Basic questions about Hindu beliefs

[MountainSpirit]

Hi, I have recently started reading about Sanatana Dharma and am looking to learn more about the religion. I have some basic questions.

1) From what I have read, the earliest form of Hinduism, the Vedic religion, was mainly about revering the gods and did not seem to include the beliefs about the oneness of all reality, samsara and moksha, karma, reincarnation, meditation, etc. Where do Hindus believe that these concepts originated from?

2) Since god(the Divine Reality) is in all things, what is the significance of the personal gods which are worshiped in the Hindu tradition? Are these merely symbolic representations or are they believed to actually exist as entities?

3) Do the Vedas, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita teach the same belief system or are there differences between them? Do Hindus accept the divinity of all of them or is there some disagreement about this?

4) Is worship of god required in order to reach moksha or is meditation, self-purification, liberation from worldly desire, etc. sufficient?

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Mountain Spirit.

Welcome to these forums.

Firstly, Hinduism is a vast faith system. There are many different schools, some would say many different religions. So if you ask 20 people these questions, you're sure to get 20 different answers, some really different, some not so much. There are many many books written on it.

I'll try ... from a Saiva (one of the common schools or sects) perspective.

1) Knowledge comes from the inside, and in this case from saints realisations, normally many more than one. We believe all knowledge is inside. So one sage might realise something, share it, and then others, independently, may get the same thing. Over time the knowledge builds this way.

2) I believe they exist as entities, living in an inner world, accessible via temple worship, and/or meditation. They're as real as humans, can be felt, and will help out when asked.

3) No they don't teach the same belief system. The Vedas are the final authority. All Hindus accept the authority of the Vedas. The Upanishads are parts of the Vedas, or extensions, so they too are authoritative. The Bhagavad Gita is a sectarian scripture, Vaishnavite in nature. There are varying degrees of importance put on it. Obviously, I put less importance on it than a Vaishnava would. Still, nearly all sects respect the brotherhood of Hinduism and we all get along admirably.

4) Yes. Both. Worship, the kriya marga, and meditation, the yoga marga are both necessary top reach moksha.

Again, and I can't stress it enough, you will get varying answers. Then you and you alone get to decide which makes more sense.

Good luck with the study.

Aum Namasivaya

[devotee]

Namaste MS,

1) From what I have read, the earliest form of Hinduism, the Vedic religion, was mainly about revering the gods and did not seem to include the beliefs about the oneness of all reality, samsara and moksha, karma, reincarnation, meditation, etc. Where do Hindus believe that these concepts originated from?

There is no proof to assert whatever you say. Hindu Dharma's highest held scriptures are the Vedas which include SamhitAs, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads. Hindus believe that the Vedas are eternally present and there was never a time when it originated. Yes, the Vedas were revealed to different Rishis (to whom the knowledge of Vedas were revealed) at different points of time in our times. Even if the whole universe is destroyed the knowledge of Vedas would exist to be revealed again to a seeker at appropriate time.

The knowledge of One-ness of reality, samsara, moksha, karma, reincarnation and meditation etc. are all there in the Vedas.

2) Since god(the Divine Reality) is in all things, what is the significance of the personal gods which are worshiped in the Hindu tradition? Are these merely symbolic representations or are they believed to actually exist as entities?

This is because you are in gross form and can easily perceive gross things. Can you believe that you are just a mind-wave on the Infinite Consciousness i.e. God ? God becomes what He is worshiped as. Existence is the sole reality, existence as any entity is unreal (but not non-existent) and is due to cosmic delusion.

3) Do the Vedas, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita teach the same belief system or are there differences between them? Do Hindus accept the divinity of all of them or is there some disagreement about this?

Upanishads are part of the Vedas. Bhagwad Gita teaches same things what is there in the Vedas. Vedas are held as the highest authority by almost all Hindus. Hindus have disagreement across different sects but divinity of all remains unquestioned. Yes, one sect may consider one form as the Supreme and another may consider the other one.

4) Is worship of god required in order to reach moksha or is meditation, self-purification, liberation from worldly desire, etc. sufficient?

What do you mean by "worshipping God" ? A practitioner doing meditation is also worshipping God in his own way.

OM

[Believer]

Namaste,

Welcome to the forum MountainSpirit.

When the mind is focused on definitions and wants to indulge in a top down approach, the spirit is hung out to dry. Just start on the path of bhakti, devotion, and the rest will follow. Moksha and liberation are mighty words which are non-attainable by common folks in a lifetime. The spirit makes its advances in ever so small steps over a lifetime. I have no illusions of reaching the lofty heights of moksha/liberation/enlightenment in this go around. It is a long drawn out process involving many human incarnations. Checking out the entire landscape before jumping in is an intellectual exercise which puts the process of spiritual advancement on hold. Is that what is desired here?

Pranam.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

2) Since god(the Divine Reality) is in all things, what is the significance of the personal gods which are worshiped in the Hindu tradition? Are these merely symbolic representations or are they believed to actually exist as entities?

I think you ask reasonable questions for one entering the door of sanātana dharma. You will find many response to your questions from our HDF members.
Let me offer just a few things on what I have learned. You mention the divine reality is in all things. Just for a moment think of it this way: We are in it and of it. There is no separation. Now many schools will suggest that we need to re-unite with this Reality once again. I think this is a noble effort. Yet we are not outside of it. This takes some getting use to.

