What is Hinduism in brief? Hinduism religion in brief

Hinduism is a religion professed by more than 80% of the population. Temples and sacred altars are mandatory attributes of any city in the country. The organization of space in Hindu temples is of particular importance. Believers must reach a higher state of consciousness in order to communicate with their gods. The location of each room, its proportions and colors, should express love for the absolute. Architecture is designed to capture the vital forces and direct them towards the statue of the holy spirit. In order to maintain this delicate balance and not disturb this mysterious harmony, often representatives of other religions (non-Hindus) are not allowed to enter temples. The role of the priest, mainly a Brahmin, is to serve in the temple. His responsibilities include preserving and transmitting sacred texts, culture and everything that is dear to people.

Hindu religion refers to the appearance on the territory of India of the first Aryan tribes, who came here about 4 thousand years ago. Hinduism is not only a religious cult, but also a philosophy of life's path. The Hindu religion is extremely rich in its symbolism.

Hindus worship more than ten thousand gods who are similar to people also get married and have children. Foremost god - Brahma, he is the creator of the world. Then follow Vishnu(custodian) and Shiva(destroyer). Brahma, one of the three highest gods of Hinduism, symbolizes the idea of ​​​​creation of the world. He is often depicted sitting on a lotus flower, the stem of which grows from the belly of the god Vishnu. Shiva can be recognized by the weapon in his hands; he is often depicted with a sword or trident.

Two fundamental The principles of Hinduism are dharma and karma. Dharma is the universal law of reincarnation of life and death, which determines man’s place in the universe. Karma is the law of action, according to which all a person’s actions will respond in his afterlife. It is believed that a person's living conditions are determined by his past. To get out of this vicious circle, a person must strive for a virtuous life. This type of spirituality still has influence in India. This belief, which has deep roots, has remained unchanged throughout the centuries.

Hinduism - basic ideas

For Western understanding, the ideas of Hinduism remain alien mainly because it goes against our usual stereotypes developed by the Christian religion. Hinduism is, first of all, a collection of all kinds of movements, directions and schools, coexisting within the framework of a holistic education, which correspond to certain common basic guidelines.

In Hinduism, in principle, there cannot be heretical forms that contradict the orthodox faith, as we would understand them from a Christian position.

In the teachings of Hinduism, one can consider four main ideas or provisions on which the religious concept is based:
- about the soul;
- about the afterlife;
- about supernatural beings;
- about sacred books.

Unlike the “religions of scripture” that we understand (such as Christianity or Islam), Hinduism is a mythological religion. The main ideas of Hinduism are manifested in the following concepts: every seeker can free himself from earthly suffering - the wheel of samsara, having achieved final liberation (moksha), choosing the path to liberation that turns out to be closer to him. A person of a philosophical bent chooses jnana marga (the path of knowledge), and a person of action will prefer karma marga (the path of deeds); for a person of service, bhakti marga (the path of service and all-consuming love for God) is suitable.
The diversity of Hinduism is clearly manifested in social attitudes, and this is primarily the caste system of society. Each Hindu is born into his own caste, belongs to a certain sect, and therefore performs rituals corresponding to his hereditary status, position in society and age.

The polytheistic character of Hinduism is also manifested by its attitude towards other cults, which is completely unusual for us. When it came into contact with other religious concepts, Hinduism, like a sponge, absorbed them in one form or another, adapted them to its needs, thereby ensuring a strong and durable existence, withstanding the competition with Buddhism, Islam and other religions present in the territory where Hinduism spread.

From the point of view of conventional Western standards, Hinduism appears to be haphazard, logically disordered and chaotic. But from the point of view of the traditions of Indian culture, it is undoubtedly systematic and understandable, since it is associated with ancient mythology, on which Hinduism grew as on fertile soil, which to this day invariably retains an archaic flavor. Thus, Hinduism can be understood as a system of cultural symbols that carry ancient traditions that are preserved and developed in various historical conditions.

Hinduism has never had a single centralized organization, even within India, as is present in the tradition of the Christian church. Temples in India were autonomous entities and were never subordinate to any higher spiritual authority. All kinds of priests, mentors-gurus, teachers-acharyas, both in ancient times and now, instruct individual families, schools, individuals, etc. , but they were never connected with each other into a coherent organization. In the entire centuries-old history of Hinduism, there has not been a single all-Hindu council; no general norms, principles or rules of behavior have ever been established. Nevertheless, the general concept continues to be preserved, which is explained, as mentioned above, by historical conditioning.

