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AH #16: Art of the Hindu World
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Art History #16: Art of the Hindu World
What defines the religion of Hinduism and how does art play an important role in representing that religion?
RCP Art 1
M. Scoby
Hinduism
Hinduism can be difficult for people from the Western world to understand. In Judaism, Islam and Christianity there are specific sets of beliefs and rituals that are practiced worldwide. They are monotheistic religions because they teach that there is one, all-powerful God that should be acknowledged by everyone. A problem is that Judaism, Islam and Christianity all present different versions of God. But Hinduism is not a ‘religion’ in this sense. Hinduism is probably best described as the cultures, languages, religions and practices of the Indian people. It is a collection of a vast number of distinct Indian traditions practiced by over 1 billion people worldwide.
Indian Traditions
Indian
Traditions
Hinduism is a collection of a vast number of distinct Indian traditions practiced by over 1 billion people worldwide - about 15% of the world population.
Taking a trip through India you will see an endless variety of statues and paintings of gods, Hindu temples of every description, yogis that take discipline of the mind and body to unimaginable levels, and pilgrims traveling long distances to take part in religious festivals or to visit holy shrines. Indians put a high value on seeking spiritual enlightenment! These traditions go back to very ancient times.
Holi Festival
Holi
Holi is a popular ancient Hindu festival, originating in India. It is popularly known as the Indian "festival of Spring", the "festival of colors", or the "festival of love" typically celebrated in the month of March or April. It signifies the arrival of spring, the end of winter, the blossoming of love, and is an opportunity for play, laughter, love, and forgiveness.
Hindus come to the festival dressed all in white, because it is a free-for-all festival of colors - people smear each other with colored powder. It is an incredibly dynamic and artistic celebration.
Diwali: Festival of Lights
Diwali
Diwali (Deepavali) is the Hindu festival of lights, usually lasting five days and typically celebrated in late October to mid-November. It is one of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, and symbolized the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance".
Polytheism
Polytheism
As Hinduism has grown, it has absorbed thousands of different gods rather than stamping them out or changing them. This is called polytheism: the belief in many gods (‘poly’ = many; ‘theos’ = God), and it has been around for thousands of years. Many Hindus see no real difference between all the gods and beliefs; they are considered different ways to reach the same goal or different aspects of the same reality. You might worship Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Krishna, Ganesh, Rama or even Jesus. In Hinduism, you have absolute and complete freedom of belief and worship. Hindus worship in whatever ways best suit them at particular times and places.
Hindu
Beliefs
Despite the great diversity within Hinduism, there are certain beliefs that Hindus have in common.
Hindu Beliefs
Karma
Karma literally means ‘action’ or ‘work’ and describes the natural moral law of cause and effect. Everything you do, both good and bad, has consequences in future lives.
Reincarnation
Reincarnation is the belief that after death, the spirit or soul begins a new life in a new body that may be human, animal or spiritual depending on the moral quality of previous lives. If you are very enlightened and holy in this life, you might return as a diety (a spiritual being). If you are evil, you might return as a rat or a cockroach. If you suffer in this life, you probably did something bad in a past life. In Hinduism, God isn’t making all this happen. Karma and reincarnation are seen as laws of nature, like gravity or inertia- they happen because they must happen.
Samsara
This endless cycle of action, reaction, birth, death and rebirth is called samsara.
Nirvana
The goal is to one day become liberated from samsara and to enter nirvana, a state of complete freedom in which you see the world as it really is and do away with all illusion.
Hindu
Worship
Hindu Worship
Hindu worship is primarily an individual or family act rather than a communal one, meaning that people usually do not pray together in large groups like Christians or Muslims do. A typical Hindu could either go to a temple dedicated to his or her chosen god or worship at their own home shrine.
Hindus worship in whatever ways best suit them at particular times and places.
Hindu Temples
Hindu temples are a breath-taking sight for anyone that has not seen one before. There are hundreds of thousands of Hindu temples all over the world. The god to whom each temple is dedicated is shown in the form of a statue on the front of the temple. For instance, a temple dedicated to Vishnu might feature statues of his various incarnations; a temple dedicated to Shiva might have statues showing him in combat; and a temple dedicated to the Great Goddess might show her battling with various demons.
Home Shrines
The majority of Hindu homes contain a shrine made up of pictures or statues of their preferred gods and goddesses. During worship, Hindus repeat the names of their gods and goddesses and then say repeated ancient prayers called mantras. Water, fruit, flowers and incense are offered to the gods as part of daily worship.
Hindu Mythology
The stories and images of the Hindu gods come from very ancient Vedic writings called the Vedas. They are similar in many ways to the gods of Greek mythology. Some of the most well-known Vedic gods are described here.
Hindu Mythology
Lord Ganesha: The Gatekeeper
Lord Ganesh:
The Gatekeeper
Ganesh (or Ganesha) is instantly recognizable because he always appears with an elephant’s head and a human body. Ganesh is the creator and remover of obstacles, meaning that he can make your life easy and successful or difficult and unsuccessful. He is the gatekeeper or the guardian. Hindus pray to Ganesh for success in business, financial prosperity, and protection against bad luck.
