A Popilar Dictionary of Hinduism Karel Werner

12 A POPULAR DICTIONARY OF HINDUISM
outward appearances, both of them acquired in the course of successive lives as a
result of their actions, desires, uncontrolled or controlled urges, efforts, decisions
and aspirations, or the lack of them. This is how the universal law works in the
lives of individual beings, termed in this context the law of karma. When they
eventually develop in themselves a capacity for self-observation and reflection,
so that they begin to comprehend their situation, they reach thereby a position in
which they can make a decision to turn inwards to realize their true inner essence
and thereby to avoid for themselves the necessity of going through a seemingly
endless round of limited forms of existence. This is liberation or salvation, i.e.
. Such is the overall picture expressed by the concept of Sanātana
Dharma.
Against this background of a lofty world view, ordinary life of course goes on
and the average Hindu busies himself with the immediate affairs of his life and
enlists all the help he can get from his tradition, on the level on which he can
grasp it, in order to steer those affairs in the desired direction. Much of what he
understands of his tradition may be far removed from the ideal picture outlined
above. Distorted interpretations of his tradition, social prejudice perceived as
sacred heritage, and misconceived ideas about the working of karmic laws are
often the background for his decisions and ways of behaviour. The desire to
emulate a Western life-style often leads to the adoption of its negative features,
which weaken the hold of Hindu spiritual values over him. Political, economic,
social, communal and nationalistic issues may also divert him away from true
spirituality. Nevertheless the opportunity to make use of the profound message
of Hinduism and to shape his life accordingly is always there, even if the start
and the pace of progress may, with many, be modest and on a rather superficial
level.
Two points still deserve special mention, although a thoughtful reader will
have become aware of them from what has already been discussed. They should
always be borne in mind by anyone watching Hindu customs and practices or
evaluating the beliefs and behaviour of Hindus. The first point is the multi-level
nature of Hinduism, which allows for every and any form of approach to the
transcendent, from worship in front of a peculiarly shaped stone or at the foot of
a sacred tree to elaborate rituals in temples; from constant repetition of a name of
God to articulate prayer, singing of mantras or wordless meditation in deep
absorption; from the frenzied emotion of a bhakta to the cool conceptual analysis
of a philosopher or the measured progressive training for the sake of developing
sharp insight by a practitioner of Jñāna Yoga. At the same time one should not
regard one approach as higher, more efficient or more appropriate than another.
Each of them may prove itself capable of leading the respective practitioner to
the very threshold of the mystery of the transcendent, from where he either does
or does not take the final leap, according to his volition and on the basis of his
own understanding.
It is not for the observer to pass judgment on the intrinsic value of the various
approaches for a genuine chance of the final realization by the practitioner,