Introduction
Unlike Christianity, Judaism and Islam, Hinduism has no founder.
It also has no single religious book that serves as the basis for its theology, like the Bible or Koran. However, it does have a fundamental set of beliefs and deities that have been echoed throughout its many sacred texts and mythologies for over hundreds of years.
And like every other religion, Hinduism contains of the following foundational elements:
1. The Core Beliefs
The main beliefs in Hinduism are:
- Samsara – The cycle of reincarnation until Moksha is achieved. Moksha is the liberation from the cyles of rebirth and reunification with the One Supreme Being.
- Karma – If you do good in the world, good will return to you. And vice versa.
- Dharma – That each person has his placement and responsibilities in society
2. Gods and Goddesses
Early Hindu thought centered around the One Supreme Being, which is not a male or female, but is the true reality of the universe that we are unable to perceive with our five senses and current understanding.
This was fine, but Hindus wanted more than this one-size-fits-all approach to prayer and devotion. So then they created a whole mythology with many different deities (gods and goddesses) that each represents a different aspect of the One Supreme Being. This created a whole new framework for prayer, devotion, and festivals.
Note, this is not to say that Hinduism is polytheistic. Hindus don’t believe in multiple gods. They are pluralist. They believe in many forms and manifestations of the one and only god, the One Supreme Being, known as Brahman.
I provide a comprehensive list of the Hindu gods and goddesses in this post A Big List of Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
3. Sacred Texts
Hinduism is not based on one book. Instead, there are many different sacred texts that serve as the basis for the theology and rituals of Hinduism. These texts were originally written in Sanskrit.
The Vedas
The Veda texts were revealed to sages by God in ancient times. Over time, they were accumulated and assimilated into the four Vedas, which form the basis of Hinduism.
The four Vedas are:
- Rig Veda (the most popular)
- Yajur Veda
- Sama Veda
- Ahtarva Veda
Each Veda is divided into three of four major sections, referred to as Upanishads.
The Shastras, The Epics, and Puranas
- The Dharma Shastras are the rules of right conduct
- The two major Hindu epics are:
- Ramayana – The story of Prince Rama’s quest to save his wife Sita from the clutches of Ravan, with the help of an army of monkeys
- Mahabharata – The story of two branches of a family – the Pandavas and Kauravas – who, in the Kurukshetra War, battle for the throne of Hastinapura.
- The Puranas are various stories of gods
Combined, all these stories contain thousands of exciting tales to drive home the values and basic principles of Hindu philosophy.
The Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita is considered very sacred by all Hindus. It is, in some sense, a Hindu manual for spiritual life. It is often referred to as The Song by God.
It is a story that takes place right before the great Mahabharata War is about to happen when the hero Arjuna decides to quit the battlefield. He didn’t like how the battle was pitting brothers against brothers, students against teachers, and the young against the old. He threw down his weapons and became very quiet. In a timeless moment, Lord Krishna appears and teaches Arjuna the meaning of duty. He teaches him that he has no choice but to fulfill his duty as a warrior to maintain his dharma.
4. Key Components of Hindu Worship
- Daily and/or weekly prayer
- Occasional worship in temples and shrines
- Festivals
- Rituals to mark the stages of life
The Caste System
Hindu society used to be organized into a caste system, which divided people based on societal functions, which included:
- Brahmins: Spiritual and intellectual services
- Kshatriya: Defense-related services
- Vaishya: Trade and commerce-related services
- Sudhra: Manual labor serves
- Untouchables: Dirty work such as cleaning toilets and so on.
Is the caste system still alive? The answer is yes and no. Some people condemn the caste system, while some others still observe it without violating state and federal laws. And there are are spectrum of people in between these extreme points of view. Nowadays though, Hindus of all castes sit together in classrooms, restaurants, buses, and workplaces.