A Brief Introduction to Hinduism

A venerable swami, the late Sellathuraiswami, of Jaffna, Sri Lanka once asked me, “Who is the Supreme God of ?” I had trouble giving him an answer. Nobody had ever asked me that question before, nor had I ever thought about it. So Sellathuraiswami seeing me in a quandry elaborated his question further, “in Islam you have Allah, in Christianity you have Jehovah, but can you name the Supreme God of Hinduism?” I gave up and told swami that I did not know how to answer that question. The swami then answered, “There is no Supreme God in Hinduism, because Hinduism is a label given to us by foreigners." It dawned on me how true swami's answer was. Hinduism is actually a collection of different religions (that are classed as Hindu sects in modern understanding of Hinduism) that share a common belief structure and originated from the ancient Indian subcontinent. Therefore no one can actually name the Supreme God of Hinduism.

As I was absorbing the wisdom of his answer, Sellathuraiswami furthered his explanation saying, "If I asked you who is the Supreme God of , the answer is obvious, God Shiva. The supreme God of Vaishnavism is God Vishnu.” Saivism and Vaishnavism are two of the four main sects of Hinduism. The other two are and . Shakta followers worship any form of , such as Durga, Amman or Lakhsmi as Supreme. Smarta followers worship the Sun as an embodiment of Supreme and may choose any other form of God that they feel close to. Each sect of Hinduism is a separate religion. Each has its own traditions, saints, temples and scriptures. The sects of Hinduism share a harmonious coexistance. Followers of any sect of Hinduism may visit temples and saints of other sects and may participate in any of each other’s religious activities.

Hinduism is a comparatively recent name given to a group of religious sects that share certain core beliefs and practices. There is actually a more ancient name for the religion that we know of as Hinduism today. Before Hinduism there was Sanatana Dharma. Sanatana Dharma means the Eternal Truths. However Sanatana Dharma was never used as a lable for a religion as Hinduism is used today. Instead it was used to address the commonality among the sects within Hinduism. Ancient Hindus acknowledged that their individual sects share a common origin that is Sanatana Dharma or the Eternal Truths.

Sanatana Dharma can be condensed into twelve articles of belief. These beliefs hold the sects of Hinduism together. We may take these 12 beliefs as our Hindu creed. You may belong to a sect of Hinduism or you may not belong to any sect in particular and consider yourself a general Hindu. No matter what the situation, these twelve beliefs can apply to you. In the following chapters of these lessons, each of these beliefs will be explained in further detail.

I will provide two editions of these beliefs. The first edition (The Twelve Beliefs of Hinduism) is the complete version for youths and adults. The second edition (My Hindu Beliefs), which are declarations of faith, is a simplified version that has nine beliefs that young children can learn. Children ages five and up can learn to memorize and understand these beliefs to strengthen their faith. A third list that you will find in this chapter is the Pancha Nitya Karmas.

The Pancha Nitya Karmas are the condensation of the Hindu Beliefs to Hinduism in practice. The practice of Hinduism is aimed at bringing devotees to the goal of the religion, that is spiritual liberation or moksha. The main practices of Hinduism are listed in Panch Nitya Karmas. The Pancha Nitya Karmas, or the Five Pure Actions are the practices a Hindu must strive to fulfill to develop an ever more intimate relationship with God. Just like the Hindu beliefs they apply across all Hindu sects and are part of traditional Hindu culture. You will find the Panch Nitya Karmas after "My Hindu Beliefs."

The Twelve Beliefs of Hinduism

My Hindu Beliefs (Children's Edition)

Panch Nitya Karmas

12beliefs

The Twelve Beliefs of Hinduism

1 Hindus believe in One Supreme God whose nature is , while also the universe. His functions are Creation, Preservation, , Showering Grace and Obscuring Grace.

2 Hindus believe in the existence of unseen spiritual worlds, abodes where God and His mighty band of Spiritual helpers– and –live. It is through worship and spiritual disciplines that we communicate with God and the Mahadevas.

3 Hindus revere the ancient –Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva–as our Holy Scriptures revealed by God.

