Origins, nomenclature and society
Historical origins and aspects of society
Relatively little is known about the origins of Hinduism, as it
predates
recorded history. It has been said to derive from beliefs of the
Aryans,
('noble' followers of the
Vedas),
Dravidians, and
Harappans living in the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism
subsequently birthed
Buddhism and
Jainism, which in turn affected the development of their mother
religion. Varying ideas of the origin of the
Veda
and understandings of whether or not the Aryans were native or
foreign to Indian soil can change estimates of Hinduism's age from
4000 to 6000 years. See
Early Hinduism and
Aryan Invasion Theory.
Historically, the word Hindu predates the reference to
Hinduism as a religion; the term is of Persian origin and first
referred to people who lived on the other side (from a Persian point
of view) of the
Sindhu
or
Indus river. It was used as a signifier not only of ethnicity
but of Vedic religion as far back as the 15th and 16th centuries by
such figures as
Guru Nanak (the founder of
Sikhism). During the
British Raj, the term's use was made standard, and eventually,
the religion of the Vedic Hindoos was given the appelation
'Hinduism.' In actuality, it was merely a new signifier for a
culture that had been thriving for millennia before. See the
Hindu (ethnicity) page for more discussion.
Legal Definition of Hinduism
In a
1966 ruling, the
Supreme Court of India defined the Hindu faith as follows for
legal purposes:
- Acceptance of the
Vedas
with reverence as the highest authority in religious and
philosophic matters and acceptance with reverence of Vedas by
Hindu thinkers and philosophers as the sole foundation of
Hindu philosophy.
- Spirit of tolerance and willingness to understand and
appreciate the opponent's point of view based on the realization
that truth is many-sided.
- Acceptance of great world rhythm — vast periods of creation,
maintenance and dissolution follow each other in endless
succession — by all six systems of Hindu philosophy.
- Acceptance by all systems of Hindu philosophy of the belief in
rebirth and pre-existence.
- Recognition of the fact that the means or ways to salvation
are many.
- Realization of the truth that numbers of Gods to be worshiped
may be large, yet there are Hindus who do not believe in the
worshiping of idols.
- Unlike other religions, or religious creeds, Hindu religion's
not being tied down to any definite set of philosophic concepts,
as such.
Current geographic distribution
The nations of
India,
Mauritius, and
Nepal
as well as the
Indonesian island of
Bali
are predominantly Hindu; significant Hindu minorities exist in
Bangladesh (11 million),
Myanmar (7.1 million),
Sri Lanka (2.5 million), the
United States (1.7 million)
Pakistan (1.3 million),
South Africa (1.2 million), the
United Kingdom (1.2 million),
Malaysia (1.1 million),
Canada
(0.7 million),
Fiji
(0.5 million),
Trinidad and Tobago (0.5 million),
Guyana
(0.4 million), the
Netherlands (0.4 million),
Singapore (0.3 million) and
Suriname (0.2 million).
Entrance to Ancient Konark Surya Mandir (Sun Temple)
Dharma in orthodox Hindu society: caste
According to one view, the
Caste
system shows how strongly many have felt about each person following
his or her
dharma,
or destined path. A perversion, according to many Hindus, of
dharma's
true meaning, caste plays a significant role in Hindu society,
although it is now losing favor and is illegal in India.
[1]
In early Vedic periods, the established Brahmins began
discriminating against young candidates for priesthood based on
caste. This became more ingrained over centuries until social
mobility all but became a thing of the past. In spite of centuries
of numerous reform movements, notably within
Vedanta,
bhakti yoga and Hindu streams of
Tantra,
and reformers, with recent stalwarts like
Swami Vivekananda and
Mahatma Gandhi, caste is so deeply ensconced in the Indian
consciousness that even Christian converts have been known to
separate church meetings for different castes. A number of
Muslim
communities have retained caste practices as well. What was first an
injunction to living one's
dharma
in surrender to God became an oppressive mandate to surrender to
Man. See
caste for more.
