SmartSurat  #  Hinduism

The way forward

It would be impossible to see unity through all the many examples of diversity and disparity in the broad spectrum of Hinduism, but it is a good starting point for the serious student of Hinduism, to search for the real beneath the apparent, and the concept of unity is one which will provide a good paradigm in many cases. Thus the apparent polytheism of Hinduism, for example, is seen at a deeper level of analysis to be monistic or monotheistic. The existence of Brahman as the substratum of all phenomena is the real unifying principle and the only way to experience such unity within the self is to get rid of the self, to get rid of the process of mind-differentiation between this and that which creates the dualities which obscure the unity of all things as Brahman. Indeed, loss of the egoistic self, which makes such unity possible, could be said to be the common denominator of all Hindu thought.      Individuals are equipped to live life differently, to experience life differently from the next person. They will see only what their personalities will allow them to see, but each individual has a remarkable potential to evolve - even in the confines of the genetic personality. Hinduism recognizes this and seeks to assist the individual on the journey to the fullest potential of one life. A scripture such as the Gita exemplifies this well, recognizing that there are very few who are reaching the end of the journey. Hinduism is rich in myth and narrative scripture with many messages both overt and concealed in the words of these scriptures. Individuals have to take from such words what they will and what they can, depending on their level of consciousness: very often the simplest of stories contain the most profound truths and as individual potential is realized the same material can elicit different depths. Hinduism is also rich in symbols; indeed all manifest existence is a symbol of Brahman. Symbols serve to point the mind forward to ideas beyond its immediate conceptions and, generally, Hinduism does this. In the Introduction the study of Hinduism was described as a journey and this is what Hinduism is, a journey of the self - the egoistic one - to a point where that ego is lost and the real Self is realized - Brahman.