WORLD RELIGIO RELIGIONS NS
HINDUISM FOURTH EDITION
WORLD RELIGIO RELIGIONS NS Arian Ar ian Traditional Rligion Baha’i Faith Buddhism Catholiism & Orthodox Christianity Conuianism Daoism Hinduism Islam Judaism Nativ Amrian Rligions Protstantism Shinto Sikhism Zoroastrianism
WORLD RELIGIO RELIGIONS NS
HINDUISM FOURTH EDITION
by Madhu Bazaz Wangu Series Editors: Joanne O’Brien and Martin Palmer
Hd, Fth Edt Copyright © 2009, 2006, 2001, 1991 by Inobase Publishing All rights reserved. No part o this book may be reproduced or utilized in any orm or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any inormation storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing rom the publisher. For inormation contact: Chelsea House An imprint o Inobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001
Lb f Cge CtlggPblct Dt Wangu, Madhu Bazaz. Hinduism / by Madhu Bazaz Wangu. — 4th ed. p. cm. — (World religions) Previously published: 3rd ed. New York : Facts on File, 2006. Includes bibliographical reerences and index. ISBN 978-1-60413-108-6 (alk. paper) 1. Hinduism—Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series. BL1203.W35 2009 294.5—dc22 2008043047 Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities or businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can nd Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.chelseahouse.com This book was produced or Chelsea House by Bender Richardson White, Uxbridge, U.K. Project Editor: Lionel Bender Text Editor: Ronne Randall Designer: Ben White Picture Researchers: Joanne O’Brien and Kim Richardson Maps and symbols: Stean Chabluk Printed in China CP BRW 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-ree paper. All links and Web addresses were checked and veried to be correct at the time o publication. Because o the dynamic nature o the Web, some addresses and links may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid.
CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8
CONTENTS Preface Introduction: The Modern Hindu World The Roots of Hinduism TheLateVedicPeriodandthe Upanishadic Period The Gods and Religious Devotion Political and Social Change The Hindu Temple, Icons, and Worship Social Duty and Rites of Passage Innovations and Modern Hinduism Fac t File and Bibliography Fur ther Reading and Web Sites Glossary Index About the Author and Series Editors Pic ture Credits
6 8 18 28 46 76 92 110 128 138 139 140 142 144 144
Preface Almost rom th start o ivilization, mor than 10,000 yars ago, rligion has shapd human history. Today mor than hal th world’s populatio population n prati a major rligion or indignous spiritual tradition. In many 21st-ntury soitis, inluding th Unitd Stats, rligion still shaps popl’s livs and plays a ky rol in politis and ultur. And in soitis throughout th world inrasing thni and ultural divrsity has ld to a varity o rligions ing pratid sid y sid. This maks it vital that w undrstand as muh as w an aout th world’s rligions. Th World Rligions sris, o whih this ook is a part, sts out to ahiv this aim. It is writtn and dsignd to appal to oth studnts and gnral radrs. Th ooks or lar, assil a ssil ovrviws o th major rligious traditions and institutions o our tim. Eah volum in th sris dsris dsr is whr a partiular rligion is pratid, its origins and history, its ntral lis and important rituals, and its ontriutions to world ivilization. Carully hosn photographs omplmnt th txt, and sidars, a map, at l, glossary, iliography, and indx ar inludd to hlp radrs gain a mor omplt undrstanding o th sujt at hand. Ths ooks will hlp lariy what rligion is all aout and rval oth th similaritis and dirns in th grat spiritual traditions pratid around th world today today.. 6
HINDUISM
Current Hindu Population 80% and over 12%–80% 2%–11.9% 0%–1.9%
© Inobase Publishing Preface
7
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION:
THE MODERN HINDU WORLD
H
induism is on o th oldst rligions in xistn. Atr Christianity and Islam it ranks as th world’s third-largst rligion. Today thr ar mor than 950 million Hindus worldwid. worldw id. Th majority o Hindus liv in India, whr th rligion was orn, and whr thy ar ovr 80 prnt o th population. Th only oially Hindu ountry, Npal, also has th highst Hindu population rat, at 89 prnt. Thr ar signiant Hindu minoritis in Bangladsh and Indonsia, and smallr groups an ound in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Fiji, Guyana, Aria, Grat Britain, Canada, and th Unitd Stats. Whil Hindus in ah o ths soitis hav altrd thir rligion to suit th nds o thir ulturs, all Hindus shar a or o rih, poti, and omplx traditions. Unlik Buddhism, Conuianism, Daoism, Christianity, Christianit y, Islam, or many o th othr ativ world rligions, Hinduism was not oundd y on individual. Rathr it is th rsult o many rligious lis and philosophial shools oming togthr. togthr. Th dirnt shools o thought thought and dotrins that fourishd on Indian Hindu women bathe in the waters o the sacred river Ganges at Varanasi in northern India. The river is a source o lie and energy. 8
HINDUISM
Introduction: The Modern Hindu World
9
Ornate sculptures o deities cover the tower o a south Indian temple. The stories o gods, their power, and their roles are ound in a variety o written and oral sources rom dierent periods in the history o India.
10
HINDUISM
soil ovr th nturis wr not originally lald as Hindu. Nor was thr a rligion alld Hinduism. Hindu is th Prsian nam or th rivr Sindhu, in what is now Pakistan. Thus, th popl who livd nar th Sindhu Rivr am to alld Hindus. In latr nturis Aras, Turks, Turks, Aghans, and Mughals—whih ar all Muslim groups—usd th trm Hindu to dsri thos in India who did not liv in Islam. It is important to not that
not all o thos who wr groupd togthr as Hindus Hi ndus at th tim wr ollowrs ollowrs o Hinduism. Early Hinduism omind th rligions o th Indus Vally in northwstrn India with that o Aryan migrants rom Prsia. Latr, Hinduism dvlopd a mor solid oundation through th writings and intrprtations o th grat Hindu sripturs. Throughout its many yars Hinduism has n infund y th hallngs o orignrs. India ound itsl onqurd and ruld rpatdly y orign invadrs—Grks, Sythians, Turks, Aghans, Mughals, and th British. Th uniqu ulturs and rligions o ths invadrs hav had an t on th idas and prinipls o Hinduism. Yt dspit ths many infuns and th hangs that am to pass, Hinduism has always asord th infuns and rmaind th dominant rligion o India.
THE GoDs anD THE sCriPTurEs At rst sight Hinduism appars to a polythisti rligion, maning that its ollowrs liv in many gods. Som popl stimat th numr o Hindu gods to in th thousands. Howvr, at th hart o Hinduism is rally only on tru “God”— Brahman. Brahman is also alld th On, th Ultimat Rality, and th World Soul. Th many gods traditionally ound in Hinduism rally orm part o Brahman. Th Hindus hav no singl holy ook, ut an normous ody o sard litratur. Hinduism rognizs svral sard writings, all o whih ontriut to asi Hindu lis. Shruti Shru ti
Th atgory o Hindu sripturs alld shruti mans “that whih is hard.” Thy onsist o th Vdas, th Brahmanas, th Aranyakas, and th Upanishads. Eah o th shruti txts provids an important part o th oundation o Hinduism. Introduction: The Modern Hindu World
11
Th our Vdas ar th oldst o th txts and ar th primary sripturs o Hinduism. H induism. It is diult to assign xat dats d ats to ths writings aus many wr ompild gradually ovr nturis nturis,, through oral tradition. Thy wr writtn down only long atr thy had om into xistn. Eah o th our Vdas ouss on a partiular partiular sujt or purpos. On ontains hymns, hants, hants, and praiss to th gods. Anothr Vda srvs as a guidook or rituals and pristly havior. A third ors inormation on magi and harms that an usd as lssings or urss, urss , and th ourth ourth givs musial nots to hantd whil prorming th rituals. Togthr th our Vdas hav had a dp and lasting infun on Hinduism. Th Brahmanas wr txts omposd atr th Vdas. Ths txts giv th dtails o th routins to ollowd during th r saris. Th Aranyakas, or th “orst ooks,” wr omposd atr th Brahamanas and mphasiz th maning hind th rituals o r saris. Th Upanishads, th latst o th shruti sripturs, wr writtn around 700–500 b.c.e. On maning or th word Upanishad is “sitting down nar” a guru (spiritual mastr) who passs on his srt tahings. Almost all Upanishads ar writtn in th orm o dialogus twn a studnt and a tahr tahr.. Indd many o th Upanishadi tahings wr to om prmannt lmnts o Hinduism. Most important o ths ar th onpts o karma (th ida that on’s dds will latr hav an t in this li or in anothr li), samsara (rinarnation, or th yls o a soul’s irth and rirth), and moksha (rlas rom th yls o samsara). In addition th Upanishads tratd qustions aout th natur o oth atman (th soul o th individual) and brahman (th Univrsal Soul), and thir rlationship to ah othr. Ths qustions hav playd playd an important impor tant rol in th dvlopmnt dvlop mnt and prati o Hinduism. 12
HINDUISM
Smriti Smri ti
Smriti, th nam o th sond atgory o Hindu sripturs, mans “that whih is rmmrd.” India oasts two grat smriti pis. Both o thm, th Mahaharata and th Ramayana, hav had a signiant infun on Hindu thought. Ths two pis hav had many many layrs addd to thm ovr th nturis, nturi s, ut thir or has ssntially ss ntially rmaind unhangd. unhangd. Th Mahaharata onsists o ovr 90,000 stanzas and is proaly th longst pi pom in history. Aording to Hindu tradition th sag Vyasa ditatd it to Gansha, th lphant-hadd god o good luk and th patron o larning. It tlls th story o two amilis ngagd in war. It inluds th Bhagavad Gita, a sard txt spokn y th god Krishna to th hro Arjuna who is aout to go into attl. It addrsss th maning and purpos o li and th natur o th indstrutil soul. Th txt mphamphasizs th dotrin o th lov (hakti) twn God and human-
A Hindu amily oering puja, or daily worship, in ront o a shrine laid with oerings, on the island o Bali in Indonesia. Although the majority o Hindus live in India, there are communities throughout Asia. Bali has more than 2.85 million Hindus, a third o the total Hindu population o Indonesia.
Introduction: The Modern Hindu World
13
ity. Th Bhagavad Bhagavad Gita is proaly th singl most infuntial txt in ontmporary Hinduism and was a major ator historially in shaping Hindu dvotion. Th othr grat pi, th Ramayana (“Th Advnturs o Rama”), tlls th tal o Rama, th svnth inarnation o th god Vishnu. Th Ramayana dpits th idals o aithulnss to marriag vows, rothrly ation, and loyalty. Th arlist parts o th txt dat rom around 350 b.c.e. Both th Mahaharata and th Ramayana hav infund th philosophy o Hinduism or ovr 2,000 yars. Th puranas —litrally —litrally “somthing vry old”—ar also smriti writings. Writtn in Sanskrit, ths txts orm a olltion o vrss that tll th storis o Hinduism’s st-known gods and goddsss and th livs o anint hros. Thy inlud ration storis, portraits o th gods and amous sags, and aounts o tim priods ruld y smigods alld manus. Thy also spak o th nd o th world and its rirth, th history o humankind, and th lgnds o anint dynastis. Th puranas ar rrrd to as th Vdas o th ommon popl, aus thy prsnt traditional rligious and historial matrial through tals that most Hindus an undrstand. BHAKTi Anothr popular orm o sriptur is th hakti litratur. Ths dvotion dvotional al songs wr produd in oth southrn and northrn rgions o India, whr tahrs mphasizd th lov o thos dvotd to a prsonal god or goddss and th lov rturnd y th god or goddss. Th hak hak-ti movmnt dvlopd pot-sags who sang praiss to Hindu gods and goddsss in th languags o th ommon popl. By th sixth ntury c.e. ths hymns wr ing sung in many tmpl tmpls. s. Many Hindus still writ and sing hakti hymns. 14
HINDUISM
Th Hindu sripturs and th storis thy ontain guid Hindus in thir daily livs. Thy also hlp to prsrv th rligious dimnsions o amily and soity. From ths txts, and rom thir intrprtations, Hindus hav dvlopd thir systm o worship and lis.
HinDu WorsHiP anD BELiEFs Thr major traditions ompris Hinduism, ah asd on a dirnt ida o th divin, th univrs, and th human ondition. Ths ah ous on th worship o a dirnt prsonal rprsntation o th Suprm—Shiva, Vishnu, or Shakti—and ar rrrd to as Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism, rsptivly. Th dirnt sts o Hinduism ar loosly ound togthr togth r y a singl si ngl li: Thy rogniz that many dirnt and individual paths may lad to th on ultimat goal o Hinduism, moksha, whih is rlas rom th attahmnt popl hav to this matrial world. Eah lays out its own own way o attaining moksha’s rward—a lissul union with th univrsal spirit o Brahman. Puja
Eah day Hindus worship th divin, through ithr a high god or a amily dity. To do this thy prorm pr orm puja in a sard stion o a worship room o th hom. Th puja ritual kps Hindus awar o thir gods and mindul o thir dutis as individuals. Th most xaltd stting or prorming puja is th tmpl. Th tmpl is th hous o God and a link twn human xistn and th divin. It is also th ntr o soial, artisti, intlltual, and rligious aairs. Most ssntially or a Hindu, th tmpl is a pla that onnts this world to th nxt.
Lighted oil lamps used during puja. during puja. Worshippers may perorm a special kind o puja puja that involves all the senses. Lighted earthen lamps evoke the sense o sight; the sound o a bell evokes the sense o hearing; ragrant leaves and fowers evoke the sense o smell; ritual objects evoke the sense o touch; and nally, consumption o blessed ood evokes the sense o taste.
Introduction: The Modern Hindu World
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THE CAsTE sysTEm As arly as th Vdi priod Hindu soity was roughly dividd into our lvls lvls asd on oupations. o upations. This asi part o Hindu li is known as th ast systm. Th Hindu ast systm was supportd y dharma, arly rligious laws o duty. Dharma insistd that partiular asts had rtain dutis within th soity. As a mmr o a ast an individual was rsponsil or upholding thos dutis. To nglt thm was onsidrd a sin that would upst th alan o li in th univrs. Early Hindus livd, as do many modrn Hindus, that i vryon wr to prorm his or hr duty unqustioningly a alan ould maintaind in th world and humans humans ould xist in pa. SamSKar SamS KaraS— aS— THE foUR sTAgEs of lifE
Mor rntly th laws inding popl to rspt th ast as t systm hav n loosnd. As a rsult modrn dharma ouss mor on dutis to amily than to soity. Today th amily unit is onsidrd spially sard, and th ulllmnt o oligations to th amily is a rligious r ligious duty. Within vry amily and throughout soity individual li is dividd into our stags—hildhood, youth, middl ag, and old ag. Hindus prati samskara, traditional rits o passag, to mark ths important transitions rom th momnt o onption to th tim o dath. All rits o passag, inluding thos o dath and atrli, ar prormd at hom y th had o th houshold, otn aidd y a Brahmin or amily guru. Aording to tradition ah amily mmr is rsponsil or maintaining sard ordr in th amily, amily, in soity, and ultimatly in th univrs. Th lration o ths rits o passag ar part o that ordr. Rligious osr van o th asi rits (onption and 16
HINDUISM
irth, introdution to th guru gur u or initiation, marriag, and r rmation atr dath) ar livd to part o th path that lads Hindus toward thir goal o moksha —nal rlas rom matrial xistn. Union wiTH THE UlTimATE REAliTy Baus all human orts and dds ar sujt to th law o karma, Hindus try to ras thir dsirs to ahiv somthing in this utilitarian matrial world. This is aus i thy ous on ahiving somthing in this matrial world, thy will only prpar thmslvs or additional additional rirths or nw livs (samsara) in utur utur gnrations on arth. Suh orts nvr lad to rlas rom th matrial xistn o this world. Moksha annot ahivd y ation aimd at gaining somthing in this world ut only y an xprin o onsl as unitd with God, th onnss o atmanBrahman, th union o on’s sl with th Ultimat Rality. Th way that Hindus rsolv this prolm is y th prati o karmayoga, namly y working or th sak o th Ultimat Rality. Karmayoga, taught in th Bhagavad Gita, mans to work aording to on’s duty, ut without attahmnt to th rsult. This path o slfss ation lads ultimatly to rlas rom th yl o irth and dath.
Introduction: The Modern Hindu World
17
CHAPTER 2
THE ROOTS OF HINDUISM
H
induism was not always th omplx rligion it is today. Indologists, thos who study th languag, ultur, and history o th Indian suontinnt, hav thorizd that it dvlopd gradually as a mrging o th lis and pratis o two main groups—th popl o th Indus Vally in India and th Aryans o Prsia. Th thory that Indo-Aryan migration was th ky ator in th dvlopmnt o Hinduism, was put orward y Europan sholars in th 19th and arly 20th nturis. ntur is. That thory, howvr, is now th sujt o muh dat and should onsidrd only on possil intrprtation intr prtation o history. Knowldg o th arly stags o Hinduism oms rom arhaologial ndings and rom th arlist Hindu sripturs, th Vdas. Arhaologial artiats rom th priod around 1500 b.c.e. onward hlp us larn aout th ivilization o th Indus Vally oth or and atr th Aryan arrivals. Thy an tll us aout oth sular mattrs and spiritual li. Cows along the banks o the sacred river Ganges. Roaming cows are a constant presence in Indian towns and cities. Cows and bulls are sacred not only because cows provide oods such as milk and cheese, but because cows were Krishna’s companions. Bulls have been sacred since the times o the Indus Valley culture. Killing cows and bulls is a sin, and eating bee is sacrilegious. 18
HINDUISM
The Roots of of Hinduism
19
From historial vidn w know that in this priod arly Hindu rligious idas wr dvlopd and larid. Rligion was a ntral part o li in th Indus I ndus Vally, Vally, and it hlpd to dn th strutur o soity—th way individuals atd and intratd. Many o ths idas, oth soial and rligious, still orm a part o th asis o Hinduism.
inDus VaLLEy CiViLiZa CiViLiZ aTion
This drawing shows the elaborate headdress o an Indus Valley terra-cotta gurine.
Aout 5,000 yars ago, in what is today Pakistan and northwstrn India, a livly ultur fourishd on th anks o th Indus Rivr. Th Indus popl livd in rik houss in wll-plannd vilvil lags. Thy wr sussul ood ultivators who raisd ualo, goats, shp, pigs, and dogs. Thy also xportd otton. Thir omortal ivilization was uilt on a thriving agriultural and animal onomy. Th Indus wr govrnd y a strong, wll-organizd ruling lass who had muh onrn or lanlinss, ordr, and staility. As w know rom arhaologial ndings, prsonal hygin and ritual lanlinss lanlin ss wr o spial importan to th Indus popl. Eah hous in an Indus Vally villag had a athing room with drains. Also, thr ar numrous rmains o athing aras loatd in puli plas. REligioUs lifE of THE indUs VAllEy PEoPlE Most inormation aout th rligious li o th Indus Vally popl oms rom th artiats thy hav lt hind. Ths inlud numrous small gurs mad o trra-otta (akd arth) and sals, suh as thos ound y arhaologists in two major towns, Mohnjo Daro and Harappa. Ths rlis provid inormation aout th lis o th Indus popl as wll as thir ratsmanship. W know rom th sals and gurins that th Indus popl
20
HINDUISM
honord rtility, sxual powr, and onsidrd rtain animals sard. It is not rtain how th sals rom Harappa and Mohnjo Daro wr usd. Many o th sns dpitd on th sals rlat to th sardnss o sxual powr and human rativity. Som sholars hav indiatd that whatvr whatvr thir us, us , th sals s als srv as vidn o th high quality o work produd produd y th two towns. towns. Th trra-otta gurins ar so numrous that thy sm to hav n kpt in narly vry hom. Thir ratsmanship is otn rathr rud whn ompard to th sals and som othr small-sal sulpturs ound in puli uildings o th Indus Vally. Baus thy ar somwhat unrnd, amily gurins may hav hav n ratd y th ommon popl or thir own us rathr than y xprt ratsmn or us y th uppr lasss. symBol of THE BUll Othr ojts rovrd rom Harappa also support th ida that human sxual powr and proration wr spially sard to th popl o th Indus Vally. Som, or xampl, dpit various animals, suh as ulls, or mal gurs ngagd in sard rituals. Th ull is livd to a symol o virility and sxual powr. It is a moti ommonly dpitd in Indus Vally art; out o mor than 2,000 trra-otta sals and sal imprssions that hav n ound at th various arhaologial sits, ulls prdominat prdominat ovr othr gurs.
moTHEr GoDDEssEs
T
he most common types of figurines from the Indus Valley civilization represent what are often considered to be “mother goddesses.” Almost all of these figures convey some idea of fertility and motherhood. They feature a female with wide hips, small breasts, tubular limbs, abundant jewelry, and an elaborate headdress. In some instances a small child appears on the hip or at the breast. In others a bulging abdomen suggests pregnancy.
A ertility gurine excavated in the Indus Valley. Such gurines are called “mother goddesses.” goddesses.” A typical Indus Valley goddess has an elaborate headdress and tubular limbs.
The Roots of of Hinduism
21
THE FaCEs oF a FErTiLiTy GoD
O
ne of the most striking sacred seals of the Harappan culture depicts a horned god who resembles the Hindu god Shiva. On the Harappan seals this god is seated in a very formal posture—perhaps a posture of meditation—with the soles of his feet pressed together. His arms extend away from the body, his thumbs rest on his knees, and the other fingers point downward. He wears elaborate ornaments and a peculiar headdress consisting of a pair of buffalo horns with a plantlike object between them. Around him are four wild animals—an elephant, a tiger, a rhinoceros, and a buffalo—and beneath his stool are two deer. The surrounding animals anima ls and the plantlike growth on his head indicate that he is a fertility god.
Although not all th animals dpitd on th sals wr onsidrd sard, th importan o th ull ontinus in latr Hindu mythology, whr it is assoiatd with an important Hindu god, Shiva.
A PEACEfUl CiViliZATion From th artiats o th Indus Vally w gain som insight into th popls’ listyl and and sard lis. Ths pratis lastd or mor than 1,000 yars and would gin to orm th asis o Hinduism. Hi nduism. Th Indus Vally also njoyd a long, paul tim, whih maks th ivilization’s ollaps somwhat puzzling and intriguing. As two possil auss, sholars look to limati hangs and to th gradual hanging ours o th Indus Rivr R ivr and its triutaris. Th Aryan migration rom th stpps o astrn Europ through Prsia ould anothr important aus o th ollaps.
THE CominG oF THE aryans (inDo-EuroPEans) Th Aryans wr on o th many Indo-Europan tris that migratd outward rom th stpps o Cntral Asia. Som o th Aryan tris journyd aross th mountains o Aghanistan into Pakistan and northwst India. Thr, mor than 3,500 yars ago, thy onrontd th Indus Vally ivilization. sEminomAdiC wARRioRs Th Aryans wr sminomadi warriors who am to Pakistan and northwst India in two-whld hors-drawn hariots. Thy rought a ultur that sharply ontrastd with that o th Indus popl; th Aryans wr skilld in i n ronz mtalwork and had no intrst in wll-plannd, ortid towns or agriultur or attl raising. Although thr is no vidn o Aryan arhittur or 22
HINDUISM
o any art o quality and omplxity, studnts o anint ivilization hav xa vatd skillully ratd mtal wapons produd y this soity. soit y. Th Aryans wr patriarhal—thy worshippd mal gods. Goddss worship was unknown unknown to thm. Thir major ditis wr gods who had links to th sun, or instan Indra, Varuna, and Agni. Aryan prists wr pots who omposd hymns in prais o thir gods. Thir hymns wr intndd to sung during r saris mad to appas th gods o th skis, th middl rgion, and th arth. mERging of THE Two CUlTUREs Aryan litratur was largly omposd atr th Aryans had sttld in th Indus Vally. This litratur larly rfts th tim whn th Aryans onrontd th Indus popl. Som o thir storis, or xampl, portray vitoris ovr a popl alld dasas —god-hating popl additd to strang rligious rits. By th tim th Aryans arrivd in th Indus Vally, th Indus ultur in th vally was showing inrasing signs o disordr. Howv Howvr r th Aryans did not ntr a dayd ultural world. Many important rligious lmnts, suh as th rvrn toward th Indus mothr goddss, ontrol ovr sxual powr, and ritual lanlinss, prsistd in Indus villag ulturs. At rst th Aryans ignord non-Aryan rligious traditions. Latr, howvr, thy adoptd som o th lmnts o Indus rligions—thos that thir own rligion ould aommodat. Thus th Indus popl and thir lis gradually mrgd with th Aryan ultur. Th rsulting ultur was Aryan in strutur, ut it inorporatd many loal and non-Aryan lis and pratis.
A row o lingam in a Hindu temple. The lingam is the most common maniestation o Shiva and represents his creative orce. The abstract orm o the male and emale generative powers has been sacred rom the time o the Indus Valley culture.
The Roots of of Hinduism
23
THE VEDas anD THE VEDiC PErioD Th Vdas wr ratd y th Aryans who migratd toward northwst India rom Prsia. Lik Hinduism itsl ths holy sripturs hav aquird many ultural and hronologial layrs. Som Vdi thoughts ar so old that thy rft an Iranian origin that prdats th migration o th Aryans to India in 1500 b.c.e. Othr idas in th Vdas volvd whil Aryans livd in th Indus Vally. Vally. Th ontnt o ths oldr txts was asord y th Aryans whn thy am to dominat th dirnt ulturs o th Indus Vally. Thr ar our Vdas, th oldst and primary sripturs o Hinduism. H induism. Th Vdas provid muh muh historial, soiologiso iologial, rligious, and linguisti inormation aout th popl who omposd thm. Thy also provid a oundation or many Hindu rligious onpts. An oRAl TRAdiTion For nturis th Vdas wr passd y tahrs to studnts through an oral tradition. Evn whn an alphat was introdud
Archaeological remains o Mohenjo Daro, one o the major towns in the Indus Valley civilization. A major source o inormation about religious lie in the Indus Valley comes rom objects that have been ound there. 24
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thr was strong opposition to ommitting th Vdas to writing. Th Brahmins (prists) livd that th powr o th holy Vdi hymns lay in th tradition o haring h aring th txt, thus th nam or suh hymns: shruti, or “that whih is hard.” Mmorizing th Vdas Vdas rom writtn wr ittn words, aording to th Brahmins, rought on grat rligiouss strngth. rligiou strngth . Evntually, howvr, howvr, or or th sak o prsrvation, prsr vation, ths holy hymns
THE Four VEDas Rig Veda The Rig Veda Veda is by far the oldest collection collection of hymns. hymns. Although a precise date for its origin is impossible to pinpoint, scholars estimate that elements of the text span a time range from 5000 B.C.E.to 900 B.C.E. The Rig Veda contains hymns and praises to the gods. Yajur Veda The second second Veda, Veda, composed composed around 700 B.C.E., is called the Yajur Veda. It contains a variation of the Rig Veda text. In addition it provides details for performing per forming sacrifices, sacrifices, building altars, and reciting ritual phrases. In essence, it is the Brahmins’ handbook. Sama Veda and Atharva Veda The two remaining remaining Vedas—Sam Vedas—Sama a Veda Veda and Atharva Veda—con Veda—contain tain significant portions of the Rig Veda, and both offer supplementary guidelines for priestly behavior. However some differences do exist between these two Vedas. Parts of the Sama Veda, for example, center on sacrifices to Soma, a god of enthusiasm and intoxication whose worship developed from an undiscovered undiscovered stimulant akin to the intoxication brought on by certain wild mushrooms. The hymns of the Atharva Veda are more concerned with magic spells, charms, and incantations. These These fall into one of two categories: those of a healing, medicinal nature, nature, such as love potions, cure-alls, and blessings; and those of a negative character, character, calling down misfortune or sickness upon enemies.
