Why Hinduism Isn't An - Ism - But A Way of Life

2/4/2016
WhyHinduismisn'tan"ism"butaWayofLife
HOME
YOGA PROGRAMS
GLOBAL CENTERS
CONTACT US
VIDEO
Why Hinduism
isnt an ism but
a Way of Life
Yogi and mystic Sadhguru explains the origin of
the word "Hindu" and looks at why there is
actually no such thing as Hinduism. Being Hindu
is a way of life, not a religion.
Blog Home / Yoga & Meditation / Demystifying Yoga
Oct 10, 2014 | 14 Comments
http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/yogameditation/demystifyingyoga/hinduismnotreligion/
1/17
2/4/2016
19k
Shares
Yogi and mystic Sadhguru explains the origin of the word

Hindu and looks at why there is actually no such thing as
Hinduism. Being Hindu is a way of life, not a religion.
Sadhguru: The term and concept of Hinduism was coined only in

recent times. Otherwise, there was really no such thing. The word
Hindu essentially comes from the word Sindhu. Anyone who is
born in the land of Sindhu is a Hindu. It is a cultural and
geographic identity. It is like saying I am an Indian but it is a
more ancient identity than being an Indian. Indian is only
about seventy years old, but this is an identity that we have
always lived with.
Being a Hindu does not mean having a particular belief system.
Basically, the whole culture was oriented towards realizing ones
full potential. Whatever you did in this culture was Hindu. There
is no particular god or ideology that you can call as the Hindu way
of life. You can be a Hindu irrespective of whether you worship a
man-god or a woman-god, whether you worship a cow or a tree.
If you dont worship anything you can still be a Hindu.
It is only recently and due to external influences that this
geographical and cultural identity has attempted to transform
2/17
2/4/2016
itself into a religious identity called Hinduism. Hindu was never

an ism, and the attempt to organize it as a religion is still not
successful because the Hindu way of life which is referred to as
Sanatana Dharma or universal law is all-inclusive in nature and
does not exclude anything. The Hindu way of life is not an
organized belief system but a science of salvation.
The science of salvation

The conflicts in the world have always been projected as good
versus bad, but really, the conflict is always one mans belief
versus another mans belief. In the past, religion was far more
important to people than it is now, but still there were no
theocratic states in this culture; the ruler had his religion and the
subjects had the freedom to follow theirs. There was no conflict
because people did not look at religion as an organized process.
Everywhere in the world, whenever anyone spoke anything other
than the existing organized religion of that time, the first thing
that the people said was, Kill. In Europe, thousands of women
were burnt at the stake simply because they showed other kinds
of possibilities and capabilities that were not logically understood
by people. So they were labeled as witches and burnt. Persecution
has always been the thing. Some of the famous ones that you
know who were persecuted were Jesus, Mansoor and Socrates.
They were persecuted simply because they showed other kinds of
capabilities which were not considered normal.
3/17
2/4/2016
So, wherever spirituality happened in the West, it always

happened in secrecy. It always was individual or in small groups,
never as a society. But in this culture, there has never been
anything called persecution for spiritual people. At the most, they
called you for debates and asked you questions. Because the
pursuit is truth, so people sat down and argued whether what
they knew was true or what the other person knew was true. If his
truth was more powerful than yours, you become a part of him. If
your truth was more powerful than theirs, they would become a
part of you. It is a very different kind of search. People were
searching to know. They were not just believing and trying to
prove that their belief was right.
There is no belief system to the
Everywhere else
people believe God
created us. Here we
know we created
god so we take total
freedom to create
whatever kind of
god we can relate to.
Hindu way of life. Someone

