The history of hinduism and its culture.pptx

The history of hinduism

1. Religions of Release Lecture 2

2. The Indian subcontinent is home to approximately 1.8 billion people, or close to one-quarter of the world’s population. It is also the birthplace of three religions of release—Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism —joined to one another like the branches on a hybrid fruit tree. Buddhists and Sikhs adopted and adapted key concepts from Hindu thought, including karma (“action”), samsara (“wandering through”), and moksha (“release”). According to Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs alike, we all find ourselves in a moral universe in which our karmic actions in past and present lives have huge consequences for who we are today.

3. The most fateful of these consequences is that we find ourselves caught in a vicious cycle of life, death, rebirth, and redeath , known as samsara Each of these Indian religions has its own understanding of how life has entrapped us and how we might be liberated from its fetters Each also offers devotional traditions of other-help in which liberation comes as a gift from Hindu gods, buddhas and bodhisattvas, or the singular divinity Sikhs refer to as the Timeless One and the True Name. Of the eight dimensions of religion identified by the religious studies scholar Ninian Smart, Sikhs accent the scriptural dimension, Buddhists the experiential dimension, and Hindus the ritual and narrative dimensions .

4. Hinduism Way of life or a Religion? It is one of the oldest religions of the World Sanskirit language is related with evolution of Hinduism Hindus call their religion “ Sanatana Dharma(eternal faith)” or eternal tradition and unlike Christianity and Islam , there is no single founder in Hinduism

5. Core Beliefs Belief in a one Universal soul : Hindus believe in Universal Soul known as Brahman( formless, genderless, source of all reality) It is a universe and the material that makes the universe. (Ocean) Belief in a immortal individual soul ( atma )- concept of transmigration Belief in Karma(action) Belief in Moksha by realizing your oneness with Brahman. (lead me from unreal to real) Belief in Vedas Belief in Cyclical time: there are no beginning or endings. Time is cycle Dharma (Proper Behavior)

6. Core Beliefs The beliefs of Hinduism are influenced by the local, regional, caste and community driven practices Hindus believe in the concept of Brahman’(Supreme being) Karma- Soul- Reincarnation- Moksha Four aims of life: Dharma, Artha (pursuit of prosperity and good reputation), Kama(pleasure in both body and mind), Moksha(release for the cycles of rebirth) Hindus should work with Dharma, Artha and Kama to achieve Moksha. Yog : Union with God

7. Six temptations Hindus Should Avoid Kama : Lust and materialism Krodha : Anger Lobha : Greed Moha : Unrealistic attachment to things, people and power Mada : Pride Matsarya : Jealousy

8. HINDUISM: THE WAY OF DEVOTION Varanasi : Boats weighed down by heavy hardwood pull up to the Manikarnika Ghat , the oldest of the cremation grounds in this ancient city __ Members of the nearby community of Dalits , or “untouchables,” who take care of this cremation ground assemble logs into openair pyr The ritual of transforming wood and bone into ashes and returning both to the waters from which all life comes and to which all life returns . “Ram naam satya hai ,” “ Truth is the name of God.”

9. It seems absurd to single out one anything in the Hindu world, which is renowned for its abundance of colors, tastes, smells, and sounds . The Hindu gods are also hyperabundant —numbering 330 million , according to one common estimate—as are the truths they teach and the rituals devotees employ in worshiping them. But if you had to go to one and only one place to see this religion in action, that place would be Varanasi . In keeping with Hindu tradition the land between two rivers: the Varana and the Assi , both tributaries of a river that flows down from heaven and is revered as a goddess: “Mother Ganga.” __ he business of this city is pilgrimage, not least the pilgrimage from life to death. There are eighty-four ghats , or steps to the water. Pilgrims come to bathe at these ghats , to feel the river’s goddess power run over their skin. They come to worship the god Shiva, whose ascetic fire supercharges this city, not least at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple (also known as the “Golden Temple”), one of the most visited shrines in the world, where Shiva’s light is said to have pierced the earth at the beginning of time.

