Ancient India Religion 11

The Vedantic Age

Although we are unable to accurately date the beginning of Hinduism, we can point to the Vedantic Age as the period in Indian history where the Hindu religious tradition began to solidify. The principles of karma and samsara directly appealed to a populace caught in the stranglehold of the rigidity of the caste system. In this respect, one's deeds in the present life would directly effect their future as the soul passes form life to life.


Interestingly, the Upanishads, nor the thinkers reponsible for the new orthodoxy of the Hindu religion, ever directly challenged the Vedic beliefs, the existing gods, or the practice of sacrifice. Instead, a quiet transformation gradually occurred that formulated a new system of thought that became the cornerstone of Hinduism. Increasingly, the common people directed their faith toward lesser deities that filled their specific needs. Rising to the top of the nonexistent hierarchy of the gods, the religious practices, although still based in the Vedic scripture, decidedly shifted from Indra and Varuna to the two current sects of Hinduism which worship Vishnu and Shiva.