(Part 2) Best products from r/hinduism

First let me say that Hinduism is by no means a single religion, in fact it contains within it a variety of beliefs more numerous than the entirety of the Abrahamic religions, so my answers will ultimately not capture the entire corpus of Hindu beliefs.

1. There are broadly speaking three views about God in Hinduism
   
   A) Polytheism: Hindu polytheism constitutes a belief in, and worship of the many deities of the Hindu pantheon. I would say most Hindus who are not interested in learning about Hindus philosophy fall into this category by default, not that it is a bad thing by any means. These deities include many beings, examples of some are: Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, Ganesha, Surya, and many others. India is a very big place and there are even deities that are only worshiped in a certain part of the country.
   
   B) Monotheism: Under this view there is only one God, who has a personality, and has created the universe. There are three main branches of Hindu monotheism, Vaishnavism (Worship of Vishnu), Shaivism (Worship of Shiva), and Shaktism (Worship of the Goddess). Each of these branches believes that their deity is the supreme, and had religious texts supporting their belief. The Puranas are a group of texts which illustrate this mode of thinking the most. If you follow Vishnavism, then the Bhagavad Purana tells of Vishnu being the supreme, or if you follow Shaivism the Shiva Purana would be a go to text.
   
   C) Monism: Under this view God is not a person but is rather the entirety of the universe. God in this view is called Brahman, a concept that is outlined in the most important texts in Hinduism called the Upanishads. The Hindu pantheon in this view are parts of Brahman, as are we. The Upanishads describe how, after intense spiritual practice in the form of Yogic meditation, we come to the realization that the universe is one interconnected being. This philosophy is called Advaita Vedanta, one of the most influential systems of Indian thought.
   
   To qualify this even further is the fact that these views are not rigid as people can freely take ideas that makes sense to them from these categories, for example a Hindu might be monistic and believe that the true nature of the universe is Brahman, but will worship the Gods in a polytheistic manner, with the belief that these deities are manifestations of Brahman.
   
   
2. Depends on who you ask, some will say Shiva created the world because he is the supreme God, some say Vishnu did because he is the supreme. Others will say the universe created itself. The most prominent creation stories are outlined in the Puranas, texts which deal with stories.
   
   
3. Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology all agree that there are infinite universes. However there are many other aspects of Indian cosmology that are very foreign to modern science, as one would expect.
   
   
4. I'm not sure what you mean by this.
   
   
5. To be free from suffering. I don't think you have to be a pessimist to understand that the natural inclination of human existence is toward pain and misery. Spiritual practice can help us, even in this life, live in a state of happiness and bliss. How is it achieved? Yoga and meditation.
   
   
6. This is my own understanding. The modern studies around meditation and their implications in western psychology have significant parallels with Indian philosophy, most considerably in the realms of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Thought it isn't strictly about Hinduism, this book does an excellent job illustrating how Indian philosophy is very closely related to a modern understanding of the human experience.
   
   
7. The oldest texts in Hinduism are the four Vedas, very ancient scriptures that sing about the glories of the Hindu pantheon, although many of the Gods in the Vedas aren't even worshiped anymore, and the ones that are, are only mentioned briefly in the Vedas. For example, even thought Shiva is one of the most widely worshiped deities today, there are very few mentions of him in the Vedas, whereas the most significant deities in the Vedas such as Indra, Varuna, Agni, Mitra and others, have almost no worship today.
   
   The Upanishads are texts which constitute the last part of the Veda, and are probably the most significant when it comes to Hindu philosophy. These texts deal with the nature of the self and with Brahman. It is in the Upanishads that the basis of Hindu philosophy is expounded, there are about 13 primary Upanishads and they mostly deal with the meditative revelation that the self is no different from the universe.
   
   Texts that deal with the epic stories of Hinduism include the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the Puranas. The Dharma texts are books that deal primarily with morality and ethical codes.
   
   There are thousands of books from hundreds of traditions, these are just the major categories.
   
   
8. Most Hindus believe in free will.
   
   
9. Some Hindus are very superstitious and believe in all sorts of magic, and some, not so much.
   
   
10. There are Christian zealots who would point out that the Dharma texts have passages saying a woman can never divorce a man, but Hindus do not have the same relationship with religious texts that the Abrahamic religions have. If a text does not meet the mark of our knowledge and understanding Hindus are free to use their discretion when ascertaining whether it should be taken seriously or not.
    