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Varuna
T
he sky god Varuna was one of the most important gods of the early Vedic period. He was the overseer of moral action, and his guidance was the standard for cosmic, moral, and religious order. This order is called rita. Varuna created the world and ruled it by the standard of rita. Rita also provided a structure for other celestial devas. The following following is a Vedic hymn hymn offered offered to Varuna:
Forgive, O gracious Lord, forgive! Whatever sin we mortals have committed against the people of the gods; if, foolish, we have thwarted thwarted your decrees, O god, do not destroy us in your anger! —Basham 240
wr writtn in an old orm o Sanskrit that w now all Vdi. Thr ar our olltions o Vdas, th Rig Vda, th Yajur Vda, th Sama Vda, and th Atharva Vdath. Th olltions inlud hymns, ruls or prorming rituals, guidlins on pristly pris tly havior, havior, and magi splls and inantations. dEVAs—A CommUniTy of diVinE PowERs Early Vdi rligion ntrd on divin powr.. Th gods, alld devas, omprisd a powr panthon (ommunity) o divin powrs. Th numr o th gods was not important—rathr th untions o th gods or th way thy wr assoiatd with natural vnts or phnomna wr important. Devas wr lassid as lstial, atmosphri, or trrstrial, dpnding on th primary loation o thir ativity: sky, atmosphri rgion, or arth.
CELEsTiaL GoDs Th Vdi popl livd in many lstial gods: Varuna, Varuna, th guardian gu ardian o osmi law; Mitra, Varuna’s hi assistant and a rind and nator o humankind; Surya, who rprsntd th physial aspt o th sun; and Savitri, who rprsntd th sun’s aility to stimulat li. To invit th lstial gods down to arth, into thir spial plas o prayr and worship, th arly Hindus prormd rituals. ritu als. Th god was honord with an oring o ood and hymns o prais. A typial ty pial 26
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sariial hymn ontaind an invoation, or alling, to th god, ord in a ton o rindlinss, rvrn, or ar—dpnding on th god and on’s rlation to th god.
aTmosPHEriC GoDs G oDs Hindus o th arly arly Vdi Vdi priod also livd in anothr lass o dvas. Ths wr th atmosphri gods who inludd Indra, th god o lightning and thundr; Vayu, Vayu, th god o wind; th Maruts, Mar uts, a troop o storm gods; and Rudra, th athr o th Maruts. Mar uts. Indra, a modl warrior, was a gur o grat popularity and prstig. In at h was th sond most important god o th arly Vdi ra. Th ky to his haratr was a myth dsriing his onqust o th dmon Vritra, a srpntin s rpntin monstr who lokd th fow o li-giving watrs to th Aryans. It is said that Indra not only slw this mythi nmy; h also ought th ral nmis o th Aryans, th dasas, or slavs, o th Indus Vally. Indra is alld th Fortrss Splittr and is praisd or his dstrution o th ortid itadls o Aryan opponnts. With his lly ull o xhilarating drink and his thundrolt rady, Indra rprsntd what an Aryan warrior aspird to . Rudra, th athr o th Maruts, or storm gods, was ard aus o his malvo malvolnt lnt and dstrutiv natur. H was also praisd at tims or his aility to prott his popl rom misortun y snding storms upon thir nmis. Rudra was a minor deva, ar ovrshadowd y Varuna and Indra during this arly Vdi priod. In latr Hinduism, howvr, his haratristis mrgd with th qualitis o a non-Aryan, Indus Vally dity— an arly orm o th god Shiva. H thn am on o th thr major Hindu gods.
In the great Hindu epic the Mahabharata, the god Vishnu rose to prominence alongside the gods Brahma and Shiva. Vishnu is pictured here with our arms. In his lower hand he carries a club signiying power and protection, in his raised right had he holds a chakra or wheel representing the cycle o lie and death and in his raised let hand he holds a conch shell whose spiral shape represents innite space.
The Roots of of Hinduism
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CHAPTER 3
THE LATE VEDIC PERIOD AND THE UPANISHADIC PERIOD
A
round th 15th ntury b.c.e. Aryan tris migratd slowly aross th plains o northrn India to th Gangs Vally. By aout th nd o th ninth ntury b.c.e. Aryans as wll as non-Aryans oupid o upid th whol o th Gangs Vally ally.. Thy wr organizd into distint prinipalitis, or stats. Som wr ruld y hrditary hrditar y rulrs alld rajas. Othrs, who wr still in ommunity groups o largly non-Aryan lans, wr govrnd y hitains. Th prinipalitis wr populatd y popl o various thni ompositions. Thr wr light-skinnd Aryans, darkskinnd Indus Vally popl, and loal trial tr ial popl o th Gangs Vally who had distint distin t skin oloration. In th aras thy oupid, th Aryans ormd th uppr lvl o a still-fuid soial ordr. Blow thm wr th non-Aryans. Although this sparation among th lasss was not hard and ast, th Brahmins distinguishd our lasss o popl: Brahmins, Brahmins , th prists; th ruling Rajanyas or Kshatriyas who, or th most part, wr warriors; th Vaishyas, or ommon popl suh as Female riends and amily members celebrate their arrival as pilgrims to bathe in the waters o the sacred river Ganges.
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The Late Vedic Period Period and the the Upanishadic Period
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Oerings over a re during puja. Agni is the god o re rom the Vedic period and became the sacricial re itsel. Fire remains one o the central elements o Hindu ritual.
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artisans and armrs; and th Shudras, srvants who ar thought to hav n non-Aryan nativs. Th li in sparat lasss, th ast systm, was supportd and givn rligious santion y a hymn in th Vdi sriptur. Thr also dvlopd a th group o popl who arrid out th most mnial jos in soity suh as laring away dad odis. Thy ormd th ‘untouhal’ asts whih ar now alld Dalit (downtroddn) and oially known as Shduld Casts. In th lat Vdi priod th worldviw gradually hangd. Major gods o th arly Vdi priod lost thir importan. impor tan. In latr Vdi writings intrst shitd away rom lstial and atmosphri gods toward devas who wr loatd on th land. Also, mor attntion was dirtd toward sariial rituals. It was during this priod that th Brahmins, or prists, gaind importan and powr in arly Hindu soity. Evntually popl am to qustion th Brahmins’ rol. Th priod ollowing th Vdi priod, th ra o th Upanishads, showd th rsults o this qustioning. Through th Upanishadi ra th rligious history o th Hindus was nvr stati. Thr had n a dynami pross o growth and innovation throughout th arly priod. priod . From th hymns o th Vdas Vdas to th ompilations o th Brahmanas and th Aranyakas (th “orst ooks”), thr was a onstant growth that ollo ollowd wd th hanging tims o th soity. Th Upanishadi priod likwis was virant with nw idas, spulation, and knowldg. Th rjtion o lis with whih popl ould not idntiy and th qust or nw answrs lld th tahings o th Upanishads and inspird nw thought.
TErrEsTriaL GoDs anD THE imPorTanCE oF saCriFiCE Sari am an important impor tant part o Hindu li in th lat Vdi priod approximatly 3,000 yars ago. As a rsult only gods dirtly assoiatd with saris—suh as Agni, th god o r; Soma, th god o sariial liation or th pouring o drinks; and Brahaspati, th divin prist and lord o prayr—rtaind th intrst o th latr Vdi prists. In this latr ra Varuna, Indra, and othrs only rivd minor saris. fiRE sACRifiCE RiTUAls During this ra th rligious li o th Hindus am inrasingly dominatd y th rituals and traditions prormd around a r pit. Ths so-alld r sari rituals gradually am xtrmly sophistiatd and omplx. Fir was now livd to th rativ sour o all th powrs o th gods and o natur. Fir rituals wr o two kinds: griha griha,, domsti rituals prormd y th housholdr or prists, and shrauta, spializd rits prormd y prists or patrons who paid or th sari. Gradually th distintion twn th shrauta and griha rituals am lurrd, aus oth typs o rits wr sujt sujt to pristly infun and ontrol. Evn though griha rituals ould prormd at hom, thy wr still taught and ontrolld y prists. Intrstingly, most domsti rituals hav n handd down rom Vdi tims to th prsnt with littl hang or addition. Today, howvr, prists do not ontrol th griha rituals. The Late Vedic Period and the Upanishadic Upanishadic Period Period
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Agni—THE fiRE god During r saris popl ord thir possssions to th gods. Th most important sariial orings wr plad in a r. Popl livd that th god Agni A gni onvyd thir orings to th othr gods through th r. Agni was thought to oth th god o r and th sariial r itsl. As th god o r h was th mdium through whih humans ould rlat dirtly to th othr gods. Agni quikly am an all-important dity. In th lstial rgion Agni was th sun. In th atmosphri rgion h was lightning. Finally, y lightning h was rought to th arth, and rkindld as r rom th trs in whih LinK To THE DiVinE WorLD h was hiddn. Whn shrauta rituals wr prormd thr kinds o r wr kpt n sacrifices Agni represented all the so that thy might symolially rprsnt other gods. As the messenger to them Agni o th sky sk y, o th atmosphr, and o Agni linked humankind to the divine th arth. world. Because he could assume various
I
forms of fire, Agni was believed to be an example of the divine world throughout nature.
You, O Agni, are Indra, the bull of all that exists; You are the wide striding Vishnu, worthy of reverence; O Lord of the Holy Word (Brahaspati), you are the chief priest. . . . You, O Agni, are King Varuna Varuna,, whose laws are are firm; You are Mitra, the wonder-worker to be revered . . . You, O Agni, are Rudra, the Asura of lofty heaven; As the troops of Maruts, you control sustenance. —Rig Vda Vda II.1, 3, 4, 6 Hopkins 18
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soUnd And sACREd ACTions In th lat Vdi priod othr sariial lmnts also grw in importan. In partiular th lmnt o sound and th sard ations aompanying rptitiv sound am ssntial to th sari. During th oring o saris ritual statmnts rrrd to as mantras, or vrs prayrs, wr ritd. Mantras wr thought to aptur th powr o Brahman, th Upanishadi Ultimat Rality. Baus o thir dp wisdom, and otn aus o thir magial powr, th mantras or th sard sph soon am mor important to know than th natural world. Evntually sard sph was did in th orm o th goddss Va (maning “sph”).
sACRifiCEs of THE gods Th gods thmslvs ar said to hav prormd saris to otain thir plas in th Vdi havn. Although th arly Vdas ar not known or storis o ration, thr is suh a story at th nd o th oldst and most important on, th Rig Vda. Th story is known as th “Hymn o th Primval Man.” Th story told o a god known as Prajapati, th lord o ings, who was also known as Pur Purusha. usha. It was livd that h xistd or th oundatio oundation n o th univrs. Prajapa Prajapati ti was a prim val human ing who was sarid y th gods, who wr his hildrn. From th ody o this divin vitim th univrs was ratd.
Hymn oF THE PrimEVaL man
T
he “Hymn of the Primeval Man,” from the Rig Veda, describes the first cosmic sacrifice, which brought forth the universe. According to the poem the sacrifice of Purusha, the cosmic victim, is the reference point
for all things. His sacrifice is the key to creation. Early Hindus believed that all other sacrifices were imitations of this great sacrifice. Furthermore they believed that to know Purusha’s sacrifice was to know the universe:
When the gods made a sacrifice with the Man (Purusha) (Puru sha) as their victim, victim , Spring was the melted butter, Summer the fuel, and Autumn the oblation. From that all-embracing sacrifice the clotted butter was collected. From it he made the animal of air and wood and village. From that all-embracing all-embracing sacrifice were born the hymns and chants, from that the meters were born, from that the sacrificial spells were born. Thence were born horses, and all beings with two rows of teeth. Thence were born cattle, and thence goats and sheep. When they divided the Man, into how many parts did they divide him? What was his mouth, what were his arms, what were his thighs and his hi s feet called? The Brahmin was his mouth, of his arms was made the Kshatriya, his thighs became the Vaishya, Vaishya, of his feet the Shudra was born. The moon arose from his mind. From his eye was born the sun. From his mouth Indra and Agni. From his breath the wind was born. From his navel came the air. From his head there came the sky, from his feet the earth, the four quarters from his ear. Thus they fashioned the world. With Sacrifice the gods sacrificed to sacrifice. These were the first of the sacred laws. The mighty beings reached the sky, where are the eternal spirits, the gods. —Basham 242–243
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In this pom, parallls ar mad twn Purusha’s sarid ody and all th lvls o ration. All ration is givn a rligious assoiation in whih Purusha, th osmi vitim, is ntrally important. Th osmos, osmos , th world o natur, human soity, and sari ar sn as similar and paralll, all ratd at th sam tim or all ags y Purusha’s sari.
BraHmins anD PoWEr
A Hindu oering prayers at a temple in southern India. Close to her eet is a small ritual re.
Throughout muh o th Vdi priod th Brahmins (prists) hld a ntral pla o powr in soity. This was in part aus th Brahmins ontrolld and ovrsaw th saris in whih th gods am down to arth to partak in orings y thir dvots. As mntiond, ths inludd shrauta and griha rituals. Th Brahmins also hld additional powr aus thy ontrolld knowldg o th Vdas. BRAHmins And THE VEdAs Th Vdas wr passd rom tahr to studnt in th oral tradition. Thy had to studid and mmorizd y prists and thn told to mmrs o othr asts. Baus o this mmrs o th pristly ast ould litrally hold th knowldg within thir ast. Brahmins not only knw th sariial hymns and prayrs y hart, ut thy wr onsidrd to th only spialists qualid to prorm th holy r saris or th popl. Thus th Brahmins ontrolld ommon ass to th gods and ultimatly to th ntir osmos. By th nd o th Vdi Vdi priod th BrahBrah mins had mad a supplmntary addition to ah o th our Vdas. Ths our ompilations wr alld Brahmanas. Thy ontaind guidan or prists in th us
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o hymns and prayrs. Th Brahmanas gav pratial dirtions, in grat dtail, or arrying out all typs o sari. To xplain th dpr maning o ths omplx rits still mor xplanations had to ompild. Ths urthr xplanations wr known as Aranyakas, or orst ooks, aus th tahing o thm took pla pla in orst rtrats. rtr ats. Although th Brahmanas insistd on propr ritual ations, th Aranyakas smd to laim that th undrstanding o th maning hind th ritual ations was mor important. Thy laimd that prt ritual rit ual did not dpnd on laorat r saris ut ould prormd
THE oriGin oF CrEaTion
T
he following hymn contains an alternative explanation for the creation of the universe. It clearly questions the early Vedic vision of creation:
Then there were neither death nor immortality, immortalit y, Nor was there then the th e torch of night and day. That One breathed windlessly and and self-sustaining; There was that One then, and there was no other. other. At first there was only darkness wrapped wrapped in darkness; All this was only unillumined unillumined water. water. That one which came to be, enclosed in nothing, Arose at last, born of the power of heat (tapas). In the beginning desire (Kama, creative or sacrificial impulse) descended on it – that was the primal seed, born of the mind . . . But, after all, who knows, and who can say Whence it all came, and how creation happened? The gods themselves are later than creation, So who knows truly whence it has arisen? Whence all creation had its origin? He, whether he fashioned it or whether he did not, He, who surveys it all from highest heaven, He knows, or perchance he knows not. —Rig Vda Vda X.129.6, 7
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within on’s own mind. Th ompilation o th Brahmanas and Aranyakas larly shows how asinatd and asord th Vdi prists wr with thir rituals and th pross o laorating on thm and intrprting thm. PRoPER PERfoRmAnCE of RiTUAls Th us o th Brahmanas’ rituals was limitd to thos who wr onsidrd to ritually r itually pur and t. A knowldg o th propr ritual ations rought popl oring saris into th ompany o thos having dirt ass to th gods. I th rituals wr proprly prormd y th prists throughout thir livs, it was livd that atr dath oth th prists and thos who askd thm to or th saris would rwardd with an xistn rd rom thir mortal odis. In short, thy would lvatd to th world o th gods. Ovr tim many popl am disnhantd with th omplx rituals that th Brahmins prsrid. Also, th ida that th univrs was ormd and maintaind through through Purusha’s sari sar i lost rligious support. Dirnt idas aout th world’s ration and li’s maning gaind attntion. On widly livd thory statd that th world ould xplaind in trms o a nutral, or imprsonal, prinipl. This prinipl was known simply as “that On.” AsCETiCs As a rsult o spiritual and soial qustioning, a way o li quit in ontrast to all th omplx rituals o th Brahmins am inrasingly ommon at this tim. This was th listyl o popl known as astis. Astis ar ddiatd to grat austrity and sl-disiplin in thir livs. In lat Vdi tims thy tndd to liv as hrmits in th orst and hos not to partiipat in th Hindu soial strutur with its many asts. Astis mrgd rom all stions o soity and rivald th Brahmins in ommanding th highst rspt o th popl. Th passion that uld th austr dvotion o th asti in th orst was itsl rvrd as sariial; this passionat ddiation to 36
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th austr li was ompard to a r r on th altar. Th rptition o Vdi hants that haratrizd th livs o th Vdi prists was thought to quivalnt to th austr dvotion o ths astis. Th hat o suh asti dvotion and prayr was alld tapas, or th hat o knowldg. Th simpl and sinr ats o th astis wr thought to ring a highr undrstanding o th Ultimat Rality. Indd, it allowd th astis to hav a highr undrstanding o all rality. Baus astis ld livs o austrity austrit y and purity, it was livd livd that thy ould gnrat “th hat o dp knowldg” y thir ats o mditation and y thir asti pratis. Popl gan
QuiET THinKinG
T
he ascetics, or forest hermits, were adept in various forms of meditation, or quiet thinking. Some were called munis (silent ones) and others rishis (having the power of knowledge). The munis were described as those who “. . . wear the wind as a girdle, and who are drunk with their own silence. They know the thoughts of all the people, for they have drunk the magic cup of Rudra/Shiva, which is poison to ordinary mortals.”
A Hindu ascetic oering puja oering puja at a small shrine in a simple shelter.
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to liv mor and mor that without prists thy thmslvs ould xprin th powr o mditation mditation and asti prati to ring on dp rligious knowldg knowldg. . Mditation and astiism wr sn as kys to rligious rvor and thy wr availal to orst hrmits as wll as to thos who wantd to imitat thir ativitis. A lifE noT RUlEd By dEATH Th rligious xampl o th astis prsntd an altrnativ rligious orm o li or many popl. Th Vdi tradition o th Brahmins smd ntrd on th prists and th xat prorman o thir rituals. Having om to som dgr disnhantd with th laorat saris o th Brahmins, many popl wantd to know know i thr was som highr goal to li than oring xatly prormd saris. Popl gan to sarh or a stat o immortality, a li not ruld y dath and not rodd y tim. Thy also wondrd how suh a stat ould otaind— how thy might transnd or ovrom th dating ondition o a li whr thr smd to no hop o somthing gratr. Hindus o th Upanishadi priod trid to answr som o ths nw rligious qustions.
THE uPanisHaDiC PErioD Th Upanishadi priod (800–450 b.c.e.) was on o th gratst ras o rativ thinking in th history o Hinduism. During this priod popl took a mor qustioning attitud toward human xistn. Upanishadi astis wr philosophrs, tahrs, and srs. Thy livd in orst hrmitags. Thy spnt thir days studying, ontmplating, and disussing th puzzling qustions o th univrs. Young minds wr attratd to ths hrmitags, hoping to ngag ngag in dats thr and thus nd nlightnmnt. siTTing down nEAR THE gURU Th Upanishads wr omposd y ths orst hrmits around 700–500 b.c.e., as th last stion o th Vdas. Thy ar also known as shruti, or “listnd-to” txts, and almost all o thir 38
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tahings ar in th orm o dialogus. Th maning o th word Upanishad is “sitting down nar” a guru (spiritual mastr) who passs on his srt tahings. Mor than 100 ompilations o ths dialogus ar writtn down, though only 13 o thm ar aptd as smriti, or sard sripturs. Gnrally th Upanishads disuss th rlationship twn th individual and th univrs, th natur o th univrsal soul, th maning o li, and th haratr o li atr dath. Th Upanishadi priod introdud to Hinduism a nw and infuntial kind o thinking and qustioning. In prinipl ths txts dird rom th Vdas in that thy did not xlud popl outsid th Brahmin ast. How Howvr vr th ontnt o th Upanishads is sutl and proound. Sin undrstanding th Upanishadi onpts has n onsidrd a diult task, only a w in at om to a dp knowldg o thir tahings. Dspit th omplxity o th Upanishads mn and womn o all lasss partiipatd in Upanishadi larning. It was not on’s lass or ast ut on’s haratr that was important. Honsty, Honst y, or or xampl, was muh mor highly valud in a potntial studnt at a hrmitag than was a prson’s amily tr.
sTayinG sTa yinG WiTH THE TH E TruTH
O
ne passage from the Chandogya Upanishad poignantly expresses how much the inner person was appreciated within the religious community that studied the Upanishads:
Satyakama was the son of a woman named Jabala. One day her son asked, “Mother, I want to be a student. What is my family name?” His mother replied, “My dear, I don’t know your family. I had you when I was was very young traveling traveling as a servant. My name is Jabala, and yours is Satyakama, so you are Satyakama Jabala.” The next day the boy went to a teacher named Gautama Haridrumata, and said: “I want to be your student, sir. Can I?” The teacher asked what his family name was. was. Satyakama replied, “I don’t know my family, family, sir. I asked my mother and she said that she had me in her youth, when she traveled about a lot as a servant. . . She said she was Jabala and I was Satyakama and that I was to give my name as Satyakama Jabala.” Jabala.” The teacher replied, “Nobody “ Nobody but a true brahman would be so honest!” He said, “Go and fetch me fuel, my friend, and I will initiate you, you, for you have not swerved from the truth.” —Chandogya Upanishad Upanishad IV.4 IV.4
CREATiVE PowERs And A diVinE linK CREATiVE Two o th oldst (a. 700–500 b.c.e.) and most signiant o th Upanishadi sripturs ar th Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and th Chandogya Upanishad. In th Chandogya Upanishad, a The Late Vedic Period and the Upanishadic Upanishadic Period Period
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qustion is posd so that its answr an show th rlationship twn th sariial r on th altar, th r in th sun, and tapas. Th qustion is aout th rativ powrs in th univrs. It is ormulatd in this way: What is th natur o th On that is th aus o th whol o xistn? Th answr disusss th rativ powrs o tapas, o sari, and o th ultimat truth, Brahman. Studnts o th Upanishads livd that it was not th ritual ats o saris thmslvs, ut rathr th spirit hind th saris that was important. Thy livd that through mditation or rftion thy ould attain th knowldg o how thy wr rlatd rlatd to to th gods and how this divin link originatd. Thy Thy also wantd to know what wr thir ral slvs and what was th rlationship o thir ral slvs to th Univrsal Rality, that is, Brahman. TRAnsCEnding woRldly woRldly CAREs C AREs Suh spiritual rftion and sarhing was livd to aus tapas within th ddiatd studnt. By stting asid all othr onrns, onrns , th studnt rally was “sariing” thm. In this rspt ths individuals st asid or “sarid” “sar id” worldly onrns and thry prormd saris on th altar o thir harts. Suh sl-saris parallld th r saris o th Vdi prists. Upanishadi astis sarid thir slvs, disiplind thir odily onrns, and dsird d sird nlightnmnt. Thy livd that this showd a powr to transnd worldly ars and ontmp ontmplat lat th important qustions o rality. Suh pratis ld to a li that an individual had, yond a sura sl, an ssntial or ral sl. Th qustion thn was to ask what this ssntial sl was and how on ould grasp it. This qustion, whih is still important in modrn Hinduism, was answrd in part y a nw ida o th Ultimat. THE BRAHmAn And THE ATmAn A major ous o th Upanishadi thinkrs was th ida that an individual’s soul, alld atman, was a sparatd part o Brahman, 40
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or th univrsal soul. Sin th Upanishadi ra an important thm o Hinduism has n this li in th onnss o th individual soul and th Univrsal Soul. Th sparatd atman, atr ahiving moksha, or salvation, will unitd again with Brahman. Evntually th word Brahman was usd to rr to th univrsal ssn ontaining all kinds o powr. Th ida o atman-Brahman is rpatd rp atd in th amous phras rom th Chandogya Upanishad, “tat tvam asi,” litrally, “that thou art.” This phras mans that thr is no dirn twn th individual and th univrsal. Th idntity o th soul o th individual and th soul o th univrs is th ntral thm throughout th Upanishadi txts. Tat T at tvam asi, “you (th individual soul) ar that (th univrsal ssn)” is th prinipal tahing o th priod.
samsara, Karma, anD Moks Moksha ha O th many Upanishadi tahings that wr to om prmannt lmnts o Hinduism, thos o samsara and karma ar among th most prominnt. PAssing of A soUl fRom Body To Body Samsara is a li in th transmigration, or ontinual passing, o a soul rom on ody to anothr. It an dsrid as ollows. Th soul o a prson who dis dos not pass into havn, or hll, or lswhr. It is rorn into anothr ody, whih may o a highr or lowr ordr than on’s
Young Brahman boys perorming puja on a stone statue o Vishnu resting on a serpent at Buddhalakinath in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The Late Vedic Period and the Upanishadic Upanishadic Period Period
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THE EssEnCE oF sELF
A
story from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad illustrates that there is no difference between the individual and the universal.
prvious xistn. Rirth ollows rirth in an ndlss hain. Thus a prson o low status may rorn as a prist, or a king, or an animal, or vn a worm. Th qustion thn ariss: What auss th soul to ntr a highr or lowr stat o xistn?
“Put this salt in water, and come to me in the morning.” The student did as he was told. In the morning the teacher said, “Fetch the salt.” The student looked for it, but could not find it, because it had dissolved. “Taste the water from the top, to p, said the teacher. “How does it taste?” “Of salt,” the student replied. “Taste from the middle. How does it taste?” “Of salt,” the student replied. “Taste from the bottom. How does it taste?” “Of salt,” the student answered. Then the teacher said, “You don’t perceive that one Reality exists in your own body, my dear, but it is truly there. Everything which has its being is that subtle essence. That is Reality! That is the Soul! And you are that, Svetaketu!”
