THE SACRED SYLLABLE—This is the Sanskrit symbol for the word 'OM,' taught to be the primal sound-vibration uttered by God in the beginning of creation. By repetitiously chanting this single-word mantra during long periods of meditation, yoga advocates believe they can access oneness with the Absolute, the Source of all things.

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Hinduism

    The word “Hindu” stems from the Sanskrit word sindhu meaning river (specifically the Indus River that flows through India and Pakistan). Dating historically from 1500 B.C., Hinduism is one of the oldest of the eleven main living religions. It boasts over 700 million adherents. A wide variety of beliefs exist in Hinduism, sometimes complementary and sometimes contradictory. Most likely this syncretism has resulted because of Hinduism’s remarkable ease in absorbing ideas from other cultures and religions. Millions of gods are revered (the traditional numbering is 330 million), but the source of all personal deities is the Impersonal Absolute, that Ultimate Reality referred to as Brahman.

     No ecclesiastical hierarchy, no specific doctrinal parameters and no universally defined moral boundaries are promoted in Hinduism. Each man discovers his own dharma, the divine order for his life. Commonly held beliefs include: reincarnation, the divinity of man and the quest for ‘enlightenment.’ The highest source of written truth for Hindus is found in the four Vedas (a word meaning “knowledge” or “sacred teaching”). The most ancient is the Rig Veda, probably created between 1,300 and 1,000 B.C.

     Hindus differentiate between shruti—“hearing” (texts that stream from divine revelation and are therefore infallible, absolute truth) and smriti—“recollection, tradition” (texts based on traditions that are valid and authoritative only when drawing from shruti). Shruti includes certain portions of the Vedas (the Samhitas, Brahmanas, Upanishads and certain Sutras). Smriti includes certain traditional texts (including the Puranas and two lengthy Sanskrit epics: the Mahabharata and the Ramayana). One of the most popular texts is the Bhagavad-Gita (“the Song of the Lord”), which is actually part of the Mahabharata.

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Doctrinal Stance on the Seven Pillars of Wisdom

The Origin and Nature of the Universe

Hinduism: Different creation stories and Creator personalities exist side-by-side in Hinduism. The Creator is usually identified as Brahma, the first god in the Hindu triad. He is brought to birth in a lotus that emerges from the navel of Vishnu, the second god at the head of the Hindu pantheon. Brahma created the universe simply by opening his eyes. When he closes his eyes at the end of each eon, creation ceases to exist. Another cycle then ensues. In the Visnu Purana, Brahma is described bringing forth demons out of his thigh. He then abandons his first body, and it becomes the night. After creating the gods out of his mouth, he abandons his second body and it becomes the day.

In the Laws of Manu 1:5-14 a different creation story is told. The eternal “Divine Self-existent…desiring to produce beings of many kinds from his own body, first with a thought created the waters, and placed his seed in them. That seed became a golden egg, in brilliancy equal to the sun; in that egg he himself was born as Brahma, the progenitor of the whole world…The Divine One resided in that egg during a whole year, then he himself by his thought divided it into two halves; and out of those two halves he formed heaven and earth.” (See also Shatapatha Br. 11,1,6, Rig Veda 10,90.)

The Hindu Trimurti (the three highest gods) consists of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Hindus ordinarily refer to Brahma as the “Creator,” Vishnu as the “Preserver,” and Shiva as the “Destroyer.” However, Saivites (followers of Shiva) insist that Shiva is the primal person and source of the universe. Vaisnavites (worshippers of Vishnu) believe that he is the Creator-God and relate him to the omnipresent, primeval waters believed to exist before the creation of the world.

Basic to Hinduism is the belief that the creation came from a primordial substance referred to as prakriti. Many teachers in Hinduism propose a pantheistic, monistic view of creation-that the universe, with its substance, laws and phenomena, is actually an emanation of God and that all things in the universe are of one essential substance. This monistic view is termed Advaita-a concept that also insists the natural creation is not real. It is an illusion, perpetrated by God-a condition called maya.

