14 questions people ask about hinduism with tweetable answers

8/2/2019 14 Questions People Ask About Hinduism With Tweetable Answers

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Cow Worship, Cremation, Caste, Many Gods,Karma, Reincarnation, Idols, Yoga & More

14 Questions People

Ask About Hinduismand 14 tweetable answers!

p i e t e r w e l t e v r e d e


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H ave you ever been put on the spot with a provocativequestion about Hinduism, even one that really shouldnt beso hard to answer? If so, you are not alone. It takes somegood preparation and a little attitude adjustment to con -

dently eld queries on your faithbe they from friendly co-workers,students, passersby or especially from Christian evangelists. Backin the spring of 1990, a group of teens from the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago, Lemont, sent a request to Hinduism Today for of-

cial answers to nine questions they were commonly asked by theirpeers. These questions had perplexed the Hindu youth themselves;and their parents had no convincing answers. Satguru Sivaya Sub-ramuniyaswami took up the challenge andprovided the following answers to the ninequestions. Perusing the list for this edition of

the magazine, we thought it crucial to add atenth dialog on caste, since that is the mostrelentless criticism Hinduism faces today.

Lets begin with advice on the attitudesto hold when responding. First, ask your-self, Who is asking the question? Millionsof people are sincerely interested in Hindu-ism and the many Asian religions. So, whenasked about Hinduism, dont be defensive,even if the questioner seems confrontational.Instead, assume that the person really wantsto learn. Of course, some only want to harass, badger and turn you to their view. If yousense this is the case, feel free to smile andcourteously dismiss yourself without any at-tempt to answer, lest you simply add fuel tohis res.

Bearing this in mind, it is still best neverto answer a question about religion too boldly or too immediately. That might leadto confrontation. Offer a prologue rst, thencome to the question, guiding the inquirertoward understanding. Your poise and de-liberateness gives assurance that you knowwhat you are talking about. It also givesyou a moment to think and draw on yourintuitive knowing. Before going deeply into an answer, always ask

the questioner what his religion is. Knowing that, you can addresshis particular frame of mind and make your answer most relevant.Another key: have con dence in yourself and your ability to give ameaningful and polite response. Even to say I am sorry. I still havemuch to learn about my religion and I dont yet know the answer tothat is a meaningful answer. Honesty is always appreciated. Never be afraid to admit what you dont know, for this lends credibility towhat you do know.

Here are four prologues that can be used, according to the situa-tion, before you begin to actually answer a question. 1) I am reallypleased that you are interested in my religion. You may not knowthat one out of every six people in the world is a Hindu. 2) Many

people have asked me about my tradition. I dont know everything but I will try to answer your question. 3) First, you should knothat in Hinduism, it is not only belief and intellectual understandingthat is important. Hindus place the greatest value on experiencingeach of these truths personally. 4) The fourth type of prologue to repeat the question to see if the person has actually stated whathe wants to know. Repeat the question in your own words and ask if you have understood his query correctly. If its a complicated question, you might begin by saying, Philosophers have spent lifetimediscussing and pondering questions such as this, but I will do my best to explain.

Have courage. Speak from your innmind. Sanatana Dharma is an experientiapath, not a dogma, so your experience i

answering questions will help your ownspiritual unfoldment. You will learn fromyour answers if you listen to your innemind speak. This can actually be a lot fun. The attentive teacher always learnmore than the student.

After the prologue, address the questionwithout hesitation. If the person is sincereyou can ask, Do you have any other quetions? If he wants to know more, thenelaborate as best you can. Use easy, eeryday examples. Share what enlightenedsouls and scriptures of Hinduism havsaid on the subject. Remember, we musnot assume that someone who asks abouHinduism is insincere or is challenging oufaith. Many are just being friendly or making conversation to get to know you; otherhaving reincarnated into a strange cultureare searching for the way back home. Sdont be on the defensive or take it all toseriously. Smile when you give your rsponse. Be open. If the second or thirquestion is on something you know nothing about, you can say, I dont know. Bif youd like, I will nd out and email yo

what I nd out. Smile and have con dence as you give these answers

Dont be shy. Your birth karmas ensure that nobody can ask you aquestion to which you are unable to provide a ne answer that willfully satisfy the seeker. You may make lifelong friends in this way

In the following pages, each question is addressed by a shorresponse that can be committed to memory, a longer answer, anda detailed explanation. Many questioners will be content with theshort, simple answer, so start with that rst. Use the explanation as background information for yourself, or as a contingency responsein case you end up in a deeper philosophical discussion.

To order additional copies of this Educational Insight and otherHindu literature, email: [email protected] . Additional resourccan be found at: www.himalayanacademy .com/basics/ .

2011 by Himalayan Academy, 107 Kaholalele Road, Kapaa, Hawaii 9672 hinduism today

A visitor to India questions an elder about temple ceremonies and customs

Humanitys most profound faith is now a global phenomenon. Students, teachers,neighbors and friends are full of questions. Misconceptions run rampant.

Here are fourteen thoughtful answers you can use to set the record straight.

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C ontrary to prevailingmisconceptions, Hindusall worship a one Su-preme Being, though by

different names. This is becausethe peoples of India with differ-ent languages and cultures haveunderstood the one God in theirown distinct way. Through historythere arose four principal HindudenominationsSaivism, Shak -tism, Vaishnavism and Smartism.For Saivites, God is Siva. For Shak-tas, Goddess Shakti is supreme. ForVaishnavites, Lord Vishnu is God.For Smartaswho see all Deitiesas re ections of the One Godthechoice of Deity is left to the devo-tee. This liberal Smarta perspec-tive is well known, but it is not theprevailing Hindu view. Due to thisdiversity, Hindus are profoundlytolerant of other religions, respect-ing the fact that each has its ownpathway to the one God.

One of the unique understand-ings in Hinduism is that God is notfar away, living in a remote heaven, but is inside each and every soul, inthe heart and consciousness, wait-ing to be discovered. This knowingthat God is always with us givesus hope and courage. Knowing theOne Great God in this intimate andexperiential way is the goal of Hin-

du spirituality.Elaboration: Hinduism is bothmonotheistic and henotheistic.Hindus were never polytheistic, inthe sense that there are many equalGods. Henotheism (literally one God) better de nes the Hinduview. It means the worship of one God without denying the exis-tence of other Gods. We Hindus believe in the one all-pervasiveGod who energizes the entire universe. We can see Him in the lifeshining out of the eyes of humans and all creatures. This view of God as existing in and giving life to all things is called panenthe-ism. It is different from pantheism, which is the belief that God is

the natural universe and noth-ing more. It is also different fromstrict theism which says God isonly above the world, apart andtranscendent. Panentheism is anall-encompassing concept. It saysthat God is both in the world and beyond it, both immanent andtranscendent. That is the highestHindu view.

