Hinduism: core beliefs and practices

¶ … aesthetic and religious significance of traditional Hindu art. The focus of the paper stems from the fact that we were privileged enough to have access to a major contribution in scholarship in South and Southeast Asian art when the museum acquired aspects of the Alsdorf collection. In other words, because we have been exposed to a collection of objects including sculpture, jewelry, paintings, and architectural elements from India, Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Java, and elsewhere, it is important for us to examine the underlying sources of influence such as that of Hinduism on the region's art.

The Alsdorf collection was collected over many decades so it is important to grasp the concept that Hinduism and art have influenced Asian art and architectural elements from 200 BC through to the twentieth century. Even though the collection of Hindu materials on display was not large, they were very illustrative of the Hindu influence and by understanding the distinction between the Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian art influences, it is possible to understand the notions of how gods and supreme beings concepts were integrated in to the cultures of the time.

Hinduism has been found to have originated throughout northern India and eventually migrated south. It was also thought that over time it spread all over the mainland of Southeast Asia and Indonesia. No true founder has ever been credited and historians believe that the religion more or less developed over a period of centuries by India's various pantheistic cults. This is because the religion was not founded on any single text and in fact has many writings, tales, myths and legends throughout its past. Therefore, Hindu art and Hinduism in general entail an extremely diverse body of religion, philosophy, and cultural practices.

The philosophies were however native to and predominant throughout India. The underlying ideals can be characterized by a strong belief in reincarnation and supreme beings; however, these entities can be packaged into many forms and natures. "A common sight in India is a crowd of people gathered in the courtyard of a temple or at the doorway of a street side shrine for the Darsan of the deity. Darson means 'seeing.' In the Hindu ritual tradition it refers especially to religious seeing, or the visual perception of the sacred." (Eck, 1996)

Making generalizations about Hinduism, the influence on art and on the visually influenced culture may not be completely possible because the culture was in fact so diverse. In other words, generalizations such as thinking that understanding that 'the eyes' were the only insight into the thoughts and minds of Hindu and Indian artists lacks depth. A major feature of Hinduism for example can be the underlying notion that all living beings form part of an eternal cycle of reincarnation and the only way for humans to break free from this cycle is with great effort. Hinduism basics are that the existence of the world is a part of this cycle. Creation occurred, it now exists and it will eventually be destroyed. (Singh Brothers, 2005)

The all knowing eye sees and understands this cycle and therefore must prepare in this life and for the next life. "Over the course of time, there will be a new world era entailing that one day there will a dawn after destruction. This system for the earth continues throughout eternity and is managed by three gods: Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu or the divine trinity." (Eck, 1996) of these, Shiva was or is the destroyer. The Hindu divinities are worshipped through art on temples and in the majority of homes. By viewing different examples Shiva, we can see the iconography to the mythology association with the figure. (Indian Heritage, 2005)

In other words, the views of Hinduism hold many opposing theories that describe aspects of an eternal truth. For example, one underlying focus is that a desire for liberation from earthly evils is and should be a life ambition. These notions and concepts can be clearly witnessed in the region's art as Hinduism plays a major role in what is and was accepted as precious. The Hindu influence had a strong influence on the regions' architecture and the continuous to be a great part of the regions art. For example, Indian art is often depicted with the subjects of art, whether it is in jewelry, statues or paintings, all having various alterations made to the eyes.