Hinduism

From EvoWiki

The term Hinduism derives from the British of the eighteenth century naming the natives of India the "Hin" people (based on the assumption of "one people, one faith"). While there are multiple forms of religious expression in India, what some term Hinduisms, the people generally accept others as being fellow Hindus. Discussion of the chief "ways" of being a Hindu will appear below.

The Indus Valley Civilization (in the region that is now Pakistan) flourished from ca. 2800-1600 BCE. The cities boasted populations of 25,000 to 40,000 citizens. Both agriculture and engineering were sophisticated in this period. Indo-Aryan people moved into the area around 1500 BCE. The Aryans took the leadership in the military and religious spheres. The rest of the Aryans were herdsmen, farmers, craftsmen, etc.; they got the most lucrative positions. The conquered "dark-skinned people" (dasas) were the underclass who did most of the hard work.

This situation evolved into a strict "caste" (varna) system, which is religiously sanctioned in the Vedic scriptures, written in Sanskrit by the Aryans. At the top were the religious leadership, the Brahmans. Then there was the warrior class, the Kshatriyas, who oversaw secular affairs. As a sort of middle class stands the Vaishyas, who took the best positions in business. The lower class were the Shudras, who were servants and workers. Finally, there are the "untouchables" (Harijans, so-called because to touch them makes one unclean), who belong to no caste. These citizens of India have traditionally been suppressed. There is currently progress, particularly in urban areas, in relaxing the caste strictures.

In addition to the Vedas, the Upanishads are fundamental to Hinduism in presenting the history and law of the people. Last came the puranas, myths about the gods.

Hinduism teaches that each person consists not of the body but of atman, the spirit. Hindu religion take reincarnation as a given. The state in which an individual is reborn is determined by karma. Negative karma is generated by doing intentional harm, and positive karma is generated by choosing to do what is good. If one accumulates negative karma, he or she will suffer, either in this lifetime or a future one. Likewise, with positive karma, good things will happen in the future.

The condition of going through lives, again and again indefinitely, is called samsara. This is undesirable; Hindus would rather achieve moksha, return to the One. The One is "Brahman," what is common to all atman at a spiritual level. The Upanishads don't spell out how to achieve moksha, but there are three ways that have developed over time.

1. The first way is termed Yoga-marga, the "Way of Meditation." The state of illusion, maya, is the #1 problem in life. It is hard to think of my "self" as being disconnected from "Peter Michael Kirby in California." It is difficult to separate one's body shape, gender, and other physical things from the spirit. If the physical is that which is real to someone, that person will look after physical existence. (This leads to the creation of karma because of actions made from self-interest.) One should understand what one truly is, the same as all that lives.

There is a Yoga sutra to explain this path towards moksha. A sutra is a how-to manual, and yoga means discipline. First, one must stop acting with immorality. Second, one must renounce the world and become a sannyasin. This person puts aside the needs of life; for example, if married, he or she leaves his family. The sannyasin have no job, no home, minimal food, and no attachments. Third, one undertakes physical discipline in order to contort the body and endure pain. Fourth, one needs mental discipline. The sannyasin needs personal, intuitive certitude that Brahman is both All and One. Very few people take the path of Yoga-marga.

2. Dharma-marga is the "Way of Righteous Living." The shastra, e.g. the Code of Manu, specifies the legal and moral code. These are the moral "laws of nature." For example, one passage of the Code of Manu says that a certain misconduct leads to rebirth as a snake. In order to follow the Dharma-Marga, one must practice morality and fulfill caste obligations. Three things are permitted to the one who takes this path (over against yoga). First, while one cannot be materialist, physical things can be used to do well in life. Second, bodily and sexual pleasure, called Kama, is accepted. Third, one can have a family and fulfill all the duties that go along with that.

3. Bhakti marga is the "Way of Devotion to the Divine." This becomes more popular over time (around the 3rd/4th century CE). In the later Upanishads, there is talk about the reality of Brahman, that which all atman have in common (Brahman nirguna). "The Universe" is also Brahman (Brahman sirguna), the "One Ultimate Reality." In one of the Upanishads, there is the Bhagavad Gita that concerns a discussion between Arjuna and Krishna. There was a war between brothers to rule over northern India. Arjuna is one of the brothers, and Krishna was his aid. On seeing children orphaned and kindred killed, Arjuna decides to cut bait and become a sanyassin. Krishna reminds Arjuna that it is his duty to fight an effective war. Arjuna says that guilt is not on his hands because death is not the end. Krishna reminds him that karma is created out of self-interest. One should do it because it is right or obligated, not concerning its effect on oneself. Arjuna replies, "Answer me. How do I do that?" Krishna suggests that, if you can't do it just for the rightness of it, do it as a gift to God. Make God more important to yuo than you are to yourself. This will lead to moksha. This way holds an advantage over the previous two in that there are no gender or caste limitations, and the Hindu believer is not in it alone.

According to Hindu teaching, the Brahman (God) encompasses all existence. Every thing is a glimpse into who God is. Every name is an authentic perception of God. One tradition says that there are 330 million "gods" in Hinduism, but three are the most popular. These are Vishnu (who has the avatar of Rama and Krishna), Devi-Shakta, and Shiva.

There is speculation about creation in the Rig-Veda in the 129th hymn of the tenth book, which is given by David S. Noss as follows (A History of the World's Religions 2003:90):

Then there was neither being (Sat) nor non-being (Asat):
There was no air, nor firmament beyond it.
Was there a stirring? Where? Beneath what cover?
Was there a great abyss of unplumbed water?

There was no death nor anything immortal;
Nor any sign dividing day from night.
That One Thing, breathing no air, was yet self-breathing;
No second thing existed whatsoever.

Darkness was hidden in a deeper darkness;
This All was at sea without dimensions;
The Void still held unformed what was potential
Until the power of Warmth (tapas) produced the sole One.

Then, in that One, Desire stirred into being,
Desire that was the earliest seed of Spirit.
(The sages probing in their hearts with wisdom
Discovered being's kinship to non-being.

Stretching their line across the void, they pondered;
Was aught above it, or was aught below it?)
Bestowers of the seed were there; and powers;
Free energy below; above, swift action.

Who truly knows, and who can here declare it?
Whence It was born, and how this world was fashioned?
The gods came later than the earth's creation;
Who knows then out of what the world has issued?

Whether the world was made or was self-made
He knows with full assurance, he alone;
Who in the highest heaven guards and watches;
He knows indeed, but then, perhaps, he knows not!

Hindu mythology features an elaborate speculative system of world cycles that supposedly repeat for eternity. In the puranic model, the smallest cycle, the maha yuga, lasts 4,320,000 years. A kalpa is a single daytime period in the life of Brahma, the creator god, and is composed of 1,000 maha yugas. At the end of Brahma's daytime period, the Three Worlds (Bhuloka, Bhuvarloka, Swarloka) and the seven underworlds (of the nagas) are temporarily dissolved (pralaya); that is, the same folks can be reincarnated when the next day of Brahma begins.

With an eternal universe, the problem of the first souls with no past life is solved. Whether the universe actually has existed infinitely into the past (or instead has a finite past) continues to be a controversial issue.

--PeterKirby 07:29, 26 Apr 2004 (BST)