The World’s Third Largest Religion: Hinduism

The classical theory of Hinduism traces the origin of the religion to the Indus Valley civilization in 4000 2200 BCE. Hinduism has been influenced over thousands of years. The Vedas are the primary sacred texts of Hinduism. The Vedas contain rituals and hymns from ancient India. The most important text is the Ramayana. It is a love story about a hero, Rama, who fulfils his dharma. It is a well known and liked text in India.

Hinduism has been seen as polytheistic or monotheistic. It is seen as polytheistic because there are many gods and goddesses.  It can also be seen as monotheistic because it recognizes only one absolute God. The universe is seen as one divine entity.

Most urban Hindus follow one or two major divisions in Hinduism. Shivaism believes that Shiva is the ultimate god. Vaishnavaism believes that Vishnu is the ultimate god. Conversely, many rural Hindus worship an earth goddess. This goddess is believed to rule over fertility and disease, life and death. A priesthood is also less important in villages than it is in cities.

Hindus believe in the transmigration of the soul. This is the belief that after you die your soul is transferred into another body. This creates a continuous cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth over many lifetimes called samsara. The accumulation of your good and bad deeds is called karma. This is what determines how you will live your next life. If you commit pure acts, thoughts and devotion, you can be reborn in a higher level. To get out of the cycle you must achieve enlightenment. You can be born at a lower level or as an animal by doing bad deeds. The consequences of your actions are seen in your next life through wealth and suffering.

Four Aims of Hinduism-

Dharma

Dharma is the virtue, righteousness and duty, especially social and caste duty, in accord with the cosmic order.

Artha

Artha is success in economic life and material prosperity.

Kama

Kama is gratification of the senses, pleasure, sensual, sexual, and mental  enjoyment.

Moska

Moska is the liberation from samsara. It is considered the ultimate goal of mankind. 

A Hero's Journey: Mulan

Stage 1: Departure

The call to adventure in Mulan is when China is invaded by the Huns. They are lead by Shan-Yu. The Emperor orders that one man from every family has to fight against the Huns to protect their country. Mulan does not want her father to fight because he is old and feeble. To protect him she impersonates a soldier.  Mulan’s refusal to call happens when she does not want to abandon her family. She eventually realizes that in order to save her father she must go to war for him. Mulan’s supernatural aid is Mushu. He helps her keep her guise as a soldier and aids her in saving China from the Huns. Mulan crosses the first threshold when she enters the world of warfare. She must convince everyone at the training camp that she is indeed a man. The belly of the whale is when Mulan helps her country fight against the Huns in a series of battles.

Stage 2: Initiation

The road of trials in Mulan is when Captain Li-Shang’s troops realize that the Huns are going to invade the Imperial city and they need to protect the Emperor. The next part of the initiation stage is meeting with the Goddess. Since Mulan is a woman she instead begins to fall in love with Li-Shang. Mulan’s temptation away from the true path is when she feels like she is not good enough to be a soldier. Shan-Yu is violent and makes Mulan question whether she made the right decision by joining the military in place of her father. She is tempted to give up. The atonement with the father comes when Mulan is revealed as a woman. Even though the men did not approve of this, Mulan gained strength and realizes that she can still save her country despite her being a woman. Mulan’s apotheosis is when the Emperor bows down to her, causing the entire country to bow down too. She becomes the most honored person for saving China from the Huns. The ultimate boon in Mulan is when she saves the Emperor from the Huns. He is so grateful that he gives Mulan Shan-Yu’s sword and the crest of the Emperor to honor her family.

Stage 3: Return

There is not a refusal to return in Mulan. She respectfully declines the Emperor’s offer and returns home to stay with her family. Mulan’s magic flight back home is her horse. The rescue from without occurs when Shan-Yu and Mulan are fighting on the roof top and Mushu helps save Mulan by shooting fireworks at Shan-Yu. The crossing of the threshold is when Mulan returns home with the gifts from the Emperor, hoping that her family will forgive her. Mulan started out in the beginning of the movie as a dishonorable girl and throughout the course of her journey became a strong woman. Mulan mastered two worlds, seeing the importance of family honor and the atrocities of war. When Mulan invites Shang to stay for dinner she is showing the final step in stage three, freedom to win. She is safe with her family and Shang represents her integrating the new world into her old life.