The richness (intellectual and moral) of the Hindu scriptures are beyond compare, and accepting their majesty will not dim the majesty of other personal faiths or cast aspersions on them. Hindu religion, nay culture, is like a vast ocean in which several faiths have poured in and enriched it across the passage of time. In the end, it all boils down to getting shakti (power) through bhakti (devotion).  The richness of Vivekananda was in the fact that he predicted the principle of shakti (power) on the principle of bhakti (devotion). He wanted to awaken the hidden might in every individual and had proclaimed thus:

Awake, arise and stop not till the goal is reached.

While Vivekananda went to the masses his colleague Swami Abhedanada went to the intellectuals and comprehensively addressed the karmic question in his two-volume work Life beyond Death. Perhaps the other brilliant explanations of the Hindu Religion can be found in the works of Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, Sarvepalli Radhakrishna, and Swami Chinmayananda. On the other hand, the rendition of Hindu Metaphysics comes out authoritatively in the works of John Woodroofe and indirectly in the epic work of Michael Madhusudan Dutta entitled Megnadh Badh. However, it is highly debatable whether Hindu Dharma is a religion. It certainly has no known founder and is far from a monolithic doctrine. There is so much diversity and plurality within it that one would be better off referring to Hindu Dharma as “a way of life”.

Simply stated the Hindu ethos can be reduced to four values of life: dharma, artha, kama, and moksha, respectively implying virtuous living through the discharge of duties, acquiring material wealth, the gratification of desires, and liberation from the life-birth cycle of time. A deeper understanding of the four values points to the fact that kama is an intrinsic value while artha is a means of attaining kama and so has some kind of intermediate value. Moksha is, of course, the end both in itself and of itself whereas dharma is an end only in itself since it is a means of attaining moksha or liberation and was very much known at the time of the Vedas. In earthly life kama, while in spiritual life moksha, represent the desired ends. On the other hand, artha in earthly life and dharma in spiritual life represent the means. However, the reader must be aware that simple translation of these terms into English may be misleading since kama, also means conjugal sex and dharma could mean anything from fixed principles to usage and from virtue to religion.

Hindu Dharma, as everyone is aware, is not a religion, but a way of life. It is a vast cauldron in which knowledge has flowed from various channels over various phases of history from times immemorial. Hence the practices of Hindus differ from sect to sect, place to place. What unites these sects is the universal belief in the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood (or motherhood) of God. But God for them is only a metaphysical construct to enable man to understand the reality that engulfs him.

The following principles, claimed by the modern adept, will enable the individual to progress materially and spiritually and achieve the ultimate object of complete happiness i.e. bliss.

§  Chanting (Namasmaran)

§  Holy Company (Satsang)

§  Service for the Absolute Truth (Satseva)

§  Sacrifice for the Absolute Truth (Tyag)

§  Love (without expectations)

The distinction between the two sorts of love: prem and preet is fine but very clearly defined. The first is love with physical connotations (like husband and wife) while the second is love with mental connotations (like the guru and his sishya). The guru, they say, is not necessarily a person but a symbol. When the disciple (sishya) is ready and prepared, the guru comes to him and finds him. Totapari Maharaj sought refuge of Guru RamaKrishna Paramahamsa, served him. The Guru blessed him with divine knowledge and wisdom only thereafter.

The transition from sat (truth) to chit (mind) and thence to ananda (as in happiness) is important to grasp. Sat is realisation of the absolute truth and the purpose for which man is on earth. Chit is the introspection that follows the realisation that man is not a social-economic or political being but a spiritual being. And ananda, is the bliss that the spiritual journey of man culminates in.

Science of Spiritualism

Spiritualism is seen as the science of metaphysics, which is a part of the world around us including what we perceive and what we do not. What you find, when you study spiritualism (not religion) is a comprehensive, integrated working model that offers a starting point based on the insights of leaders and researchers in the field, which has been scientifically tested by the ancient evolved souls around the world. The process by which the benefits of material and spiritual progress are achieved for the society devolves from spiritualism.  To them, ethics flow automatically out of the evolved soul and to understand ethics one must study the science of spiritualism, practice it and acquire the bliss.

In the words of Sir John Woodroofe:

Man is, in his essence or spirit, divine and one with the universal Spirit. His mind and body and all their functions are divine, for they are not merely a manifestation of the Power (Sakti) of God but the Power itself. To say that the matter is in itself low or evil is to culminate that Power. Nothing in natural the function is low or impure to the mind, which recognizes it as Sakti and the working of Sakti.

Man's spirit or Atma is Siva. His mind and body are Shakti. Shakti and Siva are one. The Jivatma is Siva-Shakti. So is the Parmatma.

The Hindu Scriptures, the Vedanta especially was based on three factors, namely stithi (place), kaal (time) and patra (person). This is nothing but the three sorts of specificity of ethical conduct alluded to earlier. Hindu adepts are quite often too busy with the ritual to have time to appreciate this. If not, they would realise that every "ritual" was meant for a specific time, place, and person. This rationalist charge is as valid against Hindu Dharma as against any religious ideology. In religion, a man sees because he believes. In science, man believes because he sees. Ethics is very much a subject of study within social science while normative morality can be relegated to realms of theology.