1) Reincarnation of souls (samsara)

Reincarnation of souls is perhaps the most attractive idea of ​​Hinduism, as this idea overcomes the fear of death.

If after death your soul moves into another body, young, beautiful, full of energy, and a new life awaits you, perhaps more interesting and happy, then why should you be afraid of death?

“Just as a person, throwing off old clothes, puts on new ones, so the soul enters new material bodies, leaving behind the old and useless ones.”
(Bhagavad-Gita 2.22)

For Christians, the fear of death remains; even true believers sometimes have doubts: “What if there is nothing there?” After all, the existence of God does not guarantee us immortality: “What if He doesn’t need us there?”
This is confirmed by the fact that even the most righteous people, being already very old and sick, still cling to this life, which for them is filled with suffering.

Hindus, with their mother's milk, absorb the belief in the transmigration of souls and treat death much more easily. In India, people do not mourn dead people, as in Europe, but, on the contrary, celebrate this event.

The idea of ​​the transmigration of souls has many supporters, although no one counted them, I think that most people on earth believe in the transmigration of souls.

2) Law of retribution (karma)

Karma(translated from Sanskrit means “what has been done”) is a set all human actions that together determine his future.

“Poverty, illness, grief, imprisonment and other misfortunes are the fruits of the tree of our sins.” (Sri Chanakya Niti-shastra, 14.1)

Hindus believe that a person's future is determined by how he lives in this life and how he lived in his previous incarnations. Every human action has its consequences. If a person does good deeds, then his karma improves, and if he does evil, then his karma worsens.

This is a universal law of life.

Karma is not a punishment for sins or a reward for virtues. A change in karma is the result of the natural course of events, which are interconnected by a cause-and-effect relationship: every human action generates its own consequences. At every moment of life we ​​have a choice of what to do, good or evil, and by making this free choice, we create our future.

The idea of ​​karma is also very attractive, because it provides an answer to the most difficult questions that believers ask themselves:

Why does the all-good God allow so much evil into our world?
Why do maniacs torture and kill young children?
Why do godly people live worse than prostitutes and thieves?
Why do innocent people die from terrorist explosions, natural disasters and man-made disasters?

If you accept the law of karma, then all these questions will disappear by themselves, because any misfortune can be explained by karmic consequences.

In addition, the law of karma gives a person hope for justice, because according to this law, a person himself determines his own destiny, each time making a choice between good and evil.

3) Liberation from the chain of rebirths (moksha)

The main goal of Hinduism is to escape the chain of rebirths.

Please note, this is not a partial working off of karmic debts and, as a result, a more favorable fate in a new incarnation, but a final departure from the world of samsara (translated from Sanskrit as “circle of rebirths”).

Every person, rich or poor, beautiful or ugly, having a villa in Nice or living homeless on the streets, sooner or later receives a full cup of suffering. Who can avoid old age, illness, loss of loved ones? In India, where many people live in grinding poverty, this is especially true. Therefore, the idea of ​​cessation of earthly existence and transition to other worlds where there is no suffering has become the central idea of ​​Hinduism.

In Hinduism, the reason for the soul's presence in the world of samsara is ignorance - a misconception about the laws of the universe. In our world, the human soul is consumed by passions - lust, greed, envy, hatred. And all this gives rise to new suffering, since under the influence of negative feelings we create evil and, thus, worsen karma.

To escape the cycle of birth and death and thus be freed from all suffering, a person must realize his true nature. When the individual soul of man realizes its oneness with the source of all existence (God), it will find itself in a state of pure spirit, filled with knowledge and bliss (nirvana), which defies description.

“Whoever looks at the world with the eyes of knowledge and sees the difference between body and soul,
he can find the path leading to liberation from bondage in the material world and achieve the highest goal." (Bhagavad-Gita, 13.35)

The main way to achieve liberation is Yoga (translated from Sanskrit means “unity, connection, harmony”), which is a set of various spiritual and physical practices aimed at controlling consciousness. There are many types of yoga in Hinduism, but you must begin your spiritual path by observing

5 basic principles of moral purity:

1) refusal to use violence,

2) refusal to lie,

3) refusal to steal,

4) abstinence from sensual pleasures,

5) renunciation of greed.