Hindus also believe in manyGods who perform various func-tions, like executives in a largecorporation. These should not beconfused with the Supreme God.These Divinities are highly advanced beings who have speci cduties and powersnot unlikethe heavenly spirits, overlords orarchangels revered in other faiths.Each denomination worships theSupreme God and its own pan-theon of divine beings.

What is sometimes confusingto non-Hindus is that Hindusof various sects may call the oneGod by many different names, according to their denomination orregional tradition. Truth for theHindu has many names, but thatdoes not make for many truths.Hinduism gives us the freedom toapproach God in our own way, en-couraging a multiplicity of pathsnot asking for conformity to just

one.There is much confusion aboutthis subject, even among HindusLearn the right terms and thesubtle differences in them, and

you can explain the profound ways Hindus look at Divinity. Otherswill be delighted with the richness of the Indian concepts of God.You may wish to mention that some Hindus believe only in theformless Absolute Reality as God; others believe in God as personalLord and Creator. This freedom makes the understanding of Godin Hinduism, the oldest living religion, the richest in all of Earthsexisting faiths.

Why does Hinduism have so many Gods?Hindus all believe in one Supreme God who created theuniverse. He is all-pervasive. He created many Gods,highly advanced spiritual beings, to be His helpers.

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Hindus all worship the One Supreme God, called by variousnames, depending on their denomination, and they revere amultitude of angelic beings, which they call Gods. Above, the

central gure is Lord Siva, worshiped as the Supreme Being by Saivites and many other Hindus. Cradled in His hands are other great beings, known as Gods, including Lord Ganesha.

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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.

C arnate means of flesh,and reincarnate meansto reenter the esh. Yes,Hindus believe in re-

incarnation. To us, it explains thenatural way the soul evolves fromimmaturity to spiritual illumina-tion. Life and death are realities forall of us. Hinduism believes that thesoul is immortal, that it never dies, but inhabits one body after anotheron the Earth during its evolutionary journey. Like the caterpillars trans-formation into a butter y, physicaldeath is a most natural transitionfor the soul, which survives and,guided by karma, continues its longpilgrimage until it is one with God.

I myself have had many lives before this one and expect to havemore. Finally, when I have it allworked out and all the lessons have been learned, I will attain enlight-enment and moksha, liberation.This means I will still exist, but willno longer be pulled back to be bornin a physical body.

Even modern science is discov-ering reincarnation. There have been many cases of individuals re-membering their past lives. Thesehave been researched by scientists,psychiatrists and parapsycholo-gists during the past decades anddocumented in good books and vid-

eos. Young children speak of vividpast-life memories, which fade asthey grow older, as the veils of indi-viduality shroud the souls intuitiveunderstanding. Great mystics speakof their past lives as well. So do ourancient scriptures, the Vedas, revealthe reality of reincarnation.

Reincarnation is believed in by the Jains and the Sikhs, by theIndians of the Americas, and by the Buddhists, certain Jewishsects, the Pagans and the many indigenous faiths. Even Christian-ity originally taught reincarnation, but formally renounced it in the

twelfth century. It is, in fact, one othe widest held articles of faith onplanet Earth.

Elaboration: At death the souleaves the physical body. But thsoul does not die. It lives on in subtle body called the astral bodyThe astral body exists in the nonphysical dimension called the atral plane, which is also the worldwe are in during our dreams anight when we sleep. Here we continue to have experiences until weare reborn again in another physical body as a baby. Each reincarnaing soul chooses a home and a family which can best ful ll its nexstep of learning and maturation.

After many lifetimes of following dharma, the soul is fully mtured in love, wisdom and knowledge of God. There is no longerneed for physical birth, for all lesons have been learned, all karmafulfilled. That soul is then libeated, freed from the cycle of birthdeath and rebirth. Evolution thencontinues in the more re ned spiritual worlds.

Similarly, after we graduate fromelementary school we never havto go back to the fth grade. Whave gone beyond that level in understanding. Thus, lifes ultimatgoal is not money, not clothes, no

sex, not power, not food or any other of the instinctive needs. Thesare natural pursuits, but our reapurpose on this Earth is to knowto love and to serve God and thGods. That leads to the rare anpriceless objects of life: enlighten

ment and liberation . This Hindu view of the souls evolution answers many otherwise bewildering questions, removing the fear of death while giving assurance that each soul is evolving toward thesame spiritual destiny, for the Hindu believes that karma and rein-carnation are leading every single soul to God Realization.

Each soul evolves by experiencing many varied lives through

reincarnation, called punarjanma in Sanskrit, the processwherein the soul repeatedly takes on a physical body throughbeing born on Earth. Here, a soul, represented by the ray of light,is shown in seven successive lives. Reincarnation is a purposefulmaturing process governed by the law of karma.

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K arma is one of the nat-ural laws of the mind, justas gravity is a law of matter.Just as God created gravity

to bring order to the physical world,He created karma as a divine sys-tem of justice that is self-governingand in nitely fair. It automaticallycreates the appropriate future ex-perience in response to the currentaction. Karma simply means ac-tion or cause and effect. Whensomething happens to us that isapparently unfortunate or unjust,it is not God punishing us. It is theresult of our own past actions.

The Vedas, Hinduisms revealedscripture, tell us if we sow good-ness, we will reap goodness; if wesow evil, we will reap evil. Thuswe create our own destiny throughthought and action. And the divinelaw is: whatever karma we are ex-periencing in our life is just whatwe need at the moment, and noth-ing can happen but that we havethe strength to meet it. Even harshkarma, when faced in wisdom, can be the greatest catalyst for spiri-tual growth. Understanding theway karma works, we seek to livea good and virtuous life throughright thought, right speech andright action. This is called dharma.

Elaboration: Karma is basically

energy. I throw energy out throughthoughts, words and deeds, and itcomes back to me, in time, throughother people. Karma is our bestteacher, for we must always facethe consequences of our actionsand 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 sameconclusion. He saw time as a curve, and space as well. This wouldeventually 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 re-sent people who do us harm. Weunderstand they are giving back theeffects of the causes we set in mo-tion at an earlier time. The law ofkarma puts man at the center of re-sponsibility for everything he doesand everything that is done to him.

Karma is a word we hear quiteoften on television. This is my karma, or It must have been something I did in a past life to bringsuch good karma to me. We hearkarma simply defined as Whatgoes around, comes around. Insome schools of Hinduism, karmais looked upon as something badperhaps because we are most awareof this law when we are facing dif-

cult karma, and not so aware of itwhen life is going smoothly. Evensome Hindus equate karma withsin, and this is what evangelicalChristians preach that it means.Many people believe that karmameans fate, a preordained destiny over which one has no control,which is also untrue.

