HINDUISM A Brief Introduction

This is one of the most common questions asked on Yahoo.
What is Hinduism?
Hopefully this will give a base for your own more in-depth research and discovery of Hinduism.
This is a simplified version of Hinduism based on the many similar questions from a Christian’s perspective.


Namaste, (this is a respectful greeting)


FOUNDER OF HINDUISM:-
The founder of Hinduism was GOD Himself.
There are no records of a Human founder since this is a very ancient religion and it was passed on by word of mouth from Guru to Disciple for many years.
The many thoughts and scriptures were compiled by Ved Vyas. So in a way he could be considered the ‘founder’ or the establisher of Hinduism.

Let me explain why God is he founder.
In the very beginning Lord Brahma, the Creator, imparted a Divine Knowledge to the Rishis or seers. The Vedas are said to be these Divine knowledge.
The Rishis then disseminated the Divine knowledge.

The most revered scriptures Bhagvad Gita of Hindus was passed on by Lord Krishna Himself.
Ramayana was based on the life of Lord Sri Rama.
Srimad Bhagvatam accounts the stories of Hindu Gods. Hindus learn a lot about life from this book.

It is with this thought that I say God is the founder of Hinduism.


“The beauty of Hindu Dharma lies in the fact that its existence is not dependent on any great personality nor is it confined to the biographies and teachings of one or two prophets as is the case with other religions.
If the personality of any of the founders of these religions is removed the religion almost ceases to exist.
Hindu Dharma on the other hand has no such founder. Even if the names of Rama and Krishna were obliterated Hindu Dharma will continue to live without any loss to its fundamentals because Hindu Dharma has existed even before Rama and Krishna were born. They too, believed in Hindu Dharma.”


ORIGIN: -
India since time began as explained aboveThe Vedas are the eternal truths revealed by God to the great Yogis of India.


FOLLOWERS:-
All LIVING beings—plants, animals, humans, aliens and others ie spiritual kinds beyond the realms of this world.
Let me explain this also
Hinduism is based on the practice of Dharma, the code of life.
Therefore anyone who practices Dharma, the Code of Life, can call himself a Hindu.


‘Despite being the oldest religion, the truth realized by the seers prove that
the Truth and path provided by Hinduism is beyond time.’



THE RELIGION:-
Hinduism is referred to as Sanatan Dharma meaning the eternal faith.
India's Sanatana Dharma, is a family of religions with four principal denominations

Saivism. ----Those who worship Lord Shiva (Saivites).

Vaishnavism. -----Those who worship Lord Vishnu (Vaishnavites).

Shaktism. -----Those who worship a Goddess as Shakti (Shaktas).

Smartism. -------For Smartas, liberal Hindus, the choice of Deity is left to the devotee.

Contrary to prevailing misconceptions, Hindus all worship a One Supreme Being, though by different names. Information taken from
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2003/10-12/44-49_four_sects.shtml


This is the religion that calls
‘Let the good things come from all the directions of the world’
(aa no bhadrAH kratavo yantu vishvataH).
Thus this religion nurtured the good concepts with a neutral mindset.
Hinduism is a dharma (discipline) than a religion.
Various religions stand over this dharma.
In general this is not the religion of just postulations.



SCRIPTURES:-
Scriptures or Shastras are religious books.
They contain knowledge that tells us about the religion.
By reading these books we widen our knowledge and purify our mind,
And we are able to differentiate right from wrong.

Hindu Scriptures are broadly classified based on its origin into -
Shruti meaning 'heard from God'
The Srutis come from the Vedas, of divine origin and unchangeable. They encapsulate the greatest truths.

Smriti meaning 'remembered'
The Smritis, referred to as the Dharma Shashtras, are of human composition. They govern the daily conduct of people, including the actions of the individual, the community, and the nation, and may change over time.

Nyaya meaning 'logic'
The epics are those stories or fables in which the philosophy of the Vedas is told. The most important epics are the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

The Puranas are the Hindu scriptures that convey the truths of the Vedas and the Dharma Shashtras in the form of tales. These stories form the basis of religious education for the common man.

The Agamas record the doctrine for the worship of different deities, including Shiva, Vishnu, and Shakti.

The Darshanas encompass the six schools of Hindu philosophy; they guide scholars



Some of the important Shastras or Scriptures are
VEDAS
UPANISHADS (Books of Vedanta)
MANUSMRITI
RAMAYANA
MAHABHARATA
BHAGAVAD GITA (The Gita is a part of the great epic, Mahabharata)
TIRUKKURA (The literary masterpiece of the Tamil language)
THE SIX DARSHANAS
SATYARTH PRAKASH
(Please use Search Engine to learn about each.)


