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The major tradition in India is Hinduism, most people outside of this group call it a
religion, where those who belong to Hinduism refer to it as eternal dharma. Dharma,
according to Hindus is not a religion but a way of life that gives meaning, structure and
explanation to life. In order to understand this confusion we need to address what
religion is and what dharma is.
What is Religion?
For centuries scholars have tried to pinpoint an accurate definition for the
profound word, religion. The result has been many definitions of the word that range
from the very simple to the arduous and elaborate. While many may agree with a
certain of these definitions there may be some who are not so quick to concede. The
point is that religion is so broad a subject and so intricate and important to so many
people that it would be quite difficult and maybe even wrong to settle on just one
definition. I have chosen three of these definitions that I have found to be very
interesting and worth pursuing the meaning of.
The first is by Otto Rank who alleges that every religion is more afraid of their,
what he calls final destruction than they are afraid of dying. I believe that this means
that religious persons are very self-conscious of a life that is more than this life, that is to
say some sort of life that exists after we leave this life. There is also the belief of some
sort of judgment that will come where you will be judged according to what kind of
choices you made in this phase of your life. If they were good choices and you treated
others well then you will go to some sort of heaven. If you made poor decisions, that is
where that final destruction Rank was talking about comes into play. Where you will
have to pay for the hurt you caused others (or yourself).
The second definition I have chosen is by Ludwig Feuerbach who claims that
religion is a dream and that everything we experience is or feel is outside of who we
are. I think that what Feuerbach is trying to say is that almost everything that people
experience in religion can really only measured by the individual that is experiencing the

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religion. It is almost a dream-like state because the person involved has to take
themselves and almost everything they know and enter into a realm where they only
have a strong belief or faith in something. Feuerbach talks about how religious people
have to separate themselves from their own knowledge and feelings basically. I think
that this is an accurate statement to make because religion requires, like I stated earlier,
the person to enter into a place where they are putting all that they know for a surety
aside in order to practice their beliefs alongside a supportive peer group.
The final definition of religion I chose is by J. Milton Yinger who said that religion
is the ways in which a body of people battle with what Yinger describes as the ultimate
problem of human life. This ultimate problem could be any number of different things
but the way I have chosen to interpret it is that human life is the ultimate problem that
Yinger is talking about. Human life in and of itself is complicated and confusing and
religion is a means by which people try to understand and struggle together to make
sense of the things going on around them. Yinger also describes religion as a system
of beliefs and practices. I believe that the word he chose to implement system was
very thought out and methodical. The word system can accurately be used to describe
religion because most every religion relies upon some sort of organization to be able to
apply their beliefs.
These three definitions are just a small view into how there can be such differing
outlooks and theories into what religion means and how differing definitions can have
differing meanings to different people. Each definition functionally represents religion
accurately and causes the reader to think about religion in a different way than they
might have before. In conclusion, it is my belief that as many definitions of religion as
there are out there, not one is more correct than another and each adds different
elements and facets to a better understanding of religion.
What is Dharma?

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For Hindus, dharma is an essential key to their religion and living a happy and
meaningful life. The term dharma leaves many scholars at a loss for definition. Dharma
does not have a direct translation because it encompasses so much. In our book Living
Religions written by Mary Pat Fisher, she gives a small list of words that offer a glimpse
of clarity, she uses words like duty, ethics, power, natural law and fulfillment of desires.
According to Gavin Flood, the guatama dharma sutra states that the Veda is the source
of dharma. The Vedas include many definitions, laws and opinions of dharma and
because of this dharma leaves lots of room for interpretation. In order to understand
more fully what dharma means in Hinduism there are three important elements, the
varna and asrama systems and purity.
According to dharma, karma is essential for living a pure life and has an affect on
the souls reincarnation. Karma can be anything from performing rituals or religious
ordinances, obliging to ones roles (described in the next paragraph), or adhering to
moral practices. Karma is essentially a cause-and-effect of good and bad behavior and
directly relates to the way that one is reincarnated. In the dharma being born as a
human means that one performed good karma in their past life. 1 Karma is the driving
force that motivates Hindus to a type of moral action and is key to understanding
dharma.
Hindus believe that they have an obligation to their position in society. This is
called the jati class system. There are four classes, the Brahmans, the Nobles or
Warriors, the Commoners and the Serfs. This system of caste plays a part in everyday
society for Hindus, especially in India. The caste you are born into can greatly affect
your opportunities in the culture and society. Just as in their obligation to their position in
society, Hindus also have a great obligation to the stage of life they are in, this is called
asrama. There are four stages here as well, the celibate student, householder, hermit or
1 Georgetown University: Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. 2015. Web.
http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/karma-hinduism

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forest dweller and renouncer. Another translation of Hindu dharma is obligation. This
means that it is essential to be obligated in ones roles in life, including each role in the
jati and life stage.2
Hindus believe that a part of dharma is to be pure. They believe that our bodies,
which become polluted everyday, should be purified through ritual purification.
Depending on which caste system you belong to, one can determine how polluted you
are. For example, the Brahmans are the least polluted of all the castes, thus they
cannot interact with other classes. There are exceptions to this, depending on stage of
life, or position in society. The idea of purity in the context of dharma reinforces the class
and caste system that exist in the religion. Purity maintains the social order and ensures
that each class remains differentiated.3
Although an important part to dharma is obligation to ones place in society in life,
it is also known that there is a universal dharma. This universal dharma must be
followed by all beings. According to Guantamas Dharma Sutra, dharma places
supreme importance on eight virtues. They are, compassion to all creatures, patience,
lack of envy, purification, tranquility, having an auspicious disposition, generosity and a
lack of greed.4 According to the dharma it is possible to become free of lifes cycle of life
and death through wisdom, devotion and morally correct behavior.
As I have come to understand the complex concept of Hindu dharma, I
understand that showing devotion and obligation are some essential teachings and that
dharma may be largely up to the interpretation of the Hindu sparing some important
things. The obligatory roles one has in society regarding class and life stages, as well
as living a pure life are important to understanding what is important to the Hindu belief
system. These obligatory positions in marriage and society as a whole are key to
2 An Introduction to Hinduism. Gavin Flood. 1996. Print.
3 An Introduction to Hinduism. Gavin Flood. 1996. Print.
4 Reading in Eastern Religions. Second Edition. Harold Coward. Ronald Neufeldt. Eva K. Neumaier.
2007. Print.

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understanding what dharma means to Hindus. It is important to find life satisfaction


through living dharma and that dharma is not only the basis for Hindu beliefs, it is a way
of life.
Based on this information, my conclusion is that what Hindus refer to as dharma,
we refer to as religion. I believe that dharma, like religion, offers a set of values to a
persons life. Dharma creates structure and explanation for why the world is the way
that it is, also similar to religion. Dharma changes the behaviors of those who practice it,
it forces people to act or behave in a certain way. Given all these reasons I believe that
hinduism, because of dharma, can be considered and called a religion.

References
An Introduction to Hinduism. Gavin Flood. 1996. Print.
Fisher, Mary Pat. Living Religions, New Jersey: Upper Saddle River 1991
Georgetown University: Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. 2015.
Web.
http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/karma-hinduism

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The Sacred Quest: An Invitation to the Study of Religion. Sixth Edition. Lawrence S.
Cunningham, John
Kelsay. Print.
Reading in Eastern Religions. Second Edition. Harold Coward. Ronald Neufeldt. Eva K.
Neumaier. 2007. Print.
Various Definitions of Religion. Web. http://web.pdx.edu/~tothm/religion/Definitions.htm

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