Religion and Theology

 Hinduism is one of the religions which evidently lack a united belief system. It is however to be realized that as a religion, Hinduism is a well organized religion, which is made up of the strong belief that life is a suffering and that happiness can only be realized when one gets in a state of being a divine ground of being both in phenomenal and spiritual existence (Pauwels, 2002). The religion has been mainly influenced by the traditional philosophical cultures of the Indian people. The concept of sole searching and self realization as it pertains to the cause and effects of human actions are quite influential to Hinduism as they originate from the Indian tradition. Hindus believe that death is the ultimate realization of self- actualization and thus liberation from the human sufferings of the world (BBC, 2009).
This paper gives a critical discussion on the Hindu religion. The author talks about what makes up the Hindu religion and how cultural and societal influences have made the religion vital to the Indians. A discussion on the concept of desire for earthy suffering liberation as taught by the Hindus is also given.
It has been rightly claimed that Hinduism is not a religion but rather a collection of traditions and beliefs which have constantly evolved over time (Cimpean, 2010). The whole concept behind such philosophical inclination of the Hindu religion is basically based on the search for knowledge that could sufficiently free mankind from the suffering or birth and rebirth cycles of worldly existence. Despite its lack of a united belief system, Hindu has one central theme which is the belief in Brahma the universal soul or creator and the individual soul, its rebirth and search for self actualization (Shattuck, 1999). It is thus clear that the religion has a strong belief in one Supreme Being who is the source of the ultimate reality. The religion is also made up of the human perception that religious faith should not be limited to a particular name or form. The truth is not only one reality but also universal and thus not an exclusive formulation. Hinduism is therefore a universal formulation of the concept of reality. It has many gods and their image representation all of which are just but reflective of the individual feelings, emotions and moods (Daniel, 2004). This is meant to allow its believers truthfully and conveniently worship the truth and ultimate reality as it exists.
Hinduism has been greatly influenced by the cultural and societal beliefs of the Indian people. This is basically due to the fact that it adopted numerous traditions and cultural systems which where adhered to by the Indian people. First and foremost is that the religion has as many myths as it concerns with the countless faces of the divine being and his interaction with the various kinds of people (Pauwels, 2002). It is to be realized here that just as could be found in the Hinduism religion, the Indian culture perceived the divine being as capable of blessing, punishing and protecting people depending on their levels of faith and adherence. It is these concepts which could be closely equated to the Hinduism concept of the trinity namely Brahma who is perceived as the creator of all reality, Vishnu or Krishna who is the preserver or provider of all of the creations, and Shiva the ultimate destroyer of all creations (Shattuck, 1999). Such can be interpreted to mean bless, protect and punish respectively as found in the Indian culture.
The concept of liberation from earthly existence is quite elementary in the Hinduism religion. It is in the process of karma that moksha is realized. Karma simply refers to acting from will. It is this concept which helps in explaining samara as a source of suffering in the human life (Cimpean, 2010). The concept claims that self actualization can only be realized when all the human individuals break the cycles of rebirth and reincarnation which causes suffering and thus realizing happiness or liberation in life. It is to be noted here that Hinduism beliefs that suffering is the result of the human ignorance and thus acceptance of the human person to make belief on the reality. It is therefore only after claiming defeat of such ignorance that the human person can realize liberation from earthly suffering. This process is best realized by trying to understanding karma or the cause and effect of our human actions. It is liberation from the earthly sufferings that is claimed to be the peak of the human life as it is the ultimate realization of happiness and freedom from suffering (Pauwels, 2002). It makes the individual to be in a state of existence in both phenomenal and spiritual all being.
In conclusion, Hinduism is evidently a non- united religious system that is strongly tied together by a collection of traditions and beliefs. It is due to this that the religion has been claimed to be a great influence of the Indian culture and societal beliefs. Such traditions are mainly marked with the philosophical concept of having freedom from suffering for mankind. This is why the religion is evidently found to seek liberation from earthly existence.