Klostermaier's Four Elements Of Hinduism

Hinduism is one of the main religions in South Asia that focuses on one’s soul and eternity of themselves. This religion has shaped into a patriarchal society in India with a caste system that affected gender. In addition, Hinduism has impacted some of the aspects in United States politics. As the Aryans brought this religion to India around 1500 BC, its system and practices spread and evolved around the world into a primary belief. Hinduism has impacted the world socially, politically and even economically.

In Chapter ten the history of Hinduism is discussed in America and India. Instead of illustrating the religious doctrines of Hinduism. The author lists statistics about the livelihoods of Asian Indians. For example, there are eighteen different official languages in India. As the author emphasizes that doctrines have nothing to do with Hinduism, but the actions that individuals commit. The orthodoxy is a set of responsibilities that Hindus must carry out. If they wish to be reincarnated into a higher caste. In addition, the origin of Hinduism is mentioned within the chapter. That Hinduism is the only major religion that does not have a founder and has no beginning as there is not a specific known date of when it originated. Moreover, Hinduism is the oldest major religion and is the only polytheistic faith among the five popular creeds.

Historically, India was under British rule until 1950. Many people in India felt that during British rule they were powerless (Beteille, 2010). All of the problems in the country were blamed on this helplessness (Beteille, 2010). When India became independent and developed its own constitution, a large amount of emphasis was placed on the role of government in solving social problems (Beteille, 2010). During British rule, many customs and practices in India were based on the Hindu religion (Beteille, 2010). The British left those in place, neither making them unlawful nor supporting them (Beteille, 2010). When the new government was established, the caste system that had so sharply defined India was declared unlawful (Beteille, 2010). While this was a step in the

Hinduism is one of the most diverse religions still practiced today. They are an adaptive religion, often taking in the local Gods of its followers, leading to many branches of the religion that occur much like dialects within a language. Although it is difficult to catalog all of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses, there is estimated to be over 300 million of them. It is common for people unfamiliar with the religion to generalize all those living on the Indian subcontinent as “Hindu”, since they are usually not aware of the many religions that are practiced in India, and how similar they can be. This generalization can trace its roots back to imperial British rule of the country. In an attempt to offer their colony representation in Parliament, a census was taken of the colony to offer representation based on religion. The census did not allow for the diversity of belief that occurs under the Hindu

On the other hand, India has spent a majority of its history as a colony of England. It was not until 1947 that India became an independent nation state, after a grassroots nationalist movement started by Gandhi, and even then they were a one party congress. They are also an interesting case of democracy because of how many unfavorable aspects towards it they had, such as high inequality, many peasants, and many different languages and religions (Lecture). In 1956, India was broken up into states by the States Reorganization Act, that made state lines based on linguistic group. India’s founding leaders mirrored the ideas of America, in balancing states rights with a central government (Sil, 2014). They have also more recently gone through a liberalization of their economy. India is unique in the way that their social hierarchy is constructed because of the fact that they have a caste system. The caste system is a combination of religious practice and community organization that is a part of Hinduism (Sil, 2014). This system was officially demolished in the country, but in the country it is still very prevalent, and the focus on helping those who were in lower castes succeed has made people more aware of the way they institute social policies.

India is not only a country, but it is a perfect social system among the oldest life-styles and cultures. This is the country of one of the richest and magical cultures and religions. People of different religions together in this country united together without any special problems.

India has been the root of many civilizations, groups, and philosophies ever since humans arrived there. The ancient civilizations of India were diverse and evolved quickly, and they still have a major impact on our world today. One such impact is the creation of Hinduism and, later, of Buddhism. These two religions and philosophies are similar in many ways, but also have significant differences. An important element of ancient and modern Indian society, as well as of Hinduism, is the idea of a caste system, separating the social classes with very little possibility for change. The caste system has an important role in Hinduism, and Buddhism came about as a reaction to the inequality present in Hinduism. Hinduism and Buddhism, while similar,

What do Hindus believe? Who is there god? I want to believe. Hindu comes from the name of the river Indus, which flows 1,800 miles from Tibet through Kashmir and Pakistan to the sea. Hinduism has no founder, nor the single teacher or any prophets. Hinduism is not a single religion it 's the practice of the variety of different religious groups which come out of India. Hinduism is not a complicated religion you know they do believe in one supreme God. "it is the sun, the moon, and the stars. He is the fire, the water, and the wind, the god who appears in forums infinite." (Experiencing World Religions Pg.81) and he takes three forms and they are Brahma the Creator, Vishnu The Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer named Brahman taking up to infinite forums.

