March 23, 2000 - When I was writing my Shivaratri play, I had to do a little research on Shiva, since I knew mostly about Vishnu. I came across a book called Dancing With Siva (A Hindu Catechism), written by Sivaya Subramanuyaswami, published by the Himalayan Academy. This was an older version of the book than the one you'll find today if you go to Barnes and Noble, and I got it almost 10 years ago at a VHP camp. Today, it's much thicker and better structured, and if you're beginning a study of Hinduism, it's not a bad place to start, though I have some better suggestions for starter books.
Anyway, in the book, I found a list of 9 tenets that most Hindus believe. Some I truly believe, and some I'm not particularly fond of. But, here they are with my own commentary on each point, and tell me if you agree with them/me or not.
1) Hindus believe in a one, all-pervasive Supreme Being who is both immanent and transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality.
Yes, Hinduism is monotheistic. Every view of God that we see in a Hindu temple is really just a perception of one all-pervasive God, whom we call Brahman. This aspect of Sanathana Dharma is called Vedanta, and most modern Hindu commentaries assume this to be true. However, because many people have already created their own perceptions of God, and how God should be personified, Hinduism conveniently supplies personal Gods to help man understand Brahman. If you love Krishna, then pray to him as if you are praying to the one Supreme Being. If you love Shiva, then pray to him as if you are praying to the one Supreme Being. But here's the key - if you like Allah or Jesus Christ, you are welcome to pray to them as well, and you will be praying to the same Supreme Being - see (9) below. For more on immanent and transcendent, take a look at the Isha Upanishad (pronounced iss-ha).
2) Hindus believe that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation, and dissolution.
Sanathana Dharma - "eternal truth", where eternal means there is no start nor end, simply a falling and a rising on a cycle. Of course, it's all nice and good to say everything is cyclical, but really - does it affect you? Do you remember a life from the previous cycle of the universe? Do you even remember a life from a previous birth and death cycle? Will your understanding of Hinduism suffer if you believe that the universe isn't cycling? I don't think so. Take it or leave it - that's the beauty of Hinduism - it has to make sense to you. We're not talking about simple faith here - you must believe what you are living.
3) Hindus believe that all souls are evolving toward union with God and will ultimately find Moksha: spiritual knowledge and liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Not a single soul will be eternally deprived of this destiny.
This is supremely cool - no matter how much you screw up, you are guaranteed to one day make back tot the top. There is no day of reckoning, there is no permanent hell. The positive of this is that no matter how bad off you are, you can always reverse your karma's effects and improve your situation. Where are you are is determined by your past karma, but where you are going can only be determined by the choices you make today. And that's an eternal source of hope. You could twist it of course, and say that you could be evil today, and know that eventually you'll be redeemed. That's a sick paradox, one that even the pious Yudishtara took advantage of when he caused Drona's death. But hope springs eternal, and even the evil have an Atman, same as yours and mine.
4) Hindus believe in karma, the law of cause and effect by which each individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words and deeds.
"Cash Karma" - when your actions are immediately rewarded, such as when Joe hits Bob, and Bob subsequently hits Joe back. Cause and effect. That's simple, and the type of thing that karma in the West is thought. But the key here is that karma is also affected by your thoughts. Yes, what you think and feel will be brought back to you through karma. If you act rashly, if you keep feelings welled up inside you, if you secretly hate those around you, then yes, your karma will come back to haunt you. So here is the key - you must learn to control even your thoughts, to train yourself to be centered in good times and bad. If someone does something evil to you, you must pass it off as if that person did something nice to you, and only then will you have realized a higher knowledge.
5) Hindus believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved.
