Stand Firm For Truth
Hinduism
Hindu Ethics: Relativism
“There is no strict separation between “is” and “ought” in Hindu ethics. What is implied in the doctrine of purusharthas and the concept of dharma is not merely the Kantian dictum of “ought” implies “can.” In Hindu ethics, moral oughts (dharma) are founded upon what the Hindus consider to be one’s nature (svabhava). One’s nature (svabhava) determines one’s dharma (svadharma), and one’s dharma (svadharma) is dependent upon one’s nature (svabhava). It is the nature (svabhava) of the sun to rise in the east, and therefore it is also its dharma (svadharma). It is the dharma (svadharma) of the Kshatriya (king, warrior) to fight and protect his subjects, because it is his nature (svabhava).
The answer to “What ought I to do?” is more complex in Hindu ethics than in the Western religious ethics like Christianity. Of course, a simple but formal answer to this question is: “Do what dharma dictates,” or “Do what dharma dictates,” or “Do whatever your dharma is.” This answer, however, is empty of content. It is like the captain of the team advising his or her players, “Do your best,” which cannot guide the players’ conduct. We saw earlier that there are multiple sources of Hindu ethics, namely shruti (Vedic revelation), smriti (remembered tradition), sadachara (conduct of the virtuous), and individual conscience, each of which tells us what is dharma. Unlike a single scripture such as the Bible, which is the primary authority in moral matters for Christianity, there is no single book or a single authoritative church in Hinduism to interpret what one’s dharma is. Moreover, Hinduism is a pluralistic religion and has no central authority to say conclusively what one ought or ought not to do in moral matters. Each individual is therefore responsible to find out what one’s dharma is and act accordingly.”[1]
*Because Hinduism has no transcendental grounding point or foundation for ethics, the final decision comes down to the individual. In almost a paradox, you have a religion that teaches about “God” or Brahman yet places the entire burden of discerning proper ethical actions on the individual alone. This could either mean two things:
1. An incredible freedom from objective morality
OR
2. A ghastly uncertainty as to whether one is doing well or blindly stepping towards a precipice of moral destruction (in this case it would be incurring bad karma).
[1] Robin Rinehart, editor, Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice, “Hindu Ethics,” by S.S. Rama Rao Pappu (ABC-CLIO Inc., Santa Barbara, 2004), 166, 169.
Probing Questions on Hinduism
1. How do intelligent people come from an entirely impersonal ultimate reality?
= Philosophers and the rules of logic (although Hindus would contend the rules of logic rest upon a Western presupposition, namely the Law of N0n-Contradiction), point to the fact that the cause must be greater than the effect. The “Mover” must be greater than the consequence.
2. How can love come from an impersonal force?
= An effect cannot be greater than its cause.
= How can you arrive at love by beginning with the non-existence of any such attribute or virtue?
3. Where did karma begin?
= Why a first incarnation (if existence itself is suffering), when there would be no previous karma to “work off”?
4. What is the source of animal rights?
= Implies possible “wrong” actions but pantheism holds, in a strict sense, that there is no difference between cruelty and benevolence.
5. What if following your “inner truth” leads you to murder, steal, rape or commit arson?
6. Should those in need of help be assisted?
= One of the premiere laws of karma that is commonly overlooked and misunderstood in the West is do NOT interfere with another’s karma. Check out the life story in this link of a man who was refused mercy because of the belief in karma: Dr. Jay “The Cursed Hindu Child”
Hinduism Notes
FAQs
Q: Where do Hindus live?
A: Mainly in India where about 80% of Indians are Hindus
Nepal where 89% follow Hinduism
Over 10% of the population in Bangladesh are Hindu
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Malaysia also have large Hindu populations.
There are just over one million Hindus in the United States.
Q: How many Hindus are there?
A: In 2000 there were nearly 820 million Hindus worldwide
13% of the world’s population is Hindu
Q: Who are gurus?
A: Gurus (“teachers”) are spiritual teachers and guides in the religions of India. They teach mantras and techniques of meditation.
Q: What for a Hindu is religion?
A: Religion is:
A way of life
A heritage
A tradition
A right way of thinking
A way to live in this life which ensures a better in the next reincarnation
Q: Who are sadhus?
