing-global-interest-in-yoga) Monday 16
April 2012
[386] http:/ / en.wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Hinduism_by_country& action=edit
[387] CIA-The world factbook (https:/ / www. cia. gov/ library/ publications/ the-world-factbook/ geos/ in. html)
[388] http:/ / en.wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Hinduism& action=edit
[389] 2011 Nepal Census Report (http:/ / cbs. gov.np/ wp-content/ uploads/ 2012/ 11/ National Report. pdf)
[390] CIA - The World Factbook (https:/ / www.cia. gov/ library/ publications/ the-world-factbook/ geos/ gy. html)
[391] CIA - The World Factbook (https:/ / www.cia. gov/ library/ publications/ the-world-factbook/ geos/ fj. html)
[392] Bhutan (http:/ / www.state. gov/ g/ drl/ rls/ irf/ 2009/ 127364. htm)
[393] Suriname (http:/ / www. state. gov/ g/ drl/ rls/ irf/ 2009/ 127405. htm)
[394] Department of Census and Statistics, The Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka-2011 (http:/ / www. statistics. gov. lk/
PopHouSat/ CPH2011/ index.php?fileName=pop43& gp=Activities& tpl=3)
[395] CIA - The World Factbook (https:/ / www.cia. gov/ library/ publications/ the-world-factbook/ geos/ my. html)
[396] CIA - The World Factbook (https:/ / www.cia. gov/ library/ publications/ the-world-factbook/ geos/ se. html)
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Further reading
Dowson, John (1888), A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and
Literature (http:/ / www. archive. org/ stream/ aclassicaldictio00dowsuoft#page/ n27/ mode/ 2up), Trubner & Co.,
London
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ISBN0-7100-8668-7
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Jones, Constance; Ryan, James D. (2007), Encyclopedia of Hinduism (http:/ / books. google. nl/
books?id=hZET2sSUVsgC), New York City: Infobase Publishing, ISBN0-8160-5458-4
Klostermaier, Klaus (1994), A Survey of Hinduism (http:/ / www. oneworld-publications. com/ books/ texts/
hinduism-a-short-history-ch1. htm) (3rd (2007) ed.), State University of New York Press, ISBN0-7914-7082-2
Lipner, Julius (1998), Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (http:/ / www. google. co. in/
books?id=HDMLYkIOoWYC& printsec=frontcover& dq=sindhu+ hindu& as_brr=3), Routledge,
ISBN0-415-05181-9, retrieved 12 July 2007
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Michaels, Axel (2004), Hinduism: Past and Present (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=PD-flQMc1ocC) (5th
ed.), Princeton University Press, ISBN0-691-08953-1
Monier-Williams, Monier (1974), Brahmanism and Hinduism: Or, Religious Thought and Life in India, as Based
on the Veda and Other Sacred Books of the Hindus (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=U5IBXA4UpT0C&
dq=isbn:1421265311), Elibron Classics, Adamant Media Corporation, ISBN1-4212-6531-1, retrieved 8 July
2007
Morgan, Kenneth W., ed. (1987), The Religion of the Hindus (New ed.), Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas,
ISBN81-208-0387-6
Renou, Louis (1964), The Nature of Hinduism, Walker
Richards, Glyn, ed. (1985). A Sourcebook of Modern Hinduism. London: Curzon Press. x, 212 p. ISBN
0-7007-0173-7
Rinehart, Robin (Ed.) (2004), Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice, ABC-Clio,
ISBN1-57607-905-8
Weightman, Simon (1998), "Hinduism", in Hinnells, John (Ed.), The new Penguin handbook of living religions,
Penguin books, ISBN0-14-051480-5
Werner, Karel (1994), "Hinduism", in Hinnells, John (Ed.), A Popular Dictionary of Hinduism, Richmond,
Surrey: Curzon Press, ISBN0-7007-0279-2
External links
Hinduism (http:/ / www. dmoz. org/ Society/ Religion_and_Spirituality/ Hinduism/ ) at DMOZ
Resources for Scholars and Students (http:/ / www. ochs. org. uk/ )
Encyclopdia Britannica, Hinduism (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ EBchecked/ topic/ 266312/ Hinduism/ 8985/
Early-Hinduism-2nd-century-bce-4th-century-ce)
All About Hinduism by Swami Sivananda (pdf) (http:/ / www. dlshq. org/ download/ hinduismbk. pdf)
Heart of Hinduism: An overview of Hindu traditions (http:/ / hinduism. iskcon. com/ )
Information on Hinduism or Santana dharma (http:/ / dharma. indviews. com/ )
Ethical Democracy Journal - Notes on Hinduism (http:/ / www. ethical-democracy. org/ Hinduism. htm)
Religious Tolerance page on Hinduism (http:/ / www. religioustolerance. org/ hinduism. htm)
Audio
Paper on Hinduism by Swami Vivekananda (http:/ / www. theuniversalwisdom. org/ hinduism/
paper-on-hinduism-vivekananda/ ) - Presented at World Parliament of Religion in 1893 (Text + Audio Version)
Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (http:/ / ochs. org. uk/ lectures/ previous-lectures) Lectures and seminars in MP3
audio format by the OCHS as reference material for scholars and students.
Article Sources and Contributors
63
Article Sources and Contributors
Hinduism Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=619551496 Contributors: (, -Midorihana-, 0nlyth3truth, 0rrAvenger, 11achitturi, 12.78.142.xxx, 1SunStar, 1ifes4v3r,
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