Hindu Traditions

Hinduism began more than 4,000 years ago in modern-day India, making it the oldest
living religion in the world (Kumar 1). Additionally, with over 1 billion followers, it is one of
the biggest religions in the world. Only Christianity and Islam have more followers.
Hinduism is based on the Vedas, sacred texts that contain the customs, religion, and
philosophy of the ancient Aryan people (Kumar 1). The concluding portions of the Vedas,
also called Vedanta, contain the fundamental teachings of Hinduism which are at the core of
Hindu traditions that this paper examines.

Definition of Hinduism

First, it is important to note that Hinduism is a term that was used by foreigners to
refer to the indigenous religion of India. Ancient Persians referred to the people and the land
beyond the River Indus as Sindu, which means the same as Hindu (Kusumita 17). Later, the
term came to apply not just to the land and the people but also to the indigenous religion of
the area. Many of the religion’s followers prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma (the eternal
faith). That is, however, a small problem when it comes to defining Hinduism. The bigger
problem is that Hinduism lacks compulsory dogma to define it (Tharoor 3). The religion
embraces diverse ideas, practices, and doctrines but one does not need to believe or practice
all of them to be labelled a Hindu.

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According to Llewellyn (4), the large number of traditions, ideas, and practices that
Hinduism embraces makes it difficult to have a single, comprehensive definition of the
religion. The task is made even more difficult by the absence of a binding holy book similar
to the Bible among Christians. It also does not have unquestionable religious authorities such
as Jesus among Christians, lacks a governing body, or an ecclesiastical order. Due its
diversity in ideas and traditions, all issues of lifestyle and faith in Hinduism are usually not
treated as dogma. As Llewellyn (4) observes, unlike other religions such as Islam and
Christianity, Hindu religious conviction does not concern itself or existence of nonexistence
of God or whether there are many gods or just one. They can believe in one God, many gods,
or even choose to believe in no god (Llewellyn 4). They may also choose to follow or not to
follow strict moral conduct standards. Therefore, Hinduism is characterized by diversity.

Llewellyn (4) speculates that this diversity is due to the religion’s habit of
incorporating the past to the present. For Hinduism, rather than discarding past religious
beliefs, cultures, traditions, and practices any time a new religious concept emerges, it simply
merges the current with the old. Thus, Hinduism can be considered to be a melting pot of
different religions. This has made it an extremely complicated religion that is difficult to
define.

Hindu Sacred Scripts

Unlike Christians who have the Bible or Muslims who have the Quran, Hindus do not
have a single authoritative religious script. Rather, the religion is based on a number of
scripts with the Vedas being the most prominent of them. The Vedas, like other Hindu
religious scripts, was written in Sanskrit, India’s ancient language. It dates back to around
3,000 years ago, making the oldest of Hindu religious scripts. The Vedas is not the work of a
single person. Just like the Bible, it is the work of many people over different times. It

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contains revelations of ancient sages and saints. A unique aspect of the Vedas is that Hindus
believe that it has neither beginning nor end. In other words, it is an eternal religious text.
This is different from other religious texts such as the Bible whose authorship can be dated.
Hindus believe that when one cycle of time ends and everything in the universe is destroyed,
only the Vedas will remain because of their eternal character. The Vedas are the most
prominent of the Hindu scriptures and are considered the ultimate authority on everything
Hinduism.

Other Hindu scriptures include the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and Upanishads. The
Ramayana is an epic written in Sanskrit that follows the quest of Prince Rama to rescue his
beloved wife, Sita, from the evil demon king called Ravana. He is helped in this quest by an
army of monkeys. The story contains important teachings from ancient Hindu sages.

The Mahabharata, like Ramayana, is a great epic poem of ancient India. It contains a
mass of mythological materials that center around the heroic narrative telling the story of the
struggle for sovereignty between two cousins, the Pandavas (sons of Pandu) and Kauravas
(sons of Dhritarashtra). Hindus consider the text to be a historical narrative as well as a text
about moral law or dharma.

Manifestations of God in Hinduism

Hinduism has many gods. However, it is believed that all of the gods are a
manifestation of one God called Brahman. The manifestation of Brahman as different gods
can be compared to the manner in which a person manifests themselves in society. One
person can be a “son” to their parents, a “brother” to their siblings, a “father” to their
children, a “friend” to their friends, and a “grandfather” to their grandchildren. An example
of Brahman’s manifestation is Visnu. Visnu’s role is that of preserving the universe. It

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ensures that the universe does not experience premature dissolution. As part of this
responsibility, sometimes Visnu descends into the universe in order to save it (Sharma 6).
Apart from manifesting himself as different gods, Brahman can also manifest himself in
human form. There are multiple times in the history of Hinduism where Brahman manifested
himself as an extraordinary human being. These examples include Rama and Krishna.

