The relationship between Hinduism and science is not easy to
describe. Since Hinduism has no centralized ecclesiastical authority,
(no “church”) it is impossible to get an official position on science or
any other issue. In the case of Christianity, however, one can get the
official Roman Catholic position on science and similarly on can get an
official Lutheran or Baptist positions on evolution, on capital
punishment, abortion, or birth control, and so on, but this is not the
case with Hinduism. Individual Hindu groups (
sampradayas) may have official positions determined by a
guru,
but in general, there are no large organizations that speak for major
segments of the tradition. Consequently, we can only address the
relationship between Hinduism and science in the most general of terms.
What we can say, is that Hinduism, like
Christianity, Judaism and Islam is a metaphysical system. Science, on
the other hand, is non metaphysical and so accepts no divine or
"outside the system" source. In this way, Hinduism stands along side the
major theologies of the world in its relation to science. That Hinduism
has a polytheistic side, unlike Judaism, Christianity and Islam,
matters little when it comes to the issue of science. The key point is
that Hinduism is a metaphysical tradition, whereas science is not.
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The words of the Vedas
|
In many ways the relationship between science and
religion can be determined by how the members of a particular religion
view
scripture.
And as might be expected, within Hinduism, there are conservative Hindu
views, modern liberal views and everything in between. Conservative
Hindus accept the Vedas as the direct revelation of God and therefore
inerrant. Whatever is stated in the Vedas, even if it is contrary to
reason, sense perception and modern science, must be accepted. This is
religious fundamentalism. On the other hand, there are Hindus who admit
that the Vedas contain much that is spiritual, yet they also think that
the Vedas are not infallible and so those parts of the Vedas which
contradict reason or science can be rejected. This is religious
liberalism, and it involves a high degree of rationalism and
secularization. And finally there are Hindus, the mass majority of whom,
accept that the Vedas contain divine revelation, but think that such
revelation is not free of errors because the Vedas have been written and
interpreted by human beings who are flawed and conditioned by their
place history. Consequently, those parts of the Vedas that seem out of
step with reason and proven science are not to be rejected, but must be
reinterpreted in a way that conforms to reason and, ultimately,
science. All three of these approaches fall within the realm of what, in
theology, is called hermeneutics or the interpretation of sacred
writings. Indeed, all religions have adherents who subscribe to one of
these basic modes of scriptural interpretation and therefore their views
towards science follows one of these three general modes.
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The Periodic Table
|
Here is an example of how an important Hindu scripture, the
Bhagavad Gita, might regard modern science. There is a chapter of the
Gita is entitled,
Sankhya Yoga. The word "
sankhya" means “counting,” “enumeration,” or “analysis.” In the
Gita
there is a simple form of "analysis" that classifies matter into eight
constituent elements: earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intelligence
and ego. This is essentially a periodic table and an excellent example
of early science or what used to be called natural philosophy. Even
before the
Gita, Hindu thinkers had taken this theme of
“counting” and developed it into one of the six traditional philosophies
of ancient India called
Saankhya. From the perspective of
Bhagavad Gita,
it is fair to say that modern science is simply a highly detailed
analysis of matter and so, in this sense, there is no conflict between
the
Gita and science. Modern science is simply more of what ancient Hindu thinkers had been doing for millennia, but where the
Gita
would disagree with modern science is that modern science does not go
far enough in its analysis of reality. Vedic "science" is not simply
about the mere analysis of matter, but it also includes the analysis
soul and God.
In other words, it includes metaphysical reality as well as
physical reality. The
sankhya of the
Gita therefore
includes an analysis of physical reality as well as a spiritual reality.
At present, modern science only accepts physical reality as its domain
of study, but the call from the
Gita is that ordinary science should also explore the metaphysical dimensions of life and so become a complete form of
sankhya.
But an objection can be made that science does not need to include such
metaphysical issues as the soul and God because philosophy and theology
already do this. I think the answer from the
Gita would be
that physical reality and spiritual reality are ultimately inseparable,
and therefore, any study of one that omits the presence of the other
will create a false or incomplete body of knowledge. Therefore even
such non physical sciences as psychology, biology, or the medical
sciences must include at least the premise that at the heart of reality
there is a spiritual foundation, and even though we may not be equipped
to see it at this point, it is there nonetheless and must be accounted
for.
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This simple example illustrates how,
from a Hindu perspective, religion and science are related, but of
course, most modern scientists, at present, would be hard pressed to
include metaphysics within their scientific perspective and methodology.
From a Hindu perspective, modern science is a legitimate, but
incomplete, step towards knowing and understanding reality. From a
modern scientific perspective, Hinduism goes too far in its assumption
of what constitutes the foundations of reality and the means of knowing
this reality. The relationship between Hinduism and science is,
therefore, mixed. On the one hand, the basic approach of science can be
accepted, but when it comes to the acceptance of metaphysical elements
of reality the
Gita and the Vedas embrace these principles as essential to the pursuit of truth, current science cannot.
Consequently it is fair to say that the Hindu view of science is
not that it is wrong, but that it only offers a limited view of reality.
Until science is able to open itself to the exploration of metaphysical
reality, it will remain incapable of understanding the full nature of
reality. In general, the middle and liberal sides of Hinduism are
favorable and open to science. The conservative sides of Hinduism,
however, will remain closed to science. Interestingly, I see the gradual
acceptance of a metaphysical view of reality by modern science an
increasing possibility as more work is done in “cutting edge” areas of
research like quantum mechanics, particle and string theories, cosmology
and other areas that seems to point to answers that go beyond the
common mechanistic view of the universe. It will be exciting to watch
and see where these new theories lead.
There is another
relationship between science and religion that is current, but which, in
my opinion, is a wrong attempt to link Hinduism and modern science.
This is the attempt to read into the Rig Veda and other Hindu
religious texts allegorical renderings that contain so called secret or
vague references to modern ideas such as particle theory or quantum
mechanics. I have seen interpretations by modern Hindus that attempt to
show how modern particle theory was known at the time of the Rig Veda,
and how this knowledge was secretly inserted into the text of the
Vedas. I have seen attempts by modern Hindus to rationalize and
reinterpret Puranic cosmology, which holds a geocentric view of the
universe and describes the sun as closer to the earth than the moon, to
name just a few differences, in terms of modern astronomy. As we have
mentioned, from a Hindu perspective, there is no problem in exploring
the possible religious implications of quantum mechanics, string theory
or any other modern scientific theory that may open the way for modern
science to explore a metaphysical view of the universe, but to read such
theories back into the pages of the Vedas in order to justify faith or
with so called Hindu nationalistic (Hindu-tva) motivations is not
science at all. I caution my readers to be aware of such extreme
reinterpretations of sacred writing.
