Hinduism

=Hinduism =

__**//God://**__ Hinduisms concept of God is complex and depends upon which sect of Hinduism one is referring to. The concept of God in all the sects of Hinduism span from monism, to pantheism, to henotheism, to monotheism to polytheism. Therefore, Hinduism can be classified on Pursued Faith as monotheistic and polytheistic in nature.

Although there are diverse sects of Hinduism, generally speaking Hindus believe in what they call the //Absolute//.[1] This Absolute is called **//Brahman//**, which “is the eternal, unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe.”[2] Hindus avoid worshipping Brahman directly because they believe it is “the unidentifiable force of the cosmos and is inaccessible to human thought;” therefore, Hindus worship aspects of Brahman – essentially a pantheon of deities that represent Brahman.[3] However, even in this view of worshiping Brahman there are diverse methods.

For organizational purposes, the three most prominent sects of Hinduism view God in the following manner: __﻿__
 * 1) __//Brahmanism (Vedism) “The Way of Works”://__ Believes in the Trimurti (trinity) of Brahman. In short, in this sect of Hinduism Brahman has three aspects:
 * **//Brahma://** the “omniscient, unfathomable, self-existent ground of the world” and “creator god who brought Earth into existence.”[4] Do not confuse Brahma with Brahman. They are different. Brahma is just an expression/aspect of the Trimurti of Brahma.
 * **//Vishnu://** the “sustainer and preserver of the world in its present form.” Vishnu can create divine attributes of himself called __//avatars//__ (personal manifestations of the divine essence); each avatar is a different expression/attribute of Vishnu. In all Vishnu has 10 different avatar forms (the most famous being Krishna, the famous blue-skinned avatar from the __//Bhagavad-Gita//__). Hindus believe that Vishnu has shown 9 of his avatars but one still remains called __//Kalki//__, who will usher in the final age of peace and unity.[5]
 * **//Shiva://** is the aspect of Brahman that is capable of both uniting and destroying the cosmos. He likewise can bless and desecrate the cosmos. The most prominent “son” of Shiva is __//Ganesha//__, the Hindu diety that has the head of an elephant and the body of a man (Ganesha is a god of good fortune who helps people escape difficulty).[6]
 * 1) __//Advaita Vedanta “The Way of Knowledge”://__ Believes that Brahman (God) is “simultaneously both the instrumental and the material cause of the universe; nothing exists independently of Brahman.”[7] In short, Brahman is everything that exists. This sect of Hinduism affirms pantheism as a key concept.
 * 2) __//Bhakti “The Way of Devotion”://__ Believes that any one of the gods or goddesses in the pantheon of Hindu deities is worthy to be worshiped at any given time for specific purposes. Some gods are for various geographical regions of India, others are various expressions and values of Brahman. This sect of Hinduism is polytheistic in nature.[8]

**__//Humanity://__** In Hindu thought humanity is caught in an endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Furthermore each person possess an imperishable soul (__//atman//__) that continues to exist throughout this cycle of reincarnation. However, this atman is actually part of Brahman (God), sharing all of Brahman’s qualities.[9]

For over 1,500 years Hinduism has sanctioned a rigid caste-system that broke down society into five distinct castes. People are born into these castes. The purpose of the caste system is to keep segments of society separated from one another and to allow for smooth structure and performance in society with each caste knowing their place.[10]

The caste-system is broken down in this way:[11]
 * 1) //Brahmins// (priests and scholars)
 * 2) <span style="color: #424e80; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">//Kshatriyas// (rulers and military personnel)
 * 3) <span style="color: #424e80; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">//Vaisyas// (people involved in business and commerce)
 * 4) <span style="color: #424e80; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">//Sudras// (farmers and domestic servants)
 * 5) <span style="color: #424e80; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">//Dalit// (untouchables)

<span style="color: #424e80; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**__//Salvation://__** The three major sects in Hinduism – //Brahmanism, Advaita Vedanta, and Bhakti// – actually have different ways of “salvation.” One way is through works, another through knowledge and another way through devotion to specific gods. In a sense you can choose your path of salvation. Overall the goal is to obtain __//moksha//__ (release from the continually cycle of reincarnation) – this occurs once one has gotten rid of their bad __//karma//__ (the debt owed to the universe for bad actions), freeing themselves from __//avidya//__ (ignorance concerning reality) and __//maya//__ (the illusion that persons are real), thus becoming “one” with Brahman.[12]

<span style="color: #424e80; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**__//Authority://__** The different sects of Hinduism believe in different collections of Hindu scriptures as authoritative. However, although there are diverse sects within Hinduism, most Hindus tolerate and accept the other sects within the religion, believing, in the end, all paths are seeking the same god. Overall however, the central authoritative scriptures among Hindus are divided into two main groups: the //Shruti// and the //Smriti//.


