Hinduism is over 4000 years old. This is no “founder” of Hinduism. Hindus believe that life is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, and this cycle is guided by Karma. However, it isn’t an organized religion with a set system of guidelines to adhere to.
Beliefs
Worldview
- Hindus pursue knowledge and understanding of the Truth: the very essence of the universe and the only Reality. There is one Truth, but it can be expressed in different ways.
- Artha, kama, dharma and moksha are the four major goals of human life.
Cosmology – Role of the Universe
- The universe is the body of the Ultimate Reality (see Theology)
- Unlike Christianity, in which the universe is separate in existence from God… in Hinduism, the universe is God
- The universe is cyclically created and destroyed.
- The Hindu timeline suggests the Big Bang Theory is not the beginning of everything, but only the start of the present cycle, preceded by an infinite number of universes and to be followed by infinite universes
- In Christianity, there is one unique Creation with nothing before it, but in Hinduism, multiple universes have come into being and passed away cyclically
- Brahma’s day is divided in one thousand cycles (Maha Yuga, or the Great Year), during which life and the humanity appear and disappear.
- It has 71 divisions, each made of 14 Manvantara (1000) years.
- Each Maha Yuga lasts for 4,320,000 years.
- Each Maha Yuga consists of a series of four shorter yugas, or ages.
- The yugas get progressively worse from a moral point of view as one proceeds from one yuga to another.
- Time on Earth then is divided into these 4 Yuga, in which we are living in the fourth and final one, the Kali Yuga – a world infested with impurities and vices.
- Kali Yuga has been called the Age of Darkness— humans are ignorant of their inner selves and only are preoccupied with their physical bodies
- There are many levels of heaven and hell, and they are all intermediate stops on the long journey to freedom from rebirth when at last the atman becomes one with Brahman.
- There are many kinds of heavens and hells, these realms being known as lokas, which correspond to human psyches.
- Belief in heaven and hell, but as impermanent planes
- Hell (Naraka) is not just one place but consists of several realms. It is for those with negative karma. The time spent in hell depends on the severity of past deeds. After the soul is purified, it is sent to another incarnation, such as a human or an animal. Hell is ruled by Yama, the Hindu god of death
- Heaven (svarga) consists of several realms without suffering. It is ruled by the god Indra. To get to heaven, a person must have accrued high amounts of good karma and engaged in many religious activities. Heaven is temporary. Once the merit is exhausted, the soul must leave to incarnate as a human.
Theology – Study of God
- Hindus believe in one omnipresent, all-powerful, all-knowing Ultimate Reality that is:
- Transcendent (like Christianity) AND
- Immanent, meaning the universe is the the body of God.
- Hindus believe that in Christianity, God was not immanent in the universe prior to Jesus, who made the universe into the Body of Christ, making God immanent. They believe that in Judaism and Islam, God is transcendent, but not immanent.
- God remains transcendent and unchanged
- Hindus recognize one God, Brahman, the cause and foundation of all existence.
- Brahman encompasses everything (seen and unseen) in the universe.
- The gods of the Hindu faith represent different expressions of Brahman, and different Hindu communities can have their own divinities that are different ways of approaching the Ultimate. They all recognize these principal gods:
- Hinduism is not considered to be monotheistic, but rather it has been classified (by outsiders) as:
- Monolatrism – recognizes many gods (though in Hinduism, these are not of different essences) but only worships one of them.
- Kathenotheism – recognizes many gods but only worships one of them at a time.
- Panentheism – Divinity/God is believed to be both transcendent of and immanent within the world. (nondualistic monotheism)
- Monism – Ultimate Reality is believed to be the essence encompassing all life. Hindu monists, then, argue that Hindu gods and goddesses have only a provisional reality and are, ultimately, illusory/unreal.
Anthropology – Role of Human Beings
- Belief in original purity instead of original sin.
- The notion of evil is that there is no Devil or Satan, but many powerful intelligences capable of creating harm that exist and cannot be expelled from the Ultimate Reality
- these tendencies are present in each person, and as humans, we should learn to control it and transform it
- Each individual is in a relation to God as “a drop is to the ocean,” and each “drop” is part of one coherent divine play/dance called ‘leela‘.
- There are infinitely many individual ‘souls’ in the dance, each making free choices and receiving the consequences.
- Vedanta – a human being is not confined to the body or the mind. Beyond both of these is the spirit or the spark of God within the soul.
- the individual soul (atman) is neither created nor destroyed
- after someone dies, their soul lives on and starts a new life in another body – not necessarily a human one, known as reincarnation
- the caste system categorizes of members of society into defined social classes, and one’s position in the caste system is a reflection of accumulated merit in past lives (karma)
- The goal of the individual soul is moksha
Soteriology – Salvation
Hindus are not as concerned with getting into heaven/avoiding hell as they are with being liberated from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Heaven is viewed as a transient, non-permanent state. The ultimate goal is called Moksha, the state in which has purified the mind and merged the soul (atman) with the universe (Brahman). This may take millions of lifetimes, but it is possible with good karma, living a virtuous life, and developing a spiritual practice.
Yoga is one form of spiritual practice.
- Karma Yoga – the discipline of right actions is for those of active temperament, striving to eliminate selfishness, and to cultivate universal sympathy by seeing the divine reality in all.
- Bhakti Yoga – path of devotion to God whose presence can be felt in all things.
- Jnana Yoga – discipline of trying to see the divine reality within all things directly, by mentally brushing aside all the obstructing physical and mental coverings that hide it.
- Raja Yoga – process of mental control, purity, and meditation to make the mind very calm and quiet. In that profound quiet, the inner divine light reveals itself
Eschatology – the End of Times
Hindus believe that at the end of the current age, Kali Yuga, Lord Shiva will destroy the universe, and the physical body will undergo a great transformation. After the dissolution, Lord Brahma will recreate the universe, and humankind will become the Beings of Truth once again.
Hindu Saints
Hindus have saints, but no formal canonization process Hindu saints have often renounced the world, and are variously called gurus, sadhus, rishis, swamis, and other names. They are not prayed to.
Rituals/Customs
In Hinduism each rites of passage is called a ‘samskara’, and in Hinduism there are about 40 of them; about 16 of them are central to the religion, but only about 8 of them are regularly practiced.
- Naming A Child
- Childs First Outing
- First Haircut
- First Solid Food
- Upanayana
- Marriage
- Death & Cremation
- Shraddha
Festivals/ holy days:
- Diwali (the festival of lights)
- Holi
- Navaratri (celebrating fertility and harvest),
- Raksha Bandhan (celebrating the bond between brother and sister)
- Janmashtami (Krishna’s birthday)
Sacred Text and Writings
- The Vedas – a collection of hymns praising the Vedic gods; Hindu scriptures that contain revelations received by ancient saints and sages, without beginning and without end
- the Ramayana – long epic poems about Rama and Sita
- the Mahabharata – which includes the Bhagavad Gita
- the Puranas – a collection of stories about the different incarnations and the lives of saints
Great Resources to Learn More:
- Hinduism for Beginners
- Hinduism in a Nutshell
- Nine beliefs of Hinduism
- Christian Perspective on Hinduism
- Catholicism vs Hinduism
LG❥
Pursuit of Truth 
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