believes in God, someone else can
choose not to believe in God.
Everybody can have their own
way of worship and way to
salvation. If there are five people
in your family, each one can
worship the God of their choice,
or not worship anything, and still
be a good Hindu. So you are a
Hindu irrespective of what you
believe or dont believe.
At the same time, there was a
4/17
2/4/2016
common line running through all these. In this culture, the only
goal in human life is liberation or mukti. Liberation from the very
process of life, from everything that you know as limitations and
to go beyond that. God is not held as the ultimate thing, God is
seen as one of the stepping stones. This is a Godless but a devout
nation in the sense that there is no concretized idea of God. When
I say Godless, we need to understand that this is the only culture
that has given humans the freedom not just to make a choice of
Gods, but to create the sort of God that you can relate to. You can
worship a rock, a cow, your mother you can worship whatever
you feel like because this is a culture where we have always
known that God is our making. Everywhere else people believe
God created us. Here we know we created god so we take total
freedom to create whatever kind of god we can relate to. People
worshiped whatever aspect of life they related to most, and that
was perfectly fine.
A Godless nation
In the East, spirituality and religion were never an organized
process. Organization was only to the extent of making
spirituality available to everyone not for conquest. Essentially,
religion is about you, it is not about God. Religion is about your
liberation. God is just one more stepping stone that you can use or
skip towards your ultimate liberation. This culture recognizes
human wellbeing and freedom as of paramount importance
versus the prominence of God, and hence the whole technology of
god-making evolved into the science of consecrating various
5/17
2/4/2016
types of energy forms and spaces.

The essential purpose of God is to create reverence in a person.
What you are reverential towards is not important. Being
reverential is what is important. If you make reverence the quality
of your life, then you become far more receptive to life. Life will
happen to you in bigger ways. There is so much
misunderstanding about these things because there is a certain
dialectical ethos to the culture where we want to express
everything in a story or in a song. But in a way, this whole culture
referred to as Hindu is rooted in the spiritual ethos of each
individual working toward ultimate liberation as the fundamental
goal in life.
If you explore mysticism in India, it is absolutely incredible and
this has been possible because it does not come from a belief
system. It happens as a scientific means to explore dimensions
beyond the physical.
India is not a study, but a phenomenon of possibilities, though a
cauldron of multiple cultural, ethnic, religious and linguistic
soup. It is all held together by a single thread of seeking. The
tremendous longing has been nurtured into the peoples of the
land, the longing to be free. Free from the very process of life and
death. India cannot be studied, at the least one must soak it in, or
at best must dissolve. This is the only way. It cannot be studied,
western analysis of India is too off the mark, as symptomatic
analysis of Bharat will only lead to very grossly misunderstood
6/17
2/4/2016
conclusions of a nation that revels and thrives in a chaos that is

organic and exuberant.
This most ancient of nations upon this earth is not built upon a
set of principles or beliefs or ambitions of its citizenry. It is a
nation of seekers, seeking not wealth or wellbeing, but liberation,
not of economic or political kind, but the ultimate liberation.
When Adiyogi was asked how many ways to enlightenment, he
said only 112 if you are within the realm of your physical system,
but if you transcend the physical, then every atom in the universe
is a doorway. Bharat, as the nation has been known for many
millennia, is a complex amalgamation of this variety of spiritual
possibilities. If you happen to be at the Maha Kumbh, there was
quite a display of this. The best compliment came from none
other than Mark Twain, after his visit to India, he said, So far as
I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or
nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun
visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten,
nothing overlooked.
Bharata
One must not forget that the basis of seeking is that One has
realized that One does not know. One does not know the nature of
Ones being. Instead of settling for a culturally convenient belief,
for a whole populace to have the courage and commitment to seek
the truth about themselves. This the basis of this nation that is
7/17
2/4/2016
called Bharata. Bha meaning sensation, that is the basis of all

experience and expression; Ra meaning Raga, the tune and
texture of life; Ta meaning Tala, the rhythms of life, which
involve both rhythms of the human system and nature.
To preserve, protect and nurture the fundamental ethos of Bharat,
the legacy of wisdom and unbridled exploration of life is a true
gift to the Humanity as a whole. As a generation, this is an
important responsibility that we should fulfill. Let not the
limitless possibilities that the sages of this land explored and
expounded be lost in religious bigotry and senseless simplistic
dogmas.
Hindustan
An ancient land
Where Man learned to excel
Without having to propel
himself away from the
Principles that maketh
life process and the universe
A land where man was not
eager to do his own will
but to fulfill the will of the divine
He grew in knowing and learning
to enhance himself into an
8/17
2/4/2016
exuberance of intelligence and emotion

