Hinduism

Notes by Trevor Mander, BSc, MDiv, DipTchg.

History

2000BC: Pre-Vedic Indians and Dravidians.

1500BC: Vedic Period.

600BC: Upanishadic Period.

AD1800: Vedantic Period.

Adherents: About 700 million.

Basic Beliefs

1. God and Truth

God created the world / is the world / are all over the world.

Relativism:

All religions are true.

It is absolutely true that everything is relative.

Truth is relative and found only by subjective experience.

Advaita Vedanta:

All things that appear to exist are just an illusion.

Only the impersonal "One" or Brahman exists, nothing else.

This cannot be grasped by the rational mind; only by moksha experience.

2. Karma

All suffering is caused by something bad done in a past life; eg, a wife beater will return in the next life as a wife who is beaten by her husband.

Universal law acting to balance bad and good deeds with punishment and reward.

One should not interfere with someone else paying off their bad Karma.

3. Caste

Highly segregated society (5 levels) determined by birth.

Highest level is the Brahmin priest cast, lowest are the Outcaste.

Mahatma Ghandi (d 1947) strongly opposed the caste system.

Based on the belief in Karma and the transmigration of souls.

4. Reincarnation

Transmigration (moving) of a sould from one life to another.

Reincarnation means paying off Karma from a past life; ie, reincarnation is bad.

One goal in Hinduism is for the individual (Atman) to escape from the birth-death cycle (Samsara) and be united with the world soul. The experience of Moksha is when bad Karma is paid off, the cycle is broken, and Atman is Brahman.

Three classic ways to this state of ultimate freedom are:

Activity (karma marga) - worship of deities.

Knowledge (jnana marga) - Upanishad mysticism.

Devotion (bhakti marga) - Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva - work and grace.

Other Notes

Verily, this whole world is Brahman. Tranquil, let one worship it as from which he came forth, as that into which he will be dissolved, as that in which he breathes... Containing all works, containing all desires, containing all odours, containing all tastes, encompassing this whole world, the unspeaking, the unconcerned - this is the Soul of mine within the heart, this is Brahman. Into him I shall on departing hence.

The Thirteen Principal Upanishads.