A: Sadhus are the holy men of India. They give up their homes and possessions in order to live a life of meditation and prayer. Other Hindus provide them with good and money. Followers of Vishnu have three vertical lines of ash smeared on their foreheads. Followers of Shiva have three horizontal lines of ash smeared on their foreheads.
Q: Why do cows roam freely in the streets of India?
A: The cow is a sacred animal. Although all animals and living things are sacred to the Hindu because God is present in all creatures, the cow has a special place in the hearts of Hindus. It is therefore an act of worship just to feed a cow.
Q: What does a red dot mean on a forehead?
A: This dot, called a vindia or a teep, signifies that the wearer is a Hindu. A black dot indicates that the girl is unmarried and a red dot that she is married. This practice probably goes back to the Indus civilization in the third millennium B.C.E.
Q: What is “Om”?
A: Hindus acquire special knowledge by meditation through toga and by repeating the mantra “Om.” Prolonged repetition of this mantra induces a trance-like state in which the worshiper may be united to Brahma.
The mala, akin to a rosary, is a string of 108 beads which is fingered while the word “Om” and the name of God are uttered. Such repetition is known as japa.
Q: What is yoga?
A: Hindus use yoga as a way to become united with Brahma. The eight traditional stages in yoga are:
Restraint
Discipline
Posture
Breathing
Detachment
Concentration
Meditation
Trance
Q: What us the Evil Eye?
A: All misfortune is attributed to the Evil eye which, it is believed, can cause injury when called upon by the exercise of magic. It is thought to be an ever-present threat and is constantly countered. Kites have been used in the past, among other things, for medical purposes, strategies in warfare and to ward off the evil eye.
A Family of Religions
Hinduism is the name given to a family of religions and cultures that began and still flourish in India.
Together, the diverse beliefs of Jainism, Sanatana, Buddhism and later additions (like Sikhism) constitute the Hindu religions of India. Sanatana Dharma – one of the Hindu religions – is wrongly understood by westerners to be synonymous with the Hindu religion.
This class will follow the western use of the word “Hindu” to mean the religion with over 700 million followers in the world today and called Sanatana Dharma.
It’s origin: A People
Hindus do not use the word “Hinduism” and the first known use of the word “Hinduism” goes back to only 1829.
Technically, “Hindu” is not the name of a religion but a people. It is a Persian word which means “Indian.” The term “Hindu” comes form the name of the river Indus, which flows 1,800 miles from Tibet through Kashmir and Pakistan to the sea. In antiquity, when the Persians conquered northwest India, they did not know what to call the people of the region and so gave them the name Hindu, a mispronunciation of the word Sindhu (the river Indus). Thus the people living around and on the east of Sindhu (the Indians) became Hindus and the best translation of Hindu would be Indian (people of the subcontinent of India).
The Religion of India
-Dravirs: those of the ancient Indians from the Indus civilization
-Aryans: invading nomadic tribes who lived in central Asia and came to India between about 1800 BCE and 1500 BCE coinciding with the end of the Indus civilization.
-Aryan invasion
Hinduism and other Religions
Hinduism differs from Christianity and Western religions in the following ways:
Its concept of God does not have a central place
It does not have a single source of authority
It does not have a founder
It is not prophetic (this is not in the negative sense. Hinduism simply does not claim or purport to have prophetic foresight as is found in Judaism or Christianity).
It does not have a specific theological system (there is room for different beliefs since truth is seen as being relative. In other words, truth is what is true to the individual without having to correspond to any metaphysical or epistemological system of absolutes).
It does not have a single system of morality
It does not have a central religious organization
It does not have one scripture which alone is authoritatie
Central Beliefs
Worship of gods
The Vedas: While Hindus may not regularly read their earliest scriptures, they still revere them.
A way of life
Toleration ***
The impersonal nature of Brahman
The Brahman/Atman unity
The Law of Karma
Reincarnation (samsara)
Liberation (moksha)
I. One of the World’s Oldest Religions
*Biblical Account – God revealed Himself at the very beginning of time.
Original language remains un-deciphered
Caucasian Invasion
Invaders from modern day Iran.
Invasion occurred around 1500 B.C.E.
l Brought with them a “caste” system of society
l Elaborate religious system
Hinduism
Three paths to attaining knowledge
1)Discipline – asceticism (extreme self-denial)
2)Discipline – karma (duty to caste)
3)Devotion - bhakti (devotion to the gods). Supposedly protects from greed.
