Hinduism in Malaysia

Hinduism is one of the world’s oldest and most influential religions. It is extremely diverse. Different practices and beliefs occur in different countries, regions, and villages.
Hinduism was at one time widespread in Southeast Asia. From around 600 BC it extended from India into Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. In most of East Asia it was later obscured by Buddhism and Islam. However, it still prevails in Bali and parts of East Java, and since the late 19th century has been reintroduced to peninsular Malaysia.
History and origins
The roots of Hinduism can be traced to around 1500 BC, but it was very different to the Hinduism of today. It was polytheistic and ritualistic and originally the rituals were generally performed at home. They gradually became more complex and a priestly class was created and trained in order to carry out the rituals. The priests thus became the means of access to the gods.
In 600 BC the people revolted against the priests, who had become controlling. A new form of Hinduism gradually developed, with more of an emphasis on personal meditation. Theistic cults began to develop, forming the basis of much of Hindu practice today.
As part of Hindu worship today, people use domestic shrines and rituals, local shrines and famous temples and pilgrimage sites.
Beliefs
Traditionally, Hindus viewed the cosmos as a sphere, enclosing several concentric layers of seas, continents, heavens and hells. 
Brahman is the ultimate reality; the ultimate source of all being. It is an impersonal, universal force that cannot be defined. The cosmos is an expression of Brahman. Most Hindus believe that they also are expressions of Brahman.
Atman is the soul or self, an inherent, eternal part of all living things. There are very many Hindu theories and definitions of Atman and its relation to Brahman. 
Maya is a central Hindu concept. Some Hindus follow the teaching that the physical world is illusory, or maya, and that Brahman alone is real. Others follow the concept that both are real and that the universe is an extension of Brahman. Another strand of belief teaches that Brahman and the universe are two distinct realities.
Time is cyclic rather than chronological, and also degenerative, moving from a golden age through two ages of lesser goodness to the present, degenerate age. At the end of every fourth age, a fire or flood destroys the universe and a new golden age follows, thus continuing the cycle.
Human life is also cyclic. Hindus believe in reincarnation: the soul is reborn after physical death into the body of another human or animal. The continuous reincarnation process is called samsara.
Karma determines each new birth. We reap what we sow, in the present and future lives. Some Hindu teaching suggests that ignorance keeps us locked in karma, and that we can be released by knowledge or enlightenment.
Moksha is release from karma, death, decay, anger, lusts and maya. This release is attained though understanding and detachment from worldly pleasures. It is a liberation from the wheel of life, death and rebirth, and moving towards enlightenment.
This enlightenment can be reached in three ways:
the way of action and ritual 
the way of knowledge and meditation 
the way of devotion 
Devotion is generally interpreted as commitment to God, who is approachable, offering salvation as a gift, not reward for effort. It is also sometimes interpreted as devotion to a deity. With devotion to God, we must also then be devoted to parents and elders.
The sacred cow
From ancient times, the cow has symbolised the universe and its gifts to humanity. Cows are givers of life, food, sacrifice and worship. They are not eaten and some Hindus are vegetarian. However, even where Hindus are vegetarian, the milk, urine and dung are generally used for food, fuel and ritual. In art, Krishna is often depicted as a cowherd.
Scriptures
Vedas: These are the oldest Hindu scriptures. Some people suggest that they record the religion of the Aryan peoples who settled in India around 1500 BC. They were nomads, probably from central Asia or the Baltic. Their religion included sacrifice to gods representing the forces of nature. 
Veda means ‘knowledge’. There are four Vedas, of which the oldest is the Rig Veda. Each is divided into four parts: mantras (verses or hymns sung during rituals, also called samhitas), brahmanas (explanations of the mantras), aranyakas (reflection on the meaning of the mantras) and upanishads. Upanishads are philosophical, poetic, mystic meditations on the nature of existence, atman, Brahman and the universe. Some people prefer a three-fold division of the vedas, with aranyakas and Upanishads counted as one.
Two epic tales
Ramayana 
This is 24,000 couplets on the life of Rama, a good king and an incarnation of the god Vishnu. In the Ramayana he is depicted as an Odysseus figure. A Ramayana dance is still performed in Cambodia and Indonesia. 
The Mahabharata 
The story of the Aryan clans, told in 100,000 verses composed over 800 years. This includes the devotional Bhagavad Gita or ‘Song of the Blessed Lord’, the most popular Hindu scripture.
Gods and goddesses
There are thousands of Hindu deities, but worship varies regionally. Some Hindus believe in a divine triad; manifestations of Brahman: Brahma (creator), Shiva (destroyer) and Vishnu (preserver). However, some believe only in one god, some believe in many gods, some in no god and some in several manifestations of one god.
Hinduism in Indonesia
Hinduism spread to Indonesia in the first century AD. Islam superseded it in the 13th century, except in Bali, which is now the largest Hindu region outside India. Hinduism is also still practised in much of Islamic East Java, and most Indonesian art is Hindu rather than Islamic.
Balinese Hinduism is characterised by pantheism and includes elements of Polynesian religions. Most gods are identified with nature. Brahma is associated with fire and volcanoes, as well as creation as in Indian Hinduism. The most powerful gods are those identified with mountains, lakes and the sea.
Other gods include:
Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa: the supreme unknowable god. 
Ancestors: these are the most approachable. The rites of the living enable the souls of the ancestors to reach heaven. The ritual is repaid by blessing from the ancestors and sometimes guidance via a medium. 
Ancient kings: also revered as important deities. 
Dewi Sri: the rice goddess. Shrines can be seen in rice fields, and daily food offerings are left to her. 
Saraswati: a female consort of Brahma and the goddess of wisdom, knowledge and the arts.
Hinduism in Malaysia
Around nine percent of the population of Malaysia are Tamil Indians, of whom nearly 90 percent are practising Hindus.
Hinduism spread to Malaysia very early, and was important until Islam arrived in the 15th century. Traces remain in the Malay language, literature and art.
Indian settlers came to Malaysia from Tamil Nadu in the late 19th and early 20th centuries: labourers to work on rubber plantations and a few English-educated Indians, forerunners of today’s professional middle class. There is also a minority from Northern India.
Malaysian Hinduism is diverse, with large urban temples dedicated to specific deities, and smaller temples on estates. The estate temples generally follow the tradition of the Indian region from which the workers originate. Many people follow the Shaivite, or Saivite, tradition (worship of Shiva), of Southern India. 
Shaivism is a devotionalist grace-based concept and emphasises love for the deity, rather than fear.
Folk Hinduism is most common, including spiritualism, animal sacrifice and worship of local gods.
Since the Second World War a revival of Hinduism has occurred among Indian Malaysians, with the foundation of organisations and councils to bring unity or to promote reform.
Other points
Sin is caused by ignorance which produces bad karma.
Most Hindus do recognise one God, or supreme deity. However, often God is seen as an impersonal force, or one of many gods. Jesus is also likely to be identified as one of many deities.
Christianity is seen as a Western religion and Christians do not appear spiritually respectable because many eat meat and many are materialistic.
There are many paths to God.
To be ‘born again’ implies reincarnation. 
Pray for: 
Christian influence among the Malaysia Tamils: visa restrictions limit missionary work.
Possibilities of outreach from Indonesia and Malaysian churches.
Political stability and greater religious tolerance.
A resurgence of Hinduistic ‘patriotism’ and ‘nationalism’ is occurring in India, Indonesia and Malaysia. It is less militant in East Asia but nonetheless hinders Christian witness. 
The Balinese church, which is very new and small.