The process of action and reaction on all levelsphysical, mental and spiritualis karma. Hereis an example. I say kind wordsto you, and you feel peaceful andhappy. I say harsh words to you

and you become ruf ed and upsetThe kindness and the harshnesswill return to me, through others,at a later time. This is karma. Anarchitect thinks creative, produc-tive thoughts while drawing plansfor a new building. But were he to

think destructive, unproductive thoughts, he would soon not beable to accomplish any kind of positive task even if he desired to doso. This is karma, a natural law of the mind. We must also be verycareful about our thoughts, because thought creates, and thoughtsmake karmasgood, bad and mixed.

What is karma?Karma is the universal principle of cause and effect. Ouractions, both good and bad, come back to us in the future,helping us to learn from lifes lessons and become better people.

One of the best examples of karma is that you cant give

anything away but that generosity will return to you, withinterest. Here, in the upper scene, a lady gives clothing to a youth. Below, she receives an unexpected gift from a neighbor as the karma of her good deed brings its natural reward. Bywisely heeding karmas ways, we tread the path of dharma.

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H indus regard all liv-ing creatures as sacredmammals, fishes, birdsand more. We acknowl-

edge this reverence for life in ourspecial affection for the cow. Atfestivals we decorate and honor her, but we do not worship her in thesense that we worship the Deity.

To the Hindu, the cow symbol-izes all other creatures. The cowis a symbol of the Earth, the nour-isher, the ever-giving, undemand-ing provider. The cow representslife and the sustenance of life. Thecow is so generous, taking nothing but water, grass and grain. It givesand gives and gives of its milk, asdoes the liberated soul give of hisspiritual knowledge. The cow is sovital to life, the virtual sustainer of life, for many humans. The cow isa symbol of grace and abundance.Veneration of the cow instills inHindus the virtues of gentleness,receptivity and connectednesswith nature.

Elaboration: Who is the great-est giver on planet Earth today?Who do we see on every tablein every country of the world breakfast, lunch and dinner? It isthe cow. McDonalds cow-vendinggolden arches and their rivals havemade fortunes on the humble cow.

The generous cow gives milk andcream, yogurt and cheese, butterand ice cream, ghee and buttermilk.It gives entirely of itself throughsirloin, ribs, rump, porterhouse and beef stew. Its bones are the base forsoup broths and glues. It gives theworld leather belts, leather seats, leather coats and shoes, beef jerky,cowboy hatsyou name it.

The only cow question for Hindus is, Why dont more peoplerespect and protect this remarkable creature? Mahatma Gandhionce said, One can measure the greatness of a nation and its moral

progress by the way it treats itanimals. Cow protection to me inot mere protection of the cow. Imeans protection of all that liveand is helpless and weak in theworld. The cow means the entiresubhuman world.

In the Hindu tradition, the cowis honored, garlanded and givespecial feedings at festivals all ovIndia, most importantly the annuaGopashtama festival. Demonstraing how dearly Hindus love theicows, colorful cow jewelry anclothing is sold at fairs all over thIndian countryside. From a younage, Hindu children are taught todecorate the cow with garlandspaint and ornaments. Her natureis epitomized in Kamadhenu, thdivine, wish-fulfilling cow. Thcow and her sacred giftsmiland ghee in particularare esential elements in Hindu worshippenance and rites of passage. IIndia, more than 3,000 instittions called Gaushalas, maintaine by charitable trusts, care for oland in rm cows. And while manyHindus are not vegetarians, mosrespect the still widely held codeof abstaining from eating beef.

By her docile, tolerant naturthe cow exempli es the cardinavirtue of Hinduism, noninjury

known as ahimsa . The cow alsymbolizes dignity, strength, endurance, maternity and selflesservice. In the Vedas, cows reresent wealth and joyous Earthlylife. From the Rig Veda (4.28.1we read. The cows have come an

have brought us good fortune. In our stalls, contented, may theystay! May they bring forth calves for us, many-colored, giving milkfor Indra each day. You make, O cows, the thin man sleek; to the un-lovely you bring beauty. Rejoice our homestead with pleasant lowing. In our assemblies we laud your vigor.

Why do Hindus worship the cow?Hindus dont worship cows. We respect, honor andadore the cow. By honoring this gentle animal, who

gives more than she takes, we honor all creatures.

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Hindus do not worship cows, but they do revere them as the

perfect example of Divinity in all forms of life. Here a girl garlands a cow whose horns are painted and adorned with brasstips and tassels. Her sister offers fresh grass. In India, the cow ishonored, adored and protected as a symbol of wealth, strength,abundance, sel ess giving and a full Earthly life.

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7/16october /november /december, 2011 hinduism today

T he stone or metal deityimages in Hindu temples andshrines are not mere symbolsof the Gods. They are the form

through which their love, power and blessings ood forth into this world.We may lik en this mystery to ourability to communicate with othersthrough the telephone. We do nottalk to the telephone; rather we useit as a means of communication withanother person. Without the tele-phone, we could not converse acrosslong distances; and without the sanc-ti ed icon in the temple, we cannoteasily commune with the Deity.

Divinity can also be invokedand felt in a sacred re, or in a tree,or in the enlightened person of asatguru . In our temples, God is in-voked in the sanctum by highlytrained priests. Through the prac-tice of yoga, or meditation, we in-voke God inside ourself. Yoga meansto yoke oneself to God within. Theimage or icon of worship is a fo-cus for our prayers and devotions.

Another way to explain icon wor-ship is to acknowledge that Hindus believe God is everywhere, in allthings, whether stone, wood, crea-tures or people. So, it is not surprisingthat they feel comfortable worship-ing the Divine in His material mani-festation. The Hindu can see God in

stone and water, fire, air and ether,and inside his own soul. Indeed,there are Hindu temples which havein the sanctum sanctorum no im-age at all but a yantra, a symbolic ormystic diagram. However, the sightof the image en hances the devoteesworship.

Elaboration: In Hinduism one of the ultimate attainments iswhen the seeker transcends the need of all form and symbol. Thisis the yogis goal. In this way Hinduism is the least idol-orientedof all the religions of the world. There is no religion that is more

aware of the transcendent, time-less, formless, causeless Truth. Nois there any religion which usesmore symbols to represent Truthin preparation for that realization.

Humorously speaking, Hindusare not idle worshipers. I have nev-er seen a Hindu worship in a lazyor idle way. They worship withgreat vigor and devotion, with un-stinting regularity and constancy.Theres nothing idle about ourways of worship! (A little humornever hurts.) But, of course, thequestion is about graven images.