10. Pilgrims come to earn karmic merit or to pay for wrongdoing. They come to complete a multiday, 55-mile circular pilgrimage to 108 temples. They come to throw a coin into the river—an offering to Mother Ganga and a plea for spiritual liberation They come to scatter the ashes of family members. Most famously they come to die, to be cremated, and to be released from samsara : the endlessly unsatisfactory cycle of life, death, rebirth, and redeath . Varanasi is a tirtha , a crossing place from life to death and from death to spiritual liberation.

11. According to many Hindus, if you die in Varanasi, Shiva will whisper into your ear the mantra of the crossing, enabling you to achieve moksha , or release from rebirth and suffering. “Death in Kashi ,” they say, “is liberation . At this “navel of Kashi ,” male family members bathe their relatives’ corpses one last time in the purifying waters of the now-polluted Ganges, dipping their feet in the river and splashing water in their mouths one last time The eldest son of the deceased, head shaven, bare chested, and dressed in two unstitched white sheets that mark him as the chief mourner, asks one of the caretakers for a bundle of reeds and a light from a flame that, according to legend, has been burning nonstop under the watch of one family for thousands of years. (In fact, it is said that Lord Shiva lit it himself.)

12. The chief mourner circles the corpse five times clockwise , touching the mouth with the fire each time. He then lights the pyre, feet side first, until the fire engulfs the body in heat and light. When the corpse has been mostly consumed, the chief mourner cracks the skull with a bamboo stick, releasing the soul to flyh off to another rebirth He then collects water from the Ganges in a pot and splashes it onto the smoldering pyre. He does this five times, once for each of the five elements: earth, air, water, fire, ether. The fifth time, he turns his back to the pyre, throws the pot over his shoulder, and walks away . The cremated remains are not collected here. Whereas Jews, Christians, and Muslims have traditionally seen the human person as a combination of body and soul, Hindus have classically seen the essence of the human being as a self or soul cycling through multiple bodies in multiple lifetimes. Once the body has been burned, caretakers push most of the ashes into the Ganges. As the river rises, it will take away whatever remains.

13. One of the oldest cities in the world—as old as Beijing or Athens — Varanasi was established at least as early as 800 BCE (perhaps much earlier) and was reportedly visited by the Buddha around the fifth century BCE . From that point forward, the fortunes of the city rose and fell with those of Buddhist, Muslim, and British rulers. But amid the political changes to this religious, scholarly, and commercial center, pilgrims continued to come .

14. Lingam of Light Many eons ago, long before historical time, when whatever existed did so in total darkness, two gods, Brahma and Vishnu , were quarrelling about who was supreme. They called in the most ancient and venerable of Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, to settle their dispute . To their shock, the Vedas said that Lord Shiva was actually supreme. As this verdict was handed down, a massive shaft of light pierced the ground between the quarreling gods. But then the form of Shiva appeared out of the formless shaft, with five faces and ten arms wielding weapons. Acknowledging Shiva as supreme, Brahma and Vishnu bowed down to worship him

15. There are twelve places in India where Shiva’s lingam miraculously appeared as a shaft of light. The most potent of them is Kashi , the “Luminous,” the “City of Light.” “This is my place utmost mystery,” says Lord Shiva. “Pre-eminent among all sacred fords, the best of places, superior to all knowledge, this is my place....My devotees who go there enter into me....All the evil accumulated in a thousand previous lives is destroyed for one who enters [ Kashi ]....Whether one be a sinner, a crook or a wicked person, one is wholly purified by a visit .. Shiva’s lingam is worshiped at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, but all of Kashi is pierced by his light. Every square foot of it is luminous. Every mound of dirt illuminated by its lights and shadows is a lingam—a mark of Shiva’s powers of creation and regeneration

16. Hinduism in Today’s World Unlike Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists, Hindus have not traditionally attempted to attract converts . To be a Hindu is to be born into a Hindu family, and to be born into a Hindu family is to be a Hindu. Like Jews, Hindus have been content to think of theirs as a religion of a people rather than the religion of all people . For that reason, it has typically been classified as an ethnic religion (like Judaism and Navajo religion) rather than a missionary religion (like Buddhism and Islam ). Hinduism is the majority religion in Nepal. It is also the leading religion on the Indonesian island of Bali, where Hinduism takes a very different shape. In many Balinese temples, there are no images of god, and from street corners to rice fields to mountaintops, there are shrines depicting the high god of Balinese Hindus in the form of an empty chair.

