1. Understanding World Religions
Chapter Eight
The Richness of the Hindu Tradition
© 2011 Irving Hexham
Hindu Temple. Lord Baden-Powel, Indian Memories, Londonn. Herbert Jenkins Limited, Used with permission of the Boy Scouts Associationm UK. © 2011 Irving Hexham

2. The Richness of the Hindu Tradition
Oxen seal. Courtesy of the Harappa Bazaar. Used with permission. © 2011 Irving Hexham
The intriguing Oxen seal from Harappa. Many see a continuity between it and later developments of the Hindu tradition.

3. The Richness of the Hindu Tradition
Photo of the Sacred Books of the East in the University of Calgary’s Religious Studies Department library. Photo by Irving Hexham.
Although the Hindu tradition was a closely guarded oral tradition based on priests many of its texts were translated into English in the nineteenth century. This made “Hinduism” a religion based on written texts that scholars could teach and discuss in Western universities.

4. The Richness of the Hindu Tradition
Source: Aryan horse sacrifice. Romesh Chunder Dutt, A. V. Williams Jackson, ed., History of India, Volume One, London, The Grolier Society, In the public domain. © 2011 Irving Hexham
An ancient print showing preparations for the horse sacrifice which is a prominent feature of early Hindu religious texts.

5. The Richness of the Hindu Tradition
Photo by Irving Hexham © 2011 Irving Hexham
Today sacrifices and offerings to the gods continue to play an important role in Hindu communities world wide.

6. The Richness of the Hindu Tradition
Source: Mortimer Menpes, India, London, Adam and Charles Black, In the public domain. © 2011 Irving Hexham
In the above picture worshipers bath in the river Ganges which is sacred to Hindus. In the background is the holy city of Benares.

7. The Richness of the Hindu Tradition
Photo by Irving Hexham © 2011 Irving Hexham
Hindu temples are colorful places with a rich array of gods and godesses. The picture shows the main altar in a North American temple.

8. The Richness of the Hindu Tradition
Photo by Irving Hexham © 2011 Irving Hexham
Although some temples are clearly temples there is no dominant architectural design and Hindus often adapt their temples to local styles in architecture. The photo shows a temple in the South African city of Pietermaritzburg.

9. The Richness of the Hindu Tradition
Photo by Irving Hexham © 2011 Irving Hexham
This small shrine is part of a larger temple complex in Pietermaritzburg. The relief on the top of it depicts a scene from the great Indian classic the Mahabharata.

10. The Richness of the Hindu Tradition
Source: Painting of Krishna. Courtesy of the Harappa Bazaar: Used with permission. © 2011 Irving Hexham
The best known of the Hindu gods in the West is the fun loving Krishna who appears in many guises. The picture above depicts him as a cattle herder playing the lute.

11. The Richness of the Hindu Tradition
Photo by Irving Hexham © 2011 Irving Hexham
One of the reasons Westerners recognize Krishna is the success of the Hare Krishna Movement in Western countries. This revitalization movement is often seen as a “cult” by people of European origin yet it is actually a very old Hindu devotional movement that is older than Protestantism and churches like the Anglicans, Baptists and Lutherans.