Why I’m a Hindu – Part 4

In the first bit I distinguished between religions and the dharmas, and argued that Hinduism (and the related traditions of Buddhism and Jainism) is not a religion. Furthermore, religions have a concept of god (and strictly only one god) but dharmas have no related concept of god, neither one nor many. Thus Dharmas are godless, and therefore by the strict definition of the term, the dharmas are atheistic.

As I’m an atheist — a person who does not believe in god — I am godless and therefore irreligious. I assume that much was clear by now if you’ve been following my posts.

In this series (see Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3), I am exploring why I’m a Hindu, and intellectually and morally justifying my choice of my dharmic identity.

I was born a Hindu. Being born something is no cause for pride because there was no choice involved and therefore no merit deserved for making a choice. For instance, I was born a male but I cannot claim distinction (if distinction it is to be born one sex or the other) because it is not as if I was consulted as to what I want my sex to be. I had no choice in the matter.

However, I can confidently say that I was lucky that I was born in a dharmic tradition. Most people are not born in the dharmic tradition. Most people identify as Christians and Muslims. They know nothing about the dharmic traditions. Even Christians and Muslims in India, though immersed in the dharmic traditions, are completely unaware of what the dharmas are.

The pity is even more because all their ancestors were definitely dharmic. The ancestors of every Muslim and Christian in India were followers of the dharmas. Pitiably, they almost never get a chance to know about the dharmas and thus choose a more rational worldview.

The dharmic worldview is no doubt imbibed with one’s mother’s milk, as is true of the religious worldview. As one grows up, one is free to learn about other worldviews and with one significant exception, one can adopt another worldview. The exception is of course Islam. In Islam, the punishment for apostasy is death. In the modern world, most people are free to move between the religions (Judaism, Christianity) and the dharmas without any fuss.

The freedom to choose whatever belief system one wishes is one of the important markers of being a free human being.

In my case, being an educated and well-traveled person, I have had the opportunity to examine the world’s major belief systems. In my considered judgment the dharmic conception of the world is superior to the others. Therefore, born a Hindu I chose to continue to be one.

Let me explain why I think the Sanatana dharma is so intellectually and emotionally satisfying to me. Fundamentally, it is not childish. Its basic principles outrage neither the heart nor the head. They do not dictate; they explain. They don’t force; they persuade. They don’t reveal; they invite you to explore and learn. They are not one-size-fits all; it’s up to the individual to take what suits him at whatever stage of intellectual development he is at.

The dharmas grapple with the most fundamental questions of existence. What is the nature of the universe? Where did the universe come from and why? Who am I? What is my relationship to the universe and what is my role in it?

All those questions are raised and tentative answers proposed by various people over thousands of years. There’s no “divine” source of knowledge, no ready-made answers; only what we are able to figure out ourselves through introspection, contemplation, logic and observation. The goal is not to achieve power and control over the external world but rather achieve mastery over oneself. It’s a journey of the discovery of the self.

Fortunately for us, those who have gone before us have explored the terrain we wish to travel and have left us their discoveries. Using their wisdom and knowledge, we can proceed further along the way than they had. Nothing is set in stone for everybody everywhere forever.

Truth is too vast to be captured in the pages of a book or grasped by one mind. I like Jiddu Krishnamurty’s observation: that truth is a pathless land. There are no ruts in the land that your wheels get stuck in and force you to go along some pre-determined path and not be free to explore.

Previously I had noted that the dharmas are atheistic by definition because they don’t have any conception of god. The dharmas are also agnostic. That is their “don’t know” attitude. Here’s what I mean by that.

In the Rig Veda, a collection of vedic Sanskrit hymns dated around 3,500 years ago, there is a “Hymn to Creation.” The hymn wonders where this universe comes from. It does not answer the question. It ends by being agnostic about the matter:

“Who knows for certain? Who shall here declare it?
Whence was it born? Whence came creation?
The Gods are later than this world’s formation,
Who then can know the origins of the world?
None knows whence creation arose
Or whether he has or has not made it –
He who surveys it from the lofty skies.
Perhaps he knows, or perhaps he knows not.”

The greatest philosophers have struggled with the question of there universe came from and why since antiquity. The Rig Veda wisely concludes that perhaps the answer is unknowable.

And most certainly silly fables and fairy tales thought of by illiterate, ignorant goat-herders in the Middle East cannot possibly explain the how and why of the universe any more than a chimpanzee can solve the equations of quantum physics.

I will conclude this bit with my favorite compact phrase pointing to the nature of the universe:

Sat – Chit – Ananda.

Translated: Existence – Consciousness – Bliss.

Existence is primary. That is undeniably true. Even if this world is a simulation (though I think the claim that our world is “virtual reality” is a silly concept), there has to be a “real” substrate on which a virtual world is simulated. Therefore existence has to exist. That’s sat.

We are aware of existence. We are conscious. Therefore consciousness exists. That’s chit.

Finally, our consciousness allows us to perceive various facets of existence. Those are mental states. The highest of those mental states perceived by the most advanced consciousness is ananda. That’s bliss.

Three words, that’s all. To investigate and understand what they imply is a lifelong journey not just for an individual but for all sentient beings anywhere in the universe.

Now that I am at the end of this part, I may as well stick in two other Sanskrit phrases:

Tat tvan asi : Literally “That you are.” You and the not-you are identical.

Aham Bramhasmi : “I am Brahman.” I am the universe.

That all for now. Thank you, good night and may your god go with you.

Next: Part 5 of Why I’m a Hindu