The Importance of Sanskrit
to Hinduism
Hinduism and
Sanskrit are inseparably related. The roots of much of Hinduism
can be traced to the dawn of Vedic civilization. From its inception,
Vedic thought has mainly been expressed through the medium of the
Sanskrit language. Sanskrit, therefore, forms the basis of Hindu
civilization.
As language changes, so religion changes. In the case of Hinduism, Sanskrit stood
for millennia as the carrier of most of Vedic thought before its dominance gradually
gave way to the vernacular lanuages that eventually evolved into the modern day
languages of Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada, and so on. Although
the foundations of Hinduism are largely built on the vocabulary and syntax of
Sanskrit, these modern languages are now the primary carriers of Hindu thought
within India. While the shift from Sanskrit to these regional languages forced
a change in the meaning of words, and therefore a change in how subsequent generations
interpreted the religion, the shift was at least within the context of languages
that were related to Sanskrit.
In the last century, however, a new phenomenon has been occurring. Hinduism has
begun to emerge in the West in two significant forms. One is from Westerners
who have come to embrace some variety of Hinduism through contact with a Hindu
religious teacher. The other is through the immigration of Hindus who were born
in India and who have now moved to the West. One of the first and most striking
examples of the former scenario was Swami Vivekananda’s appearance in Chicago
at the Parliament of World Religions in 1896. At the time, Vivekananda received
wide coverage in the American press and later in Europe as he traveled to England
and other parts of Europe. Along the way he created many followers. Swami Vivekananda
was the trailblazer for a whole series of Hindu teachers that have come to the
West and who still continue to arrive today. The incursion of so many Hindu holy
men has brought a new set of Hindu vocabulary and thought to the mind of popular
Western culture.
The other important transplantation of Hinduism into the West has occurred with
the increase in immigration to America and other Western countries of Hindus
from India. In particular, during the 1970s America saw the influx of many Indian
students who have subsequently settled in America and brought their families.
These groups of immigrant Hindus are now actively engaged in creating Hindu temples
and other institutions in the West.
As Hinduism expands in the West, the emerging forms of this ancient tradition
are naturally being reflected through the medium of Western languages, most prominent
of which, is English. But as we have pointed out, the meanings of words are not
easily moved from one language to the next. The more distant two languages are
separated by geography, latitude and climate, etc. the more the meanings of words
shift and ultimately the more the worldview shifts. While this is a natural thing,
it does present the danger that the emerging Hindu religious culture in the West
may drift too far afield. The differences between the Indian regional languages
and Sanskrit are minuscule when compared to the differences between a Western
language such as English and Sanskrit.
With this problem in mind, the great difficultly in understanding Hinduism in
the West, whether from the perspective of conversion or from a second generation
of Hindus, is that it is all too easy to approach Hinduism with foreign concepts
of religion in mind. It is natural to unknowingly approach Hinduism with Christian,
Jewish and Islamic notions of God, soul, heaven, hell and sin in mind. We translate
brahman as God, atman as soul, papa as sin, dharma as
religion. But brahman is not the same as God; atman is
not equivalent to the soul, papa is not sin and dharma is
much more than mere religion. To obtain a true understanding of sacred writings,
such as the Upanisads or the Bhagavad-gita,
one must read them on their own terms and not from the perspective of another
religious tradition. Because the Hinduism now developing in the West is being
reflected through the lens of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, the theological
uniqueness of Hinduism is being compromised or completely lost.
Ideally, anyone attempting to understand Hinduism should have a working knowledge
of Sanskrit. Ideally, all Hindu educational institutions and temples should teach
Sanskrit, and all Hindu youth should learn Sanskrit. In reality this is not occurring,
nor is it likely to occur. The critical mass that it takes to create a culture
of Sanskrit learning is not here.
Even within the Hindu temples that are appearing in the West as a result of Hindu
immigration, the demand for Sanskrit instruction is not there. And why should
it be there? After all, these first generations of Hindu immigrants themselves
do not know Sanskrit. Their Hinduism is through the regional languages. One may
argue that Hinduism is still related closely enough to its Sanskritic roots through
the regional languages. The problem with this argument is that even these regional
languages are not being aggressively taught to the new generation. And if the
history of other immigrant cultures to American is any gauge, the regional languages
of India will die out after one or two generations in the great melting pot of
America. This means that the Hindu youth of the second generation are gradually
losing their regional ethnic roots and becoming increasingly westernized.
I do not suggest that this means the end of Hinduism. In fact I see positive
signs when Hindu youth come to temples for darsana and
prayer and increasingly ask for Hindu weddings and other pujas.
But it does suggest that the new Hinduism that is developing in the West will
evolve in a way that is divorced from its vernacular roots, what to speak of
its Sanskritic roots, as Christianity in the West has developed separated from
its original language base.
A solution to this problem of religious and cultural drift is to identify and
create a glossary of Sanskrit religious words and then to bring them into common
usage. Words such as brahman, dharma, papa should remain un-translated
and become part of the common spoken language when we speak of Hindu matters.
In this way, at least an essential vocabulary that contains the subtleties of
Hinduism can remain in tact. To a limited extent this is already occurring. Words
such as karma, yoga and dharma are a part of common English speech, although
not with their full religious meanings intact. In the right hand column is a
list of terms along with a summary of their meanings that I suggest should be
learned and remain un-translated by students of Hinduism. These are terms taken
primarily from the Bhagavad-gita and the major Upanisads.
Introduction
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Seniors Doing Puja
|
As I prepare this small volume, I do so from
two perspectives: from one who has studied and teaches Hinduism
academically, and as a priest who ministers to the needs of people. In
university, I learned Sanskrit and read the ancient texts of Hinduism.
It was the Hinduism of a thousand years ago, but now, as a priest, I
experience Hindu religious life from a radically different perspective.
