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Atheism (including agnostics) represents 16% of the world’s population |
Hindus represents 15% of the world’s population |
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ATHEISM |
HINDUISM |
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Founded |
Numerous advocates and philosophers over the centuries. |
Based on traditions that stared around 2000 BC, but probably became Hinduism as a specific identity about 400 BC
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God(s) |
To be an atheist is to be someone who rejects belief in God for the following reasons (which reason is stressed depends on how God is being conceived):
For an anthropomorphic (giving human characteristics to a non-human being) God, the atheist rejects belief in God because it is false or probably false that there is a God.
For a non-anthropomorphic God (the God of Luther and Calvin, Aquinas, and Maimonides), he rejects belief in God because the concept of such a God is either meaningless, unintelligible, contradictory, incomprehensible, or incoherent.
For the God portrayed by some modern or contemporary theologians or philosophers, he rejects belief in God because the concept of God in question is such that it merely masks an atheistic substance—e.g., “God” is just another name for love, or “God” is simply a symbolic term for moral ideals. |
The Hindu tradition encourages Hindus to seek spiritual and moral truth wherever it might be found, while acknowledging that no creed can contain such truth in its fullness and that each individual must realize this truth through his or her own systematic effort. Our experience, our reason, and our dialogue with others—especially with enlightened individuals—provide various means of testing our understanding of spiritual and moral truth. And Hindu scripture, based on the insights of Hindu sages and seers, serves primarily as a guidebook. But ultimately truth comes to us through direct consciousness of the divine or the ultimate reality. In other religions this ultimate reality is known as God. Hindus refer to it by many names, but the most common name is Brahman.
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Prophet(s) |
None |
Personified Gods and Goddesses created to assist (through stories) understanding of Brahman. Known as Saguna Brahman (Brahman with attributes) these personified forms of Brahman correspond to three stages in the cycle of the universe. Brahmā corresponds to the creative spirit from which the universe arises. Vishnu corresponds to the force of order that sustains the universe. Shiva corresponds to the force that brings a cycle to an end—destruction acting as a prelude to transformation, leaving pure consciousness from which the universe is reborn after destruction. Other personified forms widely worshiped by Hindus are Shakti, the female aspect of divinity, and Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity associated with the removal of obstacles. Krishna appears at times to save the world. The majority of Hindus choose a personal deity, a saguna form of Brahman with whom they can feel a direct personal connection. Devotion to this deity can take a number of forms, including prayer, ceremonial worship, chanting of the deity’s name, and pilgrimage to sites sacred to the deity.
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Leader(s) |
Numerous advocates and philosophers over the centuries. |
Spiritual authority in Hinduism flows from enlightened sages called gurus. The guru is someone who has attained realization and acts as a guide for other human beings. He or she guides the individual seeker of truth and self-realization to the appropriate deity, practice, or yoga within Hinduism. The disciple’s goal is to transcend the need for a guru through direct experience of the divine and self-awareness. Having a guide is considered critical for traversing the complexities of spiritual practice and self-discovery. The guru thus constitutes an important centre of spiritual activity in Hinduism. *Yoga - there are different forms of yoga within Hinduism, hatha yoga (a physical yoga well known in the west), karma yoga (appropriate selfless deeds and actions), bhakti yoga (the yoga of devotion and love for a personal deity), Jñāna yoga (the yoga of knowledge)
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Afterlife |
None |
We normally think of ourselves as coming into being when we are born of our parents and as perishing when we die. According to Hinduism, however, this current life is merely one link in a chain of lives that extends far into the past and projects far into the future. The point of origin of this chain cannot be determined. The process of our involvement in the universe—the chain of births and deaths—is called samsāra. Samsāra is caused by a lack of knowledge of our true self and our resultant desire for fulfilment outside ourselves. We continue to embody ourselves, or be reborn, in this infinite and eternal universe as a result of these unfulfilled desires. The chain of births lets us resume the pursuit. The law that governs samsāra is called karma. Each birth and death we undergo is determined by the balance sheet of our karma—that is, in accordance with the actions performed and the dispositions acquired in the past. Time in the Hindu universe moves in endlessly recurring cycles, much like the motion of a wheel. The duration of the various phases of the universe’s existence are calculated in units of mind-boggling astronomical duration.
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Practices |
Generally Humanism and Humanitarianism. |
Daily individual or household worship, occasional communal worship, worship at temples, religious festivals.
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Texts |
Various philosophical and scientific. |
There is no single revelation or orthodoxy (established doctrine) by which people may achieve knowledge of the divine or lead a life backed by religious law. The Hindu tradition acknowledges that there are many paths by which people may seek and experience religious understanding and direction. It also claims that every individual has the potential to achieve enlightenment. Although Hindu tradition maintains that the ultimate reality lies beyond all scriptures, it is equally convinced that the scriptures help people orient their minds and lives towards Brahman. This attitude has given rise to a body of sacred literature so vast that by one calculation it would take 70 lifetimes of devoted study to read all of it.