THE lAw of dEEds A prson’s highr or lowr stat o xistn is dtrmind y th law o karma (th law o dds or works.) This is a law dtrmining that an individual’s thoughts, words, and dds hav thial onsquns that stalish th quality o th prson’s utur xistns. For Hindus th law o karma is a nssary law o natur. It dids th quality o a Hindu’s urthr li. A prson who has don good dds is rorn into a good xistn in th nxt irth, and i h or sh has don ad dds th prson ahivs a lss ortunat irth. Karma dos not only apply to on’s utur li; li ; it also applis to what happns in on’s prsnt li. Aording to th law o karma th good that a prson dos in this li vntually oms ak to him or hr in th orm o good ortun, ithr in on’s prsnt li or in on’s utur xistn. Likwis a prson pays a “karmi pri” pri ” or th vil dds h or sh might might hav prormd. prormd. Th vil dd will om ak to “haunt” th prson in this prsnt li or in a utur xistn. RElEAsE To Union wiTH THE BRAHmAn Th highst o th Upanishadi tahings omplts th idas o samsara and karma. This is th onpt o moksha, or rlas: y lading a good spiritual li—that is, y union with Brahman, or th Ultimat Rality—an individual will vntually lav th tm-
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porary xistns and th yl o samsara. With th ida o moksha th dsir or trnal onnss with Brahman am mor important than improving on’s position in this li or gaining physial njoymnt njoymnt y good dds or karma. In th Upanishadi ra Hindus gradually plad an inrasinginra singly highr valu on th goal o union with th Univrsal Soul and rlas rom th ralm o samsara. Moksha am to onsidrd th highst and prhaps th sol purpos o li. Ovr th yars various Hindu sts strov toward toward this sam goal, ut ut thy did so through dirnt mthods. yogA And A nd VEdAnTA VEdA nTA Along with th nw idas o sari, God, and th yl o samsara, th Upanishadi priod also saw many nw shools o rligious philosophy. On o ths was yoga. Yoga is a orm o physial and mntal disiplin. Although its prati was muh oldr than th Upanishads, th ommon mthods o yoga wr urthr dvlopd and xplaind in this ra. Upanishadi srs ollowd yogi thniqus that mphasizd th dirn twn th ody and th sl. Vdanta was anothr powrul shool o rligious philosophy that mrgd at this tim. It ostrd th ida that thr was an undrlying unity to all rality. It introdud th onpt o maya, an imprsonal or that maks popl orgt that all individuals ar part o th univrsal ssn. Maya is livd to th aus o all ignoran and suring and must ovrom.
A sadhu, a Hindu holy man who has renounced the material world, can usually be recognized by matted, tangled hair and the most simple possession such as a loose cloak and a wooden sta. He has let go o his social status in order to nd the highest truth (Brahman) through mental and physical discipline. His goal is to be spiritually united with Brahman in order to achieve salvation, moksha.
nEW mETHoDs oF TEaCHinG Th instrution o th Upanishads promisd a rligious tahing that would The Late Vedic Period and the Upanishadic Upanishadic Period Period
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ntrd on ordinary popl and not on th dtaild sariial rits o th Brahmins. Howvr, many ommon popl had diulty undrstanding th txts. Th Upanishadi tahings wr simply too philosophial and puzzling. During th sam tim as th Upanishadi priod, som non-Brahmin thinkrs, suh as Buddhists, am to rjt th old sariial tradition o th Brahmins. Ths tahrs gan to onvy thir rligious lssons in nw ways—through th tlling o storis and parals.
Praying beore a shrine to Nandi, the sacred white bull who is ridden by Shiva. Nandi Nandi means means “he who grants joy” and this bull represents the inner strength that is gained by controlling physical needs and letting go o violence and anger. 44
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sToRiEs of TRAVEling TEACHERs Coming out o th onns o th orst shools that had n th lassrooms o th Upanishads, th nw tahrs travld tr avld rom on town to th nxt. Whil Whi l travling thy told storis and sprad thir lis and idas. Th popl listnd agrly and wr ntrand y th simpl parals. Thy ound th tahings upliting. Thy also disovrd that th storis rought thm undrstanding o thir livs and o th world. Soon th storis and parals, whih otn illustratd moral or rligious lssons, am vry popular. Sing that this approah to rligious tahing was sussul, vn th Brahmins gan to adopt storytlling as part o thir prahing mthod. Consquntly nw orms o Brahmani litratur am into xistn around th third ntury b.c.e. b .c.e. At that tim th Brahmins wrot nw litratur as wll
as additions to oldr works. Som xampls o how th Brahmins adaptd th nw tahing mthods an sn in th additions thy mad to th grat pi poms, th Ramayana and th Mahaharata, and also to th sard writings known as th puranas. sToRiEs of THE gods Whras th pis sm to hav rahd thir nal orm y 500 c.e., th puranas ontinud to dvlop until lat in th 12th ntury c.e. Th puranas, or “old storis,” inorporat lgnds, myths, and ustomary osrvans. Latr portions o th puranas ousd on storis o th gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Hindus worshippd ah o ths thr gods sparatly, ut th thr wr also onsidrd to on god with thr untions: untions: ration r ation (Brahma), prsrvation (Vishnu), and dstrution (Shiva). Th myths and lgnds o th puranas rought maning to popl’s livs. Baus th lgnds wr otn intrtwind with signiant historial ats, th puranas wr otn assoiatd with itihasa (history). Lik th pis, puranic txts ar onsidrd important aus thy hav n, and still ar, th mdia o mass mas s duation in th Hindu world. For nturis rligious, soial, and ultural norms and inspirations hav n impartd through this typ o litratur.
HEroEs anD LEGEnDs
T
he Ramayana and Mahabharata are the repositories in story form of the essential wisdom of all that went before. Originally the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were long stories about the exploits and struggles of warriors and kings told by generations of traveling bards. All sorts of material was included in these basic stories so that each of the great epics, especially the Mahabharata, developed into an encyclopedia of heroes and legends— some legends giving historical portraits, some creating mythological images. It is in the epics that one encounters the everdeveloping characters of the great gods Shiva and Vishnu, Vishnu, in the form of his avatars Rama and Krishna, their wives, their families, and numerous other minor gods.
“GrEaT oLD sToriEs anD “GrEaT GLoriFiCaTions”
W
hile many works may bear the name purana, only 18 are traditionally acknowledged as shruti, or sacred. These are called the mahapuranas, “great old stories.” It is also true that any religious text could be called a minor purana. Many minor puranas that were written after the older shruti were referred to as mahatmyas, or “glorifications.” These mostly glorified gods and places of pilgrimage. Among these are modern mahatmyas, some composed as recently as the 19th century.
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CHAPTER 4
THE GODS AND RELIGIOUS DEVOTION
D
uring th priod 500 b.c.e. to 400 c.e. th puranas wr inspird y many Hindu traditions. Within ah tradition individuals onsidrd on god to thir prsonal god and th highst god. What dvlopd with this mor prsonal rligious prsptiv was a popular dvotional movmnt known as hakti, whih mans “attahmnt,” or a rvnt dvotion to a god. Th sds o this nw approah to rligion had n sown in th arlir traditions o oth th pis and th puranas. W an s how th sds dvlopd i w study som o th storis o th gods and th popl’s nw appriation o rtain gods. In th arlir priods ths gods had small rols within th Hindu panthon. Thy took on nw dimnsions and gaind in importan as th yars movd on.
THE amBiGuous GoD sHiVa Shiva was not a prominnt god in th arlir wr itings o th Brahmins. In th Vdas th orrunnr o th god Shiva was th trril atmosphri deva Rudra, an Aryan god o storms, lightning, and mdiinal hrs. Baus Rudra ontrolld atmosphri ors A illustration rom the epic poem called the Ramayana (“The Adventures o Rama”) showing the wedding procession o Rama and Sita. Rama is the seventh avatar or incarnation o the god Vishnu. 46
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th Indus Vally popl livd that h ould dirt human dstiny.. In rturn tiny r turn or th prayrs o his worshipprs Rudra gav gav thm haling rmdis and prottd thm against th dstrution rought y powrul powrul storms. storms . A painting showing the male and emale aspects o Shiva. Many myths provide absorbing portraits o Shiva’ss multisided Shiva’ multisi ded nature. These myths occur oten in the epics and the puranas. the puranas. Each time the stories are told a bit dierently, depending on the storyteller and the time they were written down.
THE TRAdiTion of sHiVA woRsHiP By th priod o th Upanishads Rudra’s haratristis mrgd with thos o anothr Indus Vally Vally trrstr trrstrial ial god god o attl to to orm orm Shiva, on o thr major gods. H was th Indus yogi god having ontrol ovr sxuality. H was th Vdi god o trril rains and storms and th haling god o hrs. In addition h was th dity o animals, th athr o storm gods, and th god o yogi powr.. H am known or his ontraditory powrs, partiupowr par tiularly sxual powr and th powr o yogi sl-ontrol. Rligious aw o th omplx gur o Shiva and his wi, Parvati, mrgd into th tradition tr adition o Shiva worship—rrrd worship—rrrd to as Shaivism— during th arly dads (third ntury b.c.e.) o th puranic tim priod. In th Mahaharata Shiva is worshippd not only as rator r ator o th univrs ut also as th primval athr. Th grat pi tlls o Shiva living in th Himalayas with his wi, Parvati (a nnt and mild orm o th grat goddss Mahadvi Shakti), and thir two sons, Gansha and Skanda. Thy also liv with Shiva’s onstant ompanion and vahana (vhil), Nandi th ull—a symol o mal strngth strng th and powr. loRd of THE dAnCE On o th most popular imags o Shiva is as Lord o th Dan, or Shiva Nataraja. Nataraja dans within a irl rprsnting th univrs and th ontinual dstrution and ration o li. Th loks o his
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hair ar dkd with a rsnt moon, a skull, and a tiny symol o th sard rivr Gangs. Th skull, with its aint smil, laughs at popl who onsidr thmslvs trnal, unal to raliz how fting li is. Th rsnt moon in his mattd hair kps Kama, th god o nightly lov, aliv, and through th waxing and waning o th moon h rats dirnt sasons and rjuvnats rjuvna ts li. li . Th rivr Gangs that fows in Natara ja’s hair hair originally fowd in havn. havn. Whn th havnly Gangs Gangs was ndd on arth, arth, sh was unwilling to dsnd aus sh ralizd that hr all rom havn would too havy or th ar arth th to withstand. So Shiva, as Nataraja, agrd to rak th violnt powr o th sard rivr’s all y athing hr in his tangld hair.
THE ELiXir oF immorTaLiTy
O
ne myth about Shiva, one of the three major gods of the Puranic period, tells how the gods were constantly struggling with demons (raksasas ). To T o strengthen strengthen themselves themselves in their struggle the gods decided to use amrita, the elixir of immortality. To produce this elixir they had to churn the Ocean of Milk. The gods used the serpent Vasuki as their churning rope. Having been churned around for some time, the serpent vomited forth poison. Just as the poison was about to fall into the elixir, contaminate it, and destroy all hope for the gods, Shiva, the god of gods, came to the rescue. He caught the poison in his mouth and saved the gods’ drink of immortality. He himself was saved from swallowing it by his wife, Parvati, who strangled him so that the poison would stay in his throat. This is why some portraits of Shiva give him a blue throat.
snAKEs, dRUm, And flAmE Shiva also wars snaks oild around his uppr arms and his nk, symolizing his ontrol ovr th dadlist animals. Although Hindus onsidr snaks th most dradd poisonous animals on land, Shiva’s powr diminishs thir trril natur. Snaks also symoliz th transmigration or hang that souls undrgo as thy inhait dirnt odis. Snaks shd thir skin in du sason and grow a nw on—just as in Hindu li humans otain a nw ody with ah rirth o thir soul. In two o his our hands Shiva otn holds a drum and a fam. Th drum rprsnts th rhythmi sound to whih Nataraja dans and ontinually rrats th univrs. Th fams rprsnt th dstrutiv nrgy with whih Nataraja dans at th nd o ah osmi ag, lansing sins and rmoving illusion. His right hand lsss dvots. His lt hand, pointing toward his oot,
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grants trnal liss to thos who approah approah him. Th othr oot trads rmly r mly upon th dwar o ignoran, allowing th irth o knowldg.
A statue o Shiva Nataraja. Throughout the Hindu legends Shiva is depicted in many dierent orms. A popular orm o Shiva is that o the lord o dance, Nataraja. His sacred cosmic dance has the power to remove all evils and obstacles. Nataraja stands in a posture o dance in the middle o a ery halo. This faming mandorla represents the universe with all its illusion, suering, and pain.
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REgEnERATion And sExUAl PowER In addition Shiva’s orm as Nataraja rvals a tradition o honoring th powr o mal and mal sxuality. From Nataraja’s lt arlo hangs a mal arring and rom his right arlo a mal arring. Ths symoliz th union o th arhtypal parnts o th univrs. Th worship o sxual powr that was so prominnt in pr-Aryan tims had no pla in th arly Vdi hymns. Howvr th tradition o rvrn or sxual powr and th nd or sl-ontrol was proaly arrid on or nturis outsid th Vdas in th Brahmani tradition. With th mrgn in th puranic txts o oth Shiva and Shakti—th primval athr and mothr—th worship o sxual powr rsurad. Furthrmor svral o th most potnt symols in Hinduism ar assoiatd with Shiva as th god o rgnration and sxuality. In Shaivism, whih is th ult o Shiva worship, th ntral ojts o rvrn ar symols o sxual powr. Evn th Ultimat Rality o Brahman is otn rprsntd y symoli orms o th gnitals, suh as th pillar o light and th goldn gg. At tims Mothr Earth Ear th is rrrd to as th wom and Fathr Fathr Sky and Spa as th lingam, a symol o mal sxuality. In puranic sariial rituals, th r is alld a lingam, whil th yoni, or harth, is a symol o mal sxuality. Both ar ommon Shaivit symols. Th most ommonly known lingam is th r lingam, whih is rrrd to as Jyotirlinga. In Hindu mythology Jyotirlinga is on o th orms o th god Shiva.
sons oF sHiVa anD ParVaTi As Hindu mythology rlats, Shiva and Parvati rsid in th Himalayas with thir sons, Gansha and Skanda (who is somtims alld Kartikya). Gansha is an lphant-hadd god, th rmovr o ostals, who is invokd at th ginning o vry Hindu undrtaking. Skanda is an immortal warrior, warr ior, th dndr dndr
a PiLLar oF FirE
I
n one myth Shiva, in the form of fire as Jyotirlinga, asserts his supremacy over two other high gods, Brahma and Vishnu. The myth is told as follows:
One day Brahma noticed Vishnu, with his thousand omniscient eyes, lying on the formless waters, supported by the thousand-headed serpent of the Infinite. Impressed by Vishnu’s radiance, Brahma asked the eternal being who he was. Vishnu raised his sleepy lotus eyes, eyes , smiled, and beckoned to Brahma in a condescending manner. Brahma was offended by Vishnu’s informal attitude, and responded, “How can you treat me as a master would his pupil? I am the cause of creation and destruction, the creator of a thousand universes, the source of all that exists!” Vishnu replied, “Don’t you know that I am Narayana, creator, preserver, and destroyer of the worlds, eternal male, immortal source of the universe, and its center as well? Even thou are born of my indestructible body.” Brahma and Vishnu thus argued bitterly above the formless sea, when a glorious, shimmering lingam appeared before their eyes. The lingam was a flamboyant pillar with the brilliance of a hundred fires, capable of consuming the universe. It was without beginning,
without middle, and without end, incomparable and indescribable indescribable.. Then the divine Vishnu, troubled as Brahma was by the flames, said to him, “We must look for the source of this fire. I shall go down in the form of a boar. You shall rise up in your manifestation of a swan.” “I Create, I Maintain, I Destroy” Taking T aking the shape of a blue boar with sharp tusks, a long snout, and firm, short feet, Vishnu plunged into the depths for a thousand years. However, despite his enduring effort, he could not find the base of the fire lingam. Meanwhile the white swan with burning eyes and great wings, whose flight was as swift as the wind, soared for a thousand years to find the top of the pillar. He too was unable to reach it. Brahma was returning when he met the great Vishnu, likewise returning, weary and disconcerted. Suddenly they saw Shiva standing before them as Jyotirlinga. They bowed before him. Vishnu said to Shiva, “Our dispute has been blessed by you, the god of gods, since you appeared before us to put an end to our argument.” Shiva replied, “I am supreme lord, undivided. I am three: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. I create, I maintain, I destroy.”
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GanEsHa
M
any different myths exist concerning the origins of Ganesha’s elephant head. According to one account Parvati, before starting to bathe one day, scraped the ointment from her body and mixed it with oils and other ointments. From this she formed a man’s figure and gave it life by sprinkling it with water from the Ganges River. She then set this figure, her son Ganesha, outside the bathhouse door to stand guard. When Shiva
tried to enter, Ganesha refused to let him in. As Shiva did not know him, he became angry and cut off Ganesha’s head. When Parvati emerged and found her son dead, she was overwrought with grief. Shiva felt sympathy for his wife, so he sent a messenger to seek another head for the child. The first creature the messenger found was an elephant. He brought back the elephant’s head, and this was planted on Ganesha’s shoulders.
A shrine to the elephant-headed god Ganesha.
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o th gods, who is assoiatd with Agni and Indra. Many storis ar writtn aout th two rothrs. god of wisdom And KnowlEdgE Som aounts o Gansha’s origins suggst that Shiva ratd him in rspons to a rqust y th gods and sags, who had ralizd that thr was no ovrsr o good or ad dds. Shiva pondrd ovr this lak o a guid or som tim, thn turnd toward tow ard Parvati. As A s h lookd at hr a radiant youth o grat auty, ndowd with th qualitis o Shiva, sprang orth rom his gaz. All th havnly hosts wr amazd and aptivatd y his auty. Parvati was jalous and angrd y hr husand’s prodution o suh a autiul son. Sh ursd th son, wishing that h would om ugly ugly and and hav hav an lphant’s lphant’s had. had. Shiva ountrd hr urs y dlaring that dspit his son’s lphantin had, h would th guardian gu ardian o susss and ailurs and would rul ovr all oasions. H dlard that Gansha would grat among gods, that h would th god o wisdom and prudn, and that h would a sri and larnd in all th sripturs. Today Gansha is rprsntd as a short, pot-llid man with our arms and an lphant had. CiRCling THE UniVERsE Th storis o Gansha that hav n handd down ovr th many nturis show th omplxity o his prsonality. Ths storis point to th varity o traditions that hav gon to rat th omplx portraits w hav o Gansha—Gansha is a god o wisdom, h rings good luk luk and an rmov ostals, ostals, ut h is also assoiatd with th prinipls o yoga. Thy also show how Hinduism has n a fuid rligion, vn in its portraits o th vr-surviving haratrs that dsnd rom Shiva. On story o Gansha and his rothr, Kartikya, tlls how thy wr rivals or th sam wivs. To sttl thir disput thy agrd that whovr rst irld irld th world would win th wi o his hoosing. Kartikya st o and atr a long, warying xur-
The “auspicious” head o Shiva shows a crescent moon, indicating the phases o lunar time. A miniature orm o the sacred river Ganges adorns Shiva’ Shiva’ss matted hair. A smiling skull adorns the ront o his headgear, and his dissimilar earrings represent his male and emale aspects.
These three drawings depict three hand gestures o Shiva. In his upper let hand, he carries the drum, whose sound symbolizes the creation o the cosmos. In his upper right hand, he carries the fame, which symbolizes the simultaneous destruction o the cosmos. Shiva’s lower hands are together in a gesture o blessing and reassurance.
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sion, h rturnd hom. Thr h ound Gansha—who had nvr lt—alrady marrid marr id to oth young womn. womn. Th lphanthadd rothr xplaind to Kartikya that instad o making th painstaking journy around th world, h had simply irld around thir athr, Shiva, Shiva, who is th quivalnt o th univrs! A son To Kill A dEmon In som myths Kartikya is marrid to Kumari. In many othrs h is portrayd as somon not intrstd in womn. H rids a paok, arris ows and arrows, and has six hads and six pairs o arms. Aounts o Kartikya’s origins and his strang apparan vary. In on vry popular myth th dmon Taraka was rating hav havo o in th havns, and th gods disussd dis ussd how thy ould put an nd to this tyranny t yranny.. Thy didd that thy had to prsuad Shiva to hav a son who would kill Taraka. Unortunatly Shiva Shiva was ngagd ngagd in dp mditation. At th sam tim Parvati was also dply asord in mditation. Shiva took no noti o hr, nor nor sh o him. Sing this, this , th gods ordrd Kama, th god o lov, to approah Shiva, th grat asti, and stir up a strong dsir in his hart or Parvati. Kama odintly wnt to Mount Kailasha K ailasha in th Himalayas, saw Shiva still sti ll mditating, and ound autiul Parvati now gathring fowrs. Kama thought Shiva ould attratd y Parvati’s auty, so h drw his arrow and lt it fy. As th arrow struk Shiva, dsir awok in his hart. Howvr thn Shiva not only saw Parvati—h also saw Kama. H ralizd r alizd that th god o lov was trying to manipulat him. This mad Shiva so angry that h urnd Kama to ashs instantly. Though dsir had n arousd in his hart, Shiva, th lord o astiism, did not giv way to his passion. H onsntd to marry Parvati, ut no hildrn wr orn. Again th gods didd to tak mattrs into thir own hands. Thy snt Agni as thir amassador to urg Shiva to gt a son. Agni, disguisd as a ird, fw around, wathing wathing Shiva onstantly onstantly.. Finally h managd managd to pik up a sd o th grat god in his ak. As h fw his urdn smd to grow havir and havir until nally, as h was 54
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his statue represents Shiva seated deep in meditation on top of the Himalayas. He has an antelope skin wrapped around him and snakes coiled around his neck, and he has a trident behind him. The three prongs of the trident represent the three aspects of Vishnu as creator, protector, and destroyer. Vishnu is often depicted as a handsome young man dressed in royal robes, reclining with his wife, Lakshmi, on the coil of the serpent Ananta (or Shesha). He has four hands with which he holds a conch shell, a discus,
a club, and a lotus flower. The Garuda, a creature half man and half eagle, is Vishnu’s vahana (vehicle). Vishnu Vishnu resides in a heavenly city called Vaikuntha, which is said to be made entirely of gold and precious jewels. This city is located on the mythical Mount Meru. The river Ganges, which according to some myths has its source in Vishnu’s foot, flows through the city. In the pools of this heaven grow blue, red, and white lotuses. Vishnu and Lakshmi sit amid the white lotuses, where they both radiate like the sun.
A statue o Shiva at Chattapur Temple in New Delhi, India.
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passing ovr th rivr Gangs, h was ord to drop it. Thr on th anks o th Gangs aros a hild as autiul as th moon and as rilliant as th sun. This was Kartikya. As h appard on th ank o th Gangs, six royal womn womn am to ath. Eah o thm wantd this autiul son as a s hr own and wishd to d him. So th nworn god aquird six mouths and was sukld y all o his ostr mothrs. mothrs.
VisHnu anD THE TEn aVaTars The benecent god Vishnu reclines on the thousand– headed primordial serpent. From his navel emerges Brahma, the world creator creator.. The world is ruled by Vishnu or a yuga a yuga (a long period o time), ater which it is dissolved and re-created. Thus the cycle o samsara samsara goes on.
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In th priod o th Vdas, Vishnu was a minor divinity. H was assoiatd with th Aryan warrior god, Indra. Gradually Vishnu gaind importan, and y th tim o th grat pis h was a paramount deva o th Hindu trinity: Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu. H is known as a strong s trong ut kind god. H is a athr-lik gur and a just rulr. H is worshippd with grat dvotion and littl ar. Th Vaishnavits (th ollowrs o Vishnu) worship him as th gratst o th gods, th prsr vr, and th vr-prsnt vr-prsnt spirit. THE PREsERVER And REsToRER Vishnu’s rol as prsrvr sms to hav dvlopd as a mans to maintain alan in th univrs twn good and vil powrs. In th normal ours o vnts th gods and dmons ar vnly mathd in th world. At tims, howvr, dmons sm to gain th uppr hand. During suh tims Vishnu, as prsrvr, intrvns to rstor alan y dsnding to arth in th orm o an inarnation. “Whnvr th Sard Law ails, and vil raiss its had, I [Vishnu] tak modid irth. To guard th rightous, r ightous, to root out sinnrs, and to stalish th Sard Law, I am orn rom ag to ag.” (Bhagavad Gita IV.6–8) Hindu mythology holds that thr ar 10 inarnations o Vishnu, alld avatars. During ah inarnation Vishnu has a spi task to prorm.
foUR AnimAl AV AVA ATARs O th 10 avatars, our ar animals. In th orm o Matsya (a sh), Vishnu savd th sag Manu and th sard Vdas rom a grat food. Also in this food th gods tmporarily lost th lixir o thir immortality. Vishnu assumd th orm o Kurma, a grat tortois, and dov to th ottom ottom o th oan to rtriv th potnt drink. Whn th dmon Hiranyaksha ast th arth to th ottom o th sa, Vishnu am Varaha, Varaha, th oar. H plungd plungd into th dpths, savd th arth, and sprad it on top o th watrs to foat. Anothr dmon, th tyrant Hiranyakashapa, had otaind a spial privilg through whih h ould killd nithr y human nor animal, nithr insid nor outsid o his hom, nor y day nor y night. H livd without ar and wrakd grat havo whrvr h wnt. To ovrom th dmon Vishnu took th orm o th Narasimha (hal human and hal lion) and killd Hiranyakashapa on th thrshold o his hom at sunst. HUmAn AVATARs Othr avatars wr human in orm. A popular lgnd told o th thr grat strids with whih Vishnu stppd ovr th univrs and oild th dmon-king Bali. Th dmon-king had ontrol o th arth, so Vishnu dvisd a plan to div him. Vishnu took th orm o Vamana, th dwar, and askd th king i h ould hav as muh spa as h ould ovr in thr stps. Bliving that th dwar ould only ovr a small spa, Bali agrd. Thn Vishnu am Vamana, Vamana, a grat giant, and strod aross th arth ar th and th havns. At anothr tim th Kshatriyas (th warrior lass) thratnd to siz powr rom th Brahmins. So Vishnu was orn as th Brahmin Parashurama, Parashurama, known as Rama with th Ax, to assrt th santity o th ast systm. All 10 avatars wr rognizd in th sard sripturs y around th 11th ntury c.e. By ar, howvr, th most widly The Gods and Religious Devotion
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worshippd o ths gods wr Rama and Kr Krishna, ishna, th svnth and ighth avatars o Vishnu. A huge wooden statue o the demon-king Ravana is set alight with reworks in Manchester, England, at the end o the estival o Navaratri. In northern India events rom the Ramayana are colorully reenacted during the estival, which lasts or nine nights and culminates in the burning o Ravana.