 * <span style="color: #424e80; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The __//Shruti//__ (what is heard) is a record of Brahmans truth heard in the cosmos and is divided into four (4) __//Vedas//__ (large bodies of text): (1) //Rig Veda// (knowledge of praise: a collection of more than 1,000 hymns); (2) //Atharva-Veda// (priestly knowledge: texts dedicated to topics on medicine, warfare, and rituals); (3) //The Sama-Veda// (knowledge of chants: collection of hymns and chants to be recited); (4) //Yajur-Veda// (knowledge of sacrifice: a collection of liturgies and rituals).[13]


 * <span style="color: #424e80; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Those texts that do not make up the Shruti are part of the __//Smriti//__ (what deserves to be remembered). The Smirti is divided into six (6) sections of text: (1) //Dharma Shasta// (Knowledge of the Laws); (2) //Mahakayyas// (Epics); (3) //Puranas// (Ancient Writings); (4) //Sutras// (Proverbs); (5) //Agamas// (devotional texts of different Hindu sects); (6) //Dyasanas// (Philosophies). The Puranas are the most widely consulted texts in Hinduism. It is the section of texts where you can read the subtext __//Mahabharata//__ (Epic of the Bharta Dynasty) – which is a collection of dialogues, parables and long narratives (the two most famous being the __//Bhagavad-Gita//__ and the __//Ramayana//__).[14]

<span style="color: #424e80; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**__//Time://__** Hinduism takes the approach that time is cyclical and eternal. Time has no beginning and it has no end. Humans are just like the Absolute; they are eternal and will exist forever. The only concept of “the end” would be when a person achieves full enlightenment and merges into Brahman, ceasing to exist. Hindus usually use the analogy of a drop of water falling into a pool of water.[15]

<span style="color: #424e80; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**__//Jesus Christ://__** Most Hindus will accept that Jesus lived as an actually historical person. However, they do not believe Him to be the Son of God or the Messiah and Savior of all humanity. Rather, Hindus will say Jesus was a pantheistic guru who actually taught Hindu beliefs (such as He was “one” with God and so forth), and His descendant followers (Christians) have just misunderstood what He taught. Some other Hindu traditions believe that Jesus was an avatar of Vishnu.[16] <span style="color: #424e80; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">

[1] Yeats and Blase. //__Worldviews__//. pg 68 [2] [] [3] Yeats and Blase. //__Worldviews__//. pg 69 [4] Yeats and Blase. //__Worldviews__//. pg 70 and House, H. Wayne. //__Charts of World Religions__//. Chart 58 [5] Information in this paragraph comes from: Yeats and Blase. //__Worldviews__//. pg 70 [6] Information in this paragraph comes from: Yeats and Blase. //__Worldviews__//. pg 70-71 [7] House, H. Wayne. //__Charts of World Religions__//. Chart 59 [8] House, H. Wayne. //__Charts of World Religions__//. Chart 59 [9] Information in this paragraph comes from: House, H. Wayne. //__Charts of World Religions__//. Chart 59 [10] Information in this paragraph comes from: Yeats and Blase. //__Worldviews__//. pg 66 [11 ] List of the caste system comes from: House, H. Wayne. //__Charts of World Religions__//. Chart 59 [12] House, H. Wayne. //__Charts of World Religions__//. Chart 59 [13] Information in this paragraph comes from: House, H. Wayne. //__Charts of World Religions__//. Chart 59 [14] Information in this paragraph comes from: House, H. Wayne. //__Charts of World Religions__//. Chart 59 [15] Information in this paragraph comes from: House, H. Wayne. //__Charts of World Religions__//. Chart 59 [16] Information in this paragraph comes from: Yeats and Blase. //__Worldviews__//. pg 74