‘The truths contained in all religions are derived from the Vedas and are ultimately traceable to the Vedas.’

‘The Vedas have guided our religious direction for ages and will continue to do so for generations to come. And they will forever remain the most comprehensive and universal of all ancient scriptures.’



‘The Hindu scriptures instead of defining the way, in which the Hindus should live in a better way, act as supporting material for the individual to decide the course of life and stand by that.’

‘Hinduism is the place which suits both the adventurous intellectual who wants to explore the essence and the real truth and the simple person who would be happy to follow a simplified procedure set that would easily uplift him/her without having to break the head with philosophies.’

‘It is a roaring gigantic waterfall that runs into streams and substreams that joins and finally into the ocean.’



GOD

The aim of Hinduism is not the worship of any one of the deities, but rather the means with which the individual soul or Atman will become one with the Brahman, or the Universal Soul.


Arjuna in the Bhagvad Gita asked Lord Krishna to show him His real form.
Lord Krishna told him that he would not be able to see God with his ordinary eyes and so gave him ‘Divya Drishti’, Divine Vision.

By performing Saadhan (spiritual practice) it is possible for have this divya drishti.
It is said by opening our ‘third eye’ we can get this divya drishti (Divine Vision). Gayatri Mantra helps us to open our third eye.
Krishna shows Arjuna his True form and is described as thus
“If there be the effulgence of a thousand suns bursting forth all at once in the heavens, even that would hardly approach the splendour of the mighty Lord” Gita 11:12



Among the most commonly worshipped gods are:
Nirguna Brahman—The Universal Soul who transcends time and space and is formless.
Saguna Brahman—The concept of Ishwara, the Great God, with a form upon which the individual mind may fixate during prayer and meditation.
The Trinity—As personified by the three attributes of Ishwara, including their feminine dimensions: creation (Brahman), preservation (Vishnu), and destruction (Shiva).


IMAGES OF GODS :-
You cannot consider any god as a person, like a human being, but we cannot think anything except in terms of personality, due to the habit of the mind so, though Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, or Durga, Lakshmi and Sarasvati, cannot be regarded as having a body like ours, we can think them in no other way.

We consider Brahma as an old father of the universe; sometimes he is even considered to have a beard, as the supreme father. And, Vishnu is a grand, majestic, beautiful person. Siva is an austere, inwardly drawn, ascetic. They are with their consorts Durga, Lakshmi, and Sarasvati - Durga having so many hands, Lakshmi also is having so many hands, and Sarasvati has four. Everyone has four hands. They can have more, also.

‘But they all have an inward mystical meaning. They form an outward symbology of an inward spiritual connotation. All the powers of the psyche are concentrated in a single act of thought, or awareness, in these divinities.
All these religious figures are symbols of a higher abstract principle, which ordinary people cannot comprehend.’
http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/ans/ans_43.html


To learn about the symbolic images and meanings please browse through these
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Symbolism_in_Hinduism.htm
or
http://www.hinduwebsite.com/symbolism.asp




CREATION:-
Krishna says :-
“The whole of this universe is permeated by Me as unmanifest Divinity” Gita 9:4

“..during the Final Dissolution all beings enter My Prakrti (the prime cause) and at the beginning of creation I send them forth again” 9:7

“I am the sustainer and ruler of the Universe, the father, mother and grandfather, the one worth knowing, the purifier, the sacred syllable Aum and the Vedas…Gita 9:17

“I am the supreme goal, supporter Lord, witness, abode, refuge, well-wisher seeking no return, origin and end….” 9:18

“I radiate heat as the sun and hold back as well as send forth showers. I am immortality as well as death; even I am being and non-being both.” 9:19

“…what will you gain by knowing all this in detail Arjuna? Suffice it to say that I stand holding this entire Universe by a fraction of My Yogic Powers” Bhagvad Gita 10:42




TEACHINGS ABOUT MAN:-
“For whatever a great man does, that very thing other men do also; whatever standards he sets up, the generality of men follow the same” Gita 3:21

Arjuna asks how does a man of stable mind speak, how he sits, how does he walk? 2:54
“The man whose mind remains unperturbed amid sorrow, whose thirst for pleasures has altogether disappeared and who is free from passion, fear and anger is called a stable of mind” 2:56

“He who is unattached to everything and meeting with good and evil neither rejoices nor recoils his mind is stable” 2:57