17. With 13.6 percent of the world’s population, Hinduism is, despite its relatively modest global footprint, the third-largest religion in the world, behind only Christianity (32.3 percent) and Islam (24.3 percent )- India is home to over a billion Hindus Hinduism developed on a subcontinent of astonishing cultural, ethnic, social, linguistic, and regional diversity. It did so in conversation with the Buddhist, Jain, Islamic, Sikh, and Christian traditions, as well as a host of other religious traditions now forgotten As Hindus encountered people with different religious beliefs and practices, some attempted to draw sharp lines of orthodoxy (“right doctrine”) or orthopraxy (“right practice”). Others welcomed religious rivals under a broad sacred canopy, refusing to banish either dissenting opinions or those who held them. As a result, what we now refer to as the Hindu tradition absorbed many outside influences. For example, the Buddha was adopted into the Hindu family—as one avatar (divine “descent”) of Vishnu.

18. ” While other religions excommunicated or killed apostates, Hindus welcomed skeptics and dissenters as a vital part of what economist Amartya Sen has described as “argumentative India .”The result is the least dogmatic and most diverse of the world’s religions. Given this multiplicity, it should not be surprising that Hindus do not agree on what to call their religion, or on whether it is a religion at all . Many modern Hindus insist that Hinduism is “a way of life” rather than a religion, referring to that way of life as Sanatana Dharma (“Eternal Law”) , not “Hinduism.” As a result, many Hindus refuse to self-identify as such. Hindus typically think of themselves as inhabitants of particular regions, speakers of particular languages, and members of particular castes.

19. Debate on Genealogy The term Hindu was originally a geographical marker, pointing to ancient people who occupied the valley of the river Sindhu (later, Indus) now in modern-day Pakistan and North India ? ?

20. How to escape from rebirth and death? Hindus worship many gods and goddesses—from playful Krishna to fearsome Kali . Their many paths ( margas ) invite believers to approach the divinities of their choosing through wisdom ( jnana ), devotion (bhakti), or action (karma) . Hindus recognize different stages in life—students, householders (married folk), retirees, renouncers—each with different ethical obligations . They also recognize different aims in life: kama , or pleasure; artha , or wealth and power; dharma, or duty; and moksha, or spiritual liberation

21. Socially, the Hindu world has traditionally been divided into four classes, or varnas (“colors”): the priestly class (Brahmins) the warrior class (Kshatriyas) the merchant class ( Vaishyas ) the servant class ( Shudras ) Outside this system of classification are the outcastes, or untouchables, now referred to as Dalits (“broken,” “oppressed ”) Traditionally, these castes are hereditary, and members of different castes do not marry one another . Jannism and Buddhism became prominent in subcontinent due rigid class system Some Hindus are polytheists who believe in many gods. Others are monotheists who insist that there is one divine principle underlying many divine manifestations.

22. Today, “Hinduism” is an umbrella term for a diverse array of religious concepts, symbols, beliefs, and behaviors . Under this umbrella sit Uber drivers with images of Shiva on their dashboards, emaciated renouncers mortifying their bodies, fatwalleted businessmen with sculptures of the god Ganesha guarding the gates to their corporations, and ordinary householders worshiping Kali in their home shrines Hindus tend to affirm the authority of the Vedas and the propriety of making offerings to their deities. When it comes to their analysis of the human predicament, Hindus have traditionally fixed on the problem of samsara (“wandering through”), the ever-flowing cycle of birth, death, rebirth, and redeath . They have focused on redeath more than rebirth. To be born is to enter into the shadow of sickness, old age, and death. To live is to endure sorrow. To be reborn is to be strapped once again onto the hamster “wheel of re-death.” In short, samsara is a trap rather than an opportunity. The goal is to be liberated from it. This liberation Hindus refer to as moksha (from muc , “to free, release”).

