The Religions Book

328

T

he Hindu faith is thought to have originated in the Indus Valley

(Pakistan and northwest India) more than 3,000 years ago. Today,

it has almost a billion followers, most of them in India. Hindus all

worship a supreme being, though the identity of this deity differs according

to sect. There are four principal denominations: Vaishnavites, for whom

Vishnu is god; Shaivites, who are devoted to Shiva; Shaktis, who worship

the goddess Shakti; and Smartas, who can choose their deity. These and

other branches of Hinduism share many beliefs; the Vedas (pp.94–99) are

their most sacred texts, and central to Hindu belief is the idea that a person’s

deeds affect their future in an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

BRANCHES OF HINDUISM

VAISHNAVISM

c.600 BCE, India

The largest devotional sect within

Hinduism, Vaishnavites focus

on the worship of Vishnu as the

one supreme god. He is seen as

the preserver of the universe, a

figure unparalleled in his divine

benevolence. Vishnu is said to give

life to the creator, Brahma, who sits

in a lotus blossom at Vishnu’s navel,

and to sustain and protect all that

Brahma creates. As well as inspiring

devotion in his own right, he is also

worshipped in the form of his avatars,

Rama and Krishna. Followers, or

Vaishnavas, emphasize devotion

over doctrine. Their final goal is

freedom from the cycle of birth

and death, and spiritual existence

in the presence of Vishnu.

SHAIVISM

c.600 BCE, India

One of the four major denominations,

of Hinduism, Shaivism holds that

Shiva is the supreme god. At the

heart of Hinduism is the belief

that dualities can be reconciled

Shakti; those who worship her are

known as Shaktis (p.104). Although

the roots of goddess worship in

India extend to the earliest Indus

Valley civilizations, Shaktism is

thought to have arisen as an

organized movement in the 5th

century CE. The goddess of Shakti

devotion has many names and can

take many forms (fearsome,

wrathful, benign, and homely), but

all point to her as a manifestation of

divine power and energy. The sacred

texts of the faith are the Vedas, the

Shakta Agamas, and the Puranas.

Some devotees hope to come closer

to the goddess by using yoga, puja,

and tantra (pp.112–15).

THE DARSHANAS

2nd–13th centuries CE, India

While the followers of theistic sects,

such as Vaishnavism, Shaivism,

and Shaktism, worship deities,

Hinduism also encompasses six

schools, or darshanas, which focus

on philosophy rather than gods.

These schools emphasize the

ultimate reality or Brahman, the

great self who must be realized to

attain liberation from reincarnation.

by a higher divinity. Shaivites

(worshippers of Shiva) believe

that Shiva embodies this coming

together of opposites like no other

deity. He embraces many dualities,

such as life and death, time and

eternity, and destruction and

creation, and takes a multiplicity

of forms. In one popular depiction

he appears as Nataraja, Lord of

the Dance. After destroying the

universe, he dances its re-creation,

carrying both fire (symbolizing

destruction) and a drum (the first

sound to be made at the beginning

of creation). Shaivism encompasses

many subsets, and is widespread in

India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka today,

and its influence is felt as far as

Indonesia and Malaysia.

SHAKTISM

5th century CE, India

Shaktism is one of the main

devotional branches of Hinduism.

According to Hindu belief, Shakti

is the divine power that creates

and sustains creation; the great

goddess (known as Devi or

Mahadevi) embodies Shakti and

is often referred to by the name