 Major
Beliefs
The Hindu tradition is more a way of life than a set
of beliefs. Hindus have many different practices that vary from country to country,
even from community to community. Most Hindus believe that the whole universe
is permeated with the Divine, a reality called the Brahman. This Divine can be
known by many names and take many forms, and it is fully present in the human
soul. Hindus believe there is one God and that God can take many forms,
expressed as gods and goddesses. For example: - Brahma is Creator
- Vishnu
is Sustainer
- Shiva is Destroyer
Hindus understand these
as many ways to understand the Divine. Thus many Hindus do not worship a multitude
of gods, and understand the one supreme world-soul as manifested in a multitude
of ways. So each image stands for one aspect of the supreme force of the universe.
For example, there are gods of the sun, of marriage, of knowledge, of art and
music, of fire, of agriculture, as well as gods who exemplify all of the virtues
of life required by the teachings of religion. Hindus also see the presence
of the Divine manifest in the female, worshiped as the Divine Mother. A Hindu
temple will house the image, or murti, of one or more gods. For Hindus, the murti
acts as a lens that focuses one on beholding God. Hindus believe in reincarnation,
the belief that the soul's journey to self-realization takes many lifetimes and
that its journey from one life to the next is influenced by the deeds one performs
in a lifetime. What people do in the way of good or evil influences how they will
be reborn after death, that is, their goodness may be rewarded with a higher level
of existence or else they may be reduced to a lower level. The final goal
lies beyond unending rebirths. All Hindus long for the eventual union of their
soul with the world-soul thereby breaking free from the cycle of births and rebirths.
The good life, tending toward ultimate fulfillment, consists of: -
Moral behavior
- Service to others
- Seeking knowledge
- Worship
and devotion to one's personal deity who helps in the struggle with evil.
Scripture
/ Sacred Writings Hindu tradition is contained in the Vedas,
a body of ancient hymns and chants recited orally in verse. Each Veda has
an associated literature called Brahmanas (rituals) and Upanishads (explorations
of deeper understandings of the universe). Veda can also mean more generally
the wisdom and authority of the whole Hindu tradition. The sacred books
tell about the indescribable essence, or world-soul, and the existence of thousands
of deities, all of which are concerned with sustaining the world.
Worship
and Spiritual Practice For Hindus, Karma (action) is one's
acts and their consequences. The path of action involves one in the world and
its concerns without claiming the results of one's actions for oneself. Hindu
tradition is centered in the home altar, where family members may spend time in
prayer each day. Families also study the Hindu scriptures and sing hymns at home.
They light an oil lamp, burn incense, or place fresh flowers at the home altar. On
festival days or the special days of certain deities, many Hindus go to the temple
for festivals and pilgrimages.  Many
temples in the United States are large buildings housing offices, meeting and
classrooms. The centerpiece is a group of shrines, each one dedicated to a particular
deity and containing richly ornamented images of the gods. In the center of the
shrine area is a simulated Indian temple, with its elaborately carved, uplifting
columns and figures, the whole bathed brilliantly in natural light from a soaring
skylight. This gives the effect of an outdoor setting, as would commonly be the
case in India.
Worshippers come and go at will having removed their shoes
at the entrance. Men and women mingle together freely. Many gather to stand reverently
before the shrine of a particular god whose worship is the focus of the day. Several
priests recite prayers and devotional texts. The people bring gifts of fruit,
rice, flowers, milk and other things to the deity. After blessing the gifts, the
priests walk among the people distributing bits of the food offerings to be eaten
and also briefly placing a turban-shaped object with a handle upon the heads of
the worshippers as a symbol of the protection offered by the deity whom they have
invoked. All the time that the greater number of people are gathered at
one shrine, others go to the other images, bowing or prostrating themselves and
offering gifts. A large bell hanging at the entrance to the worship area is rung
by those who desire in that way to announce their presence and call upon the god
of their choice.
HistoryThe Hindu way
of life is based on the teachings of ancient scriptures that go back perhaps 3,000
years BCE. These teachings were transmitted orally for centuries and then written
down in the Sanskrit language. The writings include hymns to the gods of
ancient people of India, as well as legends and prayers composed by unknown authors.
Later collections of material, also accepted as authoritative scripture, contain
philosophical discourses, stories about the gods, epic poems and devotional writings. Hinduism
is the principal religion of India, and has moved out into most countries of the
world. Today millions of people world wide follow the Hindu way of life.
Calendar
Hindus use a lunar calendar, but they have one solar holiday,
Makar Sankranti. Hindus observe a number of holy days and festivals honoring
certain deities, celebrating the harvest and the new year. These occasions often
include colorful displays of traditional dress and dancing native to India. Families
mark the significant moments of life with special rites, such as births, name-giving,
first taking of solid food, head shaving to remove symbolically the traces of
evil from a pervious life, ear-piercing, coming of age, marriage and death.
DiversityThis
brief description of the Hindu way does not do justice to the extreme diversity
in that religion. Little uniformity exists in the multitude of rituals, doctrines,
devotions, art forms and customs. Some adherents emphasize the ritual aspect of
worship, others the devotional life of love for the gods, still others have little
to do with the gods at all and concentrate on Hindu philosophy. And there are
many whose religious practice is largely a matter of moral behavior. Hindus
in general believe that no one religion is exclusively true, but that all genuine
ways of faith are aspects of the one universal, all-encompassing truth.
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