Hindu Dharma

Hindu Dharma By Shree Bansi Pandit

Chapter 1 What is Hindu Dharma?

Hindu Dharma, popularly called Hinduism, is the religion of over a billion Hindus, who mostly live in India, but have large populations in many other countries. Hindu Dharma is also known as Vaidika Dharma, meaning "religion of the Vedas," the ancient Hindu scriptures. The original name of Hindu Dharma is Sanãtana Dharma, or "universal religion." (See Chapter 12).

Unlike other religions, Hindu Dharma did not originate from a single person, a single book, or at a single point in time. The founda-tions of this oldest surviving religion were laid by ancient rishis (sages), who taught their disciples the eternal principles of life they had discovered through their meditations The rishis did not claim authorship of these spiritual principles. Although some names are mentioned in scriptures, nobody knows exactly who these people were or when they lived. Thus Hindu Dharma is essentially a religion of principles rather than persons.

Hindu Dharma is analogous to a fruit tree, with its roots representing the Vedas and the Upanishads, the thick trunk symbolizing the spiritual experiences of numerous sages and saints, its branches representing various theological traditions, and the fruit itself, in different shapes and sizes, symbolizing various sects and subsects.

Although there is no hard and fast line between one period and the next, the evolution of Hindu Dharma may be divided into three periods: the ancient (6500 BCE-1000 AD), the medieval (1000-1800 AD), and the modern (1800 AD to present). The major evolutionary milestones during these periods are summarized in the following table:

Date	Activity
- 6500 (minus denotes BCE)	Composition of the early Rig Vedic hymns (according to David Frawley, a Vedic scholar from the US). Current archeological evidence shows that Shiva worship existed in the Indus Valley Civilization in approximately 6000 BCE.¹
- 5000	Beginning of the Indus Valley Civilization of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, that climaxed in 3700 BCE and ended in 1500 BCE due to natural causes.
- 4700	Period of Lord Rãma and sage vãlmiki.
-3138	The Mahãbhãrata war took place in 3138 BCE and the Bhagavad Gîtã was recorded during this war.² The Vãyu Purãna (a Hindu scripture) states that Lord Krishna entered into mahãsamãdhi (yogi's conscious exit from the body) 36 years after the war and Kaliyuga began on his mahãsamãdhi.
- 2609	Period of Sage Vishvãmitra, in whose reign a majority of the Vedic hymns were composed. The Yajur and Atharva Vedas were composed around 2400 BCE.
- 2393	King Bhãrata, an ancient king and sage (the 44^th in the Purãnic list of kings and sages) was born. The original name of India is Bhãrat, after the name of this ancient king.
- 1450	End of narration of the Vedic Samhitãs.
- 500 to 200 AD	The Bhagavad Gîtã was compiled between BCE 500-200. Nyãya, Sãnkhya, and Brahma Sûtras were recorded, which later gave birth to six popular schools of Hindu philosophy. Buddhism and Jainism also developed during this period.
200 to 750	Final versions of Purãnas, Tantras, and other sectarian literature were developed.
750 to 1000	Development of six popular schools of religious thought, establishment of Shankara's Advaita Vedãnta, and decline of Buddhism are the main landmarks of this period.
1000 to 1800	This period saw the rise of devotional movements led by Rãmãnuja, Ramãnanda, Tukarãm, Guru Nãnak, Surdãs, Chaitanya, Mirãbai, Tulsî Dãs, and many other saints.

Modern Hindu Renaissance (1800 AD - Present)

During the domination of India by foreign rule, many social and religious vices appeared in Hindu society in India. There were many leaders of the modern Hindu renaissance including the following saints, scholars, social and religious reformers, who brought the society back into the tradition of Hindu Dharma:

Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833), a social and religious reformer, and founder of the Brahmo Samãj.
Swami Dayãnanda (1824-1883), a saint, Vedic scholar, social and religious reformer, and founder of the Ãrya Samãj.
Mrs. Annie Besant (1847-1933), an Englishwoman, translated and popularized the Bhagavad Gîtã, and established the Hindu College in

Sri Rãmakrishna (1836-1886), a famous sage of modern times, infused the true spirit of Hindu Dharma into his followers, who came from all walks of life to seek his spiritual help.
Swami Vivekãnanda (1863-1902), the beloved disciple of Sri Rãmakrishna, elucidated Hindu Dharma in and outside of India, and introduced the Vedãnta philosophy to the West (see Chapter 19).
Sri Ãurobindo Ghose (1872-1950), eloquently interpreted the basic concepts of Hindu Dharma, and expounded yoga philosophy for the transformation of human consciousness.
Rabindranãth Tagore (1861-1941), one of the greatest mystical poets of the world, expounded the Upanishadic philosophy through his songs in Gitãnjali and in many of his other works.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), extended non-violence, a Hindu cardinal virtue, to social, national, and international affairs.
Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950), another famous sage of modern times, expounded the teachings of Advaita Vedãnta to his disciples, who came from all parts of the world to seek his help.
Dr. Sarvepãllî Rãdhãkrishnan (1888-1975), a philosopher, statesman, and the second President of India, interpreted the classical Hindu philosophy in the context of the modern world through his numerous scholarly works, such as Hindu View of Life.

More Information about HinduNet Inc.
Privacy Statement
The Hindu Universe is a HinduNet Inc., website.
Copyrighted ©1994-2003, HinduNet Inc.