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Mat Hepworth
Wijitha Bandara
RELS-2300
December 15th, 2015
Hinduism is the 3rd largest religion in the world todayi according to adherants.com, and
this fact isnt really disputed at all. What some may disagree with from my last sentence is the
calling of Hinduism a religion. There are many who might make the case that Hinduism is more
of a dharma than it is a religion. This could be true or false depending on what your definition of
either religion or dharma. You might ask why it even matters, and maybe it doesnt, but I believe
it helps to understand more about the Hindu religion to distinguish the difference between the
two. There are so many different definitions of religion out there that you could probably argue
either way, So Ill use what I think religion is defined as, and why I think Hinduism is more of a
dharma.
What is religion?
What is religion? That is the million dollar question right there. Answering that is no small
task. There are probably more definitions of what religion is than there are religions in the world.
Think thats crazy? Ask the next person you see, they will tell you what religion is. And then ask
the next person you see until you have gone around the entire world and asked every single
human being on the planet. Then you will see that no answer is the same, religion is different for
everyone. My purpose is not to try and invite an argument

ii

of what religion is and is not, but

more to create an understanding of how it plays a role in everyones life whether they have a
belief in God or not.

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A simple definition of religion could be an understanding of the purpose of life, and how
you decide to live accordinglyiii. I like this explanation because I believe that religion affects
everyone. Whether you believe in God or not, everyone is religious in their own way, from the
furthest extreme of having no belief in God, or anything after this life, to having complete faith
in God, and feeling like you have a purpose in this life. You have your own explanation for the
meaning of life, and your own way of living to that particular set of beliefs. You dont have to be
Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist to have good morals and do good things. You dont have to have
a belief in God to be a good person, but every single human being on this planet has their own
ideals of the purpose of this life and then lives accordingly to those ideals.
The fact that there are so many different religions alone is enough to show that you cant
use one general word like religion to define a single principle, cause, or group of people. iv Its
kind of like using the word snow flake to define every little ice crystal that has fallen from the
sky, or using homo sapiens to describe all of mankind. They are all different; do you really get
to know someone on a personal level by slapping a generalized term like that on them? Lets see
if we can narrow it down a little better.
Religion could be defined as principles or practices by a group of people trying to make
the best of the ultimate problems in this life. v I like to believe that for the most part people are
good. I like to believe that the intentions of most religions are to make the world a better place
and to help people progress and become better. I believe it is human nature to want to help
someone in need and to continually be better than you were the day before. It might not always
turn out that way. But people are constantly doing what they think is the best, and people like
support and affirmation of their ideas, and so its a lot easier to be in a group of people who share
those same feelings you do.

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To get a little more personal- a definition that Ive heard that resounds for me is that
religion is anything that someone seeks after with a futuristic perspective in mind. vi One that
does something thats hard now, because of its enduring future value, even if that means
sacrificing something personal thats either physical or emotional. Its having vision, and the
people who can figure out how to be religious in this way in life are the ones who become
successful. An example of this that jumps out in my mind would be that of successful athletes.
While everyone else might be out partying and having a good time, they are in the gym putting
their bodies through extremely difficult work outs both physically and mentally. There will be
those who tell them they are wasting their time and energy and that they should just live in the
moment and not work so hard.
So as you can see, you dont have to have a belief in God to be religious. Religion is the
way people live according to their own beliefs about the purpose of this life, or their purpose in
this life. Which is why there are so many different religions in this world today, making it
difficult to give a specific definition of the word. Everyone has their own ideas about whats right
and whats wrong. Just because they dont associate themselves with a large church doesnt
mean there isnt some part of their life that is religious. My hope is that we can all be a little
more understanding of each other and treat others the way we would want to be treated even if
we dont see eye to eye on everything.
What Is Dharma?
Recently I have been studying the world wide religion of Hinduism. Like most religions
Hinduism has its fair share of radicles and people who will give the religion a bad name; but like
most religions, when you get to the core of its teachings and principles, you will see that they are

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trying to achieve what everyone else in the world is trying to achieve: Inner peace, love, joy, and
happinessvii. One specific aspect of Hinduism that focuses on reaching this is called Dharma. I
would like to just briefly explain the idea of Dharma, and the various components of it.
When I learned that there isnt a direct translation of the term Dharmaviii to the English
language I was a little concerned I wouldnt be able to understand its full meaning, and maybe I
still dont, but Ive appreciated that it doesnt directly translate to the English language because I
feel like Ive been able to look at it from multiple angles and dig into its many meanings instead
of just having one thought process when I hear the term Dharma. It encompasses so much
more than just one word; Dharma could be translated as an obligation to perform ritual actionix. It
encompasses everything from duty, to religion, to justice, law, principle, right, and ethicsx.
The Main source where you can find Dharma regarding these topics specifically is found in the
Vedaxi, The Hindus sacred text. Which like other sacred texts, has many different writings
contained therein. The Dharma Sutra suggests that there are even three sources of Dharma within
the Dharam Sutras revelation, (the veda): The first is Tradition. The second is customs, and the
third is a combination of the first two, being what is pleasing to oneself or in other words, a
conscience.xii
To get a little deeper into understanding what Dharma is, its important to know about a few of
the social concerns within the culture. One being ones obligation regarding their position in
society, and the other in regards to ones stage in life. The combination of these two being called
Varnasrama-Dharmaxiii. To understand these to concerns it is crucial to understand how Hindu
society works with Class, and Caste. The Vedic society is divided into 4 different classes. The
top three are called the twice born, and only the twice born classes were allowed to hear the

