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by Jayaram V
It is interesting to note that the religion does not seem to
scoff at the idea
of the non-existence of God. Even those who do not believe in the
existence of God can call themselves proudly Hindus, though it is
doubtful whether they would ever gather a wider acceptance.
Today there are a number of people among Hindus who are basically
non-believers of God and who do not accept any religion to conduct
their activities. Still it is very doubtful whether any Hindu would
consider them as non-Hindus. In this article we will examine the
contradictions inherent in Hinduism and try to formulate a fair
idea of who a Hindu is.
That Hinduism is mass of self-contradictions becomes very clear
when one goes through the richly engrossing stories of the Hindu
mythology. It is amusing to note that the
Trinity of Gods would rarely discriminate between a god and
a demon while bestowing favors upon them, as long as they fulfilled
certain conditions.
Sometimes they would be extremely generous to some wicked soul
from the underworld in granting boons, well knowing that it would
lead to trouble and disturbance. It is as if they have chosen for
themselves the principles of non-discrimination, secularism and
equality of opportunities!
Some of the demons and villainous characters in the epics and
puranas were also great devotees, who by virtue of their devotion
and strength of character went to heaven after their demise, though
while alive they committed many heinous crimes.
Examples of some apparent contradictions
In the following lines we highlight a few of the well known contradictions
inherent in the traditions of Hinduism. It must be added here that
Hinduism does not consider these contradictions as irreconcilable.
At the deeper level they all merge into one harmonious whole. But
on the surface they seem to contradict each other.
All the apparent contradictions like the devas and the asuras,
like the many manifestations of Iswara, resolve themselves harmoniously,
almost mysteriously into an acceptable single truth. It is as if
what is contradictory outside is in league and harmony with the
Truth inside.
The devas and the asuras in reality are working for the same
end!. The asthikas (believers) and the nasthikas (non-believers)
at the end of their debate prove the same point : that any conclusions
we draw about the Absolute Truth, with our semi-evolved consciousness
is incomplete and imperfect. When Truth in all its full glory stands
in front us, we are as helpless, as imperfect, as ignorant , as
innocent or as wicked as an insect in front of man!
Such a reconciliation of divergent truths into one harmonious
whole, which is difficult for a novice to understand, aptly summarizes
and concludes what Hinduism in essence actually declares to us:
that the One (Truth) manifests itself into many (truths) at the
time of creation and that the many (truths) slowly in the end resolve
themselves into One Truth again ! Let us now examine a few of the
apparent contradictions that baffle many who are not familiar with
Hinduism:
1. One God Vs No God
2. One God Vs Many Gods
3. Vedic rituals Vs Spiritual practices
3. The path of Knowledge Vs the Path of Devotion.
4. Saivism Vs Vaishnavism
5. Purusha Vs Prakriti
6. Monism Vs Dualism
7. Vedas Vs Tantras
8. The concept of Divine origin of man Vs Caste System
9. The concept of renunciation Vs the concept of four Purusharthas.
10. The concept of self-control Vs the revelry of gods.
11. The concept of monogamy Vs the polygamous gods.
12. Hindu ethics Vs the behavior of gods.
12. Worship of Mother Goddess Vs the Devadasi system and the
position of women in society.
13. Ritualism Vs Spiritualism.
14. Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu Vs Buddha's own teachings
about God, gods and the Vedas.
And so on.
Hinduism truly believes that when one goes beyond the sensory
field there are hardly any rules. Whatever that is within in the
field of illusion is also
strictly a part of illusion, whether it is a moral code, a particular
belief or a way of doing things.
True freedom is when you break through all barriers of mental
conditioning and try to transcend your limited vision and all manner
of choosing, discarding and selecting. For that you need not have
to worship God as others do, or seek Truth like others.
You can purse your own path and follow your own convictions,
as long as it is in harmony with your true nature. You may worship
God in whatever way you want. You may even deny Him, because understandably
you are living in a state of ignorance and illusion. You may consider
Him either as the Known or as the Unknown, either as the Being without
form or as the Being with innumerable forms.
The choice is yours. It is ultimately your salvation. They are
your decisions and those actions that you would undertake to pursue
such decisions are also essentially your actions only. And you alone
would suffer from the consequences.
It is of course difficult to follow certain paths like for example
the path of the formless or the Unknown. But if some one wants to
follow them, there is nothing that one can do. There are many paths
that lead to Him and how can one say anything with conviction and
finality on such issues?
How can any one frame any rules about the One who is beyond all
rules? How can any one say anything with certainty about the One
who is beyond the known as well the unknown? "He who says he knows
Him knows Him not, but he who knows that He knows Him not really
knows Him"
Rigid approach to theological matters is therefore not central
to Hinduism. What is important is relentless pursuit of Truth through
intelligent discrimination or proper use of ones buddhi. The books
and the teacher can only suggest ways and means. It is up to the
individual to decide what is best for him.