    
11. Details depend on who you are, but generally most Hindus believe they have duties to support their family, to uphold justice and social wellbeing, and to avoid harming another living being.
    
    
12. Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism are all Indian religions and consequently are have many similarities. If you want to know exactly when and how these religions formed I recommend Indian Philosophy by S. Radhakrishnan, probably the best text on Indian religion.
    
    
13. Ignorance, there is no such thing as evil.
    
    
14. Depends on who you talk to, to some people the world is filled with spirits and elementals, and to others not so much. Some believe the stories in Hindu texts are symbolic and some believe them literally.
    
    
15. Anything
    
    
16. Similar answer to 10, you can find some dusty old book saying "men are superior to women" but most modern Hindus would agree then men and women should both be treated with respect, and that a man should treat his partner with the utmost respect and devotion.
    
    
17. Depends on who you ask, although it might be killing a monk or Brahmin.
    
    
18. Absolutely. Even those who commit the worst kinds of acts can eventually find redemption.
    
    
19. Read immensely and practice, and don't stop exploring.
    
    
20. By questioning everything and listening to all kinds of teachers with an open mind. and the moment you think you definitely, certainly, 100% have the truth, look up the counterarguments and read those too.

There is a book about him:
The Incredible Life of a Himalayan Yogi: The Times, Teachings and Life of Living Shiva: Baba Lokenath Brahmachari

The Kindle version is only 99 cents.
https://www.amazon.com/Incredible-Life-Himalayan-Yogi-Brahmachari-ebook/dp/B00KPRJ8PQ

The Incredible Life of a Himalayan Yogi brings to you, alive, the times and teachings of a rare Yogi who lived for 160 years (1730-1890), spending the major part of his life in the Himalayan caves and traveling the world on foot. Baba Lokenath, through his amazing penance and practice of hathayoga, rajayoga, and the synthesis of Yoga, reached a state of being one with the Divine. To thousands of followers who came to seek succor from the pains of worldly life, Baba showered his boundless grace and miraculous power, healing and redeeming them, and showing the simplest path of Yoga of Action. He never wanted the seekers to leave their home and comforts of life, but be where they are and practice meditation of self-enquiry and the path of devotional surrender to the Higher Reality. He supported Gnana-mishra-bhakti, the path of a balanced blending of Awareness and Love Divine.

As you read this book, please know that very little is known about Baba Lokenath’s long life of 160 years, for he was against any propaganda about him or his incomprehensible powers of manifesting miracles. But this book has his presence, for it is his divine grace that made this book possible. Whoever will read this book will feel the aura of his divine presence surrounding them. It is no coincidence that you have this book and you are reading the life of one who could say, ‘In danger, remember me, I will save you’.

Please read his promises, his teachings and the lives of those who came in touch with him and the transformations they attained, particularly, his equanimity, his infinite love for animals and his boundless compassion for mankind.

When you read this incredible life, Baba’s Divine Presence works in your heart and soul and creates the ground that attracts his miraculous powers to heal you and bring fulfillment of your coveted desires of life. His Presence will cleanse your inner being to allow the awakening and opening of the petals of divine consciousness so that your human life is fulfilled. You are now on a journey to rediscovering yourself and finding your teacher who guides from within to the world of Eternal light and Joy.

So in most Hindu traditions, the worldview is panentheistic to some degree, meaning the universes are a part of Brahman, but Brahman is beyond the universe (or universes or multiverse). While it is true for most Hindu traditions that the different deities are aspects of Brahman, this applies to everything in the universe, so humans, animals, plants, and other objects are also aspects of Brahman.

Now some different Hindu traditions believe that Brahman is equivalent to a specific deity, and other deities, along with the rest of the universes, are different aspect of the supreme deity (Vaishnavas believe Vishnu/Krishna is Brahman, Shaktas believe it's the Goddess, etc). The worldview is also animistic to some extent because we have the concept of river goddesses (Ganga River), sacred mountains (Mt. Kailash), tree spirits (Yakshinis), and others.