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Veda. Castes are a way the people are classified according to purity and pollution. The
Brahmans being the most pure, and on top, and the Untouchables the most impure, and on the
bottom. There are very strict rules about what you can do and what you cant do depending on
which class you are in.
Gender also plays a major role in Dharma. For example, they believe women are to be revered
and kept happy, but must not do anything independently. The eighteenth-Century dharmic text is
called tryambakas Stridharmaxiv and that goes into a lot more detail of what womens roles
are, and what their duties to their husbands are. Caste and class both go together, and Gender
roles are different within each class or caste. If you have ever observed Hindu people you will
notice how much their religion and their culture go together, and how devote they are when it
comes to their rituals and prayers they do. They are that way because of Dharma, and how it has
now just become a way of life. Dharma really does encompass all aspects of life, and it keeps
those who follow it on the road to enlightenment.
By the definitions that I have provided here I am of the opinion that Hinduism is more of a
dharma than it is a religion, mainly because of all of their traditions and rituals. I believe they
may have started with good intentions to help bring closer to god, but now its become more of a
way of life than it is a way to draw nearer to God. And I do believe that there are Hindus who
strive to draw themselves closer to God, but I would say that most of them have moved away
from the real purpose of their rituals and traditions. I base a lot of this from my visit to a Hindu
Temple, The people there were very nice and welcoming, but the feeling I got from my visit was
that most of them didnt know why they did the rituals and chants and prayers that they did, and
when people asked questions the man leading the chants couldnt really explain it either.

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But really its all in just how you look at things. That was one of my biggest reasons for
taking this course was to just build my understanding of other religions. I am a man of faith
myself, and dont necessarily have any dislike or hatred towards other religions, but I do know
that its misunderstanding that drives peoples hatred and angry towards each other and I always
want to make sure Im never found in the middle of any of that. So I wanted to build my
understanding so I could see people of other faiths as my brothers and sisters, and have a pure
love for them. I really feel like this course helped me to gain a better understanding of those of a
different faith. Its inspiring to me to see people making sacrifices for things they believe in even
when what they believe in isnt the popular thing to be doing. I believe that knowledge is power,
and that everyone should make an effort to understand the people around them, and people who
believe differently than they do.

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Bibliography

i http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html

ii Patrick H. McNamara. Various Definitions of Religion

http://web.pdx.edu/~tothm/religion/Definitions.htm

iii Swidler. Various Definitions of Religion http://web.pdx.edu/~tothm/religion/Definitions.htm

iv William James. Various Definitions of Religion http://web.pdx.edu/~tothm/religion/Definitions.htm

v J. Miltion Yinger. Various Definitions of Religion

http://web.pdx.edu/~tothm/religion/Definitions.htm

vi John Dewey. Various Definitions of Religion http://web.pdx.edu/~tothm/religion/Definitions.htm

vii An Introduction to Hinduism: GAVIN FLOOD; Lecturer in Religious Studies Department

of Theology and Religious Studies University of Wales, Lampeter. Pg. 52
viii An Introduction to Hinduism: GAVIN FLOOD; Lecturer in Religious Studies Department
of Theology and Religious Studies University of Wales, Lampeter. Pg. 52
ix An Introduction to Hinduism: GAVIN FLOOD; Lecturer in Religious Studies Department
of Theology and Religious Studies University of Wales, Lampeter. Pg. 53
x An Introduction to Hinduism: GAVIN FLOOD; Lecturer in Religious Studies Department of
Theology and Religious Studies University of Wales, Lampeter. Pg. 52
xi An Introduction to Hinduism: GAVIN FLOOD; Lecturer in Religious Studies Department
of Theology and Religious Studies University of Wales, Lampeter. Pg. 53
xii An Introduction to Hinduism: GAVIN FLOOD; Lecturer in Religious Studies Department
of Theology and Religious Studies University of Wales, Lampeter. Pg. 53
xiii An Introduction to Hinduism: GAVIN FLOOD; Lecturer in Religious Studies Department
of Theology and Religious Studies University of Wales, Lampeter. Pg. 58

xiv An Introduction to Hinduism: GAVIN FLOOD; Lecturer in Religious Studies Department of

Theology and Religious Studies University of Wales, Lampeter. Pg. 66
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