Daily, I see the elderly who were born in India and hardly speak a word
of English and who only came to the West in their senior years to be
with their children who have immigrated here. This is a Hinduism that is
completely foreign to the West. I also see their children who have come
here as the first generation, and who have established businesses and
started families. This is a Hinduism based on what is practical,
designed to support the need to make money and live in the West. It is
also a Hinduism that reflects the distinct traditions of all regions of
India. Now I am even seeing the Western-born children of this first
generation. This is the second generation raised on computers, pizza,
Western sports and "fast-food" culture. Theirs' is a Hinduism that has
yet to take formal shape, and one that is struggling to find an identity
in the matrix of Western culture. Moreover, I see large numbers of
non-Hindus who have become interested in Hinduism, having come into
contact with these immigrant Hindus and their children through marriage,
business or friendships, and I see students and other interested
parties coming to our temples out of curiosity or looking for spiritual
nourishment. I have, therefore, the fortune of dealing with a large
multi-lingual and multi-ethnic base of Hindus and non-Hindus who are
striving to establish various degrees of Hindu culture in the West. I
prepare this volume primarily to help the last two groups, the
Western-born generation of Indo-Westerners and the emerging Western
community, who is interested in Hinduism and our Hindu religious
traditions.
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I have before me four
primers, all of which are acceptable as an introduction to Hinduism and
which could easily satisfy the needs of most readers. So why create
another introduction to Hinduism? In preparing this Hindu primer I have
three specific purposes. First, to provide our readers with a
methodology by which to understand religion in general; and therefore, a
means to understand this most ancient of all religious traditions. It
is not enough to simply tell our readers that we worship many Gods,
celebrate certain festivals, fast on certain days or ring bells, as most
primers do, but to explain why these things have been done for
generations in India and why we may want to continue to do these things
in the West, or why we may not want to continue these
traditions. Second, I want to help smooth out the process of defining
what it means to be Hindu in the West, given the conditions of
modernity. To be religious 2500 years ago, 500 years ago, or even 50
years ago in any tradition is not the same as what it means to be
religious today. Religion exists in the here and now, and although
Hinduism is the most ancient of the world's living religious traditions,
it is still a child in the West, particularly in America. This creates
many challenges because there are few long-standing models to follow,
which means that all practitioners of this great tradition in the West
are pioneers. Finally, and most important of all, this primer attempts
to explain how the reader can participate in this tradition and at the
same time prosper in a modern society. For every Hindu living in the
modern world, a great marriage must take place; namely, the bringing
together of the best of modernity with the best of the ancient
traditions of Hinduism. This book is intended to facilitate this great
marriage.
The Origins of Hinduism
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Indo-Aryan Migration Theory
|
In terms of its religious
development there are now two basic theories that attempt
to explain how Hinduism first developed within India, and
they both draw on the famous
ekam sat
viprah bahudha vadanti verse for their effectiveness. One
suggests that at some time towards the end of the
Indus Valley
Civilization (circa 1700 BCE) a group of nomadic people called the
Aryans moved into northern India from the steppes of central
Europe or even Asia Minor. This is called the "Indo-Aryan Migration
Theory" and it was first posited after the
relationship between Sanskrit, Greek and Latin was discovered
along with other archeological evidence that emerged in the
late 18th century. According to this view, these Aryans mixed with
the indigenous Dravidian and other peoples of the Indian sub-continent,
and in time the Aryan religious stream combined with the indigenous
streams and became what today we call Hinduism.
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The other theory
suggests that Hinduism emerged out of India itself.
This is the "Out of India Theory" and it says that
Aryan culture is a development from the Indus valley civilization
and not one introduced by outside invaders or migrants. It
says that the religious development of Hinduism has been wholly
indigenous. It also suggests that the linguistic similarities
between Sanskrit, Greek and Latin are the result of Aryan
migrations in the opposite direction, out of India and into
Europe. Aryan tribes from within India spread throughout Europe
bringing their culture, language and religion. Passages from the
Mahabharata and other Hindu texts are quoted in support of this theory.
Whether the Aryans came from outside
the subcontinent or whether Aryan culture developed within India,
matters little for our purposes here. Hinduism should be regarded as a
development of at least 3,000 years of Aryan culture working within the
Indian subcontinent according to the rule of
ekam sat
viprah bahudha vadanti. The unifying force of this sublime verse is what has created the Hinduism of today.
Vedas: the Sacred Writings of Hinduism
What is Scripture?
What are the sacred writings of Hinduism? This question begs a more basic question, namely, what
are sacred writings? In other words, before we can discuss
the sacred writings of Hinduism, we should first come to an
understanding of scripture. When we use the terms "sacred
writings" or "scripture," this implies written texts. As we
have noted earlier, written texts are a part of a
cumulative
religious tradition, the "stuff" of religion. In many cases,
and particularly in the case of India, the original sacred
texts were not texts at all; they were oral transmissions
passed down from teacher to student through memorization.
But even these transmissions are part of a cumulative religious
tradition, and though it was considered profane to put
these sacred dialogues into writing, today, virtually all
sacred writings of all major religions are in the form of
written documents, scripture. Given this fact, one could argue
that what scripture actually is are voice sounds and words
on paper, or more likely today, digital code and marks on
a computer screen. In this sense, scripture is not different
from any common dialogue or piece of writing. But we know
there is a world of difference between scripture and a common
newspaper or a novel. Scripture is sacred. Newspapers and
common novels are secular. It is therefore, the quality of "sacredness" that
creates the difference between scripture and an ordinary
piece of writing.
What is the source of such sacredness? Is it
something within the voice of the teacher or the text itself that
creates sacredness? The answer to this question is the same as what lays
at the heart of religion; namely,
faith.
It is the faith of the reader that gives sacredness to the written
text. A person reads a common newspaper with a certain mental state; he
interacts with the newspaper in a certain way; the same reader, when he
reads a religious text, also enters a certain mental state, but in this
case he perceives the religious text as sacred. When reading the
religious document his mental state is one of "scripturalizing." Through
his faith, he scriptualizes the religious document. Another reader,
without the element of religious faith, reads the same religious
document simply as a literary or an historical document and so may not
perceive the scriptural aspect of the text. What is scripture,
therefore, is determined by the mental state of the reader; and when
enough readers agree that a certain document deserves the stature of
sacredness, the document attains the collective status of "sacred
writing," scripture.
This is how scripture is created. One may also argue
that
it is the word of God or even of saints that create
sacredness,
but we know that one person's God may be another
person's
demi-god or even a demon, and that one person's saint
can
also be another person's terrorist. It always comes
down to
individual and collective faith. All aspects of a
cumulative
religious tradition are predicated upon faith.
The Shruti Vedas
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The Four Vedas
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There is good evidence that the ancient Indian, Zoroastrian,
Greek, Roman, and pre-Christian European religions all share
a common Aryan heritage. They are of the same religious type,
even though they have been processed differently. The great
contribution of these Aryans in India was primarily their
language, Sanskrit, and their sacred writings, the early Vedas.
