Hinduism: a brief overview
10th-century mandir (temple) in Khajuraho, Madhya PradeshHinduism rests on the spiritual bedrock of the Vedas, hence Veda Dharma, and their mystic issue, the Upanishads, as well as the teachings of many great Hindu gurus through the ages. Many streams of thought flow from the six Vedic/Hindu schools, Bhakti sects and Tantra Agamic schools into the one ocean of Hinduism, the first of the Dharma religions. See Schools of Hinduism.

The great debate between followers among the major Hindu philosophical school, Vedanta, from followers of Shankaracharya's Advaita philosophy on one hand and the strict theistic schools such as those of Ramanuja and Madhva on the other, focused on the true nature of Brahman, on whether Brahman was essentially attributeless or with attributes, i.e., a personal Supreme Being.

The Eternal Way
"The Eternal Way" (in Sanskrit सनातन धर्म, Sanātana Dharma), or the "Perennial Philosophy/Harmony/Faith", is the one name that has represented Hinduism for many thousands of years. According to Hindus, it speaks to the idea that certain spiritual principles hold eternally true, transcending man-made constructs, representing a pure science of consciousness. But this consciousness is not merely that of the body or mind and intellect, but of a supramental soul-state that exists within and beyond our existence, the unsullied Self of all. Religion to the Hindu is the native search for the divine within the Self, the search to find the One truth that in actuality never was lost. Truth sought with faith shall yield itself in blissful luminescence no matter the race or creed professed. Indeed, all existence, from vegetation and beasts to mankind, are subjects and objects of the eternal Dharma. This inherent faith, therefore, is also known as Arya/Noble Dharma, Veda/Knowledge Dharma, Yoga/Union Dharma, Hindu Dharma or, simply, the Dharma.

What can be said to be common to all Hindus is belief in Dharma, reincarnation, karma, and moksha (liberation) of every soul through a variety of moral, action-based, and meditative yogas. Still more fundamental principles include ahimsa (non-violence), the primacy of the Guru, the Divine Word of OM and the power of mantras, love of Truth in many manifestations as Gods and Goddesses, and an understanding that the essential spark of the Divine (Atman/Brahman) is in every human and living being, thus allowing for many spiritual paths leading to the One Unitary Truth.


Bindis are worn by Hindu women on their forehead to symbolize the opening of their spiritual third eye.An example of the pervasiveness of this paramount truth-seeking spirituality in daily life is the bindi (seen left), which is a common marker for Hindu women. It symbolizes the need to cultivate supramental consciousness, which is achieved by opening the mystic "third eye." Hindus across the board stress meditative insight, an intuition beyond the mind and body, a trait that is often associated with the ascetic god Shiva. Men, too, will bear on their foreheads the equivalent tilak mark, usually on religious occasions, its shape often representing particular devotion to a certain main deity: a 'U' shape stands for Vishnu, a group of three horizontal lines for Shiva. It is not uncommon for some to meld both in an amalgam marker signifying Hari-Hara (Vishnu-Shiva indissoluble).

Yoga Dharma
Hinduism is practiced through a variety of Yogas (spiritual practices), primarily bhakti (loving devotion), Karma Yoga (selfless service), Raja Yoga (meditational Yoga) and Jnana Yoga (Yoga of discrimination). These are described in the two principal texts of Hindu Yoga: The Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras. The Upanishads are also important as a philosophical foundation for this rational spiritualism.

The four goals of life
Another major aspect of Hindu dharma that is common to practically all Hindus is that of purushartha, the "four goals of life". They are kama, artha, dharma and moksha. It is said that all humans seek kama (pleasure, physical or emotional) and artha (power, fame and wealth), but soon, with maturity, learn to govern these legitimate desires within a higher, pragmatic framework of dharma, or moral harmony in all. Of course, the only goal that is truly infinite, whose attainment results in absolute happiness, is moksha, or liberation, (a.k.a. Mukti, Samadhi, Nirvana, etc.) from Samsara, the cycle of life, death, and existential duality.

The four stages of life
The human life is also seen as four Ashramas ("phases" or "stages"). They are Brahmacharya, Grihasthya, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa. The first quarter of one's life, brahmacharya (literally "grazing in Brahma") is spent in celibate, sober and pure contemplation of life's secrets under a Guru, building up body and mind for the responsibilities of life. Grihastya is the householder's stage, alternatively known as samsara, in which one marries and satisfies kama and artha within a married life and professional career. Vanaprastha is gradual detachment from the material world, ostensibly giving over duties to one's sons and daughters, spending more time in contemplation of the truth, and making holy pilgrimages. Finally, in sanyasa, the individual goes off into seclusion, often envisioned as the forest, to find God through Yogic meditation and peacefully shed the body for the next life.


This young Indian brahmachari bears on his forehead the distinctive triple-line tilak (made out of ash, referred to as vibhuti) and on his chest a rudraksha (tears of Rudra) and mala (rosary), both symbols of Lord Shiva.[edit]
Views of God
Within Sanatana Dharma, or Hinduism (as it is commonly called), a variety of lesser gods are seen as aspects of the one impersonal divine ground, Brahman (not Brahma). Brahman is seen as the universal spirit. Brahman is the ultimate, both transcendent and immanent the absolute infinite existence, the sum total of all that ever is, was, or ever shall be. Brahman is not a God in the monotheistic sense, as it is not imbued with any limiting characteristics, not even those of being and non-being, and this is reflected in the fact that in Sanskrit, the word brahman is of neuter (as opposed to masculine or feminine) gender.