4 Hindus believe in the existence and of the or the soul, which is the spiritual body of light and divinity within them, created by God. The atma grows and evolves spiritually through the physical body during its incarnations on earth.

5 Hindus believe in the law of . The spiritual law of cause and effect. Karma dictates that whatever action one performs whether through thoughts, words or deeds, he or she will reap the same reaction. Such as goodness begets goodness while hurt begets hurt. Through karma our individual future is formed and our soul evolves through the lessons it learns from karmic effects.

6 Hindus believe in , that the soul undergoes countless cycles of birth, death and rebirth on earth. The ultimate achievement of life on earth is the attainment of –freedom from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth on Earth.

7 Hindus believe in the need for the personal experience of God. This is accomplished through temple worship, virtous conduct, by performing penance, self-inquiry and meditation. The personal experience of God is required for resolution of all karmas and to achieve moksha.

8 Hindus believe in , or the inherent spiritual laws created by God to govern the spiritual and physical universe. Through dharma proper guidelines are drawn towards the achievements of the , or the 4 goals of life, namely virtuous conduct, wealth, pleasure and liberation.

9 Hindus believe in the need for a to guide the devotee into an ever deepening experience of God.

10 Hindus believe in , or non-violence in thought, word and deed as a cardinal virtue of life, and believe in the ultimate sacredness of the entire universe.

11 Hindus believe that the universe is governed by immense cycles of time called the and repeating cycles of creation, preservation and dissolution.

12 Hindus believe in the acceptance and existence of other genuine religions and spiritual persuasions. The existence of diverse religions are all part of God’s Grace and compassion for humanity. No particular religion has an exclusive claim to salvation.

Childrensbeliefs

My Hindu Beliefs

A Hindu Declaration of Faith (for Children)

1 I believe in God, who is the Creator of this world and Protector of my family.

2 I believe in Heaven where God, the Mahadevas and the devas live. Heaven is a beautiful place filled with love that I can feel within my heart.

3 I believe that I am a child of God like everyone else. God has given me a most powerful but invisible body called the atma or the soul, that gives me strength and goodness.

4 I believe in doing good and not bad. If I do good, good things will happen to me. If I do bad, bad things will happen to me. This is called karma.

5 I believe that God can hear me when I lovingly pray to him in my heart or in the temple.

6 I believe that I will see God one day if I am good to others, love people as well as animals and pray to God everyday.

7 I believe to be happy I must listen to my father and mother and do what they say. I must pray to God everyday and ask Him to protect me and my family. This is called dharma.

8 I believe that I must not beat other people or animals, shout at others or have bad thoughts about others. This is called ahimsa. I believe this is very important otherwise God will be sad with me.

9 I believe that all religions are good and I must always respect my friends who pray to other forms of God.

panchanityakarmas

Pancha Nitya Karmas

Five Important Practices in Hinduism

1 Upasana, Worship: This includes daily worship in the home shrine, performing pujas, sadhana, devotional singing, yoga asanas, dhyana and scriptural study. We become secure through devotion in our home and the temple, bringing forth love of the Divine and preparing our mind for serene meditation.

2 Utsava, Holy Days: This involves participating in Hindu festivals and holy days in the home and temple. We learn to be happy through sweet communion with God at such auspicious celebrations. Utsava includes fasting and attending the temple on Fridays, the Hindu holy day and other festival days.

3 Dharma, Virtuous Living: Here we learn to live a life of duty and good conduct. We learn to be selfless by thinking of others first, being respectful of parents, elders and gurus, following divine law, especially ahimsa–mental, emotional and physical non injury toward all beings. Thus we resolve karmas.

4 Tirthayatra, Pilgrimage: It is advised for each Hindu to pilgrimage at least once a year to holy sites of our religion in India or elsewhere at least once in a lifetime if not annually. We learn to be detached by setting aside our worldly affairs and making God, life's singular focus during these journeys.

5 Samskara, Rites of Passage: We observe the many sacraments which mark and sanctify our passages through life. We learn to be traditional by celebrating the rites of birth, name-giving, head-shaving, first feeding, ear-piercing, first learning, coming of age, marriage and death.