The Story of Religion by John Hawkins

Author:John Hawkins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcturus Publishing Limited

The spiritual and material worlds. Hindus believe that the spiritual realm is eternal. For them, even this material world goes on forever, in an endless cycle of creation, destruction and re-creation.

Mahabharata This epic poem tells the story of five princes called the Pandavas at the very end of the last (copper) age. They were sons of King Pandu and descendants of King Bharat, after whom India is named. (India’s traditional name, ‘Bharatavarsha’, means ‘the land of Bharat’, often shortened to ‘Bharata’.) The Pandavas’ cousins, known as the Kauravas, tried to usurp the throne of the vast Indian Empire. After much intrigue, and requests for a peaceful settlement, the Kauravas refused to give up any of the land they had occupied illegally. To support the Pandavas, or to oppose them, kings from all over the known world prepared for battle on the plains of Kurukshetra, north of present-day New Delhi.

Just prior to the great battle, Lord Krishna – one of the most important Hindu deities – recited the Bhagavad Gita (now a key Hindu text) to Arjuna, one of the five Pandavas. Arjuna, though a great warrior, was depressed at the prospect of fighting against his own cousins. Krishna explained all the important Vedic concepts, starting with the idea that the true self (atman) is not the body. Upon hearing the words of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna regained his composure and resolved to fight. He and his brothers emerged victorious, securing the throne of the Indian Empire. Thirty-six years later, Krishna departed the world, marking the start of the present age.

The Aryan invasion theory When Europeans first arrived in India, they knew little of the origins of Hinduism. Finding few historical records, they studied religious accounts of history, but considered them mythological and therefore unreliable. They noted, however, that the Hindu scriptures talked of ‘Aryans’. The Sanskrit word Aryan literally means ‘noble people’, but academics suggested that it referred to a distinct race of people.

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