Now, while on a deeper level, everything is a part of Brahman, that doesn't mean on the ground level we treat everything as if it is Brahman. Just because your coworker, mother, and spouse are all Brahman on a deeper level doesn't mean they're interchangeable on the ground level. They're still "distinct" people. The same applies to deities. Traditionally, the different deities weren't just interchangeable metaphorical aspects of Brahman, but they were "distinct" beings.

Now this worldview completely contradicts Abrahamic monotheism, specifically in mainstream Christianity and Islam (Judaism I can't speak too much about). In mainstream Christianity and Islam, there's a complete separation between God and the universe. The idea that the universe is a part of God and that there's divinity in the universe is heretical for most Christians and Muslims.

Now to get on to the other traditions,

Romans

There's a book called The Christians as the Romans Saw Them by Robert Louis Wilken, which is about early Roman Pagan-Christian interactions. The Romans tried to make a similar argument that modern Hindus make, that the Romans believed in a supreme deity and that other deities are different manifestations of that supreme deity, but the Christians weren't buying it, saying that's not real monotheism.

https://www.amazon.com/Christians-Romans-Saw-Them/dp/0300098391

Greeks

The Greeks also had their own conceptions of panentheism. Neoplatonists like Plotinus and Iamblichus had the concept of "The Ineffable One", which is basically the Hindu Brahman, and the varying Greek deities are emanations of the One.

Here's a blog by someone who identifies as a Julian Hellenist who explains his positions with sources. https://hellenicfaith.com/the-one/

There's another book called Plato's Gods by Gerd Van Riel, which goes into detail about Plato's metaphysics. A lot of monotheists and atheists have respect for Plato, but many of them are unaware about Plato mentioning the importance of being devoted to the gods.

https://www.amazon.com/Ashgate-Studies-History-Philosophical-Theology-ebook/dp/B00E8GOO3Q/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

Egyptians

With Egyptians, I'm finding some contradictory info. A few sites are talking about the concept of Netjer, which is basically Brahman. Basically, the different deities, although different aspects of Netjer, are individual beings with their own consciousness. There are other sites that talk about Amun-Re being the source of all the deities.

There's also the animistic aspects of ancient Egyptian traditions, so you have wind gods like Shu, sun gods like Ra, Anuket who is the goddess of the Nile River, Hapi who is the god of the flooding of the Nile River, etc.

Celts

I can't find too much information about panentheism and Celtic traditions because most of the information about Celtic traditions come from Christian monks. However, there is a lot of the animistic aspects, where you have the spirits/gods of lakes, rivers, springs, trees, etc. There's also the concept of faeries in Celtic mythology.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_animism

Yoruba

The Olodumare is considered the supreme being similar to Brahman, where the different Orisha (deities) are manifestations of Olodumare, and the goal is to eventually become one with Olodumare.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_religion

Native American

I can't find too much detailed information about the different Native American worldviews. There is the concept of the Wakan Tanka (Great Spirit) of the Lakota people, and the Wakan Tanka is supposed to reside within everything in the universe.

The Navajo seem to have something similar with the concept of the Almighty, which flows through the gods/spirits and everything in the universe. http://www.meta-religion.com/World_Religions/Ancient_religions/North_america/navajo_religion.htm

Zoroastrians

Copied and pasted from another post

Traditional Zoroastrianism really was not as monotheistic as people think it is. The idea that Zoroastrianism is actually monotheistic is a post-colonial interpretation after the Parsis got in contact with Christian missionaries during the British Raj. There are some instances of Zoroastrians being "monotheized" when they got into contact with Islam, but it didn't really take off until after British colonialism (at least for the Parsis).

Basically, the traditional viewpoint was that Ahura Mazda is the supreme deity with the universe being a manifestation of him, but there are other subsidiary deities (Amesha Spentas, Yazatas). Yazatas mean "those who are worthy of worship" or "good gods." The Gathas mention yazatas likes Sraosha, Ashi, etc and how it's important that they be revered. Under the Parthians, Zoroastrians would view Greek deities as yazatas, and the Parsis would view Hindu deities as yazatas. There are some Mumbai Parsi families that come back to their hometowns in Gujarat for Ganesh Chaturthi.