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Human situation/ Life's purpose |
Atheists find their own answers to the question of what it means to be human.
Atheists are as moral (or immoral) as religious people.
In practical terms atheists often follow the same moral code as religious people, but they arrive at the decision of what is good or bad without any help from the idea of God.
As life's purpose is unknown, the focus is on improving life as we know and experience it. |
The highest aim of existence is the realization of the identity or union of the individual’s innermost self with the ultimate reality. Although this ultimate reality is beyond name, the word Brahman is used to refer to it. (But how can the human mind, with its limitations, conceive of this transcendent reality? Human comprehension requires a more personal reality, with attributes. Therefore Saguna Brahman—that is, Brahman with attributes—generally takes the form of one of three main Hindu deities: Brahmā, Vishnu, or Shiva to serve this purpose.)
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Punishment for heresy |
Not applicable |
Not applicable |
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Attitude to Women |
Equality. |
From the 6th century, the Tantric tradition influenced the role of equality of women in Hinduism including allowing women to be gurus.
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Main objectives in theory |
To practice Humanism and Humanitarianism - a system of thought that is based on the values, characteristics, and behaviours that are believed to be best in human beings, with a commitment to improve the lives of others. See HUMANISM
To promote education, critical analytical thought, and freedom of expression.
It is possible to be both atheist and religious. Virtually all Buddhists* manage it, as do some modern theologians of other religions, such as Judaism and Christianity, with the "religions" being seen as socio/politically/economically essential, but without the necessity of gods or spiritual beings.
*Buddhism is viewed as a philosophy rather than a religion by many.
People are atheist for many reasons, among them:
· By virtue of research they find insufficient evidence to support any religion. · They think that religion is nonsensical. · They once had a religion and have lost faith in it. · They live in a non-religious culture. · Religion doesn't interest them. · Religion doesn't seem relevant to their lives. · Religions seem to have done a lot of harm in the world and the world will be better without religion.
Not all atheists are hostile to religion, but many do think that religion is bad. Some of their reasons being:
· Religion gets people to believe something untrue. · Religion makes people base the way they run their lives on a falsehood. · Religion stops people thinking in a rational and objective way. · Religion forces people to rely on outside authority, rather than becoming self-reliant. · Religion imposes irrational rules of good and bad behaviour. · Religion divides people, and is a cause of conflict and war. · The hierarchical structure of most religions is anti-democratic, and thus offends basic human rights. · Religion doesn't give equal treatment to women and gay people, and thus offends basic human rights. · Religion obstructs scientific research. · Religion wastes time and money.
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More strikingly than any other major religious community, Hindus accept—and indeed celebrate—the organic, multileveled, and sometimes pluralistic nature of their traditions. This expansiveness is made possible by the widely shared Hindu view that truth or reality cannot be encapsulated in any creedal formulation, a perspective expressed in the Hindu prayer “May good thoughts come to us from all sides.” Thus, Hinduism maintains that truth must be sought in multiple sources, not dogmatically proclaimed. Anyone's view of the truth—even that of a guru regarded as possessing superior authority—is fundamentally conditioned by the specifics of time, age, gender, state of consciousness, social and geographic location, and stage of attainment. These multiple perspectives enhance a broad view of religious truth rather than diminish it; hence, there is a strong tendency for contemporary Hindus to affirm that tolerance is the foremost religious virtue. On the other hand, even cosmopolitan Hindus living in a global environment recognize and value the fact that their religion has developed in the specific context of the Indian subcontinent. Such a tension between universalist and particularist impulses has long animated the Hindu tradition. When Hindus speak of their religious identity they emphasize its continuous, seemingly eternal existence and the fact that it describes a web of customs, obligations, traditions, and ideals that far exceeds the Western tendency to think of religion primarily as a system of beliefs. A common way in which English-speaking Hindus often distance themselves from that frame of mind is to insist that Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life.
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Main objectives in practice |
A concern with the needs, well-being and interests of all people.
To leave the world and society in a better condition for our children to inherit. |
As Above. |
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Major benefits to the human condition |
Many major philosophical, scientific, political and humanitarian advances have come about through first questioning religious beliefs, rejecting them, and then developing new ideas based on intellect and science and thereby advancing socio/economic progress. |
Many beautiful works of art and architecture. A religious love of theatre, drama, music and dance. Generally, when not defending themselves from attack, Hindus live in a gentle and peaceful social order.
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Major detriments to the human condition in deaths. |
None known |
Hindus live with a legacy of domination by Muslim and Christian rulers that stretches back many centuries—in northern India, to the Delhi sultanate established at the beginning of the 13th century. The patterns of relationship between Hindus and Muslims have been different between north and south India. While there is a history of conquest and domination in the north, Hindu-Muslim relations in Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been peaceful.