Here is another truly cool belief - you don't have to be perfect in this lifetime, because it takes time for you to realize the true effects of positive karma. Live your life according to your true nature, and good things will eventually come. Just maybe not now. There are 4 paths that your life can take - 1) Playboy, 2) Fame and Fortune, 3) Selfless Service, 4) Ultimate Renunciate. A standard course leads you through all four paths, always moving on when you realize the previous path had something "missing". But no one says you go through these revelations all in one lifetime, and no one expects you to. Live you life through right action, and and eventually, you will realize God. Oh, and also remember that positive karma must also be resolved. The Pandavas all went to heaven - but since they were not God-realized, they will expend their karma in heaven, and eventually be reborn on earth. That's the way the Hindu heaven works, instead we have nirvana/Moksha. It's not heaven so much as it is eternal bliss.
6) Hindus believe that divine beings exist in unseen worlds and that temple worship, rituals, sacraments as well as personal devotionals create a communion with these devas and Gods.
Hmmm, I don't quite agree with this one. See, after reading many of the Upanishads, I get the impression that temple worship and rituals are a big bunch of baloney, and that only through meditation and concentration can you actually realize God. Now of course, if rituals and sacraments help you to steady your mind and concentrate, then more power to you. But for me, I gain very little through temple worship, whereas I learn so much more by reading scripture and commentaries. One day, I will be able to put what I learn to practice, and start earnestly meditating on God. These diving beings that are secondary to Brahman, to me, they are simply fragments of imagination to let kids sleep well at night.
7) Hindus believe that a spiritually awakened Master or Satguru is essential to know the Transcendent Absolute, as are personal discipline, good conduct, purification, self-inquiry and meditation.
One of the most interesting things I have ever heard was that when you are ready, a guru will come to teach you. Remember, a guru doesn't have to be someone walking around in a loincloth with a long beard. He/ she could be the stockbroker down the street, or the construction worker remaking your patio. The important thing is that you are aware of the lessons being taught to you. Even if there is no physical guru with you, nothing precludes a metaphysical guru from guiding your mind as you meditate. That sounds like a bunch of hokey, no? But, very few people fail to make progress when they seek God-realization in earnest. There has to be a reason for that.
8) Hindus believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and therefore practice ahimsa or non-violence.
Yes, but no. Ahimsa is more of a Jain concept, which Gandhi helped to reintegrate into the fabric of Hindu consciousness, as his Satguru was Jain. That's not to say that Hinduism didn't take a stand on non-violence before Gandhi, but it sure became stronger after his spiritual teachings. But, if you do go to Hindu India, you will find that non-violence is a distant thought from most Indians minds. Witness the Kargil war, the nuclear bombs, the attack on a mosque in Bombay. The truth is that most Hindus don't believe in non-violence unless they are not being attacked. Simple hypocrisy, no? But let it be known - ahimsa, no one should die as a result of violence, no blood should be shed by a Hindu, we must be at peace. Unless you read the Gita, because Krishna clearly says that Kshatriya princes have it as their duty to spill blood on the battlefield. Oops. But of course, no one left in this world can be considered Kshatriya, so that aspect of the Gita does not apply anymore.
9) Hindus believe that no particular religion teaches the only way to salvation above all others, but that all genuine religious paths are facets of God's Pure Love and Light, deserving tolerance and understanding.
I strongly believe in this. Ramakrishna strongly believed in this. If anyone believes that Hinduism is the only way to God realization, he is being extremely short-sighted, as well as showing how un-informed he is. Simply put, Hinduism has changed so much over the millenia, there is no single Hindu path. It is not a stretch, therefore, to say that there are other paths outside Hinduism. But the key belief is that there is only goal - God Realization, and that every path will reach this singular goal. Imagine a mountain where the ultimate goal is to reach the peak. Every path up the mountain leads to the summit, no matter how craggly and unsafe. But remember this - if you have to go to the other side of the mountain to tell someone else that his path is incorrect, and that yours is a better path, then you yourself have stopped climbing your path. "Truth is one, sages call it by different names". Islam, Christianity, Judaica, Taoism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, these and more are all valid paths. Ramakrishna actually tried to seek God under many different religions, and came to the conclusion that all religions seek the same goal. Therefore, they are all just as valid as Hinduism.