The word veda comes
from the Sanskrit root vid, "to know." So the Vedas
are literally what was known by the ancient Aryans, in other
words, their sacred knowledge. As we have noted, the reference
to writings is not strictly correct because the early Aryan
traditions in India were oral. The sacred traditions
of early Hinduism inform us that their seers, known as risis, "heard" the
Vedas. By "heard" we mean that a kernel of these Vedas appeared
in the hearts of these seers, who then elaborated upon this
kernel to produce the oral tradition of the Vedas. The early
Vedic tradition is consequently called shruti,
"what is heard." This shruti tradition
was also known as an apaurusheya tradition.
Purusha means man, paurusheya means
composed by man and
apaurusheya means not composed
by man, i.e., made by God. Today, this shruti tradition
appears as the four Vedas: Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva.
These four Vedas comprise what is often called the Shruti
Vedas. These four Vedas were then each divided into four divisions
known as branches:
Samhitas,
Brahmanas,
Aranyakas and
Upanishads
The Samhitas are hymns praising
various Vedic Deities. These Deities, for the most part, do
not include the common Deities of modern Hinduism: Krishna,
Rama, Shiva and Hanuman for example. Instead, the primary Deities of the
Shruti Vedas are Agni, Indra, Varuna, Mitra,
Soma, the Rudras, the Vasus, and a whole host of Deities that
are barely known in modern Hinduism. The Deities of the Shruti
Vedas are primarily "nature" Gods and these Samhita hymns were
used to call upon these Deities for rain, food and other necessities
of life. These hymns formed the substance of the rituals used
to propitiate these Deities. The Brahmanas are works
detailing these rituals. They may be compared to the
Book of Leviticus in the Bible. They are technical books describing
the details of the Agni Hotra or fire and other rituals. They
elaborately describe the articles to be used in these ceremonies
as well as the cosmic significance of these rituals to the
universe. The Brahmanas are the beginnings of Hindu
theological reflections. The next branch of the Vedas are
the Aranyakas.
Aranya means forest and aranyaka means "in the forest."
These forest works
continue the theological speculations of early Hinduism, but
they go beyond the rituals and start to develop the theology
of the early Aryans that eventually takes mature form in the Upanishads
which, today, are the most well known part of the Shruti Vedas.
The Upanishads are the premier
theological discussions of early Hinduism and they appear
mainly in the form of dialogues between students and teachers
asking such question as, What is soul? What is God? What is
the nature of reality? What is death? and so forth. The number
of Upanishads varies
with the highest number being over a hundred. Today, the most
popular number of Upanishads are between 10 and 13.
The famous teacher, Shankara commented on 10 Upanishads. Later
Madhva and others followed his example. These works are well
worth reading for they are some of the most profound theological
discussions of humankind.
Interestingly, these four Shruti
Vedas appear in a version of the Sanskrit language that is considerably
different than the Sanskrit of modern Hinduism. This early Sanskrit is
generally called Vedic Sanskrit as opposed to the more common classical
Sanskrit of modern Hinduism. In addition to these four Vedas, there are a
set of works collectively called the Vedangas, supplementary
works. In order to read and perform the rituals of the Shruti Vedas, one
needed a knowledge of grammar, meter, pronunciation,
astronomy/astrology, and so forth. These are the Vedangas, which are traditionally six in number. For the most part these four Vedas, along with all their divisions and the Vedangas, comprise the Shruti Vedas.
The Smriti Vedas
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Bhagavata Purana
|
Hinduism views
time in great cyclic periods known as
yugas. There are four such
yugas and today we
live in the time period known as Kali Yuga. This is the period
of spiritual darkness, ignorance and destruction. At the beginning
of this Kali Yuga, it is described how the great sage,
Vyasa, looked into the future and saw mankind in a fallen
condition with decreased mental abilities and a shortened
life span; and so, to mitigate the suffering of mankind, he
codified and put the Shruti Veda into writing. He also saw
the need for a simplified form of the Shruti Vedas that could
be understood by the fallen people of Kali Yuga, so he created
what is sometimes called the "fifth Veda." This
fifth Veda is a catch-all term that refers to all subsequent
developments after the four original Vedas. This new phase
of the tradition is called the Smriti Vedas and it is described
as a
paurusheya, man-made tradition. Literally,
smriti means "remembered," but a better
way to think of this later Vedic tradition is in terms of
what has been made by man and written down from the outset.
Thus the Smriti Vedas are the Vedas for Kali Yuga and they
include the two epics poems, the
Mahabharata and
the
Ramayana,
and the numerous
Puranas that, all together, form
the basis of modern Hinduism. The compiler of this fifth Veda
is known to be Veda Vyasa, but he word
vyasa simply means
compiler and debate continues whether there is one Vyasa or
many
vyasas. Popular tradition informs us that there was only one
Vyasa.
The
Mahabharata is
the history of ancient India from the beginning of Kali Yuga
and the famous
Bhagavad
Gita (The Song of God) appears within this great epic.
The other major epic of ancient India is the
Ramayana composed
by the sage Valmiki. The
Ramayana is said to predate
the
Mahabharata, but it is also included within the
compass of the Smriti Vedas. The
Ramayana is the story
of Rama and Hanuman, two of the most popular Divinities of modern
Hinduism.
As far as the Puranas are concerned, they are collections
of ancient stories. The word purana means
old and so they are compilations of old stories about gods,
sages, and kings, along with the genealogies of famous royal
families. The Puranas include stories of creation,
destruction, and stories taken from different yugas and even
different parts of creation such as the various heavens and
hells. Tradition mentions eighteen Puranas, the most
common of which are: the Bhagavata, the Vishnu,
the Shiva, the Skanda and the Garuda
Puranas. There is even a set of smaller Puranas known
as upapuranas that are also eighteen in number. Most people, however,
do not know all these works. In general, the two epics and the
Puranas comprise the bulk of modern-day Hinduism.
Of all these books, theologically the Bhagavad
Gita is the most prominent book within the Smriti tradition.
If the Upanishads are the most prominent works of
the Shruti tradition, it is safe to say that modern
Hinduism is mainly based on the works of the Ramayana,
the Bhagavata
Purana and the Bhagavad
Gita. The Mahabharata is well known, but
it is so vast, over ten times the size of the Iliad and
the Odyssey combined, and therefore so overwhelming,
that it is almost unreadable. Many people are even afraid to
keep a Mahabharata in
their homes since it describes the story of a devastating war
that almost ended humanity. People do not want war in their
homes.
