Hinduism

Hinduism is Britain and the world’s third largest religion, with 850-950 million members. Most live in India, but 558,810 live in the UK.

Hinduism is not really a religion with fixed rules and traditions, like Judaism and Islam, but is more an assembly of faith schools derived from the ancient Vedic texts of the Aryan race in North India, around the River Indus (hence the name “Hindu”). These different schools are linked together by shared principles and shared origins, and most share the same major deities (although they may be given different names), but each follows a different spiritual leader or guru.

God and Gods

Hindus do not worship a god like God or Allah, but have many different deities. These deities, called murti, although worshipped, are not normally considered gods, but aspects of Brahaman – Ultimate Reality.

In addition to the core pantheon of murti, each sect follows their own guru. Anyone could become a guru if they have reached enlightenment – a discovery of what is ‘real’ - and accepted disciples. To have done this they must be people of great spiritual power whose teachings, wisdom and profundity, their lack of desire and guilt, have been so influential that an religious movement has developed behind them. It is possible that Buddha was originally a Hindu guru, so Buddhism, and also Sikhism and Jainism were heavily influenced by Hinduism. There are certainly important philosophical aspects that these religions share.

For instance the great Hindu Temple in Neasden, North London is built by the followers of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, an 18th century guru, by his 5th successor, who is alive today and spreading his word across the world. So some gurus will be a single person while others will inspire or appointed a successor and initiate an active dynasty.

It is only through the teachings of these gurus that a Hindu can achieve enlightenment – a discovery of what is ‘real’. The murti themselves cannot give this, but represent aspects of the real. In spite of this a guru is often considered as an incarnation of a murti. The followers of all these different gurus are all still Hindu, even if there are different objects of their worship.

Despite this range of gods and gurus, it is probably wrong to think of Hinduism as poly-theistic. Each deity, and each leader according to his sect, is a manifestation of the one Brahaman, which could be thought of as the Universal Soul. This Unity, Supreme Oneness that is everything, which is the Ultimate Reality, holds Hindu belief together in unity. An analogy can be drawn between this One, and the omniscient omnipresence of the Christian and Islamic God. In this way, Hinduism is as much theist as it is atheist or polytheist.

Reality and Unreality

So if it is only gurus who find reality, then what is the world we live in, the world of people, objects and emotions? The answer is that it is not real. The material world is an illusion from which we can only be freed when we reach enlightenment. Otherwise after we die, our souls, which are real, migrate to a new vessel. Hindus therefore believe in reincarnation. Not in the sense that “I” may be born again as The Queen, or a walrus, but more as ‘the transmigration of the soul’, where the soul moves from one holder to another, all of which are illusory, until, if ever, it reaches enlightenment.

Inclusivity

Although similar sentiments occur in other religions, Hinduism is a notably inclusivist religion. Not only does its lack of formal structure allow people of a variety of differing beliefs to worship together and hold a shared culture, it also allows anyone who believes in God to be considered righteous, not only Hindus. Hinduism is accordingly a faith to whom virtue, modesty and compassion among man is more highly regarded than the dogmatic observance of traditional rituals. There is not necessarily an organised congregational approach to worship, and Hindus are more likely to have shrines in their own home at which they can worship. These shrines in return remind them of their faith throughout the day.

Caste

Caste is a social system peculiar to India, where it affects all regions and religions. In Britain it would be called ‘class’, but the rules of caste are complicated, strict and unalterable. Everyone is born into a certain caste, from which they cannot move. Caste has origins in the Rig-Veda (the oldest vedic scripture), in which Primal Man is split into four parts, the mouth for speaking, the arms for fighting, the legs for transporting and the feet for serving. A division of man as priests, soldiers, merchants and servants has mutated a highly complicated class system traditionally riven with prejudice.

There were both legitimate and illegitimate reasons for the deepening of the caste system. For instance, professional secrets were normally handed down form father to son, and so the ownership of occupations became hereditary. Over time castes emerged to match the permutations of class, status and profession. The highest Brahmin class expanded from priest to lawyers and doctors; the soldier class into administrators and civil servants and so on.

Combined with the importance of purity and cleanliness to Hindu life and worship, the lowest castes became impure. Thus the lowest caste, who probably performed the most unpleasant jobs, became ritually unclean, and finally Untouchables (dalit).

Untouchability has been outlawed in India since 1950, and positive discrimination introduced into education and employment. However, prejudice remains, particularly in regard to marriage. Dowries (also now illegal), given by the bride’s family, are increased if the bride is of a lower social caste than the groom and his family. Despite the Indian government’s attempts to stamp it out, old habits die hard.

Hinduism’s contributions to civilization

The contribution to science made by the people of ancient India is probably the greatest of all civilizations. It is widely believed that the knowledge of the ancient Persians, Greeks, and possibly Egyptians, originated in India.

Geometry

While Pythagoras is widely credited with the discovery of his theorem, it was known to Hindu mathematicians in 800-600 BCE, about 100 years before Pythagoras. Some people believe he introduced it to the west after a trip to India.

Mathematics

The number ‘0’ was invented (or discovered) by a Hindu Indian mathematician in the 5 th century BC. This concept was modified until it was used as a place value, (as in “1,000,000” to mean a million), sometime in the next millennium. This is one of the most important inventions in mathematical notation ever, allowing an infinitely large abacus to be imitated using only 10 different symbols. It was then spread across Europe by the Arabic empire from the seventh century CE.

Hindu mathematicians also developed mathematics as a theoretical rather than a practical pursuit, having names for enormous numbers such as 10 to the power 55. Their approximation of pi was the most accurate for nearly 1000 years.

Astronomy

It was known to Hindu astronomers that the Earth was a globe and that it revolved around the Sun. The circumference of the Earth was correctly estimated to within 1%.

Hinduism and modern British culture

Hindu culture is relatively new in Britain, but now, in 2006, there are many aspects of Hindu culture that have been fully absorbed into British consciousness.

Yoga

Currently, yoga is the hottest form of exercise around. Yoga plays an important part of the Hindu attempt to free the soul and become liberated from the illusion of the world. The purpose of yoga is to give positions to aid meditation, to totally empty the mind, to allow the inner light to emerge. Most Gurus, before becoming teachers and preachers of wisdom, first mastered the secrets of yoga, often as prodigiously young children.

The use of yoga now is often almost totally secular, just as an excellent form of strenuous stretching, although many people, particularly teachers, may be familiar with the Hindu philosophy that accompanies it. For Hindus yoga is part of an ancient and sacred form of deep spiritual mediation and cleansing, a practice of spiritual devotion and a component of attaining release from karma. When considering the spiritual Hindu nature of yoga, it may seem strange to remember that exercise groups at church halls in small villages around the country include yoga classes.

Music

Music from India, in some form or another, is phenomenally popular. Hindu music has appeared in the Proms for the last 20 years. Ravi Shankar, who comes from Northern India, is one the most famous musicians in the world, as are his two daughters, Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones.

The Beatles and George Harrison brought Hindustani music and culture to the British public. Harrison’s song My Sweet Lord recites mantras from Hare Krishna texts, and could be used as a source for worship. Forty years later Hindu culture has become even more prevalent in the mainstream. Indian musical forms and instruments, like sitars, are being used across the spectrum of popular music, and can be heard on any number of Top40 songs.

Food

“Pukka”, used frequently by fashionable chefs, and others, to mean "excellent", is a Hindu word, also applied to well-cooked food. That food could be curry, Britain’s national dish, which originated in India.