In absolute pantheism, God does not exist apart from the physical universe. In traditional Hinduism, however, there is both a manifested and an unmanifested aspect to Brahman: simultaneously, he is both immanent (as the underlying life of creation) and transcendent (apart from creation). God being manifested as the universe, both physical and spiritual, was a result of the inner divine constraint, “Let me become many, let me be born.” (Taittriya Upanishad 2,6,1)

There are other Hindus who believe in a dualistic approach concerning the Creator and creation called Dvaita. Madhva, one of its main proponents, felt “it is blasphemous to accept that a perfect God changes himself into an imperfect world.”¹ He also taught that God and the soul are eternally distinct and separate from one another, and that the world is a reality, not an illusion perpetrated by Brahman. According to this worldview, the universe was not created; on the contrary, three things have existed eternally: God, souls and the universe. There is also an interpretation that arrives midway between these two extremes called Vishishtadvaita, which is a qualified non-dualistic approach.

In Hindu cosmogony, there is no absolute beginning point assigned to the creation of the universe. Instead, there are an infinite number of cycles of creation and dissolution. The creation stories are understood to mean the periodic emanations of God into the form of the material universe. Furthermore, the word for creation in Sanskrit is srishti. It does not imply creating something out of nothing; it rather means the transformation of a subtle or spiritual substance into a physical or material one. So the more proper description might be that the universe is the “projection of the Supreme Being,” not an act of creation.² It should also be mentioned that the earth is acknowledged as a deity in Hinduism and is referred to as a goddess with names such as Bhumi or Prithvi.

The Nature of God  

Hinduism: Hinduism accepts the existence of many gods. However, most Hindus believe that all gods are emanations of the One God who pervades everything. Consequently, some might describe this worldview as monotheistic polytheism. In the Upanishads, Ultimate Reality is described as the impersonal Brahman. Brahman is described as possessing two aspects: transcendent (unmanifested) and immanent (manifested). According to the Sankhya School, Ultimate Reality manifests in two main ways: as consciousness (purusha) and as material form (prakriti). Upon manifesting, “it” (the word “Brahman” is neuter gender) is expressed in a multitude of ways, including lesser gods and demigods. Ultimate Reality, which is impersonal (“without attributes”-nirguna), manifests in numerous deities who are personal (“with attributes”-saguna). “Nirguna Brahman is not an object of prayer, but of meditation and knowledge.”¹

According to the Puranas, the most important manifestations of Brahman make up the Hindu triad (or Trimurti)-Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (the Destroyer). It should be noted, though, that in the Vedas (the most revered and ancient sacred texts) Vishnu is seldom mentioned and Shiva is left out altogether.

Some Bhakti sects (devotional sects) in Hinduism are henotheistic, exalting a singular god, such as Vishnu, Shiva or Krishna, to a place of superiority or prominence above all others. Multiplied thousands of gods are worshipped (the traditional figure is 330 million). Hindu Scripture encourages, “O gods! All your names [and forms] are to be revered, saluted and adored.” (Rig-Veda 10.63.2) Some gods are associated with nature, like Surya the sun god; others with animals, such as Ganesha the elephant-god and Hanuman the monkey-god. Brahman is the underlying Self, the essence of life common to all things. This equates the creation with the Creator-the former is an emanation of the latter. Some Hindus profess a pantheistic view of the relationship between the Creator and the creation; while others hold a panentheistic view.

Though most Hindus are quite tolerant and quick to declare that all religions are one, historical Hinduism is still somewhat exclusive in its claims to correct revelation. Their Scripture states, “In the beginning this [universe] was Brahman alone…whoever reveres any other deity…does not rightly understand.” (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10) In other words, worshipping any personal deity as Ultimate Reality is an unenlightened view of the supreme essence of God. Some Hindus even propose that those who make this error are kept in the cycle of death and rebirth as a result.

