Hinduism is the product of two main stages of development.
Sometime around the year 1200 B.C.E., possibly closer to 1500 B.C.E., India
was invaded from the northwest by certain Aryan peoples of Europe. They
proceeded to make the darker skinned natives the lowest class of society, while they became the three upper classes,
the priests or Brahmans, the warriors, and the workers. Over the centuries,
these classes crystallized into a rigid caste system in which the
dark-skinned peoples became the "outcasts," or the "untouchables," since contact with them or even their shadow was believed to
be degrading. Today, among the Hindus, there are more than three thousand
different sub-castes into which the four major castes are divided.
The Aryans brought with them their own form of religion, which became
intermingled with the beliefs and practices of the natives and developed into
the worship of numerous gods, spirits of the dead, and forces of nature.
Slowly, certain more important gods emerged, principally those of the Sun
(Fire), Rain, and Earth, each bearing different names in different places. All
sorts of myths about them as well as rituals, formulas, prayers and guides for
conduct arose. They were collected into one of the world's earliest sacred
literatures, the Vedas, "Knowledge," of which there are four major works.
Perhaps the most important of these, Rig-Veda, "The Veda of
Praise," which is a collection of more than a thousand hymns or
prayers to various gods. Some are directed to the older
deities - Dyaus Pitar (the "Jupiter" of the Romans), a great
mother-goddess, and Mitra (corresponding to "Mithra" of the
Persians), perhaps originally a sun-god. Many more, however, are
devoted to the nature deities of India, such as Indra, the storm-
god; Rudra, the mountain-god; Yama, the god of the dead; and
Varuna, the god of the skies, who maintain order in the physical
universe.
Beginning around 600 B.C.E., the beliefs that are now
central in Hinduism started to appear. In the main they are
found in a number of works, quite difficult to understand, called
the Upanishads, meaning "sessions with a teacher."
According to their teachings, the basis of all existence,
whether that of gods, men, beasts, the earth, or sky-is a single
substance. It is called "Brahman," the indefinable, unknowable
source of everything in the universe, an impersonal "Something."
Brahman alone is the real essence of everything and whatever
man sees in the world is simply its appearance, not its genuine
substance. Similarly, all human desires for wealth, food,
happiness, and the like, involve things that are not basically
real, and hence are doomed to frustration.
Man's objective in life is to unite his inner self, his
soul, with its real essence which is Brahman. When this state of
unity is reached, the individual achieves the condition of
ecstasy known as "Nirvana." This term comes from the two
Sanskrit words meaning "not" and "wind" in the sense that
something remains completely undisturbed. Hence, in this
connection, "Nirvana" means to be "undisturbed by any desires."
TO achieve this is to merge completely and eternally with
Brahman.
However, this is extremely difficult to accomplish. Man and
everything in the universe must pass through repeated rebirths in
their efforts to return finally to Brahman and end the process of
reincarnation. Therefore, the main hope for the individual is
that his life will merit reincarnation in some higher form and
thus continue his progress toward Brahman.
A life of merit means that one will be reincarnated into a
higher caste the next time he appears on earth. An unworthy life
may mean reincarnation as an animal, a tree, or even a vegetable.
One of the Hindu writings declares, "For stealing grain, a man
becomes a rat;...For stealing a woman, a bear, ; for stealing
cattle, a he-goat."
One's station in life, especially the caste into which he
has been born, is the result of his behavior during his previous
lives. If a person was born an untouchable, he must have sinned
during his former existence and, therefore, merited nothing
better. Those who have been born into the highest caste have
obviously earned this position through their good works in former
lives. The caste into which one is born remains unchangeable
during his lifetime.
The Hindu, then, sees his life in vastly different terms
than the religious person of the West. The latter views physical
existence as concluded within a single lifetime. Though his
spirit lives on, no one anticipates a repeated renewal or
existence on earth.
