Informative

Common Misconceptions in Hinduism

Even though the word ‘Hindu’ itself is an exonym coined by the invaders, followers of this religion prefer calling it Sanatana Dharma (the eternal way) or Vaidik Dharma (Dharma-related to the ancient texts of Vedas). This ancient religion has been engulfed in heavy mysticism, primarily due to cultural and linguistic barriers faced by the westerners, which resulted in misinterpretation of the ancient texts.

So, let’s take on a few of the most misunderstood concepts of Hinduism, and break those stereotypes, one at a time.

1. Cow worshipping:  There are 649,481 villages currently thriving in India. Before urbanization, almost all of these villages were controlled by the farming economy. Apart from birthing oxen for plowing the fields, cow’s milk is used for multiple purposes, in the form of milk, butter, cheese, etc.

Even the cow dung is used as an energy source to cook and as a plaster to build homes. And hence, cows have a special place in the heart of every ordinary farmer. Hinduism believes every animal, tree, and even insect has a soul. Mainly being an agrarian society for the last 2000 years, cows are considered as maternal figures with a very gentle nature that provides nourishment and shelter to the whole family, and hence, they have been honored for generations as givers and sustainers of life, i.e., mothers.

2. 330 Million Gods: This is a classic example of being lost in the translation. Vedas say that there are 33 Koti Deities in Sanatana Dharma. In ancient Sanskrit, there are multiple meanings of work ‘Koti,’ where one is 10 million, and another being a ‘Type’.

So, when the Vedas say that there are 33 Koti Gods, they mean 8 Vasu Demi Gods, 11 Rudra Demigods, 12 Demigod Adityas, one Lord Prajapati, and one Lord Indra.
* Vasus are Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether, Moon, Sun, and Star. These Demi Gods are called Vasus because they are abodes of all that life, movement or existance.
* 11 Rudras are Praana, Apaana, Vyaana, Samaana, Udaana, Naag, Kurma, Krikal, Devadutta, Dhananjaya and our soul. They are nothing but eleven types of Pranas, living in a body.
* 12 Adityas: They are nothing but the different forms of Surya – the God of Sun. 12 Adityas are Dhata, Indra,Parjanya,Twashtha,Pusha, Aryama, Bhag, Vivswana, Vishnu, Anshumaan, Varuna and Mitra.
* Lord Indra is the leader of those DemiGods, and Prajapati is considered as the leader of all the Human beings.

(8+11+12+1+1=33) In a nutshell, these 33 Deities are different powers of the universe found in nature.

3. Idol worshipping: When the word idol is translated to Sanskrit, it gets translated as Murti, but unfortunately, there is no translation available for the word ‘Vigraha’, which means a consecrated idol. So, when you ask a practicing Hindu that why do you worship idols? He will say that he prays to the physical representation, a symbol of the divine.

Every other religion like Islam and Christianity has symbols like a Cross or Quran that they consider holy. Similarly, Hindus pray to the Vigrahas, which helps them to focus their prayers 

or meditation on the energy source. 
Mantras or specific sounds, when chanted with a highly specific frequency in front of the idol, converts the sound into energy. This energy, when resonated through the entire house or temple, recharges the place with positivity. Ancient Hindus erected temples as reservoirs of knowledge and positive energies, channeling the comic Divine Energies from universe, and towards devotees for thousands of years.  

Hindus believe that there is God everywhere. They are well aware of the fact that the Ultimate Divine is formless, faceless, and transcendental truth. While communicating with Them, and to receive Their blessings, Hindus invoke the presence of God in stone, metal, tree, river, or even in an animal.

4. They are forbidden to consume meat: This religion is not so much of a religion but a way of life. Hinduism never insists on or forbids anything. But instead, it gives suggestions that will be beneficial to the seekers.

Ancient scriptures like Yajur Veda and Tirukural suggest a simple fact that every living thing on this planet has a right to live and thrive, and hence, one must show kindness towards all of the living creatures. When our diet is pure, our minds and hearts are pure; we are ready to seek a higher purpose in life. Dead meat is considered to be toxic. As energy of the dead hinders the spiritual progress of the seeker, and hence, one cannot perform a Sadhana with a stomach full of toxicity.  

The people who want to maintain their highest level of purity and spiritual consciousness to fulfill their higher purpose are refrained from eating meat. Rest of the larger population of Hindus consume meat.