Enshrined the carnal and the divine
Delved deep into the innards
of creation, deciphered the primordial
mastered the melody and the math
of music of sound and all its
manifestations. Above all
found the doors of freedom
Assured of final freedom
Came to an ease and beauty
Where life was not burden but
a Bounty. A copious production
of effulgent and gentle beings
occurred. Masculine and feminine
found their fulfillment and
went Beyond. An ideal prey
for the brutal forces from
across
Sadhguru
Editors Note: Bha-ra-ta: The Rhythm of a Nation includes more of

Sadhgurus insights on Bharat, its past, present and future, and the
profundity of its culture. The ebook is available on a Pay As You Wish
basis. (Click Claim for Free if you want it gratis).
9/17
2/4/2016
Cancerisaserious
aberrationinthe
human
system.ClassicalYoga
bringsharmonyand
neutralizesaberrations.
10/17
2/4/2016
Sadhguru
Todays Mystic Quote
19k
Shares
11/17
2/4/2016
POSTED IN: Demystifying Yoga

TAGS: Culture, nation building, Starred
< PREVIOUS POST
NEXT POST >
Related Articles
Hindustan
Is Yoga a
Religion?
Bharat The
Power of a
Name
Top 7 Myths
about Yoga
Busted!
Trending Articles
Nothing to
Gain, Nothing
to Lose:
Podcast
Tuesday
The Most
Precious Gift
Doorway to
the Beyond
The Meaning
of True Love
Taking Love
Beyond Words
You might also like these
12/17
2/4/2016
On the Fast
Track: Do the
Evolution!
Youth and
Indian Culture
Indian Culture & Tradition The Basis
Behind Its
Elements
Mahabharat
Stories: 7
Important
Tales From
the Epic
Subscribe to receive Isha News weekly in your mailbox

