Why does Hinduism Change over time

Article taken from........http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_does_Hinduism_changes_over_time&altQ=Why_does_Hinduism_change_over_time

...............................................................................

During the Classical Period, Hinduism had to compete against Buddhism so it moved away from the abstract concept of Brahman , with emotional, passionate devotion towards the more accessible avatars, especially Krishna and Rama

The eternally changing Hinduism:

Interposed between our constantly changing real world and eternally unchanging god (Brahman) is a three dimensional unnamed entity.

The three demensions are time, space and person. These are also the dimensions science uses to understand life.

The role played by the three dimensions: 1. Time/Temporary and permanent: The four Yugas and the four Varnas are based on it
2. Space: Local and Universal
3. Person/ God and man/ Involuntary and Voluntary forces: The infinite gods of Hinduism are based on this dimension
Hinduism started as a local, temporary and atheistic religion and started growing into an eternal, universal and orthodox religion.
In other religions this three dimensional part is replaced by revelations of god to a prophet. Thus, a follower can't change it.
In contrast, in Hinduism man is equal to god (Aham Bramasmi - I am the supreme god). Thus, Hinduism is designer made for each Hindu. Therefore, it keeps evolving continuously.

The basic forces and the basic Hindu gods: To understand the evolution of Hinduism we must always keep the seven basic forces in mind. This is because even though Hinduism keeps evolving continuously the basic forces continue to remain unchanged forever.
1. Dreaming force - Indra
2. Illusory force - Shakti
3. Voluntary force - Brahma
4. Semi voluntary force - Vishnu
5. Involuntary force - Shiva
6. Status altering force - Shani
7. Compulsive force - Yama

1. Stage of Worship of Nature: At the origin of Hinduism, there was not much competition for survival as the population was very low and people were nomadic. The main adversaries were elements of nature. Hindus considered the vagaries of nature as panchamahabhutas and realized that each of them is best handled by a particular basic force.
The panchamahabhutas are,
1. Void - Very hostile environment - dreaming force
2. Air - Hurricanes - illusory force
3. Fire - forest fires - voluntary force
4. Water - floods, rain, draught - Semi voluntary force
5. Earth - migration - Involuntary force
There were no temples or idols.
Thus, Indra, Vayu, Agni and Varuna were the important gods at this stage.

2. Stage of Worship of Gods: As population grew and people became less nomadic, the vagaries of nature became less important than fights among themselves.
1. Human like gods replaced the elements of nature to symbolize the basic forces.
2. All the seven basic Hindu gods viz. Indra, Shakti, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Shani and Yama, were distinctly recognizable and were equal.
3. The Supreme Hindu god Brahman was symbolic of pure Involuntary force.
4. Man, symbolic of pure voluntary force, became equal to the supreme god.
5. Hinduism was at its most rational form.
6. It was also in its complete form.
7. It is in this stage that Moksha and Brahman were described clearly.

3. The Materialistic worship: 1. Temples and rituals have become more important than faith.
2. The peripheral gods Indra and Yama have become too difficult to handle. Therefore, they are supposed to play a role after our death only.
3. The worship of Shakti and Shani has become less popular. The central gods 4. Vishnu and shiva have become popular.
5. Vishnu is overshadowed by his incarnations Rama and later, Krishna.
6. Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Hanuman, the god associated with Rama, have became the most important gods.

Secret of "The Nine Unknown Men"

According to occult lore, the Nine Unknown Men are a two millennia-old secret society founded by the Indian Emperor Asoka 273 BC. The legend of The Nine Unknown Men goes back to the time of the Emperor Asoka, who was the grandson of Chandragupta. Ambitious like his ancestor whose achievements he was anxious to complete, he conquered the region of Kalinga which lay between what is now Calcutta and Madras. The Kalingans resisted and lost 100,000 men in the battle. At the sight of this massacre Asoka was overcome and resolved to follow the path of non-violence.

He converted to Buddhism after the massacre, the Emperor founded the society of the Nine to preserve and develop knowledge that would be dangerous to humanity if it fell into the wrong hands. It is said that the Emperor Asoka once aware of the horrors of war, wished to forbid men ever to put their intelligence to evil uses. During his reign natural science, past and present, was vowed to secrecy. Henceforward, and for the next 2,000 years, all researches, ranging from the structure of matter to the techniques employed in collective psychology, were to be hidden behind the mystical mask of a people commonly believed to be exclusively concerned with ecstasy and supernatural phenomena. Asoka founded the most powerful secret society on earth: that of the Nine Unknown Men.

One can imagine the extraordinary importance of secret knowledge in the hands of nine men benefiting directly from experiments, studies and documents accumulated over a period of more than 2,000 years. What can have been the aim of these men? Not to allow methods of destruction to fall into the hands of unqualified persons and to pursue knowledge which would benefit mankind. Their numbers would be renewed by co-option, so as to preserve the secrecy of techniques handed down from ancient times.

Each of the Nine is supposedly responsible for guarding and improving a single book. These books each deal with a different branch of potentially hazardous knowledge. Traditionally, the books are said to cover the following subjects:
The Nine Books

1. Propaganda and Psychological warfare is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of large numbers of people. Instead of impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience. It is the most dangerous of all sciences, as it is capable of moulding mass opinion. It would enable anyone to govern the whole world.

2. Physiology is the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of living organisms. The book of The Nine included instructions on how to perform the "touch of death (death being caused by a reversal of the nerve-impulse)." One account has Judo being a product of material leaked from this book.

3. Microbiology, and, according to more recent speculation, Biotechnology. In some versions of the myth, the waters of the Ganges are purified with special microbes designed by the Nine and released into the river at a secret base in the Himalayas. Multitudes of pilgrims, suffering from the most appalling diseases, bathe in them without harming the healthy ones. The sacred waters purify everything. Their strange properties have been attributed to the fact that they contain bacteriophages. But why should these not be formed in the Bramaputra, the Amazon or the Seine?

4. Alchemy, including the transmutation of metals. In India, there is a persistent rumor that during times of drought or other natural disasters temples and religious organizations receive large quantities of gold from an unknown source. The mystery is further deepened with the fact that the sheer quantity of gold throughout the country in temples and with kings cannot be properly accounted for, seeing that India has few gold mines.

5. Communication, including communication with extraterrestrials.

6. Gravitation. Book 6 The Vaiminaka sastra is said to contain the instructions necessary to build a Vimana, sometimes referred to as the "ancient UFOs of India."

7. Cosmology, the capacity to travel at enormous speeds through spacetime fabric, and time-travel; including intra- and inter-universal trips.

8. Light, the capacity to increase and decrease the speed of light, to use it as a weapon by concentrating it in a certain direction etc.

9. Sociology, including rules concerning the evolution of societies and how to predict their downfall.