A brief history of Hinduism

Religious concepts followed by Indians in ancient India were called ‘Sanathana Dharma’ and now being called as ‘Hinduism’.

To learn about history of Hinduism, we should know about ancient geographical India. Roughly about ten thousand years before, India was having land portions comprising the present Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Australia including the portions under the Indian oceanin south and Pakistan, Afghanistan and other portions in north. Southern land portion was

called ‘Lemuria’ continent. Whole area was covered by people speaking a language similar to Tamil.

These people were living in around forests, sea, fertile lands, mountain and deserts. They were worshiping ‘Thirumal (Vishnu or Narayana)’, ‘Indra’, ‘Varuna’, ‘Muruga (Karthikeya or Subramanya)’ and ‘Kali (Durga)’ respectively.

People lived in and forests had cattle for their livelihood. They ate products from forests and milk etc. from cattle. Their worshiping God ‘Vishnu’ is also said to lay on a ocean of milk and fond of milk products.

People lived on sea shore depend on sea products like fish etc.. People cannot venture into sea if there were thunder and storm. Indra was the God in charge for thunder and storm. So, they worship ‘Indra’ to save their lives against the nature.

People lived in fertile lands depend on cultivations. Cultivation depends on rain. Excess or deficient rain will spoil their plants. ‘Varuna’ was considered to be God in charge for rain. So, they worshiped ‘Varuna’.

People lived around the mountain depend on honey, herbs etc.. Their life was in danger by poisonous snakes and other insects. ‘Karthikeya’ was considered to be chief for such reptiles and insects. We can witness Lord Muruga in the form of snake in western India (Subramanya near Mangalore, Karnataka in India) even today.

‘Kali’ is a wild female deity representing the deserts. There was very little desert area in India.

The above details were quoted in ancient Tamil grammar literature called ‘Thol Kappiam’ and other books. ‘Vishnu’, ‘Karthikeya’ and ‘Kali’ are worshiped even today. ‘Indra’ and ‘Varuna’ are only being worshiped in rituals. Before Buddha period, ‘Indira Vizha’ was one of a major national festival. Ancient Tamil literature ‘Silappadhikaram’ mentions about this festival. It was told that temple for ‘indira’ is there in Srilanka with a different name.

Even though, God was worshiped with different names, their social living rules against God fearing was unique.

A Hindu Temple in a 400 Million Year Old Cave

 

The actual geographical structure of the Batu Caves in Malaysia is nothing to rave about, but its cultural significance lies in its Hindu Temple, which illustrates the sizeable contribution of the Indian community to the cultural traditions of Malaya. The caves are located about 12 km north of Kuala Lumpur in Gombak District. The oldest shrine is about 113 years old and sees about 1.5 million pilgrims annually, the temple is known as the most visited Hindu monument outside India.

 

The limestone caves are said to be over 400 million years old and is a system that encompasses about three main caves. The largest cave which is known as the Cathedral Cave has a ceiling which is about 100 meters high, this cave also holds a few ornate Hindu sculptures. It is believed that these temples were first inhabited by the indigenous Besisi and the caves were later discovered by an Indian trader called Pillai who also founded the Sri Mariamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur. It is said that Pillai installed a sculpture of Sri Subramaniam Swami inside the cave which led to the formation of the Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Muruga.

 

Each an important Hindu festival known as Thaipusam is celebrated here during mid January. The festival is a celebration of the Hindu mythology where Lord Siva danced with his consort Uma and also signifies the movement of the moon through the star sign Cancer. The annual festival draws in millions of Hindu devotees from places as far away as Australia, India and Singapore.

 

The festival begins as a procession in the early hours of morning in Kuala Lumpur and ends at the Batu Caves, the devotees carry containers filled with milk and floral decorations known as Kavadi as offerings to the Lord Muruga. Devotees usually stop for a purifying bath at the Rocky River and resume their journey.

 

For tourists the Batu caves offer the dual attraction of being inhabited by the indigenous Besisi and being the home of Malaysia’s most important Hindu temple. The walkway up to the temple also offers scenic views of the surrounding lush rainforest and on clear days it is even possible to see beyond Kuala Lumpur’s suburbs towards the Bay.

 

Despite being located away from Kuala Lumpur’s city it is advisable for travelers to base themselves in a city hotel. A discount hotel in Kuala Lumpur that offers great access to the transportation network and shopping districts is Citrus Hotel Kuala Lumpur.