The different manifestations of Brahman are at the heart of the various sects of
Hinduism. Like Christianity, Hindus have multiple sects. However, unlike Christianity whose
sects differ because of their varied interpretation of the Bible, Hindu sects are based on
adherence or devotion to different manifestations of Brahman (Sharma 1). Each sect has a
manifestation of Brahman that it prefers, and is, therefore, devoted to through worshipping.
What is common among all Hindu sects is that they all consider the Vedas and its teachings
as their practice’s foundation. It is also important to note that a sect’s preference of one deity
or one manifestation of God does not mean that members of the sect do not believe in other
manifestations of God.

Brahman is not merely a God with different manifestations; he is the universe and the
creator of the universe at the same time. Brahman is the ultimate reality in Hinduism. He is
similar to Heaven in Confucianism, Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism, Tao in Taoism, Yahweh
in Judaism, Nirvana in Theravada Buddhism, Allah in Islam, and God in Christianity
(Sharma 1). He is not just the ultimate reality; he is the sole ultimate reality (Sharma 1). This
means that there is no other ultimate reality beside Brahman.

Brahman is considered to be beyond comprehension of a human being because of his
enormity. Even though he is incomprehensible to human beings, he is also part of them.
Every human being has an aspect of Brahman which is eternal about them. The essence of all
human beings is neither their bodies or their minds. It is a higher self within them. This

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higher self is called the Atman. Hindus believe that human beings possess three bodies.
According to Sharma (8), in the course of normal living these three bodies are often hard to
separate or distinguish. The three bodies are the physical body, the subtle body, and the
causal body (Sharma 8). The physical body is the visible that can be seen. The subtle body
includes all the emotions, thoughts, and psychological drives. Lastly, the causal body is the
one that makes a person to possess the mind and body that they possess (Sharma 8).
Underlying these three bodies is the atman. Unlike the bodies, the atman is the element of
human personality is permanent (Sharma 9). The three bodies cannot exist without the atman
but the atman can exist without the three bodies (Sharma 9).

Therefore, the atman is at the core of every human being. The Atman can be
considered to be part of Brahman that is contained in every human being. While human
beings cannot emotionally or intellectually grasp Brahman, the Atman can because the Atman
is Brahman. The presence of Atman means that everyone has a spark of Divinity in them.
Hindus believe that the purpose of one’s life is to unite this spark of divinity with its source,
which is Brahman (Sharma 9).

The concept of Atman unites human beings with God. Not only is there no separation
between human beings and God, there is also no separation between human beings and other
human beings. This is because all human beings have Atman who is a part of Brahman. Thus,
for Hindus, God dwells within everyone. There is no need to look for him elsewhere. To self-
actualize is to become aware of one’s higher self or the Atman or the divinity in each of us
(Sharma 9). A person who is aware of his higher self and is in touch with it is able to live
according to the Eternal Order of the Universe. When such a person dies, they are able to
return to the world in complete union with Brahman.

Hindu’s code of behavior

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It has been noted that self-actualization which involves being I touch with one’s
higher self. In order to self-actualize, one needs to fulfill their duties, called dharma. Dharma
is the code of conduct of Hindus. The conduct expected from every individual depends on
their social position or caste or varna (Sharma 26). The highest caste is that of Brahmins.
Brahmins are scholars and priests. The second caste is that of Kshatriyas. These are the rulers
and soldiers who protect the land. The third caste is that of Vaishyas. This caste is composed
of merchants. The Shudras is the fourth caste. It is composed of workers. Thus, each
individual has a specific duty to perform in the world.

Closely associated with the concept of dharma is that of karma. To fulfill one’s duty
or dharma, one needs to perform the right action or karma (Sharma 10). Without performing
the right action, one cannot achieve self-actualization. Additionally, Hindus believe that evil
results from one being ignorant of their duties or dharma and, therefore, failing to perform
the proper action or karma.

Suffering, according to Hindus, is a result of failure to correctly discharge karma.
Thus, suffering is the fault of an individual. To prevent suffering in the next life, one needs to
correctly discharge karma. Unlike in religions such as Christianity where God can influence
one’s fate, in Hinduism the individual has complete control over their fate. The success or
failure of a person in either their current lives or afterlife completely depended on their own
actions (Sharma 10).

The Concept of Reincarnation

Reincarnation is one of the concepts that is closely associated with Hinduism. At the
heart of this concept is the belief that there is a relationship between cause and effect in every
circumstance (Sharma 10). If someone is suffering then there must be a reason why they are

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suffering. Likewise, there is a reason for the excesses or enjoyment that some people have in
life. It is believed that a person’s current circumstance is a result of their actions in their
previous existence. Thus, to improve their destiny, they need to act appropriately in their
current existence.

