The Religious Issues That Are Absent In Hindu Dharma

Spiritual traditions and religious beliefs play a significant role in human lives by helping them to connect with the divine, and also by guiding them to live a moral and meaningful life. Sanathana Hindu Dharma, the real name for Hinduism, is not an organized religion. It believes in a direct connection between the Individual and the Divine through the concept of darshana.

In most Hindu traditions, the temples allow one-to-one dharshana and do not have communion worship.  An essential feature of organized religions is the pressure from social groups or social conformity – this is less in the Hindu way of life. In Hindu philosophy, individuals are encouraged to seek truth and transform from the inside.

Hindu philosophy has prioritized inner experience. Also, instead of mere tolerance, it has accepted and respected diversity in spiritual practices. There is much emphasis on personal enquiry into the divine reality. For these reasons, Hindu dharma stands out as unique among the various religions of the world.

Saints/ascetics roam among people by not living in one place for more than 3 days, seeking alms for food from society, and also master the revered scriptures – Vedas, Vedangas, Upanishads, Puranas, Bhagwat Gita, and Brahmasutras. As a result, they can connect with the scriptures and issues of the common man. A saint who has mastered the revered scriptures and who is well-connected with people’s issues suggests changes to fit the essence of the scriptures with the realities of today’s life. In that way, Hindu philosophy is not rigid and evolving.  This is why it is considered a way of life instead of purely a functional belief system.

One of the things that makes Hinduism so different than many other religions is that it is less politically inclined than they are. It is a factor that has led to many social divisions and human suffering over the ages.

Since Hinduism encourages inquiry among people about the nature of life and spirituality, it creates a platform where blind faith can be avoided. As Hinduism considers all of creation as expressions of the divine, this also means that it does not promote intolerance towards other human beings, other living beings, and even nature.  Hinduism teaches to accommodate others as they also have a divine atma in themselves. The only thing that makes a person invite violence is adharmic conduct by another human.

The Upanishads reiterate the standing of doubt and curiosity. It is one of the central mental processes essential to developing a spiritual outlook towards life. Unless a seeker decides to explore spiritual truths through personal experience and proper reasoning, he or she will never be able to comprehend the reflective meaning of life. This is why Hinduism never asks anyone to simply follow principles based on blind faith.

Hindu dharma is based on cosmic cycles or rta. The cosmic rules applicable to human life are satya, which may remain latent but express themselves or come into force under the right conditions. Actions that keep the cosmic cycles in sync are considered dharmic. Those that disturb the cosmic cycles are called adharmic. So, seeing the real world, learning from nature, and forming right conclusions by avoiding maya (or partial truth)

Such openness as a basic approach to spiritual philosophies allows seekers to welcome noble thoughts and ideas to come to them from all sources. Through Hinduism, one can learn that truth is reflected from all corners of creation instead of a single way of prayer or congressional worship. Traditions that dominate the perception of others by eliminating alternatives and require reverence by blind faith are considered as obstacles to inner growth by the Sanathana Hindu Dharma philosophy.

In the Bhagwad Gita, we see the demonstration of how Sri Krishna Bhagwan does not demand blind obedience from Arjuna. Instead, he asks Arjuna to reflect profoundly and discover the truth via careful and considerate understanding. This emphasis on free choice, reflection on divine knowledge, multiplicity of paths to divine and willful acceptance in Sanathana Hindu Dharma is quite different from later religions that are focused on blind faith and obedience, along with Congregational prayers.

Faith in spiritual doctrines and ideas in Hindu philosophy is finely balanced with discernment, reason, and personal realization so that belief and devotion never become obstacles to truth. Hindu Dharma also asks its followers not to despise other paths and their followers as long as they are adhering to principles of dharma, as it recognizes the diversity of human spiritual needs and temperaments. It teaches that there are endless methods to approach the divine, all of which are equally valid in their own ways. Hence, it shows that different religious paths within Sanathana Hindu dharma are not in contradiction to one another, but they all represent diverse expressions of the same and universal cosmic truth.