What is the human Condition? To a practicing Hindu this might be their first lifetime to answer the at question as they may have been experiencing the bovine condition in a previous life. The human condition in Hinduism relies on the karma of ones past lives to dictate the current situation that one lives. Everything we do will impact with either our current life or perhaps the life yet to come and it is up to us to do what is best. This can be attained through diligent practice of one of the four types of yoga perhaps guide by a sage or a sadhu. O r perhaps one can gain knowledge from extensive study of the Vedas, Upanishads or the Bhagadvad Gita. The human condition is that of enduring the suffocating control of mortal life and its humanistic dilemmas such as caste systems, everyday life, pain and suffering and ultimately death. And therein lays the answer to the next question. What is the solutions to this condition? The answer for a Hindu is to remove ones self from the woes of karma and realize the true self, Atman. Through the devotional practice of one of the four yoga's karma, Jnana, Raja or Bhakti on can reach a state of connectedness with the universe. It could even happen accidentally without your doing and to a Hindu it makes no difference how you get there just that you eventually get there. To be a devotee of one of these aspects of Hinduism is to be on the path towards the goal and in turn making the path the goal. This is how those who haven't reached the enlightenment remain dedicated to the practice in the hopes of reaching the goal. This is how they move from problem to solution without limiting it to just one chance and therefore putting equal importance on the path as well as the goal. With the path as important as the goal of enlightenment it makes living the life of a devotee as sacred as the enlightenment and in turn creating a life force of gratitude and peace. The creation of so many gods is simply a reflection of the human condition and all its complexity and perhaps satisfying our need for order. Ultimately though the this representation is that of god as seen through the human eyes and not those of the seer. God is in all and therefore we must live our lives with a practice of respect and admiration for that which god has created. We must practice daily meditation, good eating habits as well as exercising positive thoughts and intentions. I personally have adopted some of these practices and while i am currently unable to remove beef from my diet i have been able to achieve certain state of consciousness that would have been otherwise impossible. to be able to remove ones self from the ego is a powerful moment of connection and release all at once. In creating daily devotions we build patterns in living that after practicing for a while allow us to "not think" while doing them. In the moments of not thinking we can access our true self and flow with the river instead of fighting all the way to the end. I truly think everyone could make up their own ritual and the effects would be the same but Hinduism helps to define why and how it works in creating a more peaceful existence.
I like your understanding of Hinduism as an explanation why personal spiritual practice works. On another note, I gave up eating meat decades ago. I wasn't a struggle. I simply stopped eating it. My friends made it difficult for me, and felt that my not eating meat was an attack on the fact that they did eat meat. I never said this, nor did I intend it. But they felt is nonetheless.
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