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THE aDVEnTurEs oF o F rama, PrinCE oF ayoDHya Rama, th prin o Ayodhya, was th svnth avatar o Vishnu. Th grat pi pom th Ramayana (“Advnturs o Rama”) tlls o Rama’s li. Rama’s task in this inarnation was to sudu th powrul 10-hadd Ravana, dmon-king o Sri Lanka. Th dmon-king’s dmis is a oal point o th Ramayana. King RAVAnA Th king Ravana was said to a dvotd studnt o Vdi Vdi rituals. ri tuals. Brahma rwardd his dvotion with a git o invulnraility. invulnrailit y. Rav-
ana ould killd nithr y god nor dmon. Howvr, Ravana misusd Brahma’s git; h onqurd th havns and rought all th gods to Sri Lanka, whr thy srvd him in hains. Indra am his wrath makr, makr, Brahma his mssngr, Agni his ook, Vishnu his stward, Shiva his arr, Vayu his swpr, and Varuna his watr arrir. Thus Ravana’s unompromising dvotion to th god Brahma was so proound that it shook th oundations o th lstial, atmosphri, and arthly worlds. Th gods appald to Vishnu or a solution to thir prdiamnt. Vishnu dlard that Ravana had n too proud to ask or immunity rom mr mortals. As a rsult h would slain aus o a woma woman, n, y a human, and aidd y animals. Thn Vishnu inarnatd himsl as Rama, a mr mortal and oldst son o King Dasratha who ruld rom his apital, Ayodhya, in northrn India. RAmA is sEnT inTo ExilE Rama marrid a prinss namd Sita. Shortly atr th marriag Dasratha didd to rtir and mak his son Rama king. Dasratha’s qun, howvr, askd th king or a avor h had promisd to hr long or. Sh askd that hr son Bharata tak th thron as king, and that Rama xild or 14 yars. Dasratha was uttrly dishartnd, ut h kpt his word. word. Rama wantd to go into xil alon, ut his wi Sita, and his rothr and st rind, Lakshmana, insistd on aompa aompanying nying him. So whil all o Rama’s loyal sujts mournd thir dpartur, th thr ompanions st o into th orst. Rama’s athr, Dasratha, did o gri within a w days. In th mantim Bharata was rturning rom a journy or what h thought was to th oronation o his rothr Rama. R ama. Whn h larnd what had happnd h was appalld. Bharata wnt to th orst to prsuad his ldr rothr to rturn to th thron. Howvr, Howvr, Rama politly rusd, rus d, saying that h ould not oppos his athr’s word. Bharata rturnd to th kingdom ut rignd only as a viroy, prsrving a pair o Rama’s sandals on th thron as a symol o th rightul king. The Gods and Religious Devotion
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sURPAnAKHA TAKEs REVEngE Th dmon-king Ravana’s sistr, Surpanakha, otn visitd th orst whr Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana livd. Sh ll in lov with Rama, ut h rsistd hr advans aus h lovd Sita. Sita . Angrd, Surpanakha turnd hr ations toward Lakshmana. Lakshmana ignord hr ompltly. Whn sh prsistd h am vry annoyd and ut o hr nos and ars. Surpanakha was razd. Sh didd to nti hr rothr Ravana with dtails o Sita’s auty. Sh told him what a prt wi Sita would or or him. Ravana Ravana was was intrigud, ut h was also wll awar awar o Rama’s powr. Ravana knw that it would would most diult to tak Sita rom Rama. To gt Sita, Ravana snt an nhantd dr to th orst. This dr was so autiul that Sita askd Rama and Lakshmana to ath it or hr. Whil th two rothrs hasd th dr, Ravana disguisd himsl as an asti. H approahd Sita and took hr away in his hariot to his goldn pala in Sri Lanka. On th way Jatayu, Rama’s ird rind, saw thm. thm. H trid to sav Sita ut ut was mortally woundd. HAnUmAn—THE monKEy-gEnERAl Manwhil th two rothrs rturnd rom thir qust to aptur th nhantd dr. Thy ound Jatayu and larnd rom th woundd ird what had happnd. Gratly disturd, Rama mad plans to rsu Sita. Sita . H mad an allian with th monkyking Sugriva, who prsntd Rama with an army ar my o monkys and ars. Th gnral o this army was th mighty Hanuman, son o Vayu, th wind god. Bor anyon ls ould rah Sri Lanka Hanuman had fown to Ravana’s pala and ound Sita alon in a gardn. H gav hr Rama’s ring as a tokn and assurd hr that Rama would rsu hr. Howvr, Howvr, Hanuman Hanuman was aught aught y Ravana’s guards, who rought him or th dmon-king. Ravana ordrd th guards to wrap oily rags around Hanuman’s tail and st r to thm. Howvr Hanuman Hanuman managd to sap, jumping rom uilding to uilding with his urning tail trailing hind him. H st r to all th uildings o th goldn pala. 60
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Baus h was al to fy, Hanuman fw ak to th mainland whr h rjoind Rama. Upon haring Hanuman’s story Rama wnt to Sri Lanka with th monky army, and a mighty attl was ought or th gats o th ity. During th attl Hanuman, with goldn skin, rd a, and normous tail, was trriyingly valiant. How Howvr vr his gratst srvi was his fight to th Himalayas rom whih h rought hrs to hal Rama and Lakshmana whn thy wr woundd. RAVAnA is dEfEATEd Th ors o Ravana ought vigorously, ut all th dmons, dmons, inluding Ravana’s Ravana’s two rothrs, rothrs, wr killd. killd . Finally Rama and Ravana ad ah othr in omat. Th arth trmld as thy ought, and th whol ompany o gods wathd. At on point Rama lt that Ravana had gun to ovrpowr him. Rama drw out th dradd brahmastra, a magi wapon usd with th nrgy o many many gods. H strung th wapon on his ow and, whispring a Vdi Vdi mantra, shot it tow toward ard Ravana and killd him. At that momnt all th gods showrd Rama with wraths. Rama and Sita wr runitd and rturnd rtur nd to thir kingdom with Lakshmana and Hanuman.
The Ramayana tells how Hanuman, the monkeygeneral, lited a mountain rom the Himalayas and few with it to Sri Lanka. The healing herbs that grew on this mountain were used to heal Rama and Lakshmana.
siTA’s ExilE siTA’s Exi lE It is said that during Rama’s rign th world was mor paul than vr or. But th popl o his kingdom gan to gossip aout Sita. Thy hargd that aus sh had livd in Ravana’s pala sh might not t to th qun. Th popl mistrustd Sita, so Rama lt oligd to snd his qun into xil, vn though sh was prgnant at th tim. Sh took rug in a orst hrmitag whr sh gav irth to twin sons, Luv and Kush. Whn th twins wr 15 yars old thy wnt to visit th apital and wr rognizd y thir athr. Rama thn snt or Sita. H The Gods and Religious Devotion
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alld togthr a grat assmly so that Sita ould pulily dlar hr innon. In ront o th assmly Sita alld upon Earth, hr mothr (or Sita had n orn in a urrow), to prov hr innon. Th arth opnd and swallowd hr into its wom. Rama was hartrokn har trokn and wishd to ollow hr. H walkd into th rivr, whr Brahma’s voi wlomd him into havn.
KrisHna On o Hinduism’s most widly worshippd gods is Krishna, th ighth avatar o Vishnu. His popularity may partly du to his xtrmly olorul haratr. From his hildhood, Krishna prormd many grat ats. As a youth h dallid with milkmaids and as a young man h slayd slayd th dmon Kansa. In middl ag, as a grat rulr, r ulr, h took part in th mythologial Mahaharata War, War, whih is dsrid in th grat pi Mahaharata. Mahaharata. Th story o Krishna starts with th dmon Kansa, a tyrant who usurpd th thron thron o his own athr, athr, Ugrasna, and impris impris-ond him. Kansa had hard rom a sag that a son o on o his mal rlativs would ring aout his dmis. So th dmon-king ordrd all hr hildrn to slain. Immdiatl Immdiatlyy six hildrn wr put to dath. Howvr, hr svnth hild, Balarama, and hr ighth hild, Krishna, wr miraulously savd and srtly s rtly givn to ostr parnts. Whn Kansa larnd o thir saps h ordrd a massar. Again th rothrs wr savd. Nanda and Yasoda, Krishna’s ostr parnts, fd to Gokula and raisd th oys among th milkmaids and owhrds. PlAyfUl yET sTRong In arly hildhood Krishna rvald a dual haratr. Somtims h was a normal, loval ay. At othr tims h xhiitd 62
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s a young man Krishna was renowned for his playful and amorous adventures with numerous maidens. One tale tells of his encounter with a hunchback hunchbacked, ed, ugly maiden, Kubja, who was bearing perfumed oils for tyrant-demon Kansa. When Krishna asked her for some of the perfume, she rubbed it on his body. In return Krishna pressed on her feet with his own foot, lifted her chin, and straight-
ened her. Other adventures with a milkmaid named Radha are told in stories noted for their beauty and sensuous descriptions. These stories also have a spiritual meaning because in them Krishna symbolizes the universal soul, and the milkmaids are individual souls longing to be united with the Ultimate Reality and achieve enlightenment. enlightenment.
A painting o Krishna playing his fute to the milkmaids.
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xtraordinary, suprhuman strngth. On popular myth tlls o Krishna’s nountr with th dmon Putna, an ogrss who, disguisd as a autiul girl, would sukl ais with hr poisond rasts. Howvr hr poison ould not harm Krishna—h sukd so hard that h drw all th li out o Putna. Th youthul Krishna Kr ishna otn amusd himsl y playing pranks on his adoptiv mothr and th milkmaids o Gokula. H stol urds and uttr, raidd orhards or ruit, upst pails o milk, and lamd th othr hildrn or all his mishi. A PloT To slAy KRisHnA And His BRoTHER All through Krishna’s growing yars Kansa ontinud to plot his dath, ut Krishna was always al to nd o th tyrant’s attmpts. Krishna dstroyd th snak dmon Kaliya y daning on his had. H also swallow swallowd d a r dmon snt to onsum th young god and his ompanio ompanions. ns. Finally th dmon-king Kansa mastrmindd a plot to slay oth Kr Krishna ishna and his rothr Balarama. To kill thm h would host a sris sri s o athlti gams and invit thm oth. On thir way to th ourt o Mathura, whr th gams would hld, Krishna Kris hna and Balarama nountrd many o Kansa’s ohorts—dmons and monstrs and ogrs. Krishna and Balarama thwartd ths vil ings just as thy did th host o grusom dmons that appard at th gams. Finally Kansa himsl opposd Krishna, K rishna, only to hav th prophy o th sag om tru: Krishna slw Kansa. Having don so, Krishna rstord Ugrasna, th rightul king, to th thron. H also travld to th undrworld to ring ak to li th six rothrs who wr killd at irth y Kansa. Thn Krishna aandond th pastoral li and am a udal prin, thus ntring th last phas o his li. THE mAHABHARATA mA HABHARATA wAR wAR Krishna’s Kr ishna’s struggls with th ors o vil limaxd in th Mahaharata War twn his kinsmn, th Pandavas and th Kaura vas. In a prwar ounil Kr Krishna ishna trid tr id to ronil th opposing 64
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partis, ut to no avail. Thn, sin h had promisd not to partiipat ativly in th skirmish, Krishna disguisd himsl as th hariotr o Arjuna, a mmr o th Pandava amily. Arjuna askd his hariotr to draw up to a point rom whih thy ould survy th attlld. Whil looking down on th opposd ors o his amily, Arjuna qustiond th rasoning o amily mmrs killing ki lling on anothr. Krishna’s rspons to Arjuna—ontaind in th wll-known Hindu sriptur, th Bhagavad Gita—is aout rligious oligation and dvotion to God. In his disussion Krishna inorms Arjuna o th highr univrsal ordr to whih h must tru—that whih is yond th tmporary xistn o this world. H points out that Arjuna is o th warrior ast and that h must ulll his duty as a warrior. Krishna also tlls Arjuna that though his ody may di, his soul is indstrutil. THE BHAgAV BH AgAVAd Ad giTA Storis o Krishna appar in many Hindu txts, ut th most wll-known and rsptd o ths ar th tahings tahings ound in th Bhagavad Gita. Th Bhagavad Gita is a vry short stion (aout 18 haptrs) o th 90,000 vrss o th Mahaharata. Tahings in th Bhagavad Gita ar rvrd y Hindus o many traditions. Many Hindus hav mmorizd vrss rom th Gita, and otn parts o th Gita ar spokn during daily dvotions. Th tahings o th Gita, whos author is unknown, ar spokn in th sriptur y Krishna. Instad o ringing out dirns among th various systms o Hindu thought and prati, prati , th Bhagavad Bhagavad Gita mphasizs th points o agrmnt among thm. It thry rings aout a rli The Gods and Religious Devotion
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A guru speaking to devotees on the teachings o the Bhagavad Gita in the town o Vridavan, where Krishna lived as a child. Vridavan, its surrounding orests and the river Yamuna, Yamuna, which fows through the town are major Hindu sites o pilgrimage, particularly or devotees o Krishna.
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gious and philosophial unity. It disusss sva-dharma, th indi vidual’s dutis or soial oligations. It strsss strss s th signian o all th asts. Furthrmor this txt rommnds total dvotion, or hakti, as th most tiv orm o rligion. It assums that thr is a prsonal god who lsss with divin gra th dvotd worshipprs. ARjUnA’s RElA ARjUnA’s REl ATionsHiP wiTH KRisHnA Arjuna’s rlationship with Krishna xistd on many lvls. H was Krishna’s Kr ishna’s warrior warr ior and studnt, and h was ompltly ompltly dvotd to him. Arjuna’s dvotion to Krishna was intnsid whn Krishna rvald to him his awsom orms—as all gods, Brahman, th soul o th world.
Th rlationship Arjuna had with Krishna is an xampl o an individual having a prsonal god. This kind o rlationship is urthr laoratd y pot-sags throughout India rom th ighth to th 16th ntury. ntur y. Ths writrs hav produd widly popular litratur. Thr ar various storis aout th dtails o th last days o Krishna and Balarama ut, ollowing th Mahaharata War, Balarama did in his slp and dpartd rom this world. Kr ishna mournd alon or som tim thn asndd to havn.
THE suPrEmE GoDDEss maHaDEVi sHaKTi Goddsss hav n rvrd sin th pr-Aryan tim o th Indus Vally Vally ultur, ultur , whn dvots attriutd th rtility o th land to a matrnal dity. By th Vdi priod signiant mal ditis had mrgd. Ths inlud Prithvi, th arth goddss, and Va, Va, th goddss o sph and wisdom. In th pis th onsorts—Sarasvati, Parvati, and Lakshmi— o th thr major gods had om quit prominnt in thmslvs. Sarasvati (assoiatd with Va) is rgardd as th goddss o all th rativ arts, sins, and knowldg. Parvati, th wi o Shiva, is assoiatd with th Himalayas. Lik hr husand sh has immns asti and roti haratristis. Lakshmi, Vishnu’s onsort, is assoiatd with th lotus, sym ol o powr powr and good luk. mAnifEsTATions of onE goddEss Though ths goddsss am to hold muh rspt in th minds o goddss dvots, th grat goddss Mahadvi Shakti is th on ultimat rality. In addition to th thr major goddsss, numrous minor goddsss ar rvrd y Hindus. Howvr, all th goddsss ar manis The Gods and Religious Devotion
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tations o Mahadvi, th grat goddss. With th popularity o th sixth-ntury Markandya Purana, worship o th grat goddss had om wll stalishd. At prsnt goddss worship is visil primarily in th villags, and many o ths goddsss hav only loal rputations. In th minds o villagrs all ths loal goddsss ar assoiatd with th grat goddss, Mahadvi Shakti. dEVoTEd And dEsTRUCTiVE AsPECTs Mahadvi is an ativ and powrul mal who is attntiv to th staility o th world and to th nds o hr dvots. Sh is worshippd or hr dirnt dirnt aspts, inluding thos o th th grat matrnal goddss and th dvotd onsort or wi. Hr haratr has a nnt sid as wll as a dstrutiv sid. Hindus priv th two sids o Mahadvi as a natural part o an ordrly univrs ontaining oth positiv and ngativ ors—li and dath, ration and dstrution, vigor and rst. In hr r orm th grat goddss is Durga. Durga was ratd out o angry fams that issud orth miLD anD FiErCE Forms oF rom th mouths o Brahma, Vishnu, maHaDEVi sHaKTi Shiva, and othr gods. Sh was spially ratd y th gods to kill kil l th ualo he complexity of the great goddess dmon Mahisha, who y astinn had Mahadevi Shakti—in such forms as gaind th strngth to driv th gods rom Sati, Parvati, Durga, and Kali—is expressed thir lstial kingdom. in a variety of roles that she shares with her husband, Shiva. She is both mild and Durga was orn ully grown and aufierce. In her mild form she is Sati, daughtiul, riding a tigr rom th Himalayan ter of a sage who marries Shiva against her orsts. Sh was immdiatly armd y father’s wishes. Later she sacrifices herself th gods, and in ah o hr 10 hands sh on her father’s sacrificial fire because he hld spial wapons: Vishnu’s disus, does not approve of Shiva, her husband. Shiva’s tridnt (thr-prongd spar), After some time Sati is reborn as Parvati, Agni’s faming dart, Indra’s thundrolt, the daughter of Himavat, god of mounand Varuna’s onh shll, among othrs. tains. She practices austere yoga. Shiva is With ths wapons Durga killd th uimpressed by her yogic powers and marries her again. alo-dmon and rturnd th gods to thir rightul kingdom.
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dEfEATing THE dEmon dEfEATing d Emon BRoTHERs On anothr oasion th gods appald to th goddss Durga to liminat th dmon rothrs Sumha and Nisumha. Shiva had lssd th rothrs with immortality aus thy had prormd ats that mad th gods trml. As a goddss apa apal l o dating dmons, Durga agrd to omat th rothrs. Whn sh appard or Sumha his passion was arousd, and h dsird to possss hr. Sh agrd to onsnt only i h ould ovrom hr in attl. Sumha aptd th ondition unhsitatingly,, not ralizing that th immortality tatingly immort ality grantd him was prottion rom gods only, and not rom goddsss. And so Durga datd th dmon and his rothr with as. Dspit hr gra Durga omatd many dmons who had rivd nts that prottd thm rom gods and mn. Hr primary rol was to maintain and prott osmi ordr y apparing priodially to attl suh dmon opprssors. KAli—”THE BlACK onE” Kali, “th lak on,” prsonis th most trriying aspts o Mahadvi Shakti. Sh lavs loodshd, disas, and dath in hr wak. On myth tlls o how Kali rid th world o th dradd tyrant Raktaija. Whrvr a drop o his lood ll thousands o dmons would appar. Thus Kali slw him and draind all th lood rom his ody. ody. With all hr grusom haratristis, Kali am an ultimat rprsntation o dath. Many Hindus liv that spiritual nlightnmnt an ahivd i th trriying aspts o this dity, th imag imag o all li’s ar and pain, an ovrom. Through nturis o hang in ustoms and traditions a growing panthon o Hindu goddsss and gods rprsnt a rang o lis. Howvr, th various groups did hav on ommon goal: Thy wantd to to priv th Suprm powr powr hind th various ditis on a mor prsonal lvl than had prviously n thought possil. This dsir d sir grw in popularity and lossomd into an infuntial movmnt asd on prsonal dvotion to an individual dity. The Gods and Religious Devotion
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KaLi
K
ali is the most frightening form of Mahadevi Shakti, Her body is usually decked with terrible ornaments made from bones; a string of human skulls adorns her neck. She wields a sword in one hand, a dagger in another, and the severed heads of two giants hang, dripping blood, from her two other hands. Her hair is wildly disheveled, tusks protrude from her face, a third eye peers out from the middle of her forehead, and she is often portrayed with her tongue hanging out. Having overcome the power of death, she dwells in the cremation ground, seating herself on corpses.
A shrine to Kali in the courtyard o a temple in Kathmandu, Nepal.
BHaKTi, or DEVoTion Th most important thm throughout th pis and th puranas was that o hakti, hakti, or dvotion. dvotion. Early hakti hakti rftd th ultural and soial hangs that wr taking pla in Hindu soity so ity or and during Islami rul. Th hakti movmnt was vry dirnt rom traditionally Vdi-asd rmonis and attituds, although th authority o th Vdas was nvr rnound. Mor rnt rligious txts strss th indpndn o hakti rligion rom othr mans o salvation. PURiTy of HEART, PoVERTy, And ComPAssion Bhakti was onivd as a way o li, a slfss s lfss and omplt surrndr to God. Mmrs o th movmnt invokd thir god70
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dss or god y nam and ritd hymns o prais, always ing mindul o th dity. Dvots wr to aknowldg no dirn twn thmslvs and othrs. Thy wr rquird to r o jalousy, alshood, alshood, nvy, nv y, and injury. Bhakti dvots dvots wr disouragd rom taking prid in thir irthright or walth. Th tahings o hakti implid that a prson’s irth and ast had no signiant infun on thir salvation—salvation dpndd only on a dvot’s purity o hart. Th tahings also arrid ovr into soial attituds. Matrial povrty was lookd on with avor. avor. Grat ompassion was shown or th prsutd, distrssd, and dspisd. And ast distintions wr dlard irrlvant. Womn hav hav not only playd signiant rols in th Hindu tradition as mothrs and wivs, thy also hav magnintly ontriutd to various othr lds o li. In th ara o rligion two womn who om to mind ar th saint-potsss o th hakti movmnt: Lallshwari (14th ntury) and Mira Bhai (16th ntury). liTERATURE of THE BHAKTi liTERATURE B HAKTi moVEmEnT Th writrs o th hakti movmnt (ighth to 17th nturis) hos to writ in languags spokn y th ommon popl o loal rgions. This was aus Sanskrit, th languag o th puranas, was only taught to th larnd o th Brahmin ast. Sanskrit was th languag o th lit, vn though in arlir tims it ontaind som popular xprssions that may hav om rom som lss duatd popl. Th hakti writrs hos not to writ in Sanskrit, to mak thir litratur mor assil. Intns dvotional rvor was vidnt in th potry o th movmnt. Th pots produd thousands o poms in various rgional languags. Th pots longd to
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n the bhakti movement, the language of devotion was the language of human emotion, at times so intense that it was painful, highly moving, and intensely personal. The The poet-sages related their relationship with God in terms of love, friendship, despair, and joy. They implied that the goal of bhakti was salvation in very personal terms, not merely an ambiguous union with the impersonal Brahman (Universal Soul). Salvation through bhakti included an eternal relationship of blissful devotion. In this relationship, unlike that pictured by the earlier ascetics, the devotee and the Ultimate Reality would remain separate. separate. In the words of one poet, devotion was “to taste sugar sugar,, not become sugar.”
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union oF minD anD souL
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oets who possessed outstanding powers of expression became quite popular all over India. An eighth-century poet from the south of India wrote:
I am false, my heart is false, my love is false, But I, this sinner, can win thee if I weep before thee, O lord, Thou who art sweet like honey, nectar, and the juice of sugar cane! Please bless me so that I can reach thee. Lalleshwari, the 14th-century Kashmiri devotional poetess, wrote in opposition to temple worship:
Image is of stone, temple is of stone, Above and Below are one, which of them the m will you worship, O foolish Pandit? Pandit? Because within you lies the union of mind and soul. She mocked religious persecution and discrimination, saying:
Shiva permeates this Universe Do not discriminate between a Hindu and a Muslim If thou art sharp enough, know thyself. Some have abandoned home some the forest abode What use the hermitage if thou controllest controllest not thine mind.
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th popl and intgratd thm y onvying this rligious movmnt rom rgion to rgion. Though thy thmslvs wr rom dirnt soial lvls o Hindu soity, th pots hlpd kp Brahmanism aliv. Thy onstantly rvitalizd, rintrprtd, and rjuvnatd Hindu idas and lis, making this rligion availal availal to all popl. Basavanna, a 12th-ntury dvotional pot rom southrn India, ord his ody to his prsonal god aus, unlik th rih, h ould not aord to uild a tmpl. In this pom th pot’s ody is ompard with a tmpl. Basavanna rminds us that th tmpl has om a maninglss monumnt or uilding with its original symolism orgottn. By idntiying his ody with a tmpl, th pot maks his ody sard, and h ors ors himsl to God. Basavanna mphasizs that rih popl only mak tmpls, ut poor popl thmslvs om tmpls, xhiiting th intnsity and purity o thir dvotion to Hinduism.
The rich will make temples for Shiva What shall I, a poor man do? My legs are pillars, the body the shrine, the head a cupola of gold. Listen, O Lord, things standing shall fall, but the moving ever shall stay.
THE VEDanTa suTras Th Vdanta Sutras wr ompild in Sanskrit y Badarayana arly in th rst millnnium. V Vedanta edanta litrally mans “th nd o knowldg,” and th sutras summariz th ssntial tahings o th Vdas and Upanishads. Eah sutra is a short sl-ontaind philosophial statmnt that lads to th nxt. Th opning sutra sts th sujt or th rst haptr: “Now is th tim to inquir into th natur o Brahman.” Th sond sutra ollo ollows ws this inquiry y supplyin supplyingg a dnition o Brahman, th Highst Truth, Truth, as ing “th “ th sour o all that is.” Th third sutra assrts that th Truth is to known y studying sriptur, namly th Upanishads Upanishads and Vdas. Th sutras wr arrangd in our haptrs, th rst daling with Brahman, th sond th rlationship twn t wn th sl and Brahman, th third th way to raliz Brahman, and th ourth th path to moksha, liration, and onnss with Brahman. Th sutras rlid on th prinipal Upanishads and providd a systmati way to study thm. Gnrations o studnts larnd th sutras y hart. sHAnKARA And RAmAnUjA Shankara (788–820) was orn in Krala, southrn southr n India. H wrot his amous ommntary on th Vdanta Sutras and stalishd th shool o Advaita Vdanta, whih mphasizd th onnss o all rality in Brahman. H also wrot a amous ommntary on th Bhagavad Gita and rognizd it as th most assil introdution to th tahings o Vdanta and yoga. Shankara stalishd our grat monastris in dirnt parts o India and did muh to rstor Vdi tahings ollowing th sprad o Buddhism. Ramanuja (1017–1137) was th rst o a sussion o Vaishnava tahrs tahrs who stalishd stalishd tahing linags and mphasizd dvotion. H travld and taught all ovr India, and intrprtd Vdanta in a thisti sns, tahing th onnss o all things in Brahman, omind with dvotion to a prsonal dity. Th grat tmpl whr h taught at Srirangam in southrn India is still The Gods and Religious Devotion
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on o India’s most popular plas o worship. H too wrot an important ommntary on th Bhagavad Gita, whih mphasizd its tahing o hakti yoga and dvotion dvotion to Krishna. Kr ishna.
Krishna devotees, including many rom the North America and Europe, chanting and oering puja oering puja to Krishna in a temple in Vrindavan, northern India.
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THE EssEnTiAl gUidEBooK Th Bhagavad Gita, through ths and othr grat tahrs, am th ssntial guidook that unitd all ollo ollowrs wrs o th Vdas. It taught aout th trnal sl and th path to innr pa. It strssd karma yoga, work without attahmnt attahmnt or th rsults, r sults, as th way to liration, and dvotion dvotion to Krishna Kr ishna as th goal o li.
rEViVaL unDEr CHaiTany CHaiTanyaa Chaitanya (1486–1534) was orn in Bngal at a tim o Muslim dominan. From a young ag h ld a popular rvival o th Vaishnava tradition asd on dvotion to Krishna. His spial appal was to th masss and h mphasizd th simpl path o hanting Krishna’s nams and haring th Srimad Bhagavatam, th sriptur that prsrvs th Vaishnava tahings and tlls in poti dtail th storis o Krishna Kr ishna and th avatars o Vishnu. Th Krishna dvots who sprad around th world in th lat 20th ntury, hanting “Har Krishna” Kr ishna” in th strts, wr ollowrs o Chaitanya. It was aus o dvout saints that all th Hindu rligious sts wr wovn wovn togthr in a omplx systm. Howvr, Howvr, politial intgration did not ollow soial and ultural intgration. In 712 c.e., a 21-yar-old Ara military ladr namd Muhammad in Kasim Ka sim swpt into th Indus Vally, Vally, introduing th hallng o Islam and ras o hang that would would altr th a o Hinduism orvr.
