The Mystical Syllable OM
Some religions developp the idea of a language being sacred, one of these religions is hinduism. It is believed that the mere uttering or hearing of words from this set, which is usually derived from sacred scriptures, can be efficacious whether the meaning is understood or not. There is a emphasis on formulaic language that brings a stress of the various techniques of preservation and precise recitation of the given texts.Within Hindusim, one single passage stands out as being the holiest and hence most efficacious one of all : the mystical syllabe om as the essence of all Vedas .
Set of sacred words, Encyclopedia of Religion, Second edition, VOl.8(p.272), 2005.
Banaras
The city of Banaras, also called Vãrãnãsi , is considered as being one of the most sacred place in India. The principal reason of its holiness is its location in the bank of the Gange River that is believed as having fallen from heaven upon the head of Lord Shiva when he threw his “fiery pillar of light burst from the netherworld, split the earth, and pierced the sky”. The devotion of various gods is taking place in this city, mainly the worship of “life-force” deities such as yaksas, yaksīs and nãgas. The city hosts many symbols of Shiva’s fathomless light from which the most famous ones are called the three khandas of Banaras (north, central, and south). There is also a myth that counts that Shiva sent his semi-gods to chase the king of Banaras as he has been amazed by its beauty and wanted to turn it to his new home when he just married Parvati. All this implications to Shiva make Banaras a holly place where millions of Hindu pilgrims come each year to accomplish their religious duty.
The Banaras Encyclopedia of Religion, Second edition, VOl.2 (p.778-780), 2005.
EARLY VEDIC PERIOD
This time slot of a millennium is considered as the period when the Vedas, or the sacred books of Hinduism, have been written down from the oral tradition that was passed by a civilization called the Aryans in the Hindu valley. The Vedas are composed of the Rigveda, the Sama, the Yajur and the Atharvavedas. Of these four parts, the Rigveda is believed to be the earliest. Those texts consist of hymns and ritual observation written in Sanskrit that are intended to be accessed only by Brahmans in order to inform them on the path to Moksha. The Aryans, that are invaders that came to the Hindu Valley from modern Iran, are considered as being the ones that brought this knowledge to modern India. Considering similarities in between Sanskrit, Latin and Greek, an extrapolation among Historians rose concerning the origin of all Indo-European speaking people before their spread in Asia and Europe.. Britannica tome 21 (page. 37-38)
600 BCE
Beginning of the compilation of the Upanishads
The Upanishads are considered as being the conclusion of the Vedas, the reason why they are also called Vedãnta. They are a record of ancient teachers explanation of the Vedas and focus mainly on philosophical and mystical questioning about the nature of the world, the purpose of living in it and understates deities and sacrificial rites which are more detailed in the Vedas. The central topic in the Upanishads is the nature of reality, or how to balance the atman (self) with Brahman (the ultimate reality) that converges onto the concept of a unique supreme being. Britannica, Tome 12 p.189
The Prambananan Temple
“The prambanan temple complex is about 20 kilometers east of Yogylarta, Java”. There is a debate among historians upon its founder: whether the king of the second Mataram dynasty, Rakai Piktan, or to Balitung Maha Sambhu. It is a square based area where more than 250 smaller temples are build around to worship Visnu, Siva, Druga, and Brahma. As other major Hindus temples, it is considered as being “theologies in stone” as all measurement are a reference either to deities or to stars.
Architecture, Encyclopedia of Religion, Second edition, VOl.6 (p.4015-4017), 2005.
The Chola structure
“It is a sculpture associated with the Chaõla dynasty of south India. The dynasty ruled from the mid 9th century until 1279 and its kingdom was mainly on the Coromandel Coast”. The greatest artistic achievements of the dynasty are in bronzes, which were produced for temple worship. The majority of them depict the four-armed god Shiva dancing on the world within a halo of fire. The structure symbolizes the circular cycle of destruction and creation and the fire symbolizes the link between the physical and the other world.
The Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia, Vol.5, Chola structure, 1993
The Angkor Wat
The construction of this magnificent temple that covers an area of 1500 by 1300 meters is attributed to Sūryavman II (r. 1131- c.1150). The term Angkor is the Sanskrit translation of the word “city”, and wat stands for “place of worship”. It is considered as one of the highest achievement of the Khmer architecture and is principally dedicated to the worship of Vishnu. It is also the host of one of the most popular stories of Hindus tradition: “The story of the churning of the ocean of milk and Visnu’s incarnation as a tortoise”. The entire temple’s walls are depicted with scenes of gods against demons, and popular stories that shows deities daily life in the other world.
Architecture, Encyclopedia of Religion, Second edition, VOl.6 (p.4015-4017), 2005.
Caitanya
This figure of the sixteen century has been considered by millions of Hindus as a living incarnation of Krishna that came to Earth during the degenerate context to spread simpler and more accessible religious guidelines for the loving devotion to him, often by singing his names. It was believed that Caitanya was bhagavãn, or the ultimate conscious perfect reality. During his life, Caitanya visited many places for Krishna’s loving devotion, and is also believed as the discoverer of many other places of cult and worship. At some point, his spiritual sensibility gave him the status of incarnation of both Krishna and Rãdhã. He has been at the origin of the exportation of Hindus beliefs to the West through the creation of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness that gathers today thousands of devotees which principal way to bhakti is named the “great prayer”.
