Ten Questions
About Hinduism
people ask
…and ten terrific answers!
Humanity’s most profound faith is now a
global phenomenon.
Students, teachers, neighbors and friends are
full of questions.
Misconceptions prevail. Here are ten
thoughtful answers you can
use to instill correct understanding and set
the record straight.
.
Have
you ever been put on
the spot with a provocative
question about Hinduism, even
one that really shouldn’t be so hard to
answer? If so, you are not alone. It takes
some good preparation and a little attitude
adjustment to confidently field queries
on your faith—be they from friendly
co-workers, students, passersby or especially
from Christian evangelists. Back
in the spring of 1990, a group of teens
from the Hindu
Temple of Greater Chicago,
Lemont, sent a request to Hinduism
Today for “official answers” to nine questions
they were commonly asked by their
peers. These questions had perplexed the
Hindu youth themselves; and their parents
had no convincing answers. Satguru
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami took up the
challenge and provided the following answers
to the nine questions. Perusing the
list for this edition of the magazine, we
thought it crucial to add a tenth dialog
on caste, since that is the most relentless
criticism Hinduism faces today.
Let’s begin with advice on the attitudes
to hold when responding. First, ask yourself,
“Who is asking
the question?” Millions of people are
sincerely interested in Hinduism
and the many Asian religions. So, when asked
about Hinduism,
don’t be defensive, even if the questioner
seems confrontational. Instead,
assume that the person really wants to learn.
Of course, some
only want to harass, badger and turn you to
their view. If you sense
this is the case, feel free to smile and
courteously dismiss yourself
without any attempt to answer, lest you
simply add fuel to his fires.
With all this in mind, it is still best never
to answer a question
about religion too boldly or too immediately.
That might lead to confrontation.
Offer a prologue first,
then come to the question, guiding
the inquirer toward understanding.
Your poise and deliberateness gives
assurance that you know what you
are talking about. It also gives you
a moment to think and draw on
your intuitive knowing. Before going
deeply into an answer, always
ask the questioner what his religion
is. Knowing that, you can address
his particular frame of mind and
make your answer most relevant.
Another key: have confidence in
yourself and your ability to give
a meaningful and polite response.
Even to say “I am sorry. I still
have much to learn about my religion and I
don’t yet know
the answer to that” is a meaningful answer.
Honesty is
always appreciated. Never be afraid to admit
what you
don’t know, for this lends credibility to
what you do know.
Here are four prologues that can be used,
according to
the situation, before you begin to actually
answer a question.
1)
“I am really pleased that you are interested in my
religion. You may not know that one out of
every six people in the
world is a Hindu.” 2)
“Many people have asked me about my tradition.
I don’t know everything, but I will try to
answer your question.”
3)
“First, you should know that in Hinduism, it is not only belief and
intellectual understanding that is important.
Hindus place the greatest
value on experiencing each of these truths
personally.” 4) The
fourth type of prologue is to repeat the
question to see if the person
has actually stated what he wants to know.
Repeat the question in
your own words and ask if you have understood
his query correctly
If it’s a complicated question, you might
begin by saying, “Philosophers
have spent lifetimes discussing and pondering
questions such
as this, but I will do my best to explain.”
Have courage. Speak from your inner mind.
Sanatana Dharma is
an experiential path, not a dogma, so your
experience in answering
questions will help your own spiritual
unfoldment. You will learn
from your answers if you listen to your inner
mind speak. This can
actually be a lot of fun. The attentive
teacher always learns more
than the student.
After the prologue, address the question
without hesitation. If the
person is sincere, you can ask, “Do you have
any other questions?”
If he wants to know more, then elaborate as
best you can. Use
easy, everyday examples. Share what
enlightened souls and scriptures
of Hinduism have said on the subject.
Remember, we must
not assume that everyone who asks about
Hinduism is insincere
or is challenging our faith. Many are just
being friendly or making
conversation to get to know you. So don’t be
on the defensive
or take it all too seriously. Smile when you
give your response. Be
open. If the second or third question is on
something you know
nothing about, you can say, “I don’t know.
But if you are really interested,
I will find out, mail you some literature or
lend you one
of my books.” Smile and have confidence as
you give these answers.
Don’t be shy. There is no question that can
be put to you in
your birth karmas that you cannot rise up to
with a fine answer to
fully satisfy the seeker. You may make
lifelong friends in this way.
Each of the ten answers is organized with a
short response that
can be committed to memory, a longer answer,
and a detailed
explanation. Many questioners will be content
with the short,
simple answer, so start with that first. Use
the explanation as background
information for yourself, or as a contingency
response in
case you end up in a deeper philosophical
discussion
1.
Why
does Hinduism have so many Gods?
