The truth is in the depths- Democritus
The Sanskrit term for Religion is Dharma i.e. Moral, Ethical or Lawful Duty, or Virtue, or Right Action/Karma at the Right Time.
Everything strives for stability, explained my chemistry teacher. There are such fascinating arrangements for it- electron jumps, bonding, structural formations, or body’s biological processes etc. What albeit puzzles Robert Langdon and me is 'why so?'
Why are all natural laws and forces the way they are? Does the universe expand or contract for stability, too?
WHAT IS HINDUISM?
You know how the lives we are leading are going to be replayed forever until the light that’s bouncing off us keeps being received by someone at some end of the universe(s)? How essentially we are immortal, despite dying in this lifetime? – Yes, that is what I define 'Karma'. Usually it is called 'Action'.
1. Hinduism is an institution of faith built on Dharma and Karma. It is more of a set of philosophies than the word of God. The Supreme Power or Absolute Shakti (Energy), Brahman or Paramatma (Supreme Soul) that Hindus aim being one with, is unborn and never dies, has no attributes, and no form.
It is consciousness, like the mind but with Highest Awareness. It is a State of being, and not a Being. It is Knowledge and Wisdom.
There is no gendered pronoun to refer to the Supreme Energy- not a ‘He’ nor ‘She’; is referred to as ‘neti’- nether this, nor that; and also ‘tat’- that which is (in Sanskrit).
There is no colour of that Power- black, white, dark, fair.
Since, Energy has no gender, and Hindus worship 'Supreme Energy'- Hindus worship a gender-less God.
2. The earliest form of Hinduism, Vedic Hinduism, did not incorporate any temples or human/superhuman figured gods and goddesses. It was mostly Yajnas (rituals with offerings made to fire) and worship of the Supreme Energy.
The later form of Hinduism, Puranic Hinduism, was aimed at making the metaphysical comprehensible for keeping the wider masses engaged.
Subsequently, corporeity was provided to the realm- the Trinity of Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Nourisher) and Shiva (Destroyer); the Incarnations of Vishnu (Dashavataras) where the Supreme Energy leads a human life to teach us how to live and free our soul from cycles of birth and death; Anthropomorphic characters (animals with human attributes); Stories of different manifestations of gods and goddesses, many portrayed as hybrid human-animal figures; etc.
Humans absorb better when they see 'gods' looking like them, hence faces and bodies were provided to the faith. Idols and Temples were made of gods and goddesses.
But a Hindu never worships these idols even when it appears they are. The Hindu worships the Energy or Power that the idol represents and summons--Hinduism does not revolve around idol worship.
3. Moreover, Energy is not plural. The many gods and goddesses are worshipped as a manifestation of the One Absolute Energy-- Hinduism is monotheistic.
4. Hinduism is expansive in its scriptures, hence its Philosophies and Doctrines.
There are four Vedas (the foundation of Hinduism); several Puranas- 1 Maha Purana, 17 Mukhya Puranas (Major Puranas) and 18 Upa Puranas (Minor Puranas), with over 400,000 verses; Itihasa or epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata); Upanishads etc.
There is a multitude of Shastras or detailed study of every possible subject known to modern man- Geography, Astronomy, Mathematics, Cosmology, Mineralogy, Architecture, Grammar, Medicine & Surgery, Law, Ethics & Dharma, Literature, Economy, Art and Music, Yoga, Human Sexuality and so much more.
5. There is no ‘book’ that is the ‘word of God’, with the exception of Bhagwad Gita.
Nonetheless, Bhagwad Gita also directs towards Dharma- performing the rightful moral duty and action in any situation assessing all aspects of collective good, justice, truth, detachment, compassion and Purpose.
One does not have to be a Hindu to follow it. Even if one is a Hindu, there is no binding of a specific set of statements. It clearly states that a human’s action is what matters; everything else is secondary.
6. Disciples of different Hindu philosophies make different Schools of Thought- Advaita Vedanta, Samkhya, Nyaya, Yoga, Mimamsa accepting Vedas’ authority; and Buddhism, Jainism, etc. not accepting Vedas’ authority.
As mentioned, Hindus believe everything to be a manifestation of the Absolute Energy, and all creatures to be representative of it. The activation of Chakras (7 energy centres in a human body) can elevate us to the State of Absolute Awareness- when we unify with the Absolute Energy.
Everything in Hinduism intends to equip one to live wholesomely fulfilled, introspect deeply, reflect wisely and project purposefully, and go beyond the supposed physical limits of absorbing the Truth.
WHY HINDUISM HAS DIFFERENT VERSIONS?
A fascinating aspect of Hinduism is, as mentioned before, there is no set book as the Word of God.