4) Polytheism and Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva)

There are thousands of gods and goddesses in Hinduism, each with their own sphere of influence. For example, (the elephant-headed god) brings good luck and promotes success in scientific research, so he is worshiped by scientists. is the goddess of wisdom, eloquence and art, and is worshiped by philosophers, poets and artists. She holds in her hands a musical instrument symbolizing art. – the goddess of destruction, she destroys ignorance and maintains world order. She holds a sword in one hand and a demon's head in the other. In India there are many temples dedicated to the goddess Kali, she is revered as a slayer of demons.

The pantheon of Hindu gods has a complex hierarchical structure. Each god has his own sphere of activity, and they are all included in a complex system of interactions. In Hinduism, there are many different rituals, including sacrifices, with the help of which Hindus try to establish personal contact with the deity and receive some kind of help from him.

A special place in the Indian pantheon is occupied by the trimurti (Hindu trinity), represented by three gods:

Brahma is the creator of the world, Vishnu is the preserver of the world and Shiva is the destroyer.

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are considered different manifestations of the one supreme deity Brahman, who expresses the fundamental principle of all things - absolute reality, containing the entirety of the universe with countless gods and goddesses who appear and disappear following certain time cycles.

Followers of some modern Hindu movements consider Hinduism to be a monotheistic religion, since the different deities worshiped by representatives of different Hindu movements are, in fact, only different hypostases or manifestations of a single spiritual essence - Brahman. At the same time, a person can worship the hypostasis of God that he likes best, if he respects all other forms of worship.

5) Caste structure of society

Unlike other countries, Indian society was initially divided into various social groups - varnas and castes.

There are 4 large social groups - varnas (translated from Sanskrit means “color”):

1) varna brahmins - the class of brahman priests;
2) varna kshatriyas - the class of rulers and warriors;
3) Varna Vaishyas - the class of artisans and traders;
4) varna sudra - the class of inferiors and slaves.

People who did not belong to any of the four varnas were considered outcasts and occupied the lowest rung in society.
Castes correspond to a smaller division of society into groups based on professional affiliation.

In India, social inequality did not simply arise as a result of the stratification of society into rich and poor. The division of society into varnas is a reflection of the cosmic laws of the universe described in Rig Veda. According to Hindu philosophy, a person's level of self-awareness is determined to a large extent by which varna he belongs to. Thus, for Hindus, social inequality is natural, since it follows from the fundamental laws of the universe.

We live in a world where human equality is one of the most important values. It is proclaimed as a moral right and as a law of the state. Now the constitutions of all countries contain provisions on the equality of all citizens among themselves.

However, does this equality really exist?

Look around, someone drives a Mercedes, and someone lives on the street in a cardboard box. You can say that the homeless person is to blame, it is his own choice to live on the street - the main thing is that people have the same opportunities. But do, for example, the son of an oligarch and a boy from a family of alcoholics have the same opportunities? Already at birth, we are very different from each other: one is born smart, beautiful and rich, and the other stupid, poor and sick - and this largely determines the future fate of a person.

Once I was at a lecture on philosophy at the university. The lecture was given by the head of the department, who taught Marxism-Leninism all his life, preaching “freedom, equality and brotherhood.” And so he told us: “Sometimes it seems to me that some people live only to serve other people.” Don't you think so sometimes?

6) The universal law of changing the world (dharma)

In Hinduism, there is a universal law of change in the world - dharma (translated from Sanskrit means “the eternal order of things”). Awareness of this law helps a person to find harmony in life. The word dharma in Hinduism also means truth and reality, and is often interpreted as the correct understanding of the laws of reality or God as the root cause of reality.
People who live in accordance with the principles of dharma quickly emerge from the circle of rebirths, which is why the word dharma is often translated as “right action” or “duty.” In other words, every person has his own task in life that he must complete. If a person acts in accordance with this task, then his life proceeds normally, otherwise problems arise in his way.

The source of universal law is God, whose attributes are truth, knowledge and bliss, which is why dharma is often called truth in Hindu texts.

“The king of kings is what dharma is. Therefore, there is nothing higher than dharma.
And the powerless hopes to overcome the strong with the help of dharma,
as if with the help of the king. Truly I tell you, dharma is truth.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.14)

often identified as one of the world's oldest religions, but is not officially a world religion. Despite the fact that in terms of the number of believers, it ranks third after Christianity and Islam, and is also the largest national religion. Hinduism is inextricably linked with India, where it originally originated.

