| Hindus are not
of one faith only. They are divided into Shaivites (those who worship Shiva), Vaishnavas
(those who worship Vishnu), Shaktas (those who worship the Goddess), Ganapatas (those who
worship Ganesh), Smartas and a number of other groups which are constantly being revised
relative to modern reachers around whom new movements may be founded (like the Swami
Narayan movement, the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda groups or the followers of Sri
Aurobindo). Those called Hindu fundamentalists
are similarly divided up into these different sets. What common belief can be found in all
these groups which constitutes Hindu fundamentalism? What common Hindu fundamentalist
platform do the different sets of Hinduism shares? is it a Shaivite, Vaishnava or other
type fundamentalism? How do such diverse groups maintain their harmony and identity under
the Hindu fundamentalist banner? While one can make a code of belief for Christian or
Islamic fundamentalism, what code of belief applies to Hindu fundamentalism of all
different sets? |