For those who subscribe to Brahman being “the origin, the cause and basis of all existence,” the same is an infinitely inexhaustible reservoir of (1) Pure being (sat); (2) Pure intelligence (cit); (3) Pure delight (ananda).² However, this Ultimate Expression of Divinity is beyond the comprehension of the human mind. The Kena Upanishad bluntly informs, “He who thinks he knows Brahman, knows not.” Image worship is accepted and cultivated in Hinduism, though some claim it is only an aid in worship for the spiritually immature.

The origin and Nature of Man

Hinduism: Concerning the origin of man, the Bhagavatam shares the following explanation: “Brahma’s first human creations were saints, who, immediately upon being created fell into deep meditation, finding no interest in the things of the world. Thus, through them, Brahma saw no possibility of propagation of their species. While he was meditating upon what course he should pursue, his own form divided itself, one half became man and the other half became woman. The man was called Manu, and the woman Shatarupa, and from them have sprung all mankind.”¹ So man is considered, not a creaton of God, but an emanation of God. At the beginning of every secondary cycle another Manu appears to become the father of the human race.

Concerning the nature of man, numerous theories are found in Hinduism. The following seems to be the most dominant and accepted. Man is made up of three primary bodies or ‘sheaths’ (sharira) that surround the atman (the real Self): (1) The gross body-sthula-sharira, also called annamaya kosha; (2) The subtle body-sukshma-sharira, also called linga-sharira, and; (3) The causal body-karana-sharira, identical with anandamaya-kosha.² The subtle body is subdivided further into three parts: the vital sheath (pranamaya-kosha), the mental sheath (manomaya-kosha), and the intellectual sheath (vijnanamaya-kosha). So altogether there are five ‘sheaths’ or bodies in which the atman is contained (a viewpoint expressed in the Taittiriya Upanishad). The subtle body is the means by which the atman passes from one life to the next on its journey toward perfection. The causal body contains the ‘idea template’-the spiritual blueprint for the subtle and gross bodies. Some sources say that the causal body is also divided into three parts, bringing the total number of ‘bodies’ to seven.

The atman (Sanskrit meaning “God within”) is the true Self, the higher Self. It is eternal, uncreated, without gender, pure, unchanging, indestructible, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. It cannot feel pain and it does not evolve. This divine essence is within every living thing: plant, animal and human. These variations are not differences in the atman itself, but in the degree it manifests in a physical form. When dwelling in a human body, it erroneously identifies itself with the flesh body, the mind and the intellect, until a person’s consciousness is awakened. Then the atman rules a person’s existence.

A primary doctrine that pervades much of Hinduism is the perception that atman, the individual soul, is actually Brahman, the universal Soul. Often quoted is the passage out of the Chandogya Upanishad in which Uddalaka admonishes his son, Svetaketu: “The subtle essence is universally diffused in all things wherever found. It is the true Self; and, Svetaketu, that thou art (tat twam asi)!”

Conflicting interpretations of this passage exist within the camp of Hinduism itself. Sankara, an eighth century Hindu philosopher, believed this statement indicates atman and Brahman are identical. Ramanuja, an eleventh century Hindu teacher, insisted it infers atman and Brahman are inseparable, but not identical.

When the atman becomes personalized and individualized, it is referred to as the jiva (pronounced jee’va, meaning “that which lives”). This is the embodied atman, the individual personality that wrongly identifies with the physical form and the mind. As the human ego, it imparts a fallacious sense of duality (distinction between God and man) that keeps the jiva bound to the cycle of birth and death. The atman transcends time, space, causality, name and form, but these five things bind the jiva. This condition is only a temporary illusion on the way to the final destiny of atman (the true Self) merging into oneness with Brahman. Jivas are infinite in number.