5. Women are suppressed in Hinduism: In ancient scriptures, the Divine Mother Bhagavati is known as the Para Brahmam. Also called Adi Para Shakti, She is considered as the supreme being. She is also known as  Prakriti, the primordial manifestation of the supreme lord. In India, three main Gods are Brahma (generator), Vishnu(operator), and Mahesh(destroyer), who are known to emerge from the Divine Mother, worshiping Her.    

During the Vedic period, we had defined gender roles but there was mutual respect and equality among men and women, complementing and balancing each other. Vedas even say that every woman has a choice to choose her life partner, she should have equal rights to her father’s property as her brothers, she should be allowed to remarry if she wants, and they mention nothing about child marriage, dowry, or the practice of Sati (burning of a newly widowed).

6.  Hindus support Nazis: Swastika emerged in this world, almost 2500 years before Adolf Hitler used it perversely, for his Nazi propaganda and to flaunt the superiority of the Aryan race to support his claim of world dominance.

Sanskrit describes Swastikas as a combination of Su (meaning good) and Asti (meaning to exist). In Sanskrit, it represents everything that is well, holy, grace and positive. In Hinduism, right-facing Swastika (卐) symbolizes the sun, prosperity, and good luck, while left-facing Swastika ( 卍) represents night or the tantric aspects of Divine Mother Kali.   

7. Dot on woman’s forehead symbolizing a marriage: The dot has a mystical meaning. It represents the third eye chakra, the epitome of awakening consciousness in Hinduism. Not only women but Hindu males wear a mark on their forehead, indicating their spiritual inclination.

This mark in between two eyes represents that you are a practicing Hindu, a seeker of truth, a practitioner of meditation, trying to understand the inner working of the subconscious, connecting with the divine. Many Hindus wear different marks on their forehead, such as followers of Lord Shiva often wear three horizontal lines on their forehead, and followers of Lord Vishnu often wear the mark ‘U’ on their foreheads. It does not necessarily represent your marital status.

8. Geeta is a Hindu Bible: Hinduism was not created by a single prophet. In fact, Vedas, the most respected and most ancient scriptures describing Hinduism, are called ‘APaurusheya,’ which means not created by any human being. Hinduism believes that there are several ways to reach God, and God reveals truth through thousands of wise humans.

Mahabharata is the world’s greatest epic, composed of two hundred thousand verses. Among those, there are 700 verses, take place on the battlefield, as a conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, summarising but not entirely comprising all the core beliefs of Hinduism. That conversation is called Bhagvat Geeta. 

There are thousands of ancient scriptures like Vedas, Puranas, Shrutis, Smritis, Epics representing different sects of Hinduism. And hence, Shrimad Bhagvat Geeta is not the only book representing Hinduism.

9. Discriminatory Caste system: When Portuguese invaders came to India, they brought the word ‘Casta’ with them as a substitution for the word ‘Varna’. Varna is a Sanskrit word denoting a social order, a solid framework that has nothing to do with birth. Varna describes the duties of a person living in a thriving society.

Later on, like all societies, distortion happened with the Varna system, and it got twisted as a hierarchical social system, doing injustice to few classes of the societies, making them downtrodden. Once, the Varna that used to be decided on one’s profession, now was being decided by the family, in which the soul takes birth. In fact, most of the legendary sages like Valmiki, Vyasa, Maitreyi, or Gargi, who contributed immensely to Hinduism, were mainly from so-called downtrodden castes.

But being flexible is the most powerful aspect of Hinduism. This distorted and corrupted system will be thrown out from society eventually.

10. Polytheistic religion: Hinduism is often termed as a polytheistic religion, worshipping different Gods. But, this cannot be further away from the truth. Hinduism states that there are multiple ways to connect to God, Divine Mother, or Universal Power, ruling the entire cosmos. Hence, instead of saying Hinduism being polytheistic, the correct term for it is pluralistic; With multiple ways to reach one destination. Hinduism tells us that God can be experienced, and, that should be the ultimate goal of one’s life.

Hinduism, which is often considered a religion, is much more than that. It is much more than just a few ancient scriptures teaching things about spirituality. It is a civilization, a way of life, surviving countless invasions, and thriving, even after five thousand years. It’s the longest surviving faith on the face of this earth.   

In this blog, we have tried discussing the most common misinterpretations regarding Hinduism. We hope this blog helped you understand and clear out the doubts when it comes to an ancient way of life.

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