The Concept Of Hindu Dharma

Introduction :

Hinduism (Hindu Dharma) is the oldest religion of the world. It’s followers are mostly found in India,  Nepal and Srilanka. Hindu dharma is the soul of the Indian culture. It’s sources of knowledge are basically Vedas (वेद), Puranas (पुराण) and epics like Ramayana (रामायण) and Mahabharata (महाभारत). The major figures of Hindu religion are  Gods, Godessess and their incarnations (avatars), demons, human and animals.

Sanskrit is the main language of Hindu Dharma.

Main sources of knowledge about Hindu Dharma are Vedas, Puranas, Bhagwad Geeta and epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. 

Vedas are the oldest mythological documents which contain prayers and hymns. There are four Vedas named as the Rig Veda (रिगवेद), the Yajurveda (यजुर्वेद), the Samaveda (सामवेद) and the Atharvaveda (अथर्वेद).

Puranas are the religious texts which consists of stories of the old days and incidents like Shivamahapuran, Skandapuran

Epics are the long poems about legends and historical incidents. Ramayana and Mahabharata are the examples of epics.

In Hindu Dharma, there are three main Gods named as Brahma (ब्रह्मा), Vishnu (विष्णु) and Mahesha (महेश) or Shiva (शिव).

Brahma is considered as the creator of the universe. Vishnu is the preserver or protector of the universe. Mahesha or Shiva is the destroyer of the universe.

Lord Hanuman, Lord Krishna, Devi Parvati, Devi Lakshmi, Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartikeya are also most worshipped deity in Hindu Dharma.

The original name of the Hindu Dharma is the ‘Sanatan Dharma’ (सनातन धर्म), but gradually the name Snatan Dharma changed to Hindu Dharma.

Worship, meditation, annual festivals and occasional pilgrimages are the activities in Hindu religion.

Om (ॐ) and Swastik (स्वस्तिक) are the sacred symbols in Hindu religion.

Diwali, Navratri, Holi, Janmashtmi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Mahashivratri are some of most celebrated festivals of Hindus.

According to Hindu mythology the soul is immortal. There is a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Rebirth depends on the past life’s actions or ‘karma’. The acts of an individual impact the future.

Hindu mythology defines four goals of life

Dharma (धर्म)

Artha (अर्थ)

Kama (काम)

Moksha (मोक्ष)

Dharma is achieving spiritual advancements. Artha is achieving material prosperity. Kama is enjoyment of the material world. And moksha is liberation from attachments from the cycle of life, birth and rebirth.

In Hindu mythology time is divided into four ages named as the Satayuga (सतयुग), Tretayuga (त्रेतायुग), Dwaparayug (द्वापरयुग)  and Kalyuga (कलयुग).

Hindu believes in the caste system. The four main castes are the Brahamans, Kshatriya, Vaishyas and Shudras. Brahmans are the spiritual leaders. Kshatriyas are the warriors and protectors of the society. Vaishyas are the skillful producers. And shudras are the unskilled labours.

Interesting points of Hindu religion is that the Hindus worship the god in every form of the nature. They worship rivers, trees, mountains, Sun, Moon and animals etc.. 

Temples and pilgrimages are the center of worship of Hindu religion.

Good and bad points:

Good points of Hindu dharma are the power and strength of the religion. It’s easy way to find god. For instance, one can impress Lord Shiva by offering water or milk on the Shiv Lingam (Symbol of Lord Shiva).

Everything from the creation of the universe till the end has been mentioned in the sacred books of Hindu Dharma. Most of the facts have been established and proved by modern science. However due to limitations of modern science many facts mentioned in sacred books still needs to be proved. Many modern discoveries by science such as creation of the Universe – Big bang theory, aeroplanes, rockets, missiles, nuclear weapons, wireless technologies, space walk, distance between heavenly bodies such as the earth and the moon and medical science has already been mentioned in Hindu sacred text books.

Bad points of Hindu mythology are the superstitions like animal sacrifices to praise the Gods also known as bali (बलि). However, in Bhagavad Geeta it is very clearly mentioned that animal sacrifices are a form of Tamsik activiites (Tamsik activities are those activities which involves killing or torturing of others) and person involved in Tamsik activities suffers a lot in future and later on they become insects in their next birth, but due to instantenous results and superstitions people still practicing such coward activities.