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| | === Hinduism === | | === Hinduism === |
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| − | The key to understanding India lies in its ancient religion of Hinduism, a polytheistic religion using multiple gods who were ultimately understood to be part of one god: Brahma, the supreme god of life. The name “Hindu” comes from the word Hindustan, the word for riverland, and the birth of Hinduism was the merger of the Upanishadic and Vedic religious traditions in ancient India. Muslim invaders of the A.D. 11th and 13th centuries started using the term to describe Indians who were not Buddhists and refused to convert to Islam. In the A.D. 16th century European merchants and missionaries started using the term also. But while Hinduism is not limited to one set of clear beliefs, it does represent a common belief system and today there are 1.05 billion adherents to Hinduism in the world, nearly all of whom live in India. (There is also a significant Christian population in India today, and Mother Theresa won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 for her Christian charity work there.)
| + | Hinduism was, and is, one of the most powerful and resilient religions in the history of the world. It withstood communism; it withstood evangelism by other religions; and it has withstood (so far) Islam. It is impossible to understand Indian without first understanding Hinduism. |
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| − | Hinduism focuses on “The Eternal Way,” which means that certain spiritual principles are true for eternity, transcending what is man-made. This is like a science of consciousness. The advancement of knowledge is emphasized by Hinduism, and today many Indians can be found obtaining PhDs or medical degrees. Many Indians are entering engineering and similar high-tech professions, and American companies are gradually hiring more and more Indians for these jobs because of the high quality of their work and their competitive prices. Hindus in the United States are predominantly Republican. | + | Hinduism is an ancient polytheistic religion, consisting of multiple gods who were ultimately understood to be part of one god: Brahma, the supreme god of life. The name "Hindu" comes from the word Hindustan, the Persian word for riverland; the birth of Hinduism was the merger of the Upanishadic and Vedic religious traditions in ancient India. Muslim invaders of the A.D. 11th and 13th centuries began using the term "Hindu" to describe Indians from this region who were not Buddhists and who refused to convert to Islam. In the A.D. 16th century European merchants and missionaries started using the term also. But while Hinduism is not limited to one set of clear and specific beliefs, it does represent an overall belief system and today there are 1.05 billion adherents to Hinduism in the world, nearly all of whom live in India. (There are also significant Muslim and Christian populations in India today; Mother Theresa won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 for her Christian charity work there.) |
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| − | Hinduism is practices through meditation using yoga. Historically, Hindus believed in reincarnation, a belief that spread even to the Greek philosopher Pythagoras in 560 B.C. Visitors to India are impressed or surprised by seeing cows wandering about, disrupting traffic and commerce. The expression “sacred cow” comes from the belief in reincarnation, and the view that a cow may be the reincarnation of one of your ancestors or deceased relatives. | + | Hinduism focuses on "The Eternal Way," which means that certain spiritual principles are true for eternity, transcending what is man-made. This is like a science of consciousness. The advancement of knowledge is emphasized by Hinduism, and today many Indians can be found obtaining PhDs or medical degrees. Many (South Asian) Indians are entering engineering and similar high-tech professions, and American companies are gradually hiring more and more (South Asian) Indians for these jobs because of the high quality of their work and their competitive prices. Hindus in the United States are more Republican than other immigrant groups. |
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| − | The basic belief of Hinduism is in a cycle of life often represented by a dancing woman in a ring of fire, who is the god “Shiva” representing creation and destruction. Other symbols are the god Brahma representing creation and the god Vishnu representing preservation or continuance of life. In Hindu statutes a flat palm facing the onlooker represents peace, while a drum symbolizes creation. | + | Hinduism encourages meditation using yoga. Historically, Hindus believed in reincarnation, a belief that spread even to the Greek philosopher Pythagoras in 560 B.C. Visitors to India are impressed or surprised by seeing cows wandering about, disrupting traffic and commerce. The expression "sacred cow" comes from the belief in reincarnation, and the view that a cow may be the reincarnation of one of your ancestors or deceased relatives. |
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| | + | The basic belief of Hinduism is in a cycle of life often represented by a dancing woman in a ring of fire, who is the god "Shiva" representing creation and destruction. Other symbols are the god Brahma representing creation and the god Vishnu representing preservation or continuance of life. In Hindu statutes a flat palm facing the onlooker represents peace, while a drum symbolizes creation. |
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| | In 1966, the Supreme Court of India defined what Hinduism is for legal purposes: | | In 1966, the Supreme Court of India defined what Hinduism is for legal purposes: |
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| − | 1. Belief in the authority of the Vedas (an ancient hymns to the gods, written in Sanskrit). The oldest collection of hymns in the Vedas is the Rig Veda, which was written between 1800 and 1300 B.C. The greatest Veda hymn is the “Bhagavad Gita,” a section in the Mahabharata concerning life’s never-ending spiritual journey towards perfection, to be attained by adhering to a code of conduct. The Bhagavad Gita is a spiritual guide to life’s problems, like the parables of Christianity. | + | 1. Belief in the authority of the Vedas (an ancient hymns to the gods, written in Sanskrit). The oldest collection of hymns in the Vedas is the Rig Veda, which was written between 1800 and 1300 B.C. The greatest Veda hymn is the "Bhagavad Gita," a section in the Mahabharata concerning life's never-ending spiritual journey towards perfection, to be attained by adhering to a code of conduct. The Bhagavad Gita is a spiritual guide to life's problems, like the parables of Christianity. |
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| − | 2. Spirit of tolerance and willingness to understand and respect an opponent’s view. | + | 2. Spirit of tolerance and willingness to understand and respect an opponent's view. Hinduism adapts to and incorporates other belief systems. |
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| | 3. Belief in world rhythms: long periods of creation, maintenance and dissolution follow each other in endless succession. | | 3. Belief in world rhythms: long periods of creation, maintenance and dissolution follow each other in endless succession. |