Why I Am a Hindu

by Shashi Tharoor

the word ‘Hindu’ did not exist in any Indian language till its use by foreigners gave Indians a term for self-definition.

As an astika Hindu he can subscribe to any of the six major schools of philosophy, the Shad Darshanas (which I describe later); as a nastika Hindu he can declare allegiance to one of five schools, including Buddhism and Jainism, which after arising as reform movements against the ritualistic Hinduism of their day, were practically re-absorbed into the parent faith (though their adherents may not see it that way). Or the nastika can attach himself to the materialist Charvaka School, whose followers denounced most religious practices and devoted themselves to wealth and profit.

In the beginning there was only darkness, veiled in darkness, In profound darkness, a water without light. All that existed then was void and formless. That One arose at last, born of the power of heat

I wonder if the translator adding this with a modern knowledge of cosmology, or whether it says literally this

Who knows whence this creation had its origin? He, whether He fashioned it or whether He did not, He, who surveys it all from the highest heaven, He knows—or maybe even He does not know.

Neither thought nor words can suffice: ‘It is not understood by those who understand it,’ says the Kena Upanishad, ‘it is understood by those who do not understand it.’ The final words of the Upanishads are ‘neti, neti’—‘not this, not this’—signifying the indescribability of the Absolute.

above all, as a Hindu I belong to the only major religion in the world that does not claim to be the only true religion. I find it immensely congenial to be able to face my fellow human beings of other faiths without being burdened by the conviction that I am embarked upon a ‘true path’ that they have missed.

Hinduism is also a faith that uniquely does not have any notion of heresy in it: you cannot be a Hindu heretic because there is no standard set of dogmas from which you can deviate that make you a heretic. Indeed, not even what one might think of as the most basic tenet of any religion—a belief in the existence of God—is a pre-requisite in Hinduism. As I have noted, an important branch of Hindu philosophy, the Charvaka School, goes so far as to embrace atheism within the Hindu philosophical framework.

The Charvakas were an interesting example of the intellectual heterodoxy of ancient Hinduism. Not only were they unabashedly materialist, but they challenged the most cherished assumptions of the astikas. The sage Madhvacharya summarised the Charvaka School in his Sarvadarsana Sangraha as arguing that ‘there is no heaven, no final liberation, no soul (which continues to exist) in another world, nor any ceremonies of castes or orders which are productive of future reward’. The Charvakas were in fact contemptuous of holy men and their practices: ‘The Agnihotra sacrifice, the three Vedas, the mendicant’s triple staff (tridanda), and the practice of smearing oneself with ashes, are only means of livelihood ordained by the creator for men who have neither understanding nor energy.’ And they were also scathing about the theological claims of astika philosophers: ‘If [it be true that] an animal slaughtered at the Jyotistoma sacrifice is [in consequence] exalted to heaven’, they asked, ‘why does the worshipper not immolate his own father?’2

There can be no Hindu Inquisition because there is neither an exacting theology that everyone must subscribe to as holy writ, nor an exalted authority empowered to appoint an Inquisitor.

Or can there?

The fighter for Indian independence, ‘Lokmanya (accepted by the people)’ Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856–1920), suggested, in a meeting of the Sanatana Dharma Sabha (Association of Hindus), that ‘a Hindu is he who believes that the Vedas contain self-evident and axiomatic truths’

The foundational theorist of the political philosophy of Hindutva, V. D. Savarkar (whose ideas are discussed more fully below), asserted in the 1920s that one could be a Hindu even if one did not recognise the religious authority of the Vedas.

History is replete with accounts of Hindus thronging Sufi dargahs, Sikh gurudwaras and Christian shrines (notably the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni town in Tamil Nadu, which has been described as the ‘Lourdes of the East’, or Mount Mary Church in Mumbai’s Bandra) with the same reverence they might express in their own temples.

This inclination to revere the Divine, whatever its source, is a notable Hindu trait,

At the Chicago Parliament, he articulated the liberal humanism that lies at the heart of his (and my) creed: ‘I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true.

He = Swami Vivekananda

Tolerance, after all, implies that you have the truth, but will generously indulge another who does not; you will, in an act of tolerance, allow him the right to be wrong. Acceptance, on the other hand, implies that you have a truth but the other person may also have a truth; that you accept his truth and respect it, while expecting him to respect (and accept) your truth in turn.

This is precisely the Hinduism I was taught at home and in school, and I'm glad to see that it's not an anomaly. And this is what I've always told secular American friends about the difference between secularism and acceptance.

The nirguna Brahman was a philosophical concept at the heart of Hinduism, but people needed to worship something they could imagine and visualise. Hence the idea of the saguna Brahman—the Absolute given form, qualities and attributes, also known as Ishvara or Bhagavan.

Matsya (the fish), and proceeding successively through Kurma (the tortoise), Varaha (the boar), and Narasimha (the half man-half lion) to more recognisable human forms, Vamana (the dwarf) and Parasurama (who wields a great axe), then perfect men who are worshipped as divine (Sri Rama and Sri Krishna), then the Buddha (an interesting inclusion, of which more later) and finally Kalki, who is yet to be born, a brilliant youth on a white steed with a devastating sword, encircled by flames, who represents the destruction of the world as we know it.

This might well have resulted from the Vedic civilisation’s absorption of the tribal and folk deities it found being worshipped in India before its advance through the country; each local manifestation of a god or a goddess was included in the all-embracing Hindu pantheon, so that as Hinduism spread, it accommodated earlier forms of worship rather than overthrowing them. Similarly, many tribes revered animals, but instead of disrespecting them, Hinduism absorbed the non-humans too,

Is this fact or speculation?

lotus, the favoured flower in Hindu iconography since it remains pure and unsoiled by the mud and dirt from which it emerges.

As Durga, she rides a tiger, bearing weapons to fight the eight evils of humankind—greed, hate, envy, contempt for others, passion, vanity, jealousy and illusion.

There are temples where the goddess retreats into seclusion for three days a month to menstruate, as in Chengannur in Kerala;

talking about Shakti