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RELIGION |
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To say that religion is an important part of Nepali life is a
considerable understatement: it is life. In the Nepali world view, just
about every act has spiritual implications; the gods are assumed to have
a hand in every success or misfortune and must be appeased continuously.
Belief and ritual form the basis of the whole social order, governing
the way husbands relate to wives, parents to children and even the king
to his subjects.
Three religious strands intertwine in Nepal: Hinduism, Buddhism and
shamanism. In theory, these faiths are philosophically incompatible, but
Nepalis, being an exceptionally tolerant lot, tend to overlook the
differences. As practised by the masses, each employs superstition and
rites of passage to get followers through the present life, and codes of
behaviour to prepare them for the next; Hindu priests, Buddhist lamas
and tribal shamans play similar roles in their respective communities.
Indeed, it's really only outside observers who bother to distinguish
between the religions and dwell on their outward differences - most
Nepalis find such distinctions needlessly academic.
Hinduism is the state religion of Nepal, and the government claims that
90 percent of the population is Hindu. However, there are social
advantages to professing Hinduism in Nepal, and official statistics
don't reflect the extent to which many Nepalis blithely combine Hinduism
with Buddhist or shamanist beliefs. In general, Hinduism prevails at the
lower elevations and Buddhism in the Himalaya, while shamanism is
strongest among the ethnic minorities of the hills.
Charles Leech and David Reed
Hinduism
Hinduism doesn't conform to Western notions of what a religion should
be, and indeed the word "religion" is totally inadequate to describe it.
Hindus call it dharma, a much more sweeping term that conveys faith,
duty, a way of life and the entire social order. Having no common church
or institution, its many sects and cults preach different dogmas and
emphasize different scriptures. On social matters, Hinduism can be
tragically rigid - witness the caste system - and when it comes to
rituals, rather petty. Yet it's a highly individualistic system,
offering worshippers an almost limitless choice of deities and admitting
many paths to enlightenment. By absorbing and neutralizing opposing
doctrines, rather than condemning them as heresies, it has flourished
longer than any other major religion.
Hinduism has been evolving since approximately 1600 BC, when Aryan
invaders swept down from central Asia and subjugated the native
Dravidian peoples of the Indus and Ganges plains. They brought with them
a pantheon of nature gods and goddesses, some of whom are still in
circulation: Indra (sky and rain) is popular in Kathmandu, while Surya (sun),
Agni (fire), Vayu (wind) and Yama (death) retain bit parts in
contemporary mythology. These so-called Vedic gods were first
immortalized in the Vedas ("Books of Wisdom"), which were probably
written between the twelfth and eighth centuries BC, and it was during
this period that most of the principles now identified with Hinduism
were thrashed out.
To make sure they stayed on top of the conquered Dravidians, the Aryans
banned intermarriage and codified the apartheid-like caste system ;
varna, the Sanskrit word for caste, means "colour", and to this day
members of the higher castes generally have lighter skin. Initially,
four castes were established: Brahmans (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors
and rulers), Vaisyas (traders and farmers) and Sudras (artisans and
menials); over time, the lower two divisions spawned innumerable
occupational subcastes. The Rig Veda, Hinduism's oldest text, put a
divine seal of approval on the arrangements by proclaiming that Brahmans
had issued from the mouth of the supreme creator, Kshatriyas from his
arms, Vaishyas from his thighs and Sudras from his feet.
Brahmans (called Baahuns in Nepal), entrusted with the brain work,
proceeded to exploit their position by inventing preposterously complex
rituals and sacrifices, and making themselves the indispensable
guardians of these mysteries (cow-worship probably dates from this
period). Despite this stagnation, the philosophical foundations of
Hinduism were laid during the late Vedic period and recorded in a series
of discourses known as the Upanishads . Ever since, Hinduism has run
along two radically different tracks: the Brahmans' hocus-pocus popular
religion, with its comic-book deities and bloody sacrifices, and the
profound, intuitive insights of gurus and rishi (teachers).
The essence of Hinduism, unchanged since the Upanishads were written, is
that the soul ( atman) of each living thing is like a lost fragment of
the universal soul - brahman , the ultimate reality - while everything
in the physical universe is mere illusion ( maya). To reunite with
brahman, the individual soul must go through a cycle of rebirths (
samsara), ideally moving up the scale with each reincarnation.
