05-11-2005, 09:39 PM
Via email
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->A. <b>HINDUISM : THEOLOGY </b>Its origin and the name : Hinduism is the name given to a set of religious traditions which originated in India. They are ever growing, over a few millennia. The current name is the one given to their whole pattern of life and culture by outsiders who spotted them on the banks of the river Indus. Hindus do not call their religion by any name. To say what they practice as their mythological as well as spiritual tradition, they use the term "Sanatana Dharma" which means "perennial righteous conduct". At the outset, its emphasis has been threefold - purity of life, devotion to the Almighty and a yearning for the spiritual salvation. Â
If we take into account all the names and forms worshipped by all the Hindus, they are countless. Details of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses fill in the spectacular pantheon of Hindu mythology. Traceable to no one source, Hinduism has numerous prophets and holy books. This means Hindus are a collection of enormous spiritual and religious things accumulated over a long period. Among their scriptures, Vedas are said to be basic because no other earlier book is known to the mankind. Subsequently numerous scriptures described to various authors have been the tributaries of one major river, namely Hinduism. Variety is the name to caption its doctrines, beliefs as well as practices. Hinduism shares many things in common with predominant religions of India like Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. It is possible to find various sects within Hindu community being parallel to the specific faiths of the world.
The central belief of Hinduism is that the truth is one but its nature is manifold which explains why there are many religions in the world. Consequent to this belief, Hindu followers have no difficulty, nor find any problem in believing in one God and several Gods at the same time.
However diversified the practices of Hindus may look, one can perceive a unity in their one character - the tendency to change, to adopt and to assimilate.
We also discover many gods/goddesses are but the embodiment of certain virtues e.g. learning or wisdom or arts is Goddess Saraswati, wealth is Lakshmi, power is Parvati. God is both He and She. The same divinity, which is one, when in charge of creation is called Lord Brahma (Creator God); while protecting, He is called Vishnu; and termed as Shiva when He is about to destroy the evil world. Apart from its inexhaustible mythological panorama, Hinduism has also a long and living tradition, - of mystic and spiritual enquiry, practiced to attain Godliness. Hinduism respects all notions of God and even no-God. It does not discriminate between religions.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->A. <b>HINDUISM : THEOLOGY </b>Its origin and the name : Hinduism is the name given to a set of religious traditions which originated in India. They are ever growing, over a few millennia. The current name is the one given to their whole pattern of life and culture by outsiders who spotted them on the banks of the river Indus. Hindus do not call their religion by any name. To say what they practice as their mythological as well as spiritual tradition, they use the term "Sanatana Dharma" which means "perennial righteous conduct". At the outset, its emphasis has been threefold - purity of life, devotion to the Almighty and a yearning for the spiritual salvation. Â
If we take into account all the names and forms worshipped by all the Hindus, they are countless. Details of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses fill in the spectacular pantheon of Hindu mythology. Traceable to no one source, Hinduism has numerous prophets and holy books. This means Hindus are a collection of enormous spiritual and religious things accumulated over a long period. Among their scriptures, Vedas are said to be basic because no other earlier book is known to the mankind. Subsequently numerous scriptures described to various authors have been the tributaries of one major river, namely Hinduism. Variety is the name to caption its doctrines, beliefs as well as practices. Hinduism shares many things in common with predominant religions of India like Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. It is possible to find various sects within Hindu community being parallel to the specific faiths of the world.
The central belief of Hinduism is that the truth is one but its nature is manifold which explains why there are many religions in the world. Consequent to this belief, Hindu followers have no difficulty, nor find any problem in believing in one God and several Gods at the same time.
However diversified the practices of Hindus may look, one can perceive a unity in their one character - the tendency to change, to adopt and to assimilate.
We also discover many gods/goddesses are but the embodiment of certain virtues e.g. learning or wisdom or arts is Goddess Saraswati, wealth is Lakshmi, power is Parvati. God is both He and She. The same divinity, which is one, when in charge of creation is called Lord Brahma (Creator God); while protecting, He is called Vishnu; and termed as Shiva when He is about to destroy the evil world. Apart from its inexhaustible mythological panorama, Hinduism has also a long and living tradition, - of mystic and spiritual enquiry, practiced to attain Godliness. Hinduism respects all notions of God and even no-God. It does not discriminate between religions.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->