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CHAPTER 5
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CHANGE
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h ighth ntury c.e. rought th ginning o an ndlss sris o hangs and hallngs to India and to Hinduism. With nw rligions, nw rulrs, rulrs , nw laws, and nw saints Hinduism provd to a stal and fxil rligious way o li.
isLam in inDia Islam am to India rst as a rligion, thn as a politial or. In th ighth ntury Aras inltratd i nltratd th Indian ontinnt. Almost thr nturis latr th Aghans, th Turks, and th Prsians, all Muslims, am to onqur and stayd as th rulrs. By th 13th ntury Muslim rul had lossomd throughout most o northrn India. Th ultural and th politial ntr o th nw rulrs was Dlhi. Th Islami ultur in India rahd its hight undr th Mughal Empir. Th Mughal dynasty was oundd y an Aghan warrior hi o Mongol dsnt namd Baur in th arly arly 16th ntury. Th mpir rahd its apx o rillian during th
Mahatma Gandhi surrounded by members o his amily. Gandhi became a leading gure in India’s nationalist movement working toward independence rom British rule. Drawing on his Hindu belies, Gandhi advocated a policy o nonviolen nonviolentt social action. 76
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rign o Baur’s grat-grandson Akar th Grat (r. 1556–1605). By th ginne of the most popular poet-sages ning o th 18th ntury, howvr, it had of the Mughal period was Kabir (d. dlind. 1518). Raised a Muslim, Kabir was influMuslim rulrs dominatd India or enced by Sufism and later embraced Hinalmost nin nturis. Hindus rspondd duism. His teachings emphasized love of to this domination in a varity o ways. God and the idea that God would return Som onvrtd to Islam, ut th majority that love despite caste and creed. Kabir’s rmaind loyal to thir rligious hritag. writings convey the simple nature of Li was diult or Hindus undr Muslim devotional worship: rul. Muslim rulrs imposd a spial tax I do not ring the temple bell, on non-Muslims. In addition thy dmolI do not set the idol on its throne, ishd Hindu tmpls and dstroyd ountI do not worship the image with flowers lss imags. Th Muslims onsidrd th It is not the austerities that mortify Hindus to pagans, and thy spially the flesh which are pleasing to the lord, dspisd th Hindu tradition o imag When you leave off your your clothes and kill worship. As a rsult an nduring hostility your senses, you do not please the lord. lord. The man who is kind and who who practices aros twn th two groups. righteousness, For th most part Hindus and Mus who remains passive amidst amidst the affairs lims did not intrat. Howvr, pot-sagof the world, s o th ra drw on oth rligions, and who considers all creatures on earth as Muslims supportd sholars and artists, his own self, among whom Hindus numrd signiHe attains the Immortal Being, the antly. As a rsult Hinduism was infutrue God is ever with him. nd y Islam, and Islam y Hinduism. Som infuns wr mor dirt. Th Muslims stifd th litist Brahmani Br ahmani traditions ut allowd allowd dvotional movmnts suh as hakti to fourish. Islami mystiism, or Susm, had muh in ommon with th Hindu hakti movmnt. Both mphasizd a dirt prsonal rlationship with God. Togthr thy produd a rligious viw that supportd moving away rom organizd sts and orthodox sripturs, toward dvotional worship. By th tim th Mughal mpror Akar am to powr in th 16th ntury thr was an ativ sa rout twn Europ and India. In th 1540s Saint Franis Xavir oundd a Christian mis-
THE PoETry oF KaBir
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sion on Indian shors. Th prists trid to onvrt Akar, who am urious not only aout Christianit C hristianityy ut othr rligions as wll. H trid tr id to introdu rligious tolran, or xampl, y aolishing th spial tax all non-Muslims had to pay. Akar’s sussor, howvr, howvr, rimposd th tax and dvastatd many HinHin du tmpls.
BriTisH ruLE By 1700 th Mughal Empir was in dlin. By this tim India’s oasts wr dottd with Europan trading sttlmnts and missionary ntrs. Th British movd to prott thir intrsts in India y stalishing olonis. Within 50 yars th British East India Company Company had gaind ontrol ovr India’s most prosprous provins. By 1818 th British wr in ontrol o th ntir Indian suontinnt, inluding prsnt-day India, Pakistan, Bangladsh, and Sri Lanka.
Chatrapati Shivaji train terminus, ormerly Victoria Terminal, built during the time o British rule in India. By 1818 the British were in control o the entire Indian subcontinent. During the time o the British Raj extensive administrative and transportation networks were established throughout India.
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CHAngEs To HindU lifE British rul rought normous hangs in Indian li. Th British introdud Wstrn duation so that inrasing numrs o popl am litrat. Oupations ormrly rsrvd or on ast or lass am opn to all. Sular laws diminishd th authority o th Hindu rligious od. British rul thus disruptd and hangd som o th asi idas o Hinduism. It also altrd th soity in whih Hindus had livd. Jos in industry and usinss movd popl to th itis. Many popl ound thmslvs r o traditional amily-ntrd rligious and soial oliga oligations tions thy had takn or grantd. At th ginning o British rul th Indian population spok 14 dirnt litrary languags and hundrds o dialts. British oials movd quikly to mak English th dominant languag in th shools and ollgs. Puli duation was suddnly opn to all. Christian missionaris am to India and opnd shools
A medical student in a laboratory in a nursing college in Kerala, India. Schools, higher-education institutions, and universities are widespread throughout India. Although the number o women in higher education is not as high as that o men, it is growing every year. 80
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and ollgs or oth womn and mn. Christianity hallngd Hindu ustoms that had xistd or nturis. On suh ustom was th ast systm, whih justid hrditary oupations and unqual distriution distriution o opportunitis. HinHin dus onsidrd th ast systm to part o th normal ours o li. Th misral onditions o th lowr lasss wr also onsidrd normal. Womn surd undr harsh ods that ord thm into marriag as young girls and dnid rmarriag to widows, no mattr how young thy wr. Th prati o sutt rquird a wi to urn hrsl to dath on th unral pyr o hr husand. THE gRowTH of nATionAlism As a rsult r sult o Wstrn infun many Indians gan to dout th traditions o Hinduism. Eduatd Hindus am unomortal with thir rligion atr omparing it to th thial standards o th Wstrn ountris. At th sam tim, howvr, Europan sholars wr rsarhing rs arhing India’s orgottn past. Thy unovrd rords o a gratr pr-Islami India in whih rilliant systms o thought wr dvlopd and grat works o litratur and art wr ratd. r atd. Hindu Hi ndu rligious ladrs alld on young popl to idntiy with that anint hritag and its rih ultural and spiritual rsours. Consquntly, y th nd o th 19th ntury a passionat nationalism with rligious ovrtons gan to grow in th minds o duatd Indians. Whil rognizing that th Wstrn ountris ld in sin and thnology, thy had om to s th East as th world’s ntr o spiritual ultur. ultur . A numr o prominnt Hindu gurs mrgd at this tim to lad thir rligion into rorm.
HinDu sCHoLars anD rEFormErs Rammohan Roy (1772–1833) is alld th athr o modrn India. Born o dvout Brahmin parnts in Bngal, h showd an intns intrst in rligion rom his arly yars. H studid th Upanishadi sripturs, whih h onsidrd th or o HinduPolitical and Social Change
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ism. Roy joind th British ivil srvi and ros as high as was possil or an Indian at th tim. H rtird at 42 and sttld in Kolkata (Calutta), thn th politial and intlltual apital o India. As a young man Roy had witnssd th dath o his sistrin-law in th at o sutt. Sh was ord onto hr husand’s unral pyr and hld thr with long pols whil th sound o drums drownd out hr srams. Horrid y this xprin, Roy am a vhmnt opponnt o sutt. H oundd svral nwspaprs, whih h pulishd in dirnt languags. H ampaignd against sutt, hild marriag, marr iag, imag worship, and othr Hindu ustoms h lt wr misguidd. Roy dnound polythism, th worship o many gods. H oundd a rligious soity, Brahmo Samaj (Soity o God). Its mmrs gathrd wkly or ongrgational-styl mtings in whih popl prayd, sang hymns, and listnd to srmons asd on th Hindu sripturs. RAmAKRi sHnA (1836–1886) RAmAKRisHnA (1836–1886) Ramakrishna was th son o a villag prist. From th ag o svn h xprind mysti trans and divin visions. H otn mditatd or th imag o Kali, th grat mothr goddss in hr trril orm, imagining that sh was rathing and listning to him. On day d ay,, h livd th goddss rvald hrsl to him. From that tim on hr imag or th sound o hr nam would snd him into a tran. Ramakrishna am an asti, dvoting himsl to prayr and mditation. Latr h am a mditating yogi. H worshippd lik a hakti dvot and xplord Buddhism and Shaktism (worship o th goddss Shakti). Ramakrishna am to liv that all rligions wr gloriations o th sam ntity. H studid Islam and mditatd on Muhammad Muhamma d until Muhamma Muhammad d appard to him in a vision. vi sion. Thn h rad th Bil and mditatd on piturs o th Madonna and Child until a vision o Christ appard to him. H dlard that all rligions wr qually tiv ways o oming into ontat with divinity. 82
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In th last yars o his li Ramakrishna gathrd a group o disipls around him. On o ths was a young law studnt, Vivkananda, who am his sussor. sus sor. ViVEKA nAndA (1863–1902) ViVEKAnAndA (1863–1902) Vivkananda was planning to study law in England whn h mt Ramakrishna. H aandond his plans or a lgal arr and am an asti. In 1893 h travld to Chiago or th Parliamnt o Rligions, whr h spok or Hinduism. Thr h dlard, “All rligions ar on.” Vivkananda travld in Amria and England or rturning to India, whr h dvotd th rst o his li to hlping th poor and to rligious duation. His gratst ahivmnt was that o rviving intrst in Hinduism throughout th world. RABin dRAnATH TAgoRE (1861 RABindRAnATH (1861–1941) –1941) Raindranath Tagor Tagor was th 14th o th 15 hildrn o Dndranath Tagor, Tagor, th ladr o th Brahmo Samaj, on o many rorm movmnts ratd in th mid-19th ntury. Tagor gan writing potry at 13, and at 20 h pulishd TaGorE Ta GorE anD GanDHi G anDHi his rst volum o Bngali poms. Ovr th nxt 30 yars, as h ontinud to writ ne contemporary of the poet Rabipotry, his writing maturd in styl and ndranath Tagore was Mohandas dpnd in ontnt. In 1912 Tagor puGandhi, who was attaining widespread lishd Gitanjali (“Song Oring”) Oring” ) ollowing recognition as head of a movement to th daths o his wi and thr o his v oppose everything British. Tagore dishildrn. A yar latr h rivd th Nol agreed strongly with Gandhi and his methods. He felt that politics distracted Priz in Litratur, awardd ah yar to people from more important issues, such only on writr as a triut to that writr’s as erasing caste barriers, uplifting the litim ahivmnt and onsidrd th poor and helpless, and reconciling Hindus highst honor a writr an riv. and Muslims. However despite their ideoTagor oundd a shool at Shantiniklogical differences Rabindranath Tagore tan, Bngal, or rativ and prorming recognized Gandhi’s greatness. It was he artists. In 1921 h xpandd his rtrat who first called Gandhi Mahatma, an honinto a univrsity, whih h ddiatd to his orary title meaning “the Great Soul.” idal o world rothrhood and ultural
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Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi photographed in 1940.
xhang. Tagor lt that nationalism and matrialism wr grat xhang. vils. H livd that th st hop or humanity was to rturn to th spiritual valus ound in all rligions. Tagor saw India as th spiritual tahr o th world, ut h valud th Wst’s vitality and sarh or truth.
moHanDas GanDHi (1869–1948) anD THE inDian naTionaL moVEmEnT India had n undr British rul or almost hal a ntury whn Mohandas Gandhi was orn in 1869. Gandhi grw up in a traditional middl-lass Hindu amily. At 19 h wnt to London to study law, rturning to India in 1891. Shy and rsrvd, h ound littl suss in i n th prati o law. In 1893 h aptd a jo or in South Aria. Thr h xprind rsthand th prjudis hld y whit South Arians against Indians. Gandhi’s law jo in South Aria ndd atr on yar, ut or th nxt 21 yars h rmaind thr working or Indian rights. 84
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Drawing on his undamntal undamntal Hindu lis, h dvlopd what h alld satyagraha —nonvioln —nonviolntt soial ation. Satyagraha was asd on Hindu prinipls o truth, nonvioln, and ourag. Gandhi taught that th prati o satyagraha in th a o injusti would ring aout soial hang. Gandhi rturnd to India in 1915. Thr h am ladr o th Indian nationalist movmnt, whih aimd at ring India rom British rul. Gandhi st up training ntrs at whih h taught satyagraha and also li skills to hlp India’s downtroddn poor to om sl-suint. H rnound worldly li and possssions and dvotd himsl wholly to moving India toward indpndn. H ld non-violnt uprisings against British rul, vn going to prison or his lis. Many popl livd that Gandhi was divinly inspird; othrs am to s him as th god Vishnu rturnd. Raindranath Tagor was th rst to all him Mahatma, maning “grat soul.” With grat moral and politial powr on his sid, Gandhi and his ollowrs ovram Britain’s hold on th ountry, and Britain agrd to withdraw rom India. On August 15, 1947, India am indpndnt.
ParTiTion Th nd o British rul had its osts, howvr. For many yars an unasy politial situation sit uation had xistd twn th Hindus, mostly onntratd in th south and th wst, and th Muslims to th north. Th two groups had not only dirnt rligious viws ut also dirnt soial and politial aims. Eah mistrustd th othr. Undr th British thy wr hld togthr y thir mutual struggl against orign domination. With indpndn on th horizon thir dirns am vn mor pronound. Although th British wantd to maintain India as on ountry with dirnt sl-govrning sl-go vrning rgions, thy also suggstd that i th Hindus and Muslims ould not agr, thy might sparat into two dirnt ountris. Th British would lav it up to th popl to did. In 1947 India was partitiond and th nw nation o Pakistan was ratd. Gandhi had hopd hopd to maintain India as on ountry, ountry, ut with thousands o popl fing angry mos, this man o Political and Social Change
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Muslim reugees leaving New Delhi or Pakistan at Partition. When Pakistan was created and the British withdrew rom India, uprisings broke out all over India. Many thousands o people died and several million more became reugees in their own country. In the end there were two new nations: India, with its heavily Hindu population, and Pakistan, which instantly became a Muslim majority state.
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onsin thrw his onsidral politial wight hind dividing th ountry. H gan a ast in ordr to draw th onsiousnss o th Indian popl toward th plight o th Muslims. H appald to Indians to rpla hatrd with lov. At on o his prayr mtings in 1948, Gandhi was assassinatd y a young Hindu xtrmist who lt that th ountry should not hav n dividd.
GanDHi’s suCCEssors Gandhi lt hind a doul lgay. On was his ommitmnt to satyagraha, th li that truth and nonvioln ould solv human prolms. In this movmnt h was sudd y Vino a Bhav (1895–1970), who had work workd d sid him at Gandhi’s ashram (rligious ommunity). Bhav am Gandhi’s hir to th thory and prati o nonvioln. Bginning in 1951 Bhav prsuadd rih landownrs to donat mor than 4 million ars o land, whih h distriutd to armrs to hlp thm om sl-suint. In th politial ralm Gandhi’s sussor was Jawaharlal Nhru (1889–1964). Nhru had n an ally o Gandhi’s in th attl or Indian indpndn and am th nw ountry’s rst prim ministr, a position that h hld until 1964. Nhru’s daughtr, Indira, latr am India’s rst and so ar only woman prim ministr. Gandhi’s infun was to ontinu long atr his dath and yond India. In th Unitd Stats in th 1960s, a young Baptist ministr namd Martin Luthr King Jr. studid Gandhi’s li and philosophy. H was partiularly intrstd in th us o nonvioln to ring aout soial rorm. King was latr to as his stratgy o nonviolnt protsts against sgrgation on Gandhi’s prinipl o satyagraha.
THE LEGaCy oF rEForm Th modrn ladrs o Hinduism, rom Rammohan Roy to Mahatma Gandhi, had a proound infun on th rligion and on Indian ultur. Thy did muh to rorm th intrnal auss that had rpt into th rligion ovr nturis. Du to thir orts th govrnmnt outlawd pratis suh as hild marriag, sutt, and ast-asd disrimination. Although old attituds di slowly and mmrs o lowr asts still a prjudi, it is a masur o how ar India and Hinduism hav om that in 1997 a Dalit (“untouhal”), (“untouhal”), Kohril Raman Narayanan, was ltd prsidnt. Lowr-ast mmrs haild his ltion as a major vitory. Narayanan’s vitory also dmonstratd Hinduism’s aility to adapt to hanging tims. In Hinduism thr has always n room or hang. Baus o th opn-ndd natur o th rligion saints ontinu to appar, and thr is onstant disussion and rvision. Old traditions ar rvitalizd and, i nd , nw idas ar intgratd and nw rligious soitis gun. Frdom o individual thought has n intrinsially sard to Hinduism and maks innovations possil.
THE risE oF HinDu Hin Du naTionaLism India is a dply rligious soity, with indignous rligious and ultural traditions that go ak many nturis. Th modrn Indian stat, howvr, is airly rnt. Foundd on dmorati prinipls, th govrnmnt o India is oially sular, that is, not linkd to any spi rligion. Rligious minoritis, whih inlud Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, and Christians, Chr istians, ar supposd to tratd qually with Hindus. Howv Howvr r sularism sular ism has nvr n vry sussul in this dply spiritual spir itual land, whr Hinduism is mor than a rligion. It is a ultur and a way o li as wll. MorPolitical and Social Change
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HinDuTVa
H
indu nationalism is built around the concept of Hindutva, or “Hinduness.”” For Hindu nationalist ness. nati onalistss Hinduism Hinduis m and nationalism are so closely linked as to be the same thing. An early Hindu nationalist put it like this: “A Hindu is a person who regards this land of Bharat Varsha, from the Indus to the Seas, as his Fatherland as well as his holy land that is the cradle of his religion.” According to the movement the Indian nation can only become strong through a return to its cultural roots. Nationalists define these roots as an ancient Hindu past. Hindu nationalists feel that it is important to protect their religious and cultural traditions from secularism, which they see as an import from Western cultures and not native to India. They believe that India’s religious tradition is a necessary ingredientt of an Indian nation. ingredien
ovr, Hindus hav nvr lost thir mistrust ovr, mistrus t o Muslims. Instad it has grown strongr. Thir lings hav ld thm to dn thmslvs in opposition to “othrs” and to sk a dply and uniquly Hindu idntity or thmslvs and or thir nation. Inrasingly th notion o what it mans to Indian has om to man “Hindu.” In part a ration to sularism, Hindu nationalism has n on th ris sin wll or indpndn. Th sds o Hindu nationalism wr sown in rorm movmnts that urgd ollowrs to turn thir aks on modrnity, sularism, and othr outsid infuns and to rturn to th pur Hinduism o thir anstors.
HinDu naTionaLisT moVEmEnTs
Th Rashtriya Swayamsvak Sangh, or RSS, is a Hindu rorm movmnt that gan in th lat 19th ntury. It startd as an organization o Hindu youth with a program that inludd oth physial xris and moral dvlopmnt. From th 1940s it has grown to om th most powrul and important Hindu nationalist organization in India. Th RSS tahs t ahs that or a nation to sussul it must hav rtain “unitis.” Ths ar dnd as gographial unity, raial unity, rligious unity, ultural unity, and unity o languag. Th RSS argus that th Hindus ullld ths qualiations and wr th tru itizns o India. Muslims may tru itizns as wll ut only i thy rogniz th ssntial Hindunss o th ountry. During th struggl or indpndn th RSS appald to young popl who lt that Gandhi’s satyagraha approah was too passiv and gav away away too muh to minoritis, minoritis , partiularly MusMus lims, as wll as Christians C hristians and Sikhs. Sikhs . Th govrnmnt govrnmnt annd th
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RSS atr th riots that lad to partition in 1948, ut in 1950 th organization was rinstatd and ontinud to gathr strngth. It was annd again in th arly 1990s or nouraging violn against thni minoritis, ut its infun had sprad so widly that th an ould not hav muh t. Anothr important organization moving th ountry toward Hindu nationalism is th Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or VHP, an organization o rligious ladrs. Ths two organizations work to pla Hinduism in th ront o Indian li and thought.
HinDuism anD PoLiTiCs: THE BJP On way that th RSS infuns daily li today is through th Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP. Many BJP ladrs am out o th RSS and hav links to th VHP as wll. Th politial goals o th BJP ar rankly in harmony with thos o th nationalist organizations. Although sussul in th ltions o 1996 and 1998, whn th BJP gaind th highst numr o sats ut not a majority in parliamnt, and vntually wr al to put togthr a oalition govrnmnt, th loss in th ltions o 2004 lt th party sarhing or nw ladrs. During th yars whn th BJP ld th govrnmnt gov rnmnt it quit otn put on th ak urnr ur nr issus rlatd r latd to Hindu nationalism and ntrd attntio attntion n on onomi rorms and dvlopmnt. It also trid to attrat Muslim workrs to its ranks; howvr, many o thm aandond th party atr th 2004 ltions. Evn though th BJP did not push or Hindu nationalism during its rign, a larg numr o undamntalist Hindus did. Ths undamntalists usd th oial dlarations o th BJP to promot ommunalism or th dlirat ration o onfits twn rligious minoritis, suh as th Christians and Muslims, and th majority Hindu ommunity. Th Congrss Congrss govrnmnt that assumd powr in May 2004, with Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, as th prim ministr, was mor sussul at ousing attntion on onomi rorms. As a ormr nanial ministr o India, Singh rnrgizd rnrgi zd muh o India’s onomy rathr than Political and Social Change
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handing ladrship ovr to privat groups o invstors. Th mphasis shitd to onomi growth rathr than any push or Hindu nationalism.
ProBLEms oF HinDu naTionaLism
HinDuism in nEPaL
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o the north of India is its neighbor Nepal. By its 1962 and 1990 constitutions Nepal was a Hindu kingdom, the only one in the world. The constitution guaranteed religious freedom and forbade the state to discriminate among citizens on grounds of religion. Since about 89 percent of Nepal’s citizens are Hindus, this was a great experiment in religious toleration. However, in spring 2008, following near– civil war between Marxists and the royal government under an unpopular king, the constitution was rewritten. Following an election, the monarchy was abolished and a democratic republic established. This brought an end to Nepal’ Nepal’ss status as an official Hindu Hind u kingdom, kingd om, as the king k ing was believed to be an incarnation of Vishnu.
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On o th prolms Hindu nationalism has ad is that y promoting Hindu valus it has tndd to hardn th positions o its non-Hindu nighors against it. Muslim Pakistan viws opposition to Hindu India as a holy aus and has supportd th uprisings in Kashmir, Kas hmir, an Indian stat in whih Hindus ar in th minority. Th prolms in Kashmir go ak to partition. Although th population was ovr whlmingly Muslim, Kashmir had a Hindu rulr. Undr th partition agrmnt Kashmir ould hav om part o ithr Pakistan or India, or it ould hav rmaind indpndnt. Whn Pakistani troops invadd Kashmir to or its rulr to join Pakistan, h instad alld on India or military prottion and th ara am Indian. Kashmir Kashmir’s ’s population rmains mainly Muslim, and Hindus ar undr almost onstant attak thr. Many Hindus travling to shrins in Kashmir hav did at th hands o Kashmiri rls. On th world stag th BJP ushrd India into th nular ag in 1998 y tsting atomi oms mant as a thrat to Islami Pakistan. Pakistan rtaliatd y tsting nular wapons o its own. Th ag-old hostilitis o th Hindus and Mus-
lims thry took a nw and mor prilous turn. In 2007 and 2008, th lam or various trrorist attaks in Hindu India has n rmly laid on Muslims traind in Pakistan. Th tnsion twn India as a land o divrs aiths and India as th homland o th Vdas is on that is unlikly to rsolvd. Attmpts Attmp ts to nor Vdi—mor spially Hindu valus—will attrativ attrativ to to many many popl popl who l lt hind in th onomi progrss o India, whih is so pronound at th momnt. This, omind with th slow rosion o trial ulturs undr prssur prs sur rom Hindu infuns who otn o tn nd thmslvs in omptition with Muslim or Christian or Buddhist missionaris missionaris,, will ontinu to a fash point. It rmains to sn how India as a sular ountry will maintain this dliat alan.
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CHAPTER 6
THE HINDU TEMPLE, ICONS, AND WOR WORSHIP SHIP
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h Hindu tmpl is known y many dirnt nams, thr o whih ar mandira (“waiting pla”), prasada (“sat o gra”), and devalaya (“hous o God”). Th most popular trm or th Hindu tmpl is mandira (or mandir ).). Th mandira is livd to th arthly arthly sat s at o a dity and th pla whr ditis diti s wait or thir dvots. Th li that goddsss and gods dwll in th mandira an trad as ar ak as th pis and th puranas. In latr sard txts, suh as th Shastras, Shastr as, spial haptrs wr writtn aout th uilding o a mandira. In ths txts th mandira is dsrid as a rossing pla whr worlds o divinity and humanity mt. Hindus liv that a dity dsnds to arth ar th and taks orm through sard imags loatd in th mandira. Som liv that y sing (darsana) and touhing th imag, it is possil to asnd tmporarily to havn and xprin th divin. Although Hindus liv that God is ound vrywhr in th world, thy also hav hav grat rspt or a divin world. Th arhittural and rligious symolism ound throughout th mandira
Hindus on pilgrimage in the city o Varanasi, northern India. Many Hindus come to Varanasi to bathe in the waters o the sacred river Ganges. The dead are also cremated on the ghats, or steps at the water’s edge, and the ashes spread on the Ganges. 92
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hlps giv shap to a divin rality that would othrwis rmain ormlss. In ordr to undrstand how a tmpl oms a pla in whih dity and humankind mt, it is nssar nssaryy to grasp th symoli maning not only o th Hindu mandira ut also o pilgrimag ntrs (tirtha sthana). Th sard imags or ions (murti) also symoliz dirnt aspts o th divin inluding ration, dstrution, powr, prosprity, strngth, or prottion. Thr is also a rih symolism in th rituals, prayrs, and artiats usd y th worshippr ( pujari pujari) during worship ( puja puja).
A
manDira ira THE HindU manD From th arly Vdi priod Hindus hav trid to rat a sard spa to whih gods ould dsnd and apt gits rom thir ollowrs. ollo wrs. It I t would also provid a pla in whih popl lt thy ould with th gods and l a sns o th Divin. During th latr Vdi priod prayrs wr onvyd to th gods through sariial rs livd to manistations o Agni, th god o r. Through rs Vdi prists spiritually “asndd” to havn. All suh rits and rmonis wr prormd in a sard nlosur spially prpard or ommunion with th gods. Th tradition o this symoli mting o th WHErE THE GoDs DWELL human and th divin ontinus today in th Hindu mandira.
mandira, or Hindu temple, is constructed according to specific requirements. The site for a mandira is carefully selected. Brahmanic texts called Shilpa Shastras, written to direct architects and artisans, describe the requirements for such a site. One purana adds to the ideas about how to build a temple in a verse about its location. It says that “the gods always play where groves are near rivers, mountains, and springs and in towns with pleasure gardens . . . It is such places that the gods love and always dwell in.”
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PREPARing THE gRoUnd Whn a sit has n sltd or a tmpl, Hindus must ritually driv loal spirits o th land away or onstrution gins. Thn th ground is plowd and svral sds ar sown. By osrving th quality o th nworn plants th uildr dtrmins th quality o th soil. Nxt th arth is smoothd until it is prtly fat, lik a mirror. On this prpard land a irl is drawn, symolizing havn, and a squar
saCrED mounTains
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otifs of mountains and caves are often incorporated skillfully into the architecture of the Hindu mandira, or temple. Throughout Hindu mythology mountains have been depicted as sacred. Mount Kailasha in the Himalayas is the abode of Shiva; Mount Meru, like a Hindu mandira, is believed to be the axis of the universe, joining celestial, celestial, atmospheric, and terrestrial regions. In fact
the superstructure of a Hindu temple is called shikhara, meaning “the top of a mountain.” Caves are also important natural symbols in Hinduism because as dark chambers with one small opening, they are believed to be symbolic of, and imbued with, the spirituality of the maternal womb. These chambers have traditionally served as ascetic retreats.
Mountain peaks in the Bhagirathi Valley in the Himalayas. The Bhagirathi River is one o the eeder streams or the sacred river Ganges whose source is in the Himalayas.
