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by Jayaram V
Surprisingly, though Hinduism is a very ancient religion, the
word "Hinduism",
which today defines it and distinguishes it from the rest of the
religions, is of much later origin. In ancient India you had either
a yogi, a bhakta, a tantric, a sanyasi, a sankhya vadin, a vedantin,
a lokayata, a rishi, a muni, a pandit, a pragna, a yogini, a devi,
a swami, a Saivite, a Vaishnavite, a siddha or Buddha, but no Hindu.
The Persian connection
Interestingly the words "Hindu" and Hinduism are not Sanskrit
words. No Hindu ever coined them. The Hindus were even unaware of
such a terminology for a very long time. While the foreign scholars
of Greece and Persia made an occasional glance out of curiosity
towards the lands that existed beyond the Indus, the native Indians
were busy in their own little world oblivious of the fact that they
had very little in common with the outside world except perhaps
in matters of commerce, governance and few other things.
The earliest reference to the word "Hindu" can be found in the
Avestha, the sacred book of the Zoroastrians. The word "Hindu 'ush"
was also found at least in two inscriptions of king Darius ( early
sixth Century B.C.), whose empire said to have extended up to the
borders of the river Sindhu.
The Greek "Indos"
Subsequently the word was picked up by Herodotus and also by
the Armenians. For several centuries the word was used to denote
the people of the subcontinent, not people of a particular faith.
From the eighth century A.D. onwards when the Muslims began to settle
down in the Indus region they started using the word "Hindus" to
distinguish the natives from the Muslims.
The word "Hindu" is a secular word
Hindustan was the land that existed beyond the river Indus, and
those that lived there were referred as Hindus. We can see clearly
that the word Hindu was originally a secular word meant to define
and distinguish people of the Indian subcontinent, rather than those
practicing a particular religion.
If we go by these ancient traditions, there is hardly any difference
between a Hindu and an Indian. Both the words were corrupt forms
of the original Sanskrit word "Sindhu" meaning river in general
and the Indus river in particular. The Greeks referred to those
living in the subcontinent as "Indos" while the Muslim scholars
called them "Hindus".
There was however one particular difference. The Greek historians
who called the subcontinent as "Indos" hardly knew much about the
religious activity of the region, while the Muslim scholars had
some knowledge of the native traditions though not in complete detail.
But they chose to describe the natives as Hindus to contrast
them with the Muslims. The Europeans who came to India from the
sixteenth century onwards followed the same tradition and referred
the natives as Hindus to distinguish them from the non-Muslims.
More than tradition perhaps it was convenience which prompted them
to use the word "Hindu" to describe the vast majority of the non-Muslim
population of India.
The "Hindoos" of British Raj
It is interesting to note that the Hindus never referred themselves
as Hindus until modern times. The earliest reference to the word
"Hindu" is said to be found in the Gaudiya Vaishnava texts of the
16th century A.D. It was only during the 18th and 19th centuries
that Hindus started accepting the word to describe their religious
faith which stood in stark contrast to Christianity and Islam. The
British, who were till then referring the natives variously as natives,
baniyans, heathens, gentoos, etc, now started referring all the
non-Muslim natives as "Hindoos".
For the educated modern Hindu of that period the word was a very
convenient way to establish his identity against the British as
well as the native Muslims. For some time the word "Hinduism", was
used in a restricted sense, to designate the Vedic religion or Brahminism.
But with the emergence of new reform movements, which played a very
crucial role in restructuring and redefining the social and religious
traditions of the country, the word came to encompass the entire
religious tradition that originated from the Vedas and continued
through centuries.
A Hindu knows in his heart who a Hindu is
Today although there is a lot of confusion among many foreign
scholars as to what constitutes Hinduism and what does not, there
is no confusion among the native Indians as to who a Hindu is. A
Hindu may not be able to define correctly who a Hindu is, but in
his heart he knows clearly whom he is talking about. Without recourse
to any religious texts or scholarly analysis, he can instantly recognize
and accept a fellow Hindu.
The Hindus may come from different regions, speak different languages,
belong to different economic and social strata, may oppose each
other politically, may not even like each other personally due to
ideological or ethical or ethnic reasons, but they do not fail to
experience the bond of a religious tradition that is common to them.
They know clearly that the tradition that binds them together was
before them and would remain forever after them.
This in essence what Hinduism is. It is a living tradition which
communicates through the hearts, minds and spirits of its millions
of adherents. The word "Hindu" is very much secular in its origin
and a typical Hindu is very much secular in his out look and attitude
towards all religious faiths and living traditions.
Today if some Hindus are becoming increasingly defensive towards
their religion, which is an unfortunate development, as it is against
the principles of their religious tradition, it is to be acknowledged
more as a reaction against perceived threats and external influences.
Let us hope that it would be a temporary phenomenon.
Suggested Further Reading
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