Vedanta is a branch of Hindu philosophy which gives this matter a greater focus. Yoga is the primary focus in many ways of a Hindu's religious activities, being somewhere between meditation, prayer and healthful exercise.

Some of Hinduism's adherents are monists, seeing in multiple manifestations of the one God or source of being, which is often confused by non-Hindus as being polytheism. It is seen as one unity, with the personal Gods differents aspects of only one Supreme Being, like a single beam of light separated into colours by a prism, and are valid to worship. Some of the Hindu aspects of God include Devi, Vishnu, Ganesh, and Siva. Hindus believe that God, in whatever form they prefer, (or as monists prefer to call, "Ishta Devata,", i.e., the preferred form of God) can grant worshippers grace to bring them closer to Moksha, end of the cycle of rebirth. The great Hindu saint, Ramakrishna, a monist, was a prominent advocate of this traditional Hindu view. He achieved the spiritual high of other religions besides Hinduism, such as Christianity and Islam, and came to the same conclusion proclaimed by the Vedas, "Truth is

The Four Major Sects of Hinduism
Contemporary Hinduism is traditionally divided into four major divisions, Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism, and Smarthism.


Thirumala:The richest temple and a very important vaishnavite templeHinduism is a very rich and complex religion. Each of its four sects shares rituals, beliefs, traditions and personal Gods with one another, but each sect has a different philosophy on how to achieve life's ultimate goal (moksa, liberation) and on their views of the Gods. Each sect fundamentally believes in different methods of self-realization and in different aspects of the One Supreme God. However, each sect respects and accepts all others, and conflict of any kind is rare.

Vaishnavism, Saivism and Shaktism, respectively believe in a monotheistic ideal of Vishnu (often as Krishna), Siva, or Devi; this view does not exclude other personal Gods, as they are understood to be aspects of the chosen ideal (e.g., to many devotees of Krishna, Shiva is seen as having sprung from Krishna's creative force). Often, the monad Brahman is seen as the one source, with all other gods emanating therefrom. Thus, with all Hindus, there is a strong belief in all paths being true religions that lead to one God or source, whatever one chooses to call the ultimate truth.

Monotheism and Hinduism: Most Westerners and the vast majority of Christians see Hinduism as a pantheistic or polytheistic religion. Hinduism is definitely a monotheistic religion and is represented in the concrete symbols of the Hindu Trinity. The many aspects of God are given a variety of names in Hinduism. Each 'God' will roughly correspond to a Christian saint. These 'Gods' are invoked as intercessors on behalf of the faithful in much the same way that Christians, for instance, will pray for intercession from Mother Mary, Jesus, and others called Patron Saints of certain causes. St. Anthony is the Patron Saint of Lost Objects, so his name is often invoked during efforts to locate some object. One rather simple way to understand the usage of the 101 names of God in Hinduism is to use a human being as an example of a single entity that has many facets. A grown woman, for instance, has a name, e.g.Mary, but she is also called mother, sister, wife, daughter, cousin, aunt, grandmother, co-worker, neighbor, colleague, friend, laborer, driver, social director, enforcer, etc. Each of these terms describes but one aspect of the whole entity we call Mary. These aspects are distinct but not separate so they do not represent unique entities. They are parts of a larger whole. In this way, God is called by many names in Hinduism, but those names are merely descriptive of the many aspects of the single entity that many call God. A child may not even know his/her mother's 'name'. The neighbor or colleague may know her only as Mrs. Someone. No single person can know or describe the unique entity that is Mary. This parallel is appropriate for a number of reasons. In all monotheistic religions, God is seen as all powerful and unknowable. We cannot know his entirety. We cannot even name him effectively. Yahweh, Allah, God, Higher Power - these are all attempts to identify that which we see as the Supreme Being, the uknowable, ineffible I AM. To a small child, his/her mother is only a source of nourishment and comfort. As the child grows and learns more, he/she is able to identify more facets of 'mother' but he/she will never know all the facets as they are unknowable. In this regard, God is both known and unknowable. God is known by the attributes with which we label him - in the West we call God Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent and yet we are unable to define God in any more specific terms other than our feeble attempts at labeling the knowable aspects of him. So, to the common Hindu, the facets of God that are embraced are seen as the aspect(s) of the whole that can be understood or identified. There is no attempt to go farther than that. To better-educated Hindus, the facets are seen more like the Christian Saints. These aspects are knowable, anthropomorphic, and less than the Whole. The Christian Saints are humans who have performed miracles, are people through whom God spreads His message. They, like all humans, are part of the Supreme Being and like all humans who seek union with God, the saints are seen as residing in Heaven with God, parts of the Whole. Further, Christ-centered religions often seek to make each member of the religion a messenger for God (evangelism) and the religion. Hindus have no concept of this and do not seek converts. Rather, Hinduism is inclusive of prophets like Jesus and consider him to be an Avatar - an incarnated God or His manifestation as a divine messenger who walks on Earth among Men. So Hindus do not seek to separate themselves from their fellows in their search for union with God. They see their religion as a method to attain Nirvana or redemption from the cycle of birth and death(which can be loosely defined as Heaven) by embracing all worthy prophets without regard to the label that prophet may put on himself.