Estimated Membership
Worldwide: 780,547,000
United States: 910,000
Name: Created by Westerners simply meaning “the religion of India”
Winfried Corduan, Neighboring Faiths (Downers Grove: Intervarsity, 1998), 188.
What does it mean to be Hindu?
1. Regard the Vedas (the early sacred writings) as divinely inspired and authoritative
2. Accept the caste system
3. Respect the veneration of the various levels of deities and spirits, including the protection of cows.
Winfried Corduan, Neighboring Faiths (Downers Grove: Intervarsity, 1998), 189.
What does it mean to be Hindu?
l#1 Does not mean that you have to obey them (the Vedas) or regard them as literal and applying to one’s everyday life
l#2 The MOST important (Jainism & Buddhism reject the caste system and thereby place themselves outside the realm of Hindu orthodoxy).
l#3 Not an obligation but somewhat of a societal duty.
History of Hinduism
Three separate types
1. The way of works
2. The way of knowledge
3. The way of devotion
VERY IMPORTANT!!!
*Hinduism focuses on the subjective as opposed to classic Western religion and philosophy which focuses on the objective.
Very important distinction!
Hinduism: The Way of Works
The Vedas – were supposedly revealed to a group of holy men, the Rishis, who wrote them down for posterity.
l Dyasu Pitar – the original sky god
l As time progressed, so did number and popularity of different gods in the hierarchy of the Hindu system. One could equate the rise and fall of certain gods’ popularity and power as the careers of many current athletes.
BRAHMAN…
l Universe emanates from him
l Impersonal
l Unknowable
l Reality – “physical world is not reality,” thus ONLY Brahman is Reality
*transcendence? Kind of but in a totally different understanding
*Christianity – God is entirely “other” yet views the material world as real.
lCan be worshipped/followed via other (millions) gods
lIs in no way comparable to the God of the Bible, Torah or Qur’an
Main/Central Hindu gods
“god-core”
l1) Brahma – creator?
l2) Vishnu – preserver of cosmic and religious order
l3) Shiva – the destroyer
Shiva’s Moodiness
lShiva and Parvati, his cohort, had two sons. In one of his fits of rage, Shiva cut off his son’s head but later felt remorse. Seeking to right his wrong, he promised to replace his son’s head with the first head he found which happened to be an elephant. Pictures of Ganesha reveal a man with the head of an elephant. And some of you think you had rough parents! To top it off, Ganesha’s “riding animal” is nothing more than a common rat. Despite all this, Ganesha is a superstar among the gods as attested by an exceptionally large Hindu following.
Corduan, 206.
Kali’s Violence
lKali: goddess of blood and violence.
*Cult of the Thagis – banned in 19th century by the British because of the regular human sacrifices involved in the worship of Kali. This group gives rise to the English word, “thug.”
Corduan, 207.
Number of Hindu gods
lTotal gods = around 330 million.
l“Just saying all of their names at the rate of five seconds a name would take fifty-two years.”
n Corduan, 201.
Brahmins: Facilitators of Hinduism
lBrahmins played a huge part. These guys concocted a special language to record their sacred writings. That language is Sanskrit. They compiled the “Brahmanas” which were commentaries on the Vedas (similar to the Talmud as a Jewish commentary on the Torah).
Hindu Temple Worship
In order to correctly understand Hindu worship, one must clearly understand the distinction between the statues and the actual residence of the gods:
…The gods live in the statues. The temples, and more specifically, the statues, are the actual home address of these gods.
n Corduan, 208.
Three connecting practices of all Hindus
“Three Debts”:
1) Debts to the rishis (the ancient recorders of the Vedas)
2) Debts to the gods
3) Debts to the ancestors
*Debt, in virtually every context, means…
Chandogya 23:1 “All these gain worlds earned by merit A person who is steadfast in brahman reaches immortality” (116).
Hinduism: Caste System
Q# From where does the caste system originate? = The Code of Manu (supposed to be the revelation of the divine will for all human beings).
n Corduan, 194.
l*Sanskrit word for “caste” is varna, meaning “color.” = It was undoubtedly an attempt to further subjugate the defeated, darker-skinned Indians by their lighter-skinned, Aryan conquerors.
