A Brief Introduction to Hinduism

A venerable swami, the late Sellathuraiswami, of Jaffna, Sri Lanka once asked me, “Who is the Supreme God of Hinduism?” I had trouble giving him an answer. Nobody had ever asked me that question before, nor had I ever thought about it. So Sellathuraiswami seeing me in a quandry elaborated his question further, “in Islam you have Allah, in Christianity you have Jehovah, but can you name the Supreme God of Hinduism?” I gave up and told swami that I did not know how to answer that question. The swami then answered, “There is no Supreme God in Hinduism, because Hinduism is a label given to us by foreigners." Just then it dawned upon me on how true swami's answer was. Hinduism is actually a collection of different religions (that are classed as Hindu sects in modern understanding of Hinduism) that share a common belief structure and originated from the ancient Indian subcontinent. Therefore no one can actually name the Supreme God of Hinduism.
As I was absorbing the wisdom of his answer, Sellathuraiswami furthered his explanation saying, "If I asked you who is the Supreme God of Saivism, the answer is obvious, God Shiva. The supreme God of Vaishnavism is God Vishnu.” Saivism and Vaishnavism are two of the four main sects of Hinduism. The other two are Shakta and Smarta. Shakta followers worship any form of Divine Mother, such as Durga, Amman or Lakhsmi as Supreme. Smarta followers worship the Sun as an embodiment of Supreme Godhead and may choose any other form of God that they feel close to. Each sect of Hinduism is a separate religion. Each has its own traditions, saints, temples and scriptures. The sects of Hinduism share a harmonious coexistance. Followers of any sect of Hinduism may visit temples and saints of other sects and may participate in any of each other’s religious activities.

Hinduism is a comparatively recent name given to a group of religious sects that share certain core beliefs and practices. There is actually a more ancient name for the religion that we know of as Hinduism today. Before Hinduism there was Sanatana Dharma. Sanatana Dharma means the Eternal Truths. However Sanatana Dharma was never used as a lable for a religion as Hinduism is used today. Instead it was used to address the commonality among the sects within Hinduism. Ancient Hindus acknowledged that their individual sects share a common origin that is Sanatana Dharma or the Eternal Truths.

Sanatana Dharma can be condensed into twelve articles of belief. These beliefs hold the sects of Hinduism together. We may take these 12 beliefs as our Hindu creed. You may belong to a sect of Hinduism or you may not belong to any sect in particular and consider yourself a general Hindu. No matter what the situation, these twelve beliefs can apply to you. In the following chapters of these lessons, each of these beliefs will be explained in further detail.

I will provide two editions of these beliefs. The first edition (The Twelve Beliefs of Hinduism) is the complete version for youths and adults. The second edition (My Hindu Beliefs), which are declarations of faith, is a simplified version that has nine beliefs that young children can learn. Children ages five and up can learn to memorize and understand these beliefs to strengthen their faith. A third list that you will find in this chapter is the Pancha Nitya Karmas.

The Pancha Nitya Karmas are the condensation of the Hindu Beliefs to Hinduism in practice. The practice of Hinduism is aimed at bringing devotees to the goal of the religion, that is spiritual liberation or moksha. The main practices of Hinduism are listed in Panch Nitya Karmas. The Pancha Nitya Karmas, or the Five Pure Actions are the practices a Hindu must strive to fulfill to develop an ever more intimate relationship with God. Just like the Hindu beliefs they apply across all Hindu sects and are part of traditional Hindu culture. You will find the Panch Nitya Karmas after "My Hindu Beliefs." Read the rest of the article on Hindu Beliefs here.