The essence of Hinduism is that the path may be different, but the goal is the same. (Manmohan Singh)
Thinking about the musings from DAY 19: The Validity Of Polytheism/Animism…
I would submit to you that the ‘Coexist’ bumper sticker in theory is intriguing, and, on the surface, believable. However, I would also contend that once you learn the basic facts about Polytheism/Animism, then the theory of the ‘Coexist’ bumper sticker comes into question when applied in the real world. Hopefully, there was enough information in both Day 19: The Validity Of Polytheism/Animism and Day 18: The Basics Of Polytheism/Animism, to encourage the life-long learning, researching, and questioning yourself, the world around you, and the universe we all live in.
After all, Knowledge Is Power….
The next, major belief system that we cover in class is Hinduism.
Just under 4,000 years ago, a group known as the Aryans crossed eastward from present-day Iran, past the Indus River Valley, and settled in the sub-continent of South Asia, or present-day India. Below is a current map of where Hindus live today, with the greatest concentration living in South Asia:
One of things that the Aryans left behind were the Vedas, or four great books, that comprised of religious texts that form the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. Hindus refer to the Vedas as ‘apauruseya’, which basically translates to, “not of a man, superhuman”. The concept of ‘apauruseya’ makes sense for someone applying syllogism, which was covered on Day 11: There Has To Be A Way To Make It All Make Sense…Right?. The concept of ‘apuruseya’ also makes sense if you are someone who believes in the basic, universal concept of…
Someone Upstairs Runs The Show.
Consider the following:
Part A – Hindus believe in the concept of ‘apauruseya’ or a ‘superhuman’;
Part B – To believe in a concept of a ‘superhuman’ is to believe that ‘Someone Upstairs Runs The Show;
Part C – A believer of ‘apauruseya’ or a ‘superhuman’, (Hindus), would agree that ‘Someone Upstairs Runs The Show’.
However, there is also a secondary meaning for the Vedas as well. The Vedas can also be interpreted as: “impersonal and authorless”. This second interpretation makes sense on the surface because Hinduism is unique in one basic aspect when compared to all of the other belief systems….
Hinduism does not have a single founder.
Who is the author of Hinduism? It is difficult to truly answer that question when the Vedas can be described as “impersonal and authorless”.
I would suggest to you that the Vedas contain 3 core beliefs:
1) There are hymns and poems, religious prayers, magical spells, and the lists of their gods and goddesses. How many gods and goddesses? Well, that depends on which website you go to, or which expert you talk to, as the numbers have a wide range indeed:
1A) 1 god: a supreme being who is formless and impersonal, (and thus, Hinduism can claim monotheistic, or a single god, status);
1B) 3 gods: Brahma, (the creator); Vishnu/Krishna, (the preserver/organizer); and Shiva, (the destroyer), (and from here to point 1F, Hinduism can be thus be defined as a polytheistic belief system);
1C) 33 Vedic deities found in one of the four Vedas, the Yajurveda;
1D) Hundreds of ‘puranas’, (ancient or old);
1E) 330 million, the most common number that many believe the Hindus ultimately worship, and finally;
1F) According to the Hindu Saint, Sri Ramakrishna, “There can be as many Hindu Gods as there are devotees to suit the moods, feelings, emotions and social backgrounds of the devotees”.
As of 2018, there were an estimated 1.1 billion followers of Hinduism.
2) The Hindu’s believe in an atman, a spirit that is trapped inside all living creatures. This is your inner self, or soul. The atman detests your sins and would love to escape all of your drinking, smoking, cursing, petty arguments, etc., ultimately, to be free…to be one with the universe.
That is when your atman can truly be at peace.
And that is where reincarnation comes into play.
3) The Hindu concept of reincarnation is quite simple. In the west, the idea of death has come to mean that all of your bodily functions have permanently ceased to function. No more heartbeat, breathing, or thinking from your brain. It all stops.
Sort of.
Yet, for several billion around the world, who believe that just because these bodily activities cease to function in this world, doesn’t mean that a part of the body continues to function in another world or dimension. With that being said, the Hindu believes that death is not the end, (remember that interaction with Gandalf and Pippin in Day 10: OK…So Who Is This Someone?), that death is just a path that the…atman must take.
It is more than likely that in this lifetime, your atman didn’t quite make the grade to achieve one with the universe due to all of the drinking, smoking, cursing, petty arguments, etc., you accumulated over your lifetime.
Since your atman didn’t pass the ‘life course’ it was attending while in your body in the current lifetime, it gets reincarnated into another body for the next lifetime. Eventually, once your atman figures it all out, and earns a 100% grade during a lifetime, it then can enter Moksha, which is the release from the cycle of rebirth.
Moksha is the release from reincarnation. To be one with the universe.
To achieve Moksha is considered true liberation for a Hindu, as the atman has broken the cycle of: birth, death, and rebirth, and can settle peacefully in Moksha for all of eternity. It is important to note that there is no literal heaven or hell for the Hindu, just eternal peace and freedom for the atman once the cycle of reincarnation has been broken.
How do you apply Aristotle’s syllogism in order to come to a logical conclusion that the Hindu belief system makes sense when trying to figure out the universe and your role in it?
Well, that will be covered next time.
Do not feel discouraged if you are having a difficult time understanding the Hindu belief system. Do not feel discouraged if you are still undecided as whether or not the Hindu belief system is valid or not. Instead, embrace the idea that you are truly motivated to find out the answers to the questions you have always wondered about. Embrace the idea that to continue researching these early belief systems of humanity is time well spent.
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. (Proverbs 14:12 KJV)
Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?
Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 20: The Basics Of Hinduism.
If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.
Please feel free to go back to where all of this began: