Decolonized Pagan

Hinduism

What is Hinduism ( Sanatan Dharm ) ?

It is the “Freedom of Thought and Choice”.

Some of the basic principles are explained by Swami Vivekananda in one of his speeches is:

Perhaps all who are here will agree on the first point that we believe the Vedas to be the eternal teachings of the secrets of religion. We all believe that this holy literature is without beginning and without end, coeval with nature, which is without beginning and without end; and that all our religious differences, all our religious struggles must end when we stand in the presence of that holy book; we are all agreed that this is the last court of appeal in all our spiritual differences. We may take different points of view as to what the Vedas are. There may be one sect which regards one portion as more sacred than another, but that matters little so long as we say that we are all brothers in the Vedas, that out of these venerable, eternal, marvelous books has come everything that we possess today, good, holy, and pure. Well, therefore, if we believe in all this, let this principle first of all be preached broadcast throughout the length and breadth of the land

The second point we all believe in is God, the creating, the preserving power of the whole universe, and unto whom it periodically returns to come out at other periods and manifest this wonderful phenomenon, called the universe. We may differ as to our conception of God. One may believe in a God who is entirely personal, another may believe in a God who is personal and yet not human, and yet another may believe in a God who is entirely impersonal, and all may get their support from the Vedas.

The third idea that I will present before you is that, unlike all other races of the world, we do not believe that this world was created only so many thousand years ago, and is going to be destroyed eternally on a certain day. Nor do we believe that the human soul has been created along with this universe just out of nothing. Here is another point I think we are all able to agree upon. We believe in nature being without beginning and without end; only at psychological periods this gross material of the outer universe goes back to its finer state, thus to remain for a certain period, again to be projected outside to manifest all this infinite panorama we call nature. This wavelike motion was going on even before time began, through eternity, and will remain for an infinite period of time

Next, all Hindus believe that man is not only a gross material body; not only that within this there is the finer body, the mind, but there is something yet greater–for the body changes and so does the mind–something beyond, the Atman–I cannot translate the word to you for any translation will be wrong–that there is something beyond even this fine body, which is the Atman of man, which has neither beginning nor end, which knows not what death is. And then this peculiar idea, different from that of all other races of men, that this Atman inhabits body after body until there is no more interest for it to continue to do so, and it becomes free, not to be born again, I refer to the theory of Samsara and the theory of eternal souls taught by our Shastras. This is another point where we all agree, whatever sect we may belong to. There may be differences as to the relation between the soul and God. According to one sect the soul may be eternally different from God, according to another it may be a spark of that infinite fire, yet again according to others it may be one with that Infinite. It does not matter what our interpretation is, so long as we hold on to the one basic belief that the soul is infinite, that this soul was never created, and therefore will never die, that it had to pass and evolve into various bodies, till it attained perfection in the human one–in that we are all agreed.

Some of you, perhaps, who have been studying Western thought, may have observed already that there is another radical difference severing at one stroke all that is Western from all that is Eastern. It is this that we hold, whether we are Shaktas, Sauras, or Vaishnavas, even whether we are Bauddhas or Jainas, we all hold in India that the soul is by its nature pure and perfect, infinite in power and blessed. Only, according to the dualist, this natural blissfulness of the soul has become contracted by past bad work, and through the grace of God it is going to open out and show its perfection; while according to the monist, even this idea of contraction is a partial mistake, it is the veil of Maya that causes us to think the soul has lost its powers, but the powers are there fully manifest. Whatever the difference may be, we come to the central core, and there is at once an irreconcilable difference between all that is Western and Eastern. The Eastern is looking inward for all that is great and good. When we worship, we close our eyes and try to find God within. The Western is looking up outside for his God. To the Western their religious books have been inspired, while with us our books have been expired; breath-like they came, the breath of God, out of the hearts of sages they sprang, the Mantra-drashtas.

You are what you make yourselves

Above all, there is another thing to remember, which I am sorry we forget from time to time, that religion, in India, means realisation and nothing short of that. “Believe in the doctrine, and you are safe”, can never be taught to us, for we do not believe in that. You are what you make yourselves. You are, by the grace of God and your own exertions, what you are. Mere believing in certain theories and doctrines will not help you much. The mighty word that came out from the sky of spirituality in India was Anubhuti, realisation, and ours are the only books which declare again and again: “The Lord is to be seen “. Bold, brave words indeed, but true to their very core; every sound, every vibration is true. Religion is to be realised, not only heard; it is not in learning some doctrine like a parrot. Neither is it mere intellectual assent–that is nothing; but it must come into us. Ay, and therefore the greatest proof that we have of the existence of a God is not because our reason says so, but because God has been seen by the ancients as well as by the moderns.

Do Hindus believe in proselytizing (conversion) ?

No,  there is no divinely sanctioned proselytizing in Hinduism. Harvesting the souls and increasing the numbers of adherents is not the aim of Hinduism. Hindus, generally, do not favor or entertain the idea of proselyting.

Is there a concept of Unbelievers in Hinduism ?

No, there is no concept of unbelievers in Hinduism. A Hindu recognizes that individual souls are like raindrops falling along their own unique path to the same ocean. Every person is entitled to pursue the path he/she considers appropriate.

Do Hindus believe in Eternal Hell or Heaven ?

No, there is no concept of Hell or Heaven in Hinduism. There is no Eternal suffering. Ultimate goal is to realize the Absolute Truth (God) and to become one with Absolute Truth (Moksh). However before that a Hindu has to become perfect through reincarnations with higher level of  consciousness and finally do away with material world to become one with Absolute Truth. Loosely put, this same Earth (and many others) can be Hell and Heaven for you depending upon your consciousness level and Karm.

Nirvan/Moksh (to become one with Absolute Truth) is not the blowing out of the candle. It is the extinguishing of the flame because day has come.

What is Karm (Karma) ?

Hindus live by the natural law of Karm. It, simply put, is about action-reaction and cause-effect cycle. If you do good then your Karm will be positive and vice versa.

However law of Karm is not as simple as it seems. An action can be good for you but bad for someone else’s point of view. A small pebble thrown in a pond will give rise to many ripples over greater distances. One is responsible for his/her acts.