Everything in the manifest world is comprised of the three gunas: sattva, rajas and tamas. When it relates to the evolutionary development of human beings, sattva concerns that part of our inherent nature that is veiled and must be realized; tamas is what hinders that realization; rajas is the energy or force that overcomes tamas. Tamas is laziness, unconcern and the dullness of the sense-bound human mind; rajas is passion, zeal and holy action that overcomes tamas to attain the sattva of serenity and understanding. Sattva is goodness and harmony. It is not cosmic consciousness, but it leads a person to the boundary of this ultimate state of being.

Final liberation happens after many incarnations, with the circumstances of each incarnation determined by karma from previous lives. Karma attaches itself to the subtle body. Karma is comprised of merits (punya) or demerits (papa) that result from every action. There are sixteen basic elements of the physical body; nineteen elements of the subtle body, which correspond to the thirty-five basic idea-elements of the causal body.

• Note on the caste system of Hinduism: In discussing various beliefs concerning the nature of man, this subject should not be overlooked. In the Laws of Manu (an ancient Hindu text) society is divided into four main castes (varnas)-Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (nobles), Vaisyas (merchants and farmers) and Sudras (manual laborers, peasants and servants). These originated from four parts of the body of Brahma. (See Rig Veda 10:90,12.) The Brahmin priestly caste proceeded from Brahma’s head, the Kshatriyas from his arms, the Vaisyas from his thighs and the Sudras from his feet. Far beneath the Sudras are the ‘untouchables’ (Harijans) who were rejects from the social order altogether. (Mahatma Ghandi preferred to call them the “Children of God.”) These four main castes are divided into various sub-castes (around 3,000). Each of these divisions determines a certain status and duty in life.

When this social order is strictly observed, the castes do not intermarry or even eat with each other. In 1949 Ghandi and others persuaded the Indian Parliament to make this practice illegal. Nevertheless, some still live according to this standard, believing it to be divinely inspired. (In Hindu Scripture Krishna declares, “The four castes were created by me.” Bhagavad-Gita 4:13)

The caste system has been a subject of great controversy, even within the camp of Far Eastern religions. Buddha was appalled at this doctrine. Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, and Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism, were both born in the second caste, yet they arose to become noted spiritual leaders. Both of them repudiated this concept, teaching that society should be casteless and that all people have equal value. Some Hindus compromise the unyielding imposition of this doctrine, teaching that a person’s caste is determined, not by the social status inherited at birth, but by personal choice or personal accomplishment. Thus, any person can be positioned in any caste according to his own intellectual, emotional, spiritual and/or social development.

• Note on the Yoga School within Hinduism: Yoga is one of the main schools of thought within Hinduism. In many groups that promote the practice of yoga, human beings are described as possessing spiritual energy centers called chakras. Though there are some different views promoted by various yogis and swamis, it is generally believed that there are seven main chakras, five of which are positioned along the spinal column. The sixth is the ‘third eye’ and the seventh, the ‘crown chakra’ located at the crown of the skull. The third eye (in the middle of the forehead) is described as one of the main gateways out of the body into the astral realm. Each chakra is associated with a different deity. When the kundalini (the latent deposit of divine energy at the base of the spine) is ‘awakened,’ this energy travels upward through the chakras. Upon reaching the crown chakra, God consciousness is attained. According to the Sankhya Yoga School, there are two main aspects to man: the self (purusha) bound inside of a body of matter (prakriti).

The Nature of Salvation, Liberation or Enlightenment

Hinduism: In Hinduism there are three main paths (marga) to salvation or liberation: (1) The Way of Knowledge (jnana-marga-study of the sacred texts and contemplation of the soul’s oneness with Brahman); (2) The Way of Devotion (bhakti-marga-loving surrender of the self to God, often in the form of worshipful service of an individual deity); (3) The Way of Works (karma-marga-the way of good deeds, as well as properly following religious ceremonies, traditions and ethical duties).