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is drawn around th irl, symolizing arth. It is livd that th ntr o this irl orms a sard pillar onnting th “ody” o th mandira with havn. havn. A small hst holding jwls and sds and rprsnting th ssn o th tmpl is urid in th ground nar th pillar. Aov this th innrmost santuary, th garb garbhagrha, hagrha, or “wom hamr,” is onstrutd. EARly HindU TEmPlEs Th arlist xampls o Hindu tmpls wr onstrutd around th th ntury c.e. Ths Ths arly ston tmpls wr simpl olumnd halls ovrd with a fat roo. Latr this orm dvlopd into a squarolumnd hall raisd on a fat, road bhumi, or as (litrally translatd as “arth”), whih ld to th suprstrutur, a towr. Th towr, or shikhara (“mountain pak”), was on o th most important parts o th mandira. Th shikhara ros at th rar o th mandira. It markd th loation o th intrior garb garbhagrha hagrha whr th dity was livd to nshrind. Divin light was livd to mit rom this small, dark hamr and lss, prott, and wath ovr th ommunity. Around this innrmost shrin was a passagway on whih dvots, moving lokwis, ould nirl th innr ham r. Th garb garbhagrha hagrha had just on opning, and only th prsiding prist was allowd insid. An assmly hall, th mandapa, was loatd in th santuary. santuar y. This hall otn ld to anothr hall, th natya mandapa, whr dans wr prormd and hymns sung to plas th ditis. Ths halls opnd onto a vranda, whih ld to th outsid. 96
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Th outr sura o th tmpl hld dtaild sulpturs. Mythologial sns wr dpitd, juxtaposd with sns rom vryday li or important politial vnts suh as a royal oronation, onqusts and lrations, or portraits o royal and sular patrons. Th main gat way lading lading toward toward th innr santuary o th tmpl was th only opning twn sard and proan spas. Othr opnings—doors, nihs, and windows—wr arhittural symols o th passag o humanity to God.
Kalasha head Shikhara peak
This schematic drawing represents the essential parts o a Hindu temple.
Pradikshana path circumambulation path
Garbhagrha womb chamber
Pillared hall
Entrance
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diVinE Kings And Kingdoms Many tmpl omplxs rsmld th arhittur usd or palas. This is not surprising givn that ditis wr onsidrd kings. Th arthly kings, who wr mandira patrons, wr onsidrd to divin rftions o th ditis. Thir task was to wath wath ovr th wlar o thir kingdoms. In som txts kings wr dsrid as supports or rptals o gods. Somtims kings wr livd to intrmdiaris twn arth ar th and havn. It was thir jo to ring orings o thir sujts to th lstial rgion, and rturn with lssings rom th gods. At tims kings wr livd to inarnations o ditis, maning that thy wr th god in human orm. I a king was partiularly rul r ul or harsh, thy wr somtims sn as inarnations inar nations o dmons. Th royall thron was otn quatd roya quatd with th altar, altar, and th tmpl tmpl was privd as a divin ortrss. ortrss . Th dity livd thr and prottd th world rom haos and disordr. dEVoTions, gifTs, And good KARmA Th mandira has always n a ntr or all artisti, intlltual, and rligious li o th Hindu ommunity. Dan, musi, drama, art, and arhittur wr intgral parts o th mandira rituals. Sard dans and dramas wr prormd in th assmly halls.
Hindus praying beore the innermost shrine, the garbhagrha. Puja oerings are given by worshippers to the priest, who perorms puja on their behal. Visitors also pray beore the various smaller shrines in the temple and many will walk around the passageway surrounding the innermost shrine o the temple. 98
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Mythologial storis, ritd arlir y storytllrs and tahrs wr natd in th mandira. Worshipprs sang dvotional songs and ritd hymns rom important sripturs, suh as th Vdas, th puranas, and th pis. During lrations and stivals, th kings and rih itizns donatd mony, land, and valual ojts to th mandira. Som kings in southrn India lratd attl vitoris or th addition o a trritory trr itory to thir kingdom y stowing magnint gits on th mandira. Insriptions on th walls o ths tmpls dsri prilss nklas o parls and right oral ads, as wll as gold ornamnts st in prious stons. Ths wr donatd to dorat th sard imags in th tmpls. Utnsils o pur gold wr givn givn or or daily srvi srviss to to th ditis, and imags o th most most popular divinitis—Nataraja, Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, Shiva, and Parvati—wr prsntd to th tmpl. Tmpl uilding and th installation o sard imags was not only an xprssion o dvotion and pity ut also a mr it-gaining at, or an at o good karma. All donor dvots wr promisd pa, walth, rih harvst, and sons i thy rtd a tmpl or donatd an ion. In addition th gnrous gits dmonstratd physial importan and onomi powr to sujts and nigh oring rulrs. rulr s. EARTHly dwEllings of THE dEiTiEs Today th Hindu mandira is onsidrd a holy pla in th midst o an irrligious world. As thy always hav n, tmpls and shrins ar onsidrd arthly dwlling plas o th ditis and a “rossing” whr dvots o any ast an with th divin. In a tmpl, worshipprs liv that thy an lav th illogial, arthly world hind and approah th trnal ralm o knowldg and truth. All Hindu ommunitis hav on or mor loal tmpls. Som ar monumntal, som ar o avrag siz, and som ar quit small. Larg tmpls ar always dvotd dvotd to on o th manistations o th major ditis lik Shiva, Vishnu, or som orm o Dvi (Mahadvi Shakti). Th smallr tmpls ar dvotd to The Hindu Te Temple, mple, Icons, Icons, and Worship Worship
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minor rgional ditis known only to th loal popl. Hindus liv that thy ar linkd with th sard through ths larg tmpls and small shrins. TirTha
Lik Hindu tmpls, tirtha sthana (pilgrimag ntrs) ar rossing plas o th arthly and th spiritual worlds. Tirtha litrally mans a “rossing pla” or a “ord,” and in a tirtha worshipprs l losr to or vn unitd with th ditis. Journying to a tirtha am popular aus it was onsidrd as nial to th pilgrim as Vdi saris wr to a Brahmin. Morovr, tirtha partiipation was assil to dvots o all asts. Temples lining Temples linin g Lake Pushkar in the state o Rajasthan. The town o Pushkar is particularly associated with the god Brahma.
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sACREd HisToRy And sPiRiTUAl mERiT In ths pilgrimag pilgr imag ntrs worshipprs hav hav ass to th mythial prsonags, gods, goddsss, goddsss , and saints who wr ithr orn
or inarnatd and who prormd ats o EnCirCLinG THE HoLy LanD austrity suh as asting and mditating ilgrimage centers large and small are or xtrmly long priods at ths parscattered throughout India. However, tiular sits. sits . Popl travl to ar-o ntrs four are particularly important: Badrinath aus thy liv that th holy plas in the northern Himalayas; Puri in the east; radiat sardnss or th nt o dvoRamesvaram in the south; and Dvarka in ts. At th holy sits dvots l losr the west. By visiting all these sacred places to th sard vnts that took pla thr one after another, in clockwise order, piland l as though thy wr partiipating grims encircle the holy land of India. This in th sard history. histor y. is just like the journey made when walking Most tirtha sthana ar loatd in plas around the innermost sanctum of a mandira, or temple. Walking around the sancthat ar diult to rah. Thy ar on th tum is considered an important ritual and tops o mountains, dp in orsts, or in a form of communion with God. th middl o dsrts. Most ar not assil y modrn transportation. To rah th holy dstination pilgrims nd sldisiplin, nduran, and dvotion. A pilgrim’s ort is omparal to th austritis o an asti who has rnound worldly attahmnts and livs a li o asting, mditation, and prayr. Hindus liv that thy gain spiritual mrit rom th at. In addition a prson may gain status in his ommunity atr a tr having rturnd rom a pilgrimag.
P
An EndlEss CyClE of liVEs Hindus ompar thir tim rom irth to dath to a pilgrim’s journy with many stations. Thy do not onsidr dath a nal dstination ut just on station in an ndlss yl o livs. Nor do Hindus liv that dath automatially rings liration rom th rustrations ru strations o li. Rathr thy liv that moksha (nal rlas) an an attaind y omplt dvotion dvotion to God, knowldg knowldg o God, and through good works. Thos who annot lirat thir atman (individual soul) through any o ths mans might attain it y omplting a pilgrimag. Pilgrimag rings spiritual joy and ultimat rlas rom th world. By By visiting a tirtha sthana, a dvot not only r-rats and partiipats in sard history y ing at th sit o som mytho The Hindu Te Temple, mple, Icons, Icons, and Worship Worship
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logial inidnt—ut h or sh is also al to visit th tmpls o ths plas that ar hargd with intns sardnss.
HinDu iCons In th Sanskrit languag, a sard statu is alld murti. Th trm, whih is mor than 2,000 yars old, rrs to any gur that has a dnit shap. Hindu ions, or sard imags, may anthropomorphi—having human liknss—or thy may astrat. From th trra-otta gurins o th Indus Vally to th modrn imags o Vishnu, murtis ar onsidrd gnuinly sard. CHARgEd wiTH THE PREsEnCE of god Whn ions ar sn as prsonal ditis, as in hakti worship, thy ar onsidrd to hargd with th prsn o th god. Worshipping an imag is on o th ways in whih a dvot an gain ass to a dity. Th god is invitd, athd, adornd, touhd, sn, and honord in th orm o th murti, or sard imag. Thror dp rspt or th imag o a goddss or god allows popl to show thir dp lov or that goddss or god. Through th imag dvots an pour out thir motions to th dity. In addition to th siz, shap, and artisti quality o a murti, thr ar many rituals that govrn its atual making. First, it is important or th shilpin, or sulptor, to ollow th advi o a Brahmin and gathr th matrial or it ollowing rtain traditions. This mans thy would would hav hav to ut th th tr or quarry th ston, dpnding on i th ion is mad o wood or ston, at th propr tim and in th propr mannr. mannr. Baus Hindus liv that ah and vry grain o mattr is inhaitd y loal spirits, part o th ritual inluds asking th spirits o th tr or rok to lav and dwll lswhr. It is important to hav a “lan” lok 102
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o raw matrial, r o all spirits, on whih to arv a divin imag.
CrEaTinG a saCrED imaGE
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he Shilpa Shastras are texts that give detailed descriptions of how a sacred image ought to be created and made suitable for the presence of a deity. The texts provide measurements of body parts, the correct posture, number of hands and heads, hand gestures (mudras), emblems and weapons to be held, the appropriate vahana (animal vehicles), suitable sitting positions (asana), and more. An image must be proportionate, technically correct, and pleasing to the eye. Only then do Hindus believe that it will be fit for a deity’s residence. Such specific details of the gods are the result of meditation, experimentation, and extreme devotion by generations of priests and artists.
mEdiTATion And PURifiCATion To mak th ion, th shilpins rst rad aout th imag in th Shilpa Shastras. Thn thy ous mntally until thy an orm an imag o th ion. Bor starting th work a ritual puriation must prormd. For a traditional imag makr, rating an ion is quivalnt to yogi disiplin in that it rquirs intns mditation. Whn an imag is ompltd spial rits o lssing tak pla. Th imag is purid with a varity o ritual sustans suh as larid uttr, hony, and a spial kind o grass. In partiular th ys o th dity ar sald with th hony and uttr.. Thn a prist installs various ditis in dirnt parts uttr par ts o th ody o th ion y touhing its individual parts. With this ritual a partiular ion may symolially inhaitd y a num r o gods othr othr than that whih it dpits. Having many gods in on ralls th on ody o th Vdi Primal Man (Purusha) and th ditis ratd rom it in th Vdi hymn hymn Purusha Shukta. Finally, rath is inusd into th imag through a rit alld pratishtha, maning “stalishing th rathlik.” During this rit a spial mantra (srt vrs) is uttrd. Thn th ys ar opnd with a goldn ndl. Atr th lssing th ion is onsidrd suital or th dity to dsnd into it. Most o th imags ar stalishd stalishd in this mannr to invok th prsn o a dity. Without th omplx omplx rituals o puriation puri ation and th rits o stalishmnt, ions ar plain works o art with no sard powr. Ions o a dity rarly show th god in on orm. Rathr gods and goddsss ar shown in thir numrous manistations. For instan Shiva is dpitd as Nataraja or with Parvati. Vishnu is
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shown in his various inarnations—Krishna, Rama, and othrs. Durga is sulptd as slaying hr nmis in trriying posturs. Puja
Daily worship, or puja, is an important ritual in th livs o pratiing Hindus. Th daily rituals prormd in th mandira ar thought to a sour o prosprity prospr ity and good halth or th worworshippr. Th goal o puja puja is rminisnt o th Vdi r sari, in whih gods wr invitd rom th havns and prsntd with orings. Puja is th most rquntly prormd Hindu ritual. CARing foR THE dEiTiEs Vdi popl livd that ditis livd in th havns. By th pi priod it was livd that divin powr am to arth i a sard ara was mad ritually pur, ions wr onsratd, ons ratd, and th dity was prsuadd with vral hants to dsnd. Thn th god or goddss was givn onstant lov and honor. This was aus th arly Hindus livd that i propr dvotion and ar wr givn to th invitd dity it would stay in th tmpl and wath wath ovr th ommunity. I propr ar o th imags was not takn, and i th ions wr not prottd rom vandalism and aus, th dity dit y would aandon aandon it and th tmpl. tmpl. Th ida o onstant attntion to a dity mad it nssary ns sary or a daily routin o rituals. This rsultd in th dvlopmnt o th Hindu puja. In ah mandira a rsidnt prist maks sur that at sunris, noon, sunst, and midnight th propr puja is prormd. In addition th prist rsids in th tmpl so that ontinuous ar may takn and th god will alwa always ys prsnt. Visiting a mandira vry day or vn rgularly is not mandatory or Hindus. Many dvout Hindus kp in touh with thir ditis through worship at hom. Howvr, som rituals annot prormd at hom, and a prist’s assistan ass istan is ndd. Puja in THE HomE
Puja is not ongrgational worship ut an individual oring to a dity or to a dity and his or hr ompanion. Rasons or 104
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sEEinG THE DEiTiEs
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mandira, or Hindu temple, has movable and immovable sacred images called murtis. Immovable images are part of the temple architecture, whereas movable images can be taken out during festival days to allow devotees to “see” the deities. Dar-
sana, or seeing images of deities, becomes a significant act whether the deity is at home, at the temple, or journeying in a procession. This rite of seeing is one of the basic components of Hindu worship.
The center o attention during various celebrations is the image o Ganesha, the elephant-headed son o Shiva. The deity is carried on a ceremonial chariot and paraded through the streets or everyone to see.
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tmpl worship ould rlatd to prsonal or amily halth, walth, duation, uja—daily worship—consists of three gnral lssings, or saty. Many striv ritual steps: first, seeing the deity or good karma or liration (mukti). Prs(darsana); second, puja, or worship, which nt-day rituals o puja puja, at hom and in th includes offering flowers, fruits, and cooked tmpl, hav not altrd muh rom what food called bhog; and third, retrieving the was pratid during th arlist priods, blessed food, called prasada, and consumalthough th anint rituals hav n ing it. By these sacred acts Hindus create gratly simplid. a relationship with the divinity through In thir homs most Hindus kp a their emotions and senses. As one scholar shrin ddiatd to on or mor ditis. writes, “The temple is the monument of [divine] manifestations. The devotee who Th shrin ontains imags o th amily comes to the temple to look at it, does so dity, major gods and goddsss, saints, as a seer, not as a mere spectator.” and anstors. It is kpt in a sard ara, whih may a ornr o a room, a nih, a shl o a aint aint or, in an afunt houshold, a small room st asid solly or this purpos. Othr ritual paraphrnalia inlud a ontainr o watr or sprinkling and puriying th ara, a ll, a lamp to wavd in ront o th dity, an inns urnr, and a tray with fowrs, ruit, and rshly ookd ood. At th houshold shrin all mmrs o a Hindu amily or a simpl daily puja.
THrEE riTuaL aCTs
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Puja in THE manD manDira ira
In th hom th ditis ar invitd to dsnd. In th mandira, on th othr hand, thy ar “awaknd,” aus th tmpl thir arthly hom. Th gods ar livd to dwll in th mandira as royalty. At th mandira ull puja is prormd svral tims vry day. It dirs rom th daily puja puja prormd at a hom mor in sal than in sustan. In I n th tmpls that nshrin major Brahmani gods, prists who lrat ull puja ar rrrd to as Brahmins. Smallr tmpls and shrins o minor ditis may prsidd ovr y a mmr o a lowr lowr ast. ast . Th light within a mandira is dim, a sharp ontrast to th right light outsid. Th mandapa (assmly hall) is hargd with th snt o fowrs, urning oil lamps, and inns. A dvot walks walks 106
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slowly toward th innrmost santuary o th dity with th ingrdints or puja, whih may inlud inlud fowrs, ruit, r uit, and ookd bhog. Nar th santuary ths things ar handd to th prist, who thn prorms puja on hal o th worshippr. Atr sing s ing th imag and riving th prasada, or sard ood, th dvot walks around th passagway o th santuary. Th ritual o pradikshana —nirling th wom hamr lokwis and touhing th outr walls o th innrmost santuary—is an important part o th mandira ritual that annot prormd at hom. Walking Walking around an imag, th innr santum, san tum, or th mandira itsl is a way o paying rspt to th dity, or movmnt is onsidrd an important part o puja. puja. sEEing, ToUCHing, And HEARing In addition to prayrs and orings Hindu worship inluds an undrstanding o th godly imag, an xprin hargd with rligious maning. This xprin is nouragd y th anint at o “sing.” It is not only th worshippr “sing” th imag ut also th dity “sing” th worshippr that is onsidrd a av avoral oral at. This at is alld darsana. For this rason Hindu imags hav strikingly larg ys to ailitat th “xhang o glans” twn dvot and dity. dity. Similarly, in puja on dos not only s ut also touhs and hars. h ars. All th snss sns s ar givn spial signian and importan in puja. On osrvs th oring o th lightd lamps, touhs th ritual ojts and t o th dity (whr possil), hars th ringing o th lls and th sard txts ing ritd, smlls th inns, and tasts th lssd lss d ood ord at th nd o th ritual.
inViTinG DEiTiEs To DEsCEnD
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uring the puja, or daily worship, at a home shrine the head of a Hindu household invites the goddess or god to descend and be present at the ceremony. When the divine presence is felt, worshippers consider that the deity has entered the murti, or sacred image, and they offer it a seat, wash its feet, and give water to it. An image might be symbolically bathed, then clothed in new garments and embellished with ornaments. Perfumes and ointments are often applied; flowers and garlands are placed before it. Incense is burned and a burning lamp is waved in front of the deity. Foods such as cooked rice, fruit, butter, and sugar are offered. Family members bow before the image, sip the blessed water, and receive a portion of the cooked food, which, having been blessed by the deity, is now considered sacred food for the devotees. Finally the deity is asked to rest or depart.
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THE WorsHiPPEr
A Hindu boy praying beore a amily shrine in India. Most amilies keep a household shrine dedicated to one or more deities. During puja, During puja, the head o the household will invite the goddess or god to descend and be present throughout the puja. the puja.
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A Hindu worshippr, or pujari, may prorm daily puja puja at hom and on spial days in th mandira. Pujaris must physially halthy as wll as ritually lan or starting to worship. Thy must tak a ath, war rsh loths, and r thir minds o any impur thoughts. A prist must also physially and ritually lan. Through puriying puri ying ats prists and worshipprs ar al to idntiy thmslvs with th divin ojt o worship. In worship dvots s divin imags and mythologial sns on th outr walls o th mandira. Ths hlp th worshipprs to rall all th sard storis thy hav hard aout or rad. With thir minds ull o th storis and thir snss ull rom worship, dvots liv that thy om to know that whih is unknowal. unknowa l. Through art, arhittural orms, and dvotion, th worshippr an nd nw spiritual maning in things.
Th doorway o th mandira is livd to vulnral to th vils o th outsid world. Thror minor divinitis suh as door guardians and imags o sard rivrs ar arvd on or plad nar lintls and doorjams. Ths imags ar thought to lans dvots o any mntal or physial impuritis. Thy also stow divin lssings lssings on thm as thy ntr th mandira. moVing TowARd THE diVinE Insid th mandira worshipprs ar said to mov toward toward th divin. Thy walk through a sri sriss o nlosurs that om inrasingly mor sard. As a prson passs through ths nlosurs h or sh is gradually raisd rom an arthly lvl to a sard lvl. In th mandira th worshipprs do not physially asnd to havn ut y ousing spiritually thy may gain a divin nlightnmnt. From opn spas thy rah losd spas; rom light thy ntr darknss; rom th omplxity o th world thy mov to th simpliity o th divin. In th nal stag th worshipprs approah th doorway o th garb garbhagrha hagrha (“wom hamr”) and hand thir orings to th prist, who thn onduts puja or thm. Thy wait outsid, ollowing th movmnts movmnts o th prist. pr ist. sACREd RiTEs And diVinE loVE A ommon part o Hindu worship is th gsturs o humility suh as owing, knling, lying prostrat, and th touhing o t. Honor and ation ar xprssd xprss d y doing or th god what on dos daily or hrishd amily mmrs. Family ativitis suh as waking, athing, drssing, ooking, srving, and slping om rnd y daily prati. Hindu puja onsists o doing ths day-to-day ativitis to honor prsonal gods. Mundan daily ats, whn rnd, om ritual ats t to prormd or th amily dity. Finally, at th spial tim o puja, puja, th god is invitd, athd, adornd, touhd, sn, and honord. Th sular lings om hargd with sard intnsity. Human lings om divin lov. lov. Thus th amily rlationships and ritual rit ual ats o puja puja ar losly intrwovn. Routin hors om sard rits whn prormd in honor o a dity. The Hindu Te Temple, mple, Icons, Icons, and Worship Worship
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CHAPTER 7
SOCIAL DUTY AND RITES OF PASSAGE
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h trm dharma, maning “moral duty or law,” is important in Hinduism. Th origin and maning o this word gos ak as ar as th Vdi Vdi priod, whn th word word rita mant “osmi ordr.” Aording to th divin law o rita, all things in th world hav a propr pla, untion, and ordr. This rats a alan in th univrs. In Vdi tims, osmi ordr inludd th duty to moral. In th Shastra txts, th ida o rita ranhd into th divrs onpts o dharma. In thos txts, dharma mant not only osmi law and moral duty ut also soial, thial, and rligious duty. Shastras mphasiz that th rality o th univrs dpnds on th propr havior o th popl. An impropr ation, that is, adharma, an lad to th all o th univrs into unrality and vntually into nothingnss. Thror in ordr to maintain th univrs and nhan osmi harmony, propr havior is nssary. Dharma, thn, is rsponsil or th maintnan o th Hindu world. Hindu marriage rites are perormed in ront o a re pit made o bricks. The bride and groom, their immediate amilies and the priest encircle the re or the wedding ritual and puja. and puja. At the end o the ceremony the bride and groom take seven steps around the re. 110
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In Hinduism th moral and soial dutis o dharma ar tid to th thoris o karma, k arma, samsara, and ultimatly, ultimatly, moksha. Thror it is important to larn aout ths thr trms or disussing Hindu varnasramadharma, a systm o duty or law that inluds th our asts and th our stags o li. li .
oriGins oF DHarma Th idas o thial havior and moral li om rom sard Hindu litratur. Traditionally Hindu litratur has n dividd into two lasss. On lass is shruti (“what is hard”), ovring th Vdas and Upanishads. Th othr is smriti (“what is rmm rd”), ovring th pis and th puranas. Th smriti litratur also inluds a litrary orm alld sutras. Th sutras wr writtn wr ittn y th Brahmins or th ginning o th prsnt ra. ra . It prhaps smd to th latr Vdi Vdi Brahmins that on’s rligious li should onrnd with mor than rituals—thir txts dsri how lading an thial li is an intgral part o rligious li. Th Brahmins do not dny that th rituals ar sard, ut thy strss th importan o thial havior, giv instrutions in soial duty, and tah sard morality. Thir txts wr alld Dharma Sutras. Th Dharma Sutras wr diult to undrstand. Thror ths txts wr xplaind and xpandd into ompositions alld Dharma Shastras. Th shastras wr writtn in vrs vr s and thy wr asir to mmoriz and grasp than th Dharma Sutras. Evntually Hindus turnd to th Dharma Shastras as guids to idal soial havior.. Th shastras say that thos who havior support dharma gain am whil aliv and inomparal happinss atr dath. To support dharma is to hav in an thial mannr. Th trm dharma thror is losly rlatd to th ida o karma—that on’s ations in th prsnt dtrmin th onditions o on’s li in th utur. 112
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Karma anD samsara Originally any orrt ativity or proprly prormd ritual was alld karma. Howvr, latr rligious philosophrs xpandd its maning. It am to man that on’s prsnt ations dtrmin on’s utur li. Thus undrlying th Hindu law o karma is th ida that a prson’s havior lads to an appropriat rward or punishmnt. Som sholars think that th ida that a utur li dpndd on prvious havior must hav dvlopd rom a long priod o knly osrving plants, trs, and lds. Ths sholars liv that th arly Hindus notd that land “givs irth” rpatdly i halthy sds ar sown and tndd. Thy saw that plants do not rally di; th dath o a plant is a pross y whih it rnws itsl in th spring. In a sns ah li o a plant nds in a dath in ordr to rorn. A plant’s rgrowth is dtrmind y th halthy or unhalthy onditions o ormr irths. Sholars liv th arly Hindus lt th sam to tru o all living things. During th Vdi Vdi priod propr ritual prorman pr orman was alld karma. In that ra i a prist prormd rtain rituals orrtly h was livd to ontrol th gods. Latr Upanishadi srs taught our urrnt undrstanding o karma. Thy livd that all physial and mntal ativity was a rftion o gratr osmi prosss. Thy taught that a prson oms good through good ations and ad through ad ations. Through ths srs s rs th onpt o th yls o li, dath, rirth, and rdath was rinord. Ths yls wr alld samsara. Th thoris o karma and samsara provid Hindus with a rason or human dirns. I popl ar o diring soial lasss or physial and mntal ailitis it
Sadhus bathing at the Maha Kumbha Mela, the great religious air and mass ritual bathing that takes place every 12 years at Allahabad. Ritual bathing in sacred rivers, particularly at the Kumbha Mela, is a spiritual act that cleanses the body and mind and improves karma.