23. But how might a person achieve this release ? According to jnana yoga , or the discipline of wisdom, humans achieve moksha by attaining knowledge, more specifically the knowledge that the essence of the divine and the essence of the human are one and the same . According to bhakti yoga , or the discipline of devotion, humans achieve moksha via devotion to a god or goddess of their choosing . Finally, there is karma yoga , or the discipline of action, in which humans achieve moksha through moral and ritual action.

24. Not all Hindus take moksha as their goal, however. Like the Buddhist tradition, the Hindu tradition proceeds on two tracks. One is for people seeking the ultimate goal of moksha. The other is for those who either cannot imagine breaking away or do not want to break away from the karmic cycle. They seek thisworldly goals, including duty, power, and pleasure, and as they approach death they hope simply for the proximate goal of a better rebirth.

25. Hindu Gods and Goddesses Hindu communities have focused on a few favorite divinities. Some Hindus today speak of a Trimurti of three gods : Brahma the creator, he has 4 heads each pointing in 4 different directions to represent 4 Vedas, and his cosort Saraswati , the Goddess of learning. Vishnu the sustainer or preserver, and Shiva the destroyer (or recycler ). In Hinduism, the feminine energy is worshipped in form of “ Goddess Shakhti ” Shiva (“The Auspicious”) embodies the paradoxical nature of Hindu divinity, which can be both terrifying and auspicious, both destructive and creative . He is also depicted in human form as a wandering yogi and a Himalayan meditator, his skin slathered with ashes and stretched thin over protruding bones. But this “erotic ascetic” is also a family man: the husband of Parvati and the father of the elephant-headed god Ganesha

26. Shiva appears as well as Nataraja , a four-armed Lord of the Dance who dances inside a circle of flames and atop a dwarf demon, with one arm drumming the world into creation and another bearing the fire of destruction None of these manifestations of Shiva, it should be noted, has power apart from the feminine principle of shakti , which means “power” or “energy.” “Without Shakti,” it is said, “Shiva is shava ”— a corpse Vishnu (“The Pervader ”) is said to have ten avatars, who come to earth to make things right when the world has gone wrong. “Whenever there is a decline in dharma, and the absence of dharma increases, I create myself,” Vishnu says. “I come into being from age to age . Fish, tortoise, boar man-lion, dwarf, Rama with an axe, Rama, Krishna Buddha Kalki - the future avatar

27. Scholars have classified manifestations of Devi into two types: “goddesses of the tooth” and “goddesses of the breast . The goddesses of the tooth are violent, wild, and independent, whereas the goddesses of the breast are nurturing, gentle, and joined to their husbands . Two popular tooth goddesses are Durga (“The Inaccessible ”) and Kali (“The Black One”) . Typically depicted with eight or ten arms and riding a lion or a tiger, Durga wields the weapons of the male gods who made her. Her diet runs toward meat, blood, and alcohol The breast goddesses include Shiva’s wife Parvati , Krishna’s consort Radha , Vishnu’s wife Lakshmi , and Brahma’s wife Saraswati . Like Rama’s wife Sita in the Ramayana , these women exhibit traditionally “feminine” virtues , including fidelity to husbands, and thus serve as models for all bhakti devotees ( male and female), who are expected to remain faithful to their gods. However, these goddesses also rule over their own realms. ( Saraswati is the goddess of learning, for example.)

