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India is a land of many contrasts and apparent contradictions. Although most Indians are Hindu, India has more Muslims than any other nation on earth. Hinduism is said to have over 5,000 years of recorded history, the most of any major religion, yet there is no set creed. This accounts for the great differences in Hindu practices, depending on location and principle deity (i.e. Vishnu/Krishna, Lord Shiva or Deva Sakti/Durga/Kali), etc. This helps explain why "sati", ritual self-immolation by a widow on her husband's funeral pyre continues to be practiced to this day.

Violence plays a prominent role in the many Hindu holy books and imagery. Indeed, the Bhagavad-Gita uses the backdrop of battle for Krishna to explain explain spiritual truths to Arjuna, who was reluctant to fight his friends and relatives, but in the end was convinced. Also, the most common depiction of Kali is with a necklace of skulls, while standing on the chest of her husband, Lord Shiva and Durga is depicted riding a lion or tiger, images that may imply violence. Nonetheless, India has no history of foreign conquest and many Indians practice non-violence and vegetarianism. Another ancient religion, Jainism, even requires adherents to sweep before stepping and to wear face masks lest any bugs be harmed, since they are believed to have souls.

After all, most Indians believe the soul survives death through reincarnation (although not necessarily again as a human), until the soul becomes pure and escapes the karmic cycle of rebirth. That may be an underlying motivation for "sati", which is supposed to be voluntary. Indeed, the children of a "sati" suicide victim are often very proud of her action, as it shows profound faith, respect and devotion to their father. A similarly inscrutable practice involves young wives who brought insufficient dowries into their new homes and thus, perish by "accidentally" falling into the kitchen oven, apparently under the gaze of the mothers-in-law. The government has outlawed these practices, along with discrimination based on caste, but old traditions die hard.

There are also ancient Indian practices of celibacy as well as what westerners might term "free love". Among the celibates are the Sadhu, wandering ascetic holy men who have renounced all family connections and all material possessions, including clothing. Part of their austerities include the consumption of excrement and use of a human skull as a bowl to eat from. On the other extreme, to this day, there are religious groups in India who practice a form of ritualized sex out of wedlock. Apparently, tantric practices were more common in the past, as there are many temples with graphic sexual imagery carved in stone. Indeed, the Kama Sutra has been used as training for brides-to-be in all the imaginable sexual positions. Such are the
apparent contradictions that many perceive within Hinduism.

To westerners, the range and scope of such apparent contradictions and practices, including "sati", are often beyond comprehension. However, they are all part and parcel of the reality of Hinduism, a religion of amazing depth in which some claim there are many, many gods and others claim that all are manifestations of the one supreme God. Which view is more correct or are they both correct simultaneously?

Learn more about this author, Robert C. Sage.
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