JOSEPH T. O’CONNELL (2005), Caitanya, Encyclopedia of Religion, Second edition, VOl.3 (p.1345-1347), 2005.
c. 1500
Mirabai
Mirabai is the most famous devotee of Krishna of the medieval era. She stood for a figure of bhakti and rebellion against the societal duties she had been assigned to as a wife. No written proof had been recalled, but stories say that her love for Krishna was so intense that she refused the husband that has been imposed to her, even though he was part of a royal family. Mirabai expressed her devotion in songs that have been preserved and disseminate through oral traditions, where she expresses her love to Krishna, but also talks to him about the sufferings she endures because of her blind devotion to him. Stories also say that she chose Raidas, an untouchable leatherworker, as her spiritual guru after leaving her marital household to become a saint. This aspect of her life will later let her be considered as an example for non-violent resistance and for low caste woman emancipation and self-expression.
NANCY M. MARTIN (2005), Mirabai, Encyclopedia of Religion, Second edition, Tome 9 (p.6048-6049), 2005.
1828
The Brahmo Samaj
When the British first entered India in the early 19th century, a type castes of Bengalis Hindus named the non-kulīna recognized the advantages of working with them and accumulate wealth on the behalf of the kulīna castes that had religious leadership over them. Consequently, one member of those nonleading castes, Ram Moyan Roy, initiate a revitalisitc reform of Hinduism that rejects polytheism, purifying it from elements such as icons worship and temples rituals, but more importantly gave the religious authority to those emerging wealthy people. The reform was an adaptation of Christianity to Hinduism, and gave birth to a new type of religious leaders that reject traditional priestly authority, opening the floor to people such as Vivekanada and Gandhi to come up with visionary versions of the Vedic tradition. The Brahmo Samaj, Encyclopedia of Religion, Second edition, VOl.2 (p.1028-1029), 2005.
1834
Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna was one of the greatest figures of modern Hinduism, considered as being a « supremely realized self » and an avatar of the divine. His biggest teachings were about the nonduality of the absolute or the acceptance of the world as being prt of the eternal absolute, not an illusory distraction from it. Ramakrishna also thought his fellows on the nuances of the « knower » that withdraws himself from the world for spiritual devotion but that falls into self-centrism and the « complete knower » who understands this nonduality absolute and learn how to live in harmony with the divine Mother. Also, one of biggest revolution of thought that Ramakrishna brought to hinduism is that all the world’s religions lead to the same realization of the divine, each in its way, thus indirectly arguing for peace among the conflictual views of the different religions.
WALTER G. NEEVEL, JR. (1987) BRIAN A. HATCHER (2005), RAMAKRISHNA, Encyclopedia of Religion, Second edition, Tome 11 (p.7611-7612), 2005.
1875
Arya Samaj
The Arya Samaj is considered as being the most successful of the nineteenth century reform movements gathering almost a million followers in northern India. This movement, initiated by the brahman Dayananda, has some similarities with the Brahmo Samaj in a sens of monotheistic interperetation of early Vedas, but also states that the Vedas are the only accurate texts because of their divine origin, proclaiming that all other texts (Upashinadas and Mahābhārata) contains false views and shouldn’t be followed as guidelines to attain Moksha. The reform states that God is not the only ultimate reality, but coexists with the conscious human self and the unconscious human world, and that consequently, each human being is switching from involvement in the physical world and the freedom of God’s mercy, concluding that he or she is eternally active and will not leave dharma to become one with brahma through moksha.
The Arya Samaj, Encyclopedia of Religion, Second edition, VOl.1 (p.515-517), 2005.
1869-1948
GANDHI, Mohandas
In a religion where social integrity and religious devotion does not always match, Ghandi has been a great figure of balance between this two essentials of the modern human life. Throughout his youth, his religious beliefs and knwoledge has been influenced by the Prānãmi cult but also by Islam and « esoteric and socialist form of Western Spirituality » (Encyclopedie of religion, 3272) and came out with a new philosophy of Hinduism where life’s moral actions and spiritual fulfillement can be simultaneously achieved. The biggest line of this philosophy emcompass the concepts of Satya (truth), Ahimsa (nonviolence), Tapasya (renunciation) and Swaraj (self-rule). Gandhi basically believed that the devotion to god passes by a self-ruled person that give up on the physical luxury and complexity by firmly holding to truth and acting with nonviolence. By conveying those ideas, he also tried to stop the social marginalization of the untouchables by living side by side with them and calling them harijans (« people of god »).
MARK JUERGENSMEYER (1987 AND 2005), GANDHI, MOHANDAS, Encyclopedia of Religion, Second edition, Tome 5 (p.3271 -3272), 2005.
HINDUISM TIMELINE
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