Religious Studies and Theology: Hinduism

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Main text
The Fundamental teachings of Hinduism
Bhagavad-Gita in a lyrical format
The Power of God
References

Introduction

There are so many religions which are followed by numerous people all across the globe and it is considered by many who believe in god that god is present everywhere which means there is omnipotence with regard to the presence of God. Many religions teach the followers that god is present everywhere that’s what omnipotent means, one such religion is Hinduism and this paper will present a good understanding of Hinduism in a Sympathetic way.

Main text

One of the most widely spread religions is Hinduism, those who follow Hinduism are called the Hindus. There are many deities followed by the Hindus. “The underlying tenets of Hinduism cannot be easily defined. Unlike other religions, Hindu Dharma did not originate from a single person, a single book, or at a single point in time. The foundations of this oldest surviving religion were laid by ancient rishis (sages), who taught their disciples the eternal principles of life they had discovered through their meditations. Hindu Dharma is essentially a religion of principles rather than persons. Since Hinduism has no founder, anyone who practices Dharma can call himself a Hindu. Statistically, there are over 700 million Hindus, concentrated mainly in India and Nepal.” (1) (Hinduism, 2009).

The religion like any other religion focuses upon the reality and aims at telling the people about good deeds. The religion tells that people about the importance of good deeds and the connection of the same with Moksha (Salvation).

The more a person does good deeds better are his/her chances to get Moksha. The religion places emphasis upon the importance of truth, like any other religion the main aim of Hinduism is to make the people aware of the supreme power and considering the same the people under this religion are advised to keep a good check on their actions.

“Hindu scriptures teach that an individual is essentially atman clothed in a physical body. The Sanskrit word atman, meaning “God within,” is usually translated as soul, self or spirit. In a human body atman is the source of the mind, intellect and ego sense. Hindu scriptures declare that atman is immortal and divine. In Hindu view, therefore, an individual is potentially divine and eternally perfect. There are two states of existence associated with atman, the bound state and the liberated state. In the bound state, atman is associated with a physical body. As a result of this association, atman is subject to Maya, which causes it to forget its true divine nature and commit evil deeds in the world. In the liberated state, atman is said to have attained moksha (spiritual perfection) and consequently enjoys union with God.” (2) (Hinduism, 2009).

The religion is the third largest religion across the globe only to be behind the likes of Christianity and Islam. This religion is followed extensively in the Asian Continent and India in particular is very popular when this religion is talked about. “Hinduism’s vast body of scriptures are divided into Śruti (“revealed”) and Smriti (“remembered”). These scriptures discuss theology, philosophy and mythology, and provide information on the practice of dharma (religious living). Among these texts, the Vedas and the Upanishads are the foremost in authority, importance and antiquity. Other major scriptures include the Tantras, the Agama, the Purāṇas and the epicsMahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa. TheBhagavad Gītā, a treatise from the Mahābhārata, spoken by Krishna, is sometimes called a summary of the spiritual teachings of the Vedas.” (3) (Chidbhavananda , 2009).

The Fundamental teachings of Hinduism

Hinduism stresses upon four most important teachings, the same will be seen one by one. The first concept is the concept of Dharma; the term means “A comprehensive ordering of life according to principles and practices appropriate for one’s age and station (“caste”) in life. This includes the basics of the Indian caste system, which segments people from birth into certain levels in society, placing each person in the caste where they will live out their life. Although the caste system was abolished by national law in 1949, it remains a significant force throughout India.” (4) (Windmill, 2009). To simplify it can be said that Dharma is nothing but the duties which an individual has to realize and fulfill during his/her period of existence. The same is talked about in the chapter by the name “The Eternal Duties of the human beings” in Bhagavad-Gita. “Chapter three establishes the fact by various points of view that the performance of prescribed duties is obligatory for everyone. Here Lord Krishna categorically and comprehensively explains how it is the duty of each and every member of society to carry out their functions and responsibilities in their respective stage of life according to the rules and regulations of the society in which one lives. Further the Lord explains why such duties must be performed, what benefit is gained by performing them, what harm is caused by not performing them. Plus what actions lead to bondage and what actions lead to salvation. All these points relating to duty have been described in great detail. Thus this chapter is entitled: The Eternal Duties of Human Beings.” (5) (Bhagavad-Gita, 2009).

