1.
Hinduism
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Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents
2.
Hindu
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Hindu refers to any person who regards themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. It has historically used as a geographical, cultural, or religious identifier for people indigenous to South Asia. The historical meaning of the term Hindu has evolved with time, by the 16th century, the term began to refer to residents of India who were not Turks or Muslims. The historical development of Hindu self-identity within the Indian population, in a religious or cultural sense, is unclear, competing theories state that Hindu identity developed in the British colonial era, or that it developed post-8th century CE after the Islamic invasion and medieval Hindu-Muslim wars. A sense of Hindu identity and the term Hindu appears in texts dated between the 13th and 18th century in Sanskrit and regional languages. The 14th- and 18th-century Indian poets such as Vidyapati, Kabir and Eknath used the phrase Hindu dharma, the Christian friar Sebastiao Manrique used the term Hindu in religious context in 1649. In the 18th century, the European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus, in contrast to Mohamedans for Mughals, scholars state that the custom of distinguishing between Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs is a modern phenomenon. Hindoo is a spelling variant, whose use today may be considered derogatory. At more than 1.03 billion, Hindus are the third largest group after Christians. The vast majority of Hindus, approximately 966 million, live in India, according to Indias 2011 census. After India, the next 9 countries with the largest Hindu populations are, in decreasing order, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom and Myanmar. These together accounted for 99% of the worlds Hindu population, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan and Sanskrit word Sindhu, which means a large body of water, covering river, ocean. It was used as the name of the Indus river and also referred to its tributaries, the Punjab region, called Sapta Sindhava in the Vedas, is called Hapta Hindu in Zend Avesta. The 6th-century BCE inscription of Darius I mentions the province of Hidush, the people of India were referred to as Hinduvān and hindavī was used as the adjective for Indian in the 8th century text Chachnama. The term Hindu in these ancient records is an ethno-geographical term, the Arabic equivalent Al-Hind likewise referred to the country of India. Among the earliest known records of Hindu with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by the Buddhist scholar Xuanzang, Xuanzang uses the transliterated term In-tu whose connotation overflows in the religious according to Arvind Sharma. The Hindu community occurs as the amorphous Other of the Muslim community in the court chronicles, wilfred Cantwell Smith notes that Hindu retained its geographical reference initially, Indian, indigenous, local, virtually native. Slowly, the Indian groups themselves started using the term, differentiating themselves, the poet Vidyapatis poem Kirtilata contrasts the cultures of Hindus and Turks in a city and concludes The Hindus and the Turks live close together, Each makes fun of the others religion
3.
History of Hinduism
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History of Hinduism denotes a wide variety of related Hindu denominations native to the Indian Subcontinent, most of whom live in modern-day Nepal and India. Its history overlaps or coincides with the development of Indian religions since Iron Age India and it has thus been called the oldest living religion in the world. Scholars regard Hinduism as a synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots, the history of Hinduism is often divided into periods of development, with the first period being that of the historical Vedic religion dated from about 1900 BCE to 1400 BCE. The subsequent period, between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, is a point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions, and a formative period for Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. The Epic and Early Puranic period, from c.200 BCE to 500 CE, saw the classical Golden Age of Hinduism (, in this period the six branches of Hindu philosophy evolved, namely Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mīmāṃsā, and Vedanta. Monotheistic sects like Shaivism and Vaishnavism developed during this period through the Bhakti movement. Hinduism under both Hindu and Islamic rulers from c.1200 to 1750 CE, saw the prominence of the Bhakti movement. The colonial period saw the emergence of various Hindu reform movements partly inspired by movements, such as Unitarianism. The Partition of India in 1947 was along religious lines, with the Republic of India emerging with a Hindu majority. During the 20th century, due to the Indian diaspora, Hindu minorities have formed in all continents, with the largest communities in absolute numbers in the United States, Western scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions. After the Vedic period, between 500-200 BCE and c.300 CE, at the beginning of the Epic and Puranic c. q. Preclassical period, the Hindu synthesis emerged, which incorporated śramaṇic and Buddhist influences and this synthesis emerged under the pressure of the success of Buddhism and Jainism. During the Gupta reign the first Puranas were written, which were used to disseminate mainstream religious ideology amongst pre-literate, the resulting Puranic Hinduism differed markedly from the earlier Brahmanism of the Dharmaśāstras and the smritis. Hinduism co-existed for several centuries with Buddhism, to gain the upper hand at all levels in the 8th century. From northern India this Hindu synthesis, and its divisions, spread to southern India. This process of assimilation explains the diversity of local cultures in India half shrouded in a taddered cloak of conceptual unity. James Mill, in his The History of British India, distinguished three phases in the history of India, namely Hindu, Muslim and British civilisations and this periodisation has been criticised, for the misconceptions it has given rise to. Another periodisation is the division into ancient, classical, medieval and modern periods, the division in Ancient-Medieval-Modern overlooks the fact that the Muslim-conquests took place between the eight and the fourteenth century, while the south was never completely conquered
4.