Determining the soul's progress is its karma - its accumulated "just
deserts" - which is reckoned by the degree to which the soul conformed
to dharma , or correct Hindu behaviour, in its previous lives. Thus a
low-caste Hindu must accept his or her lot to atone for past sins, and
follow dharma in the hopes of achieving a higher rebirth. The
theoretical goal of every Hindu is to cast off all illusion, achieve
release ( moksha) from the cycle of rebirths, and dissolve into brahman.
Hinduism has assembled a vast and rich body of mythology over the past
three millennia, largely in an effort to personalize brahman for the
masses. Early on, a few of the Vedic gods were renamed, relieved of
their old nature associations and given personalities to illustrate
divine attributes. The concept of the Hindu "trinity" - Brahma the
creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer - was developed,
and the process of god-creation was speeded by the invention of numerous
avatar , or manifestations of gods. Hinduism's best-loved epics, the
Mahabharata (pronounced Mahabharat in Nepal) and the Ramayana ( Ramayan),
portray two of Vishnu's avatar, Krishna and Ram, as models of human
conduct (although as often as not Hindu gods, like their Greek
counterparts, are made out to be vain and foolish).
The explosion of deities has given rise to a succession of devotional
cults over the centuries, the most important of which nowadays are
Vaishnava (followers of Vishnu), Shaiva (Shiva) and Mahadevi (the mother
goddess); the last often goes by the tantric name Shakti. Brahma is
rarely iconographically depicted and consequently not widely worshipped.
Buddhism
The Buddha was born Siddhartha Gautama in what is now Nepal in the fifth
or sixth century BC, and his teachings were in many ways a protest
against the ritualism to which popular Hinduism had by then been reduced.
The Buddha rejected the Hindu caste system and the belief in a creator
God, while adapting its doctrines of reincarnation and karma, along with
many yogic practices; the result was a non-theistic, pragmatic
philosophy that placed a greater emphasis on the active pursuit of
enlightenment.
Whereas the Hindu ideal is to reunite with the Creator, the Buddhist
goal is nirvana , a state of being where wisdom and compassion have
completely uprooted the "three poisons" of greed, hatred and delusion.
The essence of the Buddha's teaching is encapsulated in the four noble
truths : existence is suffering; suffering is caused by desire; the
taming of desire ends suffering; and desire can be tamed by following
the eightfold path , a set of deceptively simple guidelines for
achieving dharma. He called the whole prescription the Middle Way
because it avoided the extremes of sensual indulgence and asceticism,
both of which were popularly believed to lead to enlightenment if
pursued with sufficient vigour (and the Buddha had tried them both
pretty vigorously before rejecting them).
As it developed, Buddhism became for many followers a full-time monastic
pursuit. But for most lay people, the lonely quest for enlightenment was
too hard-core and impersonal; to restore emotional elements that had
been lost in the monastic movement, Buddhism evolved a populist strand
known as Mahayana ("Great Vehicle"). Reintroducing elements of worship
and prayer, Mahayana Buddhism developed its own pantheon of bodhisattva
- enlightened intermediaries, something akin to Catholic saints, who
have forgone nirvana until all humanity has been saved. Many of these
were a repackaging of older Hindu deities, who were now given new names
and roles as protectors of the dharma.
Followers of the original teachings called their school Theravada ("Way
of the Elders"), but to Mahayana Buddhists it came to be known, somewhat
disparagingly, as Hinayana ("Lesser Vehicle"). This tradition remains
active in Sri Lanka and much of southeast Asia. It was the Mahayana
doctrine that came to Nepal, around the fifth century, and also spread
to China, Korea and Japan, adapting differently to each. Buddhism in
India was dealt a death blow in the seventh century by Muslim invasions,
which destroyed the great monastic universities and the thousands of
monks who lived in them; what was left of Buddhism was effectively
absorbed into the ocean of Hinduism.
Newar synthesis
Ask a Newar whether he's Hindu or Buddhist, the saying goes, and he'll
answer "yes": after fifteen centuries of continuous exposure to both
faiths, the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley have concocted a unique
synthesis of the two. To religious scholars, the Newar religion is as
exciting as a biologist's missing link, for some believe that it
provides a picture of the way Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism functioned
historically in India.