Frederick Engels had warned us that every man like every nation makes his own history, but he makes it under definite conditions over which he has little control. The Christian adept, his Hindu counterpart as well as the modern Zoroastrian thinker and many like them in the world of business holds that man has ultimate control over his actions and it is at this point that we disagree with him both from a position of sociology and logic. Religion provides mankind with a necessary social and cultural function,  the ethics associated with it  should never be dismissed as unwanted rituals  but it should be contextually understood as preachers of Hindu religion have  performed a great service to humanity from times immemorial, therefore  Religion has always been at the heart of Bharatiya ethos and religious leadership has sought to interpret and change human behaviour as well as the social environment according to its  spiritualist tenets.

Hindu Spiritualists

Bharat, during the 18^th, 19^th, and 20^th Centuries produced a host of spiritualists who gave the world a path of progress without ascribing to any single religion. Among such luminaries were the Sai Baba of Shirdi, Meher Baba of Nagar, Guru Nanak Dev, Anandamoyee Ma, Amrita Ma and Swami Samarth of Akkalkot. Then came those who transcended religious boundaries completely like Sant Kabir and Acharya Rajnish (Osho).  Those who used metaphysics to do social good like above, their position could be subsumed as “service to man amounts to service to God”. They were basically social emancipators who taught morality devoid of religious dogma. Generally speaking, they were considered “perfect masters of their time” being egalitarian, secular and humble. Their unshakeable faith in divinity was matched with a world view far ahead of their times. Perhaps that is why they still command a sizeable following.

Management leaders who ascribe to such a philosophy invariably are egalitarian, fair, transparent, non-conformist, and above all humane. Kabir’s own life is a manner one-of-a-kind than many others as he became a weaver by profession in Banaras, grew up as a Muslim was supposedly born as a Hindu. He had Hindu surroundings, He related himself with Muslim saints, and was a disciple of Ramananda-a lot of these numerous influences made his project in a multicultural way. Kabir in his numerous dohas (small poems) emphasized that God is omnipresent.  God need not be sought both in temples or in mosques, in Kaba or in Kailash, in rites and ceremonies or yogas. However, if one is a devoted lover of God a real seeker of God, he is going to see Him anywhere.  Vallabhacharya emphasized the doctrine of willpower and renunciation but it came to be referred to as pushti-marga. Chaitanya adhered to basically orthodox philosophical traditions but his religion had an immensely liberal character. He rejected caste limitations and advocated Bhakti as a way to achieve salvation.  His Vaishnavism in Bengal helped remove social discriminations of the lower castes of the society by giving them the same footing together with his different disciples. Bhakti cult in Maharashtra took new avenues under Namdev. He believed in the solidarity of Godhead and spoke against religious rituals and formal observances in addition to idol worship. He said salvation can be obtained through love of God. The love of God has to be like the love of the child for its mother, he said. Religious pursuit is union with God is what Nanak said.  Spiritual excellence will free the soul from the cycle of birth and death, and then dissolve with a Supreme Being (Paramatma). Nanak cautioned his followers against five evils namely: lust, anger, covetousness, pride, and attachment. He had no faith in rituals such as putting religious marks on the forehead, smearing the body with ashes, fasting, penance, prayers, pilgrimage, feeding people, etc.

Hindu Culture

Taking into account Hindu or Bharatiya culture one must understand the richness of the Bharatiya culture when one realizes that the script in which Sanskrit and Hindi language scriptures are written is called Devanagari script, which means ' from  house of Gods '.

Culture Defined - Culture is a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for a living. It is the entire social heritage of humankind. A subculture refers to the culture within culture. The existence of Dravidian culture, Punjabi culture, Marathi culture, Parsi culture, Anglo-Indian culture, etc. indicates the subcultures within the boundaries of Bharatiya culture. Values are the bedrock of culture. They are the abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good, right and desirable. They may include a society's attitudes towards such concepts as individual freedom, democracy, truth, justice, honesty, loyalty, social obligations, collective responsibility, the role of women, love, sex, marriage, and so on. The values have emotional significance attached to them. People may fight, argue, and even die over values such as "freedom", while the norms are social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in particular situations. Norms can be further subdivided into two major categories: Folkways and Mores. Folkways are societal conventions viz. appropriate dress code, social manners, eating behaviors. Mores include society's attitudes towards theft, adultery, incest, etc. In America, for example, drinking alcohol is widely accepted whereas in Saudi Arabia the consumption of alcohol is punishable by law.

