Chapter 4. Hinduism and Varkari Sect- Beliefs and Practices. The research identifies „Religion‟ as an independent variable. It is essential to understand the traits of the religion under consideration to assess its influence on built heritage. 1. „Hinduism‟ as an overarching concept and Varkari faith as a Vaishnava school of Hinduism is understood from secondary sources of literature on Hinduism (Shakunthala 1984, Sarma1987, Sontheimer 1981,1989,2004, Bhandarkar1982, Pattnaik 2003,Mehrotra 2013) and Varkari Sect (Gosavi 1979, Mokashi 1975, Abhyankar 2012, Dhere 1966, Eric Sand 2000,2015). 2. Behavioral aspects are also studied from the fieldwork by conducting visits at different times of the year (Before vari, during Chaturmas, Sankranti, summer times). 3. Religion is also discussed with experts and key informants. Following aspects of religion based on characteristics identified by Niel Nielsen (1993), were scrutinized to identify the influence of religion on the evolution of built heritage. 1. Nature of supernatural. 2. Definition of sacred. 3. Nature of rituals. 4. Ways of communication with the Divine. 5. Organization of life. 6. Sacred stories providing the worldview. 4.1. Hinduism Hinduism is one of the oldest of the world‟s living religions (Sarma, 1987). It has no founder (Sarma, 1987). The history of Hindus goes back to 5000 years. The origin of this religion is attributed to geography. It is associated with the people settled in the 70 valley of river Sindhu. According to scholars „Hindu‟ is a corrupted version of the word „Sindhu‟ (Shakunthala, 1984). Nature of Hinduism as a comprehensive religion may not qualify for being a religion as per the Western concepts due to absence of dogmatic tenets or an overarching authority except belief in the authority of Veda (Sontheimer 1989:306). Hinduism is considered more as a way of life than a religion (Shakunthala, 1984:1). Sarma(1987) terms Hinduism as a school of metaphysics. As per Shakunthala (1984), Hinduism offers different approaches to persons of different aptitudes, thereby giving every individual a freedom of nature of worship. Another remarkable feature of Hinduism is its tolerance to other faiths. Devdutt Pattnaik (2003) describes Hindu as, „Generic term for a set of beliefs, customs, and practices that evolved in the Indian subcontinent and later spread to Southeast Asia; has two approaches to life, the Vedic and tantric; is divided into three theistic schools based on the worship of Shiva (Shaiva), Vishnu (Vaishnava), and the mother goddess (Shakta). Rajiv Mehrotra (2013) while explaining uniqueness of Hinduism claims that the western religions are history centric as the bedrock of such religions are historical events. Western religion, which he termed as Abrahamic religions give emphasis on „salvation from sin‟ while Hinduism gives emphasis on individual‟s ever present divine potential. He terms Hinduism is ahistorical as Hinduism believes that truth is not located out there in a heaven, accessible only through the rare intervention of prophets but resides as the invisible „Self‟ within each person, animal, plant and each tiniest particle. Direct experience and empirical testing are important for the acquisition of knowledge. He posits the truth is to be discovered and rediscovered for oneself that needs self- discipline, experimentation with techniques and their ways of transmission, need of different methods for different temperament. The emphasis on spirituality forms the hall mark of Hinduism and it explains the diversity and plurality of religious theories and practices in Hinduism. Thus Mehrotra (2013) claims that the field of spiritual discovery remains open to new approaches. 71 4.2. Philosophy Hinduism believes in the one God, who in His highest form is known as Brahman , the Absolute or the Universal Soul (Shakunthala, 1984). He is immanent and also transcendent, outside material existence. He is known as „Nirguna‟- without attributes (Shakunthala, 1984). For common people, it is hard to comprehend the impersonal God, so to make the Universal Spirit easily understandable, the Brahman with form and attributes is formulated. It is called „Saguna‟ Brahman. The aim of Hinduism is not merely making a perfect man but to make him one with the ultimate Reality, the eternal, universal spirit. This is not achieved by just improving human conduct but by changing the human consciousness. This transformation of human consciousness into divine consciousness is not possible in course of single life. Thus Hinduism believes in series of life (Sarma1987). “All systems of Hindu religious thought believe that the self of a man is a spiritual reality which passes from one life to another, from the past to the present and the future and that the history of the world is guided and governed by the moral law of Karma”- (Chatterjee, 1957) One of the beliefs is the law of Karma or action, the law of cause and effect. Our actions in this life will decide what form of life will be borne by us in next cycle (Sarma, 1987). The ultimate aim of a devout Hindu