|
It is hard to define
Hinduism. It is not a religion in a narrow sense associated with the
word religion. Its comprehensiveness bypasses the human mind. No
single approach is able to enunciate its basic concept and
philosophy. In a very broad sense Hinduism is a way of life. From
time immemorial indigenous religious consciousness ahs continuously
enriched it. It has been influenced by the aspirations and needs of
the human society from time to time. It embraces the indigenous
religious of India which have been modified almost continuously with
the development of ideas and the needs of local communities. As a
result Hinduism is a mixture of sects, cults and doctrines which
have had a profound effect on Indian culture. In spite of this
diversity, there are few of its aspects which do not rely in some
way or the other on the authority of Indian religious literature –
the Vedas, the Epics and the Puranas.
Vedic
Deities
The Vedic gods who
eventually became established in India may have been the result of
the fusion of ideas brought by migrants and those of the indigenous
people.
These deities were defined
in the Vedas, along with meticulous descriptions of the ceremonies
that were intended to propitiate
them.
There is a popular school
of thought which disputes the theory of the migrants having brought
in ideas and is of the opinion that Hinduism was highly developed
much before. It is not within the scope of this book to go into this
controversy.
It is evident from the
Vedas that these deities were, to a certain extent, visualized as
having human or animal forms. But it is not certain whether they
were worshipped in the form of images. There remains the
possibility, important for its effect on the later development of
images, that some of the lower castes worshipped images in human or
animal form and that this practice gradually spread upwards to the
higher sections of society. At a much later period, the Vedic
deities were given human form and reproduced as
images.
In response to the forces
of development, the old Vedic religion underwent several changes.
These chiefly concerned the deities that were worshipped, and the
forms of ritual. Some deities changed their function, or gained or
lost popularity, while the powers of mediation between the deity and
the devotee became monopolized by the priests (Brahmins) who alone
could perform the necessary rites and rituals. This made the deities
remote and some of them acquired awesome aspects. Consequently,
while many of the old deities were relegated to minor positions in
the pantheon, others were elevated, and new deities were introduced.
Parallel with this, and as a possible reaction against the strict
orthodoxy of the priests, the need gradually arose for a more
satisfying relationship between the worshipper and the worshipped.
This need for devotion (bhakti) towards a personal god stimulated
the desire for images which would make the deity more approachable.
Their introduction was a slow, uneven process and it is likely that
images were made at first only of minor deities in the pantheon. One
of the earliest references to images for worship is around the
5th century B.C, of the Yakshas (tree spirits) and Nagas
(snake gods).
Epic
Deities
Further stimulus to a more
personal relationship between gods and men was given by the two
great epics of Indian literature, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
The stories of these epics are secular in nature but they not only
describe the feats of their heroes but refer to the influence that
the gods had on their exploits. Thus the stories of the gods were
supplemented and expanded as they were woven into the narratives and
the heroes themselves got assimilated into Indian popular religion
and became deified.
Puranic Deities
Further
development of the Indian society brought about changes in religious
concepts and an increase in the size of the pantheon. This grew by a
process of absorption and combination, adopting popular (including
female) deities into a sophisticated and well-developed assembly and
merging several deities into one. Thus the minor Vedic deity Vishnu
was identified with Vasudeva and another epic hero Krishna. It is
likely that the ten incarnations of Vishnu that eventually became
conventional were attributed to him in a similar
way.
Later, Krishna himself got
assimilated with a pastoral flute – playing deity and became the
subject of many poems and legends. At the same time, an ancient
fertility god, Shiva was elevated to the higher ranks of the
pantheon and became an important deity with a variety of forms that
gave him a popularity equal to that of Vishnu. Shiva and Vishnu were
visualized as forming a triad with Brahma. But, in spite of his
ancient prestige, Brahma never received the widespread adoration
enjoyed by the other two gods.
Beginning about the
4th or 5th century A.D., attempts were made to
create some sort of order out of the mass of myths and legends that
had evolved around a large number of deities. Eventually these
traditional tales were incorporated into the Puranas (Ancient
Stories) summing up all that was known about the gods, with their
elaborate genealogies, and providing religious instructions. In
consequence, many of the deities who subsequently made their
appearance are the result of formalization given to them in the
Puranas. At the same time a further impetus was given to Hindu
mythology (and thus a corresponding increase in the number of
deities) by the development of Tantrism which emphasized the cult of
the female partner (shakti) in association with a male deity, often
Shiva.
From the 15th
century onwards a revival of interest in the bhakti movement brought
about a widespread devotion to the cult of Krishna, one of the
earliest gods to have human-like
qualities.
The creative powers of
India’s religious life have not declined but continue with the same
energy as they had earlier. For example recently (in the 1960’s), in
Northern India, the goddess Santoshi Mata appeared complete with her
own mythology and legends.
Why Do Hindu Deities Have so many
Arms?
