Hinduism in the 21st century!

     "If Hinduism is a religion still alive and growing today, it is solely because of the eternal truths it embodies. Assess the validity of this statement and describe, in your words what the future of Hinduism might be."

<< If I were asked to define the Hindu creed, I should simply say : Search after the truth through non-violent means. A man may not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu. Hinduism is a relentless pursuit after truth. Hinduism is the religion of truth. Truth is God. Denial of God we have known. Denial of truth we  have not known. >>

---Mahatma Gandhi

     Hinduism is the predominant of the Indian subcontinent, and one of its indigenous religions. Hinduism includes Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Śrauta among numerous other traditions. It also includes historical groups, for example the Kapalikas. Among other practices and philosophies, Hinduism includes a wide spectrum of laws and prescriptions of "daily morality" based on karma, dharma, and societal norms. Hinduism is a conglomeration of distinct intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid common set of beliefs.

     Since ages, Hinduism has been portraying a very long and opulent antiquity. The ideas and ideals, percepts and practices, means and modalities, rules and regulations of conduct put forth in Hinduism are indeed worth emulating. In other words, if Hinduism is still alive and growing today, it is solely because it is a whole way of life as well as a highly organised social and religious system. The infinite, eternal truths it embodies makes it an ever-growing entity analogous to a flowing river absorbing many streams and tributaries on its way.

     Similarly, Hinduism represents the religious responses of different races and classes at various stages of cultural evolution. Hinduism has been a growing religion ever since its very inception. The Shruti (what has been heard), the Smriti (what has been remembered), the Vedas and the Upanishads all represent the various cornerstones upholdin the ultimate truths embodied by Hinduism. For instance, the central theme of the Upanishads is the absolute and profound quest for the ultimate truth, that is, God.

A well known shloka from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is:

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय । तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।।

मृत्योर्मामृतं गमय । ॐ शान्ति शान्ति शान्ति ।।

– बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद् 1.3.28.

Asato ma sad gamaya

Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya

Mrtayorma amritam gamaya

Which means

From unreal lead me to real

From darkness lead me to light

From death lead me to immortality

     The message of the Upanishads has, since eras, been of utmost importance to this divine religion of God, Hinduism. The truth embraced by the the opulent Upanishads is parallel to the light of the morning, like the pure air of the mountains, so simple and so true to mankind, ifonce fully grasped to the inner soul. More to this, Ram Mohan Roy, Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda have found in the Upanishads, the call for civilisation, rational strength and faith in the strength of Spirit. Hitherto, in the words of the Great Swami Vivekananda:

''Tell the truth boldly, whether it hurts or not.

Never pander to weakness.

 If truth is too much for intelligent people and sweeps them away, let them go: the sooner, the better.''

---Swami Vivekananda

     Furthermore, Hinduism is not only the religion of truth, but also, that of the conscience, reason and independent thinking. The Puranas, one of the major pillars of Hinduism, are solemnly part of the Smriti and follow the itihasa (epics) in point of time and importance. The Puranas, as related by Sages Valmiki and Vashist, are all pantheistic and revealed to mankind by gods to authors. They are all written in verses whereby accounting the pronounced and distinguished truth of:

I.       The creation of the world

II.    The family history of gods and sages

III. The destruction of the universe

IV. Its re-creation

V.    Dynastic legends of the solar and lunar dynasties

One of the most prominent reasons behind the infinite propagation of the religion of God, Hinduism is definitely because of the eternal and abysmal truths codified in the six Vishnu Puranas, six Shiva Puranas and, not forgetting, the heirloom six Brahma Puranas whereby the whole human kind is psychologically benefitted.

Aum bhur bhvah svah

Tat Savitur varenyam

Bhargo devasya dhimahi

Dhiyo yo naha prachodayat

In other words

''We meditate on the transcendal glory of the Deity Supreme,

who is inside the heart of the Earth,

inside the life of the sky,

and inside the soul of the heaven.

May He stimulate and illuminate our minds.''

---The Gaytri Mantra

     Hinduism, additionally encourages mankind to grasp the eternal truths of life-

Whatever takes form is false.

Only the formless endures.

When you understand

The truth of this teachin,

You will not be born again.

For God is infinte,

Within the body and without,

Like a mirror,

And the image in a mirror,

As the air is everywhere,

Flowing around a pot

And filling it,

So God everywhere,

Filling all things

And flowing through them everywhere.

---Ashtavakra Gita  1:18-20

     Moreover, it is noteworthy to mention that the Mahabharata holds an unparallel historic epic in the world of Hinduism. Maharsi Vyasa declares-

Dharme charthey cha kame cha mokshe cha purusharbh I

Yadihaasti tadanyatra yannehaasti na tatkavachit II

- Maha.Adi. 62153

    

     Conversely, the Mahabharata also sheds light on the ultimate truth that the Brahmanas were proudly created in view of preserving the Vedas and the other scriptures, the Kshatriyas for ruling the Earth, for they were believed to be the only medium towards prevailing the truth to all human kind on Earth. The Mahabharata also lays tremendous emphasis on the universal application of truth and honest means in the family, society as well as the World, for they are believed to be ascribed values.

     Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents. Of the historical division into six darsanas, only two schools, Vedanta and Yoga, survive. The main divisions of Hinduism today are Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Smartism and Shaktism.[47] Hinduism also recognizes numerous divine beings subordinate to the Supreme Being or regards them as lower manifestations of it.[48] Other notable characteristics include a belief in reincarnation and karma, as well as in personal duty, or dharma.