28. Ganesha , the elephant-headed god, is perhaps the most popular Hindu divinity. Worshiped as a remover of obstacles and blesser of new beginnings, he is often found at thresholds and doorways_ Nowadays, stock and bond traders chant his 108 names each morning before the opening of the stock exchange in Mumbai .

29. Lord Ganesha : Remover of Obstacles Devi Saraswati : Godess of Knowledge

30. Ways of Being Hindu Shaivas who worship Shiva as supreme. They are typically monotheistic Vaishnavas who worship one of the avatars of Vishnu , especially Krishna and Rama, as their deity of choice. They are also typically monotheistic . Shaktas who worship as supreme the goddess Devi or some other manifestation of her goddess power ( shakti ). These manifestations include unmarried goddesses, who are worshiped as individuals, and spouse goddesses, who are typically worshiped in male/female pairs Smartas refuse to choose among the above options because of their belief that the various manifestations of the divine are essentially the same. Though they may prefer a particular god, they regard any god in their gaze as a representation of the undivided divine.

31. Hindus have also divided over philosophical matters , forming six philosophical schools, including two that denied the existence of an eternal and personal god active in human history. The dominant school is called Vedanta , meaning “the end of the Vedas,” but this school is itself divided into various subschools , largely over the relationship between brahman (the divine) and atman (the self-soul). The three most influential are: Advaita (“ Nondualistic ”) Vedanta: spiritual liberation comes only when one realizes that multiplicity is maya (“illusion”) and that reality is monistic (“one”). Dvaita (“Dualistic”) Vedanta: Vishishtadvaita Vedanta : Adherents of this “qualified nondualism ” school argue that only one thing ( brahman ) exists, but that it exhibits multiplicity all the way down.

32. Vedic Religion: Proto-Hinduism as a Way of Action Hindus divide their scriptures into two categories : smriti (“what is remembered”) and shruti (“what is heard”). Smriti texts are lesser scriptures, made by human hands . They are the more authoritative texts, and of all shruti the Vedas are the highest . In fact, one thing that binds Hindus together is a shared reverence for the Vedas. Just as to be an American is to accept the Constitution as the law of the land, to be a Hindu is to accept the Vedas (from vid, “to know”) as true knowledge. To reject the Vedas, as Jains and Buddhists do, is to find yourself outside the Hindu fold

33. Classification of Vedas Vedas represent eternal truth according to Hindu Philosophy and it was revealed to sages of God Rig Veda (“Verse Knowledge”): Truth, reality and universe. Poems or chants praising the gods, recited by priests during sacrifices and other rituals; Yajur Veda (“Sacrificial Knowledge”): prose mantras, or sacred formulas, to recite during these rites ; Sama Veda (“Musical Knowledge ”): hymns ; “Sweet song that destroys sorrow” Atharva Veda (“Priestly Knowledge”): later texts, including practical prayers, charms, and incantations used to bring on success and to ward off sickness.

34. Other Holy Books Upanishads (500-800bc) Some Hindus started to question Vedas their idea became Upandishads . They are books on Philosophy. People are not their minds, or bodies, or egos but their atma (soul). Your Soul is real, everything else is unreal and temporary. The Shiva Purana (Encyclopedias of Hindu Belief) Tax system, hell, caste system, army organization, Yoga, Gods and everything in between Valmiki’s Ramayan (Dharma must be followed for society to function) Mahabharta : longest poem, fives times the size of the Bible Bhagwatgita ( Everyone faces difficult choices but they must act on them according to their dharma no matters what.

35. Vedic Gods Indra , the most important Vedic deity, was a warrior god, the god of war , and the closest thing to a high god in Vedic religion. His most important role was killing a demon who had locked away the world’s waters . Agni, the second most important deity in the Vedas, was both fire itself and the god of fire, sacrifice, and the sun. He was also a messenger who shuttled between the human and heavenly realms. Offerings poured into his mouth (the sacrificial fire) were carried up as smoke to other gods, who feasted on them. If Indra was the model warrior, Agni was the model priest. The first words of the Rig Veda are, “I pray to Agni” Varuna was a moral god, the guardian of cosmic order and social harmony. He practiced appropriate speech, performed the proper rituals, and punished evildoers with disease while rewarding with happiness those who did good deeds .