Lord Krishna is very firmly believed in Hinduism, there are so many myths about lord Krishna in Hinduism. In this way Bhagavad-Gita covers and puts across the first Fundamental principle of Hinduism. The second Fundamental teaching is known as Samsara, under this teaching it is believed that the soul is immortal; it cannot be destroyed come what may. But on the other hand it is believed that the body is never immortal, this teaching talks about reincarnation better known as rebirth. According to this principle the deeds of an individual decides the fate of the individual, for instance if an individual repeats evil actions over and over again he/she is bound to be born again in category in other words the soul of that particular person will take lower forms of worldly life and the person will suffer for his/her deeds in the previous birth. The same can be seen in Bhagavad-Gita under the chapter titled “Actions and Renunciations”. The chapter aims at the achievement of the very same principle of Samsara. The next concept is Karma. “The doctrine of karma relates to the law of cause and effect. It states that everything people do (karma) leaves impressions in their mind, which determines what kind of people they will be in the future, and hence their fate.” (6) (Windmill, 2009).

Samsara and Karma are very similar concepts the aim of both is the same which is to make an individual realize that his/her actions decide the fate of that individual.

The fourth and the final teaching is Moksha. “When the cycle of rebirth comes to an end, a person is said to have attained Moksha. All schools of thought agree that Moksha implies the cessation of worldly desires and freedom from the cycle of birth and death, the exact definition depends on individual beliefs.” (7) (Windmill, 2009). This principle is also the ultimate reality and a should individual start realizing this reality by leaving all the worldly things aside only then can he/she attain Moksha. Attaining Moskha requires the ultimate control over oneself and this applies to all the situations because only the most difficult of situations test the temperament of people and in order to attain Moksha it becomes inevitable to have a good temperament. “In chapter eighteen Lord Krishna sums up the conclusion of the previous chapters and describes the attainment of salvation by the paths of karma in chapters one through six and in jnana yoga section which are chapters thirteen through eighteen. The Lord explains that while doing so one must offer without reservation everything to God. The knowledge revealed gets progressively more and more confidential then in all the previous chapters. Thus this chapter is entitled: Final Revelations of the Ultimate Truth.” (8) (Bhagavad-Gita, 2009).

This chapter talks about last teaching which is Moksha. Only good deeds and good deeds alone can bless an individual with a good life in the following birth and the choice is in the hands of the people, even after knowing the ultimate truth, people often look for materialistic wealth and other luxuries. In this way Bhagavad-Gita reveals the fundamental teachings of Hinduism.

Bhagavad-Gita in a lyrical format

The holy book is an epic and the lyrical nature of the book helps in putting across the message better. The main reason of the Bhagavad-Gita being lyrical is because of the rhyming mater used in the epic, the meter is very mellifluous and harmonic. A rhyming meter often has 32 syllables in each verse, there are 18 chapters further divided into many verses and each verse has 32 syllables. This is what makes the Bhagavad-Gita lyrical and this is really good because when anything is lyrical people often get attracted towards it really fast and look up to the writers and the message portrayed in the book. Bhagavad-Gita is translated into many languages. “The Bhagavad-Gita is composed of 700 Sanskrit verses contained within 18 chapters, divided into three sections each consisting of six chapters. They are Karma Yoga the yoga of actions. Bhakti Yoga the yoga of devotion and Jnana Yoga the yoga of knowledge.” (9) (Bhagavad-Gita, 2009). The holy book is also called as the song of god. There are many chants in the holy book this is another factor which makes it lyrical in nature.

The Power of God

“The power of God is seen in those commissions in the air and earth: thunders, lightning’s, storms, earthquakes, hurricanes. The great beasts of the earth speak of his power: the different types of dinosaurs that once roamed the earth, the whale also is a prodigious monument of God’s power, which is mentioned specifically in the creation account: “And God created great whales.” Innumerable other creatures and acts can be mentioned to testify of God’s power, and yet all this exceeds our understanding. We are astonished. No mere man can conceive of God’s might; God himself alone comprehends it. Man’s power is limited; his measuring rod is too short to acquire a proper idea of the incomprehensible omnipotence of God.” (10) (The Almighty, 2009). God has so much power that his power is unimaginable, time and time again we come across his power but we still choose to ignore his warnings which are meant to change our attitude. Most people ignore the warnings given by God and choose to do their own thing, the same results in devastation. To conclude it is very fair to say that God is omnipresent and he should be respected from the bottom of the heart and there should not be any expectations of the individuals worshipping him, only then the reward of the prayer will be sweet.

References

(5, 8, 9) Bhagavad-Gita. In members.aol.

(1, 2) Hinduism. In Culturopedia.

(3) The Gita Dhyanam is a traditional short poem sometimes found as a prefatory to editions of the Bhagavad Gita. Verse 4 refers to all the Upanishads as the cows, and the Gita as the milk drawn from them.

(Chidbhavananda 1997, pp. 67–74)

(4, 6, 7) The other Faiths. In Windmill Ministries.

(10) The Almighty Power of God. In Tecmalta. Web.

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