Originally Posted by
charitra
How one can explain Hinduism in nutshell, hmm, a tall order for anyone indeed. I will try but I know my take is not perfect , it goes this way. The core doctrines remain same no matter which way one looks at it: Dharma or righteous action, Karma or fruits of action, rebirth or reincarnation of atman, and moksha which is salvation for atma . Artha (work and earning) and Kama ( sexual purity/ celibacy within a matrimony and not becoming a philanderer) are components of the dharmic life.
Our body (hunger, fever etc) and mind (joy, anger, depression etc) stop journey at death but atma (none of the above) transcends and takes up a new body many times just as we discard old clothes and put on new ones. (dead)Body is not as precious as for the Abrahamics who count on ascending to heaven with it. Cremation, preferably within 24 hrs, is the norm.
There is no permanent heaven or hell for hindus (or nonhindus for that matter). Which means hindus will not condemn Christians or muslims to hell if they don’t convert to Hinduism. On the other hand both muslims and Christians condemn hindus to hell for not converting into their faiths.Hindus say BRAHMAN loves all and, condemns none.
The ONE god for hindus is BRAHMAN who has no form or gender. Who has no beginning, or origin. Brahman is what is all there both in manifest and unmanifest realm. This is where moksha lets atman to disappear into oneness . The gods or deities are all sacred representations (with human forms, genders etc) of Brahman in many forms. The Vedas elaborate, "He is Brahma. He is Siva. He is Indra. He is the immutable, the supreme, the self-luminous. He is Vishnu. He is life. He is time. He is the fire, and He is the moon." The idols don’t have gods sitting in them. Those idols are made of stone as is obvious, but just like some symbols are sacred in other faiths, hindus treat them sacred. These idols may be simple conduits to meditate (pray) on or some devotees may view them lot more seriously. When hindus say Brahman is everywhere then how can only a small stone form confines brahman in finite form, doesn’t sound right. But there are different explanations (bhashyas) I must clarify.
Vegetarianism is highly encouraged as an extension of ahimsa, but meat eaters are NOT viewed as unhindu by any measure. There are many hindus who eat meat, but the teaching goes that one must remain detached to these pleasure .
Shastras didn’t shy away from addressing the nature of cosmos and universe, many other faiths didn’t address these areas. The cosmos is infinite and there is advaita doctrine that defines everthing as one single infinite unit. Both the creator and the created are ONE. The cosmic dissolutions and reformations were explained. Huge timescales are defined as Brahma’s (not BRAHMAN !)day and night.
Meditation/yoga is a strong integral part of hindu practice. Hinduism is not just philosophy, it is a religion fully complemented with rituals and practices to guide one to accomplish religious salvation. Mingling with fellow hindus and attending mandirs are encouraged. Questions are welcome and gurus are always willing to answer them (nowadays it spilled into the web, and that is very good indeed).
Rebirth over and over isn’t a must, if one is steadfast in ones dharmic path, then in one janma itself on can achieve moksha. Freewill accrues karma. You make your own kriya karma, you wont earn bad karma if the wrong step was not the result of your own well thoughtout course (say an accident).A hindus goal in life is moksha, to put an to the transcendental journey of the atma.
Vedas, Upanishads, Itihasas and Panchatantras make core hindu texts. AdiShankara propagated advaita philosophy which is over 10k yrs old and originally expounded by Badarayana. Personally my POV is that it is the nondualism that will keep religion viable for all future generations, cause it can never ever be bettered. Hinduism is a path to self realization, it wont serve as a vehicle to heaven.There is mukti but there is no heaven. Knowledgeable members may correct the above opinions which are clearly largely favoring advaita siddanta, no offence will be taken. Namaste.
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