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== Spirituality in Hindu Traditions: Few Basic Tenets ==

== Spirituality in Hindu Traditions: Few Basic Tenets ==

Hindu is a descriptive term for the people from the other side of river Sindhu and first used by Arabs in fifth century AD. The sense of life goes beyond the senses, and individual limitations are essentially the origin of religion. The idea of Hindu religion originated from Nature worship<ref name=":0" />. Nature is personified into Gods in many places in Vedas, the ultimate source of Hinduism<ref name=":2">Vivekananda S (1896), Page 147 Practical vedanta. <nowiki>http://​www.​vivekananda.​net/​PDFBooks/​PracticalVedanta​.​pdf</nowiki>.</ref>. ''Sanātana Dharma'' was the overarching term originally used for so many spiritual paths practiced in Hindu society in ancient India. That can be loosely translated as eternal truth. Frawley (1995) translates this term as “eternal tradition” and pointed out and summarized its characteristics like it is not limited to any scripture, messiah, church, community, or particular historical end, embraces a timeless self-renewing reality and divinity in all forms of nature and existence<ref>Frawley D (1995) Arise Arjuna: Hinduism and the modern world. Voice of India, New Delhi</ref>. This description is not very different from the original meaning of religion and its nature explained by Hill et al<ref>Hill PC, Pargament KI, Hood RW, McCullough ME Jr, Swyers JP, Larson DB, Zinnbauer BJ (2000) Conceptualizing religion and spirituality: points of commonality, points of departure. J Theory Soc Behav 30(1):51–77 </ref>.

Hindu is a descriptive term for the people from the other side of river Sindhu and first used by Arabs in fifth century AD. The sense of life goes beyond the senses, and individual limitations are essentially the origin of religion. The idea of Hindu religion originated from Nature worship<ref name=":0" />. Nature is personified into Gods in many places in Vedas, the ultimate source of Hinduism<ref name=":2">Vivekananda S (1896), Page 147 Practical vedanta. <nowiki>http://​www.​vivekananda.​net/​PDFBooks/​PracticalVedanta​.​pdf</nowiki>.</ref>. ''[[Sanatana Dharma (सनातनधर्मः)|Sanātana Dharma]]'' was the overarching term originally used for so many spiritual paths practiced in Hindu society in ancient India. That can be loosely translated as eternal truth. Frawley (1995) translates this term as “eternal tradition” and pointed out and summarized its characteristics like it is not limited to any scripture, messiah, church, community, or particular historical end, embraces a timeless self-renewing reality and divinity in all forms of nature and existence<ref>Frawley D (1995) Arise Arjuna: Hinduism and the modern world. Voice of India, New Delhi</ref>. This description is not very different from the original meaning of religion and its nature explained by Hill et al<ref>Hill PC, Pargament KI, Hood RW, McCullough ME Jr, Swyers JP, Larson DB, Zinnbauer BJ (2000) Conceptualizing religion and spirituality: points of commonality, points of departure. J Theory Soc Behav 30(1):51–77 </ref>.

Hindu tradition acknowledges the Prasthānatrayī as its three primary sources. The texts comprising the ''Prasthānatrayī'' are the ''Upaniṣada'' , the ''Bhagavad-Gītā'', and the ''Brahmasūtra''<ref name=":0" />.  

Hindu tradition acknowledges the Prasthānatrayī as its three primary sources. The texts comprising the ''Prasthānatrayī'' are the ''[[Upanishads (उपनिषदः)|Upaniṣada]]'' , the ''Bhagavad-Gītā'', and the ''Brahmasūtra''<ref name=":0" />.  

=== Notion of Self in Yoga Tradition ===

=== Notion of Self in Yoga Tradition ===

=== Objective of Human Life ===

=== Objective of Human Life ===

Four ends or broad aims of life ( ''Puruṣārtha'') are widely subscribed in the Hindu view of life. These are ''Dharma, Kāma,'' ''Artha,'' ''and Mokṣa.'' ''Dharma'' is righteousness, virtue, or religious duty. ''Kāma'' refers to fulfillment of our biological needs or sensual pleasures. ''Artha'' refers to fulfillment of our social needs including material gains, acquisition of wealth, and social recognition. ''Mokṣa'' means liberation from worldly bondage and union with ultimate reality<ref name=":3">Radhakrishnan S (1927/2009) The Hindu view of life. HarperCollins Publishers, Noida, Page 54</ref>.  