What happened was that during the British Raj, the Parsis would get harassed by Anglicans for being primitive polytheists, and they weren't able to properly defend their traditions to the Anglicans. It was until Martin Haug came into the picture, who reinterpreted Zoroastrian traditions through a Christian lens that Zoroastrianism became viewed as monotheistic. Yazatas started to became translated as "angels", and Parsi Zoroastrians began to claim themselves as the oldest form of monotheism to protect themselves from harassment by Anglicans. This monotheistic interpretation got internalized by the Parsis, when in actuality, this is a post-colonial interpretation.

I posted someone else's blog post about the treatment of polytheistic traditions in the West, which has sections about the "monotheizing" of Zoroastrianism (and Hinduism) in the /r/Zoroastrianism subreddit. There are also other posts in the subreddits that talk about how Zoroastrian traditions are not as monotheistic as people think.

https://np.reddit.com/r/Zoroastrianism/comments/7ud2am/the_disenfranchising_of_polytheism_in_the_secular/

India is definitely the place for that! I am born in the US but visited India in my college years when I was getting interested in spirituality. I am blessed that I had some strong experiences in the US and had a few in India. You can take that as confirmation that you are on the right path. You are right, they will just happen when you least expect it. Sometimes I get experiences like deja-vu, but I just take it as a confirmation that I am where I am supposed to be. I had a few amazing ones that really pushed me into spiritual life as well.

When I was getting interested in spirituality I was a big fan of Paramahamsa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi. A classic from earlier in this century. This is maybe off topic, but when I was visiting Kurukshetra I had a sadhu stop me on the road and wanted to show me things and then asked for money. He actually changed a rock into some sugar candy in front of me. I thought "OK whatever, he did some slight of hand". Then he had me pick up a rock in my own hand, close his hand over mine, then chanted a mantra and it turned into sugar rock candy within my closed fist. I ate it. I had read about those things in the Paramahamsa Yogananda book and it was happening. He then asked for money and wasn't happy with how much I gave. He opened his shirt and showed me scars and said he had been doing a lot of austerities!

An interesting experience. I eventually read more of Shrila Prabhupada's books and settled in as a Hare Krishna devotee. Shrila Prabhupada and even Paramahamsa Yogananda explained that those sort of mystic powers are not the end goal of self-realization.

This is also a great book, this person is still alive and has written an amazing tale of his travels from the US around the world in search of God. How he ends up in Himalayas living amongst the yogis and then meets his guru.
The Journey Home

The authors site: http://www.thejourneyhomebook.com/

You have got some great responses. I am sure you have some ideas now on how you can go forward in your journey of discovery. Nonetheless I thought it may be helpful for you to see a list of simple next steps for you:

• identify the different temples near your residence or office. Visit them and see what draws you. Make it a habit to visit the temple of your choice at least once a month and just sit there for 10-15 minutes.
  
  
• find a introductory book on hinduism to read. There is enough material online but a book like The Hindu View Of Life(S. Radhakrishnan) written by respected authors can give you a grounding of the philosophy.
  
  
• then you start on one of the epics - ramayana or mahabharata (or both). I recommend the Rajagopalachari version, which was my introduction to both. His writing is simple yet engaging. You can explore other versions later.
  
  
• keep visiting online discussion forums like this one or the one at hindu stackexchange. You often come across interesting topics and discussions, which also help you learn more about the religion.
  
  
• when you feel ready, set up a small altar at your home, just one or two deities, light diya/incense and pray daily.
  
  Activities like meditation, mantra chanting I would think comes in the next stage.
  
  Good luck. One of my most cherished memories of living in Mumbai was seeing the joyous enthusiasm of common janta on the roads during ganesh visarjan.

You can look through my comment history, but I would start with the following books, probably in this order:

Shakti, Realm of the Divine Mother, by Vanamali - This is a great overview over the Goddesses many names and forms, along with a great recounting of Her many stories.

In Praise of the Goddess: The Devimahatmya and Its Meaning, by Devadatta Kali

• The Devi Mahatmyam is one of the most important Shaktaa religious texts, and while other translations exist, this one is by far the best.
  
  Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar, by Elizabeth Harding - An exploration into Mother Kali, and how She is worshipped at Dakshineswar temple in Kolkata. The author also goes into the life of Sri Ramakrishna, one of the modern day saints of the Divine Mother.
  
  The Thousand Names Of The Divine Mother: Shri Lalita Sahasranama - The other "most important" book amongst Shaktaa's, this version contains verse by verse commentary.
  
  As for converting - that's a bit of a thorny topic, but it's not really necessary. Begin to read, learn, and most importantly, practice the Dharma, and after a few years of doing so, perhaps consider a more formal conversion.
  
  Also, seek out a guru if you can. It can be tough, but it makes a lot of this go a lot easier.
  
  

I'm not a practicing Hindu, but I am working towards a doctorate in the history and philosophy of (among other things South Asia) Hinduism. What I can tell you for certain (well, certain to me at this point) is this:

Yoga as we see it today - we call it 'modern postural yoga' - is essentially a post-colonial phenomenon, whose postures are probably most clearly derived from earlier practices of Hatha yoga (which, as the yoga of 'force,' uses various postures to attempt to control the ebb and flow of life energies for health, longevity, and mental acquiescence). You'll be able to note if you look at Patanjali's Yoga Sutras - typically held up as the central text of Yoga philosophy - that there really isn't much about various postures (asanas) beyond a sitting meditation pose. The kind of stretching that Yoga now employs just isn't prominent at the supposed origins of yoga.

So what gives? Well, this doesn't mean that yoga wasn't a thing throughout much of the history of Hinduism, but rather that yoga has meant many, many things to the peoples of the subcontinent. This is likely a bit controversial - I can only point to Mark Singleton's excellent book Yoga Body on the subject.

If there is a through-line to all the transformations of what yoga is, I would say that it lies in the meaning of the word. Yoga derives from the verbal root *yuj, which means to yoke, as in yoking oxen to a plow, a horse to a chariot, or more simply, to join anything to anything else. This would include more spiritual notions like yoking yourself to the action of god (as in the Bhagavad Gita), yoking your mind to a pure contemplation of the self (as in Samkhya yoga), yoking and thereby controlling prana (as in Hatha yoga), etc.

The take-home (from my perspective) is this: the postures of modern yoga aren't in themselves spiritual. We 'yoke' ourselves through the yoga of attention to all kinds of things throughout every single day - reddit, work, etc. Right now I'm in the asana of the lazy couch cushion ;). But this isn't to trivialize it. When we yoke ourselves to an awareness of our own thought processes, or perhaps better to the silence within ourselves, we can quickly begin to see benefits in our daily lives, wherein we yoke ourselves to 'less noble' pursuits. We might be more patient with others, more calm in stressful situations, more open to loving interactions, or maybe just more aware of how giving something our time and attention can shape our existence. Finally, add to this that Hinduism is, or at least has been for the majority of its historical presence, essentially syncretistic. The many gods that have been brought under the umbrella of Hinduism are not so jealous. We should expect them to little mind when we 'yoke' ourselves without invoking their names.

It's a take from a website where the set of authors are systemically nothing but malice towards Hindu institutions,all while hypocritically professing love for Hindus.

>these yogis professed a belief in one unseen god

Yes,but this nondual unseen supreme reality is nothing like the exclusivist Jehovah of the Jews(who thankfully keeps himself to his people),the God of the Christians,or Allah of the Muslims(who,incidentally,is a close copy of Jehovah,but is terroristically universalized,so as to hurt heathens like us). Heck,in Krishnadevaraya's time,there was a poet who could visualize the fallen Muslim warriors in Indra's heaven(warriors slain in battle go there)! Contrast to that,the Muslim view would be that we are still destined to the hellfire.

For more about this, this blog post based upon the Egyptologist Jan Assmann's works is a good start. You can also read Meditations:Yogas,Gods,Religions by Ram Swarup.

>Since disregarding the words of Gorakhnath that preached a transcendence of duality and an identity that was neither Hindu nor Muslim in the 1920s, the leaders of the Gorakhnath temple at Gorakhpur have reconstructed themselves as exclusively Hindu.

