Hinduism claims to be the oldest living religion in the world. It numbers one billion followers, of whom 90 percent are in India. Modern Hinduism is the result of a complicated process of evolution and brings together many different strands. As a result, it is often described as more a way of life than a single religion. More accurately, it is a family of religions, a collection of cultural and philosophical systems that share neither a single founder, nor a commonly agreed sacred scripture, nor even a universal set of teachings.
The distant roots of what is now called Hinduism lie in the civilization that thrived in and around the Indus Valley—the “Land of Seven Rivers,” or Sapta-Sindhu (the origin of the word Hindu)—between 2500 and 2000 BCE. This ancient Indian empire was bigger in its time than either Egypt or Mesopotomia. When it was reinvigorated by Aryans from the steppes to the north, a series of sacred texts in Sanskrit began to emerge, known collectively as the Vedas (“knowledge”). There are four Vedas, which are acknowledged by all Hindus, of which the Rig Veda is the best known.
To begin with, those who followed this Vedic religion were travelers, traders and sometimes aggressors. From the seventh century BCE onward, however, a group of mystics within the tradition began to advocate a change of heart to embrace peace and internal spirituality. Their teachings are found in the Upanishads, which were strongly influenced by the Vedas and share their holy status in modern Hinduism.
It was from this Vedic religion of the Axial Age that Hinduism evolved, adding to what had hitherto been a severe and restrained tradition a dazzling array of colorful deities, effigies and temples. The name Hindu itself only started to be used around the thirteenth century CE, and Hinduism did not emerge as a defined religious entity until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when India was learning to live with its European colonizers. This new Hinduism taught that because the divine was infinite, it could not be confined to a single expression—whether that be Brahman, the transcendent impersonal power beyond the universe, or Bhagavan or Ishvara, the Sanskrit words for “Lord” and “God,” which designate a supreme creative and destructive power. Instead, a multitude of deities were worshipped, each expressing different aspects of the whole. Shiva and Vishnu are the most popular.
Brahma
There is a trinity (trimurti) of gods in Hinduism who between them cover life in this world. Alongside Vishnu and Shiva is Brahma (not to be confused with Brahman), whose role is the creation of the world and all its creatures (Hindus are mainly vegetarian out of respect for all created beings, with those who do eat meat avoiding cows). Brahma is depicted as having a red complexion, four heads—each reading one of the principal texts of the Vedas—four arms and a beard. Although described as the first of the three gods, and referred to alongside Vishnu and Shiva in all Hindu rites, he has very few temples devoted to him. There are many explanations for this in Hindu mythology, most of them variations on the tale that it is the result of a curse pronounced by Shiva on Brahma because he neglected his godly duties to pursue a woman, Shatarupa.
Vishnu and Shiva There are many schools in Hinduism, holding different philosophies and worshipping various forms of the divine. Put simply, these can be broken down into Vaishnavas, Shaivas, Shaktas and Smartas.
Vaishnavas—the largest group of the four—focus on Vishnu and his power to manifest himself in human form. On nine separate occasions, usually at times of great crisis, Vishnu has descended from heaven to save the Earth. Many believe that if he comes again, it will signify the end of the world. The best known of these manifestations have been as Krishna and Rama, both of whom are the subject of epic stories recalling how they acted heroically to restore the moral order and balance of the world. Vishnu is usually portrayed as having a human body, blue skin and four arms. He is commonly associated with light and sun.
Shaivas prefer Shiva, a contradictory character, sometimes ascetic, sometimes hedonistic, who destroys but only so as to recreate something more pure. Again Shiva is visualized in a human body, but with a third eye, for wisdom. Shaktas, meanwhile, look to the feminine, the Divine Mother, usually in the form of Lakshmi, a widely popular goddess, pictured as a beautiful woman with four arms who stands on a lotus flower. Her virtues are hard work, wealth, virtue and bravery. Finally, Smartas are devoted to five—or in some cases six—deities, who come together, they believe, to characterize the divine.
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (“The Song of the Lord”) is one of the most influential texts in Hinduism, representing another link between the various branches of this family of religions. It was, most scholars concur, written during the late third century BCE and is ostensibly an accessible debate about the purpose of warfare. It consists of a dialogue between the warrior Arjuna and his friend Krishna, who reveals himself as the god Vishnu in human form. Arjuna is close to rejecting battle as futile, but Krishna persuades him that in certain circumstances it is necessary to fight in order to restore dharma to an otherwise destructive world. It is in outlining these circumstances that the Bhagavad Gita makes its impact, for it demands that everyone strive for detachment from and indifference to worldly gain. Moreover, it promises that this can be achieved not just by a favored few but by all. “If they rely on me,” Krishna tells Arjuna, “even men born in the womb of evil reach the highest way.”
Indian nationalism The connection between Hinduism and Indian culture and national identity is an intimate one, and was encouraged by Indian nationalists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as they strove to cast off colonial rule. Other common threads that unite Hindus are the Vedas, certain ritual practices, and philosophical concepts such as samsara and dharma. Samsara, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, governed by karma, is one of Hinduism’s most important teachings, and is one that is also shared with other faiths.
“Those who, renouncing all actions in Me, and regarding Me as the Supreme, worship Me … For those whose thoughts have entered into Me, I am soon the deliverer from the ocean of death and transmigration… Keep your mind on Me alone, your intellect on Me. Thus you shall dwell in Me hereafter.”
Bhagavad Gita, c.300 BCE
Dharma refers in Hinduism to an overarching morality that guides how each individual treats others. It incorporates the imperative to be at the service of others, and of God, by acting virtuously and ethically. Each individual has their own dharma, known as their sva-dharma. The moral code of dharma is so central to Hinduism that an alternative name for the faith, often used by Hindus themselves, is Sanatana Dharma, Sanskrit for “eternal law.”
the condensed idea
Hinduism is a family of religions
| timeline | |
|---|---|
| c.2500–2000 BCE | Ancient civilization in Indus valley |
| c.1500 BCE | Composition of Vedas |
| c.800–c.300 BCE | Emergence of “Hinduism” |
| c.300 BCE | Bhagavad Gita |