The Encyclopedia of World Religions

200 S Hinduism

(acknowledging and worshipping G OD as one), and some are atheists (denying that God exists). Instead of worshipping a personal God, Hindu atheists may postulate that a single, nonpersonal reality underlies the world of appearances ( see B RAHMAN ). Hindus who are monotheists generally see the many Hindu gods as different manifesta tions of the one same God. The Veda celebrates gods like I NDRA , A GNI , Surya, Varuna, and, a little later, Prajapati. The gods of the Puranas are generally grouped together under the triad of B RAHMA the creator, V ISHNU the preserver, and S IVA the destroyer, together with their consorts S ARASWATI , L AKSHMI , and P ARVATI . Actual Hindu worship tends to focus on a somewhat dif ferent triad: Vishnu with his avatars K RISHNA and R AMA (sometimes the B UDDHA and J ESUS , too) and his consort Lakshmi; Siva with his consort Parvati and his son G ANESA ; and Devi, the goddess, espe cially in the form of D URGA and K ALI . Much wor ship focuses, too, on the deities of the local village, often female, who may or may not be identified with the pan-Indian deities just named. Despite this plurality, most Hindus share a set of beliefs about the structure of life and the uni verse. They believe that upon death, living beings are reborn. The conditions of their rebirth are determined by whether their action ( KARMA ) has been morally good or bad. The universe, too, alter nates between creation and destruction, although the number of years in each cycle is immense. Most Hindus also acknowledge that the ultimate religious goal is to attain release ( moksha ) from the cycle of rebirth ( SAMSARA ). PRACTICES Hindu practices are just as diverse as Hindu beliefs. The codes of DHARMA , religiously sanctioned order, discuss practice in terms of a sanatana dharma, an order that applies universally. Accord ing to this order, what one is supposed to do is determined by the varna (ritual class; see CASTE IN H INDUISM ) into which one is born and the asrama (stage of life) in which one happens to be. In youth, males of the top three varnas are to study

costume meditating and a pool that seems designed for RITUAL bathing. According to traditional European scholarship, the religion of the Veda was brought to India about 1500 B . C . E . Traditional Indian scholarship sees it as having originated in India much earlier. The prac tices that we know the most about were elaborate public SACRIFICES sponsored by wealthy patrons and performed by priests. Some parts of the Veda give evidence of what may have been more popular practices: spells and incantations used for medical purposes. Starting perhaps around 600 B . C . E . speculation on the Veda gave rise to philosophical texts known as the U PANISHADS . Somewhat later more practi cally oriented scholars systematized the Hindu way of life in Smritis or Dharmasastras, the most important of which was the Laws of M ANU . Over many centuries mythological material developed into a body of literature known as itihasa - PURANA . It includes the mammoth epic poem the Mahab harata and an especially revered portion of it, the B HAGAVAD -G ITA . From 500 to 1500 C . E . Hinduism as we know it today took shape. Beginning in south India, a movement of devotion to deities ( BHAKTI ) drew people who had supported B UDDHISM back to Hin duism. Hindus started to build temples to house their gods and goddesses. The orthodox schools of philosophy, especially the various forms of V EDANTA , were formulated. T ANTRISM , a tradition of esoteric rituals, provided alternative means to release. Eventually an elaborate and sophisticated religious literature grew up in the languages of everyday life. BELIEFS Virtually all forms of Hinduism acknowledge the authority of the Veda, but that does not mean that they derive any specific content from it. There is no Hindu creed, and Hinduism encompasses many different beliefs. For example, some Hindus are polytheists (worshipping more than one god), some are heno theists (acknowledging many gods but devot ing themselves to one), some are monotheists