“The man dwelling on sense-objects develops attachment for them;
from attachment springs desire and
from desire (unfulfilled) ensues anger”
“From anger arises infatuation;
from infatuation, confusion of memory;
from confusion of memory, loss of reason;
and from loss of reason one goes to complete ruin.”
Bhagvad Gita 2:62,63


“As the water of different rivers enters the ocean which though full on all sides remains undisturbed, likewise he in whom all enjoyments merge themselves attain peace; not he who hankers after such enjoyments.” Gita 2:70



SOUL and REINCARNATION:-
“In fact there was never a time when I was not or when you or these kings were not. Nor is it a fact that hereafter we shall all cease to be”. Bhagvad Gita 2:12

“Just as boyhood youth and old age are attributed to the soul through this body, even so it attains another body. The wise man does not get deluded about this.” 2:13

“The soul is never born, nor dies, nor does it become only after being born. For it is unborn, eternal, everlasting and ancient; even though the body is slain, the soul is not” Gita 2:20


“Arjuna perform your duties established in Yoga, renouncing attachment and even tempered in success and failure; evenness of temper is called Yoga” 2:48


SOUL, HEAVEN AND HELL AND SPIRITUALITY
Everything you want to know about the Soul is clearly and simply explained in easy English.
INDEX
http://www.hindu-spirituality.info/index.html

1 Rebirth and the Soul
http://www.hindu-spirituality.info/rebirth-and-the-soul.html
2 Two Realms of Existence
http://www.hindu-spirituality.info/two-realms-of-existence.html
3 Creation-Annihilation
http://www.hindu-spirituality.info/creation-annihilation.html
4 The Trapped Soul
http://www.hindu-spirituality.info/the-trapped-soul.html
5 Karma: The Puppeteer
http://www.hindu-spirituality.info/karma-the-puppeteer.html
6 Liberation/Mukti
http://www.hindu-spirituality.info/liberation-mukti.html
7 The Journey Home
http://www.hindu-spirituality.info/the-journey-home.html


SIN :-
“Even if the vilest sinner worships me with exclusive devotion, he should be accounted a saint; for he has rightly resolved. (He is positive in his belief that there is nothing like devoted worship of God).

Speedily he becomes virtuous and secures lasting peace. Know it for certain Arjuna that My devotees never falls.” —9:30-31



“I am equally present in all beings; there is none hateful or dear to Me. They however who devoutly worship Me abide in Me and I too stand revealed in them” 9:29


Arjuna asks why does man commit sin even involuntary as though driven by force?
Gita 3:36

Krishna replies
“It is desire begotten of the elements of Raja which appears as wrath, nay it is insatiable and grossly wicked. Know this to be the enemy in this case”

As flame is covered by smoke, mirror by dust and embryo by the amnion, so is Knowledge covered by it (desire)”

Knowledge stands covered by this eternal enemy of the wise—desire.

The senses, the mind and the intellect are declared to be its seat;
screening the light of Truth through these—desire, deludes the embodied soul.

Therefore Arjuna you must first control your senses.

The senses are said to be greater than the body;
But greater than the senses is the mind,
Greater than the mind is the intellect;
And what is greater than the intellect is He (the Self).
Bhagvad Gita 37-42




SALVATION :-
“Those whose mind and intellect are wholly merged in Him, who remain constantly established in identity with Him, and have finally become one with Him, their sins being wiped out by wisdom, reach the state whence there is no return” Bhagavad Gita 5:17

“To those wise men who are free from lust and anger, who have subdued their mind and have realized God, Brahma, the abode of eternal peace is all-around” Bhagavad Gita 5:26

“He who looks upon well-wishers and neutrals as well as mediators, friends and foe, relatives and objects of hatred, the virtuous and the sinful with the same eye, stands supreme” Bhagavad Gita 6:9

“Thus constantly applying his mind to Me, the Yogi of disciplined mind attains the everlasting peace, consisting of supreme bliss, which abides in Me” Bhagavad Gita 6:15



WORSHIP :-
Whoseoever offers to Me with love a leaf, a flower, a fruit or even water, I appear in person before that disinterested devotee of sinless mind and delightfully partake of that article offered by him with love” Bhagavad Gita 9:36



WITNESSING TO NON-HINDUS :-
Pray to your God with all thy mind and heart.
He will listen and you will attain.




ABOUT HINDUISM
Hinduism is a religion, a philosophy, and a way of life. It guides people along paths that will ultimately lead to the individual soul (Atman) becoming one with the Universal Consciousness.

The religion recognizes that everyone is different and has a unique intellectual and spiritual outlook. Therefore, it allows people to develop and grow at their own pace by making different spiritual paths available to them.
It allows various schools of thought under its broad principles.
It also allows for freedom of worship so that individuals may be guided by their own spiritual experiences.