All religions have their symbolsof holiness through which the sa-cred flows into the mundane. Toname a few: the Christian cross, orstatues of Mother Mary and SaintTheresa, the holy Kaaba in Meccathe Sikh Adi Granth enshrined inthe Golden Temple in Amritsar,the Arc and Torah of the Jews, theimage of a meditating Buddha, thetotems of indigenous and Paganfaiths, and the artifacts of the holymen and women of all religionsSuch icons, or graven images, arheld in awe by the followers of therespective faiths. The question isdoes this make all such religionists idol worshipers? The answeris, yes and no. From our perspective, idol worship is an intelligent

mystical practice shared by all ofthe worlds great faiths.The human mind releases itself

from suffering through the useof forms and symbols that awak-en reverence, evoke sanctity andspiritual wisdom. Even a fundamentalist Christian who rejects all

forms of idol worship, including those of the Catholic and Episcopalchurches, would resent someone who showed disrespect for his Bi- ble. This is because he considers it sacred. His book and the Hindusicon are much alike in this way.

Are Hindus idol worshipers?Hindus do not worship a stone or metal idol as God. We

worship God through the image. We invoke the presence of God from the higher, unseen worlds, into the image so that

we can commune with Him and receive His blessings.

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A devotee looks within and beyond the bronze dancing Siva tobehold God in His spiritual body of light. Dressed in traditional Hindu garb, the man is performing his daily puja in his homeshrinechanting Sanskrit mantras, offering fruit, water, owers,incense and lightworshiping devoutly, beseeching God to sendblessings through the enshrined image.

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O ur religion does notlay down rigid dosand donts. There areno commandments.

Hinduism gives us the wisdom tomake up our own mind on whatwe put in our body, for it is theonly one we havein this life, at

least. Vegetarians are more numer-ous in the South of India than inthe North. This is because of theNorths cooler climactic conditionsand past Islamic in uence. Priestsand religious leaders are de nitelyvegetarian, so as to maintain a highlevel of purity and spiritual con-sciousness to ful ll their responsi - bilities, and to awaken the re nedareas of their nature. Soldiers andlaw-enforcement of cers are gen -erally not vegetarians, because theyhave to keep alive their aggressiveforces in order to perform theirwork. To practice yoga and be suc-cessful in meditation, it is manda-tory to be vegetarian. It is a mat-ter of wisdomthe application of knowledge at any given moment.Today, about twenty percent of allHindus are vegetarians.

Elaboration: This can be atouchy subject. There are severalways to respond, depending onwho is asking and the backgroundin which he was raised. But the

overlying principle that definesthe Hindu answer to this query isahimsa refraining from injuring,physically, mentally or emotionally,anyone or any living creature. TheHindu who wishes to strictly follow the path of noninjury natu-rally adopts a vegetarian diet. Its a matter of conscience more thananything else.

When we eat meat, sh, fowl and eggs, we absorb the vibrationof the instinctive creatures into our nerve system. This chemicallyalters our consciousness and ampli es our lower nature, which isprone to fear, anger, jealousy, confusion, resentment and the like.

Many Hindu swamis advise followers to be well-establishedvegetarians prior to initiationinto mantra, and to remain vegetarian thereafter. But most donot insist upon vegetarianism fothose not seeking initiation. Swamis have learned that families

who are vegetarian have feweproblems than those who are not

Poignant scriptural citationcounsel against eating meat . ThYajur Veda ( 36.18 ) calls for kinliness toward all creatures living on the Earth, in the air andin the water. The Tirukural,2,200 -year-old masterpiece oethics, states, When a man realizes that meat is the butchered

esh of another creature, he wilabstain from eating it ( 257). T

Manu Dharma Shastras staHaving well considered the originof esh and the cruelty of fettering and slaying corporeal beinglet one entirely abstain from eating flesh, and When the dieis pure, the mind and heart arepure. For guidance in this and amatters, Hindus also rely on theiown guru, community elderstheir own conscience and theirknowledge of the bene ts of abstaining from meat and enjoyinga wholesome vegetarian diet. O

course, there are good Hindus whoeat meat, and there are not-sogood Hindus who are vegetarian

Today in America and Europmillions of people are vegeta

ians because they want to live a long time and be healthy. Manyfeel a moral obligation to shun the mentality of violence to whichmeat-eating gives rise. There are good books on vegetarianism, suchas Diet for a New America. There is also a ne magazine calleVegetarian Times. The booklet How to Win an Argument witha Meat-Eater is online at: www.himalayanacademy.com/books/pamphlets/WinMeatEaterArgument.html .

Are Hindus forbidden to eat meat?Hindus teach vegetarianism as a way to live

with a minimum of hurt to other beings. But in todays world not all Hindus are vegetarians.


Vendors at a market are selling fruits, vegetables, grains, spicesand sweetsa potpourri of foods that great cooks creativelycombine in one of the worlds most sumptuous cuisines. Hindus

understand the sound reasons against eating meat, and manyabstain entirely. With such a savory and healthy diet, there is noneed to consume esh.

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L ike the taoisttao te ch-

ing, the Buddhist Dham-mapada , the Sikh Ad i Granth, the Jewish Torah ,

the Christian Bible and the Mus -lim Koranthe Veda is the Hinduholy book. The four books of theVedas Ri g, Yajur, Sama and

Atharva include over 100,000 verses. The knowledge imparted by the Vedas ranges from earthydevotion to high philosophy. Theirwords and wisdom permeate Hin-du thought, ritual and meditation.

The Vedas are the ultimate scrip-tural authority for Hindus. Theiroldest portions are said by someto date back as far as 6,000 bce ,orally transmitted for most of his-tory and written down in Sanskritin the last few millennia, makingthem the worlds longest and mostancient scripture. The Vedas opena rare window into ancient Indiansociety, proclaiming lifes sacred-ness and the way to oneness withGod.

Elaboration: For untold centu-ries unto today, the Vedas haveremained the sustaining force andauthoritative doctrine, guiding fol-lowers in ways of worship, dutyand enlightenment. The Vedas arethe meditative and philosophicalfocus for millions of monks and a

billion seekers. Their stanzas arechanted from memory by priestsand laymen daily as liturgy in tem-ple worship and domestic ritual. AllHindus wholeheartedly accept theVedas , yet each draws selectively,interprets freely and ampli es abundantly. Over time, this tolerantallegiance has woven the varied tapestry of Indian Hindu Dharma.

