Hindu Way of Awakening, The

Introduction

Hinduism is often omitted from rosters of the world’s great religions. Everyone knows, of course, that Hinduism exists. Even so, it is confused in many people’s minds with what they think of as Buddhism. For Buddhism fits into their concepts of what a religion ought to be. For one thing, it was founded by one individual, Gautama Buddha, who was a historic personage like Moses, Jesus, Lao Tse, Mohammed, and Zoroaster. Buddhism, moreover, like most other religions, has an organized structure (divided, like the others, into a number of sects), a set of specific dogmas, and an officially recognized Way. Moreover, like the other religions, it has its own set of clearly defined, “noble” principles for better living.

Hinduism, by contrast, seems to have merely “happened.” Foreigners see in it such a bewildering array of gods and goddesses, of complex and seemingly incomprehensible ceremonies, and of confusing “explanations” for everything that most students of the subject end up merely bewildered.

A friend of mine years ago, a long-time devotee of yoga meditation practices, was able upon retirement to fulfill a lifelong dream by traveling to India. On arrival in Calcutta, he enthusiastically asked a guide to show him the spiritual sights. The man took him first to Kalighat Temple, where he was shown a goat being sacrificed to the “Divine Mother.”