The strength of Hinduism lies in its adaptability to the infinite diversity of human nature. It has
a highly spiritual and abstract side suited to the philosopher,
a practical and concrete side suited to the worldly individual,
an aesthetic and ceremonial side suited to the person of poetic feeling and
imagination, and a quiescent and contemplative side suited to the lover of peace and seclusion.


Another feature unique to Hinduism is its belief that liberation or deliverance (moksha) can be achieved in this life itself: one does not have to wait for a heaven after death.
http://www.answers.com/topic/hinduism




A BRIEF LOOK AT OTHER ASPECTS OF HINDUISM
Rebirth or reincarnation.
The Hindus believe that one must go through several births and rebirths before attaining liberation. The hardships of the current world are a result of the actions of a previous life that have to be atoned for in the present life.

Karma.
The law of karma (or action) also supports the above theory. It suggests that every action has a similar or related reaction. Although it is not possible to change one's past life, it is possible for one to shape the future and to pave the way for a better life in rebirth through the actions of the present.

Dharma.
Dharma refers to duties that have to be performed at different stages of one's life. These must be completed without a thought of possible rewards or benefits and should also be accomplished to the best of one's ability. They are responsible for the prevailing social order in the world. There are four stages of Dharma:
Student or Brahmachari—This first phase involves living and studying with a guru.
Householder or Grihastha—This next phase starts with marriage.
Retirees or Vanaprastha—The third phase occurs when the duties of child rearing and work are over.
Sanyasi—This is the final phase when all worldly desires are renounced and the individual spends all of his or her time in meditation.

Moksha.
There are essentially three paths to attain oneness with the Universal Consciousness:
Bhakti yoga (the path of devotion)—The vast majority of people choose this path of single-minded devotion to a favorite god.
Karma yoga (the path of action)—Those who choose this path believe in the dictum "work is worship." No job is too menial or too low for this devotée, as all work is a means of realizing God.
Jnana yoga (the path of knowledge)—This is perhaps the most difficult of the three paths and therefore chosen by very few, usually scholars. Knowledge of the Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita is essential.
http://www.answers.com/topic/hinduism

Caste System
This does not form part of any Hindu teachings just as being or rich has nothing to do with one being a Christian. It is merely a system that was devised by the people of those times; a social classification system called Varnashrama was devised so that the human race could have a smooth and ordered life in society.
The system created the castes of Brahmins, the intellectual class, Kshatriyas, the warrior class, Vaishyas, the trader class and Shudras, the service people. Don't you see that every society has a need for teachers and/or preachers, defense, trade and commerce, and service even today? Our forefathers realized this need for order in society even then.
Of course, the original concept of social order has been abused over the ages into its present mutilated form. The original caste system also supported the moving of individuals from one caste (order) to another (order) based on one's actions and performance in society. Great examples are found in the Mahabharat where we see a priest becoming a warrior, a fisherwoman becomes a queen, A prince marries a cannibal-like people, a Shudra after his education and intellect was recognised became a Priest. Nothing was frowned upon in those days. We are gradually seeing the return of those days in Free India which is only 60 years old. It will take a few more decades.



A BRIEF HISTORY OF ITS SPREADING IN THE WEST
Americans learned about Hinduism in the late eighteenth century from European scholars and from missionaries and traders returning from India. Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson incorporated Hindu themes in their transcendental philosophy in the 1830s and 1840s.

The first Indian to successfully promote Hinduism in America was Swami Vivekananda, who represented Hinduism at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition. He went on to establish Vedanta Societies in major American cities, teaching a variety of Hinduism that emphasizes social reform, religious tolerance, and the unity of self (atman) and Absolute (Brahman).

Swami Paramahansa Yogananda's Self-Realization Fellowship, established in 1935 to teach kriya yoga, soon surpassed Vedanta in popularity.

In the 1960s, transcendental meditation and the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, or Hare Krishna Society, gathered large numbers of followers among Americans seeking spiritual alternatives to mainstream religion, and the civil rights movement drew inspiration from Indian nationalist Mohandas K. Gandhi's interpretation of the Hindu tradition of ahimsa (nonviolence).

After the passage of less restrictive immigration laws in 1965, a large influx of Asian Indian immigrants brought a new plurality of Hindu practices to the United States. They contributed the first major, Indian-style Hindu temples, built to accommodate immigrant Hindus, to the American landscape. In 2000, there were approximately one million Hindus in the United States.
http://www.answers.com/topic/hinduism



Aum Shanti (Peace)