Hinduism
In this article we will examining Hinduism, its roots, texts, practices, and spread into modern western cultures. The material for this article comes from two of my university textbooks, Practical Systematic Theology, and Religion: History and Mystery.
1. The Roots of Hinduism
The roots of Hinduism go as far back as the Tower of Babel. By comparing the similarities in ancient languages, we can often accurately determine the migration of people groups. The roots of both Hinduism and Zoroastrianism can be traced back to the Aryan races who settled in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Southern Russia around 4000BC. Generally speaking, a group of nomadic people known as the Aryans came down from the north around 2000-1800BC. One large group settled in Iran (in fact, the name 'Iran' comes from the term 'land of the Aryans'), and the other group moved through Afghanistan, Pakistan and settled in India.
This is known as the Indo-Aryan invasion. Living in the land were the people we refer to as the Indus. Very little is known about them except through archaeology, as they left no written records which are translatable. The Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan culture, can be traced back to an approximate time from the spread of peoples at the Tower of Babel. Two main sites have been excavated, Mohenjro Daro (Sindh, Pakistan) and Harappa (Punjab, Pakistan). These sites indicate that the Indus had a well-established culture with public baths, drains and granaries. Female figurines suggest female goddess worship associated with fertility.
In what is thought to be a seal, another image portrays a cross-legged male figure with large horns, surrounded by animals. This figure, and other finds depicting cross-legged figures and bulls, strongly suggests knowledge of the worship of Molech. The veneration and even worship of bulls and cows, which is still a part of Traditional Hindu belief, can be traced back to this period. It is also speculated that this cross-legged figure may be the first instance of evidence leading to the practice of yoga.
Not much is known about the decline of this civilization; however, with the arrival of the Aryans the entire subcontinent soon became Aryanized, and by the time of the Mauryan dynasty in the fourth century B.C, the religion of the whole area was under the philosophical and religious influence of the Vedas.
The religious beliefs of the Aryans became the foundation of Zoroastrianism and Hinduism. Both religions initially had a similar language and rituals. The Gathas and Avestas, the Scriptures of the Zoroastrian Tradition, and the Vedas of the Hindus, both have, among other things, the following in common.
1. Both used an intoxicating drug called Haoma (Avestas) or Soma (Vedas) which was made from poppies, cannabis and ethedra, and was used to bring visions and speak to the gods.
2. The word for demon is deva (Vedas) and daiva (Avestas).
3. Both mention large-wheeled chariots which were pulled by double harnessed horses in battle. The name of the chariot in the Vedas is 'Ratha' and literally means 'chariot of the Rapha'. The word Rapha comes from the name of the giant race the Raphaim (Rephaim) as discussed in my third video on the Nephilim, the global evidence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0idAB7sQg4U&t=10s
2. The Vedas
The Vedas are principally the works of the Aryans, a collection of hymns which are recited, chanted and sung. The Vedas contain four main themes: sacrifice, creation, order, and gods and goddesses. The idea of rebirth doesn't occur in the Vedas; that is a later development in the Upanishads. Understanding the Vedas can be a complicated business as they evolve rapidly. Three principal gods are spoken of in the earliest writings, Agni, Vayu and Indra. These three constitute fire, life (wind, breath, lust) and war. The key word in understanding Vedic literature is 'sacrifice'. Sacrifice is at the heart of all Vedic religion. In the beginning, in general terms, sacrifice is made to appease the gods, but as the Vedas develop, sacrifice is made to control the gods as the elevation of self became the center.
The priests are the most important and powerful people as they perform these sacrifices. Priests prepared an altar, often around a fire, and placed empty seats for the gods who were always invited. After this, the Soma, the hallucinogenic drug containing poppies (opium) and cannabis (called the sacred grass) was taken by the priests, and the sacrificial rituals began. The Aryans also established the caste system. There are five castes, the top three of which were exclusively Aryan.
1. Brahmins. Priests who control the sacrifices.
2. Ksatriyas. Warriors.
3. Vaishyas. Merchants.
4. Sudras. Non Aryans. Serfs/slaves from the people who were conquered.
5. Outcasts. People considered untouchables who were subordinate to all.
Over the centuries the emphasis during sacrifice shifted from conquest to personal development, a shift which was influenced by other cultural beliefs, and the idea of a supreme god is found in the Vedas. They gave this god the name 'Brahman'; they called the human soul 'Atman', and eventually decided that the two were one and the same. The word Brahmin, the priestly caste, simply means individual, but the word Brahman (with an 'a') became the 'supreme self'. In essence, the teaching that many generalize as Traditional Hinduism was born, the idea that we are Brahman, we are God. The 'One God' was rejected as a Supreme Creator to be worshipped, and self was set up in His place.
One vehicle for reaching godlike status is yoga, a practice most likely connected to the original worship of Molech. Yoga developed into a complex system of practice and belief and has several branches of thought.
Traditionally, yoga has eight steps which include self-control, observing cleanliness and prayer, postures, breath control, detachment from the world, concentration, meditation (almost in trance), and trance, the state in which there is no awareness of the world and no accumulation of karma. Yoga is seen as a means of gaining salvation.
