• Home
• Articles
• Essays
• Add site

Hinduism: Like a Tree with Timeless Roots, and Pervasive Branches

"Hinduism: Like a tree with timeless roots, and pervasive branches"


Hinduism is arguably the oldest living religion, with over 1 billion adherents (a vast majority of whom live in India), making it the third largest religion in the world, after Christianism and Islamism. (wiki) There is no single foundation to Hindu belief system, since it's based on a number of religious texts, such as the Vedas, the Puranas, and the Mahabharata.

While Hinduism does not necessarily provide a single unifying belief system, it's composed of several perspectives that reflect a single belief, which is referred to as Brahman. The Brahman is an abstract concept that can be thought of as an infinite, unifying principle supporting every aspect of creation; something like a nameless, formless God, which is not the source of creation, but creation itself, pervasive and undivided. According to the Hindu beliefs, every being on earth is connected as tough it was One, and such realization is arguably the main purpose of the religion.

To understand the reason why Hinduism is often thought of as a polytheist religion despite addressing a single, supreme, being which unfolds into a plurality of aspects (or deities), we must consider the difference between surface and essence: "Ramakrishna, the great nineteenth-century mystic, recognized the divine as being both formless and manifested in many forms, and also as transcending both form and formlessness".(Living Religions 107)

For practical effects, the Hindus worship a representation of Braham, because it's simpler to comprehend than an abstract, all-pervading force.

When Brahman is thus addressed as a being that can be conceived in human terms, the term Isvara (or Bhagavan) is used. Such concept is usually represented by a form that differs according to individual preference, traditional or regional influences, as well as religious counselling based on the scriptures. In that sense, the Hindu usually place their worship on a single aspect of Isvara, such as Brahma (God), Vishnu (Creation) and Shiva (Destruction), but the truth of the matter is that all deities (all 330,000 of them) are different facets of the one single Being.

In a sense, Hinduism is a group of religions, rather than a single unified religion; actually, an alternative label that’s currently preferred is Sanatana Dharma. "Sanatana, "eternal" or "ageless", reflects the belief that these ways have always existed. Dharma, often translated as "religion", encompasses duty, natural law, social welfare, ethics, health, and transcendental realization".(69) While this definition provides a background of the underlying principles, it hardly begins to cover the social and cultural implications of the religion: "Dharma is thus a holistic approach to social coherence and the good of all, corresponding to order in the cosmos".

Hinduism is a belief system that, trough its widespread dissemination (particularly in the region of India) has caused certain influences in society and culture which are quite impressive. The main purpose in the life of any Hindu is to become united with God, but there are certain idiosyncrasies which make little sense outside from the cultural standpoint. The most obvious example is the caste system, which predetermines the spiritual influence of each citizen based on his origins, but ultimately serves as a form of racial discrimination.

The Hindu people believe in reincarnation; they conceive the soul as Atman, a timeless energy that roams the universe, experiencing life trough different bodies, with the ultimate purpose of re-connecting with Brahman. The cycle of death and rebirth is referred to as samsara, and it is only broken when the individual comes to terms with his higher self, Atman. It is said that the person who thus realizes the divine nature becomes free of the cycle of reincarnation; up to that form, the soul conceivably moves trough a hierarchy of awareness, ranging from the lesser creatures, to the most honourable men.

As far as the adepts of Hinduism are concerned, the regular universe that we perceive trough our senses is not reality, but rather Maya, or illusion. Tricked by our subjectivity, we indulge the sense of Self, and we reassert our estranged existences. In truth however, all things are but aspects of a single indivisible force; by failing to realize this, we suffer a live of slavery, commanded by our earthly desires, victims of our own demise. True happiness is achieved by understanding that bellow the surface of our ephemeral physical existence, there is an untapped reservoir of inner wisdom, and within each of us, there is infinite creative potential; we're walking agents of God.

Hinduism is like a millenary tree with immense, timeless roots of arcane knowledge, with a trunk so think as a billion people, with branches stretching outwards into the most unforeseen whereabouts. The reason why so many people outside India have embraced the religion outside of India is that it truly serves as a roadmap for anyone seeking to reaffirm his connection with the source of Life. It's quite sad to observe how such a versatile and interesting religion has been so thoroughly subverted by the religious institutions in the very countries where upon its sacred texts were written, twisted by political interest into little more than a strategy of mass manipulation.





Works cited:
Living Religions, Sixth Edition, by Mary Pat Fisher. Published by Prentice-Hall. Copyright © 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc.
"Hinduism" at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopaedia. Accessed on-line 11/27/06 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism

Posted by: Natalie Saturday

Best Custom Writing Sites

Sites that provide custom writing services are better alternative to downloading pre-written paper samples, especially if you temporarily can't handle writing your own paper for some reason, and can not afford risking your course and reputation for plagiarism detection failure. The prices for custom written essays are affordable, but if you need 15-pages long master level report overnight, you better prepare to spend a noticeable sum.