Surprisingly, as we have seen in the previous pages, even the
word Hindu is not a Sanskrit word. It is derived from the name given
to the river "Sindhu". For several centuries the word was used to
denote the people of the subcontinent, not people of a particular
faith. Hindustan was the land that existed beyond the river Indus,
and those that lived there were referred to as Hindus. Thus we can
see that the word Hindu was originally meant to define people living
in a particular region rather than those practicing a particular
religion.
Hindu society was as complex in ancient and medieval India as
it is today, consisting of divergent groups of people, following
different faiths, worshipping different gods, speaking different
languages, and belonging to different social and ethnic backgrounds.
There were Buddhists and Jains and even among the so called Hindus
there were a number of divergent beliefs and practices.
Yet to the observant foreigner, in that medieval environment
they all appeared to be bound together by some invisible bond, as
if they all evolved together distinctly, as if they were one group
of people who shared a long tradition and a great many common beliefs.
And how correct they were in their observation! From the global
perspective, even today, if you set aside religion and look at the
people of the subcontinent, they all undoubtedly represent one distinct
group, possessing certain characteristics that are unique, unusual
and peculiar to themselves.
Hinduism is very much like a giant banyan tree
We can define Hinduism as a set of religious beliefs, practices,
and traditions that has been gradually evolving over a period of
time in the Indian subcontinent with its primary roots in the Vedas
but like a giant banyan tree with its secondary roots deriving succor
from all directions and various sources, providing shelter to many
divergent beliefs and practices and still spreading farther and
farther from its base.
The Beliefs of a Hindu
For our understanding we may also define a Hindu in the following
manner. A Hindu:
1. believes in the omnipresent existence of One Imperishable
Universal- Self and also in the existence of many individual Selves.
2. believes in the existence of various manifestations of God
starting with the Trinity.
3. believes in the existence of various paths to reach God, especially
the path of knowledge, the path of renunciation, the path of devotion
and the path of action.
4. believes in the eternal and immutable nature of self.
5. believes in the theory of karma and reincarnation.
6. believes in the evolution of not only man but all the beings.
7. believes that the path to God are many and hence tolerates
other forms of religious worship and practices.
8. believes in the concept of maya or illusion.
9. believes in the sacred knowledge of the Vedas, the Vedanta,
the Bhagavad-Gita etc.
10. and also, understandably, believes either in some or in all
or in none of the above!
Although this definition does not take into consideration many
divergent views and approaches to the understanding of the vedantic
philosophy, this can be regarded as the broad definition of a Hindu
for our understanding.
Dimensions of Hinduism
It may also be noted that Hinduism has many dimensions. There
is a scholarly dimension (the systems or traditions based on gnana
or knowledge), a devotional or popular dimension (the systems and
traditions based on bhakti), a physical dimension (the esoteric,
fierce and sexual cults of tantrism) and a folk dimension (the traditions
of superstition, obscurantism, animism, animal sacrifices etc, practiced
by rural people, tribals etc.)
Hinduism has so many dimensions and inherent contradictions because
Hindus have never accepted any particular person, god, prophet,
theory, dogma or institution as central to Hinduism or spiritualism.
Whoever joined it, brought with them their own set of beliefs and
practices and integrated them into the religion they accepted as
their own. In this we cannot judge Hindus to be either right or
wrong, from the standards of another religion. The followers of
Hinduism are mostly guided by their staunch belief in karma, according
to which an individual makes choices according to his or her past
inclinations and actions. Therefore they do not show much interest
in interfering with other people's belief or in forcing their own
brethern to blind adherence.
The strength of the religion lies in its emphasis on individual
choice, in seeking spiritual answers, in providing unconditional
freedom to its adherents to explore the vast unknown areas of Truth
and in its glaring indifference to the concept of proselytization.
Truly Hinduism is a living and continuing tradition, a group
of religious and spiritual beliefs tested for long in the furnace
of human knowledge and spiritual wisdom and accepted as valid milestones
in the spiritual achievements of the Indian subcontinent. Just as
the world and the human civilization evolve and expand, Hinduism
also evolves and expands, incorporating the new knowledge and the
new Truths that become a part of our growing and expanding consciousness.
In whatever direction the mankind may progress, whatever new
scientific truths it may unravel and revel in, Hinduism surely has
the tenacity and sagacity to survive and continue for generations,
with greater and greater vigor, unique wisdom and wider responsibilities,
providing solutions to the challenges that may arise as we progress.
Definitely it has an inherent advantage over those religions which
suffer from the limitations of the scriptural framework which they
blindly adhere.
Suggested Further Reading
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