Each of the four Vedas has four sections: Samhitas (hymn col-lections), Brahmanas (priestly manuals), Aran yakas (forest trea-tises) and Upanishads (enlightened discourses). The Samhitas and

Brah manas af rm that God is immanent and transcendent and

prescribe ritual worship, mantraand devotional hymns to establishcommunication with the spiritualworlds. The hymns are invoca-tions to the One Divine and to theDivinities of nature, such as theSun, the Rain, the Wind, the Fireand the Dawnas well as prayersfor matrimony, progeny, prosperityconcord, protection, domestic ritesand more.

The Aranyakas and Upanishadsoutline the souls evolutionary jour ney, provide yog ic ph ilosophical training and propoundrealization of mans oneness withGod as the destiny of all soulsToday, the Vedas are publishedin Sanskrit, English, French, Geman and other languages. Butit is the popular, metaphysi-cal Upanishads that have beenmost amply and ably translated.

The Vedas advise: Let there bno neglect of Truth. Let there beno neglect of dharma. Let there beno neglect of welfare. Let there beno neglect of prosperity. Let there be no ne glect of study and teaching. Let there be no neglect of theduties to the Gods and the ances-tors (Taittiriya Upanishad 1.11.

United your resolve, un ited youhearts, may your spirits be onethat you may long to gether dwel

in unity and concord! ( Rig Ved10.191.4). There, where there is nodarkness, nor night, nor day, nor being, nor non-being, there is theAuspicious One, alone, absoluteand eternal. There is the glorious

splendor of that Light from whom in the beginning sprang ancientwisdom ( Shvetashvatara Upanishad 4.18). Taking as a bow thgreat weapon of the Upanishad, one should put upon it an arrowsharpened by meditation. Stretching it with a thought directed tothe essence of That, penetrate that Imperishable as the mark, myfriend ( Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.3).

Do Hindus have a Bible?Our Bible is called the Veda. The Veda, which means

wisdom, is comprised of four ancient and holy scriptures which all Hindus revere as the revealed word of God.


The Vedas are revealed scripture, meaning they were issued forth by God through enlightened sages, or rishis. This divine

transmission is depicted here as Lord Siva bestows the four booksof the Veda to four rishis. The sacred knowledge, passed orally for most of history, was nally scribed in Sanskrit on palm leaves toshare and preserve it.

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T he dot worn betweenthe eyes or in the middle of the forehead is a sign thatone is a Hindu. It is called the

bindi in the Hindi language, bindu in Sanskrit and pottu in Tamil. Inolden days, all Hindu men andwomen wore these marks, and they both also wore earrings. Today it isthe women who are most faithfulin wearing the bindi.

The dot has a mystical mean-ing. It represents the third eye of spiritual sight, which sees thingsthe physical eyes cannot see. Hin-dus seek to awaken their innersight through yoga. The foreheaddot is a reminder to use and culti-vate this spiritual vision to perceiveand better understand lifes innerworkingsto see things not justphysically, but with the minds eyeas well. The bindi is made of redpowder (called sindur, tradition-ally made from powdered turmericand fresh lime juice), sandalpaste orcosmetics.

In addition to the simple dot,there are many types of foreheadmarks, known as tilaka in Sanskrit .Each mark represents a particularsect or denomination of our vastreligion. We have four major sects:Saivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktismand Smartism. Vaishnava Hindus,

for example, wear a v-shaped ti-laka made of white clay. Elaboratetilakas are worn by Hindus mainlyat religious events, though manywear the simple bindi, indicatingthey are Hindu, even in the generalpublic. By these marks we know what a person believes, and there-fore know how to begin conversations.

For Hindu women, the forehead dot is also a beauty mark, notunlike the black mark European and American women once woreon the cheek. The red bindi is generally a sign of marriage. A black bindi is often worn before marriage to ward off the evil eye. As

an exotic fashion statement, thedots color complements the coloof a ladys sari. Ornate bindis aeven worn by actresses in populaAmerican TV shows.

Elaboration: Men and womeof a particular religion wishinto identify themselves to one another often do so by wearing ditinctive religious symbols. Oftethese are blessed in their templeschurches or synagogues. Chritians wear a cross on a necklacJewish boys wear small leathecases that hold scriptural passageand the round cap called yarmulka. Sikh men wear their hair in turban. In many countries, Muslim women cover their head witha scarf, called hajib.

Do not be ashamed to weathe bindi on your forehead in theUnited States, Canada, Europe any country of the world. Wearit proudly. The forehead dot wildistinguish you from all othepeople as a very special person,Hindu, a knower of eternal truthsYou will never be mistaken as belonging to another nationality oreligion. The sacred forehead dois an easy way of distinguishinHindus from Muslims. And don

be intimidated when people askyou what the dot means. Now you

have lots of information to give good answer, which will probablylead to more questions about youvenerable religion.

For both boys and girls, men anwomen, the dot can be small o

large depending on the circumstance, but should always be therewhen appropriate. Naturally, we dont want to aunt our religionin the face of others. We observe that many Christian men andwomen take off or conceal their crosses in the corporate businessworld. Some communities and institutions disallow wearing reli-gious symbols entirely.

Why do many Hindus wear a dotnear the middle of their forehead?

The dot worn on the forehead is a religious symbol.

It represents divine sight and shows that one isa Hindu. For women, it is also a beauty mark.


Decorating the face and body with colorful paints is a universalhuman practice, often a cultural rite expressing ones tribe, beliefs

and identity. The forehead dot shows that one is proud to be a Hindu and bespeaks mystical seeing beyond the ve senses. Here,in a simple, daily act, a woman obligingly applies a red bindi toher sisters forehead.

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In popular, village hindu-ism God is represented as male,and Gods energy, or Shakti, ispersoni ed as His spousefor

example, Vishnu and Lakshmi. InHindu temples, art and mythol-ogy, God is everywhere seen asthe beloved, divine couple. Philo-sophically, however, the caution isalways made that God and Godsenergy are One, and the meta-phor of the inseparable divinecouple serves only to illustrate thisOneness.

Hinduism is taught on manylevels to many different people,and to uneducated people whoare not able to understand highphilosophy, Hinduism is taughtin story form. Because the templeis the center of every Hindu com-munity, and everyone is focused onthe temple and the Gods within it,the Gods are the major players inthese stories. Hindus who under-stand the higher philosophy seekto find God on the inside whilealso worshiping God in the tem-ples. Simple folk strive to be like aGod, or like a Goddess. These tales,called Puranas, have long been the basis of dance, plays and storytell-ing around the re in the homesto children as they are growing up.The stories illustrate how a family

should live, how they should raisetheir children, and much more. Be-fore the printing press, there werefew books, and Hinduism was con-veyed orally through stories andparables. While these often violentchildrens tales should not be per-petuated, there remains much of value in the extensive writings of the Puranas .

