What is Hinduism? What is the Hindu dharma? We often get various confusing answers. This presentation attempts clear and straightforward answers, acknowledging the fact that Hinduism is as vast, rich and complex as life itself. Knowledgeable Hindus are divided and scattered between two extremes. At the orthodox extreme dharma is said to be cows, castes and karma. This view is supported by a selective reading of certain passages from the shruti or the Vedas and from the smritis like those of Manu and Yajnavalkya. At the reform extreme dharma is said to be what is desirable for today's age. According to this view we should accept from the shruti and smritis what is good and reject what is not good. This view is supported by a selective reading of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-gita.
The orthodox would say that deciding what is good and what is not good should be left to the rishis or the sages who have already determined for all what is eternally good. In this view, our wisdom is insufficient to judge and challenge the wisdom of the sages. The reformists reply that we are not playing sages in adjusting the ancient wisdom; we are just interpreting it to make it meaningful for our times which are different from anything the sages could have experienced.
Hindus are not the only people who are torn between these extremes: Jews, Christians and Muslims also face similar divisions. The challenge is to forge a moderate middle between the two extremes and preserve the best of both and ignore what is not useful in each. To interpret Hinduism as a rigid code of conduct and beliefs is against the very spirit of Hinduism which has survived for thousands of years by being adaptable, open-minded and tolerant of differences. On the other end it would not be wise to be carried away by the reformist zeal and throw the baby away along with the bathwater. The moderate middle way is to identify those ideas of the sages that are applicable to all humans at all times and take them to be the core of the Hindu dharma. This can be called the satya sanatana dharma, because it is always good for all. The rest can be left to individual Hindus as something that they may decide to choose according to their personal wisdom.
From this view the following ten principles are proposed as satya sanatana dharma or the core of Hindu dharma or the foundations of Hinduism. Anyone who accepts them should be regarded as a Hindu even if choosing not to call oneself a Hindu. Anyone who rejects them cannot be called a Hindu even if insisting on being called a Hindu.
1. There is one spiritual being underlying the entire universe. This being is sat, chit and ananda. As sat it is pure existence that is infinite and ultimate. As chit it is pure awareness which is also infinite and ultimate. As ananda it is pure bliss which is the same as infinite joy and ultimate fulfillment. Sat is the source of all reality, chit is the basis of all knowledge and ananda is the ground of all that has value.
2. This infinite being can be spoken of by finite beings like us in many different ways. In the Hindu tradition itself it has been variously called Brahman, Atman, Ishvara, Bhagavan and Paramatma, not to speak of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Shakti. The Rig-veda states categorically that ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti or it is the same being that the wise call in many ways.
3. This spiritual being can be approached and realized in life by following any of the many paths that lead to it. The Bhagavad-gita states clearly that ye yatha mam prapadyante tanstathaiva bhajamyaham or whichever way people approach God, God serves them accordingly. Traditionally, the sages and saints have laid down paths like bhakti-yoga or the way of loving God, jnana-yoga or the way of contemplative knowledge, karma-yoga or the way of selfless service of humanity and raja-yoga or the way of focused meditation. A guru or a personal spiritual guide can prescribe a customized way to a spiritual seeker.
4. The infinite being is at once both inside the world and stretches far beyond it. As the Rig-veda says it: pado'sya sarva bhutani tripad asyamritam divi or its one quarter encompasses the universe and the remaining three quarters extend beyond it. It also graces the earth and the humans by incarnating in appropriate forms from time to time. Rama and Krishna are its purna avataras or complete incarnations.
5. The sages and saints have recognized two seemingly different ways of understanding the infinite being. Both are equally valid ways of speaking about what is ultimately ineffable. The monistic spirituality speaks about the infinite being as nirguna brahman or featureless unity beyond which nothing exists. In the monistic mode of experiencing it we become one with it and realize the unity of everything. The theistic spirituality speaks about the ultimate being as saguna brahman or cosmic person. In the theistic mode of experiencing it one realizes it as God.
6. Ethics and morality are not just matters of social arrangement. Their purpose is not merely to facilitate economic growth and expand material comforts but to lead every human being toward the ultimate spiritual being. If all is grounded in or created by this being, being in harmony and peace with all becomes our sacred duty. Hence any ethic or morality that brings about unity and harmony enhances spirituality even if it does not look particularly religious. Any ethic or morality which leads to division and strife detracts from spirituality even if it is proposed in the name of religion.
7. Each human can achieve all four types of fulfillment, called the purusharthas, which are kama or physical and aesthetic, artha or economic and political, dharma or ethical and interpersonal and moksha or ultimate and spiritual. Kama and artha, which are egoistic and hedonistic values, should be pursued under the surveillance of dharma and moksha, which are ethical and spiritual values.
8. The fundamental principle of ethical life is that of fairness of the consequences of human actions. All of us output energy in order to sustain and fulfill ourselves. Every output should be matched by an input that is fair and appropriate. Our legal system should be as close to this principle of fairness as possible. Positively understood, this principle of karma means that hurting others does not become acceptable by invoking individual rights or freedom. It also means that there should be incentive for helping others as there should be disincentive for hurting others. A person who is obstructed or injured by another has a right to fair compensation. An individual is always free to chose one's actions, but once an action is chosen, one is responsible for it.
9. The smritis provide great many details concerning vishesha dharma dealing with specific duties of particular groups at particular times. Their tremendous and mutually conflicting variety leads to the conclusion that they were meant to be specific laws good for their time and localities. This means that vishesha dharma has only relative and secondary value compared to samanya dharma which is the universal ethic applicable to all. Rules regarding social classes, castes, houesholders, women, children, marriage, succession, adoption, maintenance, etc. are part of vishesha dharma and should be regarded as relative, flexible and in need of change according to time and place. At the same time they should always be in accord with samanya dharma. This position avoids both the orthodox insistence on rigidly following outmoded rules and the reformist zeal seeking to replace everything in sight. Take the caste system, for example. This position would recommend greater mobility and individual freedom in accord with the principle of fairness. It would fight prejudice, discrimination and exploitation based on caste differences. But it would not support uprooting the security network and the excellent support system within a caste that protects and benefits disadvantaged groups, such as the elderly and the jobless, who are unable to fight for their fair and humane share.
10. Samanya dharma or the universal attitudes are essential to any meaningful and fulfilling relationship among humans. They are described as the four legs of Nandi, the vehicle of Shiva. The first leg is dama, or self-restraint, temperance or moderation. It means controlling oneself in order to live harmoniously with the members of the human community. The second leg, satya, or truth, means acting, speaking and thinking in order to benefit the entire humanity or all living beings. Ahimsa, which means nonviolence, compassion and love, is the third leg. Shuchi, the final leg, means purity: clean body, house and environment for external purity; self-examination and cleansing of one's conscience for internal purity.
OM TAT SAT !
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