Reflections On Hinduism
May 10, 2007
Hinduism is over 8500 years old and the third largest religion in the world. The reason for its prominence is because of its tolerance, resiliency and flexibility as it accepts different modes of worship. It is also referred to as Sanatan Dharma. Sacred religious texts like Vedas, Upanishads, Purans, Brahma Sutra, Bhagawad Gita, Ramayana and Mahabharata etc. explain the righteous path to follow, giving us examples and lessons which can be imbibed in our daily life. The essence of all these guide and explain that God is one. He can manifest in various forms, and is known by many names. This helps the individuals to visualize him according to their nature and get closer to him.
The ultimate aim of life is to attain freedom from the cycles of birth and death. The modern world is full of entanglements which tempt the mind with its materialistic attractions, deluding and creating a make belief world that seems like reality. But it is only a mirage. It governs our senses so strongly that not many can break free. To disentangle from this web of deceit, we must keep thinking, chanting, glorifying and worshiping the Lord.
The sound of the infinite is called Om (AUM) and is one the most auspicious symbols in Hinduism. Every prayer begins with this and represents the entire universe. Its vibrations relate to the states of waking, dream and deep sleep. Its three letters imply the existence of three planes earth, heaven and netherworld.Hinduism is epitomized by manifestations of three supreme beings namely Brahma- The Lord of Creation, Vishnu- The Lord of Preservation and Shiva- The Lord of Destruction or Dissolution.
The goddess is known as Devi and has different manifestations. She is perceived as the Mother, the nourisher and the provider. But when faced with evil, she demonstrates her power in the form of Kali, Durga, and Amba to destroy the evil. She is presented as consort of Brahma in the form of Saraswati (goddess of knowledge, music and fine arts), Laxmi (goddess of wealth and prosperity) seated next to Vishnu and as Parvati (divine mother who is multi-faceted and fulfils the needs of her devotees) is the other half of Shiva.
Contemporary Hinduism is divided into four major divisions, Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. The denominations all believe in one God but differ in their conceptions. The two primary forms of differences are between the two monotheistic denominations of Vaishnavism which conceives God as Vishnu and Shaivism which conceives God as Shiva. Other aspects of God are in fact aspects of Vishnu or Shiva. Smartas follow Advaita philosophy where they view multiple manifestations of the one God.
Hindu monists see one unity, with the personal Gods, different aspects of only One Supreme Being. Some of the Smarta aspects of God include Devi, Vishnu, Ganesh, and Shiva. It is the Smarta view that dominates the view of Hinduism in the West.Lord Ganesh fits into this cosmos of divinity as the son of Shiva and Parvati. His presence in every aspect of our lives brings propitious. He is known as the master of eighteen different varieties of knowledge like the science of proper articulation pronunciations and grammar, a knower of all rituals, etymological interpretation of all Vedic words including the four Vedas (Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda). He is skilled in the field of astrology, the Nyaya (a system of Hindu philosophy by Sage Goutama), the science of right conduct (Dharmashahtra), the science of ethics (Nitishastra) along with Ayurveda (deals with health and wellness) Dhanurveda (discusses military sciences) and Gandharvaveda (addresses music and arts).
It is said that when one arranges the idols or photographs of one’s deities in an altar or shrine, Lord Ganesh should be placed in the centre with the pictures of male deities to his right and the goddesses to his left. This helps in the development of devotion and emits the frequencies of peace, harmony and bliss. The other reason is that Lord Ganesh activates the sun channel (surya nadi) and the moon channel (chandra nadi). These channels facilitate in the invocation of the Kundalini chakra which forms the basis of our consciousness. Lord Ganesh is the controller of the first of the seven chakras – the Muladhara chakra which is epicenter of power.The Sun channel provides action to the spiritual energy flowing through it and the Moon channel promotes a soothing force. The female forms are known to represent more energy as compared to the male forms. So placing them near the moon channel equalizes the forces.
Lord Ganesh in the centre balances these energies and promotes spiritual progress.Numerology (Sankyashastra) according to the Samamudgal Ganeshsukta states that Lord Ganesh is said to be made up of numbers one and three. One denotes the root or spiritual experience and three presents the creator, sustainer and destroyer. The number one also means only one God (Brahman) and the number three means ignorance or nescience. So Lord Ganesh is the one who brings mankind from three to the state of one. Thus merging the ignorance with the Brahman.
If one pays close attention to the figure of Lord Ganesh, it will be visible that his form can be drawn with the number three and his trunk with number one.In Hinduism, time passes in a cyclical manner and it is classified into four eras or yugas. Each of these epochs is classified differently according to its virtues. It began with the Satya Yuga or the age of truth, followed by Treta Yuga, Dwarpa Yuga and finally the age of struggle or the Kali Yuga. Whenever there has been annihilation of Dharma (right conduct), Lord has incarnated in different forms to bring his creation back to normalcy. In the Satya Yuga, Lord Ganesh manifested with ten arms riding a lion, in the second era, he had six arms and rode a peacock. In the Kali Yuga he rides on a rat and is manifested with a fair complexion.
This is a mere reflection of some of the basic concepts of Hinduism. It can be best explained with the example of a banyan tree which is ageless and timeless. Its knowledge doesn’t rest in one branch, but several aerial roots which become sub branches with time. The fruit and its small flowers develop to form their own world. The birds who build their nests there have their understanding. Their young ones who fly when they are stronger but return because they know that’s where they belong. The buzzing bees, the crawling insects on its bark, all depend on the tree for their existence. And the travelers, who take shelter, can only hope that one day they will understand all its secrets.
©Nayna, 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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