THE SEARCH FOR A JUST SOCIETY
JOHN HUDDLESTON
GEORGE RONALD 1989
PART IV
Chapter 4: Hinduism: A Perspective of the Universe
In the Indian valley over an area of half a million square miles lived a people belonging to an advanced civilization. There were cities, built on a grid system, whose populations numbered up to 30,000. There were houses with baths, plumbing and good drainage, made of uniformly-sized bricks. Arising around the 24th century BC, the Harappa civilization invented the Sanskrit script and a standard system of weights and measures; it made use of cotton cloth and constructed public buildings for the storage of grain. It is not clear whether its peoples were ever united into a large state or remained a collection of independent city states, nor is it known if it had any trade contacts with nearby Sumeria.
The Harappa civilization collapsed in the period 1800-1500 BC apparently under the onslaught of Aryan invaders from the north and west. The Aryans brought with them their own Vedic polytheistic religion; over time it merged with the religion of the earlier inhabitants to become the Hindu religion. Very little is known of the origins of this great and rich Faith, but a tradition recorded in the Bhagavad Gita (Sacred Story), the Upanishads (Commentaries), and elsewhere in Hindu literature, tells of a great Prophet named Krishna who was believed to be the incarnation of Vishnu (the Preserver), one of the three facets of the universal God (the other two were Brahma the Creator, and Siva the Destroyer or Cleanser). Of when or where Krishna lived there is no record, though tradition has it that He was a prince. He is associated with teachings of a universal personal God and the idea of renunciation through action. Two main themes run through Hindu belief: to always seek the truth and to live a harmless life.
In pursuit of the search for truth, there have developed six aspects or facets to thought: logic, the use of numbers, meditative yoga, the practice of right action (karma), Vedanta or appreciation of the illusions of reality, and the understanding that man suffers for the wrongs he commits. Truth is also approached by recognizing two fourfold aspects of life. The first divides life into four chronological stages: childhood and youth, when one is educated by one’s elders; adulthood, when one marries and raises a family; middle age, when (the children having left home) one is free to devote one’s energies to the services of society; and old age, when one prepares for the time of shedding the physical husk. The second aspect is recognition of one’s role in society in one of four basic classes which correspond to parts of the body of Brahma the Creator: the Brahmin (mouth) class of priests who minister to the spiritual needs of society; the Kshatryas (arms) class of priests and warriors for administration and defence; the Vaisyas (thighs) class of farmers, craftsmen and tradesmen who provide food, clothing and shelter and other material needs; and the Sudras (feet) class of labourers who do the physical work. Such classes were not to be hereditary; individuals could, in theory, move from one to the other as they developed. Truth, as envisaged in Hindu scriptures, includes an appreciation (virtually unique until modern times) of the vastness of the universe both in space and time, and a breadth and tolerance of ideas which strikes a sympathetic chord in modern minds. One aspect of Hindu tolerance is the belief that God may manifest himself as an avatar (or prophet) many times in history, but that all religions that result are essentially one. Krishna is recorded in the Bhagavad Gita as having said: ‘Whatever God a man worship, it is I who answer his prayer.’ As in other religions, there is the promise of a golden age in the future.
The second theme of Hindu teachings, the injunction to live a harmless life, is a positive rather than a negative, and means doing what will benefit oneself, other persons, and indeed nature as well. The teachings in support of this theme put emphasis on the family, the exalted position of women, cleanliness, charity, a ban on alcohol, and kindness to animals (which has as a corollary a vegetarian diet).
These pure teachings, conducive to a wise and contented society, were overlaid virtually since the beginning of recorded history with a vast array of practices and rituals which corrupted the religion and greatly reduced its spiritual power. Hinduism incorporated into its structure a whole pantheon of gods and goddesses, so that in practice it became for the majority a polytheistic religion. At various times and places it reverted to the practice of blood sacrifice. The teachings concerning responsibility for one’s actions developed into a belief in the transmigration of souls and reincarnation. The position of women was greatly reduced by such practices as child marriage, polygamy, a ban on widows remarrying (even when the marriage was not consummated), and suttee – the immolation of the widow on the funeral pyre of her husband. Extreme and useless asceticism was encouraged, while an exaggerated respect for nature resulted in a lack of equilibrium – for instance, the cow being considered of more value than humanity. The early emphasis on cleanliness seems to have been largely forgotten. Worst of all has been the growth of a rigid and all-pervasive caste system which has condemned a large part of the population (the Untouchables, who are outside the system) to a permanently inferior position in society.
There have been several attempts to reform Hinduism and take it back to its original purity. From the 15th to 18th centuries AD various religious leaders laid stress on the oneness of God and the brotherhood of man, and deplored the excesses of ritual and the caste system. Hinduism has produced many saints, of whom the most renowned in modern times was Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) who spoke out vigorously for the Untouchables, and who as he lay dying raised his hand to bless his assassin. Governments, most notably that of the Republic of India, have taken action (with, it must be said, varying degrees of success) to ban the worst corruptions such as thuggery, suttee, child marriage, polygamy and the ban on the remarriage of widows.
These reform movements have on occasion led to the establishment of separate sects and even a separate religion. The first of which we have record is Jainism, founded around 600 BC by Vardhamana who was given the title Mahavira (Great Hero) and who lived in the area now known as Patna. The Jains in particular abhorred the blood sacrifices of the Vedic traditions, and Jainism’s main purpose became to teach man the highest perfections according to the three principles of right knowledge, right faith, and right conduct. Later it was to split in two, one group putting extreme emphasis on the assertion that there could be no salvation for women. Today about two million strong, Jainism is very tolerant of other religions and makes no attempt to spread its own teachings. Vastly more important in the perspective of history was the reform movement led by Gautama Buddha which began in the same era as Jainism.