Hinduism: Caste System
Brahmins (priests and educated class)
Kshatriyas (professional, governing and military class)
Vaishyas (landowners, farmers and merchants)
Shudras (peasants and laborers)
*Untouchables (those who have virtually no rights of any sort)
l Caste system diagram
Hinduism: Caste System
*Untouchables
Hinduism: Caste system
lTwice born – can be identified by a cord looped around one shoulder which hangs down to the waist. The thread symbolizes their supposed twice-born status.
lPhysical contact between the Shudras and the upper 3 classes results in the upper classes becoming “defiled.”
lAn upper-caste person can be defiled by even the shadow of an untouchable.
Hinduism: Caste system
lBelow the Shudras are the untouchables or the “outcasts” who have virtually no voice, standing or rights within Hindu society. As hard as it may seem to Westerners used to personal freedom, the caste system is “set in stone.” In no way, shape or form can it be altered or removed. One is to remain within one’s own caste regardless of their “personal opinion.”
Hindu Practices
lSuttee
lDrinking “holy water” from the Ganges
lSkewering of followers of Muruga
lTolerant of ALL religions?
“Little Known” Gandhi Facts
lEndorsed 3 British wars
lAttempted to enlist (led an ambulance corps to support the war when the British refused to have Indians as soldiers in South Africa)
lAdvised British to surrender to Nazis (insisted that Hitler was not a bad man, 1941)
lAdvised to Jews to commit collective suicide
“Why Gandhi Drives the Neoconservatives Crazy,” by Jason DeParle, The Washington Monthly, September 1983. Cited in Understanding the Times by David A. Noebel (Summit Press: Manitou Springs, CO, 2006), 472.)
Hinduism: Reincarnation
The soul changes bodies like a person changes his clothes. If you have lived badly, your next overcoat may be rotting.
lReincarnation, “samsara” meaning ‘wanderings’ or ‘existence.’ Interesting isn’t it?
lDifference between the concept of reincarnation in the Western and Indian mind = It is viewed as an encouraging prospect that we just don’t “come this way once.”
lKarma is THE determining factor in the process of reincarnation.
lKarma is essentially the law of cause and effect or the law of moral causation. It exacts a one to one reciprocation of one’s deeds, whether they be good or bad.
Hinduism: Karma & Compassion?
lKarma teaches that a person’s present situation is based solely on their PERFORMANCE in a past life. Given this understanding, why should I feel compassion for or try to alleviate one’s suffering when their life situation is merely “justice served cold?” Why should I try to undo the effects of common sense cause and effect? (This is one contention raised by skeptics of Hinduism).
lThus, human suffering is relegated to what is largely considered a non-issue.
Karma Facts
1. There is no way to gauge it
2. There are no assurances
3. There are no specific prescriptions – maybe just one mistake will cause hundreds of undesirable rebirths such as a snake or cockroach. Although there are variables in samsara one fact remains: one cannot empirically or systematically draw parallels betweenspecific cause and effect in the world of karma.
4. When suffering from bad Karma, there is no remedy other than to suffer until the bad Karma has been “worked off.”
lHence the name, “wanderings.”
Karma Facts
lKARMA IS NOT RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE!!! It is the outworking of the quasi-spiritual-mechanical rotations of the Universe itself. “Thus the goal of Hinduism became finding release from samsara.” In other words, it is finding a way of release off the spinning gerbil wheel of karma/samsara. - Corduan, 197.
lPut another way, “the Hindu’s idea of salvation is, therefore, a desire to merge with the Infinite and, in a sense, lose his or her personality in the Infinite.”
lIn other words, the “Be Yourself” motif commonly relayed to students is largely a non-issue in Hinduism. n L.T. Jeyachadran, 162.
History of Hinduism: continued
First Revolt in Hinduism: Revolt against Brahmanism in 6th century B.C.
Led to an emphasis upon mystical words which were recorded in the Upanishads which literally means “to sit down.” Twelve central Upanishads were written as a kind of commentary on the Vedas. The Upanishads could be compared to the Talmud in Judaism or the writings of the early church fathers in Christianity.
n Corduan, 198.