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must a rsult o thir dds in this li li or a past li. Karma Kar ma and samsara also nourag Hindus to at thially, aus i thy do not thy will sur or thir poor ations in th utur. utur. Th samsara yls ar an vr-hanging univrs o rquirmnts, onsquns, and onditions. This univrs ontrasts with th unonditiond and trnal world o th gods. gods . Th goal o pratiing Hindus is to lirat thmslvs rom onstantly hanging samsara—to nd rlas rom th yls o rirths and rdaths and gain xistn in th ralm r alm o th gods. Moksha Moks ha
Moksha is th rlas rom th onditional and tmporary xistn o this world. It is a rligious stat or whih vry Hindu strivs. Moksha annot gaind y ation aimd at ahiving somthing in this world. Rathr th prson who wants liration rom li— mukti —sks to xprin th onnss o atmanmukti —sks Brahman, th union o on’s sl with th Ultimat Rality. Moksha is not a Vdi onpt. Th Vdi txts ar onrnd with njoymnt o arthly arthly ountis. Vdi popl wr awd y natural powrs. Thy omposd and hantd hymns to appas th prsoniations o natural ors and invit ths prsonid gods to shar th ountis o th arth. arth. Vdi popl did not want rlas rom th good arthly li. In Indian thought th notion o moksha appard as arly as th oldst Upanishad, and th onpt is laoratd on in th pi Mahaharata Mahaha rata and th Dharma Shastras. Shastra s. A Hindu is supposd to modl his li aording to th dharmi norm prsrid in th Laws of Manu. H or sh must oy ast laws and ollow th stags o li. I th prson lads an idal li as dsrid in th sard txt, h or sh may thn larn dtahmnt rom matrial li and ahiv liration. This idal Hindu li is rftd in th modl o varnasramadharma. varnasramadharma . VarnasraMadharMa
Varnasramadharma Varnasramadhar ma is a trm that omins thr sparat words: varna, maning th soial ast systm; ashrama, maning th 114
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stags o li; and dharma, whih mans duty, law, or propr havior. V Varnsraarnsramadharma is asd on riproal soial oligations. It was dsrid in Dharma Shastras as a guid or mal mmrs o th Hindu ommunity. Latr it am a systm or Hindu soity in gnral. V Vaarnasramadharma and samsara giv moral, thial, and soial valus to mmrs o th Hindu ommunity and orm th asis o th Hindu soity. soit y. Varnasramadhar V arnasramadharma ma is a guid to living with th laws o dharma and karma. Within this systm Hindus support on anothr y prorming th dutis o thir partiular varna. Hindus liv that i on prson dos his or hr duty imprtly it harms th ntir soity and thus th uni vrs as a whol. On prson’s dharma, or duty, annot prormd y anothr. As th Bhagavad Bhagavad Gita says, “It “I t is ttr to prorm on’s own oligations poorly than to do anothr’s wll.” Ths idals o th our asts and th our stags o li wr st orth in th HinHin du txts. Howvr in prati not many mn wnt yond th stag o housholdr. Howvr, Howvr, th possiility possiilit y was opn or a housholdr to pursu th li o a orst dwllr in ordr to ahiv moksha.
CasTE anD THE sTa sTaGEs GEs oF LiFE
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he system of varnasramadharma, guidance on social responsibilities through the various stages of life, was stimulated by the coming of outsiders. It was created to keep foreigners away from the core of society. It also served to organize the diverse occupations of Hindus and make a householder’s position strong. This model evolved by combinin combining g two social ideals. The first is that of varna, the four hierarchical castes (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras). The second is that of ashrama, or the male member’s four stages of life—brahmachari (student), grahasthin (householder), vanaprasthin (forest dweller), and sanyasin (ascetic).
Varna
Th Laws of Manu arm that th Vdi hymn Purusha Shukta is th Hindu justiation or its soial systm— varna. Th Social Duty and Rites of Passage
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hymn rrs to soial divisions livd to typial o th Aryans who immigratd to th Indus Vally and th Gangs plains. Ths wr th Vdi popl. Thr is no historial rord that dns varna, ut it appars rom rom th Vdi Vdi hymns that th soial systm was omposd o our major sudivisions—th Brahmins, th pristly lass; Kshatriyas, nols or warriors; Vaishyas, th mrhants and armrs; and Shudras, th srvant lass. An important ondition o th our soial ordrs, ordrs , taught in th Bhagavad Gita, was that thy wr not rigidly dnd y a prson’s irth. Thy wr to judgd aording to a prson’s natur rathr than th amily into whih thy wr orn. Howvr, this spiritual tahing was rarly applid as th systm am rigid and omplx. As tim wnt on th ast systm am infxil. A prson’s duty varid aording to his ast and to th stag o li h or sh was passing through. Morovr an individual’s sx, amily, and rgion urthr ur thr ompliatd th mattr. mattr. CAsTE And sUBCAsTE At prsnt th varna systm has dvlopd into jatis (suasts) aus o intrast and intrraial marriags marriags.. Whn mmrs o th sam ast marrid, th sam ast ontinud or th nxt gnration. Whn mmrs o dirnt asts marrid, thir ospring gnratd a nw ast. This nw gnration longd to a ast lowr than th thr uppr asts ut highr than Shudra (th lowst). Howvr, Howvr, i a mmr o any o th thr uppr lasss marrid a Shudra or a mmr o any othr ra, thir hildrn wr “untouhals.” Ths hildrn longd to a lass lowr than th Shudras. This ompliatd systm rsultd in th ration r ation o thousands o jatis. jatis. Hindus longing to ths jatis liv throughout India. Thy hav hav ruls r uls govrning marriag, ood, oupation, and othr 116
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ativitis. This is don to kp amily purity. Punishmnt or disoying th ruls o marriag rsults in xpulsion rom th jati to whih on longs. longs. For many Hindus th jatis ar simply sudivisions o th lassial varna. Blonging to a partiular varna through thir jati is important aus thy liv that it plays a part in th rward or punishmnt ah soul rivs or its ations during dur ing a prvious xistn. For Hindus prsnt li onditions hav somthing to do with th purity and santity o Brahmins and th high or low rank attriutd to ah jati. Howv Howvr, r, soial ast is livd to du mainly to th li ld y a soul in its prvious inarnations. Brahmins ar supposd to hav th purst souls. I a Brahmin is wikd, howvr howvr,, h may rorn as a mmr o a muh muh lowr lowr ast or vn as an untouhal untouhal as punishmnt. THE foUR VarnaS Th our varnas mak up a workal systm that dpits all mm rs o soity so ity supporting on anothr anothr.. Brahmins, at th top o th systm, wr ormrly rquird to tah th Vdas, assist in saris, and apt gits. No othr ast undr any irumstans ould prorm ths thr dutis. Th top priority o th Brahmins was maintaining th purity o thir lass or th purpos o domsti and tmpl rituals. Vgtarianism was nouragd and vntually am a norm among Brahmins. Thus Brahmins who “wr not dsirous o killing” rtaind thir highr rank in soity. Kshatriyas wr rulrs and warriors. As kings thy had powr on arth. arth . Thy prottd thir sujts and lookd atr th propr untioning o th soity. As warriors thir ast duty was to slay nmis. Thy ould study ut not tah th Vdas. Vaishyas on th othr hand had th duty o rding attl. In addition thy wr agriulturists and monylndrs. Thy ould study th Vdas, or saris, and or sard gits. Morovr thy too partiipatd in th rits o passag and wor th sard thrad. Howvr, th Vaishyas wr not prmittd to prorm rligious rits or th dutis o a warrior. Social Duty and Rites of Passage
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Shudras prormd only minor saris and simplid domsti rituals that did not rquir riting rom th Vdas. Thy did all sorts o manual work so that soity as a whol ould untion smoothly. Thy wr not prmittd to prorm any sard rituals. Furthrmor thy wr not oially initiatd into th systm o varnasramadharma, varnasramadharma , although thy took ar o th asi nssitis o th soity. BrahmaChari, THE sTUdEnT
As a studnt, or brahmachari, a Hindu mal was to study diligntly in ordr to know th sard traditions and litratur. Btwn th ags o ight and 12 a oy o any o th thr uppr asts ould study th Vdas atr h was initiatd y a tahr who had aptd him as a studnt. Th oy wnt through a rit o initiation or h was allowd to liv with his tahr. On aptd h was instrutd in th ritation o th sard txts. In th tahr’s ashram th studnt livd a li o povrty and sumission. H was supposd to liv as a prsonal srvant o th tahr and do all o his tahr’s daily dai ly hors, suh as toting ul and watr, srving ood, and laning up. H was xptd to show grat dvotion and rspt to his tahr tahr.. H ompltd his studis atr svral yars o living in this austr mannr. GrahaSthin, THE HoUsEHoldER
Whn th young man ompltd ompltd his studs tudis h was xptd to marry. This was onsidrd th sond ashrama, that o grahasthin, th housholdr. Th man was xptd to arn ar n a living or himsl, gt sons, and tak ar o his amily y doing work appropriat appropriat to his ast. In addition as a housholdr h was xptd to giv alms to thos who had passd into th highr ashrama, that o th orst dwllr and asti. 118
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Marr iag and gtting sons wr immnsly Marriag immnsly important in this wi is dsrid dsr id ashrama. Th rlationship twn husand and wi in th Dharma Shastras. As long as th wi livd sh was not to do anything to displas hr husand. Atr his dath sh was to rmain dvotd to his mmory and was nvr to vn uttr th nam o anothr man. VanaPraSthin, THE foREsT dwEllER
Whn a man had ullld his dutis as th had o th amily, whn his skin was wrink wrinkld ld and his hair whit, h was xptd to rtir rom amily li and prod with his wi toward th highr ashrama — vanapr orst dwllr. Th oror vanaprasthin asthin —that o th orst st dwllr ontriutd to th wlar o th soity y prorming rituals in honor o his anstors. Howvr, only a vry small prntag o popl rally lt hom in ordr to liv in th orst away rom amily and ommunity ommunity.. Most popl paid homag to thir anstors whil living at hom and wnt on pilgrimags ah yar to losr to th gods. SanyaSin, San yaSin, THE AsCETiC
Th last ashrama in on’s li, sanyasin, am nssary i on wishd to ahiv liration. Th dirn twn a orst dwllr and an asti was that th asti rnound all onntion with wi and amily. amily. Prhaps slusion rom amily and ommunity or a priod o tim—that is, living th li o a orst dwllr—was ssntial or on ould ompltly giv up th world physially physially as wll as mntally. mntally. It was only at this ourth stag that on ould undrstand th mystry o th divin, xprin its prsn, and possily hav ommunion with it. A orst dwllr who was not a sanyasin ould kp in touh with th world in gnral, ut th asti stayd ompltly away rom it. Living his li with only th most asi prsonal itms, h had no physial omort. His whol day was dvotd to mditation, mditation, rftion, rf tion, and th rading r ading o Upanishadi sripturs. It was livd that this simpl yt srn stat o th sanyasin ontinud yond dath and that suh popl nvr Social Duty and Rites of Passage
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rturnd to this world. Suh astis ar stmd in Hindu soity and ar ntitld to spial rspt and support. Ashramas and varnas orm two pillars o th Hindu soial and amily systms o th Sanata Sanatana na Dharma. Dharma . Bsids tahing th signian o th ast systm and our stags o li, th sard txts o th Brahmani tradition also dsri som rituals that should prormd at stratgi points in a Hindu’s li.
CELEBraTions anD riTEs oF o F PassaGE PassaGE Colored pink and red by powder that has been thrown in celebration at the estival o Holi, a procession makes its way along a pilgrimage path in the town o Vrindavan, northern India.
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Th Hindu alndar is a lunar on, with lvn months, and a twlth on addd vry thr or our yars to ring th alndar ak into lin with th solar alndar. Major stivals our in ah sason. Rituals prormd and lratd at th tim o important transitions in th li o a Hindu, Hi ndu, rom th momnt o onption to th tim o dath, ar alld samskaras. Thr ar our major
rits o passag, passd down in th mainstram Brahmani tradition and dsrid in th shastras. shastras . Ths ar th prnatal, hildhood, marriag, and dath rituals. On suh oasions amily mmrs and rinds join togthr to lss th individual and to prott him or hr rom any harm. All major rituals ar prormd at hom. Family prists ar alld in to prorm th most important rituals, ut amily mmrs ar usually th primary prormrs o th hom rituals.
PrEnaTaL riTuaLs Thr rits ar prormd or th irth o a hild: th rit o onption, th wish or a mal hild, and prottion o th tus. To nsur th rtility rti lity and saty sa ty o th mothr and hild, th rit o onption is prormd long or thr is any nws o th arrival arr ival o a hild. In th third or ourth month o prgnany prgnany a rit is prormd to nsur th irth o a mal hild. This rmony also ontains rits and saguards against misarriags. Finally, twn th ourth and th ighth month o prgnany, a rit r it is prormd to prott th tus rom vil spirits. CHildHood RiTUAls A numr o rituals ar prormd twn a hild’s irth and adolsn. Th rst is a simpl ritual prormd immdiatly atr irth. Th most important is th sond ritual, known as th naming rmony, rmony, whih is hld on th 10th or 12th day atr th irth o th ay. On this oasion th ay is givn a ormal nam. Th third ritual is lratd whn a ay is wand rom its mothr and givn solid ood to at or th rst tim. This is lratd somtim in th sixth month. Btwn Bt wn th ags o on and v girls xprin xpr in a rmonial ar piring and oys hav thir rst hairut. Ths Ths two traditional rmonis onlud th hildhood rits. UPAnAyAnA—THE sACREd THREAd UPAnAyAnA—THE THRE Ad Many o th hildhood and adolsn rituals ar aimd at protting and nurturing th hild. Howvr, othrs hav soial sigSocial Duty and Rites of Passage
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monTHs oF THE HinDu Lunar CaLEnDar anD maJor FEsTiVaLs Chaitra March/April Rama Naumi – The birthday of Rama, the hero of the Ramayana and the seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu. Vaishakha April/May Jyaishtha May/June Ashadha June/July Ratha Yatra – Originating the town of Puri, an image of Vishnu is placed on a huge wooden chariot and pulled through the streets. Shravana July/August Raksha Bandhan – A thread made of silk and decorated with flowers is tied by sisters around the wrists of their brothers to signify affection and protection. Bhadra August/September Janmashtamii – The birthday of Krishna, teacher of the Bhagavad Gita and the Janmashtam eighth incarnation of the god Vishnu. Ashvina September/ October Navaratri or Durga Puja – Devi, the female form of the divine power, is worshipped in various forms. The festival lasts for nine nights. On the 10th day the festival of Dussehra is celebrated, when Durga’s victory over a demon is recalled as well as Rama’s victory over Ravana. Divali – The five-night festival of lights honoring Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. It is also a celebration of the triumphant return of Rama and Sita to t heir kingdom. Kartika October/November Agrahyana November/December Pausa November/December Magha January/February Mahashivaratri – “The great night of Shiva” when Hindus offer special worship to Shiva, his consort Parvati, and their son Ganesha. Sarasvati – The first day of the spring season, when the goddess Sarasvati, patron of the arts and learning, is honored. honored. Phalguna February/March Holi – A celebration of the grain harvest; also a time when Krishna’s pranks are recalled with the boisterous throwing of colored water and powder.
In each month Shukla Paksha is the two-week period of the waxing moon and Krishna Paksha is the two-week period of the waning moon.
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nian. Through thm th young hild is prpard to assum th soial and rligious rsponsiilitis r sponsiilitis o th adult world. Th main ritual o adolsn is th Vdi initiation rit alld upanayana (popularly known as th thrad rmony). It is rgardd as th sond irth o th initiat. Only mal hildrn o th thr uppr asts (Brahmins, (Brahmins , Kshatriyas, Kshatriyas , and Vaishyas) Vaishyas) go through this rmony o initiation into thir rsptiv lasss . Mals who tak part in th upanayana ritual ar alld twi orn aus thy ar spiritually spir itually rorn at this rmony rmony.. Thir rst irth, rom thir mothr’s wom, is onsidrd inomplt. At th upanayana rmony th hildrn ar “orn again” as mm rs o th Hindu soial systm. Mmrs o th ourth ast, Shudras, traditionally did not go through this rmony. HowvHowvr it is now gnrally aptd that that a mmr o th Shudra ast a st who aspirs to th spiritual path an “orn again” through initiation and tak up sard work. Bor th ritual o initiation
A baby’s hair is being shaved or the rst time. This is one o the Hindu samskaras, Hindu samskaras, rituals perormed to mark the important stages in the lie o a Hindu. This ritual haircutting happens when the child is one, three, or ve years old.
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th hildrn o highr lasss ar onsidrd th sam as Shudras. Shudras . Mn o th thr highr asts who rmain uninitiatd atr th ags o 16, 22, and 24, rsptivly, ar rgardd as impur, and soial intration with thm is oriddn.
A Brahmin priest conducts the sacred thread ceremony with a Hindu boy. This This thread, or upavita, consists o three cords, each o which is made by twisting three strands. The upavita is a visible symbol o all individual existences, inseparable and linked to one single source o the universe. The thread is normally worn over the let shoulder and hangs under the right arm. It is regarded as the central component o the initiation rituals.
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ComPlETing THE CEREmony Bor th ritual o upanayana th oy ats his last mal with his mothr. From that momnt h is xptd to at with th adult mal mmrs o his amily. His had is thn shavd and h is athd. H wars a girdl o drskin (nowa (nowadays days rplad y otton matrial), arris a woodn sta, and is nally givn th sard thrad. Atr th ompltion o this rmony th young man, along with th prist, puts wood into th sard r. This is th oy’s rst nountr with th sari, th ntral rligious at o th Vdi rligion. Formrly th pupil rmaind or many yars atr th rmony at th tahr’s hous, away rom his own hom and amily. During this tim h had no status, rank, or proprty. Rathr h ld a li li o humility, odin, and hastity. In prsnt tims many young mn prorm this ritual rit ual or thy go to ollg, or vn latr, or thy gt marrid. Modrn young mn do not liv with th tahr unlss thy hav didd to dvot thir livs to th study o sripturs. At th ompltion ompltion o his studis anothr ritual inorporats th studnt into Hindu soity. In modrn tims this ritual taks pla whn a hild graduats rom ollg or univrsity and rturns to his parnts’ hom. Th ntral thm o this ritual is a rmonial ath. Atr th ath th studnt oms a ull-fdgd mm r o th ommunity. ommunity. H is rady r ady to marmarry and om a housholdr and to tak on all th ommitmnts and rsponsiilitis assoiatd with that. Th sarh or a suital rid gins.
marriaGE Marriag ( vivah vivah) is on o th most important rituals in th li o a Hindu. Only a marrid man is allowd to prorm prinipal rligious saris. In addition h is th only on who taks ar o amily mmrs longing to all our ashramas o li (unmarrid mn ar rsponsil only or rlativs who long to th rst two ashramas). Thus a marrid man’s rol is pivotal in Hindu soity. Howvr, suh a man is onsidrd omplt only atr gtting a son. Th rst stp in th vivah is nding a suital math. Th parnts mak thir hoi with th hild’s onsnt. Thn, with th hlp o an astrologial alndar and th amily prist, pr ist, thy did on a avoral avoral day or th marriag ritual. rit ual. THE mARRiAgE RiTEs Th trothal taks pla somtim or th day o th marriag. On th wdding day th groom usually gos to th rid’s hous in a olorul prossion along with many rinds and rlativs. Th rid wars right rd attir, symolizing lov and aith, and th groom wars whit traditional drss, symolizing purity and srnity. Th athr o th groom asks or th rid’s hand and th rid’s athr ormally ors it. Th marriag ritual is ondutd y a amily prist longing to to th Brahmin lass. lass . Although th main ritual varis rom rgion to rgion, th our asi rits rmain th sam and orm th or o th rmony rmony.. Th rits ar prormd pr ormd in ront o a r pit mad o riks. Th prist sits los to th r, Agni, with th rid, th groom, and th parnts o th rid and groom. Th invitd amily and rinds nirl this group whil th prist prorms th wdding rits. In th wdding ritual, as in puja,
A Hindu bride and her emale relatives celebrate her marriage in rural India.
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lls ar rung, th Vdi Vdi hymns hymns ar hantd, and ragrant fowrs, larid uttr (uttr that has n ookd to sparat th milk solids and watr rom th uttr at), unookd grain, and many othr suh ingrdints ar pourd as olations into Agni. THE sEVEn sTEPs Amid th stiv sounds, swt smlls, and virant olors th ridgroom says to th rid that h will wi ll tak ar o hr halth and happinss. H thn guids hr thr tims around th r. Atr ah omplt turn h rits a mantra. H tlls hr, “B my rind. May you dvotd to m. Lt us hav many sons. May thy rah old ag.” Thn th oupl THE LasT saCriFiCE taks svn stps around th r. Th taking o th svn stps is th most imporremation has been the customtant part o th rmony. To symoliz ary way of taking care of human thir union th rid and th groom at remains since the earliest period of Indian a ommon mal whil sitting togthr. history. Cremation was regarded as the Atr th marriag ritual th oupl gos last sacrifice, antyesti, in which one’s own body is offered in the sacred fire, Agni. It to th husand’s hom, and on th ourth is believed that from the fire the deceased day svral rits ar prormd to nsur person is born again into a new existence rtility.
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in the company of his or her ancestors.
CrEmaTion anD THE LasT riTEs
A body being burned in a uneral pyre on the cremation ghats at Pashupatinath on the bank o the River Bagmati in Kathmandu, Nepal.
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Whn somon dis amily and rinds ar inormd as quikly as possil. Within a w hours th dad ody is arrid on a littr in a prossion to th loal rmation ground. Th prossion is ld y th ldst son, ating as th hi mournr o th dasd. Th nam o a god—ithr Rama, Hari (Krishna), or Shiva—is rid out as th prossion movs. At th rmation ground th ody is laid on a spially prpard pyr o wood and is rmatd in th li that its soul will unitd with th anstors atr th propr unrary ritr it-
uals ar prormd. Th mournrs rturn rtur n to thir homs homs without looking ak. Th unrary ritual, sraddha, is prormd in ordr to hlp th dasd rah th homs o th anstors saly. It is livd that atr th rmation th popl who hav did pass through a priod whn thy liv as ghosts. During Dur ing this priod, whih may last as long as on yar, thy ar dangrous and thir rlativs ar impur. Orings o ood and watr ar mad or th nwly dasd in th ritual o sraddha. Balls o ri and liations o watr ar ord, ord, aompanid aompanid y th ritation o txts xprssxprssing rspt and onrn. Th dath rituals ri tuals ar th rits o passag rom th arthly xistn to th world o th athrs. Thy last anywhr rom 12 days to a yar, dpnding on th lis o th prson who is prorming thm. Th prnatal, hildhood, marriag, and dath rituals ar also prormd or womn longing to th twi-orn asts (th asts that tak part in th sard thrad rmony). During ths tims Vdi ormulas ar not ritd, sin womn ar not allowd to rad or har th Vdas. Indd, within th systm o varnasramadharma, varnasramadharma , womn wr not livd to spiritually inlind. Thy did not ntr into any o th stags o li, thy wr dpndnt dpndnt on thir athrs athrs as young young girls, on thir husands as womn, and in thir old ag thy wr th rsponsiility o thir sons.
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CHAPTER 8
INNOVATIONS AND MOD MODERN ERN HINDUISM
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h rligious li o Hindus today is usually ntrd around hakti, puja, rituals and stivals prormd at hom and in th tmpl, and th varnasramadharma systm o dutis and oligations. Som Hindus ollo ollow w all o ths traditions and othrs just a w. Thousands o modrn Hindus prati anothr anint tradition—that o dvotion dvotion to saints. saints . Th saints s aints hav ld th innovativ movmnts movmnts in Hinduism. Hi nduism.
THE roLE oF THE sainTs In Hinduism saints, maning thos individuals who hav n ativists or th rligion, hav n pivotal in gnrating and sprading nw idas rootd in anint traditions. Th xtraordinary saint-pots o th pis and th puranas and th hakti movmnt mad Brahmanism availal to th ommon popl. During Islami rul th wandring minstrls kpt Hindu lis and traditions aliv without hanging Hinduism’s intrnal strutur. During th 19th ntury modrn Hindus rdisovrd thir orgottn sripturs as thy am a to a with th Industrial Holi estival celebrations In Nandgaon, central India. Celebrating the grain harvest but also called the estival o colors, Holi is a popular Hindu spring estival dedicated to Krishna and his beloved Radha. Nandgaon is a religious place due to its attachment to Krishna, as it is believed he spent his childhood in the village. 128
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Rvolution and Christianity. This nvironmnt ld to nw rligious movmnts. Eah ntury has givn ris to hundrds o suh saints. Som om popular only atr dath, othrs whil still aliv. Som o ths ar muh stmd, othrs go unnotid. Som ar wandring mystis lading a li o astiism, othrs ar quit pratial. Som ar illitrat, othrs hav dotorats rom univrsitis. Howvr, How vr, all o ths saints hav rtain r tain things in ommon: thy ar ompltly dvotd to th divin, hav lov and ompassion or humanity, humanity, and ar snsitiv toward th univrs. Today many living saints look atr thir ollowrs’ physial and mntal wll-ing in rapidly hanging tims. Thir popularity is not du to thir strit adhrn to th anint sripturs. Rathr it oms rom thir rols in ringing aout rlvant hangs hang s ndd and dsird d sird y th ommon popl.
THE HinDu DiasPora As a rsult o migration ovr th last 50 yars or mor, major Hindu ommunitis now xist around th world, making Hinduism or th rst tim in its history a truly univrsal rligion. Howvr, How vr, as with all suh aiths, th prolms o maintaining th traditional lis and pratis is proving diult, and as a rsult many ommunitis worry aout how to nsur that thir traditions ar passd on. Summr shools, spial lssons, and involvmnt in rligious stivals ar som o th ways ths ommunitis sk to nsur ontinuity. inTERfAiTH diAlogUE Th intration twn Hindu ommunitis in th diaspora and othr aith ommunitis has ld to a onsidral intrst within Hinduism in intraith dialogu. Hinduism is prsnt at all suh intraith vnts. Th mov toward this dialogu 130
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looks ak to th 1893 Chiago World’s Fair and th rol that Swami Vivkananda playd play d in opning th ida o aiths working togthr. togth r. Lading Hindu intlltuals intllt uals suh as Dr. Karan Singh hav arrid this mssag urthr and dpr than vn Swami Vivkananda ould hav imagind. EnViRonmEnTAl And EConomiC ACTion Alongsid th intraith movmnt Hindus hav also om ativ in th nvironmntal movmnt. movmnt. Aross India and in othr parts o th world Hindu ommunitis ar sking ways to prott natur. In partiular thy ar xamining again thir anint tradition o sard orsts and sard grovs, whih in th past ord santuaryy not just to human ings ut to santuar all o natur. In othr sphrs Hindus ar xamining thir onomi rol. Th ris o aith-onsistnt invsting has ld to som ommrial anking and invstmnt groups dvloping Hindu guidlins or thial invstmnt. This hlps Hindus us thir mony in ways that do not onfit with lis suh as vgtarianism.
ConTinuinG THE LiFE CyCLE
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wami Vibudhesha Teertha, Acharya (guru or spiritual master) of Madhvacarya Vaishnavas, has written the following:
Hindu religion wants wants its followers to live a simple life. It does not allow people to go on increasing their material mater ial wants. People are meant to learn to enjoy spiritual happiness, so that to derive a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment, they need not run after material pleasures and disturb nature’s checks and balances. They have to milk a cow and enjoy, not cut at the udder of the cow with greed to enjoy what is not available in the natural course. Do not use anything belonging to nature, such as oil, coal, or forest, at a greater rate than you can replenish it. For example, do not destroy birds, fish, earthworms, and even bacteria which play vital ecological roles; once they are annihilated you cannot recreate them. Thus only can you avoid becoming bankrupt, and the life cycle can continue for a long, long time. (Hindu Faith Statmn Statmnt, t, www.arwor www .arworld.org) ld.org)
ConVErsion Th spiritual powr o Hinduism and its tahr-saints has drawn many popl toward this rligion. In th 20th and 21st nturis popl rom around th world hav hav pursud Hindu wisdom and som hav onvrtd to Hinduism. Convrsions hav happnd dspit th at that traditionally a non-Hindu annot onvrt to Hinduism. Hindus livd that on ould only a Hindu i on was orn into a Hindu houshold. Innovations and Modern Hinduism
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With som notal xptions it has only n possil to onvrt to Hinduism sin th nd o th 19th ntury. It was Christianity, with its missionary spirit and its ida o onvrsion, that infund many Hindu rorm movmnts. movmnts. On way a non-Hindu ould onvrt to Hinduism H induism is y ollowing th Hindu dharma and samsara vry diligntly. Th onvrt ould lrat various Hindu rmonis and rituals rituals,, om th studnt o a guru, hang his or hr nam, and thus work at oming oming a HinHin du. Evntually, within a gnration or two, through marriag marr iag and othr soial intrations, on ould all onsl a Hindu. This option or onvrsion is similar to th way in whih a lowr-ast amily an now ris to a highr ast. Traditionally a non-Hindu or lowr-ast amily ould not vn intrat with a Hindu amily o a highr status. Rntly, though, it has om possil or a low-ast amily to asnd gradually to a highr ast. To do so th amily adopts th rituals, rligious rmonis, and gnral way o living o a highr-ast amily. amily. In addition suh an asnt is mad mor ahival ahival y taking up vgtarianvgtarian ism, marrying into a highr ast, or oth.