Huh? So Vidyaranya Swami also did that(he was an Advaitin yati,and they too have nondual identity which transcends all worldly labels) when he advised Harihara and Bukka?

>You are Hindus by birth, Muslims by wisdom, and Yogis by absorption.
>Oh, Kazi and Mulla, acknowledge that path which Brahma, Visnu, and Mahadev have already accepted.

Shah Waliullah,the great Sufi revivalist of India called Krishna and Rama as people who encouraged others to worship them,and thus,unfit to be even called men of wisdom,let alone prophets. And if you notice here,Brahma,Vishnu,Mahadeva---no one is excluded.

An example of assimilation of Muslim elements: Gorakhbani and Śrī Nāth Rahasya(the latter is a compendium of mantras to be used in rituals) have several verses praising Muhammad...saying that Allah Bismillah Ram is Rahim,etc etc. It is the Muslims who are rejecting,not us.

The scholarship of this author is very factual,but it is of this type for which there is a Bengali saying(loosely translated),"After reading the entire Ramayana,you want to know who Sita is".

Check out this book. It covers a lot of basic topics (ranging from vegetarianism to reincarnation to meditation to oneness and inner divinity) about Hinduism, and might help get you pointed in the right direction.

As for my attempt at answering your questions:
>Is it required to believe in a supernatural force/God?

No! I sure don't. I do believe in the the atman, the inner divinity held and shared by all people and things, which exists as the brahman, the oneness shared by the universe. I am not truly different from you; we share the same broad hopes, fears, and struggles in our quest to answer life's questions. So deities like Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva (and the hundreds of other little-g gods in traditional Hinduism) are simply manifestations of ideals of this common atman we worship to remind ourselves of our duties and morals. I don't believe in a big-g God that created everything. The scientific method answers those questions for me. Hinduism is a method I follow to answer the types of questions that may fall outside the scope of science.

> Do most followers believe in the stories as a literal interpretation? Was it originally intended to be?

Depends on who you talk to. My mother does, my father might, and I don't. If you go to a village in rural India you'll probably find most of them believe the stories literally. Can we ever really know for sure, given the millennium-spanning history of Hinduism? Probably not. They do contain excellent, generally timeless examples of what is considered good human behavior, though. Obviously times, morals, and cultures change, but I think characters like Rama or Arjuna or Krishna are still examples of ideals to look to.

>What is the purpose of prayer?

I think this is a question best suited for you to answer yourself. If/when you pray, why do (or don't) you do it?

The fourth question I'm not going to answer, because I honestly can't help you there. I have a rudimentary understanding, but considering I don't meditate regularly, if at all, I'm just as ignorant on the subject as you.

I pick and choose from a lot of ancient spiritual practices. Hinduism is one that really resonates with me though. I started with reading the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. Both considered to be amongst the core texts of Hinduism.

For the Bhagavad Gita, a very beautiful and easy to read version is Stephen Mitchell's translation.

For the Upanishads, the version I like best is Juan Mascaro's translation.

Wishing you peace and love on your journey.


🙏 Namaste 🙏

I'll second Edwin F. Bryant's translation of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. It's thick, but everything he put in there really does help you understand the text much better. He says in his introduction that he wanted to strike a balance between scholarly rigor and readability, and I think he achieved that.

Edwin F. Bryant is also known as Adwaita Das, and he has some videos on YouTube. Here's his workshop on some of the Yoga Sutras, which gives you a taste of his approach to the work.

He also translated Chapter 10 of the Bhagavata Purana and it's published by Penguin Classics as a book called Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God: Srimad Bhagavata Purana: Srimad Bhagavata Purana Bk.10. The introduction is long but worth the price of the book just for itself. It's like "Krishna Worship 101".

You're welcome. If you need a starting point, just pick one. I personally recommend this as a good starting point: http://www.amazon.com/The-Upanishads-Classic-Indian-Spirituality/dp/1586380214

I strongly recommend the Bhagavad Gita translated by Winthrop Sargeant. He gives the Sanskrit verse, a word-by-word breakdown, and an accurate translation with no commentary.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1438428421/

The Upanishads - Eknath Easwaran

u/Ut_baba

https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Yogas-Religions-Ram-Swarup/dp/8185990646