Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 3

06/15/2014

Ghanashyam Neupane (Bibek)


World Religions 2300-001
Salt Lake Community College
Dr. Wijitha Bandara
Is Hinduism a religion?
Religion has various definitions. Religion is often (in the modern doctrine)
characterized by existence of a divine god, a joint community that worships same beliefs
and particular set of texts that instructs and informs the common practices. According to
According to the famous sociologist Harriet Martineau, Religion is the belief in an ever-
living God, that is, in a Divine Mind and Will ruling the Universe and holding moral
relations with mankind." Unlike other religions, Hinduism is more than a religion; it is
often considered just dharma (way of life) rather than just religion. In my opinion,
Hinduism may not be rigidly one or the other but it definitely has aspects of both life-
style and a religion.
There is no particular divine god in Hinduism. They believe in creation of the
universe rather than creator of the religion. Unlike other religions, Hindus do not follow a
particular book or text. They have multiple texts with the vast content about the universe.
The books does not only consist the content about spirituality and god but also the
information relating to the pursuit of science, medicine, mathematics and other
disciplines. They do not require the devotees to follow any particular idea. Therefore,
Hinduism or Hindu dharma is on the edge of calling itself a religion.
Hinduism has come along different periods: Pre-Vedic, Vedic, Upanishad,
Classical and Modern. In each period, there have been significant variances in what
Hindus believed, and in how they lived. For example, in Vedic period, the caste system
was introduced to categorize the professions that people would like to pursue. There was
no concept of high or low caste. But, in current period, caste system has come along to
become a representation of ones birth in particular family. These days, it has barely
anything to do with the profession. Caste can only be inherited from your father even if
you pursue different profession than him. My point here is, Hinduism is a civilization that
has been flourishing over these periods, and even now.
Even the term Hinduism doesnt necessarily has any roots in the subcontinent
of India. British gave the term to identify the lifestyle for their convenience. There is no
evidence of the word in the Hindu scriptures (BBC 2009). Similarly, another evidence as
to why Hinduism is more a culture than religion can be drawn from the festivals and
rituals. The same festivals are called different names, and celebrated in different ways at
different places in the Indian Subcontinent. For example, the festival of Durga Puja in
India is known better as Dashain in Nepal, and the celebrations are done very differently
in both religions. I believe it would be quite correct to say that this accounts to the
different cultural aspects of different places.
Although Hinduism can be perceived as a dharma (a way of life), there are several
reasons as to why we can call the modern day Hinduism a religion. Modern day
Hinduism has been categorized and manipulated in multiple ways by different people.
There are multiple devotional sects like Vaishnavism (Vishnu as a primary god) and
Shivaism (Shiva as a primary god). They worship and regard their primary god as the
sole creator, destroyer and protector. They believe in creator in the modern time just like
other religons. These sects have their communal temple to worship their particular god.
Moreover, in general, Hinduism can be considered polytheistic with gods with their
particular functions and powers. People worship these gods accordingly; for instance,
when times of economic difficulty, the worship goddess Lakshmi, god of wealth.
Hinduism has changed significantly over the course of its history that can be
explained with the development of culture and civilization. While there are reasons as to
why Hinduism is a religion, these reasons are not rigid and consistent enough make
claims. Hinduism as dharma imposes the natural law, and the spiritual and social
obligations. It has to do more about people recognizing the creation and being grateful to
the divine absolute who sacrificed for our existence rather than who created the universe
or who engineers it. Hence, Hinduism is more than just a religion.

!"#$% '()*+
""#$ !"#$%"&' )* ) +,)#-./ %&'(&)*&+ ,-. ,//-$
0(('122333$**4$45$672+&89:95;2+&89:95;<209;=69<)2>(>:8>;4&2:8>;4&$<0()8
?>44&<<&= @6;& AB. ,/ACD$
E9<0&+. F>+G H>($ 0"1"#+ 2.,"+"3#&/ I5;:75;:1 H&>+<5; J=64>(95; K(=. ,/AA$

Вам также может понравиться