The Dimensions of Hinduism

The Dimensions of Hinduism
Ritual:

The Dimensions of Hinduism
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Thesamskaras(rituals), prayer, offerings, pilgrimage, the many ways of purity (including eating, bathing,kinds of work, etc.), emotional devotion, fasting
Mythological:
The trinity of Brahma, Vishnu (also his incarnations, Rama and Krishna), and Shiva; Goddesses: the shaktas, Parvati and Shri; also Devi, the Divine Mother; Ganesha and Lakshmi
These gods have families, they fight, they get involved in wars, incarnations, etc.
Doctrinal:
Basic notions: painful and deceitful world, rebirth,karma, andmoksha
Various ways to do this: thetrimarga:karmamarga(path of action),janamarga(path of knowledge), andbhaktimarga(path of devotion)
Ethical:
Dharma: that which upholds, supports (the world). Withoutdharmaall is chaos
Expressed in relationship to one’s varna, one’s caste
Social:
The division of the society intovarnas(castes) andjatis(subcastes). The fourvarnasare Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra)
Varnasin action: the Brahmins pursue their innate spirituality, the Kshatriyas pursue their heroism,the Vaishyas their skill, and the Shudras their service
Sadhusare outside society, they show the spiritual goal even in this world
The four ashramas as they organize life into phases with differing religious duties
Experiential:
The union of the worshipper with the gods, the dissolution of the worshipper in brahman, the liberation ofmoksha(total release).How? Through following the one of thetrimarga
Material:
This ranges from the clothes one wears and food one eats all the way to the great temples and the sacred Ganges river. In a sense, India itself, the very land, is sacred and thus part of the material dimension
The Hindu Life Cycle:
TheCaturashramaand its Rituals
Correlated withcaturvarga, the four aims of life, thepurushartha. Firstkama, desire; thenartha, wealth. Meanwhiledharmaorganizes everyones pursuit of the first two. Following dharma comesmoksha
First a pre-stage of childhood, devoted tokama. This ends somewhere between age 8 and age 12
Student:brahmacarya, begins with thesamskara(ritual) ofupanayana(initiation). Here the head is shaved and the boy gets the sacred thread to be worn for life. The student learns sacred texts, ritual skills and prayers, discipline of beingBrahmin (or other), how to serve the guru, etc. The aim here isdharma(law, morality, truth)
Householder: with the greatestsamskara,vivaha(marriage), the student becomes a householder. Here the aim isartha, wealth, because the duty here is to raise a family. This is the highestdharmaon this earth
Forest-dweller: when his hair goes gray and he sees his son’s son it is time for the next stage: withdrawal into forest-dwelling (though one does not literally need to go to the forest). An older couple can do this together, stopping their work onarthaand beginning to devote themselves tomoksha
Renunciant: here the real devotee becomes a wondering ascetic, renouncing the world. The practice here is to possess nothing and desire nothing. Of course the aim here ismoksha. Very few people reach this stage
Finally there is the sacrament of death, commonly calledshraddha. Here the dead person istransformed into an ancestor, worthy of veneration. This person takes his or her rightful place in a good afterlife.This becomes a kind of post-stage and a readying for continued rebirths on the path tomoksha