HINDUISM. – This is the common designation for those religions of medieval and modern India that arose from the fusion of popular religious beliefs and forms of worship, both Aryan and non-Aryan, with orthodox Brahmanism. Various factors contributed to this religious syncretism, including the military expansion eastward and southward, which brought the Aryans into contact with numerous aboriginal tribes, and the foreign invasions of northern India, which led to a mingling of races, customs, religious and philosophical doctrines, from which emerged a new civilization termed neo-Brahmanical. This slow transformation can be assigned a period stretching from the early centuries of the common era to around 1500.
Summary:
I. Brahmanism and the
II. Vishnuism
III. Shivaism
IV. Shaktism
V. Theistic sects.I. Brahmanism and the
The contribution of Brahmanism to the formation of Hinduism is evident in the dogmatics of Hindu religions, which, while differing in forms and often in the object of worship, all recognize an absolute and eternal cosmic principle that retains, if not the name, the character of the ancient Brahman (q.v.); they generally admit the supernatural origin of the Veda (q.v.) and share a common belief in the transmigration of souls through the effect of karma (q.v.) until liberation is attained (q.V. MOKSHA).
As for respect for caste institutions, it was so deeply rooted in the Indian consciousness that even when the founders of new religions proclaimed the path to salvation open to all castes, they meant religious equality, not social equality. In practice, social inequalities were accepted and justified on the grounds that they were the result of karma, of merit or demerit acquired in a previous existence.
Not all the deities of the Vedic pantheon passed into Hinduism; in particular, in Italy, where Agni, Varuna, Indra, Surya, Vayu, Soma, Yama, and Kubera, the god of wealth already mentioned in the Atharvaveda (VIII, 10, 28), are found as guardians of the world. But Indra is no longer the god of battles; the task of destroying demons is now entrusted to Vishnu, his faithful ally in the victorious struggle against Vritra (RV, I, 32; VIII, 100). Vishnu and Shiva, the ancient Rudra, who had secondary importance in the Rigveda, acquire in Hinduism the first place among all other gods and are both identified by their worshippers with the Supreme Cosmic Principle. Hence the attempt, inspired by monotheistic tendencies, to associate the two deities in a unitary conception personified in Hari-Hara, a synonym for Vishnu-Shiva, which appears for the first time in the Harivamsha or Genealogy of Hari, an appendix to the Mahabharata. Later, it seems, around the 10th–12th century, the dyad becomes a triad: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, representing another attempt to unify the triple manifestation of divine power—creative in the form of Brahma, preservative in that of Vishnu, and destructive in that of Shiva (Mahabharata, III, 256, 35). However, the attempted unification of the three gods (Harivamsha, st. 10662) was not, in practice, respected, as primacy was attributed to Vishnu or Shiva according to the sectarian preferences of the devotees of one or the other deity. The Shaivas believe that the triad is the manifestation of Shiva in his three forms of Brahma, Vishnu, and Bhava (another personification of Shiva), and the Shaivas followers of Vallabha Acharya (15th century) affirm the same of Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu), trimurti or three-formed in the triad Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva. As for Brahma, his importance in the triad was always secondary. The episode in the Harivamsha (chaps. 184–90), in which he acts as mediator in the conflict between Shiva and Vishnu, proclaiming their unity, well suits the role assigned to him in the triad, which is to link the two major deities.
The differing importance of the three gods in Hinduism precludes any relationship, even merely analogical, between the triad and the Trinity of Catholic theology, which consists of three Persons defined by dogma as equal yet distinct. Moreover, the attempt to reduce the gods of the Vedic pantheon to three—a perfect number—precedes Christianity by several centuries. The idea of the triple manifestation of a single God dates back to the Rigveda (c. 2000 B.C.), which speaks of Agni (q.v.) as one and threefold—celestial (sun), atmospheric (lightning), and terrestrial (fire). In the early books of the Shatapatha Brahmana (c. 1000 B.C.), various triads are proposed until Surya, Vayu, and Agni are defined as the "hearts," i.e., the innermost essence of all the gods (IX, 1, 23). But this triad is nothing more than the threefold manifestation of Agni (VI, 7, 4), and Agni is Prajapati (VI, 8, 1, 4), the "father of creatures," the god of priestly speculation, who, not being bound like fire to any natural substratum, was better suited to represent the cosmic principle. These precedents exclude the possibility that the Trinitarian conception of the divine prevalent in Hinduism was inspired by Christianity.