Hindu mythology
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As such, it is a subset of mainstream Indian and Nepali culture. The roots of mythology that evolved from classical Hinduism come from the times of the Vedic civilization, the four Vedas, notably the hymns of the Rigveda, contain allusions to many themes. The characters, philosophy and stories make up ancient Vedic myths are indelibly linked with Hindu beliefs. The Vedas are four in number, namely RigVeda, YajurVeda, SamaVeda, in the period of Classical Sanskrit, much material is preserved in the Sanskrit epics. Besides mythology proper, the voluminous epics also provide a range of information about ancient Nepali and Indian society, philosophy, culture, religion. The two great Hindu Epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata tell the story of two incarnations of Vishnu. These two works are known as Itihasa, the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana serve as both religious scriptures and a rich source of philosophy and morality. The most famous of these chapters is the Bhagavad Gita in the Mahabharata, in which Lord Krishna explains the concepts of duty and these stories are deeply embedded in Hindu philosophy and serve as parables and sources of devotion for Hindus. The Mahabharata is the worlds longest epic in verse, running to more than 2,000,000 lines, the epics themselves are set in different Yugas, or periods of time. The Ramayana, written by the Maharshi Valmiki, describes the life and times of Lord Rama, the Mahabharata, describing the life and times of the Pandavas, occurs in the Dvapara Yuga, a period associated with Lord Krishna. In total, there are 4 Yugas and these are the Satya or Krita Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and the Kali Yuga. The avatara concept, however, belongs to the Puranic times, the Puranas deal with stories that are old and do not appear in the epics. They contain legends and stories about the origins of the world, and the lives and adventures of a variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines. They contain traditions related to ancient kings, seers, incarnations of God and legends about holy places, the Bhagavata Purana is probably the most read and popular of the Puranas. It chronicles the legends of the god Vishnu and his avatars on earth, the act of creation was thought of in more than one manner. One of the oldest cosmogonic myth in the Rigveda had come into existence as a cosmic egg, the Purusha Sukta narrates that all things were made out of the mangled limbs of Purusha, a magnified non-natural man, who was sacrificed by the gods. In the Puranas, Vishnu, in the shape of a boar, plunged into the cosmic waters, the Shatapatha Brahmana says that in the beginning, Prajapati, the first creator or father of all, was alone in the world. He differentiated himself into two beings, husband and wife, the wife, regarding union with her producer as incest, fled from his embraces assuming various animal disguises
5.
Sannyasa
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Sannyasa is the life stage of renunciation within the Hindu philosophy of four age-based life stages known as ashramas, with the first three being Brahmacharya, Grihastha and Vanaprastha. Sannyasa has historically been a stage of renunciation, ahimsa peaceful and simple life, however, this has not always been the case. These warrior sanyasis played an important role in helping European colonial powers establish themselves in India, saṃnyāsa in Sanskrit means renunciation of the world and abandonment. It is a word of saṃ- which means together, all, ni- which means down and āsa from the root as. A literal translation of Sannyāsa is thus to put down everything, Sannyasa is sometimes spelled as Sanyasa. The term Saṃnyasa makes appearance in the Samhitas, Aranyakas and Brahmanas, the earliest layers of Vedic literature, but it is rare. The term Sannyasa evolves into a rite of renunciation in ancient Sutra texts, in Dravidian languages, sannyasi is pronounced as sanyasi and also sannasi in colloquial form. Sanyasis are also known as Bhiksu, Pravrajita/Pravrajitā, Yati, Sramana, jamison and Witzel state early Vedic texts make no mention of Sannyasa, or Ashrama system, unlike the concepts of Brahmacharin and Grihastha which they do mention. Instead, Rig Veda uses the term Antigriha in hymn 10.95.4, still part of extended family and it is in later Vedic era and over time, Sannyasa and other new concepts emerged, while older ideas evolved and expanded. The explicit use of the four stage Ashrama concept, appeared a few centuries later, however, early Vedic literature from 2nd millennium BC, mentions Muni, with characteristics that mirror those found in later Sannyasins and Sannyasinis. Rig Veda, for example, in Book 10 Chapter 136, mentions mendicants as those with Kesin, rigveda, however, refers to these people as Muni and Vati. The Munis, girdled with the wind, wear garments of soil hue, They, following the winds swift course and these Munis, their lifestyle and spiritual pursuit, likely influenced the Sannyasa concept, as well as the ideas behind the ancient concept of Brahmacharya. One class of Munis were associated with Rudra and this freedom has led to diversity and significant differences in the lifestyle and goals of those who adopt Sannyasa. There are, however, some common themes, a person in Sannyasa lives a simple life, typically detached, itinerant, drifting from place to place, with no material possessions or emotional attachments. They may have a stick, a book, a container or vessel for food and drink, often wearing yellow, saffron, orange. They may have hair and appear disheveled, and are usually vegetarians. Some minor Upanishads as well as monastic orders consider women, child, students, fallen men and others as not qualified for Sannyasa, the dress, the equipage and lifestyle varies between groups. For example, Sannyasa Upanishad in verses 2.23 to 2.29 and those who enter Sannyasa may choose whether they join a group
6.
