Hinduism

Hinduism The oldest world religion, to which most Indians adhere. All gods are manifestations of Brahma, the supreme being of the Hindu pantheon, who is part of a trinity with Vishnu, the all-preserver, and Siva, the mystic, miracle-working deity. Into Brahma, the ultimate world-spirit, the reincarnated, purified individual spirit is finally absorbed. The oldest extant scriptures are the eighth-century bc Sanskrit texts, the Upanishads, from which the systems of Hindu law and social structure are derived, including the caste system. Of later texts the Mahabharata remains extremely influential, within which is the Bhagavadgita (c. 300 bc), where Krishna, the lord of creation, teaches self-mastery through the Yoga, which aims at the harmonization of body, soul, and spirit.

Perhaps the greatest modern Hindu reformer was Mohandas K. Gandhi, who based his campaign on the deep roots of Hinduism, e.g. his satyagraha (‘holding fast to the truth’), which emphasized non-violent methods of protest, as well as his practice of yoga, meditation, fasting, and non-violence to any living thing, ahimsa. At the same time, Gandhi was concerned to reform some fundamental aspects of Hinduism, in particular the rejection of the caste of the untouchables, whom he addressed as harijans (‘children of God’). This pointed to a fundamental problem of modern India, namely the tension between the old Hindu caste system, the traditional subservience of women, and the insistence on non-violence on the one hand, and the requirements of a modern secular state with equal responsibilities towards all its citizens, and with frequent involvement in wars with religious undercurrents (e.g. the Indo-Pakistan Wars or the Sri Lankan Civil War) on the other.