II. Vishnuism
Unlike Shiva, who is venerated because he is feared, Vishnu is loved by his devotees for his benevolent aid, which led him to incarnate repeatedly to save humanity from peril. Two of his incarnations or avatars (literally "descents" from heaven to earth) are particularly significant for the history of Vishnuism: the incarnation as Rama during the second cosmic age to free Lanka from the tyranny of the demon Ravana, and the avatar as Krishna (q.v.) in the third age to promulgate a doctrine of redemption based on love (bhakti) for a single god.The gospel of Kṛṣṇaism is the Bhagavadgītā (v.), where Kṛṣṇa is called twice Vīṣṇu (XI, 24; 30) and four times Vāsudeva (VII, 19; X, 37; XI, 50; XVIII, 74). This name is not, as was once believed, a patronymic; Vāsudeva was the name of a popular deity with whom Kṛṣṇa was identified when divine essence was attributed to him. Once identified with Vīṣṇu, the supreme deity, Kṛṣṇa was also identified by his devotees with other gods: Nārāyaṇa, the “alter ego” of Vīṣṇu, Brahmā, Soma, Sūrya, Agni, Yama (Mahābhārata, III, 13, 19). The cult of Vāsudeva was already widespread in north-western India before the common era, as attested by inscriptions dated to the 2nd century BCE. The devotees of this god were called bhāgavata from Bhagavat, “the blessed one,” an epithet of Vāsudeva. The identification of Kṛṣṇa with “the blessed one” cannot be dated, but it must postdate the common era, since the oldest work dealing with the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa and the miracles of the divine child, the Harivāṃśa, belongs to about the 3rd century CE, and the Puranic legends are even later. The cult of the miraculous child was established by Vallabha Ācārya (1479–1530), founder of a religion that does not demand mortification of the senses from its followers, but only love (bhakti) and joy. These epicureans of Vaiṣṇavism, numerous among the wealthy merchants of Bombay and Gujarat, maintain the sect’s shrines and the gurus or masters who preside over them; they make no sacrifice other than of money. The sect does not possess temples open to the public; the sanctuary is attached to the master’s residence, who treats the image of Kṛṣṇa as a living child, washing it daily, dressing it, offering it various kinds of food, and placing it on the throne, exposed to the veneration of the faithful together with Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa’s favorite during his youthful loves in Vrindāvana. In north-eastern India, the cult of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa was greatly promoted by Caitanya (1485–1533), a contemporary of Vallabha. While the latter attributed primary importance to ritual, Caitanya condemned external forms of worship, repudiated caste divisions, and taught that fervent love for Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā alone sufficed to confer salvation. In the sect’s gatherings, Caitanya would heighten the fervor of his followers with passionate songs in praise of Hari (Vīṣṇu), during which he himself or one of his disciples would sometimes fall into a swoon, regarded as a sign of special favor from the god. After his death, Caitanya was considered an incarnation of Hari, and temples dedicated to him remain major pilgrimage sites.
Rāma is the national hero of India, already regarded as an incarnation of Vīṣṇu in the early centuries of the common era, and elevated to cultic honors around the 11th century. The Rāmāyaṇa or “deeds of Rāma,” by Vālmīki, and the Rāmācaritamānas or “lake of the deeds of Rāma,” by Tulsīdās, are the sacred books of Rāmāism. The latter, written in Hindi, a dialect widely understood on the Indian subcontinent, has become the Bible of ninety million devotees. The earliest foundational tenets of Rāmāism, which are based on the philosophy of Rāmānuja (11th century), are shared by all Rāmāists, but northern and southern followers differ regarding the question of divine grace, from which temporal goods and mokṣa derive. Adherents of the “northern doctrine” (Vadakalai) believe that grace is granted by Rāma-Vīṣṇu to those who make themselves worthy through religious practices, while followers of the “southern doctrine” (Teṅkalai) regard grace as a spontaneous gift to those who, distrustful of their own strength, seek refuge in God and His infinite mercy. To illustrate their doctrine, the two sects resort to strange similes. The northern Rāmāists argue that a man is saved when he clings to God as a baby monkey clings to its mother to be carried to safety; the southerners compare the elect to a kitten that, seized by the scruff of its neck by its mother, is carried to safety without any effort on its part.
III. ŚAIVISM. — Śiva is the successor of the Vedic Rudra, a malevolent god of disease and death, euphemistically hailed as “benign” (śiva) in one of the three hymns (X, 92, 9) that the Ṛgveda dedicates to him. As Rudra-Śiva began to be identified with other malignant deities such as Bhava and Sarva, personifications of the destructive power of fire, his figure grew to encompass new names, attributes, and aspects, often contradictory due to the imperfect fusion of the constituent elements of his complex personality. A god of fertility like Priapus, and thus represented by the phallus, he sits upon a corpse and wears a necklace of human skulls when he personifies Mahākāla, time that destroys all things. He represents the destructive element even in the triad. He is Saṃkara, “the beneficent,” who, moved by his consort Umā, the daughter of Himālaya, restores to life the dead son of a brāhmaṇa; and he is also Bhairava, “the terrible,” husband of the inaccessible Kālī, the goddess who delights in blood sacrifices. He is called multiform (bahurūpa) in the Mahābhārata, and polymorphism is one of his characteristics.
