CULTURE AND RELIGION
Key Beliefs
Sanatana Dharma encompasses a set of eternal and universal ethical and moral principles of virtuous and
true living, is acceptable whether or not one is born a Hindu. The Hindu ethical code attaches great
importance to values such as truth, right conduct, love, peace and non-violence. There is the notion that
our beliefs determine our thoughts and attitudes, which in turn direct out actions, which in turn creates our
destiny. All Hindu ceremonies, rituals and worships end with a prayer for universal peace and harmony.
An important principle in the Hindu thought is the law of karma. It is the law of cause and effect in which
each and every action has a reaction, generating conditions to be experienced within this lifetime or the
next. Life is looked upon as a continuum in the sense that the pristine life energy is never destroyed. Death
is accepted not as a denial of life but as a process of life. As a result, the Hindu view accepts and believes
in samsara or reincarnation: the cycle of life-death-rebirth until such time as the individual soul, on self
realisation of its own essential divinity, emerges into the Absolute and the attainment of moksha or
liberation from the cycles of rebirth. A Hindu accepts on scriptural authority that self realisation is possible
and attainable within one’s own life time and indeed it is the goal and eventual destiny of all life.
Those outside the Hindu faith are often confused by the Hindu pantheon of Gods and Goddesses. Hindus
do not see themselves as worshipping idols. They believe that God can be worshipped with or without form.
The Hindu thought has developed a high degree of symbolism to convey the truth and to determine one’s
choice of path to attain self realisation. Gods and Goddesses are symbols depicting various attributes,
functions and manifestations of the one Supreme Divine Absolute. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are
manifestations of the one Divine Absolute operating in the three primordial functional activities in the
universe - creation, sustenance and re-absorption respectively. Hindu images and practices have literal as
well as symbolic meanings.
A Hindu is enjoined to seek personal purification on the path to self realisation through one of four or any
combination of the four paths which are:
1. Ritualistic worship, chanting of prayers, devotional surrender to a higher ideal (the Deity representing
the qualities).
2. Through service.
3. Through yoga and meditation.
4. Through inquiry (know thyself).
To the purified, the Absolute reveals itself as one’s own essential being (the self) and hence the term self
realisation. Hindus are, therefore, encouraged to embrace all and live in the interest of, and in peace and
harmony with the larger self or the society and the environment as a whole. They are encouraged to be
flexible and adjust to situations as they arise.
As a faith Hinduism is not dogmatic and does not rigidly impose beliefs and practices on an individual or a
family unit. This observation is particularly valid for Hindus living in Australia. In all matters the wish of the
individual or the family unit is paramount, and cultural and religious sensitivities and practices identified in
this information sheet may not be relevant for a second or third generation Australian Hindu.
Demographics
Of the non-Christian religious affiliations in Australia, Hinduism experienced the fastest proportional growth
between 1996 and 2006, with the population more than doubling. According to the 2006 Census, Hindus
comprise 0.8% of the total Australian population or 148,130 and 0.3% of the population of the Northern
Territory.
Most Hindus in Australia were born overseas and have migrated from a number of countries particularly
India, Fiji, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Mauritius and the United Kingdom.