There are also many other works that are not written in Sanskrit,
but which also play a major role in modern Hinduism. The most
common of these works is the "Hindi Ramayana" known as the
Ramcharit Manas, by Tulsi Das. It is a devotional
reworking of the original Sanskrit Ramayana composed
in Hindi about 500 years ago. The famous Hanuman Chalisa,
forty verses in praise of Hanuman, is taken from this Hindi Ramayana and
is still commonly recited today. Another set of books that
are not in Sanskrit, but which also inspire the lives of millions
of Hindus today in South India are the works of the twelve
Alwars. This is the Divya Prabhanda, which is a collection
of beautiful devotional and theological prayers written in
Tamil. These are ancient works and they are also considered to be "Vedic." In
addition, there are many secular works also included within
the general category of being Vedic. These are works on medicine,
Ayur Veda; law, the Dharma Shastra; architecture, Vastu
Shastra;
political science, Artha Shastra; morality, Niti
Shastra;
and of course, love and pleasure, the Kama Shastra. So all of these, the Shruti and Smriti Vedas,
comprise the shastra or sacred writings of Hinduism.
The Religious Order: Sampradaya
Hinduism, like most religions, has many religious groupings. The Sanskrit word for this is
sampradaya, which comes from the verbal root “
da” meaning to “give.” A
sampradaya
therefore is something that is “given” or passed down from generation
to generation. Hence, the idea of a religious tradition, a religious
denomination or a religious sect. Each of these groupings fall within
the idea of a
sampradaya.
In general terms Hinduism breaks down into four broad
groupings determined by which Deity is the major object of worship.
There are Shaivas who focus on Shiva, Vaishnavas who revere Vishnu,
Shaaktas who focus on a female form of Divinity, and many folk
traditions. The expression “folk traditions” is a catchall phrase to
mean the huge number of local traditions that pervade every part of
Hinduism and which commonly intermix with the Shaiva, Vaishnava and
Shaakta traditions. Each of these major groupings can be called a
sampradaya, but even more so, within each of these major groupings there are many sub-groupings that can also be called
sampradayas.
Amongst the Shaivas, for example, there are Kashmiri Shaivas and
Siddhanta Shaivas. Amongst the Vaishnavas there are Shri Vaishnavas,
Madhva Vaishnavas, and Gaudiya Vaishnava, and many others. In this way,
we can speak of each major grouping as a
sampradaya as well as each sub-grouping as a
sampradaya.
If we compared this to Christianity, it would be somewhat similar to
saying, Christianity is divided into three major groupings, Catholics,
Orthodox and Protestants and within each of these major groupings are
many sub-groups. Amongst Protestants, for example, there are Baptists,
Methodists, Anglicans, Quakers, and so on. All of these major groupings
and sub-groupings are the "
sampradayas" of Christianity.
The Hindu idea of
sampradaya is the closest thing to the idea of a religion in the traditional sense. Elsewhere we spoke of different
models of religion,
namely the tree and the river models. Hinduism we described as a
river model and distinct from most other religions that follow a tree
model of religion. The idea of the
sampradaya is like a tree. Most of the
sampradayas of Hinduism start from a source, a major philosopher or guru.
Ramanuja is the founder of the Shri
sampradaya of Vaishnavas,
Madhva is the founder of Madhva Vaishnavas and so forth. Similarly
Shankara is the founder of a major
sampradaya of Hinduism called Advaita Vedanta. In this way Hinduism contains many religions within its scope.
Mantras
Simply stated, a mantra is a religious utterance composed in Sanskrit
verse and taken from the some part of the Vedas. In other words, a
mantra is a piece of Vedic poetry. The verses of the Vedas, including
both the Shruti Vedas as well as the Smriti Vedas, are mostly written in
verse and therefore are considered mantras. The reason the Vedas are
primarily composed in verse as opposed to prose is because they were
originally meant to be memorized, not written down, and verse is much
easier to memorize than prose.
A mantra is also an utterance composed in a special way to
effect a certain result. For example, there can be a specific mantra
addressed to a certain Deity, which when chanted properly, is thought to
evoke the presence and powers of that Deity. The Gayatri mantra is one
such example. The Hare Krishna mantra is another example. In these cases
the mantras are often chanted over and over again in a process called
japa. The repetition of mantras is called mantra-japa and a devotee many
take a vow to repeat a certain mantra many times a day. Often during
initiation (diksha) a teacher (guru) will give a special mantra to a
disciple and ask him to chant it a certain number of times a day on a
set of beads called a japa-mala, similar to a rosary.
A mantra can also be used as part of a spell or charm. There
are portions of the Vedas that contain such mantras meant to achieve
various purposes. Mantras also have a use in meditation to help achieve a
certain state of consciousness. One derivation for the word mantra is
man+tra. Man means the mind (from manas) and tra means “to cross,” so a
mantra is an utterance that ‘crosses the mind.” In meditation the mind
is “crossed over” or silenced. Hence the meaning of the term mantra.
Sacred Songs: Bhajana/Kirtana
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Temple Bhajans
|
Bhajana and
Kirtana both mean "to praise" and "to
glorify" a
Deity through song, music and dance. Hindus from different
parts of India will use one term over the other,
in much the same way that
havan and
homa are interchanged by devotees from different
regions of India.
Kirtana comes from the Sanskrit root
kirt, "to call out" and
bhajana comes from
bhaj, "to practice."
Apart from praising a Deity through song and music,
bhajana can also have
the added meaning of "spiritual practice." A devotee, for
example, may have a personal
bhajana that he or she practices
on a daily basis that may include
puja,
japa,
study, meditation, prayer, and so on.
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Street Sankirtana
|
Used in the sense of praise and glorification,
bhajana and
kirtana
involve a group of devotees coming together in a temple, hall or home,
with musical instruments to sing the glories of a Deity or, more
usually, many Deities.
Bhajana and
Kirtana are often preceded by a short
puja for sanctification and to evoke the Deities who are the object of veneration. At the conclusion of
bhajana and
kirtana,
prasada, in the form of offered food, is always distributed. Without this
prasada the program is not complete.
Kirtana also has a variation called sankirtana which
is the public praise and glorification of a Deity. Sankirtana parties,
groups of devotees, go into the public areas of a city and
walk down the streets or sit in the parks singing and chanting
the names and a Deity. The Hare Krishna movement is famous
for the performance of sankirtana in many Western cities. In India sankirtana is
commonly performed by many other groups of devotees as
well.