These three paths could also be otherwise identified as Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga. Many teachers, including Ramakrishna, identify a fourth main path as Raja Yoga, differentiating between the pursuit of knowledge (Jnana Yoga) and the psychophysical techniques aimed at subduing the mind and experiencing the super-conscious state (Raja Yoga). These methods include body postures, breath control and concentration or contemplation: all aimed at the ultimate goal of achieving samadhi. Following one or all of these paths can finally deliver a person from samsara (the cycle of rebirths). Many Hindus would say that total liberation (moksha) comes when the soul achieves undifferentiated union with Brahman.

In contrast, the Sankhya Yoga School within Hinduism teaches that final liberation is not signified by an absolute, monistic oneness with Brahman: a perception of everything being in the Self and the Self in everything. Instead, it involves the freeing of the individual soul from the cycle of rebirth, yet simultaneously, an isolation from all other ‘Selves’ within the sphere of its own personal, omnipresent, omniscient, divine, eternal existence. In this viewpoint, absorption into Brahman does not mean the absolute loss of individuality.

This sect also teaches eight stages in the practice of yoga: (1) Self-control-yama; (2) Religious observance-niyama; (3) Postures-asanas; (4) Breath and life-force control-pranayama; (5) Withdrawal from control of the senses-pratyahara; (6) Concentration, steadying of the mind-dharana; (7) Meditation-dhyana; (8) Profound con-templation-samadhi-which ultimately ends in complete absorption in God. Though not emphasized as much today, in historical Hinduism animal sacrifices were particularly cited as a means of atonement and an answer for the human dilemma.

Dimensions or Planes of Existence

Hinduism: On a fundamental level, Hinduism defines existence as being comprised of three worlds. (1) The First World (Bhuloka) is the material universe, the physical plane. (2) The Second World (Antarloka) is the subtle, astral plane, the mental and emotional sphere, occupied by angels, spirits and devas (divine beings). (3) The Third World (Brahmaloka) is the causal plane, the spiritual universe of the Mahadevas, ‘great radiant entities,’ gods and highly evolved souls. This superior, superconscious realm has also been referred to as Karanaloka and Sivaloka (by the Saivites who believe the god Shiva is the Creator). The philosophy of Hinduism revolves around the harmonizing and interaction of these three worlds. In Hindu Scripture is found the prayer, “Make me immortal in that realm where movement is accordant to wish, in the third region, the third heaven of heavens, where the worlds are resplendent.” (Rig Veda 9.1113) Some Hindus would list the three worlds as: (1) Heaven (Svarga); (2) Earth (Bhumi) and; (3) the Underworld (Patala).

The Spiritual Journey and Ultimate Destiny of Man

Hinduism: Adherents are directed toward four successive goals in life: dharma (moral law), artha (wealth), kama (pleasure) and moksha (liberation of the soul, ultimate God-consciousness). These bring satisfaction to the four divisions of a person: the physical body (sharira), the mind (manas), the intellect (buddhi), and the self (atman). Individuals are also described as owing ‘three debts’: first, to God, second, to the sages and saints who have gone before, and third, to ancestors. Generally speaking, there are four stages (ashramas) in life: that of a student, a householder, an ascetic and the final stage of fully renouncing all worldly ties and pursuing the depth of contemplation.

     Reincarnation is a foundational belief in Hinduism, the idea that the soul passes through numerous incarnations (mineral, plant, animal and human) on its journey toward perfection. Conditions in each life are determined by past karma. Any negative thoughts, attitudes or deeds cause proportional, negative results in the future, either in the same life or a future one. Any positive thoughts, attitudes and deeds are likewise reaped in a positive way. It is important to understand “Hindus hold that God…does not punish or reward anyone. We create our own destinies by our own thoughts and deeds.”[1]

     Numerous means are offered within Hinduism enabling spiritually inclined persons to escape negative karma. Not only do wicked deeds produce binding karma; righteous deeds performed with the desire of obtaining fruit, a sense of fulfillment or recognition from others also bind a soul to rebirth. Non-attachment to both good and evil are, therefore, promoted in the Hindu scheme of salvation. Moksha (liberation) cannot be achieved until the soul is rid of all worldly desire, including the desire for moksha itself.

