Hinduism

A forth major religious tradition that influences the world view is Hinduism.

Hinduism is based upon a fundamental assumption that the material world is not the only reality.

Hindus believe there are other realities that are far more important, realities that reveal the true nature of life, the mind and the spirit.

Like Islam, the Hindu religion is a total way of life. From the Western perspective, Hinduism is difficult to grasp and explain because it is so different from Western tradition. In many respects Hinduism is a conglomeration of religious thought, values, and beliefs without the benefit of a single founder like Abraham, Jesus, or Muhammad. It does not have an organizational hierarchy like that of the Catholic church. Among the Hindus one may find magic, nature worship, animal veneration, and limitless deities. In some respects Hindus are among the most religious people in the world because they find the divine in everything. Everything, therefore, takes on religious significance, and rituals are important for showing God in everything. This ritual significance is found in everyday activities such as bathing, eating, and marriage ceremonies.

B uddhism

Another difficult world view for the Western mind to grasp is Buddhism. This is in part because its followers believe that one must abandon views generated by the use of ordinary language and concepts. This notion finds expression in the statement "Beware of the illusions created by words." Buddhists believe that there is a supreme and wonderful truth that words cannot reach or teach. This truth is transmitted outside of ritual and outside of scripture. The basic assumption behind this world view is that life is suffering. Decay of the body, illness, death, hating what we do or despising what we cannot have' separation from what we love, and not being able to obtain what we desire are all examples of suffering.

Buddha was not a God but a man, an extraordinary man who, sometime in the sixth century B.C. in India, achieved enlightenment. Once awakened, he devoted his life to helping others achieve enlightenment or Nirvana, the state of spiritual and physical purity, necessary to attain freedom from the ongoing cycle of suffering and rebirth. Modern Buddhism directs itself to purification of life and consciousness, not to worship of a God figure.

Karma is important in that it sets the tone for ethical standards. Karma has to do with action-reaction and with the law of cause and effect: good deeds bring good results; evil deeds bring evil results. Nirvana is an ethical state marked by an absence of the desires that bring suffering.

One thing we should recognize from our brief look at different religious world views is that the answers to the significant questions in life have a certain effect on people's everyday lives. Knowing a person's religious world view helps us know the person.

Notes:

¹ Shinto, Shintoism — a principle religion of Japan, whose chief emphasis is on the worship of ancestors and ancient heroes and on the divinity of the emperor.

² Jain — a believer in Jainism, a Hindu religious creed founded about 500 B.C., that teaches reverence of wise and good men and respect for animals.

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