The Meaning of Sounds: the Reciting of OM,
Chanting Shanti, Blowing a Conch and Ringing Bells
Why do we blow a conch?
In the Bhagavad-gita it is described that at the beginning of
the great battle Lord Krishna blew this divine conch and then was
followed by the others, Yuddhisthira, Bheema, Arjuna, and so on. The
sound of the conch is the sound of victory and success. We blow a conch
at the beginning of aratis and other programs as an auspicious sound
to invite victory and success. I particularly like to blow a conch at
the end of a wedding as the newly married couple walk down the aisle.
Why do we ring bells in a temple?
It is common to ring bells in temples during puja and arati. A
priest, for example, will ring a bell as he performs puja. This is to
signal people that a puja is taking place and they should pay attention.
Bells are rung during arati for similar reasons and to create a
pleasing musical effect on the mind. Sometimes a bell is positioned at
the entrance to a temple so that devotees can ring the bell as they
enter the temple. The temple is the house of God and so it is only
polite to make a sound before one enters. Don’t we always knock before
entering someone’s home? Besides, ringing bells is fun.
Why do we say Shaanti at the end of havans?
The word shanti means peace and it is recited not just at the
end of havans but also at other times during most pujas. There is a
well known Vedic prayer called Shanti Patha that asks for peace
throughout creation that is commonly recited at the end of havans. Here
is a translation:
May we find peace in the sky above us and in the highest
reaches of heaven. May we find peace on land and in the waters. May all
herbs and the food that sustains us bring us physical and spiritual
peace. May we find peace in every region of this divine creation. Let
us seek ultimate peace in that Supreme God. Let peace reign throughout
the world!
Why do we chant Om?
At its most basic level the word “om” is a solemn affirmation
and respectful assent somewhat on par with Amen in the Jewish and
Christian traditions. Om is uttered at the beginning and end of sacred
prayers. The word first appears in the Upanishads as a mystical sound
and the object of deep meditation. There are, of course, many works
written on the significance and meaning of this sound. Most commonly it
is divided into three parts a, u, m, and meaning is been given to each
part. In the Mandukya Upanishad the letter “a” represents waking
consciousness, the letter “u” represents dream consciousness, and the
letter “m” represents the consciousness of deep sleep, and finally the
whole word is said to represent a 4th state of consciousness which is
unknowable, unspeakable and “into which the whole world passes.”
Another interpretation equates “a” with Vishnu, “u” with Shiva and “m”
with Brahma. Yet another interpretation equates Om with the Greek,
“logos,” “the word”, found at the beginning of St John’s gospel. I
suggest that the syllable Om should not be analyzed or interpreted at
all. It just is. But if you must interpret it, take it as the sound of
God.
Gayatri Mantra
There is a famous prayer in Sanskrit that first appears in the
Rig
Veda (iii /62/10) called the
gayatri mantra that almost every Hindu knows. In roman letters it is as follows:
Om bhur bhuvah svah
tat-savitur varenyam
bhargo devasya dhimahi
dhiyo yo nah pracodayat
 |
Gayatri in Devanagari letters
|
Literally hundreds of books and thousands of web pages are
currently dedicated to explaining the esoteric meaning of this mantra,
so I will not repeat that discussion. Instead I will provide a basic
grammatical explanation of this most famous mantra and if you are new to
Hinduism and want to know at least one prayer, this is the prayer you
should learn.
Gayatri is actually the name for a
Sanskrit poetical meter that contains three lines of eight syllables
each. There are, therefore, many
gayatri mantras, but this particular one is the oldest and most well known of all
gayatri mantras. In Hinduism all Gods and Goddesses have a
gayatri mantra associated with them. There is a
gayatri
for Ganesha, one for Shiva, one for Durga, one for Vishnu, one for
Lakshmi, and so on. Most people are unaware of this fact and when
Hindus talk about the
gayatri mantra they mean
thee gayatri mantra shown above, which is addressed to Savitri, the sun. The first line:
om bhur bhuvah svah that you see above is not actually part of a
gayatri mantra. It is a special utterance called
vyahriti that has been added to the beginning of this famous
gayatri . This
vyahriti is important in and of itself and we will discuss it after we have explained the basic
gayatri mantra. The three lines of this
gayatri mantra are:
1. tat-savitur varenyam.
2. bhargo devasya dhimahi, and
3. dhiyo yo nah pracodayat
Here is a word-for-word breakdown of the
gayatri mantra that most Hindus know.
tat–that (God)
savitur–of the sun
varenyam–the best
bhargo (
bhargas)–light, illumination
devasya–divine
dhimahi–let us meditate (a verb)
dhiyo (
dhiyah)–thought(s)
yo (
yah)–which
nah–of us, our
pracodayat–May it push, inspire (a verb)
 |
Savitri: the Sunrise
|
The deity associated with this
gayatri mantra, as we mentioned, is the sun,
savitri. (The second word of this mantra.) The more common name for the sun is
surya. Generally "
surya" is the name for the sun while it is above the horizon and
savitri
is the sun as it is rising and setting, just below the horizon. There
is a great metaphor in Hinduism that when understood explains a lot
about the Hindu way of seeing the universe. The metaphor is: “the sun
equals light, which equals knowledge, which equals consciousness.” This
metaphor applies not only to the
gayatri mantra, but also to
the design of temples and homes, and to details such as why we
circumambulate from left to right and offer incense and lamps in a
clockwise direction.
The most important word in the
gayatri mantra is the word, “
tat,”
which is a neuter pronoun meaning “that.” It is a reference to “that
One," God. According to the metaphor mentioned above, the sun, which is
the source of illumination, heat, food and so many other things in our
life, can naturally be seen as the “representative” or symbol of God in
this world. There are two verbs in the
gayatri mantra,
dhimahi and
prachodayat.
Dhimahi means, “let us meditate.“ So, “let us meditate on the light (
bhargo) of the sun which represents God.” This is the basic meaning of the first part of the gayatri mantra.
The second part is also straight forward. The verb
prachodayat literally means , “it should push,” but in more poetic language we can translate it as “let it inspire.”