Four ends or broad aims of life (''[[Purushartha (पुरुषार्थ:)|Puruṣārtha]]'') are widely subscribed in the Hindu view of life. These are ''Dharma, Kāma,'' ''Artha,'' ''and Mokṣa.'' ''[[Dharma (धर्मः)|Dharma]]'' is righteousness, virtue, or religious duty. ''Kāma'' refers to fulfillment of our biological needs or sensual pleasures. ''Artha'' refers to fulfillment of our social needs including material gains, acquisition of wealth, and social recognition. ''Mokṣa'' means liberation from worldly bondage and union with ultimate reality<ref name=":3">Radhakrishnan S (1927/2009) The Hindu view of life. HarperCollins Publishers, Noida, Page 54</ref>.  

Dr. Radhakrishnan (1927) mentions that these four aims highlight harmony of different dimensions in life: ''Kāma'' as the biological dimension, ''Artha'' as social dimension, and ''Mokṣa'' as the spiritual dimension. ''Dharma'' is the central axis around which life rotates<ref name=":3" />. Dr. Radhakrishnan further explains that if one pursues ''Kāma'' and ''Artha'' without ''Dharma'' the long-term result is suffering for the individual and others around them. The four supreme ends link up the realm of desires with the perspective of the eternal and bind together the kingdoms of earth and heaven. It is noticeable that not God or heaven but spiritual liberation or Self-realization is given highest value in Hindu tradition and in paths of yoga.

Dr. Radhakrishnan (1927) mentions that these four aims highlight harmony of different dimensions in life: ''Kāma'' as the biological dimension, ''Artha'' as social dimension, and ''Mokṣa'' as the spiritual dimension. ''Dharma'' is the central axis around which life rotates<ref name=":3" />. Dr. Radhakrishnan further explains that if one pursues ''Kāma'' and ''Artha'' without ''Dharma'' the long-term result is suffering for the individual and others around them. The four supreme ends link up the realm of desires with the perspective of the eternal and bind together the kingdoms of earth and heaven. It is noticeable that not God or heaven but spiritual liberation or Self-realization is given highest value in Hindu tradition and in paths of yoga.

As mentioned in the introduction'', Bhagavad-Gītā'' the most revered and popular text of Hindu traditional wisdom recognizes well over a dozen forms of yoga. Chiefly, Yoga includes paths oriented to intellectual discernment, devotion, service, and Samādhi, and each offers practices to mitigate suffering and aims at total personal transformation or attaining higher levels of consciousness<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" />. Swami Vivekananda, the sage of modern India who first popularized the Hindu perspective of spirituality to the Western world in modern times, also gives fourfold classification which leads to unity of the self and the Self.

As mentioned in the introduction'', Bhagavad-Gītā'' the most revered and popular text of Hindu traditional wisdom recognizes well over a dozen forms of yoga. Chiefly, Yoga includes paths oriented to intellectual discernment, devotion, service, and Samādhi, and each offers practices to mitigate suffering and aims at total personal transformation or attaining higher levels of consciousness<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" />. Swami Vivekananda, the sage of modern India who first popularized the Hindu perspective of spirituality to the Western world in modern times, also gives fourfold classification which leads to unity of the self and the Self.

The scheme of ''[[Five Koshas (पञ्च कोष)|panca kosa]]'' (or five sheaths) conceptualizes a person as an individual who thinks, feels, and acts. This model of personhood is important in understanding the major paths of spiritual pursuit or paths of Yoga in the Hindu tradition since the three major forms of yoga are based primarily on the processes of thinking, feeling, and volition. ''Jñāna Yoga'' denotes the path of knowledge, ''Bhakti Yoga'' denotes the path of devotion, and ''Karma Yoga'' denotes the path of action. In the next section, we first present these pathways to spiritual development emphasizing cognitive processes, emotion, and volition followed by a similar account of Ashtanga Yoga (also known as Pataṃjali’s Yoga), which focuses on controlling the mind as a composite of all these processes taken together.

The scheme of ''[[Pancha Koshas (पञ्चकोशाः)|panca kosa]]'' (or five sheaths) conceptualizes a person as an individual who thinks, feels, and acts. This model of personhood is important in understanding the major paths of spiritual pursuit or paths of Yoga in the Hindu tradition since the three major forms of yoga are based primarily on the processes of thinking, feeling, and volition. ''Jñāna Yoga'' denotes the path of knowledge, ''Bhakti Yoga'' denotes the path of devotion, and ''Karma Yoga'' denotes the path of action. In the next section, we first present these pathways to spiritual development emphasizing cognitive processes, emotion, and volition followed by a similar account of Ashtanga Yoga (also known as Pataṃjali’s Yoga), which focuses on controlling the mind as a composite of all these processes taken together.

=== Jñāna Yoga: The Path of Knowledge ===

=== Jñāna Yoga: The Path of Knowledge ===

[[Category:Education Series]]

[[Category:Education Series]]

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