Main Beliefs

        One of the cornerstones of Hinduism is Dharma.  Dharma in Hinduism means duty, or virtue.  Dharma is force that drives the earth.  It makes the plants grow, the sun rise, and the people be moral.  First mentioned in the Vedas, Dharma is the most powerful force in this world.  Dharma also refers to one’s own force; one’s personal duty and expertise.  This is decided by your gender, age, and social status.  Dharma is not considered as a single force, affecting all of these things, but as separate forces for the world and the people of the earth.  This force must be accorded with, or else one will have bad karma and be born into a bad realm.  Dharma is considered a service to all of humanity and the gods, and to go against this service is one of the worst wrongs a Hindu can do.

The Trimuti, or three main gods of Hinduism.
From Left to Right: Brahma, Vishnu, and
Shiva.

Another important aspect of Hinduism is the idea of Brahman.  Brahman is similar to God, but not identical.  Brahman is the power that holds the universe together, and acts upon everyone and everything, even if that person does not worship Brahman.  Some Hindus worship different deities of Brahman, but there are all from the same source.  These deities of forms of God are unlimited; God has unlimited power therefore can take up and unlimited amount of forms.  Some Hindus worship God as a king, others as a parent-like figure, others as a beautiful woman.  Each person sees God in a different form.  There are three main types of Hindu worship classified into the three popular Hindu denominations or deities, Vaishnavas, Shaivas, and Shaktas.  Vaishnavas worship of Vishnu and his incarnations.  Vishnu’s purpose is to restore and uphold dharma and the universe and is the most popular Hindu denomination.  Shaivas worship Shiva, whose duty is to destroy the world, so it can be recreated.  Shiva, who is portrayed as a man, is known to have untamed passion.  He is the most extreme god, but is also wise in his actions.  Shaktas worship Goddess beings, mainly Lakshmi, Parvati, Sarasvati, Durga, and Kali.  Some of these beings are good, some are bad.  They all are portrayed as a woman like figure and represent different benefits/disadvantages in the human realm.

To hold together traditions such as Dharma and Brahma, there are teachers called Gurus.  Gurus teach Hindu traditions by example, and passes his knowledge on to disciples hoping one day they will become Gurus and teach the next generation.  Gurus are highly revered in Hindu society and can even become the center of devotion.  Gurus are the only passage of tradition, and if the Guru dies the successor takes over.  If there are multiple successors, they both take position as Guru and traditions are multiplied.