The story of Ganesh
The story of Ganesh states that Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of death and destruction, was away at a war. His wife Pavarti, who was a goddess, wished to take a bath. Having nobody to guard the door to her house she decided to give birth to a son who could provide this service for her. Of course, since she was a goddess, she could do things like this. Pavarti told Ganesh to stand guard at the entrance to her house and to admit nobody unless she said it was OK. Ganesh did exactly as his mother had instructed.
After some time, Lord Shiva returned from the war and tried to enter his house. Ganesh, according to his mother’s instructions, did not let Shiva enter. Shiva was terribly angered by this so he pulled out his sword and cut off Ganesh's head. When Pavarti saw what her husband had done she was very angry. To make it up to her, Shiva said that he would take the head of the first living creature he found and replace Ganesh’s head. The first animal he came across was an elephant so he took the head of the elephant and placed it on Ganesh’s body.
Lord Krishna: The Source of Love and Joy
An important aspect of Hinduism is the concept of the Avatar. When good people suffer and when evil gains an upper hand, God descends to earth in human form to restore goodness and righteousness to the earth. Such a divine being is known as an Avatar.
Lord Krishna:
The Source of
Love & Joy
Krishna is the greatest of the incarnations or avatars of a god named Vishnu. Krishna represents pure love and divine joy that destroy all pain and sin. He is often pictured as an extremely beautiful, blue-skinned youth playing a flute. The blue skin represents his holiness and he came to earth to establish the religion of love and beauty.
The Story of Krishna
The Story of Krishna
The story of Krishna begins in ancient times when the cruel king Kamsa became so powerful that all humans and even spiritual beings suffered under his rule. Moved by the prayers of the people, Lord Vishnu decided to take birth in human form and destroy the evil forces headed by King Kamsa. Kamsa was warned by his astrologers that a child would be born to his cousin Devaki that would cause his death. So the evil Kamsa arrested Devaki and put her in prison, planning to murder the child when it was born. But when Krishna was born he was secretly taken from the prison to the faraway kingdom of Gokula to grow up in safety.
The baby Lord Krishna grew up joyfully as a cow herder in this kingdom of Gokula.
Krishna's adulthood
He was full of childhood pranks. He loved to steal things and play tricks on people but he always did this to teach people important moral lessons. Kamsa sent many powerful demons in various disguises to find and kill Krishna. But young Krishna killed all of the demons, even the many-headed snake demon Kaliya, without any effort. When Krishna became a teenager, he returned to his home country to take revenge on Kamsa. He overcame many difficult obstacles but he finally killed Kamsa in a ferocious combat. He released his parents from prison and reinstated the good king Ugrasena. In time, Krishna married over 16,000 women and led a happy life with all of them. He fought many courageous battles and finally ascended to heaven late in his life.
He was blue-skinned and was the most beautiful and charming boy in the community. He played beautiful music on his flute and whoever came across him fell instantly in love with him, especially the young women.
Lord Shiva: The Destroyer
Lord Shiva:
The Destroyer
Shiva’s four arms represent the four directions: north, south, east and west. Shiva’s hair is matted in ‘dreadlocks’ representing the lack of care for his earthly body. He smears his skin with ashes from human cremations as a reminder that everyone must die. On Shiva’s forehead is the third eye or the eye of spiritual wisdom and power (also known as the ‘bindi’). Shiva’s third eye can search out and destroy evil anywhere it resides. The deadly cobra that is curled around his neck represents Shiva’s control over time and death. Shiva sits on a tiger skin.This represents that he has gained control over the animal passions of lust. The trident (a 3-pronged spear) that he holds represents his power to destroy evil and ignorance. In the background, behind Shiva, is Mount Kailash in the Himalayas. For Hindus this is the center of the universe and Shiva’s home.
Shiva is the god of destruction in the sense that he represents the destruction of all earthly desires and illusions so that purification can take place.
Yogis
Yogis
In India, yogis are considered living saints. Yogis are wandering mystics that reject all attachments to this world and seek enlightenment through fasting (not eating), rejecting all sexual contact, doing hours of meditation every day, and gaining complete control of their minds and bodies as a result. In a sense, yogis ‘destroy’ all earthly desires in order to gain spiritual wholeness like Shiva.
This is similar to what many monks do in Christianity when they join a monastery and live a life of prayer and silence.
Why do Hindus put those red dots on their foreheads?
Bindis
The forehead decoration, often a dot of red color or piece of jewelry, worn by many Hindus, is called a Bindi. It is usually placed in the center of the forehead close to the eyebrows.
This spot on the forehead is traditionally considered the ‘third eye’ or the seat of wisdom. During meditation, one might choose to focus one’s mind on this spot in order to help with concentration. Red represents honor, love and prosperity. The Bindi is even believed to protect against evil. And for some people the Bindi is simply a fashion statement, much like a person might wear a cross or a picture of the Virgin without actually being religious.