Dhiyah is “thoughts,” so
dhiyo yo nah prachodayat means, “may our thoughts be inspired” So the most literal meaning of the
gayatri
mantra is, “Let us meditate on the light of the sun which represents
God, and may our thoughts be inspired by that divine light.”
 |
Gayatri Devi
|
As with most things Hindu, the
gayatri
mantra is also personified as the Goddess, Gayatri Devi. She is the
wife of Brahma and is pictured with five heads sitting on a lotus. She
is the embodiment of the supreme
brahman. You will also see other depictions of Gayatri Devi that vary somewhat.
The
gayatri mantra is traditionally whispered into the ear of a young boy in a ceremony called The Thread Giving Ceremony (
upanayana), which is one of the
rites of passage followed by many Hindus. In addition, the
gayatri
mantra is repeated during daily prayers performed by many Hindus three
times a day, while facing the sun: at sunrise, at noon and at sun set.
It is also common to recite the
gayatri as part of a
havan, or to recite it in a collective way in temples or homes.
The Great Utterance
The first part of the
gayatri mantra,
om bhur bhuvah svah, which we mentioned at the beginning as not part of the mantra, is called
vyahriti or the “great utterance.” This mantra is repeated not only in conjunction with the
gayatri mantra, but also separately during
havans or fire ceremonies. The word
om is a auspicious sound made at the beginning of many prayers. The expression
bhur bhuvah and
svah
is technical, but a simple way to think of it is as a “call to
creation,” that the light of the sun (the light of God) shines on the
earth (
bhur), in the sky (
bhuvah), and in space (
svah), and therefore the implication is, “let that light also shine on me.”
The technical explanation vyahriti
has to do with subtle practices of meditational yoga. This earth is
simply one of many planes of existence. In fact, above this earth are
six higher planes, heavens as it were. Including this earth, there are
seven planes up (heavens) and seven planes down, or hells below this
earth. The earth is in the middle. If you have ever heard the
expression, “he is in seventh heaven” you should understand that this is
a reference to the Hindu idea of heavens. The seventh heaven is the
highest heaven. The first three of these planes starting with the earth
are called bhur, bhuvah and svah. The utterance bhur bhuvah svah, therefore, refers to the first three subtle planes of existence that may be reached in meditation by a yogi.
Hindu Samskaras
A
samskara is a rite of passage, and virtually every world
culture has such ceremonies. Rites of passage are ceremonies that mark
important events in the life of an individual. A Baptism, a wedding, a
Bar Mitzvah, a Confirmation, and a funeral are all examples of rites of
passage. Such important events generally include pre birth ceremonies,
birth ceremonies, life ceremonies, death ceremonies and even after life
ceremonies. In Sanskrit the word
samskara literally means, “making perfect” or “refining,” and so a
samskara
is a ceremony of refinement, which is to say, refining or raising an
individual beyond his or her mere physical existence and marking a
higher spiritual existence.
Samskaras bind an individual into his or her social group.
In Hinduism, as with most religious cultures,
samskaras
are sacred ceremonies performed with the help of a priest and in the
presence of family and friends. Traditionally there are twelve
samskara, but some later traditions raise this number to sixteen. In practice, however, there are only about eight
samskaras
that are regularly performed. This number varies from family to family
and from region to region. The most common ceremonies are a pre-birth
ceremony (
Simantoyannayanam), the name giving ceremony (
Nama Karana), a first grains ceremony (
Anna Prashanna), the first hair cutting (
Mundan), starting school (
Vidyarambhana), the thread giving ceremony (
Upanayana), marriage (
Vivaha) and the funeral (
Antyesthi).
As I briefly describe these ceremonies, be aware that there is a lot
regional variation, and how a ceremony may be preformed in one community
may vary a lot from how it is performed in another community.
Baby Shower (Simantoyannayanam)
Simantoyannayanam is a ceremony performed
either in the fourth, sixth or eighth month of a woman’s pregnancy. It
is done for the protection and health of the mother and the unborn
child. Today we might compare this ceremony to a baby shower. Literary,
it means “parting of the hair.” A priest is invited, mantras are
chanted, and a fire ceremony (
havan) is performed as the
husband parts the hair of his wife and places vermilion in the parting
of her hair. Family members and friends come bearing gifts for the
mother and the coming new born. After the ceremony a meal is served.
The Name Giving (Nama Karana)
Nama Karana is the name giving ceremony
performed after the birth of a child. Traditionally the name is not
supposed to be given until the 11th day after the birth, but because
Western hospitals demand a name on a birth certificate within hours of a
birth, a name has to be given without the actual ceremony. In many
cases immediately after a birth a family member will contact an
astrologer or priest so that a horoscope can be prepared and a name
determined according to the deals of the astrological chart. In this way
a name is determined and legally given, but the religious samskara is
not performed until much later.
First Solid Food (Anna Prashanna)
The next ceremony is the anna prashanam or the
ceremony of “feeding the grains.” This is the child’s first solid food
generally performed in sixth month. A child is brought to a temple, or a
a priest is invited to the family’s home, and along with mantras and a
sacred fire, food (usually a sweet rice preparation) is offered to God
through the fire and “made” into prasada. The prasada is then fed to the
child. In other words, the child’s first solid food is prasada,
spiritual food.
First Hair Cutting (Mundan)
After the first grain’s ceremony, the Mundan or
first hair cutting is the next samskara that may be performed. Different
families perform this ceremony at different ages, but the ideal time is
when the soft spot in the skull of the child vanishes, usually around
14 months. As in all samskaras, family, friends and a priest get
together in the home or in a temple. Mantras are recited, a sacred fire
is evoked and the priest with the help of the father or maternal uncle
cut small locks of hair from four sides of the child’s head. After this
ritual cutting, the child is taken to a barber that comes just for this
occasion and the child’s hair is completely shaved. There is a belief
that the first hair from the time of birth is impure and so shaving it
off is a purification, but more importantly, the real point of the
samskara is that it is a sacrifice. The parents of the child sacrifice
the beauty of their child by shaving their child’s head, and in exchange
they ask God for long life and prosperity for their child.
Starting School (Vidyarambhana)
The next samskara is called Vidyarambhana or
beginning education. Vidya is knowledge and arambhana is commencing.
This is usually performed around the ages of four or five years. The
ceremony generally involves some mantras of sanctification and the
worship of Sarasvati Devi, the Goddess of learning. Then, either on a
chalk board or “scratched out” in a bed of plain rice, the child’s hand
is guided in writing his first letters A, B, C... or whatever the local
script maybe. Sometimes the name of an important family Deity, such as
Rama is the first word written by the child.