Not so to the Hindu. To him each individual has a multiple
existence extending over a long series of previous and future
lifetimes. He begins the cycle as one of the simpler forms of
life, and gradually, through repeated rebirths, attains the state
of a human being. What happens thereafter in successive
lifetimes will be the consequence of his actions, operating
through the unchanging Law of Karma.
Karma is a word that means "deeds" or "works." In effect,
it determines the consequences of one's intentions and deeds upon
his next reincarnation. Operating on the basis of strict "cause
and effect," the Law of Karma rewards (or punishes) the
individual for his acts during his lifetime with the form of
rebirth he merits.
There are number of stages through which people may pass on
their way upward to Brahman. The lowest is when one's primary
interest is seeking pleasure. Above this comes the desire for
wealth, power or fame. Next, his life is dedicated to duty in
behalf of others, his fellow man and the community. Finally,
there is that stage when he seeks and attains Nirvana and the
infinite Brahman. It is then that the cycle of lives is
blissfully concluded.
To achieve the final merging of oneself into Brahman within
a single lifetime is possible only for those within the three
upper castes. But even for them, it is most unlikely because of
the extreme difficulty of performing these four demands:
(1) After the appropriate rites of childhood, the young man
devotes himself to the study of Hindu sacred literature,
especially the Vedas.
(2) Upon reaching manhood, he embarks upon a period of good
works, including marriage, establishing a family, and carrying on
his duties toward society.
(3) Around middle-age, and only when one feels sincerely called,
he forsakes the world. He now lives as a hermit and concentrates
upon a spiritual matters through the study of the Hindu sacred
writings until he becomes indifferent to all desires.
(4) Finally, he lives as a "holy man," reentering the world to
give of his inspiration to others, but obvious to all physical
wants. He may undertake severe mental and physical discipline
through the practice of yoga, "yoking" oneself to Brahman through
intense concentration and seeking to attain the highest state of
bliss.
How has this affected women in the religion?
Women, who are not considered to be in the same respect as
men in the history of Hinduism, have gotten more involved lately.
For women, in the Way of the Works of Hinduism, it has
traditionally required the faithful fulfillment of her duties to
her husband, which include obedience, patience and respect. In
the Ordinances of Manu, a collection from around 200 B.C.E. says
this:
No act is to be done according to her own will by a young
girl, a young woman, or even by an old woman, though in their own
homes. In her childhood, a girl should be under the will of her
father; in her youth, of her husband; her husband being dead, of
her sons. A woman should never enjoy her own will.....
Over the centuries much of this has undergone modification.
Certainly, today, in India, where women are guaranteed equality.
All are now entitled to vote, and an increasing number are now
becoming educated, the traditional belief is not to have women
involved.
The practices of Hinduism
Much of the Hindu ritual is carried on by priests who
minister at many local shrines. However, there are a number of
other important religious specialists, and among them are the
yogin, swami, and guru.
A yogin, or the holy man, is one who has renounced all
worldly life and is seeking to attain Nirvana through his own
particular spiritual disciplines. Both he and the swami, a
member of a religious order, serve as good influences upon the
lives of the ordinary Hindu. The swami is vowed to chastity,
poverty and obedience, and adheres to the religious and social
practices of his order. A guru is one's personal religious
teacher. His task is to transmit to individual knowledge of the
Vedas.
It is impossible to describe all of the numerous rituals and
holy days that play a part in the worship of the Hindu gods,
because of each of the countless deities has his own special
rites.
The Hindu is obliged to carry on many daily practices.
These are performed in the morning, at midday, and evening, and
they involve a great many different rituals. Among them are
bathing, placing special marks on one's forehead, assuming
certain bodily positions, precise recitation of sacred texts that
may be repeated scores of times daily, study and the like. The
orthodox Hindu must also carry out his "Five Daily Obligations,"
involving the offering of food to the god, generally at his
private shrine at home, reading from the Vedas, a water libation,
a food-offering to the animals, and care of guests, for which
alms to the poor may be substituted.