Elaboration: Those who learn the higher Hindu philosophiesknow that Gods are neither male nor female. In fact, attaining tothat Godly level of being is one of the mystical goals of yoga. This

is accomplished by blending thfeminine and masculine currents,ida and pingala , into the spiritualcurrent, sushumna, in the centerof the spine within each individual.

Hindus know that the Gods donot marry, that they are completewithin themselves. This unity isdepicted in the traditional icon of Ardhanarishvara, Siva as half manand half woman, and in the teach-ing that Siva and Shakti are onethat Shakti is Sivas energy. Siva idearly loved as our Father-MotherGod. Yet, sexual gender and matrimonial relations are of the physi-cal and emotional realms, whereasthe Gods exist in a stratum that farsupersedes these levels of life. Fothat matter, the soul itself is nei-ther male nor female.

Some modern swamis now urgedevotees not to pay any attentionto Puranic stories about the Godssaying that they have no relation-ship with the world todaythatthey are misleading and confusingand should no longer be taught tothe children. Instead, they encour-age followers to deepen themselveswith the higher philosophies of the Vedic Upanishads and the realizations of Hindu seers.

Other faiths sometimes criti-cize the Hindu religion as a sort

of comic-book religion, and weshould not be part of perpetuat-ing that image by passing on suchmisconceptions as the marriageof the Gods. Other religions moveand adjust with the times. Hindu-ism must also do so. It must offer

answers to the questions about God, soul and worldanswers thatare reasonable, that can be understood and accepted even by a child,that are coherent, sensible and strictly in accord with scripture andtradition. This is necessary in the technological age, necessary in or-der that Hinduism will be a religion of the future, not of the past.

Are the Gods of Hinduism really married?It is true that God is often depicted with a spouse in our

traditional stories. However, on a deeper philosophicallevel, the Supreme Being and the Gods are neither malenor female and are therefore not married.


Through history Hindus have depicted God as Ardhanarishvara,

which literally means half-female LordSiva as male on theright and female on the left. This vision of the Divine as our Mother-Father God supersedes the popular, mythological notionof marriage of a God and Goddess, declaring that God and Hisenergy are one.

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C aste, from the portu-guese casta, mean-ing clan or lineage,refers to two systems

within Hindu society. The rst isvarna , the division of society intofour groups: workers, businesspeople, lawmakers/law enforcersand priests. The second is jati , thethousands of occupational guildswhose members follow a singleprofession. Jati members usuallymarry within their own jati andfollow traditions associated withtheir jati . In urban areas they oftenenter other occupations, but stillusually arrange marriages withinthe jati .

Wealth, especially in urbanareas, often trumps caste. Indus-trialization and education havegreatly altered Indias jati system by eliminat ing or changing theprofessions upon which it wasoriginally based, and opening newemployment options. The jatis areevolving to function today less likeguilds and more like large clansof related families. At the bottomare the so-called untouchables,who perform the dirtiest jobs andhave suffered much like the blackpeople of America, who were freedfrom slavery just 138 years ago.Strong laws have been passed in

India to end caste-based discrimi-nation. Modern Hindus rightly de -plore caste abuse and are workingto set matters right. Just as in theUS, it is a difficult task that willtake decades, especially in the villages.

Elaboration: Caste is, no doubt, the biggest stick that Hindus get beaten with. It is taught as the de ning attribute, or fatal aw, of Hin -duism in Western schools. Untouchability as a formal system shocksWesterners. One response we can make is to separate social strati -cation from the issue of racial/class discrimination.

First issue: social strati cation . India is one of the worlds oldest

societies. It has sustained a cotinuity of culture and religion fothousands of years. Europe, on thother hand, has seen millenniumsof upheaval. Still, one only has go back to before the 17th-centurindustrial revolution to nd a social system that is similar to castEuropean society then comprisedthe landed elite (including royalta hereditary caste maintained tothis day), merchants, artisans anpeasants. The artisans formeguilds, occupation-based organzations that served both as closedunions and marketing monopoliesThe guild legacy remains in Wesern surnames such as Smith, metal worker. There was no publiceducation system, and each generation learned at home the family occupation. There was littltechnological change, so jobs werstatic. Industrialization and public education altered (but did nodestroy) this class system in thWest, just as they are changingcaste and jati in India today.

Second issue: racial/class discrimination . Most Indians aunfamiliar with the extent of discrimination in the West today. In

America, for example, hundredof thousands live destitute andhomeless on city streets, as tru

untouchables. US cities are moracially segregated than beforthe 1950s Civil Rights Movemen because of white flight to thsuburbs. Black Americans receiv

harsher sentences than white Americans for the same crime. ManyNative American Indians live at the bottom of society, destitute andalcoholic, on barren Indian reservations. This kind of responsewe can call it the Youre one, too defensedoesnt mean Hindushould not work much harder to end caste discrimination. But itreminds others that no country in the world is yet free from racialdiscrimination.

What about caste and untouchability?Caste is the hereditary division of Indian society based onoccu pation. The lowest class, deemed untouchables, suffer fromdiscrimination and mistreatment. It is illegal in India to dis-criminate against, abuse or insult anyone on the basis of caste.


Representatives of the four castes, or varnas, are shown heresurrounding Lord Ganesha. They are: worker, businessman,

general and priest. These are natural divisions which appear in all

nations and societies as shown by the universal existence, in some form, of labor unions, businessmens associations, armies and police forces, and religious ministers.

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In recent years a vigorous de- bate has ari sen as to whetheryoga is intrinsically a Hindupractice or a universal science.

The word yoga has changed as thepractice moved west . Its originalmeaning, union with God, has been replaced with the more secu-lar de nition presented by upscaleyoga studios around the world thatteach a regimen of asanas along with basic breathing and a little medita-tion. A typical studio ad focuses onthe physicality, stating that yogaincreases the circulation of oxygen-rich blood, nourishing and detoxify-ing the internal organs, musculature,cardiovascular, immune, endocrine,digestive, reproductive and nervoussystems. The United States alonehas over 20 million practitioners,and there are hundreds of millionsworldwide.

B.K.S. Iyengar, a renowned yogateacher, gives a more traditional def-inition on his website: Yoga is oneof the six systems of Indian philoso-phy. The word yoga originates fromthe Sanskrit root yuj , which meansunion. On the spiritual plane, itmeans union of the Individual Self with the Universal Self.

Elaboration: The term yoga actu-ally refers to a wide range of Hindupractices; so it is important to specify

what kind of yoga is being discussed.In common modern usage, yoga typically refers to hatha yogatheperformance of yoga postures, or asanas, which are drawn fromancient Hindu scriptures. Hatha yoga has always been performed by Hindus as a preparation for meditation; today, especially in theWest, its health bene ts commonly supersede the spiritual. Hathayoga is just one facet of a broader body of knowledge and practiceknown as ashtanga yoga, which consists of eight stages. ( Ashta means eight; anga means limb). The famous Yoga Sutras of SagePatanjali, who lived around 200 bce, is considered the rst system -atic presentation of the ancient tradition of yoga.

