The Name Hinduism

It is strange to note that Hinduism - the main religion in the world which has defined itself as a universal tradition - has come to be viewed as a narrow ethnic belief system. There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is an inability to recognize an open spiritual tradition by those who have been dominated by exclusive belief systems. Perhaps the main factor that causes us to misunderstand the connection between the eternal tradition and Hinduism is that Hinduism is a religion without a name, a religion in fact beyond names.

The name Hinduism suggests a belief limited to a certain geographical region, ethnic group or nation - the religion of the people who inhabit the Indian subcontinent, who are sometimes regarded as a certain primitive dark-skinned racial type. This is a misconception that reflects little knowledge of Hinduism or India and its inhabitants. It would like calling Islam "the religion of the Arabs," or Christianity "the Greek religion," which terms were historically used for these religions when they were more circumscribed in the regions which followed them.

India is not a small and homogeneous country like France, Germany or Great Britain but a subcontinent like Europe. In fact India contains more different ethnic groups and languages than that of Europe as a whole. Modern India has fourteen official state languages which have a variety of scripts. The Punjabis of North India and the Tamils of the South are more distinct peoples than the Swedes of Northern Europe from the Greeks of Southern Europe.

Hindus come from a number of different races and ethnic groups even within India. The people of Nepal, though a Mongolian race like the Tibetan and Chinese, are predominately Hindus in religion. The tribal groups of India, many of which are not Caucasian or Mongolian but of the Austric race, are predominately Hindus. Hinduism remains in Bali in Indonesia, which region it once predominated, and has left an important imprint upon the entire culture of the area.

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