Yet there were periods when the political ambitions of Islamic rulers took strength from the iconoclastic (to destroy religious images) aspects of Muslim teaching and led to the devastation of many major Hindu temple complexes, from Mathura and Varanasi in the north to Chidambaram, Sriringam, and Madurai in the far south; other temples were converted to mosques. Since the 14th century this history has provided rhetorical fuel for Hindu anger against Muslim rulers.
In 1946 the Muslim League declares August 16, Direct Action Day for the purpose of winning a separate Muslim state. Savage Hindu-Muslim riots broke out in Calcutta the next day and quickly spread throughout India. As independence approached Hindus and Muslims continued to fight and kill each other.
Three wars have been fought between India and Pakistan:-
1947. Pakistani forces invaded independent Kashmir, Kashmir asked for military help in return for Kashmir's accession to India. India then joined the war in defence of Kashmir.
1965. Military personnel disguised as local Kashmiris began to infiltrate into the Kashmīr Valley in early August. Once they entered the valley, the infiltrators intended to foment a rebellion among Kashmiri Muslims. The Kashmiris did not respond as expected; instead, they turned the infiltrators over to the local authorities. Accordingly, the Indian army moved to secure the border and on August 15 scored a major victory after a prolonged artillery barrage. Attacks and counterattacks followed in quick succession. On September 1 the Pakistanis opened a new front catching Indian forces unprepared. Indian forces responded with air strikes, leading to Pakistani retaliation. On September 5 the Pakistanis made a significant thrust into Indian territory that threatened to cut off Kashmir state from the rest of India. The following day Indian troops crossed the international border near Lahore. Faced with this threat to Lahore, the Pakistanis launched a counterattack in the neighbouring Indian state of Punjab. This attack, was anticipated by the Indian forces and failed, with Pakistani forces suffering major losses.
1971. The 1947 partition had created a Pakistan comprised of two “wings”—West Pakistan (present-day Pakistan) and East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan; now Bangladesh)—that were separated by 1,600 km of Indian territory. In the wake of Pakistan’s first free and fair election in December 1970, the leaders of the western and eastern wings failed to reach an understanding about power sharing. In March 1971, after talks failed to break the deadlock, the Pakistani government launched a military crackdown in East Pakistan. Large numbers of the Bengali intelligentsia in East Pakistan were killed and many prominent Bengali leaders were thrown in jail. In response, the leadership of East Pakistan declared the province’s independence on March 26. As the crackdown escalated into a full-blown and brutal civil war over the next two months, some 10 million Bengalis fled East Pakistan and took refuge in the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal. The Indian leadership of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi quickly decided that it was cheaper to resort to war against Pakistan than to absorb millions of refugees into India’s already bloated population. The third Indo-Pakistani war formally began with a Pakistani air attack on a number of air bases in north-western India. The Indian air force responded the next day An invading Pakistani tank column was bombed by the Indian air force, which carried out as many as 4,000 sorties during the conflict. An Indian thrust made by three Indian army divisions launched a five-pronged attack on Dhaka, the provincial capital, and received the surrender of Pakistani forces there on December 16. East Pakistan immediately seceded from Pakistan and became the sovereign nation of Bangladesh.
The bloody partition of the subcontinent from India into India and Pakistan in 1947 mobilized Hindu sensibilities about the sacredness of the land as a whole, Hindus have sometimes depicted the creation of Pakistan as a dismemberment of the body of India.
At the end of the 20th century in a campaign to destroy the mosque built in 1528 by a lieutenant of the Mughal emperor in Ayodhya, a city that has traditionally been identified as the place where Rama (Rama - incarnation of Vishnu) was born and ruled. In 1992 militant Hindu nationalists from throughout India, who had been organized by the VHP “World Hindu Council”, the RSS “National Volunteer Alliance”, and the BJP “Indian People's Party”, destroyed the mosque in an effort to “liberate” Rama and establish a huge “Rama's Birthplace Temple” on the spot.
The continuing tensions in the Kashmir region have also spawned outbursts of sectarian violence on both sides, including the destruction of some Hindu temples there by militant Muslims.
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Other Major detriments to the human condition. |
None known
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The traditional caste system of India developed more than 3000 years ago when Aryan-speaking nomadic groups migrated from the north to India about 1500 BC. The Aryan priests divided society into a basic caste system. Sometime between 200 BC and 100 AD, the Manu Smriti, or Law of Manu, was written. In it were the four great hereditary divisions of society still surviving today, placing their own priestly class at the head of this caste system with the title of earthly gods, or Brahmans. Next in order of rank were the warriors, then came the farmers and merchants. The fourth of the original castes were the labourers, born to be servants to the other three castes, especially the Brahman. Far lower, in fact entirely outside the social order and limited to doing the most menial and unappealing tasks were those people of no caste, formerly known as Untouchables. In the modern world any form of caste system is totally unacceptable.
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Notes |
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