You mention many gods. This is almost a trade-mark of the ~ hindu~ view. Yet there is only one Reality. All the devatā¹ are expressions of this one reality. Consider an example of a tree. All the branches, bark, the leaves, flowers and the like that are there. They all are an expression of the sap that is behind the scenes. The colorless, odorless sap that brings color, size, shape, smell and touch to this tree. Like that, the Reality you talk of is this sap or essence ( sāraḥ¹) of every-and-any thing.

you mention ,

I have recently started reading about Sanatana Dharma

Who you read (from) is just as important as what you read. There are many schools of thought ( last count for me is 16¹). Schools suggest a certain view of Reality and its extensions. Pending school A, will be different then school B. Hence many views and opinions on the matter. Yet it is the patient and resolute person that can remain committed to compare-and-contrast the various schools. This takes some time. Yet ( as I have found) it serves one well.

iti śivaṁ

words

• devatā - divinity, that which is divine; associated with 'div' - to be bright, to shine.
• saraḥ - fluid; sārāḥ a kind of plant; sāraḥ is the essence, heart, cream of anything. The word also means 'stretching out'. Hence sāraḥ is that essence that 'stretches out' everywhere; there is no place it is not.
• It is suggested and discussed that that there are 16 darśana-s of Indian philosophy. Mādhava-ji, we know as madhvācārya ( 14th century) calls out 16 in his sarvadarśanasaṅgraha. And before him there was a work called sarvadarśanasiddhāntasaṅgraha.
  
  • sarvadarśanasaṅgraha = sarva+darśana+saṅ +graha ; sarva = all + darśana = view or ~ philosophy~ san = bestow , distribute, gain + graha = understanding or taking up; s
  
  
  • o this is taking up and offering the understanding of all the various schools or philosophies
  • sarvadarśanasiddhāntasaṅgraha = same as above yet siddha is used to suggest the perfections, what is gained, or the objective of the various schools.

[hinduism♥krishna]

Hello friend I give you a clear reply…

1) From what I have read, the earliest form of Hinduism, the Vedic religion, was mainly about revering the gods and did not seem to include the beliefs about the oneness of all reality, samsara and moksha, karma, reincarnation, meditation, etc. Where do Hindus believe that these concepts originated from?

From veda. It's a misconception and lack of intelligence which binds the profound knowledge of veda and today's so called vedic scholars are humans like us, not realized. You must seek a realized guru to seek the truth. Adi Shankar is one of them.

2) Since god(the Divine Reality) is in all things, what is the significance of the personal gods which are worshiped in the Hindu tradition? Are these merely symbolic representations or are they believed to actually exist as entities?

Yeah, they actually exists. The universe runs because of them and so they're symbolic as well.

3) Do the Vedas, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita teach the same belief system or are there differences between them? Do Hindus accept the divinity of all of them or is there some disagreement about this?

Yes, they all do teach the same. Advaita is the truth, I can say. Because in veda duality has been criticized.

Is worship of god required in order to reach moksha or is meditation, self-purification, liberation from worldly desire, etc. sufficient?

All

[Kalicharan Tuvij]

Hi, I have recently started reading about Sanatana Dharma and am looking to learn more about the religion. I have some basic questions.

Namaste MS,

1) From what I have read, the earliest form of Hinduism, the Vedic religion, was mainly about revering the gods and did not seem to include the beliefs about the oneness of all reality, samsara and moksha, karma, reincarnation, meditation, etc. Where do Hindus believe that these concepts originated from?

Veda is considered the supreme authority within Hinduism, because it knows everything, includes everything.

2) Since god(the Divine Reality) is in all things, what is the significance of the personal gods which are worshiped in the Hindu tradition? Are these merely symbolic representations or are they believed to actually exist as entities?

Gods are fundamental to Hinduism. They together form the Reality, enter into existence of existence. However, on forums such as these, you are bound to usually meet Hindus who tell you "gods are many aspects of One"; whereas, on the ground, these people aren't even a significant minority among the vast Hindu populations.

3) Do the Vedas, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita teach the same belief system or are there differences between them? Do Hindus accept the divinity of all of them or is there some disagreement about this?

In Gita, Krishna- who is fulfilling His mission on earth - has a set agenda, and therefore talks accordingly. His teachings are, therefore, bound within time and scope (set by none other than Himself). Veda, on the other hand, is eternal. This is the only difference (minor, mind you) between Gita and Veda. In fact, therefore, all the "secondary" texts and traditions speak the same language as that of the Veda, but limited in scope - time and space.

4) Is worship of god required in order to reach moksha or is meditation, self-purification, liberation from worldly desire, etc. sufficient?

All gyANa comes from Bhakti. Bhakti means "division", among gods obviously, not among God

As other member has said, you will get different views from different Hindus, this is in keep with what I said about different traditions- they have their own scope, time and space. Accordingly, you should also find yourself agreeing more to one of these views - in keep with your own scope, time and space. It is all evolutionary, pal, welcome to Hinduism.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

You must seek a realized guru to seek the truth. Adi Shankar is one of them.

Perhaps I am reading your post incorrectly. you are asking MountainSpirit to seek a guru ( that is fine), yet you mention ādi śaṅkara-ji as one of them. Can you inform me where I might find ādi śaṅkara-ji today, outside of his writings ?

iti śivaṁ

[hinduism♥krishna]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté


Perhaps I am reading your post incorrectly. you are asking MountainSpirit to seek a guru ( that is fine), yet you mention ādi śaṅkara-ji as one of them. Can you inform me where I might find ādi śaṅkara-ji today, outside of his writings ?

iti śivaṁ

Adi shankar is everywhere in hearts of all

[yajvan]

namaste

Adi shankar is everywhere in hearts of all

Please take us further on your offering. I am sure Mountain Spirit and others are eager to understnd this , other then esoterically ( of which I am fine with).

Please.... proceed.

iti sivam