Reincarnation is simply transmigration of the soul or Atman from one body to another
body. The soul or Atman is eternal. It does not die when a person dies. Rather, it simply
occupies another body. The type of body that Atman chooses to reside in the afterlife depends
on the sum of all actions of a person during their previous life (karma). Thus, the concept of
reincarnation is closely related with the concepts of dharma and karma. Any time that a
person failed to fulfill their duties or dharma their karma would have them return in the next
life to try again. Samsara is the name given to this cycle of rebirth and death. It is only
through self-actualization that one achieved liberation from samsara and achieved complete
unity between their Atman and Brahman (Sharma 10). This liberation is known as moksha.

The Concept of Moksha

Moksha or liberation is, therefore, the goal of every soul. Hinduism provides several
paths that one can use to achieve Moksha. These paths are called yoga include the path of
devotion or unconditional surrender to God, the path of knowledge, and the path of duty.
These paths help one to arrive at the core of Hindu beliefs – that the body and mind alone do
not confine the basic nature of human beings. Rather, the basic nature of human beings is
contained in the spirit, which is God’s spark in the soul (Atman). Everything has a spirit or
Atman which is divine or pure and is always in unity with God. Everyone can experience the
spirit by undergoing the relevant training which involves refining and purifying the mind and
the senses.

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Types of Yoga

The various forms of conducting the training of purifying the mind and senses are
known as yoga. There are four types of yoga. Each of these four types is suited for a
particular temperament. These four paths can be considered to be tributaries of a river or
branches of tree because they are in essence the same. The difference between them is the
aspect of the mind involved in their practice.

Karma yoga involves the active aspect of the mind. Therefore, it is suited for a person
with an active temperament. This yoga involves selfless service or action (Sharma 17). A
person who practices Karma yoga perform services without expecting any returns. All they
seek to do is perform their services. The fruits of their services do not motivate them. Since a
practitioner of Karma yoga does not expect any returns for their services, the practice helps to
purify the heart and eliminate ego and selfishness (Sharma 17). There is no specific place of
practicing Karma yoga. Activities such as cleaning, cooking, or serving food can all be
considered Karma yoga as long as the person practicing them does not expect any returns for
their services.

Bhakti Yoga involves the emotional aspect of the mind. Practitioners of this yoga
completely devote themselves to God with the goal of realizing the highest truth (Sharma 17).
As an emotional form of Yoga, practitioners of Bhakti Yoga channel their emotions into
God’s devotion. Their devotion is such that they are able to feel as instruments in the
Divine’s hands (Sharma 17). Some of the ways in which Bhakti Yoga is practiced include
participating in ceremonies and rituals, chanting, and praying.

Raja Yoga seeks to have the inner divine light revealed itself through profound
quietness. The quietness is achieved through meditation, purity, and mental control. Thus,

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Raja yoga involves the mystical part of the mind. When practicing Raja Yoga, one seeks to
bring the mind under control through its systematic analysis and application of various
techniques (Sharma 17). The result of these techniques and analysis is the conversion of
mental and physical energy into spiritual energy. Some of the activities involved in Raja
Yoga include meditation, breathing exercises and other activities that help to bring the senses,
mind, and body under control (Sharma 17).

The fourth yoga is Jnana Yoga. It involves brushing aside all mental and physical
obstructions that prevent one from seeing divine reality. It is practiced by people who have
analytical minds and involves the intellectual aspect of the mind. Since it uses intellectual
inquiry for spiritual ends, it is also called the yoga of knowledge (Sharma 17). Some of the
ways in which it is practiced include Shravana, Manana, and Nididhyasana. Shravana
involves studying Vedas scriptures or listening to a guru’s teachings. Manana involves
reflecting on the teachings that one receives. Lastly, Nididhyasana involves meditating on the
nature of truth (Sharma 17). Thus, Jnana Yoga involves heavy use of the mind to examine the
nature of the mind through self-analysis and the right type of inquiry.

Conclusion

Modern Hindu traditions have been over 4,000 years in the making. As a religion,
Hinduism has been good at incorporating new ideas into long-held religious beliefs and
practices. The result has been a complex religion that can be considered a family of religions.
Hindu traditions are characterized by belief in Brahman, the supreme deity, the law of cause
and effect (karma), and the continuous cycle of life and death (samsara). Hindus also believe
in permanent souls contained in all human beings and liberation from samsara or moksha. A
unique idea about Hinduism that makes it different from other religions, such as Christianity
is the belief that human beings, rather than divine creed, determines one’s fate. This strong

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belief that one can change their life in both the current and the afterlife through their actions
makes Hindus to strive to live according to the Hindu moral code (dharma).

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Works Cited

Kumar, Vijay. “Unit-1 Introduction to Hinduism.” IGNOU, 2017.

Pedersen, Kusumita. “Hinduism and Universality in Religion.” American Journal of Indic
Studies 1.1 (2018): 17-37.

Llewellyn, J. E. “Introduction: The Problem of Defining Hinduism.” Defining Hinduism.
Routledge, 2017. 1-12.

Sharma, Arvind. Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction. Oxford University Press, USA,
2000.

Tharoor, Shashi. Why I am a Hindu. Oxford University Press, 2018.