Fast Facts on False Teachings

Hinduism, Part Two

There are four Vedas: the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda, and the Atharva Veda. Each Veda is divided into four parts: the Mantras (the basic verses or hymns sung during the rituals, also called Samhitas), the Brahmanas (explanations of the verses), the Aran-yakas (reflections on their meaning); and, the Upanishads (mystical interpretations of the verses).

These scriptures are called shruti, which means "that which is heard." Shruti is the Hindu equivalent to scripture that is revealed. They are the primary and final authority of religious truth.

Besides such primary scriptures, there are also secondary ones that are considered smriti, or "remembered." Included in the smriti scriptures are the Ramayana ("Rama's way") and Mahabharata ("the great story"). Within the Mahabharata epic is the most popular of all Hindu scriptures, the Bhagavad-Gita, the main character of which is Krishna.

The Bhagavad Gita is not only the most sacred book of the Hindus, it is the best known and most read of all Indian works despite the fact it was added late to the Mahabharata, sometime in the first century AD. The story, in short, consists of a dialogue between Krishna and the warrior Arjuna, who is about to fight his cousins. The question Arjuna asks Krishna is: How can he kill his blood relatives?

The story revolves around man's duty, which if carried out will bring nothing but sorrow. The significance this story has on Hindu belief is its endorsement of bhakti, devotion to a particular god, as a means of salvation, since Arjuna decides to put his devotion to Vishnu above his own personal desires. The Gita ends with Arjuna devoted to Vishnu and ready to kill his relatives in battle.

This poem has inspired millions of Hindus who have identified Arjuna’s dilemma with their own situation. The poem offers hope, through the way of devotion, to all people no matter what their caste or sex. The poor and downtrodden, who could not achieve salvation through the way of works or the way of knowledge, can now achieve it through the way of devotion.

Other smriti scriptures include the Vedangas (codes of law, such as the Laws of Manu), the Puranas (the genealogies and legends of the gods), the Darshanas (philosophical writings), Sutras (rules of ritual and social contact), and the Tantras (writings on attaining occultic power).

While the smriti scriptures are not as authoritative as the shruti scriptures, they have nevertheless exerted more influence on the culture of India because of their popularity.

Yoga is an eight-step process called "Astanga Yoga" (Astanga means "eight steps" in Sanskrit). Its purpose is to help a person achieve transcendence or liberation from this physical, personal existence to the state of Enlightenment. By doing the disciplines of the eight steps, a person can "stop the world and get off!"

This goal is described by the Sanskrit phrase "cittavritta-mrodha," which means "the stoppage of the mental and physical processes." Radakrishnan, a famous Hindu scholar, says,

"The special feature of the Yoga system is its practical discipline, by which the suppression of mental states is brought about through the practice of spiritual exercises."

The first five steps of Yoga are called "Hatha Yoga." These are external, physical disciplines to prepare for the transcendence to the Hindu state of Samadhi or Enlightenment. By discipline of body and mind through isometrics and breathing exercises you seek to detach your mind from the sense organs, until you lose awareness of this physical world, which is said to be an illusion.

At this point a person begins the last three steps of Yoga, called "Raja Yoga." These are the internal meditative techniques for final transcendence. The first step of Raja Yoga is "dharama," or concentration. Patanjali describes it as holding the mind within a center of spiritual consciousness in the body, or fixing it on some divine form (either within the body or outside it). This is often a mantra, which is a word representing a Hindu god.

Then one moves to the second phase of Raja Yoga, which is "dhyana," or meditation. This is continual and unbroken thought directed toward the mantra or object of concentration. At this stage oneness with the universe is achieved, yet with a remaining sense of personal existence.

The final principle of Raja Yoga is "Samadhi," or absorption. At this stage a practitioner achieves unity with the universe without the sense of individual existence.

Hinduism says that this is the stage where you transcend the physical, personal, intellectual, and tactile level of life, and diffuse into the Impersonal Universe. This osmosis is often described in Eastern philosophy as "a drop of water merging into the ocean." The individual eradicates every aspect of his personality to become one with the impersonal monism, "Brahman-Atman."

The caste system is a unique feature of the Hindu religion. The account of its origin is an interesting story. Brahma created Manu, the first man. From Manu came the four different types of people, as the creator Brahma determined. From Manu's head came the Brahmins, the best and most holy people. Out of Manu's hands came the Kshatriyas, the rulers and warriors. The craftsmen came from his thighs and are called Vaisyas. The remainder of the people came from Manu's feet and are known as Sudras.

The Brahmins are honored by all the people, including the royal family. Their jobs as priests and philosophers are subsidized by the state and involve the study of their sacred books.

The Kshatriyas are the upper middle class involved in the government and professional life, but they are lower in status than the Brahmins.

The Vaisyas are the merchants and farmers below the Brahmins and Kshatriyas but above the rest of the population in their status and privileges.

The Sudras are the lowest caste whose duty is to serve as laborers and servants. They are excluded from many of the religious rituals and are not allowed to study the vedas.

