Rempel 1

Hannah Rempel
Ms. Blandford
UWRT 1103-008
13 October 2015
The Mystical Religion
Hinduism is a culture bound to the past, living within the stories that were created
thousands of years before. To myself, I see the religion of Hinduism as a mystical way of
viewing the world almost romanticizing what has come before us, and what will come after us.
Through small glimpses in literature, and an in-depth educational perspective I have come to
know a few things about how Hindus lives are lived. The one life force or god so to speak is
known as Brahman, and he is their higher being, the one that they worship. Despite what an
outsider may think about Hinduism based off of the many gods they have, they are all just
physical representations of Brahman on earth. These representations are not held to one
embodiment but rather an infinite number, with stories and tales of their becomings as numerous
as the ways in which they are symbolized. These grand figures are worshipped by 900 million
people around the world, making it the third largest religion in the world, and the most common
within India.
Often times our upbringing and surrounding culture is what affects how we choose to
live, and the decisions we make about the religion we wish to follow later in our lives. Despite
my upbringing in a Christian family, I have always been fascinated in other religions and the
ways in which they view life. Since I was 9 years old I have had a deep fixation on India, its
grand bazaars and markets, the spices and foods, the vast amount of people, and beautiful
clothing, everything that makes it what it is. This fascination led me to a desire to want to travel

Rempel 2
there and immerse myself in all that it offered. I feel that in learning about the rich history of the
Hindu religion I can come to understand India and its people in a greater capacity. I am
constantly seeking opportunities to expand my spiritual views and my views on the purpose of
life through understanding the perspective of someone completely different from myself. I feel
that the more we can come to know about those around us the more we can strengthen our core
beliefs and better our values.
As I continue to research deeper into Hinduism and its history there have been many
arising questions that I am hoping to answer. I want to know when and how Hinduism began,
and who it was that started it all, both in a spiritual and physical sense. I want to learn about all
the different forms they have of Brahman and why their god is represented in so many ways on
earth, rather than just one similarly to other religions such as Islam or Christianity. Many
questions I have arise from the way they live their lives, why is the cow sacred and no other
animal, why are all the dead cremated and what is the significance of karma? I hope to
understand why this religion is far more open ended in comparison to religions that live within
sternly set boundaries.
I hope to seek out my answers to my impending questions through online research and
research done in the school library. I want to read literature about the history of the creation of
the Hindu faith and understand how that has affected Indias culture. Through online websites
and forums I hope to read personal accounts of peoples experiences with Hinduism. There is no
better way to learn than to go directly to the roots. As advised by one of my classmates, I am
interested in reading parts of the Bagvadhgita for a greater perspective from a historical Hindu
piece of writing. It would be interesting to be able to interview someone who is a practicing
Hindu within America to learn about a perspective within a society that is so disconnected from

Rempel 3
where the majority of practicing Hindus rely. To delve deeper into Hinduism it would be a great
opportunity to participate in any type of ceremony if possible, if that is not an option I hope to
watch film, or online videos of ceremonies to hopefully capture the feelings that would resonate
during those times.
If my preliminary research becomes far too broad I think I can narrow down my topic
into how the Hindu religion directly correlates with their personal decisions. When I say personal
decisions, I mean their diet, the ways in which they dress, what they spend their time doing and
so on. By narrowing my topic in this way I believe that I would be able to further delve into the
shoes of someone who is Hindu. It would open my eyes to not only their life but the small things
that they do which in turn affects their life. If my research becomes too narrow I think I can
expand on multiple religions views of life ranging from Buddhism, to Islam to Judaism. I am
interested in expanding my research into other religions so that I may see the ways that their
religion changes their lives. It is not only Hinduism that has a different perspective of our reason
to be on earth and
With all of this in mind I believe that my journey in getting to know the Hindu religion
can be an opportunity to expand upon who I am. Respect and appreciation stems from knowing
and understanding and that is what I set out to do through my research.