Hindu

 

Hinduism is more than a religion. It is a culture, a way of life, and a code of behavior. Hindus believe in the doctrines of samsara (the continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation) and karma (the universal law of cause and effect). One of the key thoughts of Hinduism is “atman,” or the belief in soul. This philosophy holds that living creatures have a soul, and they're all part of the supreme soul.

Here are some of the key beliefs shared among Hindus:

• Truth is eternal.
  Hindus pursue knowledge and understanding of the Truth: the very essence of the universe and the only Reality. According to the Vedas, Truth is One, but the wise express it in a variety of ways.
  
• Brahman is Truth and Reality.
  Hindus believe in Brahman as the one true God who is formless, limitless, all-inclusive, and eternal. Brahman is not an abstract concept; it is a real entity that encompasses everything (seen and unseen) in the universe.
  
• The Vedas are the ultimate authority.
  The Vedas are Hindu scriptures that contain revelations received by ancient saints and sages. Hindus believe that the Vedas are without beginning and without end; when everything else in the universe is destroyed (at the end of a cycle of time), the Vedas remain.
  
• Everyone should strive to achieve dharma.
  Understanding the concept of dharma helps you understand the Hindu faith. Unfortunately, no single English word adequately covers its meaning. Dharma can be described as right conduct, righteousness, moral law, and duty. Anyone who makes dharma central to one’s life strives to do the right thing, according to one’s duty and abilities, at all times.
  
• Individual souls are immortal.
  A Hindu believes that the individual soul (atman) is neither created nor destroyed; it has been, it is, and it will be. Actions of the soul while residing in a body require that it reap the consequences of those actions in the next life — the same soul in a different body.
  The process of movement of the atman from one body to another is known as transmigration. The kind of body the soul inhabits next is determined by karma (actions accumulated in previous lives).
  
• The goal of the individual soul is moksha.
  Moksha is liberation: the soul’s release from the cycle of death and rebirth. It occurs when the soul unites with Brahman by realizing its true nature. Several paths can lead to this realization and unity: the path of duty, the path of knowledge, and the path of devotion (unconditional surrender to God).
  

Hindus sees the Divine present in all existence. The deepest single spiritual truth presented through the Vedas is that Brahman or Absolute’ or ‘the Divine’, pervades the entire universe. This divine reality, or its essential nature, is present in all living beings, eternal, and full of bliss. Brahman is understood as the cause of creation, as well as its preservation, and dissolution and transformation, all done in a constant, repeating cycle.

The nature of the Divine is understood in different ways in different lineages. Within Hinduism there is a broad spectrum of understandings about the nature of Brahman. Some Hindus believe that Brahman is infinite and formless, and can be worshipped as such, or in different forms. Other Hindus believe that the Divine is infinite and has a transcendental form. For example, some Vaishnavas believe that the one supreme form is Krishna, while Shaivites call this form Shiva.

Hinduism worships the Divine in both male and female, animal form. Because Hindus believe that Brahman can take form, they accept that there are a variety of ways in which all human beings can connect with the Divine. This universal Divinity is worshipped in both male and female forms. The female form is known as devi, which is a manifestation of shakti (energy or creative force). Other forms combine male and female aspects together and some resemble animals, such as Ganesh or Hanuman. Each of these forms has a symbolic meaning.

Hindus pray to different aspects of the Divine. Hindus pray to different forms of Brahman as manifestations of particular divine qualities or powers. For example: Ganesh is honored by Hindus (as well as sometimes by followers of other Indian religions) as the remover of obstacles and honored for his great wisdom, and is often invoked before beginning any important task or project; Saraswati is the Goddess associated with learning and wisdom; Lakshmi is worshipped as the Goddess of Prosperity. God is believed to have the taken human form of Rama to show people how to live the path of Dharma. Krishna is said to have come to eradicate evil and protect good. Shiva is worshipped as the lord of time and change. 

Hindus use images in worship to make the infinite comprehensible to the human mind. Hindus represent the various forms of God in consecrated images called murti. A murti can be made of wood, stone, or metals (and sometimes can be naturally occurring, rather than fashioned by human hands). Murti offer a way to visualize and meditate upon Brahman, which due to its infinite nature is believed to be beyond the grasp of the human mind. Murti is often inaccurately translated as ‘idol’ but a more accurate translation is ‘embodiment’. Hindu families conduct their daily worship at home altars and also at temples on special occasions.

Hindus believe the soul is eternal and is reborn in different forms. Hindus believe that the soul, atman, is eternal. When the physical body dies the soul is reborn in another body. This continuous cycle of life, death, and rebirth is called samsara. Rebirth is governed by karma: the principle that every action (be it physical or mental) has a result, like cause and effect. What an individual experiences in this life is the result of their past actions, either actions they have already taken in this life or actions from a past life. How an individual acts today impacts the future, both in terms of effects felt later on in this life or in a future birth. Though the effects of karma make certain actions easier or more difficult to take, just as our personal habits influence our lives, this is not a deterministic or fatalistic system. Rather, we all have the ability to freely choose how to act in any situation.

Hindus believe we each have four goals in life. Hindus believe we have four goals in life: Dharma (conducting ourselves in a way conducive to spiritual advancement), Artha (the pursuit of material prosperity), Kama (enjoyment of the material world), and Moksha (liberation from the attachments caused by dependence on the material world and from the cycle of birth and rebirth).

There are four paths to Moksha. Hindu scripture outline four primary paths to experience God’s presence and ultimately obtain the fourth goal, moksha. These paths are not mutually exclusive and can be pursued simultaneously depending on an individual’s inclination. These paths are: Karma Yoga (performing one’s duties selflessly), Bhakti Yoga (loving God through devotion and service), Jnana Yoga (study and contemplating sacred texts), and Raja Yoga (physically preparing the body and mind to allow deep meditation and introspection, so as to overcome suffering caused by material attachments).