Subscribe
Your E-Mail Address
Comments
Community
Recommend 8
Share
Login
SortbyBest
Jointhediscussion
:) ayearago
Namaste,
Ifeltlikesharingwithyouoneoftheaward
winningsongswrittenbyfamousmalayalai
poet,VayalarRamavarmahere.
Thetranslationgoesasfollows:
Mancreatedreligions..
ReligionscreatedGods..
Man,Religions&Godssharedthisland,
sharedtheirminds.....
ManbecameHindu,becameMuslim,
becameChristian..
Webecameunrecognizable..
13/17
2/4/2016
Webecameunrecognizable..
Indiabecamealandoflunatics..
Thousandsandthousandsofhumanhearts
becamewarehousesofweapons..
Godisdyingonthestreets&Satanis
laughing.....
Whereistruth,whereisbeauty,whereis
freedom?
Whereisourbloodrelations?
Whereisoureternallove?
Wherearethoseavatarswhocomeoncein
every1000years?
Heremanisdyingonthestreets&the
religionsarelaughing.....
9
Reply Share
kiran2>:) 4monthsago
Thepoetseemstobeconfused.Heis
generalisingHinduChritians
andMuslimsreligiontobetheone
andthesameorhavesimilaroutlook
andthoughts.Thispoemishardly
quoteworthy.
Reply Share
ArunRamachandran ayearago
AnothermasterpiecefromSadhguru:)
4
Reply Share
Jaya ayearago
endaromahanubhavuluandariki
vandanamulu,Shambho
3
Reply Share
Kiran ayearago
Wonderful..sosimpleyetprofounc
2
Reply Share
rajkumar 5monthsago
thankuwellexplainedHinduismendless
flowofknowledgeandculture.
Reply Share
14/17
2/4/2016
disqus_kOJL8PBREQ 6monthsago
PranamGuruji!!
Iwasextremelymovedafterreadingthis
post.Wonderfulexplanation..:)Iama
Hinduwhorespectsallthereligionsequally
andIoftengetfuriouswhenfools(from
same/otherreligions)trytomanipulatethe
actualmeaningofHinduisminawaythatis
beneficialtothem.AllthatIwantedtosayto
suchnitwitswassaidhere:)Thanksaton.
But,sadlythereisonequestionthatis
hauntingmesinceafewmonths(Ipostedit
inseveralforums/discussionsbutcouldn't
getaconvincingreplyfromanyone).This
questionwasaskedbymyclosefriend.Here
itgoes"IfHinduismisawayoflifeandif
peoplewhopracticeitarefreetoworship
whicheverGodtheywant,willapersonbe
stilltreatedasaHinduafterconvertinginto
otherfaiths(Muslim/christian)?"Thisis
somethingIneverthoughtofandIcould
notgivemyfriendananswertillnowasIam
notanexpertinthismatter.
Irequestallthepeoplewhosupportedthis
posttofreelyexpresstheiropiniononthis
matter..
Thankyou.
SarveJanaSukhinoBhavanthu!!^_^
Reply Share
kiran2>disqus_kOJL8PBREQ
4monthsago
Namaste,
Withregardsyourquestion.
Hinduimsgivesyouaclearguideline
onhowtolivearighteouslifeiea
Dharmiclife.Theguidelineforall
Hindusas(incaseoneneedsit)are
recitedbytheLord.
Chapter16,Verse13
TheBlessedLordsaid:Fearlessness,
15/17
2/4/2016
purificationofone'sexistence,
cultivationofspiritualknowledge,
charity,selfcontrol,performanceof
sacrifice,studyoftheVedas,austerity
andsimplicitynonviolence,
truthfulness,freedomfromanger
renunciation,tranquility,aversionto
seemore
Reply Share
AshwaniSharma 8monthsago
Awonderfulandthoughtprovokingarticle.
ButtoomuchofpraiseforIndia.Letusbe
frank,oursmaybeoneoftheoldest
civilisationsandblahblahbutwearestilla
workinprogress.Wearenowhere
comparedtothedevelopedworldwherethe
standardoflivingofacommonmanisway
aboveours.
Reply Share
AbhishekBandarkar>Ashwani
Sharma 9daysago
Thisarticleisaboutspiritualityand
nottheeconomicdevelopment.And
ISHA
Isha Yoga Programs
Global Centers
Social Outreach
Offerings & Celebrations
16/17
2/4/2016
Health Offerings
Isha Blog
CONTACT US
Subscribe
Volunteer
Donate
Sadhguru & Isha Mobile Apps
GENERAL
Sadhgurus Schedule
Isha News
Press & Media
Contact Us
Isha Links
Sitemap
SADHGURU
Man
Mystic
Mission
Subscribe to Mystic Quotes
A to Z
Videos
2015 Sadhguru All rights reserved | Privacy
17/17

Why Hinduism Isn't An - Ism - But A Way of Life

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Why Hinduism Isn't An - Ism - But A Way of Life

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2/4/2016

Yogi and mystic Sadhguru explains the origin of the word

Sadhguru: The term and concept of Hinduism was coined only in

itself into a religious identity called Hinduism. Hindu was never

The science of salvation

So, wherever spirituality happened in the West, it always

Hindu way of life. Someone

types of energy forms and spaces.

conclusions of a nation that revels and thrives in a chaos that is

called Bharata. Bha meaning sensation, that is the basis of all

exuberance of intelligence and emotion

Editors Note: Bha-ra-ta: The Rhythm of a Nation includes more of

POSTED IN: Demystifying Yoga

< PREVIOUS POST

NEXT POST >

You might also like these

Subscribe to receive Isha News weekly in your mailbox

Your E-Mail Address

2015 Sadhguru All rights reserved | Privacy

You might also like