In later Kundalini yoga, this practice is associated with extreme sexual practices and goddess worship. The practitioner envisages the body as having a coiled snake which begins in the genitals and moves up through the spine. It is thought that the snake is the goddess Shakti, and when she is released, she ascends from the genitals to the head where the Supreme Being Shiva dwells, they have sex, and the person experiences bliss. These same ideas were prevalent in the lands which the Aryans had previously conquered.
3. Upanishads: The Practice of Hinduism
The practice and beliefs of Hinduism are not fixed. The first Upanishads are dated to 800BC, but were continually added to as late as 1600AD. Traditionally, Hindu life was categorized into four stages or groups.
1. Bramacari (students, but only male). These students studied the Vedas and Upanishads as disciples of a guru. They wore a sacred thread of six strands to distinguish them from others. They did not work, but begged for their food, and their tenure lasted 25 years.
2. Household (marriage). After 25 years with a guru, many would choose to marry. For women there is a duty to produce a son. Producing sons brings good karma and the possibility of rebirth as a man. The husband stays until the first grandson is born.
3. Forest Dweller. This was considered preparation for the next life and an opportunity to spend one's time on religious meditation. Often the wife accompanied her husband, finding food for him and caring for him generally. Under the Law of Manu, a wife must worship her husband.
4. Holy Man. Both women and men could enter this stage, but a woman's husband must first have died. Holy people shave their heads, have no home, do not wash or wear any clothes, walking about naked and renouncing the world. When they die they are buried rather than cremated.
Two words which are of absolute importance to Hinduism are 'Brahman' and 'Atman'. In the early stages of the Upanishads, Brahman seems to be a god, an infinite creator very similar to the Bible's description of Yahweh, Jehovah. However, this description changes radically. In simple terms, Brahman generally means the absolute beginning and end of all there is or will be, both physically and spiritually.
Brahman is like a life-force which is in all things, the energy which manifests itself in anything from a human soul, tree or rock. Brahman is also thought by some to be a perfect spiritual essence from which both good and evil can be created. Atman can be described as the immortal soul/spirit of any living creature. A rock has no Atman, but a tree does. Hindu philosophers concluded that Brahman and Atman are one and the same. For a human being, Brahman is trapped within the body of an individual self, an Atman which is moving towards the perfection of pure and perfect spirit. Atman never changes; it is simply an individual part or piece of Brahman.
The question of purpose then becomes important. If the goal of the soul/atman is to realize absolute perfection, then how can this be achieved? Onto the stage came the idea of reincarnation and the cycle of the world, that which in later Buddhism is called the 'Wheel of Life'. Imagine Brahman as a self-manifesting creative intelligence/energy which goes through a cycle. Individual souls are part of the cycle. There are four stages identified in Hinduism as the cycles of the world. These are called Yugas.
1. Krita or Satya. This is the state of Brahman in beginning the cycle of manifesting. It is a period of peace and perfection which lasts 1,728,000 years. Somehow, evil enters this peace and perfection and begins to take a hold.
2. Trita. In the Trita stage only 75% of goodness remains as evil gains strength. This stage lasts for 1,296,000 years.
3. Dvapara. This stage sees evil at about 50%. Selfishness and egoism are on the increase. This stage takes 864,000 years.
4. Kali. Kali is the black age. Only 25% of goodness remains, bringing strife, wars, dissention, etc. This stage lasts for another 432,000 years. Presumably, we are in this stage at present.
At the end of these cycles is another cycle of dissolution which brings us all the way around to the beginning again.
4. Karma
Most Western minds can comprehend the notion that wrong actions bring wrong consequences. We have sayings such as you 'reap what you sow', a Biblical idea.
Karma is a similar notion. Brahman, the gods, and humans are all under the force of karma. The process of karma is up to the individual; there is no sin and, therefore, no judge. One can skip several rebirths by acting 'good', but add rebirths by acting 'bad'. Being born as a human being is a rare chance for 'Moksha', for escape from the endless cycle. Humans make up only about 1% of all living things as insects, animals, etc., all have Atman (soul).
The issue for Hindu philosophers is how to explain the problem of evil. If Brahman is a form of creative energy/intelligence, but not a god in the sense of a Creator/being, then within Brahman must be both good and evil, for both have emanated from this source. If Brahman is both good and evil, then how can a mere human decide how to act, and who can determine what evil is? This is a complicated question that receives many different complicated and contradictory answers within the Upanishads. Some argued that the entire material world is an illusion, that only Atman is real. However, others argued that if that was the case, then the actions of the body could not affect the soul and produce either good or bad karma. This dilemma is discussed in the story of Arjuna and Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita.
5. The Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita is considered by many to be the most important scripture of Hinduism. In John Koller's words,
The Gita is frequently called the New Testament of Hinduism by modern commentators because it occupies a place in Hinduism similar to that of the New Testament in Christianity. Unquestionably, the Gita has permeated Hindu consciousness from one end of India to the other.
