Hinduism

Hinduism is a global religion in at least three ways: First, there is a sizable number of Hindus who are from (or descended from immigrants from) the Indian subcontinent in almost every part of the world; second, people from local populations in various countries have adopted and still accept teachers, doctrines, beliefs, or practices of one of the many Hindu traditions, whether it is the Khmer aristocracy in the 9th century CE or members of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON, more popularly known as “Hare Krishnas”); and third, ideas and practices derived from Hindu traditions are decontextualized from their sociocultural milieu, distanced from the name “Hindu,” and integrated into the cultures outside of India. Although the word Hindu has been popular only since the 19th century to designate the diverse and dominant philosophies, beliefs, and practices that form the faith of approximately 80% of the Indian subcontinent, the ideas, texts, sectarian movements, rituals, as well as expressive and visual arts connected with the religion that we now call “Hinduism” have traveled along with material culture to many parts of the world for more than two millennia.

An example of the last point is found in America; starting approximately with the time of the New [Page 794]England Transcendentalists in the 19th century and all the way into the 21st century, we see American engagement with ideas, philosophies, and practices connected with the many Hindu traditions in the Indian subcontinent; however, these ideas or practices (like yoga) are called “universal,” “spiritual,” or even just as “stress-relief techniques” and not connected with Hinduism. In general, one can say that Hinduism comes both in brand names and as a generic mode with a “universal” message. One can seldom find a generic Hindu in India; they belong to a caste, community, and sectarian group, all of which are further subdivided along linguistic and geographic lines. However, the texts and practices of Hinduism have been mined for “universal” messages that have been disseminated as not belonging to any one religion but to all human beings. Thus, Hindu teachers beginning with leaders like Vivekananda and Yogananda, who came to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, stress the “timeless” truths and practices of Hinduism that are not bound by sectarian belief, dogma, or ethnic fences. Examples of these include contemplative practices and meditation, yoga, recitation of simple mantras, and even concepts like the immortality and reincarnation of the soul.

The term Hindu has been contested and is used here as a fluid, shorthand term to refer to the diverse philosophies, practices, arts, and branches of knowledge connected with people and communities who have geographic, biological, intellectual, or spiritual connections, whether it be through an ancestor or religious teachings, with the Indian subcontinent but excludes those faiths that explicitly reject the exalted status of the Vedas, the earliest compositions in India. Although millions of people in India may have never heard of the Vedas, they are assumed to be Hindu unless they belong to a faith tradition that explicitly rejects, denies, or self-consciously bypasses their status as supreme sources of knowledge.

...