To appreciate yogas spiritual and religious nature, one need only

consider each of its eight limbs, orfacets. The rst is yama, the ethicalrestraints; of these, the most impor-tant is ahimsa, noninjuriousness. Thesecond is niyama, speci c religiousobservances, including puja in oneshome shrine and repeating mantras.The third is asana, the widely prac-ticed hatha yoga postures. The re-maining ve limbs are all related tomeditation: pranayama (breath con-trol), pratyahara (sense withdrawal)dharana (concentration), dhyana(meditation) and samadhi (illumina-tion, or oneness with God).

Can those of other faiths bene tfrom the practice of yogawithoutthreatening their religions beliefs?Certainly followers of liberal reli-gious traditions can do so. Howeverclerics of conservative faith tradi-tions have spoken against its prac-tice for their adherents. For example,in 2008 the leading Islamic councilin Malaysia issued an edict prohibiting the countrys Muslims frompracticing yoga. Council chairmanAbdul Shukor Husim explained:

We are of the view that yoga, whichoriginates in Hinduism destroys a

Muslims faith. There are other waysto get exercise. You can go cyclingswimming, etc.

The Reverend Richard Farr, vicarof Saint Marys Church in Henham,

England, commented in 2001: I ac-cept that for some people it is simply an exercise. But it is also of-ten a gateway into other spiritualities, including Eastern mysticism.The Vatican has issued numerous edicts about the pursuit of yoga.In 1989 it warned that practices like Zen and yoga can degenerateinto a cult of the body that debases Christian prayer.

It is sometimes argued that yoga is not Hindu per se; only theroots are Hindu. The fact that yoga is pursued by many non-Hindusis irrelevant to its validity as a Hindu practice. The roots of yoga, itsscriptural origins, are Hindu. The stem of yoga, its practice, is Hin-du; and the ower of yoga, mystical union with God, is Hindu. Yoga,in its full glory, is entirely Hindu. Practice at your own risk!

Is yoga a Hindu practice?Deeply rooted in Hindu scripture and belief, yoga is, andalways was, a vital part of Hindu religion and culture. Todayit is embraced by tens of millions of non-Hindus seeking itsrenowned bene ts to physical, mental and spiritual health.


At dawn a devotee practices an advanced hatha yoga asanaas part of a series that will prepare him for meditation. Each day in his shrine room, he follows a one-hour spiritualroutine of yoga, worship and meditation.

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How do Hindus view other religions?Hindus honor all religious traditions and thepeople within them. While regarding our faithas uniquely endowed, we believe that thereis no exclusive path, no one way for all.


In india, where hindus are theoverwhelming majority, therights of minority religions havealways been honored. Hindus

have welcomed, embraced and livedpeacefully among other religions forcenturies. During those same cen-turies, Hinduism itself evolved intohundreds of strains, and thus Hin-dus are fully at home with manydifferent traditions and viewpointswithin their own faith. Hence, theyare naturally tolerant of other reli-gions, respecting the fact that eachhas unique beliefs, practices, goalsand paths of attainment, and notobjecting when the doctrines of one con ict with those of another.Hindus readily accept the idea thatit is not necessary, desirable or evenpossible for everyone to hold thesame beliefs. And certainly suchdifferences should never be causefor tension, criticism, intolerance orviolence.

An ancient Sanskrit verse sum-marizes the Hindu attitude: Asthe different streams, having theirsources in different places, all min-gle their water in the sea, so, O Lord,the different paths which men takethrough different tendencies, vari-ous though they appear, crooked orstraight, all lead to Thee.

Hindus do not proselytize, mean-

ing they do not try to convert members of other faiths to their own.Proselytizing is based upon the belief that ones religion is the only true religion and everyone elseshould join it. Hindus hold the view that all faiths are bene cial. Adevout Hindu is supportive of all efforts that lead to a pure and vir-tuous life and would consider it unthinkable to dissuade a sinceredevotee from his chosen faith. They know that good citizens andstable societies are created from groups of religious people in all na-tions. While encouraging others to follow their chosen path withdedication, Hindus hold Sanatana Dharma to be the fullest expres-sion of religion, and do accept sincere souls who seek entrance into

Hinduism.Elaboration: When discussing

other religions, Hindu leaders often quote a verse from the Rig Ved(1.164.46): Ekam Sat, viprah bahuha vadanti, meaning Truth is Onesages describe it variously. It coveys a core Hindu idea: that there can be multiple valid viewpoints abouthe Supreme. Dr. S. Radha krishnaphilosopher and former presidentof India, stressed this point: ThHindu recognizes one Supreme Spirithough different names are given to it.

In expressing religious tolerancHindus sometimes cite the aboveverse to assert that all religions are thesame. In reality, all religions are nothe same, nor is that indicated by thisverse. It simply says that all religionrevere the One Truth; all believe inthe One Supreme Being. Their beliefand practices are different; their pathsare distinct. Instead of saying, Areligions are the same, it is better tostate that all religions are good.

Hindus share values common to allfaiths: piety, love of God, respect fotradition, a stress on duty, responsi bility and basic human virtues, suchas nonviolence, truthfulness, compassion and charity. They know that goodcitizens and stable societies are created from groups of religious peoplein all nations. They also acknowledg

and honor the many ways that reli-gions differ. For example, meditationand yoga are commonly practiced in

Eastern religions but not usually in Western faiths.The heart of a religion is its understanding of the souls relation-

ship to God. Hinduism and most Eastern religions believe that, atthe highest level, God and soul are one, inseparable, while Westernfaiths maintain that Creator and creation are eternally distinct.

Hindus support and participate in ecumenical gatherings withother religions, while upholding their own traditions. They condently defend their faith, proceed contentedly with their practicesand avoid the enchantment of other ways, be they ancient or modern.

Here the artist depicts the intimate affection between God Siva and humanity. All are embraced, accepted and loved,

whatever path they follow, whatever religion they profess.

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Why do some Hindu Gods have animal features?In dreams and visions the inner-plane beings haverevealed themselves to mankind to be of many forms,expressing many powers. Some appear human, andothers, like Ganesha, have animal features.