TransCEnDEnTaL mEDiTa mEDiTaTion Tion
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n its early days Transcendental Meditation, a meditation technique introduced by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, attracted the British pop groups the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and the American actress Mia Farrow as devotees. Although its claims have been challenged by many, Transcendental Meditation has attracted to its fold more than 6 million people from all walks of life and educational backgrounds. It does not necessarily lead people to become Hindu converts, but it does lead to the practice of some of its spiritualizing techniques. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi died in February 2008.
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amEriCan moVEmEnTs in HinDuism Ths modrn adjustmnts to th Hindu ast systm and its nw opnnss to apting onvrts hav had signiant ts on th stalishmnt o Hinduism in North Amria during th last hal-ntury. Many individuals rom th Wst who ar attratd to Hinduism l l spiritually mpty in a sular world that puts mphasis upon matrial longings and within Hinduism thy nd a rwarding spiritual path and way o li. mAHARisHi mAHEsH yogi Th arly rsponss to Hindu spirituality in Amria otn wr rations to th
alls o partiular tahr-saints rathr than ntris into th ull rihnss o Hinduism. Maharishi Mahsh Yogi, atr spnding two yars in rtrat in th oothills o th Himalayas, gan as a guru in 1957 tahing a asi mditation thniqu that h latr alld Transndntal Mditation. This program, whih Maharishi Mahsh Yogi introdud to th Wst, attmpts in its simpl thniqu undr th guidan o a rtid tahr to hlp pratitionrs gain dp rlaxation, liminat strss, promot halth, inras rativity and intllign, and attain innr happinss and ulllmnt. inTERnATionAl soCiETy foR KRisHnA ConsCioUsnEss inTERnATionAl Almost at th sam tim anothr Hindu saint-tahr, saint-tahr, Srila PraPr ahupada, am to th Unitd Stats to initiat a mor dvotional Hindu movmnt movmnt in th Wst. In 1965 h startd star td th Intrnational Soity or Krishna Consiousnss. H had ollowd th our stags o li tradiHarE KrisHna tional in Hinduism, ginning as a young uring the early days of the Krishna man studying th Vdi sripturs, taking Consciousness movement, gatheron th rsponsiilitis o marrid li, and ings of Hare Krishna devotees were often at th ag o 54 rtiring to th li o a orseen in railroad stations, bus terminals, st dwllr to dvot mor tim to study and airports dressed in their robes, chantchantand writing. ing their mantra: At th ag o 63 h am a sanyasin (asti), writing ovr 40 volums o transHare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, lation and ommntary on th Bhagavad Krishna, Hare, Hare Hare Rama, Hare Gita, Bhagavata Purana, and othr Hindu Rama, Rama, Rama, Hare, Hare lassis, and living a li o dvotion to This chant called listeners and the God y mditation and hanting. His stchanters themselves to Krishna (the allknown prsonal titl was Bhaktivdanta, a attractive Supreme Being) and Rama (the ompound o bhakti (dvotion) and V Vedanedanhighest eternal pleasure), inviting by its ta (dp undrstanding o th goal o spirisounds all people to become aware that tual knowldg). H gathrd hundrds o the Supreme Being is the source of all ollowrs in th Unitd Stats, alld th things, thereby inviting them to Krishna Har Krishna movmnt. His mission has consciousness. ontinud and has sprad to mor than 50
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ntrs in th Unitd Stats and Canada and has xtndd itsl to many ountris throughout th world. Mahsh Yogi and Bhaktivdanta wr oth gurus, or sainttahrs, whos spiritual powr markd thm as Hindu guids or
Krishna devotees chanting and dancing in praise o Krishna along a city street in Medellin, Columbia. 134
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ladrs. Eah had many ollowrs ollowrs or disipls. disipls . Thy providd on avnu toward a gratr undrstanding o Hinduism in Amria. avnu Amr ia. Howvr Howv r thr ar othr paths to Hinduism. KnowlEdgE of HindUism Many individuals intrstd in Hinduism visit loal Hindu tmpls, xplor th aith through aadmi ourss, or visit study ntrs stalishd in th Unitd Stats. Suh studis lad som o thm to partiipat in prayr and hant sssions. Although thy may not dvots dvots o Hinduism Hi nduism thy ar ontinually gaining in thir appriation o th Hindu rligion. Thr ar also ntrs with lasss in omparativ rligions that attmpt to amiliariz popl with th lis and pratis o various rligions, inluding Hinduism. Thus knowldg o various aspts o Hinduism rtainly has grown in Amria ovr th last our dads. For xampl th prati o yoga as a orm o mditation and halth rgim is now vry popular and is as likly to hld in a Catholi hurh hall as it is in a Hindu tmpl. For many th spially “Hindu” aspts a spts o suh a tradition ar not as signiant as th prati o thniqus to alm th mind and ody. HindU TEmPlEs in AmERiCA Hinduism, an opn and vital rligion, has also adaptd itsl wll to th natur o Amrian ultur and an nvironmnt that is oming mor and mor divrs and opn to undrstanding. Today thr ar mor than 200 Hindu tmpls and ashrams in th Unitd Stats and thr-quartrs o thm hav n uilt sin 1975. Thr ar suh ntrs in almost vry part o th ountry, in vry stat and in vry major mtropolitan ara. Many o ths tmpls ar onvrtd rom ormr hurh uildings. Othrs hav n uilt rom srath, otn ollowing all th traditional Hindu arhittural guidlins or th onstrution o a tmpl tmpl or a sard spa. Ths tmpls tmpls ar worlds in thmslvs that or a havn or or a minority minori ty ommunity to liv and at out its idntity. idntit y. Innovations and Modern Hinduism
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he temple at Penn Hills in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is characteristic of the newer Hindu temples in the United States. Consecrated in 1976, the temple is one of the earliest built in North America. Many additions, alterations, and modifications have been made to the traditional architectural plan in order for it to suit modern devotees living in a technologic technological al society. Many of the ritual practices of the temple have been adapted as well. Although puja is held each day, major rituals are held on the weekends for the convenience of busy patrons. Certain regulations and rules observed in traditional Hindu temples have been omitted here. For one thing the temple has a parking lot just outside its premises because the modern devotee has neither time nor energy to climb hills to visit the temple. Although in many Hindu temples non-Hindus are not allowed near the innermost sanctuary, at Penn Hills regular weekend tours are organized for nonHindus. These tours aim to make visitors understand the rich meaning of the Hindu temple, its icons, and its religious rituals. A kitchen, a restaurant, and restrooms have also been incorporated into the temple complex.
In 1996 th Hindu Tmpl o Atlanta, in Rivrdal, Gorgia, Gorgia , ompltd ompltd its uilding work using traditional Indian arhittural orms and skills and has om an attration or many visitors who simply want to xprin th styl o Indian tmpls. Mor than 2,000 hand-arvd ston gurins wr shippd rom India to drss th aad. Th tmpl rgularly hosts a ongrgation o mor than 500. On o th most imprssiv tmpls, uilt y mmrs o th Bohasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) in 2004, is th Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Staord, Txas. It srvs th Hindu ommunity o Gratr Houston and is th rst all-ston mandira uilt in th Unitd Stats. It is a stunning work o Hindu arhittur that has also om a main tourist attration in th Houston ara.
AnCiEnT VAlUEs, nEw idEAs Th history o Hinduism shows ovr and ovr th divrs and original idas and lis o this rligion. Though Hinduism is rootd in anint valus and lis, it is onstantly inorporating nw idas. This hang is vidnt in spiritual yogi movmnts rought to th Wst y th living saints, in th arhittural innovations in th traditional tmpl plan, in th possiility o onvrsion to Hinduism y non-Hindus, and vn th asnsion o th hirarhial laddr or ast systm. Hinduism kps itsl rootd in its traditions, ut its adhrnts introdu innovations through rorm movmnts whn th
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tim rquirs it. Not only ar many Hindu traditions, suh as th low status o womn and low asts hanging in th ountry o its origin, ut this anint rligion is also making modiations or its xpatriatd dvots.
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FACT FILE Wldwde nbe The Hindu aith has more than 950 million ollowers. Almost all o them live in southeast Asia. Hl sbl This is the written orm o the sacred sound so und “Aum, “Aum,”” which Hindus believe to be the rst sound rom which the rest o the universe was created.
Hl Wtg There are many sacred texts. Among them are the Vedas, which highlight how religious lie should be conducted. The Upanishads are hymns and poems that ask about lie, creation, love, and suering. They are mostly written in the ancient Indian language Sanskrit.
Hl Plce Among the most important are the Himalayas and the river Ganges, especially where it fows through the city o Varanasi (Benares). Fde There is not a single ounder but thousands o gurus who draw upon dierent teachings. A guru is named as someone who has obtained wisdom through practice and knowledge. Fetvl There are many major estivals throughout the year including Mahashivaratri, a estival devoted to the deity Shiva (February); Holi, the estival o ertility and harvest (February/ March); and Divali, the estival o lights. Divali extends over a period o ve days and is seen as important because it emphasizes good’s triumph over evil (celebrated in October/ November).
BIBLIOGRAPHY Clément, Catherine. Gandhi, the power o pacifsm. Discoveries. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1996.
O’Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. Doni ger. Hindu Myths. Harmondsworth, U.K.: Penguin Books, 1975.
Jansen, Eva Rudy. The Book o Hindu Imagery: Gods, Maniestations, and Their Meaning. York Beach, Me.: Samuel Weiser, 1993.
“Hindu Faith Statement.” Statement.” Alliance or Religions Reli gions and Conservation. Available online. URL: www.arcworld.org. Accessed November 6, 2008.
Mahony, William William K. K . The Artul Universe: An Introduction to the Vedic Religious Imagination. Albany: State University o o New York Press, 1998.
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FOR FURTHER READING Breuilly, Elizabeth, and O’Brien Joanne, and Palmer, Martin. Religions o the World World.. New York: Checkmark Books, 2005. Editors o Hinduism Today Magazine. What is Hinduism? Kapaa, Hawaii: Himalayan Academy, 2007. Klostermaier, Klaus K. A Survey o Hinduism. Albany: State University o o New York Press, 2007. Knott, Kim. Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxord: Oxord University Press, 2000. Michaels, Axel. Hinduism: Past and Present. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2004. Mookerjee, Ajit. Ritual Art o India. Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions, 1998. O’Brien, Joanne, Martin Palmer, David B. Barrett, and Joanne O’Brien. The Atlas o Religion. Berkeley: University o Caliornia Press, 2007.
Rosen, Steven. Essential Hinduism. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2007. Shah, Bharat S. Sanskrit: An Appreciation Without Apprehension. Charleston, S.C.: BookSurge Publishing, 2005. Sharma, Arvind. The Study o Hinduism. Studies in Comparative Religion. Columbia, S.C.: University o South Carolina Press, 2003. Shattuck, Cybelle T. T. Hinduism. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1999. Strohmeier, John, ed. The Bhagavad Gita according to Gandhi. Berkeley, Cali.: Berkeley Hills Books, 2000. Viswanathan, Ed. Am I a Hindu? The Hinduism Primer. Glen Ellen, Cali.: Halo Books, 1992.
Rinehart, Robin, ed. Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture,, and Culture an d Practice. Santa Barbara, Cali.: ABC-Clio, 2004.
WEB SITES Further acts and gures, history, and current status o the religion can be ound on the ollowing Web sites:
www.hdwebte.c Resources and comprehensive inormation on belies, traditions, history, scriptures, philosophy, practices, scriptures, and symbolism o Hinduism.
www.bbc.c.k/elg/elg/hd A guide to Hinduism, including gods and belies, estivals, everyday lie, and rituals. www.elgtlece.g An overview and summaries on chie deities, sacred texts, belies, and the caste system.
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GLOSSARY Agni— “Fir.” “Fir.” Th trm also rrs to th Vd Vdi i god o r, Agni, who is th arhtypal prist. ashrama— A orst rtrat whr sags, astis, rligious tahrs, and thir studnts liv. Also th trm or th our stags o li. atman— Th Th soul o an individual. Th trm rrs to th ssn within popl, whih is idntial to th ssn o th Univrsal Powr onsidrd as th sour o vrything. avatar— An An inarnation o god who dsnds to arth in human orm to sav humankind rom alamitis. BhagavadGita— A sixth ook o th pi Mahaharata in whih th god Krishna tahs Arjuna aout sl-duty and dvotion. bhakti— Dvotion, Dvotion, aith, and lov. Most otn xprssd y a omplt dvotion to a prsonal god. Th rator god, also known as PraBrahma— Th japati. On o th gods o th triad ormd y Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma. His onsort is Sarasvati, th goddss o knowldg. Brahman— Th Th On God o Hinduism, also known as th On, th Ultimat Rality, and th World Soul. H is th sl-xisting Univrsal Powr, whih is livd to th sour o vrything. Brahmanas— Ritual Ritual txts attahd to th our Vdas. Brahmin— Th Th upprmost lass o th Hindu ast systm, whos dutis ar to prorm rituals and to tah. Th studnt. This is th rst o th brahmachari— Th our stags o li. darsana— Sard Sard “sing” o a dity y a dvot. devas— A lass o Vdi gods. dharma— Soial Soial duty or rligious law. Th prinipl o ordr in Hindu soity and ultimatly in th univrs. grihasthin— grihasth in— Th Th housholdr. This is th sond o our stags o Hindu li. guru— A spiritual tahr who is onsidrd to a divin manistation. 140
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jivanmukta— Popl Popl who hav attaind spiritual liration whil still aliv; thos who ar in a stat o prtion and hav ralizd unity with Brahman. karma— Good Good and ad dds or ats in a prson’s prvious or prsnt li that will dtrmin dtr min th quality o th nxt inarnation. Kshatriya— Th Th sond highst ast, th warriors, whos duty is to ght and dnd. Phallus. Th mal gnrativ organ that lingam— Phallus. symolizs Shiva’s roti powr as wll as his asti powr. mandira ormandir —Th Hindu tmpl. tmpl. mantra— A sard ormula, syllal, or uttran, usually a ritual rit ual statmnt or vrs prayr. prayr. maya — Th Th illusion on has that this transitory world worl d is prmannt whil living in it. moksha— Enlightnmnt; Enlightnmnt; rlas. rlas . mudras— Symoli Symoli hand gsturs, th origin o whih lis in Indian lassial dan. Thy ar also xtnsivly usd in rating sard imags. Th artisti rprsntations o Hindu dimurtis— Th tis, whih, atr ritual onsration, om th ous o worship. polytheism— Th Th li in many gods. prasada— In In a thologial ontxt it signis th gra o God whry on is liratd rom th yl o rirth. In a dvotional ontxt it rrs to th ood lssd y th gods and rturnd to th dvots. It also signis th tmpl as th sat or hu o rligious li. puja— Worship Worship in whih a dity is honord y th orings o fowrs, inns, ood, and othr vryday itms. pujari— A worshippr; a Brahmin prist who prorms th puja. rishis— Sags Sags who had privd th Ultimat Rality and who rvald th txts o th Upanishads. rita— Th Th Vdi trm or th osmi and thial ordr o things, th latr xtnsion o whih is th onpt o dharma.
“Vhil.” Th trm usd to dsri a samsara— Th Th yls o a soul’s irth and rirth vahana— “Vhil.” god’s mans o transportation. through diult litims. Rinarnation. Th Hindu systm o soial varnasramadharma— varnasramadh arma— Th samskara— Rits Rits o passag. rsponsiilitis as on passs through th varTh nam o th ult o Shiva and his Shaiva— Th ious stags o li: as a studnt o th Vda, th ollowrs. athr o a amily, a rtird man sarhing or Th nam or th ult o Mahadvi ShakShakta— Th li’s maning, and an asti pursuing lirati and hr ollowrs. tion rom rirth. Shakti— Th Th Grat Goddss o nrgy and powr. powr. Earlist Hindu txts, omposd or, Untoucha Unt ouchable ble – th nam givn to th group o Veda— Earlist during, and atr th Aryan invasion o th popl who prormd th most mnial tasks Indus Vally. in soity. Thy ar now alld Dalit (downtroddn) and oially known as ‘shduld asts’.
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INDEX A Agni 31, 32, 54, 59, 94, 126 Aranyakas, th 11–12, 35–36 Aryans 22–24, 28–30 astis 36–38, 40, 119–120 ashramas 118–120 atman (soul o th individual) 12 atmosphri gods 27 avatars o Vishnu, th 56–67 B Bhagavad Gita 13–14, 17, 56, 65–66, 67, 73, 74, 116 hakti (dvotion) (dvotion) movmnt movmnt 14–15, 70–72, 78, 102 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 89–90 Bhav, Vinoa (1895−1970) 86 Bohasanwasi Shri Aksha Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) 136 Brahma 51, 59 brahmachari (th studnt) 118 Brahman 11, 12, 16, 17, 40–41, 73 Brahmanas, th 11–12, 34–36 Brahmins (prists) 28, 30, 34–38, 102, 117 Brahmo Samaj (Soity o God) 82, 83 British rul in India 79–81 Buddhism 44, 56 ull, th 21–22, 48 C ast systm, th 16, 28–30, 81, 116–117 avs, symolism o 95, 96 lrations 99, 120, 122 lstial gods 26–27 Chaitanya (1486−1534) 75 hildhood rituals 121–124 Christianity 79, 80–81, 132 142
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onvrsion to Hinduism 131–132 rmation 126–127
grahasthin (th houshold housholdr) r) 118–119 gurus 12, 39, 131, 133–134
D darsana 107 dath 16–17, 126–127; sutt 81, 82 dmons (raksasas) 49, 54, 56, 57, 62, 64, 69 devas (gods) 26, 30 dharma (“moral duty or law”) 14, 16, 110–120 diaspora, th 130–131 Durga 68–69
H Hanuman 60–61 Har Krishnas 133 Hindu Nationalism 87–91 hymns 12, 14–15, 24–26, 27, 35
E duation 80 nvironmntal movmnt 131 pis 12, 13–14 F stivals 99, 105, 120, 122 r saris 12, 31–32 unrals 126–127 G Gandhi, Mohandas (1869−1948) 83, 84–86 Gansha 13, 48, 51–54 goddsss 67–69 gods 14, 23, 26–27, 30, 33–34; Agni 31, 32, 54, 59, 94, 126; Brahma 51, 59; Brahman 11, 12, 16, 17, 40–41, 73; Gansha 13, 48, 51–54; Indra 27, 59; Krishna 62–67, 75; Rudra 27, 46–47; Shiva 22, 27, 46–50, 51, 52, 53, 54–56, 59; Skanda (Kartikya) (Karti kya) 48, 51; Vayu 27, 59; Vishnu 14, 26, 51, 55, 56–67
I ions 94, 102–104, 105 Indian National Movmnt 84–85 Indra 27, 59 intraith movmnt, th 130–131 Intrnational Soity or Krishna Consiousnss 133–134 Islam 76–79, 82, 90–91 J jatis 116–117 K Kair (d. 1518) 78 Kali (“th lak on”) 69, 70, 82 Kansa 62, 64 karma 12, 16, 42, 113–114 Kartikya See Skanda Krishna 62–67, 75 L Lakshmana 59–60, 61 Lakshmi 55, 67 Laws of Manu 113, 114 Lord o th Dan (Shiva Nataraja) 48–49 M Mahaharata, th 13–14, 45, 62, 65–66
Mahaharata War, th 64–65 Mahadvi Shakti 67–69 mandira 15, 92–100, 106–107, 109, 135–136 marriag (vivah) 125–126 Maruts, th 27 mditation 37, 38; Transnd Transndnntal Mditation 132, 133 moksha 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 41, 42–43, 101, 114 mountains, sard 95, 96 Mughal Empir 78–79 munis (silnt ons) 37 murti (sard status) 102–104, 105
N Nhru, Jawahar Jawaharlal lal (1889−1964) 86 Npal, Hinduism in 8, 90 P partition o India 85–86 Parvati 48, 49, 52, 53, 54, 67, 68 pilgrimag ntrs (tirtha sthana) 94, 100–102 potry 71–72, 78, 83 prists See Brahmins puja (daily worship) 14, 15, 104–109 puranas 14, 45, 50, 70–72, 94 purity 20, 37 R raksasas (dmons) 49, 54, 56, 57, 62, 64, 69 Rama 14, 58 Ramakrishna (1836−1886) 82–83 Ramanuja (1017−1137) 73–74 Ramayana, th 14, 45, 58, 62 Rashtriya Swa Swayamsvak yamsvak Sangh (RSS) 88–89 Ravana, King 58–61 rinarnation (samsara) 12, 14, 41–42, 113–114
rishis (having th powr o knowldg) 11, 37 rituals and rits o passag 12, 14, 16–17, 34–38; hildhood rituals 121–124; dath 16–17, 81, 82, 126–127; dharma (rligious dutis) 14, 16; griha 31; ions (murti) 103; in th mandira 98–99; marriag (vivah) 125–126; prnatal rituals 121; puja (daily worship) 14, 14, 15, 104–109; purity 20; saris 12, 31–34, 39–40 Roy, Rammohan (1772−1833) 81–82 Rudra 27, 46–47
S saris 12, 31–34, 39–40 saints in Hinduism 128–130 samsara (rinarnation) 12, 14, 41–42, 113–114 sanyasin (th asti) 119–120 satyagraha 85, 86, 88 sripturs 11–15, 17, 62, 112, 113; Bhagavad Gita 13–14, 17, 56, 65–66, 67, 73, 74, 116; puranas 14, 45, 50, 70–72, 94; th Upanishads 11–12, 38–40, 42, 43–44; th Vdas 11–12, 18–20, 24–26, 32, 33, 34–36, 73–74, 115–116 sparatist movmnts 90 Shaivism 15, 48, 50 Shiva 22, 27, 46–50, 51, 52, 53, 54–56, 59 shrauta rituals 31, 32 shruti 11–12, 38–39, 45, 112 Sita 59–60, 61–62 Skanda (Kartikya) 48, 51, 53–56 smriti 11, 13–14, 112 sutt 81, 82
T Tagor, Raindranath (1861−1941) 83–84, 85 tapas (hat o knowldg) 37, 40 Trtha, Swam Swamii Viudhsha 131 tmpls 15, 92–100, 106–107, 109, 135–136 10 avatars, th 56–58, 58–67 tirtha sthana (pilgrimag ntrs) 94, 100–102 Transndntal Transnd ntal Mditation 132, 133 U Ultimat Rality, th See Brahman Unitd Stats, Hinduism in 132–136 upanayana ritual 123–124 Upanishadi priod 38–45, 113 Upanishadi Upanishads, th 11–12, 38–40, 42, 43–44 V Vaishnavism 15, 56 Vaishyas 117 vanaprasthin (th orst dwllr) 119 varnas 115–120 varnasramadharma 114–115 Vayu 27, 59 Vdanta Sutras 73–74 Vdas, th 11–12, 18–20, 24–26, 32, 33, 34–36, 73–74, 115–116 Vdi Vd i priod, th 24–38, 113 Vishnu 14, 26, 51, 55, 56–67 Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) 89 W womn, in Hinduism 71, 81 Y yoga 43, 53, 130
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ABOUT AB OUT THE AUTHO AUTHOR R Madhu Bazaz Wang Madhu angu u has taught at th Univrsity o Pittsurgh, whr sh arnd a Ph.D. in rligious studis. Sh is th winnr o svral awards or hr work as a rlan artist and has also taught lasss in th Hindi Hi ndi languag.
ABOUT AB OUT THE SERIES EDI EDITOR TORS S MartinPalmer is th oundr o ICOREC (Intrnational Consultany on Rligion, Eduation, and Cultur) in 1983 and is th srtary-gnral o th Allian o Rligions and Consrvation (ARC). H is th author o many ooks on world rligions. JoanneO’Brien JoanneO’Br ien has an M.A. dgr in thology and has writtn a rang o duational and gnral rrn ooks on rligion and ontmporary ultur. ultur . Sh is o-author, with Martin Palmr and Elizath Bruilly, o Religions of the World and Festivals of the World pulishd y Fats On Fil In.
PICTURE CREDITS Title Page: © iStockphoto.com/narvikk; Table o Contents: © iStockphoto.com/Maxime Vige; Pages Pages 8–9: © ww w.shutterstock.com/Regien Paassen; 10: © iStockphoto.com/Frank van den Bergh; 13: © iStockphoto.com/Anna Ceglinska; 15: © iStockphoto.com/wong yuliang; 1 9: © iStockphoto.com/Oksana Perkins; 21: © CM Dixon/HIP/TopFoto; 23: © iStockphoto.com/ALiJA; 24: © Topham Picturepoint; 27: © www.shutterstock.com/Dmitry Rukhlenko; 28–29: © John Smith/CIRCA Religion Photo Library; 30: © iStockphoto.com/Demonoid; 34: © iStockphoto.com/Nitya Jacob; 37: © iStockphoto.com/ robert stipek; 41: © William Holtby/CIRCA Religion Photo Library; 43: © William Holtby/CIRCA Religion Photo Library; 44: © zeber/BigStockPhoto. com; 46–47: © Werner Forman Archive/Prince o Wales Museum o Western India; 48: © Topoto; 50: © iStockphoto.com/paul prescott72; 52: © iStockphoto.com; 55: © www.shutterstock.com/dubassy; 58: © John Fryer/CIRCA Religion Photo Library; 61: © iStockphoto.com/Ken Sorrie; 63: © Werner Forman Archive/Punjab Government Museum, Simla; 66: © Jon Smith/CIRCA Religion Photo Library; 70: © iStockphoto.com/narvikk; 74: © William Holtby/CIRCA Religion Photo Library; 76–77: © ullsteinbild/TopFoto; 79: © iStockphoto.com/Jeremy Edwards; 80: © Sean Sprague/The Image Works/Topoto; 84: © Topham Picturepoint; 86: © Topham/AP; Topham/AP; 92–93: 92–93 : © iStockphoto.com/Jeremy Edwards; 95: © Alexey Fateev/BigStockPhoto.com; 98: © iStockphoto.com/Silvia Jansen; 100: © iStockphoto.com/petra jezkova; 105: © www.shutterstock.com/Girish Menon; 108: © Bip Mistry/CIRCA Religion Photo Library; 110–111: © Najlah Feanny/Corbis; 113: © William Holtby/CIRCA Religion Photo Library; 120: © Robyn Beeche/CIRCA Religion Photo Library; 123: © Bip Mistry/CIRCA Religion Photo Library; 124: © Bip Mistry/CIRCA Religion Photo Library; 125: © www.shutterstock.com/vera bogaerts; 126: © iStockphoto.com/Alan Craword; 128–129: © Frédéric Soltan/Corbis; 134: © www.shutterstock.com/Grigory Kubatyan; 137: © iStockphoto.com/Steve Geer.
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