Introduction
Hinduism which is the third largest religion in the world is practiced by a large number of people living in Asia, particularly India and Nepal. This religion is also practiced among large populations living in other continents with over nine million followers all over the world. A census in Britain showed that 1% of the populations are Hindus. It is believed that Hinduism is the oldest religion on earth (started in 563 B.C) and still it cannot be easily defined. The reason for this is because of the almost infinite range of practices and beliefs encompassed in it. “This religious conviction is again intimately linked conceptually and traditionally with other Indian beliefs i.e. Buddhism and Sikhism (Michaela, 2005).
Main body
Unlike other religions in the world today, Hinduism (Sanata Dharma or the eternal law) does not have one founder. Again it does not have one script or a common teaching set to be followed. “Throughout its extensive history, there have been many key figures teaching different philosophies and writing numerous holy books. Because of this, authors often refer to Hinduism as a way of life or a family of religions rather than one religion” (Michaela, 2005).
As shown by Michaela (2005), by 15th centaury Hinduism was not widely spread. It was only used as differentiating factor between Hindus and other religions (especially Muslims in Kashmir). The addition of ‘ism’ was done by colonialists from Britain together with some missionaries. Therefore this paper is going to focus on the religion of Hinduism. The paper will show the essence of Hinduism, explain what makes it different from other religions, show what makes it unique and finally conclude by highlighting on what Hinduism really is.
Hinduism and its essence majorly lie in 3 supreme demonstrations. These are “the manifestation creation and the creator, the manifestation of survival and protection and the manifestation of extinction and transformation. Hindus believe that the cosmos and the galaxy revolve around these concepts together with recycles of birth and reincarnations” (Rajaram, 2010).
Hindus recognize “Lord Brahma as the creator, lord Vishnu as the protector and lord Shiva as the destroyer. The three mentioned gods again form the essence of Hinduism’ (Rajaram, 2010). A variety of postulates and myths in deferent times illustrate that there was a split between the followers of lords Shiva and Vishnu.
The Shaivites and Vaishnavites become different distinct cults at one point waging war against each other. “Untrue myths cropped up at one particular time showing that lord Shiva was a Dravidian god and Vishnu an Aryan god. In general though, the followers of lord Shiva dwell in the mountains while those who worship Vishnu are plain dwellers” (Rajaram, 2010).
All through the surge of the Jains and Buddhists this religion was cut down to area predilections and territories in which kings had policies with regard to religious convictions. After this, there came the pagan and naga who followed Kali. Subsequently, the Bakhti movement followed where Adishankara combined the trinity of this religion and Shakthi worship. This connected Hindu gods showing that they are related. So the essence of Hinduism can be grasped in the following way; “Shiva the cosmic force and master of metaphysics, inner energy, vitality and reproduction, Vishnu the master of health and material benefits, human joys and sorrows then Brahma the god of creativity. The three gods are the essence of Hinduism” (Rajaram, 2010).
On the other hand as shown by (Ankush, 2006), Hinduism encompasses a wide range philosophies starting from theism that is pluralistic to complete monism. Hinduism has again changed with researchers and philosophers adding information to the knowledge already build up over so many years. This religion is the only one in the world which doesn’t have a single teacher, a single faith or a single book to go by. According to (Ankush, 2006), the diversity of this religion promotes a great culture. The different institutions teaching Hindu philosophies contribute to the huge tradition of traditions and belief. They trust in “Karma, Dharma, reincarnation, all-pervasive divinity, temple worship, sacraments, manifold deities, the yoga, the guru-sishya tradition and reliance on the Vedas as scriptural authority” (Ankush, 2006).
Hinduism is completely different from other religions in various ways. First of all, there is no particular individual who has been accredited to have been the founder of this religion as compared to Christianity or Islam. There’s also no religious book that governs the followers of this religion. Another aspect of difference is that, it has no form of association or central organization such as a church or mosque. It has also been known to incorporate varied thoughts and values into its structure while complying with other religions. This is because it has a variety of trails to salvation and does not support organized efforts to proselytize people (Ravi, 2000). Hinduism has also been changing through time from one stage to another therefore it is not static as compared to other religions. The restructuring has been via internal reforms as a way of response to the intimidation posed by other religious convictions.
Being the oldest religion in the world, Hinduism is unique in its own way in the sense that it has no known source or origin but is a tradition that has been in existence for centuries. In other words, it is a culture of the Hindu people and therefore a dynamic way of life where by no known doctrine is strictly followed or obeyed. Consequently, various religious thoughts, doctrines, practices and different views are incorporated into this complex theology.
Hinduism is also unique in that it has never been static but went on evolving from stage to stage. “In the process it transformed itself due to contributions made by selfless scholars, seers, kings and emperors over a vast period of time” (Ravi, 2010). In the process again, it has grown in strength making it survive the onslaught of foreign religions at the same time making it hard for foreigners to take up the practices. The way in which the natives follow their religious practices is again unique in that there’s freedom for one to follow his/her own path in life. All in all it is true that, Hinduism practices have the identical principles and provide intelligibility of deliberations in spiritual matters.
Conclusion
In a synopsis we can say Hinduism is practiced by over 80 percent of Indians who consider subsequent incarnations to be depended on how early life was lived. The followers again “believe in a supreme God whose qualities and forms are represented by the multitude of deities which emanate from him, they believe that the existence is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth governed by Karma” (Michaela, 2005).
List of references
Ankush, S. (2006). Hindu religion. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Michaela, R. (2005). Hinduism. London. McGraw hill.
Rajaram, N. (2010). The essence of Hinduism. Rawat publishers.
Ravi, N. (2000). Hindu doctrines. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.