Hinduism: The Indian Worldview Essay

The Indian Worldview: Breaking Down Hinduism

Hinduism is a religion that is difficult to define. No one can say who the founder is, or connect it to a certain place or time. So in order to understand Hinduism, we follow a coherent set of assumptions upon which people base their lives; otherwise defined as the Indian Worldview.
The main concept of the worldview that will help us explain Hinduism is the idea that the spiritual is more important than the physical. Smirti literature are stories or texts, which almost all people in India or areas surrounding India would know. They aren’t like the Veda’s or the Shruti, that require priests or are mainly concerned with the higher class, the Smirti are for everyone. The Dharmashastra is a …show more content…
In the story, Vishnu (powerful sun god disguised as Krishna) tells Arjuna(leader of army about to fight) that he can fulfill his dharma in three different ways without binding karma. First, by Karma yoga. Performing your duty with no hopes or fears. Second, Jhana yoga, the way of discipline and meditation. Third, Bhakti yoga, the way of devotion. These were three different paths Arjuna could take to avoid attaching Karma to himself while still performing his dharma. This story is very well known by all Hindu’s and passed down trough generations. The lesson being spread that there is no “one way” to moksha.
The entire Hinduism religion is solely based around the belief that time and life is a cycle. In Hinduism, every ending is just the start to a new beginning or life. Not only does all of creation move through the cycles, but so does every individual. Every person has an atman that never dies, but inhabits another life form. Their whole purpose, as stated many times thus far, is to break that samsara, and achieve moksha. That is the reason for their practices. They sacrifice to the Devas so they can rid of karma so they can be liberated. They follow their dharma without binding karma so they can be liberated. And that is essentially what Hinduism is. Hinduism is a religion that is continually striving to be liberated from the constant cycle of

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