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ject of love, who always responds to the inner call of the devotee. He has planned
creation through an ongoing process of evolution, a concept Hindus have been
aware of since ancient times.
LOVE OF ALL LIFE: NONVIOLENCE
Hindus believe that divinity is present in all forms of life—human or otherwise. In
an endeavor to relate to the world outside in a meaningful and harmonious way,
Hindus approach all life in the same way, with love and without violence. No ex-
ception is made for animals. In fact, Hinduism’s emphasis on nonviolence is so
strong that many Hindus do not eat meat. Mahatma Gandhi, the father of modern
India, strove to establish the Kingdom of God (ram rajya) through his nonviolent
application of Hinduism, following the dictates of the Gita, the spiritual backbone
of the religion. He was one of a succession of leaders who have contributed, since
ancient times, to the ongoing process by means of which Hinduism has cleansed it-
self of accumulated impurities of doctrine and ritual.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WORLD
Scholars believe that the law ofkarma (present suffering or happiness is due to past
actions), with its concomitant theory of the transmigration of the soul, was passed
on to Buddhism and Jainism from Hinduism in ancient times. Yoga and meditation
may be Hinduism’s two greatest contributions to the modern world. These tech-
niques for attainment of mental peace have been adopted by people of many dif-
ferent faiths without their having to abandon their own creeds. Today, Hinduism has
an important role to play in promoting mutual understanding among the people of
the world based on the acceptance of differences. The well-known theologian Nin-
ian Smart describes the essence and expectations of this ancient religion in his analy-
sis of the future shape of world religions:
Hinduism itself then appears as the unifying force in world religion because of its
all-embracingness. It contains, essentially, all faiths, and all forms of religious ex-
perience within it. It has evolved over the centuries a mode of life where different
aspects of religion can live together in harmony. And with the Indian emphasis on
non-violence it holds out a real hope of giving an ethical basis to inter-religious
peace.^6