Kama
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Kama means desire, wish, longing in Indian literature. Kama is one of the four goals of life in Hindu traditions. It is considered an essential and healthy goal of life when pursued without sacrificing the other three goals, Dharma, Artha and Moksha. Together, these four aims of life are called Puruṣārtha, Kama means “desire, wish or longing”. In contemporary literature, kama refers usually to sexual desire, however, the term also refers to any sensory enjoyment, emotional attraction and aesthetic pleasure such as from arts, dance, music, painting, sculpture and nature. The concept kama is found in some of the earliest known verses in Vedas, for example, Book 10 of Rig Veda describes the creation of the universe from nothing by the great heat. The Mahabharata, for example, provides one of the definitions of kama. Kama often implies the short form of the word kamana, Kama, however, is more than kamana. Vatsyayana, the author of Kamasutra, describes kama as happiness that is a manasa vyapara, experiencing harmonious music is kama, as is being inspired by natural beauty, the aesthetic appreciation of a work of art, and admiring with joy something created by another human being. Kama Sutra, in its discourse on kama, describes forms of art, dance. Karl Potter describes kama as an attitude and capacity, a little girl who hugs her teddy bear with a smile is experiencing kama, as are two lovers in embrace. During these experiences, the person connects and identifies the beloved as part of oneself and feels more complete, fulfilled and this, in the Indian perspective, is kāma. Hindery notes the inconsistent and diverse exposition of kama in various ancient texts of India, both Sita and Rama, frequently express their unwillingness and inability to live without the other. Gavin Flood explains kama as “love” without violating dharma, artha, in Hinduism, kama is regarded as one of the four proper and necessary goals of human life, the others being Dharma, Artha and Moksha. Ancient Indian literature emphasizes that dharma precedes and is essential, if dharma is ignored, artha and kama lead to social chaos. Vatsyayana in Kama Sutra recognizes relative value of three goals as follows, artha precedes kama, while dharma precedes both kama and artha. Vatsyayana, in Chapter 2 of Kama sutra, presents a series of philosophical objections argued against kama, the pursuit of pleasure, claim objectors, encourages individuals to commit unrighteous deeds, bring distress, carelessness, levity and suffering later in life. These objections were then answered by Vatsyayana, with the declaration that kama is as necessary to human beings as food, just like good food is necessary for the well being of the body, good pleasure is necessary for healthy existence of a human being, suggests Vatsyayana
7.
Compassion
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Compassion is the response to the suffering of others that motivates a desire to help them. Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to physical, spiritual. There is also an aspect of compassion which regards a quantitative dimension, such that individuals compassion is often given a property of depth, vigour, the etymology of compassion is Latin, meaning co-suffering. More involved than simple empathy, compassion commonly gives rise to a desire to alleviate anothers suffering. Compassion is often, though not inevitably, the key component in what manifests in the context as altruism. In ethical terms, the expressions down the ages of the so-called Golden Rule often embodies by implication the principle of compassion, the English noun compassion, meaning to love together with, comes from Latin. Ranked a great virtue in numerous philosophies, compassion is considered in almost all the religious traditions as among the greatest of virtues. Three theoretical perspectives of compassion have been proposed, which are contrasted by their predictions, Compassion as a synonym of empathic distress, which is characterized by the feeling of distress in connection with another persons suffering. This perspective of compassion is based on the finding that people sometimes emulate, Compassion is simply a variation of love or sadness, not a distinct emotion. From the perspective of psychology, Compassion can be viewed as a distinct emotional state, which can be differentiated from distress, sadness. Identifying with another person is a process for human beings. This process is related to compassion because sympathizing with others is possible with people from other countries, cultures, locations. A possible source of process of identifying with others comes from a universal category called Spirit. Toward the late 1970s, very different cultures and nations around the world took a turn to religious fundamentalism, the more one person knows about the human condition and the associated experiences is another route to identification. The importance of identifying with others for compassion is contrasted by the physical and psychological effects of abandonment. Compassion seems to be characteristic of democratic societies, the role of compassion as a factor contributing to individual or societal behavior has been the topic of continuous debate. In contrast to the process of identifying with other people, an absence of compassion may require ignoring or disapproving identification with other people or groups. This concept has been illustrated throughout history, The Holocaust, Genocide, European colonization of the Americas, the seemingly essential step in these atrocities could be the defining of the victims as not human or not us
8.