Until only the past two centuries, the Newars held fast to the original
monastic form of tantric Buddhism - as the bahal of Kathmandu and Patan
still bear witness - while their rulers pursued the Hindu tantric path.
However, the Kathmandu Valley has become progressively "Hinduized" since
the unification of Nepal in the eighteenth century: the monasteries have
largely disappeared, their monks have married, and the title of
Vajracharya (Buddhist priest) has become a hereditary caste like that of
the Baahun (Brahman) priests. Today, Newar Buddhists are perhaps the
only Buddhist culture that no longer maintains active communities of
monks or nuns. Although the acceptance of caste and the decline of
monasticism have shifted the balance in favour of Hinduism, at the
popular level the synthesis remains as well bonded as ever.
When Newars refer to themselves as Buddha margi (Buddhist) or Shiva
margi (Hindu), they often do so only to indicate that they employ a
Vajracharya or Baahun priest; even this doesn't always hold true,
though, as many jyapu (farmers) call themselves "Hindu" and attend Hindu
festivals, yet still use Vajracharyas. In any case, Newar rituals vary
little from Hindu to Buddhist.
Puja (an act of worship) is performed to gain the favour of deities for
material requests as often as for "spiritual" reasons. It is a profound
and very personal ritual. An integral part of all Newar rituals is the "
puja of five offerings", consisting of flowers (usually marigolds),
incense, light (in the form of butter lamps), sindur (coloured powder)
and various kinds of purified food (usually rice, dairy products,
sometimes sweets). Before darshan (audience with a deity), the devotee
or the priest uses consecrated water to wash him or herself and to bathe
the deity. After the deity has symbolically accepted and eaten some
food, the remainder is taken back by the devotee as prasad (consecrated
food). This, along with a tika made with the coloured powder, confers
the deity's blessing and protection.
Priests are ordinarily engaged for the more important life-cycle rites
(birth, marriage, death) or for larger seasonal festivals; wealthier
Newars may also seek private consultations at times of illness or
important decisions. Baahun priests don't perform animal sacrifices ,
but they do preside over the rituals that precede them. This brings up
one of the rare differences between Hindu and Buddhist Newars: while
Hindu Newars are enthusiastic sacrificers - they call the bloody ninth
day of the Dasain festival Syako Tyako (roughly, "the more you kill, the
more you gain") - Buddhists seldom participate. During Dasain, Tibetan
monasteries in Nepal hold special services to pray for good rebirths of
the sacrificed animals.
Shamanism
More ancient than Hinduism or Buddhism, shamanism is followed in diverse
ways throughout the world by peoples fortunate enough to have been
overlooked by the institutional religions. Variously described as
medicine men, witch doctors or oracles, shamans perform mystical rituals
to mediate between the physical and spiritual realms on behalf of their
flock. (Western society has its "shamans", too - faith healers and
mediums, for example.)
Shamanism is the traditional religion of most of Nepal's native ethnic
groups, and while many have adopted at least outward forms of Hinduism
or Buddhism (depending on their location), it is still widely practised
in the eastern and western hills. In Nepali, the generic words for
shaman are jhankri and dhami , although each ethnic group has its own
term as well. Forms and practices vary from one tribe to another, but a
jhankri - usually carrying a double-sided drum and often wearing a
headdress of peacock feathers - is always unmistakable.
The jhankri 's main job is to maintain spiritual and physical balance,
and to restore it when it has been upset. As a healer, he may examine
the entrails of animals for signs, gather medicinal plants from the
forest, perform sacrifices, exorcize demons, chant magical incantations
to invoke helper deities, or conduct any number of other rituals. As an
oracle, he may fall into a trance and act as a mouthpiece of the gods,
advising, admonishing and consoling listeners. As the spiritual sentry
of his community, he must ward off ghosts, evil spirits and angry
ancestors - sometimes by superior strength, often by trickery. All this,
plus his duties as funeral director, dispenser of amulets, teller of
myths and consecrator of holy ground and so on, put the jhankri at the
very heart of religious and social life in the hills. Little wonder that
Hinduism and Buddhism have been so shaped in Nepal by these shamanistic
traditions, producing a unique melting pot of religions.
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