Menu
Hinduism is Realistic – It is Neither Optimistic nor Pessimistic
Some scholars are of the opinion that Hinduism is a pessimistic religion. According to them, Hinduism has a pessimistic view towards this world, tending to put more emphasis on the other world, ignoring the world we live in. But the most authentic scriptures of Hinduism, such as the Rig-Veda and the Yajur-Veda, give us a completely different view. We come to know from them that the Aryans of the Vedic period enjoyed a very high standard of material comfort. To them this world was good and enjoyable; it was not evil. According to the Isha Upanishad, “(man) should wish to live for one hundred years.” The Aryans wore fine clothes and gold jewelry, enjoyed music, dancing, good food and wine. Milk cows, their main wealth, were numerous. There is mention of heaven but practically no mention of hell.
An unbiased study of Hinduism reveals that it is neither pessimistic nor overly optimistic. Too much optimism causes frequent disappointments, while pessimism robs people of their initiative. Neither is encouraged by Hinduism is purely realistic. It encourages its followers to recognise the true nature of the world and act accordingly.
Hindu scriptures speak of two goals pursued by man: (1) the pleasant and (2) the good. What is pleasant may not necessarily be good, and what is good may not be pleasant. Besides, that which is pleasant now may become unpleasant later. Eating a chocolate cupcake may be a pleasant experience, but if a person is forced at gunpoint to eat eight chocolate cupcakes in quick succession, it becomes torture. To an alcoholic, drinking liquor may be pleasant, but it certainly is not good for him. Getting daily physical exercise is not necessarily pleasant, but it is undoubtedly good for one’s health. Similarly, certain mental and physical indulgences may be pleasant, but they are neither good for the body nor the mind. Hinduism asks its followers to give up such indulgences. It does not encourage its followers to live in an unreal fantasy world where bad is painted as good, and what is harmful is imagined as beneficial simply because it is pleasant. It exhorts its followers to be realistic and hold on to what is good, giving up what may be pleasant but not good.
Hinduism is not Fatalistic
Hinduism does not believe in fatalism. According to the doctrine of karma, a person’s future is his or her own creation. The good or bad actions done in the present will cause enjoyment or suffering in the future. To create a better future one must wisely utilise the present moment by performing good activities. Blaming someone else for one’s own suffering is not condoned by Hinduism. The worker must take full responsibility for his or her good or bad actions and consequent pleasure or pain.
Hinduism’s Position in Regard to Mortification of the Body
Purposeless and neurotic mortification of the body is not encouraged by mainstream Hinduism. Physical austerity is necessary as much as it helps to strengthen the mind. A person who is not easily affected by heat or cold, pleasure or pain, is mentally a stronger person. He is more likely to handle the various problems in his life without being defeated by them. Too much identification with the body makes a person mentally weak. Hinduism clearly forbids its followers to go to any extreme. Neglecting the body is not considered necessarily a virtue. Shariramadyam khalu dharmasadhanam – “The body is the primary instrument to practice religion or dharma” – says Hinduism. The body therefore has to be taken care of. Hindu scriptures also teach that the body is the temple of God, because the soul or the indwelling Divine Self resides in it.
Idea and Practice of Nonviolence in Hinduism
Although Hinduism considers nonviolence the greatest virtue, it is not blind to the fact that we must put up with one or another kind of violence merely to survive. Thousands of microscopic lives are destroyed every time we breathe. Each food grain we eat has life in it. It is impossible to completely avoid committing violence. All that Hinduism expects its followers to do is to consciously minimise violence as much as is practicable to get rid of the violent attitude of mind.
However, violence justified by a noble cause may sometimes be condoned by Hinduism. Such justification must come from the dictates of the scriptures; not from any other source. If an enemy attacks a country, the soldiers must fight in order to repel, subdue or kill that enemy. It is the religious duty of the soldiers to defend the country. Killing a fleeing, wounded, defenseless, or incapacitated enemy is not permitted by the scriptures. A soldier who escapes from the battlefield out of fright, and wants to justify his cowardice by extolling the virtue of nonviolence, has failed in his duty and is a hypocrite.
Ideally speaking, a truly nonviolent person is not supposed to hurt anyone by his body, mind or speech. Total nonviolence is possible for a spiritually-illumined soul only. Such a soul loses his false identification with his body-mind complex and comes to know his true divine identity. He experiences God as the essence of all things and all beings, including himself. Therefore, he cannot hate or harm anyone.