Karma
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Karma means action, work or deed, it also refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual influence the future of that individual. Good intent and good deed contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deed contribute to bad karma, Karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in many schools of Asian religions. In these schools, karma in the present affects ones future in the current life, as well as the nature, with origins in ancient India, karma is a key concept in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Taoism. Karma is the deed, work, action, or act, and it is also the object. Halbfass explains karma by contrasting it with another Sanskrit word kriya, a good action creates good karma, as does good intent. A bad action creates bad karma, as does bad intent, Karma, also refers to a conceptual principle that originated in India, often descriptively called the principle of karma, sometimes as the karma theory or the law of karma. In the context of theory, karma is complex and difficult to define, other Indologists include in the definition of karma theory that which explains the present circumstances of an individual with reference to his or her actions in past. The law of karma operates independent of any deity or any process of divine judgment, Buddhism and Jainism have their own karma precepts. Thus karma has not one, but multiple definitions and different meanings and it is a concept whose meaning, importance and scope varies between Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and other traditions that originated in India, and various schools in each of these traditions. OFlaherty claims that, furthermore, there is a debate regarding whether karma is a theory, a model, a paradigm. Karma theory as a concept, across different Indian religious traditions, shares common themes, causality, ethicization. A common theme to theories of karma is its principle of causality, one of the earliest association of karma to causality occurs in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad of Hinduism. For example, at 4.4. 5-6, it states, The relationship of karma to causality is a motif in all schools of Hindu, Jain. Disinterested actions, or unintentional actions do not have the positive or negative karmic effect, as interested. Another causality characteristic, shared by Karmic theories, is that like deeds lead to like effects, thus good karma produces good effect on the actor, while bad karma produces bad effect. This effect may be material, moral or emotional — that is, the effect of karma need not be immediate, the effect of karma can be later in ones current life, and in some schools it extends to future lives. The consequence or effects of karma can be described in two forms, phalas and samskaras. A phala is the visible or invisible effect that is typically immediate or within the current life, the theory of karma is often presented in the context of samskaras
9.
Artha
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Artha is one of the four aims of human life in Indian philosophy. The word artha literally translates as meaning, sense, goal, Artha is also a broader concept in the scriptures of Hinduism. As a concept, it has multiple meanings, all of which means of life. Artha applies to both an individual and a government, in an individuals context, artha includes wealth, career, activity to make a living, financial security and economic prosperity. The proper pursuit of artha is considered an important aim of life in Hinduism. At government level, artha includes social, legal, economic, proper Arthashastra is considered an important and necessary objective of government. In Hindu traditions, Artha is connected to the three aspects and goals of human life - Dharma, Kama and Moksha. Together, these mutually non-exclusive four aims of life are called Puruṣārtha, Artha as a concept includes multiple meanings. It is difficult to capture the meaning of artha, or related terms of dharma, kama and moksha, john Lochtefeld describes artha as the means of life, and includes material prosperity. Karl Potter explains it as an attitude and capability that enables one to make a living, to remain alive and it includes economic prosperity, security and health of oneself and those one feels responsible for. Artha includes everything in ones environment that allows one to live and it is neither an end state nor an endless goal of aimlessly amassing money, claims Karl Potter, rather it is an attitude and necessary requirement of human life. John Koller takes a different viewpoint than Karl Potters interpretation, john Koller suggests artha is not an attitude, rather it is one of the necessities of human life. Artha, then, is best described as pursuit of activities and means necessary for a joyous, daya Krishna argues that artha, as well as the concept of Puruṣārthas, is a myth. The various schools and ancient Sanskrit texts provide no consensus opinion, notes Krishna, rather they present a debate, inconsistencies and conflicting verses are even present within the same script, such as the Manusmriti. Some of this, suggests Krishna, reflects differences in human needs, perhaps, conjectures Krishna, artha is just a subset of kama and karma. Vatsyayana in Kama Sutra defines artha as the acquisition of arts, land, cattle, wealth, equipages and he explains, artha is also protection of what is already acquired, and the increase of what is protected. Gavin Flood explains artha as worldly success without violating dharma, kama, Flood clarifies that artha in ancient Hindu literature, as well as purushartha, is better understood as a goal of Man. In other words, it is one of the four purposes of human life, the survival and the thriving of humans requires artha - that is, economic activity, wealth and its creation, worldly success, profit, political success and all that is necessary for human existence
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