36. In Vedic religion, karma referred to ritual action , but as classical Hinduism emerged it started to take on ethical import , referring to moral action and the consequences (good or bad) that flow from it . Among the wandering renouncers seeking this liberating wisdom around the fifth century BCE were Siddhartha Gautama and Vardhamana Mahavira . These men, who would go on to found (or revive) what we now refer to as Buddhism and Jainism, distinguished themselves from Hindu renouncers by rejecting the authority of the Vedas .

37. Revival and Reforms in Hinduism The reforms in Hinduism like the Bhakti Movement by Alvars and Naynar have made in possible for Hinduism to survive today Budha is explained as avator of Lord Vishnu Adi Shankar Acharya gave Advaita philosophy and he also popularized the “ Panchayatana ” worship of five deities togather ; Ganesh, Shiva, Vishnu, Surya and Devi. Ramanada , Tulsidas , Kabir , Guru Nanak and Meerabai have played a huge role in brining refoms

38. The Epics The complications of the lives of these householders found expression in the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, wide-ranging stories that wrestled with the challenges of ordinary life in a world in which the gods walked the earth Their scenes are the stuff of Shakespeare’s tragedies and contemporary telenovelas , combining heroism and holiness with betrayal, lechery, murder, adultery, and lust. The heroes of these epics are neither priests nor ascetics but warriors and kings and gods. While these epics are technically regarded as smriti (human traditions) rather than shruti ( unauthored revelation), they have held more sway over more Hindus for more time than supposedly more authoritative texts.

39. The Mahabharata, at some one hundred thousand verses and 1.8 million words, is longer than the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Bible combined. Tucked inside it is the Bhagavad Gita, the most beloved scripture for many Hindus today —their New Testament and their Quran. The Ramayana, which weighs in at twenty thousand verses, looks miniature alongside the Mahabharata, but it still is roughly three times longer than the Quran . B oth of these stories demonstrate the power of storytelling to convey and shape cultural and religious values.

40. As the Ramayana opens, Rama, the eldest of three sons of the virtuous king of Ayodhya , is about to ascend to the throne. But his stepmother manages to persuade his father to promise to send Rama into exile in the forest and crown her own son instead.

41. LIVED HINDUISM Today, the word “Hinduism” is all but synonymous with bhakti. There are followers of Gandhi who practice karma yoga . . Devotees in Maharastra tend to worship Ganesha . Devi is popular in Bengal, and Shiva in the Himalayas. The love devotees lavish on these gods is surprisingly similar, evident not only in bhakti poetry but also in puja, festivals, and pilgrimage

42. PUJA Hindu devotees have not traditionally gone to congregational worship services akin to the Catholic Mass . This worship is called puja . During puja, devotees make offerings of flowers, food, water, or money to a god said to reside in an image. Because the deity does not eat anything more than the essence of this offering, the food offered in puja is offered back to worshipers as prasada (divine “favor ”). puja may include mantras chanted by priests plus the ringing of bells. It will typically also include aarti —when a lamp is passed among devotees and with it the “heat” (and favor) of the god . The Indologist Diana Eck has identified this intimate encounter— darshan , or “sacred seeing”— as the heart and soul of bhakti worship

43. Festivals There are countless local festivals to deities. There are regional festivals celebrating gods known throughout India yet most popular in a particular state Many of these festivals feature theatrical performances rooted in episodes of the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, or popular vernacular epics . Divali Of all the pan-Indian festivals, Divali is the most popular. In fact, it is celebrated not only by Hindus but also by Sikhs, Jains, and some Buddhists Divali marked the last fall harvest . Today, it marks the end of one financial year and the beginning of another. Merchants buy new account books. Devotees sweep their floors to prepare for a visit from Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. They then set out lamps ( divali means “rows of lighted lamps”) to guide her to their homes and businesses

44. In Divali celebrations in North India, devotees recall the return of Rama and Sita to the city of Ayodhya after fourteen years in exile . Sikhs on this holiday mark the liberation from prison of their sixth guru, Guru Hargobind Jains recall the time when their last great teacher Mahavira entered into nirvana . In all these cases, celebrants mark the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance .

45. Like Divali , Holi is a harvest festival , though in this case the festival comes in late February or early March—a Thanksgiving of sorts for the start of spring. But Holi is far rowdier —a Hindu Mardi Gras in which strict social mores give way to practical jokes, raunchy songs, and intoxication. “ Holi hai !”— (stories of its origin ) Traditional hierarchies of age, caste, and gender are suspended, and typical Indian reserve about public displays of affection is set aside. On Holi , wives ritually hit their husbands with sticks. Proper ladies and gentlemen shout obscenities and sing raunchy songs . The largest of these is the “great” Kumbh Mela held every twelve years at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers in Allahabad in North India. Here, holy men line up, led by a group of naked ascetics called the Naga Sadhus, to take a dip in the Ganges, and millions of pilgrims of all castes follow them in

46. Pilgrimage Pilgrimage ( yatra ) is another way Hindus demonstrate their devotion to the gods of their choosing Hindus visit places where rivers meet or places associated with a particular deity—for instance , to Ayodhya , the birthplace of Rama, or Mount Kailas, the Himalayan abode of Shiva . TirupatiRivaling Varanasi as the most-visited pilgrimage site in modern India is a temple in Tirupati set in the hills of Andhra Pradesh in South Indi- the belief that its god— Venkateswara , a local form of Vishnu who is also referred to as Balaji —is a powerful and generous giver of boons. .

47. Pilgrims walk or ride up a steep road to approach this temple and the image within. Many shave their heads They present their offerings in the hopes that Venkateswara will help them get into college, land a job, or have a child. These offerings, worth tens of millions in U.S. dollars annually, have made this temple the richest in India and one of the world’s largest private holders of gold . Hindu pilgrims can travel to see the seven cities that bestow spiritual liberation or the 108 places where various parts of Shiva’s wife Sati’s dead body fell as her grieving husband carried her across India The popular Ban Yatra takes Krishna devotees through several sites in North India associated with his life . The Char Dham Yatra courses through four sites that constitute the four corners of sacred India: Badrinath (associated with Vishnu) in the Himalayas in the north, Puri (another abode of Vishnu) in the east on the Bay of Bengal, Rameshvaram (an abode of Shiva) in the south, and Dvaraka (associated with Krishna) in the west

48. CONTEMPORARY CONTROVERSY: HINDU NATIONALISM . Critics call these “Hindu first” activists peddlers of “ Brahmanical fascism .” They call themselves partisans of Hindutva who see India as a Hindu state that should be governed in keeping with Hindu beliefs and Hindu practices . Three key moments marked Hindu nationalism’s emergence as a political force in the 1980s and 1990s. The first was the founding in 1980 of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a political party opposed to the dominant Indian National Congress, which right-wing Hindu nationalists had come to see as overly secular and insufficiently tough on Islam

49. The second came in 1989 when the BJP won about 20 percent of the seats in Indian parliamentary elections and established itself as a major party. The third came in 1992, when Hindu nationalist mobs destroyed a 450-year-old mosque in Ayodhya on the theory that it had been built on the ruins of a much earlier Hindu temple marking Rama’s birthplace . Today, this marriage of nationalism and religious fundamentalism —“One Nation, One People, One Culture”—is represented most powerfully in India by the BJP Modi , whose BJP affirms the supremacy of upper-caste over lower-caste Hindus, has also looked the other way when it comes to atrocities against Dalits . “These developments are not a matter of uncontrollable religious hatred,” argues the writer and activist Amrit Wilson, “but a systematic move towards a fascistic Hindu state”—a “republic of fear.”