Hinduism And Hindutva

Some people say Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma is not a religion. It is a way of life.

The Honorable Supreme Court of India in a 1995 judgment defined Hindutva as a way of life.

I would say, there is nothing wrong in calling Hinduism a religion also if you look at the original meaning of the word religion.

Religion is derived from the Latin root religare.

Religare means to bind together, to combine together as a single entity.

Not just human beings, the whole universe.

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - for us the whole world is our family.

We worship plants, trees, animals, rivers, mountains, land, sea, wind, Sun, Moon, termite mound.

For us they are all manifestations of the same divinity.

This concept of non duality, this Vedic concept of non duality is the very foundation of Hinduism.

Therefore, it binds, it doesn't divide.

What it does is what a religion is meant to do, to bind, not divide.

The prefix sam in the world samskara stands for this unifying spirit of Hinduism.

Hinduism is a religion based on the Vedas.

There are more than 4,000 religions in the world.

Some are based on teachings of prophets.

Some are based on devotion to a particular God.

Some are based on values.

Some are based on mystical experiences.

Hinduism is based on Veda.

Veda means knowledge.

Hinduism is a knowledge based religion.

So everything associated with knowledge systems, you will find in Hinduism.

All the characteristics of knowledge systems.

A very powerful, clear and versatile means of expression, the language which is Sanskrit.

Some IT men have spoken about the suitability of Sanskrit in artificial intelligence.

Extension and expansion of knowledge.

There are hundreds of thousands of books; originals, explanations, commentaries, interpretations, challenges to interpretations, adaptations..

Go into the website called archive.org.

There are lacs and lakhs of books on Vedas and Hinduism.

These are published books.

There are manuscript libraries with lacs and lakhs of unpublished manuscripts.

The knowledge base of Hinduism goes on expanding day after day.

In a knowledge based system there should be provision for querying, for questioning, for challenging.

They apply to the commentaries and interpretations.

Debates are part of Hinduism even today.

Debates like Shastrathas.

Where scholars get together and debate for days together minute aspects of the Vedic religion and philosophy.

Shankaraharya's digvijaya yatra is famous.

He traveled all over India, held debates with various authoritative scholars and established the Advaita Vedanta philosophy.

Hinduism can be easily compared to an ocean.

It has something for everyone.

You may just want to sit on the shore and watch the beauty of the sunset.

Whole lot of arts, 64 forms of art, classical music, dance, painting, sculpture, architecture, rangolis, garments... for the secular.

Shallow water for the children to play.

Stories- thousands and thousands of them which instill moral values, clarity of thought, courage

You can go scuba diving and discover priceless gems- pearls, corals; this is for the intellectuals- deep philosophical thought; sankhya, yoga, metaphysics, atom theory.

Ocean is one place to go for adventure.

Adventure involves risk.

But it is highly rewarding.

Sadhanas such as Kundalini yoga.

Ocean is a livelihood for many - fishermen, fishing Industry, seafood Industry.

Hinduism supports so many families through the temple system.

Trade and Commerce connected to Hinduism supports so many families.

Just like how shipping and sea commerce plays a major role in the economy, trade and commerce related to Hinduism is a major contributor to the economy.

No wonder, Hinduism is called a universal religion.