The Five Characteristics of Culture:

a)     Cultures are inherently logical. All cultures develop with integrity at their core. An absolute logic prevails over the system of values, beliefs, and norms that constitute a culture. A key challenge is to learn to accept the logic of other cultures without judging them according to the very different logic of one's own culture.

b)    Culture is communication. Communication is more than the words in which the message is packaged. Verbal communication, for instance, seldom counts for more than 20% of communication. The nonverbal 80%- greeting style, gestures, postures, and so on- has certain culturally based meanings to the participants.

c)  Culture is the basis for self-identity and community. Culture is the answer for universal demand for self-identity-i.e. how we communicate to the world, what we are and what we believe. In primitive societies, the culture of the family or tribe provides the necessary trappings for identity. In modern societies, each person must continuously build his or her own identity through a choice of cultural outlays and refinements added to the primary culture. The kind of work we seek, the kind of company with which we associate- these are the major expressions of our self-identity. They help to keep us oriented to our environment so that we can function well and maintain a sense of continuity.

d)   Culture is visible through practices and behavior. Practices - the things which people do repeatedly to accomplish certain tasks of daily life and work are the most visible parts of the culture to outsiders. But they are only the tips of iceberg. The meaning behind the outward symbols and practices is incomprehensible unless we understand the culture's inherent logic. Even then, culture can be deeply appreciated only by its own members.

e)   Cultures can adapt to outside forces. Cultures can adapt when major outside forces demand changes in beliefs and behavior. It is easier to eliminate a corporate culture than a professional or primary culture. The reversal to old cultural values and practices in Eastern Europe, for instance, following years of imposed communist culture, is a dramatic example of how resilient these primary and social cultures can be.

Understand the development of a culture and its people must be through the development of its literature. Pali overtook Sanskrit during the Maurya Period and Hindi, as a language, is relatively recent in its origin. Hindi literature was better known for its poetry, and prose entered Hindi literature almost a century ago. The first known period of Hindi poetry is the Veer Gatha Kal where poetry was concerned with singing the praises of kings, warriors, and battles. Hamir Raso and Prithviraj Raso are two of the shining examples of poetry during this period, which spanned the period 11^th to 13^th. Century. This was followed by the period known as Bhakti Kal. This period saw poets like Sur Das, Kabir Das, Abdul Rahim Khankhanna, and the rest who swung poetry towards religion and spirituality. This period was somewhere between the 14^th and 17^th. Centuries. The third period of Hindi poetry came between the 17^th and 18^th. Centuries with the advent of the Reeti Kal, and Jaysi, of Padmavat fame, are a notable example of the period. Finally dawned the Adhunik Yug, sometime towards the end of the 19^th. Century and Bharatendu Harishchandra was the leading light of the period. It was sometime during this period that Hindi prose developed. If the Bharatiya ethos were to be judged from the written word then perhaps scholars would find in these three periods sufficient evidence to suggest the development of thought and culture.

As was hinted above, Bharat has, all through the known history of mankind, been a cauldron where different peoples, cultures, and systems assimilated only to become unique. This cannot be traced to a single thought or a single root but to a rich and potent amalgamation of ideas and ideologies. Indeed, scholars like Johann von Goethe and Immanuel Kant spoke of an Indo-Germanic culture while the discovery of coins in 2003 at an archaeological site in Bharat show that Zoroastrian influence on Hindu culture predates the Zoroastrian Diaspora by centuries. In fact, a study of both these religions will present the stark likeness of basic philosophical values and that is perhaps because of common Aryan lineage.

The nomadic and almost barbaric Afghans and Moghuls who came to invade Bharat were similarly assimilated by the vast culture. This also happened to Christianity when St. Thomas (the apostle) came to the southern coast of Bharat to spread the faith and Bharat Christianity took on an ethnic look.  Hence in strict Hegelian terms, Bharat presents a unity of opposites as well as a reality in contradictions. Amongst the Hindus, we find Brahmins who are strict vegetarians in the western parts they eat fish in the eastern parts. Alcohol is taboo during religious festivals and yet it is the best offering made to Goddess Kali and Lord Bhairav. Amongst the Muslims the Shias and the Sunnis seldom see eye to eye on religious dogma and are known to have bloody feuds even today. The more modern Agha Khanis and those that have accepted the Bahai faith similarly are more humane but are shunned by the self-styled orthodox Muslims. Amongst the Christians, there are the Protestants as well as the Catholics plus the Marthoma Church founded by the apostle Thomas who landed on the shores of Southern Bharat soon after the death of Jesus Christ. Hence the next caveat can be stated to speak of a Bharatiya ethos is somewhat misleading. However, what we can say is that in regions where a particular religion is in majority the ethos of that religion evolves accordingly.

It is a well-accepted fact that the question of removing injustice and benign treatment of mankind is germane to all religions and also the bedrock of scientific socialism. This removal takes the form of ritual, which is called religion, and that is the opiate of the masses. When this removal takes the form of understanding the Great Immensity that engulfs us then it is known as the science of metaphysics, pursued by scholars and saints alike. Who leads the adepts up the path to realise this higher-level consciousness or spiritual consciousness is referred to as a Guru or the teacher. A true teacher is a rare phenomenon. Usually a spiritual master, who is often a recluse and a self-effacing rarity. You cannot find him, for he finds you. In the words of Adi Sankaracharya, ' the spiritual master is the noblest thing in creation '.

Under such conditions to claim that someone is a Hindu -Fundamentalist is a contradiction. He/she can be one of them and not both- a Hindu and a Fundamentalist at the same time.

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