In peninsular India, Śiva’s devotees are not in the majority, though they prevail among the non-Muslim Kashmiris and the non-Buddhists of Nepal; in the Deccan, Vaiṣṇavas and Śaivas are evenly balanced. Both religions attract a large number of ascetics who, through devotion to Viṣṇu or Śiva and through spiritual and moral discipline, aspire to mystical union with their chosen deity. The mendicant ascetics, included under the generic name of yogin or “followers of Yoga,” are divided into many sects, among which the Śaiva Lingāyāṭs or “wearers of the phallus,” whose emblem they hang from their necks, stand out for their importance. Better known as Jangama, “wanderers,” they travel from temple to temple during religious festivals and also have convents where the so-called “detached” (viraktas) dedicate themselves to contemplative life and are held in honor by coreligionists.
Space permits only a brief mention of the two major philosophical-religious systems of Śaivism. The oldest, founded by Lakulīśa (ca. 2nd century BCE), is that of the Pāśupatas or “devotees of Paśupati,” i.e., Śiva as “lord of animals.” The soul (paśu), which is held captive and yearns to reunite with Śiva, its lord (pati), symbolizes in this system the individual soul, bound to matter, stained by sin, and subject to expiation. For this to take place, Śiva creates the world, where the retribution of karma occurs. Śiva’s body is pure energy; it has nothing in common with the perishable bodies of individual souls, which, once liberated, gain knowledge and unlimited powers. According to this Śaiva system, the liberated soul becomes identical with Śiva, though without the faculty of creation. The principles of this second system differ little from those of the Pāśupatas, while the devotees of Paśupati engage in absurd practices, such as smearing their bodies with ashes three times a day, simulating madness with laughter, songs, and dances, and imitating the bellowing of the bull (Śiva’s mount). Śaivas render homage to the deity in the customary ways: morning and evening worship, sacrificial offerings, and recitation of prayers using the crown of 84 beads, which is the rosary of Śaivism. Yoga practices, differing only in method, are common to both systems.
IV. SAKTISM
Śiva is also represented in union with his consort Durgā (v.) in the form of Ardhanāriśvara, “the lord who is half woman,” that is, androgynous. Durgā occupies the left side, in accordance with the precept of the Śatapathabrāhmaṇa, VIII, 4, 4, 11: “the woman has her place to the left of the man.” In this combination the goddess also personifies the creative power (śakti) of the god, which is the object of veneration by the Śaivas or “devotees of the śakti,” an important Śaiva sect. The Śaktas are divided into daksinācārin or “of the right hand” and vāmanācārin or “of the left hand.” The former render to the śakti a cult consisting of customary honors; the latter, however, practice in secret orgiastic rites, which among the Śaivas of eastern Bengal and Assam degenerate into dissoluteness.The sacred books of Śaktism are the Tantras or “books” par excellence, perhaps not older than the 7th century A.D., although they refer to forms of cult more ancient, and from the 5th century. In the form of dialogues between Śiva and his divine consort, the Tantras expound esoteric doctrines in relation to the cult of Durgā and her various forms, to each of which particular honors are rendered. Meditations of a mystical character alternate with descriptions of magical rites and rules for their performance. Mysterious powers are also attributed to ritual formulas (mantras) and to mystical symbols, which accompany the invocations to Durgā.
V. DESTIC SECTS
Viṣṇuism, a religion of love, entertained benevolent sentiments toward all things, even the most despised, but respected caste privileges, including that which promised the first three Āryan castes liberation from rebirth within the brief span of a single existence, while the Śūdras, in reward for a virtuous life, obtained only to be reborn in a higher form of existence, from which it was possible to attain mokṣa. Rāmāṇanda, a Brāhman of Prayāga (Allahabad), who professed the cult of Rāma, proclaimed the religious and social equality of the castes, and introduced into the sect other innovations such as the use of dialects to spread his reform, and the substitution of the cult of Rāma and Sītā for the sensual cult of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā. There are no reliable data regarding the life of Rāmāṇanda, who is said to have lived 113 years! (d. 1411). His followers came from all social classes; one of them, Kabīr, a Muslim weaver, became in turn the founder of a new sect, known as the Kabīrpanthī or “followers of Kabīr.”The uncertainty of chronological data does not allow us to affirm that Kabīr (d. 1518) was a personal disciple of Rāmāṇanda. Perhaps the tradition of his pupil is to be understood in the sense that he belonged to the sect of Rāmāṇanda before carrying out his own reform. Kabīr did not propose to reconcile the religious principles of Islam with those of Viṣṇuism. The substance of his reform was the abolition of all ritual and dogmatic barriers, which divided the followers of the two religions, all of whom are brothers in God, even if invoked by different names. Kabīr condemned idolatry and every kind of external cult, extending to the two religions the equality that Rāmāṇanda had established among the castes. He said that both the Purāṇas and the Qur’ān contain “empty words,” and taught that immortality is attained only by those who observe moral precepts, do not cling to worldly goods, and love all living beings as themselves. The Kabīrpanthīs today number no more than nine or ten thousand, among Indians and Muslims, scattered in northern and central India; they have at Benares their most important seat. Following in the footsteps of Kabīr, Nānak (1469–1538) sought to consolidate the union between Indians and Muslims, and faith in the one God, Hari-Allah (v. SIKH and SIKHISM).