The caste system became more complicated as time went on, with literally thousands of subcastes coming into existence. Today the caste system is still an integral part of the social order of India, even though it has been outlawed by the Indian government.

Why would a people save a cow when they need the maximum production of foodstuffs and when they often have inadequate caloric and protein rations? Hindu religion bars the slaughter of cattle, has a taboo of eating beef, and allows cows to roam the Indian countryside, clog roads, stop trains, steal food from marketplaces, and irritate tourists. What kind of sacred cow is this?

From early times the Hindus revered the cow and considered it a possessor of great power. The following verses from the Atharva Veda praise the cow, identifying it with the entire visible universe:

Worship to thee, springing to life, and worship to thee when born! Worship, 0 Cow, to thy tail-hair, and to thy hooves, and to thy form! Hitherward we invite with prayer the Cow who pours a thousand streams,

By whom the heaven, by whom the earth, by whom these waters are preserved ....

Forth from thy mouth the songs came, from thy neck's nape sprang strength, 0 Cow.

Sacrifice from thy flanks was born, and rays of sunlight from thy teats. From thy fore-quarters and thy thighs motion was generated, Cow! Food from thine entrails was produced, and from thy belly came the plants ....

They call the Cow immortal life, pay homage to the Cow as Death. She hath become this universe, Fathers, and Rishis, hath become the Gods, and men, and Spirits.

The man who hath this knowledge may receive the Cow with welcoming.

So for the giver willingly doth perfect sacrifice pour milk ....

The Cow is Heaven, the Cow is Earth, the Cow is Vishnu, Lord of Life. The heavenly beings have drunk the out-pourings of the Cow, When these heavenly beings have drunk the out-pourings of the Cow, They in the Bright One's dwelling-place pay adoration to her milk. For Soma some have milked her; some worship the fatness she hath poured.

They who have given a Cow to him who hath knowledge have gone up to the third region of the sky.

He who hath given a Cow unto the Brahmans winneth all the worlds.

For Right is firmly set in her, devotion, and religious zeal.

Both Gods and mortal men depend for life and being on the Cow.

She hath become this universe: all that the Sun surveys is she (Athara Veda X:10).

The cow in India serves many functions. Cow dung makes an enormous contribution to the energy system in India by serving as cooking fuel and fertilizer. Among peoples of mass poverty and human survival needs, cow dung is inexpensive and available from the streets. It replaces artificial fertilizer, which is expensive, scarce, and beyond the means of the average Indian. Cow dung is cheap because the cows do not eat foods which can be eaten by people.

The taboo or ban on the killing of cows has affected the development of the meat packing industry; this might have serious consequences upon the ecological balances within India. Many families have only one cow. To slaughter it would drive the family from its lone survival technique, which is farming. Also, cows give critical quantities of milk to the people as protein value. Some beef from animals who die of natural causes is eaten by the outcastes. The taboo does solve the temptation to eat cattle in difficult times, which would mean that others would not have cattle to plant their crops when the rainy season came. Mahatma Gandhi said of the preservation of the cow,

"Why the cow was selected is obvious to me. The cow was in India the best companion. She was the giver of plenty. Not only did she give milk, but she also made agriculture possible."

The cow has become an object of worship and cultic practice, but Hinduism includes a multiplicity of animals, spirits, gods, and goddesses as devotional objects. More important to the issue is the Indian and Hindu way of bringing a balance between the needs of the human family and those of nature. The preservation of the cow has served a need in an agricultural and traditional based society. The Hindu view and practice demonstrate a specific relationship to animals and the natural orders.

Conclusion

As weird as Hinduism is, Americans continue to embrace parts of it. The New Age Movement is essentially Hindu in its philosophy. Yoga is practiced by many for its physical value – even though it is essentially a spiritual technique. Transcendental Meditation, in watered down or full-blown versions, is practiced by corporate America.

There is no cycle of births and deaths and rebirths that you are reincarnated to! "It is appointed for men to die once, then after this the judgment."

Boa, Kenneth. Cults, World Religions, and the Occult.

ISBN 0-89693-823-9.

Braswell, George Jr. Understanding World Religions.

ISBN 0-8054-1068-6.

Carlson, Ron & Decker, Ed. Fast Facts on False Teaching.

ISBN 1-56507-168-9.

Enroth, Ronald & Others. A Guide to Cults and New Religions.

ISBN 0-87784-837-8.

Halverson, Dean (Editor). The Compact Guide to World Religions.

ISBN 1-55661-704-6.

Geisler, Norman & Rhodes, Ron. When Cultists Ask.

ISBN 0-8010-1149-3.

Martin, Walter. Kingdom of the Cults.

ISBN 0-87123-796-2.

Mather, George & Nichols, Larry. Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions, and the Occult.

ISBN 0-310-53100-4.

McDowell, Josh & Stewart, Don. Handbook of Today’s Religions.

ISBN 0-86605-093-0.