Hindus all believe in one Supreme God who
created the
universe. He is all-pervasive. He created
many Gods, highly
advanced spiritual beings, to be His helpers.
Contrary
to prevailing misconceptions, Hindus all worship
a one Supreme Being, though by different
names. This is because
the peoples of India with different languages and
cultures have
understood the one God in their own distinct
way. Through history
there arose four principal Hindu denominations—Saivism,
Shaktism,
Vaishnavism and Smartism. For Saivites,
God is Siva. For Shaktas, Goddess Shakti is
supreme. For
Vaishnavites, Lord Vishnu is God. For
Smartas—who see all Deities
as reflections of the One God—the choice of
Deity is left to the devotee.
This liberal Smarta perspective is well
known, but it is not the
prevailing Hindu view. Due to this diversity,
Hindus are profoundly
tolerant of other religions, respecting the
fact that each has its own
pathway to the one God. One of the unique
understandings
in Hinduism is that God is not far away,
living in a remote heaven,
but is inside each and every soul, in the
heart and consciousness,
waiting to be discovered. This knowing that
God is always
with us gives us hope and courage. Knowing
the One Great God in
this intimate and experiential way is the
goal of Hindu spirituality.
Elaboration:
Hinduism is both monotheistic and
henotheistic.
Hindus were never polytheistic, in the sense
that there are many
equal Gods. Henotheism (literally “one God”)
better defines the Hindu
view. It means the worship of one God without
denying the existence
of other Gods. We Hindus believe in the one
all-pervasive
God who energizes the entire universe. We can
see Him in the
life shining out of the eyes of humans and
all creatures. This view
of God as existing in and giving life to all
things is called panentheism.
It is different from pantheism, which is the
belief that God
is the natural universe and nothing more. It
is also different from
strict theism which says God is only above
the world, apart and
transcendent. Panentheism is an all-encompassing
concept. It says
that God is both in the world and beyond it,
both immanent and
transcendent. That is the highest Hindu view.
Hindus also believe in many Gods who perform
various functions,
like executives in a large corporation. These
should not be
confused with the Supreme God. These
Divinities are highly advanced
beings who have specific duties and
powers—not unlike
the heavenly spirits, overlords or archangels
revered in other faiths.
Each denomination worships the Supreme God
and its own pantheon
of divine beings.
What is sometimes confusing to non-Hindus is
that Hindus of various
sects may call the one God by many different
names, according
to their denomination or regional tradition.
Truth for the
Hindu has many names, but that does not make
for many truths.
Hinduism gives us the freedom to approach God
in our own way,
encouraging a multiplicity of paths, not
asking for conformity
to just one.
There is much confusion about this subject,
even among Hindus.
Learn the right terms and the subtle
differences in them, and
you can explain the profound ways Hindus look
at Divinity.
Others will be delighted with the richness of
the Indian concepts of
God. You may wish to mention that some
Hindus believe only in the formless Absolute
Reality
as God; others believe in God as personal
Lord and Creator. This
freedom makes the understanding of God in
Hinduism, the oldest
living religion, the richest in all of
Earth’s existing faiths.
2. Do Hindus believe in reincarnation?
Yes, we believe the soul is immortal and
takes birth
time and time again. Through this process, we
have
experiences, learn lessons and evolve
spiritually.
Finally we graduate from physical birth.
Carnate
means “of flesh,” and reincarnate
means to “reenter
the flesh.” Yes, Hindus believe in
reincarnation. To us, it
explains the natural way the soul evolves
from immaturity to spiritual
illumination. Life and death are realities
for all of us. Hinduism believes
that the soul is immortal, that it never
dies, but inhabits one body
after another on the Earth during its
evolutionary journey. Like the
caterpillar’s transformation into a
butterfly, physical death is a most
natural transition for the soul, which
survives and, guided by karma, continues
its long pilgrimage until it is one with God.
I myself have had many lives before this one
and expect to have
more. Finally, when I have it all worked out
and all the lessons
have been learned, I will attain
enlightenment and moksha, liberation.
This means I will still exist, but will no
longer be pulled back
to be born in a physical body. Even modern
science is discovering
reincarnation. There have been many cases of
individuals’ remembering
their past lives. These have been researched
by scientists,
psychiatrists and parapsychologists during
the past decades and documented
in good books and videos. Young children
speak of vivid pastlife
memories, which fade as they grow older, as
the veils of individuality
shroud the soul’s intuitive understanding.
Great mystics speak
of their past lives as well. So do our
ancient scriptures, the Vedas,
reveal the reality of reincarnation.
Reincarnation is believed in by
the Jains and the Sikhs, by the Indians of
the Americas,
and by the Buddhists, certain Jewish sects,
the Pagans and the many indigenous faiths.