T he various gods in hinduisms wide-ranging traditions possess distinct per-sonalities and forms based on how theyhave been seen in visions and how they

are depicted in stories and legends. Hindusfeel no need to question the fact, for instance,that Lord Ganesha has the head of an el-ephant. They know He has been seen in thisway by rishis and even by ordinary devotees.Did He choose that form to distinguish Him-self as the Lord of Obstacles? No one reallyknows. The important fact is that millions of Hindus worship and receive blessings fromthe benevolent Elephant-Faced God every day.Many Hindus seeking an explanation holdthat Ganesha is a real being who looks like anelephant. Others believe the elephant form issymbolic. Millions are content with the an -cient stories in the Puranas that explain howHe came to have an elephant head. Interest-ingly, and perhaps because of His endearing

visage, Ganesha is the most popular of all theHindu Deities. Numerous other Hindu Divin -ities have animal attributes, including Hanu-man, Varuna, Kamadhenu, the Nagas, the vahanas (animal mountsof the Gods) and four of Vishnus ten incarnations ( sh, turtle, boarand half-man-half-lion).

Elaboration: An exploration of other ancient faiths shows thatHinduism is not alone in having Divinities with animal attributes.The ancient Greeks worshiped the God Pan, who has the hindquar-ters, legs and horns of a goat, and the Sea Gods Ichthyocentaurs,with human heads and torsos, the front legs of a horse and the ser-pentine tails of sh. In Egypts pantheon, Anubis (God of the Under -world) is a falcon-headed man, as is Ra (the Sun God). Thoth (Lordof Wisdom and of the Moon) has the head of an ibis or a baboon,and His consort, Bastet, has the form of a cat or a lioness. The Meso -american peoples worshiped Quetzal coatl, a feathered serpent. TheAssyrians feared the powerful serpent Goddess Tiamat and reveredvarious winged beings. In Japanwhere Buddhism and Shintoismare intertwinedKitsune the fox and Tengu the bird man are pow -erful shape-shifters who can transform into human or inanimateshapes to trick humans. Many shrines there are guarded by a pair of magical lion-dogs known as the Koma-inu or Shishi.

In a discussion with Christians, who tend to ridicule Hinduismon this point, you can recall that winged angels are half-human andhalf-bird. Four-headed beings called the Cherubims were central inthe early Christianity. In the Bibles Book of Revelation,John writes:

I saw a throne standing in heaven; and the One who was sitting onthe throne In the center, grouped around the throne itself, were fouranimals with many eyes, in front and behind. The rst animal waslike a lion, the second like a bull, the third animal had a human face,and the fourth animal was like a ying eagle. Each of the four animals had six wings... (4:1-8). The description matches an account by Jewish prophet Elijah centuries before. Importantly, these beingsare the most powerful beings in the pantheon, closest to the Creator.

Over the millennia, worship and awareness of Deities with ani-mal features was eclipsed in most cultures as the monotheistic re-ligions grew into prominence. Were these beings mere myth andimagination, as depicted by modern scholars? Or were the peoplesof ancient times aware of a mystical reality that has been sealed off?In most cultures, the old Gods have been put in exile. Only in Hin-duism does such worship thrive in unbroken continuity.

One might note the obvious fact that Homo sapiens, too, is aanimal specie, one among many.

Hanuman carries Iraivan Temple from India to Hawaii. With Hismonkey body, Hanuman is one of many non-human Deities in the

Hindu pantheon. A devotee of Lord Rama, He is regarded as a powerfulally to all on the spiritual path, a symbol of strength and dedication.

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Why do Hindus cremate the dead?Hindus arrange swift cremation of the dead, ideally

within 24 hours. The re and accompanying ritessever ties to earthly life and give momentum to

the soul for its continuing spiritual journey.

H indus traditionally crematetheir dead because a fiery disso-lution of the body brings swifter,more complete release of the soul

than burial, which preserves the souls psy-chic connection to its just-ended earthly life.After death, the departed soul hovers close tothe earth plane in its astral body, emotion-ally attached to the physical body and itsold surroundings, still able to see this mate-rial world. The funeral rites and burning of the body signify spiritual release, notifyingthe soul that, in fact, death has come. Someof the funeral chants address the deceased,urging the soul to relinquish attachmentsand continue its spiritual journey. The Godsand devas are invoked to assist the soul in itstransition. The re severs ties to earthly lifeand gives momentum to the soul, granting atleast momentary access to re ned, heavenlyrealms. All attention is on a singular goal, as

expressed in this prayer from the Rig Veda: Release him again, O Agni, to the fathers.The one offered to you now proceeds to his destiny. Putting on newlife, let him approach the surviving, let him reunite with a [new] body, All-Knowing One! (10. 16. 5).

Elaboration: Hindus do not believe in bodily resurrection andthe reuniting of each soul with its physical body, so they place noimportance on preserving the corpse, which is the intent of burialin Christianity and Islam. The Hindu belief in reincarnation givesassurance that death is merely the souls release from the currentlife. An ancient text puts it simply, Even as the snake sloughs off its skin, even as the bird leaves its shell, even as in its waking statethe soul forgets happenings of the dream state, thus does the soulmigrate from one body to another ( Tirumantiram 2132).

Family and friends take an active part in releasing the departedsoul: preparing the body, joining in the rituals, transporting the body to the cremation grounds and lighting the pyre. After crema-tion, the ashes are ceremoniously committed to a river (often theGanga), lake or ocean, along with garlands and owers. While therites allow family a digni ed farewell and an opportunity to ex -press grief, all present know there will be other bodies, other lives.Mourning is never suppressed, but scriptures admonish againstexcessive lamentation and encourage joyous release. The departedsoul feels the impact of emotional forces directed at him, and pro-longed grieving can hold him in earthly consciousness, inhibitingfull transition to the inner worlds. Hindus speak of death as the

Great Departure, regarding it as lifes most exalted moment. Thedeath anniversary is called Liberation Day.

Cremation is prescribed in the Vedic texts, and Hindu funeralcustoms are remarkably uniform throughout India. Cremation isalso practiced by other Indic faiths, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhismand is becoming popular worldwide. Many believe the body should be disposed of as swiftly and cleanly as possible and that re is the

purest way to return the physical elements to their source. It is lessexpensive than burial, with a smaller impact on the environment.Recent gures show cremations are chosen by 35% in the US, 72%in the UK, 99.9% in Japan, 68% in Canada and 49% in China.

Infants and small children, however, are buried in Hindu tradi-tion. Another exception pertains to enlightened souls, for whomthe body is often interred in a crypt lled with salt, and a shrine ortemple is constructed at the site. Sacred texts assert their remark-able disciplines have endowed the physical body with immensespiritual power, which can radiate for generations, giving blessingsthrough this sacred samadhi, especially if that soul remains awarof the Earth plane.

A body, wrapped in cotton cloth, is placed on a funeral pyre made of stacks of wood. Flames return the elements to nature, leaving puri edashes that will be placed in a river or other body of water.

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14 questions people ask about hinduism with tweetable answers

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