Author: D. Sader

Dharma

The concept of dharma is important in Hinduism. Dharma has several different meanings. Following our dharma involves conducting ourselves righteously and according to our role in life. When we are young, our role in life is to be a good son or daughter. As we grow older, we should be good students, good friends, and good citizens. When we have decisions to make, we should do what is right, even if it goes against our best interests.

On an individual level, many people, consciously or unconsciously – do act in this way. But on a global level, people often put their own interests first. Think of a situation (either from history or from current events) where a person or a country acted based on self-interest rather than on what is right. Describe the situation. Then say what the person or the country should have done. How would that have affected history or current events?

Transmigration of Souls

In the Hindu view of life, the soul is not permanently attached to one body. A soul first enters the world in the body of a simple life form – not a human. When that first body dies, the soul moves on to a more complex life form and is reborn there. This has been compared to the way people outgrow clothes and need new ones. The process of rebirth is called samsara, The Bhagavad Gita, part of a Hindu epic, says:

Worn-out garments are shed by the body; worn-out bodies are shed by the dweller.

When the soul has reached a certain level of development it enters a human body. It continues to pass from body to body, but the choices the soul makes in each life affect the next life. Unkind acts in one lifetime may mean hardships in the next lifetime. In this way, the soul creates its own future. If bad things happen to us, we have no one to blame but ourselves; these bad things are caused by our own negative acts in past lives.

If people are responsible for their own futures, what would be the best way to act in this lifetime?

The Soul

Shankaracharya was a Hindu teacher who founded four great monasteries in India. He once explained that humans are like jars filled with air. Our souls are the air. This air is the same as the air outside the jar. When the jar breaks at death, the inside air joins the outside air.

What is your reaction to this description?

The Law of Karma

In the Hindu view of the world, souls go through an endless process of death and rebirth. Our actions in this life affect the next life. This is called the law of Karma.

In a way, we can look at karma as cause and effect. Every individual action has an effect, good, neutral, or bad. If we live a life of good deeds, good things will eventually happen to us – if not in this life, then in the next one. If we are selfish and narrow-minded, then bad things will happen to us.

In this way of thinking, there are no such things as accidents or luck – either good luck or bad luck. Everything that happens is the result of some action we took either in this life or one in the past.

Think about something unexpected that happened to you recently, either good or bad. Describe the incident. Did you think it was an accident or “just luck”? Would your attitude towards the even change if you thought your own past actions bad caused it? Explain.

Karma: Fatalism, or Complete Control?

According to the Hindu law of karma, a person’s future is determined by his or her past actions. Some people interpret this as meaning that humans are controlled by fate. We don’t really have control of what happens to us in this life, as the outcome has already been set.

Other people interpret the law of karma as meaning that humans have complete control. If we focus on what we do in the present, we can ensure good things in our future. We also have control of the way we react to things in the present. A negative event may have been caused by a negative act that we committed in the past. If we react to it in a negative way – with anger, for example, or with a selfish focus – this reaction may cause yet another negative event in the future. But if we respond in a positive way, not getting angry but accepting the event as part of life, the future effect may be positive.

Can you identify with either of these ideas of life – controlled by fate or controlled by our own actions? Choose one of these ideas. Write about how this idea of life might affect the way you act.

Brahman, the Universal Spirit

We often think of Hinduism as having many gods. However, Hindu beliefs also include the concept of Brahman, the universal spirit. Brahman permeates everything, and everything is part of Brahman. Our souls are part of Brahman and seek to be reunited with him. Brahman is infinite and eternal – and impossible to describe.

Since people think in concrete terms, most find it hard to imagine divinity on this scale, with no form or face. For this reason, some Hindus believe that Brahman is manifested in many different forms, some of which are gods. Since Brahman is in everything, including us, then Brahman is also in the different gods of Hinduism. In the Bhagavad Gita, part of a great Hindu epic, the god Krishna says, “Whatever god a man worships, it is I who answer the prayer.” Thus the thousands of minor gods of Hinduism can be seen as the different faces of the universal spirit Brahman.

Which would you find easier to think about: Brahman as a formless universal spirit that is part of everything, or as a pantheon of different gods?

Sri Ramakrishna

Sri Ramakrishna was a nineteenth-century Hindu sage. In his search for god, Ramakrishna faithfully followed the spiritual disciplines of several different religions. The following is an excerpt from one of Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings on faith.

God has made different religions to suit different aspirations, times, and countries. All doctrines are only so many paths; but a path is by no means God Himself. Indeed, one can reach God if one follows any of the paths with whole-hearted devotion. One may eat a cake with icing either straight or sidewise. It will taste sweet either way…. As one can ascend to the top of a house by means of a ladder or a bamboo or a staircase or a rope, so diverse are the ways and means to approach God, and every religion in the world shows one of these ways.

In your own words, explain what Sri Ramakrishna was saying here.

Hindu Gods

Hinduism has many gods. Three of them are Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu. Brahma is known as the Creator. The universe and all creatures in it came from him. Vishnu is known as the Preserver. Associated with truth and righteousness, he maintains order. Shiva is the Destroyer. Shiva’s destruction leads to good, as he removes impurity.

Although these three gods are sometimes called the Hindu Trinity, they are not of equal importance. Brahma’s job – creation – is finished. The jobs of the other two gods remain.

Write about this view of the world in which the principles of creation, preservation, and destruction are connected. Which principle do you think is the most important one?

Gods and Symbolism

Statues and paintings of the Hindu gods are found in homes and temples throughout India. The different images of a particular god often have things in common. For example, Ganesha is usually shown with an elephant’s head, and Shiva is often shown with three eyes. These images use symbolism to express the divine nature of the gods. Thus Ganesha’s elephant head stands for wisdom. Shiva’s left and right eyes indicate his activity in the physical world; the third eye symbolizes spiritual knowledge and power. For viewers familiar with the symbolism, each image conveys a great deal of information.

Symbols are used in many ways in different cultures. Think about how symbols are used in your daily life. Describe these symbols and what they stand for.

Shiva Nataraj

Shiva is one of the primary figures in Hinduism. He is often shown as Shiva Nataraj, or “Shiva, King of Dancers.” Everything in this image has a meaning. Shiva is shown with four arms, one for each of the cardinal directions. He dances with his left foot raised. His right food rests on a figure that represents illusion and ignorance. In his upper right hand he holds a drum that stands for the male-female principle. His lower right hand makes a gesture that means, “Be without fear.” Snakes, which stand for the ego, are seen uncoiling from his arms, legs, and hair. The skull on his head stands for his conquest over death. He is placed within an arch of flames; these stand for the endless cycle of birth and death.

Shiva’s right food is on illusion and ignorance. What is the symbolism of this pose?