THEOLOGY of Hinduism
The fundamental belief of the Indonesian Hindu religion concerning Theology is that there is only one Supreme Being or God, called “Ida Sanghyang Widi Wasa”, but there are countless of gods and goddesses underneath the Supreme Being, who are believed to be the manifestations of the Supreme Being. Although there are many gods, the most famous are the gods of the Trimurti: Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu/Wisnu (the Preserver), and Çiwa/Shiva (the Destroyer). The sacred texts of the Indonesian Hindu religion (Agama Hindu Dharma) are called the Vedas. Separate sources include the Puranas and Itihasa which mainly includes the epics of Ramayana & Mahabharata.
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IMPACTS of Beliefs
The concept of ceremonial purity is one of the major ethical concerns of Agama Hindu Dharma. Therefore, society is divided into four occupational groups: the Brahmins (priests), Kshatriya (ruler-warriors), Vaishya (merchants-farmers), & Shudra (comments-servants). Kings & emperors of the Nusantara were interested in prestige of the Brahmans. Since the new religion was introduced, it enabled kings to declare themselves as a Hindu Deity or mystical creature, which replaced previous ancestor or pagan worships. By transforming ancient religions to religious life, and by providing the archipelago with Vedic scriptures, well-ordered kingdoms emerged such as the Singhasari or the Majapahit with the belief that society should be spiritual & controllable.
The roles of Hindu sages or philosophers were to respect other lands and cultures. If a new island or nation was discovered and worshiped other gods or deities, they believed that the Hindu spirit doesn’t force them to worship traditional Hindus. Instead, the Hindu spirit searches for common good between philosophy and customs of others. For example, if a foreign Nusantara land worships foreign deity that has similar characteristics, functions, and attribute of Shiva, then the Hindus would inform the civilians that their deity is another form of Shiva. By doing this, there should be no issues in worshipping the foreign deity and sharing festivals and ceremonies. This process eventually transformed new regions to Hinduism and the new regions developed a style of Hinduism in a unique way based on the region’s culture and history. Henceforth, Hinduism in Indonesia is diverse, and fostered a great unity. |
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