India's population is more than 1 billion people and about 80% of them practice Hinduism. Only because of the fact that the overwhelming number of followers of this religion live in one country, it was not recognized as a world religion.

There is no known specific year or even century for the beginning of Hinduism. It is an accumulated collection of communities, beliefs, beliefs and practices that have come together over the centuries. Their ancient roots are traditionally seen in the culture of the Indus Valley, riverine civilization and Indo-European people. Refined philosophies, village deities, and ethical obligations coexisted in pluralistic Hindu societies.

The Indus Valley was inhabited 2500 BC. Little is known about the beginnings of "Hinduism" of its then inhabitants, but it is certainly clear that their religious impulses were directed towards the forces of nature: the sun, moon, earth, water, trees, mountains... Around 1500 BC, when the Indo-Aryans moved to this area from the northwest, the religion known as Hinduism first appeared. Local traditions complemented Hinduism, through "syncritization" and "Brahmanization", and flourished in southeast Asia for several thousand years. And now in every part of the world.

Hinduism is more than a religion. It is also a philosophy and a way of life. Unlike other great religions, Hinduism is not based on one holy book - there are many, all of equal importance - or on the words of one or many prophets. Hinduism is a culture in the broad sense of the word, and as a culture, it grows like a living organism, being influenced by all existing factors and circumstances. Modern Hinduism is fueled by many sources, growing into a wide variety of teachings, each of which is important in its own way.

The main schools of Hinduism are Smartism and Shaktism. They share many common concepts and principles, such as karma and reincarnation; belief in some Supreme Being who creates the universe, maintains it and subsequently destroys it to repeat the cycle again; belief in moksha, which means liberation of the soul from an endless series of rebirths; adherence to dharma, a set of rules and norms of behavior necessary to maintain order, ahimsa, the principle of non-violence.

Each branch of Hinduism has its own philosophy and provides different ways to achieve the same goal. Some aspects are viewed from different angles or interpreted differently. Followers of Hinduism believe that there are many paths leading to the One God, therefore there is no enmity or rivalry between them. They freely exchange ideas, debate, and hone the philosophies of their schools.

Hinduism does not have a governing body that exercises control on a national or regional scale. Followers rely on the same holy books, which ensures the unity of their faith, although the interpretation of certain positions among the brahmins (spiritual leaders) of different temples differs.

The sacred books of Hinduism exist in large numbers, divided into two groups: shruti and smriti. It is believed that shruti are scriptures associated with the gods, which appeared with them. They contain eternal knowledge of our world. Subsequently, this knowledge was “heard” by the sages and passed on orally until it was written down by the sage Vyasa in order to preserve it for humanity.

Shruti includes the Vedas, consisting of four volumes and containing the texts of religious rituals, songs and spells; Brahmanas, which are commentaries on the Vedas; The Upanishads, which set out the main essence of the Vedas, and the Aranyakas, with rules of conduct for hermits. Smriti includes books that complement shruti. These are dharma-shastras containing laws and rules of conduct; itihasas, which include various legends and stories; puranas or ancient epics; vedanga - manuals on the six branches of knowledge (Hinduism), and agamas or doctrines.

Hinduism has a place for a huge number of gods. In this religion, gods are the supreme beings who rule the world. Each of them plays its own special role. All of these deities require worship from their followers, which can be performed in temples or at family altars.

The main gods of Hinduism are considered to be (the preserver of the universe), Shiva (the destroyer of the universe) and Brahma (the creator of the universe). Also important are their wives Lakshmi, Parvati and Saraswati. Another three revered gods are Kama (god of love), Ganesha (god of luck and trade) and Brahman (god of the Absolute, “soul of the world”).

A huge number of people who have dedicated their lives to Hinduism receive from this religion the strength to follow their life path towards a good goal, regardless of obstacles and difficulties. While apart, they are united in their aspirations, following the sacred scriptures and worshiping the gods, preserving the great cultural heritage that came from ancient times.

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Mantra (music):

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Quotes:

))) All employees of our nuclear power plant adopted Hinduism. This helps them at least somehow reconcile with the four-armed director.

“A person must be loved by everyone, even by animals.”
Atharva Veda, 17.1.4.

“Do not use the body given to you by God to kill God’s creatures - neither people, nor animals, nor any other creatures.”
Yajurveda, 12.32.

Question to visiting yogi(s):

Is Hinduism close to you? What exactly appeals to you in the religious direction described?