Even Christianity
originally taught reincarnation, but formally
renounced it in the
twelfth century. It is, in fact, one of the
widest held articles of
faith on planet Earth.
Elaboration:
At death the soul leaves the physical body.
But
the soul does not die. It lives on in a
subtle body called the astral
body. The astral body exists in the
nonphysical dimension called
the astral plane, which is also the world we
are in during our
dreams at night when we sleep. Here we
continue to have experiences
until we are reborn again in another physical
body as a baby.
Each reincarnating soul chooses a home and a
family which can
best fulfill its next step of learning and
maturation.
After many lifetimes of following dharma, the
soul is fully
matured in love, wisdom and knowledge of God.
There is no
longer a need for physical birth, for all
lessons have been learned,
all karmas fulfilled. That soul is then liberated,
freed from the
cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Evolution
then continues in the
more refined spiritual worlds. Similarly,
after we graduate from
elementary school we never have to go back to
the fifth grade. We
have gone beyond that level in understanding.
Thus, life’s ultimate goal is not money, not
clothes, not sex, not
power, not food or any other of the
instinctive needs. These are
natural pursuits, but our real purpose on
this Earth is to know, to
love and to serve God and the Gods. That leads
to the rare and
priceless objects of life: enlightenment and
liberation. This Hindu
view of the soul’s evolution answers many
otherwise bewildering
questions, removing the fear of death while
giving assurance
that each soul is evolving toward the same spiritual
destiny, for
the Hindu believes that karma and
reincarnation are leading every
single soul to God Realization.
3. What is karma?
Karma is the universal principle of cause and
effect. Our
actions, both good and bad, come back to us
in the future, helping
us to learn from life’s lessons and become
better people
Karma
is one of the natural
laws of the mind, just as
gravity is a law of matter.
Just as God created gravity to
bring order to the physical world,
He created karma as a divine system
of justice that is self-governing
and infinitely fair. It automatically
creates the appropriate future experience
in response to the current
action. Karma simply
means “action”
or “cause and effect.” When
something happens to us that is
apparently unfortunate or unjust,
it is not God punishing us. It is the
result of our own past actions. The
Vedas, Hinduism’s
revealed scripture,
tell us if we sow goodness, we
will reap goodness; if we sow evil,
we will reap evil. Thus we create
our own destiny through thought
and action. And the divine law is:
whatever karma we are experiencing
in our life is just what we
need at the moment, and nothing
can happen but that we have the
strength to meet it. Even harsh
karma, when faced in wisdom, can
be the greatest catalyst for spiritual
growth. Understanding the
way karma works, we seek to live
a good and virtuous life through
right thought, right speech and
right action. This is called dharma.
Elaboration:
Karma is basically
energy. I throw energy out
through thoughts, words and
deeds, and it comes back to me, in
time, through other people. Karma
is our best teacher, for we must always
face the consequences of our
actions and thus improve and refine
our behavior, or suffer if we do
not. We Hindus look at time as a
circle, as things cycle around again.
Professor Einstein came to the same
conclusion. He saw time as
a curve, and space as well. This would
eventually make a circle.
Karma is a very just law which, like gravity,
treats everyone the
same. Because we Hindus understand karma, we
do not hate or resent
people who do us harm. We
understand they are giving back
the effects of the causes we set in
motion at an earlier time. The law
of karma puts man at the center
of responsibility for everything he
does and everything that is done
to him.
Karma is
a word we hear quite
often on television. “This is my
karma,” or “It must have been
something I did in a past life to
bring such good karma to me.”
We hear karma simply defined
as “What goes around, comes
around.” In some schools of Hinduism,
karma is looked upon as
something bad—perhaps because
we are most aware of this law
when we are facing difficult karma,
and not so aware of it when
life is going smoothly. Even some
Hindus equate karma with sin,
and this is what evangelical Christians
preach that it means. Many
people believe that karma means
“fate,” a preordained destiny over
which one has no control, which
is also untrue.
The process of action and reaction
on all levels—physical, mental
and spiritual—is karma. Here is an
example. I say kind words to you,
and you feel peaceful and happy.
I say harsh words to you, and you
become ruffled and upset. The
kindness and the harshness will
return to me, through others, at
a later time. This is karma. An
architect thinks creative, productive
thoughts while drawing plans
for a new building. But were he
to think destructive, unproductive
thoughts, he would soon not
be able to accomplish any kind of
positive task even if he desired to do so.
This is karma, a natural
law of the mind. We must also be very careful
about our thoughts,
because thought creates, and thoughts make
karmas—good, bad
and mixed.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My
humble salutations to Sadguru Sri Sivaya
Subramuniyaswami
ji, Hinduism Today dot com for the collection)
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