What is Hindu Religion?

1. Hindu Religion is the world's oldest faith. It was followed by the ancient civilization of the Indus valley, Ganges valley, Deccan and Cauveri delta, as well as other parts of India all over the Indian peninsula and surrounding areas of Asia. This Faith, known by many names, is followed and practiced in several ways and forms as it was practiced several thousand years back, with very little modifications, though it adjusted itself to the various times.

2. There are over 900 million to one Billion Hindus living throughout the world, mainly in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia from ancient times and also the Hindus settled all over the world now. There are also many new converts and followers to this practice in the modern world.

3. Hinduism is as much a "way of life" as a religion and affects every aspect of life for Hindus from birth throughout their life. It is followed by the devout Hindu in every aspect of life and activity, and not just in a prayer only.

Hindu Scriptures and Principles

4. Hinduism, unlike most religions, has no founder and no one scripture. Hindus do not have one "Holy Book" like many other religions, but many texts including the four Vedas along with their Upanishads, called the "Sruti", several Dharma Sasthras or Smrutis, Ithihasas and Puranas including the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The Bhagavad-Gita, or "Song of God", comes as part of Mahabaratha, is an essence of the message of the Upanishads and Hindu Philosophy and is considered to be a guide on how we should live as told by Lord Krishna to Arjuna.

5. Hindus believe that as all streams and rivers lead to the same ocean, all genuine religious (spiritual) paths lead to the same goal; worship of every form of "GOD" and celestial forces leads to the same good. So we do not try to convert others to our religion. (Another example-path to top of mountain may differ but the view from the top of the mountain will be the same.)

6. Hindus believe in one God, beyond form, space and time and beyond human comprehension. They believe that God is Transcendent and Immanent at the same time and will create itself according to everyone’s desire and needs to protect the pious, to destroy the evil and establish the Divine Rule of Law and Justice.

One God in Many Forms and Many Names

7. Most Hindus, needing a form on which to concentrate, worship that one God in different forms, worshiping one aspect of that One Divine Supreme Truth. -- Hindus see God in masculine as well as in feminine forms and also like a family. At the same time, they all understand the True nature of the Supreme.

8. In the masculine forms, Hindus see that One God as Brahma - the creator, Vishnu - the protector and maintainer, and Shiva as Siva-Nataraja - the destroyer and recreator. -- In the female forms, Hindus see that One God as Sakthi or Durga, - provider of energy and power, as Lakshmi, - provider of prosperity and wealth and as Saraswathi, - provider of knowledge and intelligence.

9. These are the major forms of Hindu "Gods" worshipped, which takes the form as created by the supreme God Paramathma for the benefit of the Human creations to easily comprehend Him as He is. Please understand that many of the sects of Hindus following the various forms of philosophy and worship visualise this same Paramathma - the Supreme God - as Narayana [Vishnu] or as Paramasiva [Siva] and Paraasakthi [Sakthi or Durga].

10. Here please note that unlike the other major world religions, Hindus also see the Supreme as Mother, including as Sri Meenakshi, as Visalakshi, as Kamakshi and as many other names of Sakthi. He is also seen as Father as in Siva in various forms in several Hindu Temples. -- The Temple in which they are worshipped is not just a congregation hall but a palace of the Supreme God [as the Queen or King].

Hindu Rituals and Worship

11. Hindu worship takes into account the capacities and inclinations of different individuals. --Types of worship include Ritualistic worship (temple or home), offering (directly or through the priest) flowers, coconut, fruits, incense, flames of oil lamps and camphor, chanting of prayers in Sanskrit (or their mother tongue), etc.

12. Also: Worship through service of one's fellow man (charity) and by one's activity; -- Worship through studying of sacred texts and devotion to the Supreme; --Worship through meditation with physical and mental discipline and through understanding first the inner self then the divine that is everywhere. -- Worship and prayers are the duties of the human soul to attain Divine protection from the effects of bad karmas and to get guided in the proper path.

Hindu Beliefs & Tenets

13. Hindus believe in Ahimsa, or non-violence, which is the basis for the vegetarian diet of many Hindus. Hindus believe non-injury or Ahimsa in all activities which include thought, word, and deed.

14. Hindus believe in Karma, the law of Cause and Effect. Similar to Christian "As ye sow, so shall ye reap" or "What goes around, comes around." (No such thing as a free lunch.) -- Hindus strive to follow Karma Yoga which is doing one's own duty without expectation of any rewards for it.

15. Hindus believe in reincarnation, or "life after life." (Results may occur in a following life.) Every individual soul returns to earth several times by rebirth to perform proper Karma to purify itself. Once purified by good karma, the soul reaches liberation with no-rebirth. Attachment, greed and lust leads to bad karma leading to grief and further suffering and rebirths to wash off those effects.

16. A goal of Hindus is to achieve Moksha, to be freed from the cycle of birth and death (when the "good" and the "bad" karmas balance.) or reach Swarga, the abode of the Divine Soul or Paramatma [God] to serve at His feet.

Jai Bharath

Remember, it is your, mine and our duty, privilege and responsibility to learn, teach and spread our Heritage.

We have published books, brought out cassettes and CDs for learning and teaching the heritage of our motherland.  You can get the details from the Institute in the following address.

Indian Institute of Scientific Heritage

Ushus, Estate Road, Pappanamcode, Trivandrum 695 018, Kerala, India 

There is no need to retire into a forest or a cave to know your inner Truth and to conquer your lower nature. In fact, while living in isolation, one has no chance to exercise restraint on one's anger and other weaknesses and so the victory achieved there may not be long lasting or genuine. Win the battle of life; be in the world but yet be away from its tentacles. That is the victory which you have to achieve

Krsna shows compassion to practitioners on the path of devotion by illuminating their hearts with the highest knowledge of himself and their relationship with him. This knowledge is not of the nature of sattva-guna. It is transcendental. Krsna reveals it from within the devotee who keeps him on the altar of his heart.

While other means of removing ignorance are available to those on paths other than unalloyed bhakti, Krsna's devotees rely solely on him for destroying their ignorance. Thus he is only personally involved in removing the ignorance of his devotees, and only in their hearts does he personally dwell, witnessing their trials and tribulations life after life. As his devotees search for him everywhere, begging from door to door only on his behalf, suffering ridicule, and shedding tears for him, he is aware of all these things. He knows the trouble they take to come to him, and it is difficult for him to bear it.

Thus he illumines their path, holding a lamp to their dark night of separation, revealing himself within their hearts and enabling them to realize all that they have heard about him from scripture. As jnana also refers to scriptural knowledge, the lamp of knowledge (jnana-dipena) also refers to Krsna's illuminating from within his devotee's heart the esoteric meaning of the sacred literature, its deepest import regarding the practice of raganuga-bhakti.

Awake! Arise! The hidden divinity within.

- by Swami Vivekananda

Awake! Arise! And stop not till the goal is reached.

Strength, strength is what the Upanisads speak to me

from every page. Be not weak. Will sin cure sin, weakness

cure weakness? Stand up and be strong.

The first step in getting strength is to uphold the Upanisads, and

believe: “ I am the Soul. Me the sword cannot cut; nor weapons

pierce; the fire cannot burn; the air cannot dry; I am the Omnipotent,

I am the Omniscient.” So repeat these blessed, saving words.

Do not say we are weak; we can do anything and everything. We all

have the same glorious Soul. Let us believe in it.

These conceptions of Vedanta must come out, must not remain only

in the forest, not only in the cave, but they must come out to work at

the bar and bench, in the pulpit, and in the cottage of the poor man.

Carry the light and the life of Vedanta to every door, and rouse up the

divinity that is hidden within every soul.