Image worship
crept almost imperceptibly into Indian religions and was not only
finally sanctioned in the religious scriptures but the images
themselves, and the rituals for their worship were also described in
greater detail. One of the results of this process, more especially
the merging of two or more deities, was that some of the gods were
shown as having several qualities. The visual problem that this
created for the sculptor or artist when he made images of the gods
was solved by showing them with several arms. Each hand would hold
some object which would symbolize or represent the various qualities
of that particular deity. Some of the hands would be empty but the
position of the fingers and the palms would signify the character of
that god. For example, if the fingers are pointing towards the
ground, it means that the god is of a charitable disposition whereas
the fingers pointing upwards, as in a blessing, signify a protector
(see illustration). These gestures (mudras) symbolized their
individual powers and differentiated them from other
deities.
Worship
Hindu worship (puja) is
not congregational, except in sects which put great emphasis on
devotion (bhakti). In the temple, the devotee may be present at
fixed ceremonies or he may employ a priest to carry out a ritual for
him, or summon the god’s attention on his own. Puja varies with the
size of the sect, the size of the temple etc. Domestic worship
varies in accordance with the individual needs. A rich household may
employ a full time priest while others may invite one to perform
ceremonies on special occasions. A busy person may restrict himself
to a prayer in the morning or in the evening, and may make an
occasional visit to a large temple on important
festivals.
In a temple normal
religious observances are performed throughout the day: waking the
deity in the morning and the bathing, feeding and putting to rest at
night. When entering the temple the devotee rings a bell which is
suspended from the ceiling at the entrance. This is done in order to
shut out external sounds and to enable the devotee to make the mind
go inward and get concentrated. It also indicates the presence of
the devotee in front of god. Lights are waved before the deity
denoting that the Lord is “all light” and also as a mark of respect
conveying the devotee’s reverence. Incense is lighted to denote that
the Lord is all-pervasive. The incense acts as a disinfectant also.
The burning of camphor denotes that the ego should melt like it and
the individual soul should become one with the Supreme. The devotee
offers sweets, rice, fruit, etc., to the Lord. These are then
distributed among the members of the household or the devotees
present at the temple. This is called prasad. The priest puts a red
or yellow paste on the forehead of the devotee. This is called tilak
and is applied on the forehead between the eyebrows at a point
called the ‘ajna chakra’, indicating where the third or the
spiritual eye is. This is not to be confused with the bindi mark
which Indian ladies put on the forehead which is decorative or to
indicate their marital status.
Circumambulation around
the idol is done after the prayers. The idol is supposed to generate
a halo the advantage of which can be taken on going around it in the
clockwise direction. Worship is of two kinds. The first is saguna,
in which the worshipper uses a concrete symbol or idol which helps
him to concentrate more easily. The second is nirguna which is a
higher step in which concentration is done on the Absolute by
drawing the mind inward, without the help of any physical symbol to
fix the mind on. In Hindu worship it is not compulsory to go to a
temple. One can meditate on the Absolute
anywhere.
Gods
and Godesses
BRAHMA
Brahma has
four faces, through only three can be seen. He has matted hair,
wears a pointed beard and the eyes are usually closed in meditation.
He has four hands which may hold a variety of objects such as a
rosary, a water-pot, a book (the Vedas), a scepter, a spoon, a bow
or a lotus. Sometimes two of his hands may be in a boon-giving and
protective attitudes. His four faces represent the four Vedas and
the four hands the four directions. The rosary which he is counting
represents time. The whole universe evolves out of water, therefore
Brahma carries water in the water-pot.
He may wear a tigerskin or
the skin of a black antelope as a garment and the sacred cord over
his left shoulder. If coloured, he is pink or red. He is sometimes
shown riding the goose, or sitting in the lotus position in a
chariot being pulled by seven swans. The swan which is the symbol of
knowledge, is his vehicle.
In the Rig-Veda the word
Brahman (or Brahma) was used to indicate the mysterious power
contained in sacred utterances. Later, this was associated with the
skill of the priest who spoke the ‘words’ and he was described as a
Brahmin. In the Upanishads, by a further development, this power was
regarded as being universal and forming the elemental matter from
which everything (including the gods themselves) originally emerged.
Eventually this supreme creative spirit became fully personalized
under the name of Brahma.
Since this idea is linked with the
origin of the universe, it was inevitable that Brahma should become
associated with Hindu cosmogony. Many legends grew, particularly in
the later texts, surrounding the connection with the origin and
control of the universe. In one of them the supreme soul and
self-existent lord created the waters of the earth and deposited in
them a seed which became the golden egg, out of which He was born as
Brahma. According to other texts, he became a boar who raised the
earth from the primeval waters and thus created the world. He is
described as assuming the appearance of a fish or a tortoise at the
beginning of the ages. In much later developments of Hindu mythology
these aspects are attributed to Vishnu and Brahma assumes a
secondary role. His worship slowly declined and has not been
widespread since the 6th century A.D.
Next | 