     There is a certain soul or ‘self’ that is transferred from one incarnation to the next on its journey toward perfection. One source explains, “The two sheaths, vijnanamaya kosha and anandamaya kosha, are the bodies that go from birth to birth; the other three sheaths are grown again in each life.”[2] (See “Hinduism” under The Origin and Nature of Man.) In between incarnations, the soul (in the form of a subtle or astral body) lives in the subtle or astral realm. In this plane, the soul experiences an existence very similar in some ways to its previous earthly existence. For some, unrealized hopes and unfulfilled dreams may even be brought to realization and fulfillment.

     Though a variety of beliefs exist in Hinduism concerning the soul’s ultimate state, two main veins of thought seem to dominate. Sankara, an eighth century teacher, believed that when souls (atman or jiva) are finally released from the cycle of rebirths (samsara) they do not retain their individual personality. Instead they are absorbed into God. They actually become God. Ramanuja, an eleventh century philosopher, argued that souls retain their individuality in the ultimate state and instead have eternal communion with God. Sankara’s system of thought was based on the idea that God is impersonal; Ramanuja’s view was based on the premise that God is personal.

Cycles, Ages and the Ultimate State of the Universe

Hinduism: Vedanta cosmology (a view based on the Vedas) speaks of the manifestation and the non-manifestation of the universe. In the former state things are seen in their tangible form, and in the latter, they go dormant as seed. These two universal states are called the “day of Brahma” and the “night of Brahma” (Brahma being the creator-god in traditional Hinduism).

     The period of manifestation is called a kalpa, or cycle. One kalpa consists of 4,320,000,000 years. Two kalpas make a day and night of Brahma—a total of 8,640,000,000 years. 360 such days and nights make one year of Brahma. 100 such years constitute Brahma’s lifetime of 311,040,000,000,000 years. Brahma then dies and another Brahma is reborn, a process infinitely repeated.[1]

     When Brahma dies everything dissolves, returning back to the primordial substance (prakriti). Some sources (Mundaka Upanishad 2,1,1 and Taittiriyaka Upanishad 3,10,4) explain that even the highest divine beings, gods and demigods, are subjected to this process. There are differences of opinion concerning whether or not those who experience release (moksha) from the cycle of rebirths will be subjected to this process. Some say that all evolved beings will eventually be recaptured by the merciless turn of the cyclical wheel…again and again…ad infinitum. Other sources say that liberated souls are not affected by this final dissolution and ‘night of non-manifestation’—Mahapralaya—but rather, remain in the highest state of oneness with Brahman.

    Each kalpa is made up of 1000 maha-yugas. A maha-yuga is comprised of four yugas or world ages: Krita (or Satya) Yuga (1,728,000 years), Treta Yuga (1,296,000 years), Dvapara Yuga (864,000 years) and Kali Yuga (432,000 years). These four yugas are named after the four throws in a dice game, progressing from the best to the worst. Added together, they make up a Mahayuga (“great yuga”). Notice that each age is a multiple of 432,000. The reasoning behind this is as follows: the Krita Yuga is the golden age of perfection when dharma, the moral order of the world, is one hundred percent manifested. There is a progressive degeneration in every age, with twenty-five percent of dharma being lost with each age. The Kali Yuga, being a fourth as long as the Krita Yuga, is the darkest of all ages subsisting “on twenty-five percent of the full strength of dharma. Egoistic, devouring, blind and reckless elements now are triumphant and rule the day. Kali means the worst of anything…During the Kali Yuga, man and his world are at their very worst.”[2] The general consensus is that this dark period began in 3102 B.C. and will, therefore, end approximately 426,898 years from now.[3] Conditions will increasingly worsen until virtue and religion disappear, chaos reigns and the destruction of the world takes place. Then, after a Brahma-night of non-manifestation, the cyclical process begins all over again, beginning with another Krita Yuga.

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