Brahman
“That from which these beings are born; on which, once born, they live; and into which they pass upon death–seek to perceive that! That is brahman!” - (Upanishads, lvi)
Brahman
l“Brahman” = understood in English as the “World Soul.” One branch of Hinduism holds that everything that is NOT Brahman is not truly reality. In other words, everything that we see, feel, hear, taste, touch and sometimes even contemplate is not true reality. Reality is something entirely “other.” Everything that is not Brahman is called maya, meaning “play.” You could picture everything that we “know” here as a dream or “the image created by a movie projector.
*Maya = Not Brahman = Not Reality - Corduan, 198.
Brahman
…However, deep in the recesses of the human soul there is something called Atman, understood as “true self.” This “true self” is not a part of the world, as we know it, but actually a part of Brahman. Simply put, you are all “little gods.” Hence, pantheism is the underlying principle.
Brahman
lRemember that Brahman, the Ultimate Reality, is, on the most basic level, entirely impersonal (this will come into sharper focus once we examine the monotheism found in Judaism, Christianity and Islam).
Second Revolt in Hinduism: The Way of Devotion-mid 2nd millennium A.D.
Essentially, this movement held that “the love of a god or goddess provides ‘salvation’ to those who love him or her alone.”
n Corduan, 200.
lArjuna’s encounter with Krishna who then transforms into Vishnu = Arjuna was encouraged to do his caste duty (fight battles, even against his cousin), and devote himself solely to Krishna.
l This movement is syncretistic even within its own religious system. One is encouraged to choose a main god but devotion to other gods is still allowed.
Vishnu’s incarnations
In medieval India, many saints fought against the evils of the caste system and gave rise to the immensely popular cults of Vaishnavism or worship of Vishnu. The following are the various forms or avatars which Lord Vishnu is said to have taken to rescue his followers:
Matsya, Vishnu as a fish. He saved Manu (the first man) from the great flood.
Kurma, Vishnu as a tortoise. He recovered ambrosia (food for the gods) that had been lost in the flood.
Varaha, Vishnu as a boar. He rescued the earth from the cosmic ocean where the demons had thrown her.
Narasimha, the lion-man. He killed the demon Niranhakashipu.
Vamana, the dwarf. He defeated evil demons.
Parashu Rama, Rama with an axe. He defeated the warrior kshatriyas 21 times
Rama Chandra. He killed Rvana, the demon of Sri Lanka.
Krishna. He is also a god in his own right.
Buddha, the completely enlightened one. The ninth avatar is the founder of Buddhism, Gautama the Buddha.
Kalki. Kalki has already had nine avatars, and his tenth avatar is yet to come.
From these ten avatars of Vishnu, only Rama, Krishna and Buddha are followed today (Bryson).
Hindu Worship: What actually goes on?
Idols
Hindu deities are represented in idols. The idols in themselves are not worshiped but worship is offered to the god they represent. Most Hindus worship at home and have a shrine there. Hindu temples are the focus of religious life, but there is not a strong tradition of corporate congregational worship (Bryson).
Hinduism in the U.S.
lSwami Vivekananda, World Congress on Religions, Chicago, 1893.
lBegan his speech with “my brothers and sisters.”
lStressed the “essential unity of all things and beings” = Pantheism
lDenied the existence of sin (hamartia), because all reality was one and therefore there could be no final distinction between right and wrong. He is claimed to have said, “It is sinful to call man a sinner.” -n L.T. Jeyachadran, 155.
Questions on Hinduism
Q# Are all things “unified” or part of an “ultimate unity?” = What about conflicting belief systems?
Q# How can they be a part of a contradiction-less totality?
Q# How can there be an undivided ultimate reality when there is an obvious lack of unity in most every sphere of human life?
Hinduism in the U.S.: Hare Krishna Movement “International Society for Krishna Consciousness” (ISKCON)
Five central teachings:
1)Krishna is the supreme form of personal god = AKA monotheism.
2)Salvation can be obtained by continually chanting the Krishna mantra (Hare Krishna). The key is that it must be quoted 1000x per day!
3)Bhagavad-Gita is inspired scripture
4)Followers must observe a life of pure devotion to Krishna. Abstaining from meat, caffeine, sweets and sex for pleasure are all forbidden.
5. Distributing literature that disseminates the message of Krishna consciousness - Corduan 204.
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