The first part of this paper discusses what the caste system is and will discuss the disadvantages of the caste system and how the caste system segregates its people instead of bringing them stability. The caste system really dates back to somewhere in the 2000 BC and formed its origins from the Aryans in ancient India. This system was a way to basically separated people into social classes where they would best fit them (Funk and Wagnall). The caste is divided into four Varna: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras. Brahmins sit at the top of the ladder and is made up of spiritual and intellectual individuals such as priest and philosophers. A step down the ladder you will find Kshatriyas which is made up of soldiers and nobles. Under Kshatriyas you will a mix match of craftsman, farmers, and different skilled artisans which make up the Vaisyas class. At the very bottom of the caste ladder you will

Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world existing primarily in India and Nepal. The term Hindu originated as a geographical term for the inhabitants of the Indus Valley, located in Northwest region of India, around 2000 B.C.E. The Indo-Aryan civilization began when the Aryans migrated to the Indus Valley in 1500 B.C.E. This civilization is responsible for the original Hindu teachings. In the 14th century, Hindu became a reference used for a person who was not a follower of the Islamic faith (Flood, 1996). In the 18th and 19th centuries the British Raj attempted to define Hinduism as a particular sect, due to the complexity of the religion (King, 1999). This sect only focused on one branch of Hinduism, which the Advaita’s practiced. Advaita refers to “not two” meaning they believed that everything that comprises the universe is one expression of reality. Hence, there is no difference between a human being and god. Overtime, Hinduism developed into a religion characterized as a way of life or a path to seek enlightenment. Today, many Hindu’s practice polytheism, where they believe that all reality is one, known as Brahman, but also accept and worship many different gods and goddesses.

An example of this is the idea prevalent in certain parts of the society that the colonizers, even though violators of human rights themselves, in many circumstances had also civilized the country by abolishing brutal practices like the ‘Sati’ and by having offered a scathing critique of the oppressive Indian caste system, helped in removing it. What remains hidden behind this myth is the fact that the colonizers had not only in their early days of invasion and in their ‘oriental spirit’ as Doniger points out, remained oblivious to the brutal act of Sati and intended not to interfere with Hindu practices but also throughout their rule propagated the ideas of caste distinctions. These distinctions based themselves not only on the existing Hindu caste system but also on the fact that certain sections of society were more loyal to the colonizers than others. The caste based division in the Indian Army (formed during the British rule) that manifests itself in the name of the various regiments also further establishes this idea.

India is hard to compare with many of the developed western countries. This is because of the enormous number of villages that still have a more traditional mentality of keeping the men of the house as breadwinners. In countries, like Canada and the United States that are so modernized that they

Religion is a powerful yet sensitive subject in many parts of the world. It is powerful in the sense that it gives a person comfort in their beliefs and practices. A particular religion that reflects the acceptance of a person’s own beliefs and practices would be Hinduism. Hinduism is one of the oldest religions that exist in our world today. It is widely practiced all over the world, especially in the west. Sometimes Hinduism can be misunderstood, as some people don’t really know how to interpret Hinduism. What exactly is Hinduism? Exploring the many themes of this particular religion helps answer the many questions that are raised by others.

The present government, much like Savarkar, is subtley, or not-so-subtley, trying to create a Hindu rashtra. This leads to many asking the question – “is mainstreaming Savarkar as a national hero and propagating his work a part of the BJP's unfinished agenda?”9 Echoing Savarkar's thoughts, the BJP claims that “Hindutva is not a religious concept, but rather, it is cultural nationalism.”10 However, it is evident that the phrase “cultural nationalism” is a mere euphenism to cover the ideology of promoting a Hindu rashtra. Ghar Wapsi – an attempt to re-Hinduize converts, or convert non-Hindus to Hinduism is rampant, even more so after the new rightist government came to power. Consumption and posession of beef has been criminalized in a bid to protect the Hindu 'gow mata', and please the elite Hidutva propagating Hindus who form a considerable share of the vote bank. Government officials have been caught saying that all non-Hindus are 'illegitimate children', bringing to mind Savarkar's claim that all Hindus have common blood. Intolerance today is not as subtle as Savarkar's disregard for those who converted to Islam and Christianity. Rationalists such as Kalburgi are being killed for offending 'Hindu sentiments.' Education is being saffronized in order to indoctrinate the Hindutva ideology into young minds. Despite critisicm from rationalists, the government continues to do so and defends their actions by stating that “we must value everything that is 'Indian', as it is our inherent strength.”11 History is being re-written to glorify the Golden Age of Hinduism. This re-written history, talks about how 'outsiders' (Muslims and Christians) infiltrated the land, diluting the purity of the nation. This goes hand-in-hand with Savarkar's explanation of a Hindu being one who considers the land to be his pitrubhumi and punyabhumi, and that once upon a

g. Although caste influences remains strong in India, the situation is changing due to communication, transportation, industrialization, and the growth of a middle class. 2. In a class system, social stratification is based on individual achievement