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I once met a Nepali teenage girl who introduced
herself as Vishnu. That also happens to Nepal is (still, in 2008) the only country in the world with Hinduism as the official state religion, although that is one of the issues that is up for debate in the newly formed Constituent Assembly. Maybe you thought India was a Hindu nation? Well, that’s not so. Although about 80% of it’s population are Hindus, the country is officially multi-religious. But back to Nepal, because while the official number of Hindus in Nepal is 86.51% and that of Buddhists is 7.78%, it is sometimes harder to distinguish between Hindus and Buddhists than those exact numbers seem to suggest. The great Buddha
Statue at Swayambhunath, |
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A religious melting pot Hindus worship Buddha as well, since they believe the historic Buddha to have been a reincarnated Hindu deity. The biggest festival, Dashain, has it’s origin in Hinduism but is celebrated, not only by Hindus, but by Nepali Buddhists and Muslims alike. Some temple architecture also reveals a wonderful mix-up of the two religions. The mix is especially evident among the Newar people, the original inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley. One of the centers of Newar culture is the Swayambhu stupa, a huge dome structure with a gilded step-tower located on top of a hill. The main structure is clearly Buddhist, but it is surrounded by smaller shrines of both Hindu and Buddhist origin. The site dates back to the pre-Buddhist era, possibly 2.500 years old and today is a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the main tourist attractions of Kathmandu. (It is also known as “The Monkey Temple” on account of the hundreds of rhesus monkeys that inhibit the hill-side jungle leading up to the stupa.) Over the last 50 years, another form of Buddhism has also come to Nepal. Thousands of Tibetan refugees fleeing Chinese occupation have settled in Nepal and thus brought their Buddhism-mixed-with-ancient-animism-and-shamanism to Nepal. So labels such as merely ‘Buddhist’ and ‘Hindu’ doesn’t really reflect the complex nature of religion in Nepal. The different faiths and accompanying cultures are interwoven in each other and exist in relative harmony, although political power have largely been dominated by Hindus and Hinduism.
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 Saraswati, Hindu Goddess of learning etc.  |
 Ganesh, Hindu God of travel, remover of obstacles etc. |
 Hanuman, Hindu warrior God |
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A country in transition The historical Buddha was born 2500 years ago in Lumbini, today a part of Nepal. Buddhism first spread to India and then came back to the then Hindu Nepal centuries later. For a thousand years, Buddhism flourished in Nepal alongside Hinduism, but then slowly faded away in the 13th century, only to be kept alive by Newar communities. And since the 18th century, Nepal has been a Hindu kingdom where the King is believed to be a reincarnated Hindu deity. All that is now possibly set to change with the recent changes in the political landscape. The former rebel Maoists have not only joined mainstream politics but have also become the single biggest party in the country. And they are arguing for transforming Nepal into a secular republic and removing the Hindu king. The country was actually declared secular in 2006 by the transitional government that came in place after King Gyanendra’s failed coup’d’etat, but the declaration has not yet been implemented and remains just words on a document. If Nepal truly becomes a secular state, one of the controversial issues that could face change is the status of cows in Nepal, an animal considered holy in Hindu belief. As of now, it is prohibited by law to slaughter a cow and violations can lead to 12 years imprisonment. If cow slaughtering is allowed, it will upset a lot of Hindus and possibly lead to violent protests and riots. There have already been demonstrations in the streets of Kathmandu by the World Hindu Federation (WHF) against the move to secularism. Throughout history though, different religions have been able to co-exist side by side in Nepal, and there is no strong indications that this is about to change. The Maoist leader, Prachanda, have publicly stated that he himself is not a religious man, but he respect all lines of faith and have no intention of unnecessarily shunning any religious communities in Nepal. So if the issue of the holy cow doesn’t explode, it looks like Hinduism and Buddhism is all set to continue their peaceful co-existence in the little mountain nation.
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of
Buddha. Confused as I was, I asked her “so are you a Hindu or a
Buddhist?”. “I’m a Hindu in my mind and a Buddhist in my heart”, she
replied!
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Further links |
Stock photos of Religion in Nepal