He alone can love his enemies, because he does not see an enemy anywhere. All that he experiences is the manifestation of God. As he can no longer identify with his psycho-physical complex, he cannot hold himself responsible for whatever his body or mind does. He loses his sense of agency, the awareness that he is the doer of things. Thus, he goes beyond violence. The Bhagavad Gita (18/17) says, “He who does not have the sense of agency or egoism, whose intellect does not hold itself responsible for action performed by th ebody and the senses, he does not kill, nor does he become bound by the result of such killing.”
The Idea of the Harmony of Religions is Inherent in Hinduism
The spirit of religious tolerance in Hinduism is rooted in this statement from the Rig-Veda, Ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti – “One (God) alone exists. Sages call That by different names.” The idea that God can be realised through different spiritual paths has been taught through the ages by many saints and godmen of India. But the idea that all religions lead to the same God is mainly the contribution of the 19th century Hindu saint Shri Ramakrishna. He is known as the prophet of the harmony of religions. No book on Hinduism can be written today without acknowledging his contribution. Some of his relevant teachings are recorded below with the hope that they may help, no matter in what small way, in promoting peace and understanding between the religious people of our strife-torn world.
Many are the names of God and infinite are the forms through which He may be approached. In whatever name and form you worship Him, through that you will realise Him.
God has made different religions to suit different aspirants, times and countries. All doctrines are so many paths; but a path is by no means God Himself. Indeed, one can reach God if one follows any of the paths with whole hearted devotion. One may eat a pastry with icing either straight or sidewise. It will taste sweet either way.
A truly religious man should think that other religions are also so many paths leading to the Truth. One should always maintain an attitude of respect towards other religions.
Different creeds are but different paths to reach the same God.
Various types of jewelry are made of gold. Although they are made of the same substance they have different forms, and they are given different names. So also the one and the same God is worshiped in different countries under different names and forms.
Every man should follow his own religion. A Christian should follow Christianity, a Muslim should follow Islam, and so on. For a Hindu, the ancient path, the path of the Aryan sages, is the best.
Dispute not. As you rest firmly on your own faith and opinion, allow others also the equal liberty to stand by their own faiths and opinions. By mere disputation you will never succeed in convincing another of his error. When the grace of God descends, each one will understand his own mistakes.
God Himself has provided different forms of worship. He who is the Lord of the Universe has arranged all these forms to suit different men in different stages of knowledge. The mother cooks different dishes to suit the stomachs of her children. Suppose she has five children. If there is a fish to cook, she prepares various dishes from it – pilau, pickled fish, fried fish, and so on – to suit their different tastes and powers of digestion.
God is formless and yet He can assume forms. One monk went to visit the temple of Lord Jagannath in the holy city of Puri. While inside the temple, doubts came to this mind. He started wondering if God had form, or He was formless. As he was a wondering monk, he was carrying a staff in his hand. With his staff he wanted to touch the image of Lord Jagannath. He put one end of his staff to the left of the image and moved it to the right. The staff passed unobstructed through the mage, as if it was no there. But when he tried to move the staff from right to left, the image obstructed it. Thus, he realised that God is formless and yet He can have form.
A man went to the forest. There, for the first time in his life, he saw a chameleon sitting on a tree. Later he said to someone, “Brother, in that forest I saw a strange creature on a tree. It’s red in colour.” The other man said, “I’ve also seen that creature, it certainly isn’t red. It’s green.” Another person said, “Why should it be green? I’ve seen it too, it’s yellow.” Someone else claimed that it was violet, while others insisted that it was either blue or black. Thus they started quarreling. Then they decided to go back to that tree and found a man sitting under it. That man said, “I live under this tree; I know this creature very well. What you all have been saying is quite true. It is sometimes red, sometimes green, sometimes yellow and sometimes blue.” One who contemplates God all the time – he alone knows what God is really like. He alone knows that God reveals Himself in so many different ways. God sometimes assumes different forms. Sometimes He has attributes, sometimes none. One who lives under the tree alone knows that the Chameleon has many colours. He also knows that sometimes it doesn’t have any colour at all. Others who don’t know, quarrel and suffer unnecessarily. God has form, then again He is formless. He is like the infinite ocean. The cooling influence of the spiritual aspirant’s devotion for God causes the water to freeze and become ice. But when the sun of true knowledge rises, the ice melts and becomes formless water again.