I. All Hindu scriptures have been authored by sages and authors in thousands of years, incorporating ages of penance and contemplation of virtues, ethics, deeper & higher meaning of life, attributes of human behaviour, qualms of conscience, union of senses etc.
The authors have also been sages, thinkers, poets, intellectuals, philosophers etc. Whilst this amasses wisdom and perspectives from various thinkers, it also introduces sub-conscious deep-seated social, cultural, political and spiritual opinions and prejudices.
An important part of experiments is inferences.
Similarly, an imperatival part of philosophical, introspective and reflective intervention is deductions.
The human mind, unless reaches the Highest Awareness, gets influenced by biases and preconceptions, and these may reflect in demeanour and action.
Even if the authors had cognisance beyond a prejudiced human mind- all their original works are not preserved. Those that are, have been appended upon, undergone multifarious translations, and adapted regionally with respective social and cultural amendments- basically human error.
II. Like ALL other religions, Hinduism is also never literal, NEVER.
The scriptures are a treasure, each written word with meaning deeper than what seems.
Ergo, after deductions by the authors, interpretation by the readers is a crucial factor in assimilating the actual teachings. Needless to say, interpretations by People can Never be same.
To interpret a statement wisely and morally, one has to be wise and moral to begin with.
Hence, Deductions, Appendments, Adaptations, Translations and Interpretations make one person’s Hinduism different from the other, and at varying stages of beliefs.
HOW MAGICAL IS HINDUISM?
“In the end, basically, this is what a black hole is: a shortcut to the distant future.” – Carlo Rovelli, Theoretical Physicist (Reality Is Not What It Seems)
I think superstitions arise from causality misunderstood linearly.
The thing is- Hinduism is no more magic than modern science is static.
What appears magical, superstitious or even derisory, becomes pure logic and play of Energy or Shakti.
Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and more scientists wished until the end the derivation of one Unified Equation (Theory of Everything!) that summates all universal forces. Religion and Science are both looking for the same- the Absolute summation of Energy.
It is how Mr India was magic before we understood the Ray Optics model of vision (concept; we do not have the cloak yet!). The Divine Beings featured in epics and stories are not magical either. They show Absolute Awareness.
It is how travelling at light speed increases body mass infinitely- something the Absolute Energy is shown to have.
It is how Black Holes, Singularities and General Relativity prove Time is non-existent/relative as a term- Past, Present and Future are unreal as we know them. Something I have heard mentioned a lot in Hindu scriptures.
It is how Paul Dirac- one of the greatest Mathematicians and Physicists, and contemporary of Heisenberg, Wolfgang Pauli, Albert Einstein, Neils Bohr etc.- changed from calling religion “a jumble of false assertions” to “[if there is] God is a mathematician of a very high order” to “…it will be necessary to assume the existence of a god to start off life”. The amelioration of acerbity happened over the course of 44 years as he went deeper into Advanced Sciences.
Now, this is not enough to exonerate Religion from being the cause of violence, discrimination, supremacy and division that, unfortunately, has persisted in India since Independence. If these humongous Philosophical words do not hold any scientific and rational substance, maybe the society should do away with them.
This series plumbs the truth of religious hatred, and equips to conquer ignorance with knowledge.
In the next PART I'll explore how compatible Hinduism and Science can be. I used the words 'Absolute' and 'Supreme' a lot here- we'll find out why so in the next PART.
“God has no religion.” - Mahatma Gandhi
Disclaimer: - The information within this series is no where near complete nor absolute; especially since Hinduism is replete with several versions of a story. This is an attempt to encapsulate billions of pages of a millennia old intellectual establishment founded on Karma and Dharma. And it continues to evolve. The deeper you dive, the more fascinating as well as dichotomous versions of stories and anecdotes you would find. But trust me, this is the gist.
Thank you, Namrata 😊. Yes, a lot of research and thought. I'm delighted it resonated with you. Please do read my latest blog -An Urgent Memoir of Identities and-isms: To Millennials and Gen Z. It's being praised immensely for its message and content, too. I hope you like it. Thank you 🙏. Keep reading!
Eloquent and comprehensive. I enjoyed reading it. You have mentioned so many elements. I am sure a lot of research and understanding must have gone into this. It is great Charul :)
Thank you very much 😊. That's very kind of you. And yes, I wanted to broach this topic in all honesty to prove that when we go by the truth, it isn't controversial. If you'd like, please read the blog on compatibility of Hinduism and Science, too. Will release the third soon. Thanks.
Very well expressed !!
It's something I always have been believing in, talking about "supreme energy".
The way you have penned down facts isn't debatable but convincing.
Keep it up and thanks for talking about this in the best way possible !