Thread Ceremony (Upanayana)
The next
samskara is called Upanayana. This
is the equivalent of a Christian Confirmation or Jewish Bar Mitzvah. It
is a coming of age ceremony and in Hinduism it is usually performed for
adolescence boys. Today the ceremony is generally performed only within
the traditional brahmin families. This is unfortunate because it is an
important ceremony and virtually all boys could benefit from such a
ritual. Traditionally the ceremony was performed by the three upper
varnas and not just brahmins. The ceremony is sometimes called a “thread
ceremony” because one of its important features is the investiture of a
“sacred thread” that is placed over the shoulder of the boy. The thread
is used in certain prayer rituals (called sandhya vandana) that are
performed on a daily basis after the ceremony. The word upanayana comes
from the sanskrit root “ni” which means “to lead” and so the upanayana
is the “leading or coming closer,” which means the boy is becoming a man
and taking on adult responsibilities and is also coming closer to the
spiritual side of life to guru and ultimately to God. After the ceremony
the boy is considered a dvija or twice born. He has completed his
second birth. One’s physical birth from mother is the first birth. The
upanayana is the spiritual or second birth that comes from father or
guru. During the Upanayana ceremony the boy has his head shaved, is
given a sacred bath, takes vows of study and celibacy and is given the
ancient gayatri mantra which includes the investiture of the sacred
thread. The mantra is whispered into the hear of the boy while ladies
hold a cloth over the father, guru and boy for privacy. For more
information see The Sacred Thread Ceremony.
Marriage (Vivaha)
Moving along in a chronological way the next import
samskara is marriage. This is called Vivaha. As in virtually all
cultures the marriage ceremony involves a bride and groom coming
together in the presence of family and friends and then taking an oath
of dedication to each other. In Sanskrit the word vivaha comes from the
root vah which means to carry. The oath of dedication that the bride and
groom take to each other is a contract that “carries” them along for
the remainder of their lives. Most Hindu weddings involve an exchange
of garlands between the bride and groom (jaya mala), a bestowal of the
bride by her father to the groom (kanya dhanam), the lighting of a
sacred fire (havan), circumambulation of the fire (parikramanam), and
the taking of seven vows (sapta padi). In general southern marriages
have the addition of a sacred necklace given to the bride by the groom
(mangala sutra), and northern weddings have the addition of a sacred
mark of vermilion applied by the groom to the bride in the parting of
her hair (sindhura). There are, of course, huge variations between
weddings, and many other aspects that we have not mentioned, especially
in India where a ceremony can last many hours. In the West the average
wedding lasts about an hour. For more detailed information see The Hindu
Wedding.
Funeral (Antyesthi)
The final
samskara is the
antyesthi
or the last rites. In the West, Hindu funerals are performed very
differently than in India where there is a whole caste of specialized
priests that only deal with death. Out of necessity, in the West temple
priests perform funeral services in conjunction with the local system
for handling the dead. In orthodox culture it is considered impure for
temple priests to deal with death.
Upon the death of an individual the family will call a
funeral home to prepare the body as well as a priest to perform the last
rites. In India a funeral is generally performed before the sun goes
down on the day of passing, but in the West the funeral may not be
performed for many days while permits are obtained and family members
are given time to assemble. During the funeral family members and
friends come to a funeral home or chapel. Last rites are never performed
in a temple. A priest recites mantras, some final rituals are performed
that may include a havan, eulogies are said and family and friends are
given the opportunity to offer their last respects with flower petals.
Afterwards the body is taken to a crematorium where the body is
committed to the fire. From the time of death and for about two weeks
the family is in an official state of morning. They are not supposed to
come to a temple or perform puja during this period. Every evening at
this time prayers may be recited in the home and at the end of this
period of mourning a special havan is performed by a priest for the
release of the soul. Finally a meal is served to family members and
friends and gifts are given to the priest(s). Weeks or months later the
ashes may be taken to India to be disposed into a sacred river or,
locally if it is possible, ashes may be put into the ocean. The funeral
process can be an elaborate affair and one that varies greatly from
community to community. For detailed information see Hindu Funeral Rites
and Ancestor Worship.
These are the major samskaras that are still practiced today.
The ones that have have not been mentioned include the conception ritual
(Garbhadhana), a ceremony to create a son (Pum-savana), the birth
ceremony (Jata Karman), the first trip out after birth (Nishkramana),
returning home after graduation, and even a first saris tying ceremony
for girls entering puberty.
Spiritual Practice: Sadhana
In Hinduism one’s personal spiritual practice is
called sadhana. The word sadhana indicates the instrument or means by
which a goal is accomplished. In general there is no one sadhana or
spiritual practice that applies to all. Hinduism recognizes that every
individual has a unique position in life (adhikara) and therefore there
is no one way for all. In this way there are many forms of God and one
individual may be attracted to one form, while another individual may be
attracted to another form of God. Similarly there are many different
forms of yoga and a form of yoga that may be suited to one individual
may not be suited to another individual, so in a similar manner, one’s
spiritual practice or sadhana is unique to the individual depending on
the goal they wish to achieve. So spiritual practice varies greatly from
individual to individual. Examples of spiritual practice may include
such things as, prayer, meditation, going on pilgrimage, giving charity,
fasting, bathing, chanting of mantras, study of scripture, or even
one’s daily work. They can all be a means to achieve a spiritual end.
Sometimes the word bhajana is used to mean one’s internal spiritual
practice.
Chanting: Japa
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The use of japa beads
|
Japa is the
repetition of sounds and words. This is partly the same thing as
chanting except that chanting can also be a certain way of singing or
reciting prayers and mantras that may not involve repetition of words.
Mantras can be chanted with a certain intonation of voice. Japa,
on the other hand, is specifically the repetition of sounds and words.
The best example is the repetition or chanting of the names of God as in
the famous Hare Krishna mantra” hare krishna, hare krishna, krishna krishna, hare hare; hare rama, hare rama, rama rama, hare hare. This is a mantra that is commonly recited over and over again as japa. Usually some means of counting is employed such as a set of beads like a rosary set. Such beads are called a japa mala
and a devotee may follow a vow to recite this mantra or some other
mantra a specific number of times a day as part of his or her personal
spiritual practice, sadhana. You may often hear the expression mantra-yoga or japa-yoga
to mean that one is using the recitation of mantras as one’s main
spiritual practice. A set of Hindu chanting beads generally contains 108
beads. Such beads may be made of sandalwood, crystal or in the case of
Shaivas rudraksha seeds or in the case of Vaishnavas tulasi beads.
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