McDaniel (2007) distinguishes six generic "types" of Hinduism, in an attempt to accommodate a variety of views on a rather complex subject:[49]

I.       Folk Hinduism, as based on local traditions and cults of local deities at a communal level and spanning back to prehistoric times or at least prior to written Vedas.

II.    Śrauta or "Vedic" Hinduism as practiced by traditionalist brahmins (Śrautins).

III. Vedantic Hinduism, for example Advaita Vedanta (Smartism), as based on the philosophical approach of the Upanishads.

IV. Yogic Hinduism, especially that based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

V.    "Dharmic" Hinduism or "daily morality", based on Karma, and upon societal norms such as Vivāha (Hindu marriage customs).

VI. Bhakti or devotionalist practices

     Hindus recognize three possible paths to moksha, or salvation. The first is the way of works or karma yoga. This is a very popular way of salvation and lays emphasis on the idea that liberation may be obtained by fulfilling one’s familial and social duties thereby overcoming the weight of bad karma one has accrued.

The second way of salvation is the way of knowledge, or jnana yoga. The basic premise of the way of knowledge is that the cause of our bondage to the cycle of rebirths in this world is ignorance. According to the predominant view among those committed to this way, our ignorance consists of the mistaken belief that we are individual selves, and not one with the ultimate divine reality – Brahman. It is this same ignorance that gives rise to our bad actions, which result in bad karma. Salvation is achieved through attaining a state of consciousness in which we realize our identity with Brahman. This is achieved through deep meditation, often as a part of the discipline of yoga.

The third way of salvation is the way of devotion, or bhakti yoga. This is the way most favored by the common people of India. It satisfies the longing for a more emotional and personal approach to religion. It involves the self-surrender to one of the many personal gods and goddesses of Hinduism. Such devotion is expressed through acts of worship, temple rituals, and pilgrimages. Some Hindus conceive of ultimate salvation as absorption into the one divine reality, with all loss of individual existence. Others conceive of it as heavenly existence in adoration of the personal God.

     Accordingly, Hinduism is an unfalteringly tolerant religion. By virtue of its being a huge and opulent universe of religions, tolerance has become a necessity of its nature, thus leading the path of mankind towards truthfulness. This spirit of high tolerance has rendered possible the emergence of newer and more elevated and magnificent forms of Hinduism. In addition, it has also made it possible for some to exercise the greatest possible religious freedom. Truth, patience and perseverance are the real means for spiritual elevation and all these innate values of Hinduism are clearly demonstrated and viewed in the Hindu festivals. They have a purifying and intrinsic viable effect on the devotees. The Hindu festivals are the remover of all pains and sorrows, bestower of sheer happiness and honesty, as well as creator of brotherhood and equity. Below are examples of some of the most pious verses of Lord Ganesh, on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, Hindu festival not only depicting union and fervour but also the triumph og untruth over truthfulness:

 No reflection is possible in a lake which is not still
Your form can not stay in a disturbed mind
Fill fully in my mind and give me peace of mind
Pillayaya! The Presiding Deity of Yanam town!
-----
 Originating calmly in a tiny way in Nasika Thrayambaka
Receiving waters from tributaries and rivulets through Maharashtra and Andhra,
Becoming water to cleanse the Divine Feet of Lord Ramachandra at Bhadradri,
Encircling Lord Veerabhadreswara at Pattiseema,
Turning into a huge river and Annapurna at Rajahmundry,
Then proceeding from there, at a spot, just before Godavari merges her Lord, the Sea
You reside, Grace me with your benevolent looks
Pillaraya! The Presiding Deity of Yanam town!
-----
 You, the Lord of Fulfillments and Intellect
Your brother, Lord of Sri Valli and the Divine Army, Devasena
Will be blessing us with good intentions, riches and wealth
Pillaraya! The Presiding Deity of Yanam town!

What is the future of hinduism?

At present, Hindu mythology is under strain from two opposite tendencies that are not entirely unrelated to broader debates about religion and politics in India and the diaspora. There seems to be a "didactic" extreme and an "experimental" extreme in present approaches to the tales of the gods. The didactic tendency views mythology as a litany of facts about history and geography. It shows up in some of the recent animated mythological movies. The gods are depicted like pop culture superhero figures while a pedantic voice lists facts about them. The experimental tendency, on the other hand, sees mythology as open to virtually any sort of reinterpretation without regard to virtue or intent. Some artists and intellectuals espouse this view, and end up assuming that any imputation of sanctity to mythology is inherently fundamentalist.

Despite these unfortunate extremes, it is my belief that the tales of the gods, like the philosophy that is infused in them, like Hinduism as a whole, are deeper and more resilient than any constraint that our era can put on them. Commercialism may have turned mythology into a media formula, with virtually any movie being cited as a retelling of the Ramayana and Mahabharata  politics may have rubbed the stories of the gods the wrong way, from Right and from Left, leaving out the greatness of heart in them altogether. But when we look at the history of our "myths" more accurately, we will surely find what it was about them that made them both timeless and timely for so many generations. After all, even in the relatively short span that these tales have appeared in the media, there are great contributions only beginning to be acknowledged. For instance, long before mythological allegedly provoked religious extremism by turning up on Indian television in the 1980s, they were sparking the spirit of Gandhi, social reform, and Indian independence in the stages and cinema halls of early 20th century India (seen in the work of film pioneers Phalke and Nagiah). The question for us to ask now is what the tales of the gods need to liberate us from in the future. In an age of terrorism, wars, environmental degradation, financial hoaxes and mass mediated delusions, the need for the tales of the gods is stronger than ever. The challenge for us is simply to tell them better.

A.HEERAH

UPPER 6 S2 STUDENT

DR MAURICE CURE STATE COLLEGE