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Criticism of Hinduism has been applied to both the historical and the current aspects of Hinduism, notably thecaste system and thesati practice.
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Some of the earliest criticism of hindu texts, including theVedas and especially theDharmashastras, come from theSramana (or renunciate) traditions, includingBuddhism andJainism. Sramana scholars viewed Brahminical philosophy as "heretical".[citation needed] In particular, Sramanas denied thesruti (divine) nature of the Vedas and opposed sacrificial rituals which were at the heart of Brahminical philosophy at the time.[1]
The criticisms of Hinduism and Brahminical philosophy by Sramana scholars occurred primarily during the 6th century BCE to around 8th century CE in ancient India. This period witnessed a flourishing of diverse philosophical schools, including Yoga, Buddhism, Jainism,Ajivikas, and other Sramana traditions that engaged in debates with orthodox Vedic practices.[citation needed]
The Sramanas rejected the rigid social hierarchy enforced by the Brahmins, which placed individuals into fixed social classes from birth. Sramana scholars criticized the emphasis on elaborate rituals and sacrificial practices in Brahminical philosophy. They believed that true spiritual progress could not be achieved through external ceremonies, but rather through internal transformation and self-realization.[2][3] While Brahminical philosophy placed a strong emphasis on the authority of the Vedas as the sacred text, Sramana scholars questioned this authority severely.[citation needed] They advocated for individual experience, and the direct faithful realizations regardless of worldly or societal hierarchy, over 'blind' faith in scriptures.[2]
Another point of contention was the contrast betweenascetic practices favored by many Sramanas and the ritualistic approach promoted by Brahminical traditions.[4] The Sramanas believed in renunciation and austerity as paths to spiritual liberation, while criticizing excessivematerialism and attachment to worldly possessions.[5] Sramana traditions, such as Jainism, placed a strong emphasis on non-violence (ahimsa), which stood in contrast to certainVedic rituals that involved animal sacrifices.[3]
Sati was a historical northernHindu practice, in which a widow sacrifices herself by sitting atop her deceased husband's funeralpyre.[6][7][8][9]Vidya Dehejia states that sati was introduced late into the Indian society, and became regular only after 500 CE.[10] The practice became prevalent from 7th century onwards, and declined to its elimination in the 17th century, to then gain resurgence in Bengal in the 18th century.[11] Roshen Dalal postulated that its mention in some of thePuranas indicates that it slowly grew in prevalence from 5th-7th century and later became an accepted custom around 1000 CE among those of higher classes, especially theRajputs.[12][13]
According to Dehejia, sati originated within theKshatriyas (warrior Caste)aristocracy, and remained mostly limited to the warrior class among Hindus.[14] Yang adds that the practice was also emulated by those seeking to achieve high status among the royalty and the warriors.[13] The increase of the sati practice may also be related to the centuries of Islamic invasion and its expansion in South Asia.[13][15] It acquired an additional meaning as a means to preserve the honour of women whose men had been slain,[13] especially with the variant of a mass sati calledjauhar, practiced especially among the Rajputs as a direct response to the onslaught they had experienced.[9][16]
TheMughal Empire (1526–1857) rulers and the Muslim population were ambivalent about the practice,[17][18][19] with many Mughal emperors forbidding the practice,[20] and later the European travelers record thatsati was not much practiced in the Mughal empire.[20] It was notably associated only with elite HinduRajput clans in westernIndia, marking one of the points of divergence between the Hindu Rajputs and the MuslimMughals.[21]
With the onset of the British Raj, opposition against sati grew. The principal campaigners against Sati wereChristian and Hindu reformers such asWilliam Carey andRam Mohan Roy.[22][23] In 1829, Lord Bentinck issued Regulation XVII, declaringSati to be illegal and punishable in criminal courts.[24] On 2 February 1830, this law was extended toMadras andBombay.[25] The ban was challenged by a petition signed by "several thousand... Hindoo inhabitants of Bihar, Bengal, Orissa etc"[26] and the matter went to thePrivy Council in London. Along with British supporters, Ram Mohan Roy presented counter-petitions to parliament in support of ending Sati. The Privy Council rejected the petition in 1832, and the ban onSati was upheld.[27]
Human Rights Watch describes the caste system as a "discriminatory and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment"[28] of over 165 million people in India. The justification of the discrimination on the basis ofcaste, which according to HRW is "a defining feature of Hinduism,"[29] has repeatedly been noticed and described by the United Nations and HRW, along with criticism of othercaste systems worldwide.[29][28][30][31]
The Buddhist practices existed parallel to, but in direct divergence in essence, to the Brahminical beliefs. The former religious dictums held that worldly superiority was not achieved through birth or some unprecedented bias from the god, but from abstinence and patience upheld against the desires of the material. The Brahmans observed that a ranking was a default system that pre-existed at the time of birth, based on thevarna (the color and race) and thejati (birth) that divided the best and fortunate to the least fortunate, and then there were the untouchables (theshudras).[32] The buddhist maintained this to be a downright altruistic conduct that served but the interests of only a few men, and unfairly. They swore by the belief that all men were born equal, and each found nirvana through ones own trials by self realization.[33]
Suttee, or sati, is the obsolete Hindu practice in which a widow burns herself upon her husband's funeral pyre...
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