Understanding Hinduism a bit at a time

[TheLightWithin]

I really like this channel I discovered recently, called Hindu Lifestyle (on YouTube)
I like how it meets me where I am, with beginner questions as an outsider
This one is titled Hinduism and Reincarnation / Why do Hindus believe in Reincarnation?

The impact of Karma on rebirth

This is called The Hindu Concept of "God" / Do Hindus believe in God?

The concept of God as pure consciousness and pure truth.

I think many of us in the West (even those of us who read up on world religions!) have only a very surface understanding of Hinduism.
Our ideas come from history overviews, encyclopedia entries, the occasional odd documentary, and New Age materials which borrow ideas from many traditions including Hinduism and simplify them to make them understandable. Of course, this leads to understanding on a thin layer of a rich tradition, and not necessarily understanding Hinduism accurately.

For anybody who knows, does it seem this channel is portraying things pretty accurately, based on what you can see?
(Luckily the videos I posted and many of their videos are pretty short)

 

[mystic_friend]

well yea it is portraying it in the correct way, oh and a little fun fact for you, you are also god in hinduism you are the universe "aham bramhasmi" which means i am bramhin, so you're the universe experiencing it self

 

[mangalvaar]

oh and a little fun fact for you, you are also god in hinduism you are the universe "aham bramhasmi" which means i am bramhin, so you're the universe experiencing it self

There isn't really a particular view that all Hindus share. It is a vast religion with a variety of schools, philosophies, teachers, and traditions.

There are many Hindus who would say that they are not God or a god. Dvaita Vedantins, for instance, hold to dualistic (or perhaps pluralistic) metaphysics, so they see the supreme being, Vishnu, as completely other than themselves. For them, Brahman and God are the exact same concept.

As to the idea that the individual is the universe experiencing itself, that might depend on the individual Hindu's philosophy. Advaita Vedanta teachers such as Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York, for example, would say that you are Consciousness (with an uppercase cee) and that the universe is an appearance within yourself. In Advaita, God is a little less than Brahman proper.

Those who subscribe to Sankhya philosophy see Consciousness and Nature as the two fundamental metaphysical principles, both being utterly different and that each of us is ultimately Consciousness.

Some Hindus are atheistic and/or metaphysically naturalist. They might say 'I am Brahman' as in 'I am the universe,' but not really 'I am God.'

There is even more. It is vaster than the international airport at New Delhi, I promise you.

 

[Aupmanyav]

well yea it is portraying it in the correct way, oh and a little fun fact for you, you are also god in hinduism you are the universe "aham bramhasmi" which means i am bramhin, so you're the universe experiencing it self

A small correction. "I am Brahman" I am the whole, I am the universe, I am not just a part; and not a brahmin, which means a person of the Hindu preistly caste. A most famous mantra in (non-dual) 'Advaita Hinduism' says it in this way:

"Pūrnam adah, Pūrnam idam, Pūrnāt Pūrnam Udacyate;
Pūrnasya Pūrnam ādāya, Pūrnam eva vasishyate."

That (universe) is Pūrna (all); this (self) is Pūrna (all), from Pūrna (all) rises this Pūrna (self);
Take out Pūrna (all) from Pūrna (all), what remains is still Pūrna (all, it does not diminish)."

One who understands this has achieved enlightenment.

 

[Aupmanyav]

A small correction. "I am Brahman" I am the whole, I am the universe, I am not just a part; and not a brahmin, which means a person of the Hindu preistly caste. A most famous mantra in (non-dual) 'Advaita Hinduism' says it in this way:

"Punrnam adah, Punrnam idam, Purnat Purnam Udacyate;
Purnasya Purnam adaya, Purnam eva vasishyate."

That (universe) is Purna (all); this (self) is Purna (all), from Purna (all) is manifested this Purna (self);
Take out Purna (all) from Purna (all), what remains is still Purna (all, it does not diminish)."

One who understands this has achieved enlightenment.

 

[Aupmanyav]

But kindly remember, 'Advaita' (non-dual) Hinduism is not the whole of Hinduism.
We have a Hindu tradition with strong duality in 'Dvaita' Hinduism belief with Madhva.
There are others in between. Ramanuja with his 'Visishta Advaita', Bhedabheda (Difference and non-difference) philosophies of Bhaskara - 'Dvaitadvaita' of Nimbarka, 'Shuddhadvita' of Vallabha and 'Acintya Bhedabheda' of Chaitanya (Hare-Krishnas).
Then there are various Shaiva traditions worshiping Shiva and Shakta traditions worshiping the Mother Goddess, Durga.

 

[TheLightWithin]

But kindly remember, 'Advaita' (non-dual) Hinduism is not the whole of Hinduism.
We have a Hindu tradition with strong duality in 'Dvaita' Hinduism belief with Madhva.

The popular doctrine (in modern Western interpretations) of transmigration of the soul is based in dualistic assumptions, correct?

 

[Aupmanyav]

The popular doctrine (in modern Western interpretations) of transmigration of the soul is based in dualistic assumptions, correct?

Nothing particularly western here. Very few Advsitists would be as stunch as myself on non-duality, most accept individual soul. The 'in-between' mentioned above accepted Bheda-Abheda (Difference and non-difference). Chaitanya said 'Why worry about it, just worship your principal deity (Ishta)'. That is why his philosophy is known as Acintya Bheda-Abheda, the secret is inconceivable.

 

[TheLightWithin]

Nothing particularly western here. Very few Advsitists would be as stunch as myself on non-duality, most accept individual soul. The 'in-between' mentioned above accepted Bheda-Abheda (Difference and non-difference). Chaitanya said 'Why worry about it, just worship your principal deity (Ishta)'. That is why his philosophy is known as Acintya Bheda-Abheda, the secret is inconceivable.

I know the doctrine of transmigration is Hindu origin, but I acknowledge that my understanding of it comes from mid-to-late century Western New Age interpretations that I picked up from books my mom read and may not accurately represent how it is actually understood in Hindu thought.

(books that were made for popular audiences in the West and not formal theology books from Hindu scholars or anything, but Edgar Cayce and a variety of other New Age style books)

Interestingly the idea of reincarnation also exists in Jewish mysticism, but I didn't know that growing up.

My understanding of reincarnation was the idea that a personality kept being reborn in new human bodies. How accurate is that idea in terms of representing what most practicing Hindus might think and believe?

I didn't learn until much later that the ideas of Buddhism and Hinduism may not be exactly that - Buddhism with the no-self doctrine, Hinduism with varieties of non-dualism - might not see it that way.

 

[Aupmanyav]

My understanding of reincarnation was the idea that a personality kept being reborn in new human bodies. How accurate is that idea in terms of representing what most practicing Hindus might think and believe?

I didn't learn until much later that the ideas of Buddhism and Hinduism may not be exactly that - Buddhism with the no-self doctrine, Hinduism with varieties of non-dualism - might not see it that way.

Not correct for any Indian religion (Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism). If we go by belief, getting a human form is extremely difficult and one can be reborn in any of the 8,400,000 species. It comes with good karmas. That is why our karmas should be good and not evil. And only in the human form one can get Mukti (deliverance from the cycle of birth and death), Nirvana, Jnana (knowledge/wisdom), enlightenment (or however one may term it).

If we think from the societal perspective, then it was a strong sword and carrot proposition. Do good otherwise one end up as a cockroach or worse. One will have to account for each of his/her actions. Good actions may give you a princely birth.

You are correct. The commandments were never written on stone and each Hindu will have his/her own views about things, including perhaps his/her choice of deity. What the the Least Common Factor in Hinduism? It is 'dharma' (one's duties). That have to be fulfilled by every one.