is to attain Moksha or liberation by breaking a chain of birth and death by living dutiful life following one‟s Dharma (duty). Hinduism prescribes the kind of discipline which will suit the man‟s condition and will enable him to pass to the next stage and ultimately the liberation i.e. Moksha. Sarma (1987) writes: “If the metaphysical ideal is too advanced and abstract for a man, a theological ideal is set before him. At this stage the impersonal Absolute, Brahman becomes a personal God, the perfect becomes the good, manifestation becomes creation, liberation becomes life in heaven and love takes the place of knowledge. If he is not fit for this stage, a course of ritualistic and moral action is prescribed to him. At this level the personal God is represented by an image in a temple, ritual and prayer take the place of meditation and righteous conduct takes the place of love.” 72 The fundamental belief of Hinduism is that there is one Supreme Sprit of which different gods are partial manifestations (Sharma, 1987). Three functions of the Supreme are Creation, protection and destruction that are attributed to Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesha/ Siva forming the holy trinity of Hinduism. Sakti represents the counterpart of the God (Shakunthala, 1984). Each God is provided with their own appropriate heaven, attendants, vehicles and progeny. Based on the chief deity, three main sects are found in Hinduism. These are Shaiva, Vaishnavas and Shaktas. In Shaiva sect, the supreme deity is Shiva. Vaishnava sect has Vishnu as the supreme deity. It has two schools as the Pancharatra and the Vaikhanasa. As per Sharma(1953), there are twenty subsects of Vaishnavism, ten of Saiva and Five of Saktas. The Shakta sect glorifies Devi, the consort of Shiva as Shakti i.e.energy giving power behind all creation, creativity and destruction. Surjit Sinha( 1970) while studying sects in Hinduism points out that the concepts in sociological studies have developed in relation to Christianity. The term Sect was used by the centrally organized churches to designate schimatic groups and Hindu sects cannot be considered as schematic offshoots from the central church as they have their specific problems of setting boundaries within the nebulous totality of Hinduism and have to deal with the very specific arrangements of castes in the social environment. Sinha (1970) gives the types of sects and sectarian movements as, a. The major sects 1. Vaishnavas – Shri Vaishnavas, Vallabhacharis, Ramanandis, Madhwacharis, Gaudiyas, etc 2. Saivas – Dasnamis, Urdhabahus, etc 3. Saktas – Dakshinis, Vamis, etc b. The Minor Hindu sects 1. Saurya- Worshipping the Sun. 2. Ganapatya- Worshipping the elephant headed God,‟Ganapati‟. 73 3. Dattatreya- Worshipping Datta c Anti – Brahman castes-sects Lingayats d Sects synthesizing Hindu and Moslem creeds and ritual elements Bishnoi, Kabirpanthi, etc. e Coded religious groups 1. Mahayana Buddhist of sub-Himalayan area 2. Sikhism 3. Jainism f Religious movements and orders at the various phases of sect formation, e.g. Arya Samaj, Brahmo samaj, Ramakrishna Order, Aurobindo Asram, etc 4.3. Tenets of Hinduism There are five elements that contribute to the unity of Hinduism (Sarma, 1987). These are 4.3.1. Common Scriptures There are six types of scriptures. These are, I. The Vedas The most important scriptures are Vedas. Sage Ved Vyasa codified the four Vedas. These are, a. The Rigveda – It has hymns in praise of the Divine b. The Yajurveda- 74 c. The Samveda- d. The Atharvaveda- Each Veda has four parts, i. The Mantras – Basic Verses ii. The Brahmanas – the explanations of those verses or hymns and related rituals. iii. The Aranyakas – Meditations on their meanings. iv. The Upanishadas – Mystical utterances revealing profound spiritual truth. Since the Upanishadas are in the end, these are called Vedantas. There are about 108 Upanishadas out of which 12 are important. These are the Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Manduka, Mandukya, Aitereya, Taittiriya, Chandogya, Brihadaranyaka, Kaushitaki and Svetasvatara (Shakuntala 1989: 6). They have the essence of Vedic philosophy. Later systematized Vedanta Sutras, based on Upanishadas form the base of all schools of the Hindu thoughts. The teachings of the Upanishadas are summarized in another attractive form of Bhagvad Gita. Upvedas include Ayurveda, Dhanurveda,Gandharva Veda and Arthashastra. II. The Smritis These are human Compositions which guide humans for their conduct, also known as Dharmashastras, There are 18 Smritis in all III. The Epics Epics represent narratives from Vedas in story form for the understanding of the commoners. The famous epics are Ramayana and Mahabharata 75 IV. The Puranas The purpose of Puranas was to narrate the religious philosophy in simplified manner (Varnekar, 1975). There are eighteen Puranas and eighteen subsidiary Puranas ’Upa Puranas’. These are in the form of stories conveying truths of Vedas and Dharmashastras. Puranas include creation, destruction, dynasties, dynastic records and periods.