John M. Koller. The Indian Way: Asian Perspectives, (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1982) p189
The Gita tells the story of a warrior called Arjuna about to engage in a battle against his enemies, some of whom are his own kinsmen. These men have killed his relatives, and it is his sworn duty to bring them to justice. However, he also sees it as a sin to commit this act of taking human life. His chariot driver is Krishna who is revealed as the 'Lord', the 'Supreme God' incarnate in human form.
This is the first time in traditional Hinduism that the idea of a Supreme God becoming human is introduced, a fact that leads some commentators to suggest that the Gita was written after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, or at least from the influence of Messianic Jewish writings which were encountered through trade.
The Gita divides knowledge and action, the eternal self and material self. The eternal Self does not act, only the material self. Arjuna wishes to bring justice to those who have murdered his relatives, and in this way he would be an agent of karma. However, by taking human life he may bring bad karma upon himself. Krishna advises him that he must renounce his desires for the outcome of his actions, thereby separating the action from the doer of the action.
Without desires, self and mind controlled, abandoning all possessions, engaging in action with only the body, He does not commit sin. (Bhagavad Gita 4.21)
Krishna then goes on to explain that the way to perfection is in absolute surrender of Arjuna's ego existence to God, to Krishna himself, and in doing this he will find his true Self and attain Brahman.
Surrendering all your actions to Me, with your consciousness fixed on the highest Self, being free from desire and selfishness, fight, freed from your grief. (3.30)
Once again, one can discern very similar ideas here as in giving one's life to Christ, a fact that suggests the Bhagavad Gita being plagiarized from Christian influences.
6. Modern Hinduism
The colonization of India by the British in the 18th century has had an enormous impact on Traditional Hinduism. The caste system, which was absolutely ingrained in Indian society, came under attack as Western ideas of equality, and especially women's rights, were introduced by the British. However, the caste system still exists, although in a different form to the original.
1. Brahmans (6%). The highest caste makes up about 6% of the Hindu population. They are considered to be the purest of Orthodox Hindus and wear a 'sacred thread' over their shoulder to signify their superior 'twice-born' status. Brahmans still become priests, but are also well represented in government positions.
2. Upper Classes (14%). These are the 'forward castes' in official terminology and, generally speaking, include landowners, factory owners, merchants, doctors, and people in high paying positions.
3. Lower Castes (52%). Those Hindus who are classified as 'backward' by the government. These are principally laborers, farmers, servants, and the rural poor in general - basically the working class.
4. Dalits (18%). Dalit status is so low that they are considered to be without caste. They do the jobs considered most demeaning, such as waste disposal, burning the dead, street cleaning, etc. Upper-class Hindus avoid all physical contact with them and, although the government has outlawed discrimination against them, the majority are still desperately poor.
5. Untouchables (10%). Those born of Dalit and lower caste status who are physically or mentally deficient at birth (crippled, blind, deformed), beggars, and Christians (anyone who has converted to Christianity from Hinduism as this is viewed as a person trying to escape karma).
7. In Summary
Defining what Hindus believe depends entirely on which Hindus one asks. This is a religion which has its roots firmly established in the occult, for the Aryans worshipped and followed demonic beings. After settlement in the Indu Valley, now India, trade routes opened and Hindus were influenced by other religious beliefs such as Judaism, indeed, there are verses in the early Vedas which read as if from the Old Testament, such as the hymn to the 'Unknown God' in book 10.121 dated around 1000-800BC;
In the beginning...Only Lord of all created beings...He put in place the heavens and the earth...the giver of breath...he whose commandments all the gods obey...He is the God of gods and there is none beside him...what God shall we adore with our oblation?
The Bhagavad Gita, with its incarnation of Krishna who claims to be God and calls for surrender to him as 'Lord', sounds like Christian theology, however, one fundamental difference remains. In Hinduism the goal is to become God or a god, it is Self in the center, whereas in Christianity, reaching perfection by virtue of one's knowledge or action is impossible.
In the major economic centers of India, Traditional Hinduism has become something of a quaint system of holidays and festivals, as the modern generation of young people have adopted international economic values, yet in the small country villages life continues very much as it has for centuries.
The fundamental values of right and wrong have also been markedly influenced by other religions, such as Christianity and Islam. Some Hindus believe in a concept of sin, whilst others do not. India, like most countries undergoing modernization and economic growth, has adopted International Laws.
The exchange of ideas and religious practices has gone both ways. In the 20th century, Hindu gurus, such as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (Transcendental Meditation), have introduced their particular versions of Hinduism to the Western world, albeit often packaged in pseudo-scientific forms. When the Beatles decided to learn Transcendental Meditation, millions of their fans followed suit. Within the span of a few decades, meditation and yoga centers sprang up throughout Western cultures.
The demonic roots of Aryan worship continue and developed into Buddhism and are central in the New Age movements which are so prevalent today.
I hope this video has been enlightening for you. The video series on World Religions and Cults can be watched on my YouTube channel, @stevecopland6001.
Steve Copland