Hinduism Case Study

The investigative study explored whether the polytheistic beliefs of Australian Hindus remained spiritually significant within a “monotheistic and agnostic” society (Lovat et al., 2006). In order to effectively determine this, a Hindu lay-person, Harman Kaur (2015), a Doctor specialising in South-East Asian Studies, Rosita Dellios (2015), and a member of the Australian Council of Hindu Clergymen, Pandit Sivan (2015) were formally interviewed. In addition, the Shri Ganesha Temple, in Marion, Australia was visited, in order to acquire visual evidence of the relevance of Hindu polytheistic beliefs in a local environment. Moreover, secondary sources, including: religious journals, commentaries, books, documentaries and articles were employed, to

Partha and Swasti Miller (1982) recall that the religion has “no founder as such, unlike Christianity and Islam”, despite it being derived from the first Indian settlers in 5,000 BCE, who were later conquered by the Aryans. It is from this colonisation that the Aryans introduced the “four Vedas” (Miller and Miller, 1982), which later merged into the Vedic Hindu faith. Today, Hinduism is acknowledged by its followers as a “philosophy” (Lovat et al., 2006), as well as being concerned with the ideology of pantheism: the belief of spiritual immanence, as opposed to transcendence, exemplified in religions such as, Christianity, Judaism and Islam (Rinehart, 2004). Therefore, as stated by Vineeta Sinha (2011), these predominantly “spiritual and personal attributes” of the Hindu faith are the foundations of the philosophy’s core beliefs, rituals and

However, some Hindus associate themselves with sectarian traditions, such as Vaishnavism and Saivism Hinduism, whom only worship one god or deity and thus, “partially monotheistic” values (Bhagavata, 2014). This infers that the polytheistic beliefs of worshipping many different higher authorities, are “vital components of spiritual and personal devotion” in the Hindu faith (Smith, 2012). The effects of recent migration increased the transferring of polytheistic beliefs, rituals and practices, from the original migrants that held them (Sivan, 2015). Jacobsen et al. (2009) supports this, by recognising the presence of Hindu temples built around Australia, such as the Sri Venkaterswara Temple, in Sydney, as well as the Shri Ganesha Temple, in Adelaide (Jacobsen et al., 2009); thus, allowing Australians to practice their faith “without let or hindrance” (Sivan,