Hinduism Religion

Hinduism, the world’s oldest religion, is the third largest religion in the world after Islam and Christianity with close to one billion followers. The followers of the religion are called Hindus and are mainly located in India, and their place of worship is a temple. The religion doesn’t have any one specific founder, however,

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In this paper, I have decided to write about the origin, beliefs and everything about Hinduism. Most importantly, I have tried to answer the reason of being so many gods in the Hindu religion. There are 33 million gods and goddesses in the Hindu religion. But in only one god in a lots of religion such as Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, etc. Hinduism, considered the world's oldest religion, is still commonly practiced. Because of its large following, it's also regarded as the world's third largest religion. Hinduism combines the beliefs, philosophy, and cultural practices of India. Central to the faith is a belief in reincarnation and one supreme god called Brahman who has multiple manifestations as either a god or goddess. Gods and goddesses can be spirits, trees, animals, and even planets. Hindu practitioners are guided by Vedic scriptures and believe in righteousness, the laws of cause and effect, and the cycle of birth and death. By reading this paper, reader will be able to know a lot more about the Hinduism.

An alternative hypothesis that defines the Hindu religion is the paths of life to be followed, which are Karmamarga, Jnanamarga, and Bhaktimarga. The first method is of behavior and performance, the second is the path of knowledge, and the third is the path of devotion to God. These three paths have to be equally supported throughout one’s life in order to attain liberation from the cycle of rebirth. I will explain why it is necessary for Hindus to achieve this balance in following paragraphs. All these concepts make up the worship of Hinduism, and make it what it is today.

Although Hinduism is the oldest surviving religion, it has no founder. Rather, it evolved over a long period of time, becoming a collection of beliefs. This collection includes a multitude of gods, allowing for there to be hundreds of variations of Hinduism. Centering this chaotic organization is one unifying principle: brahman. In Hinduism, brahman is the ultimate reality behind all phenomena. The brahmins, or priests, of Hinduism use their holy book, the Vedas, as a guide. While this may sound like it instills brahmins with complete power, it only allows for them to suggest and advise fellow Hindus. Hinduism is a relatively free religion that while having guidelines, allows for devotion to be placed in a multitude of places.

Religion can be described as the worship of a supernatural power that instills extreme importance on a group of people. Hinduism is the third largest religious group in the modern world today. As I began to search for Hindu organizations online I stumbled upon a group called the Hindu American Foundation. Their goal is to educate American society about Hindu beliefs and practices. They believe that through education they can empower future generations of Hindu Americans, and build better relations with outsiders of their religion. They also strive to protect the civil rights of Hindus in the US. The American Hindu Foundation does an exceptional job articulating the concept of Hinduism to new scholars. As I examined the American Hindu Foundation’s website, I discovered great deal of information covering the basis of Hindu beliefs, culture, and practices. In my findings, I learned that the Hindu religion encompasses wide variety of interesting beliefs, although I found Hinduism’s deities and worship practices being the most unique concepts of the religion.

realize that Hinduism is more of a way of life than a religion (Srinivasan 66). Hinduism holds

Hinduism is one of the oldest culture and spiritual traditions in the world. While many may conceptualize Hinduism as being a religion it is not in the sense that we Westerners may think of it as, comparing it to Christianity or Islam. It can be better compared to a set of codes that hundreds of millions of people all over the world practice. This code of life is better known as Dharma to these adherents. Practitioners hold themselves to these rules and rituals that in the end they believe will bring them to the three things that people want most: a sense of being, knowledge and joy. Worldly possessions and pleasures are not entirely rejected within this religion, just as long as they are acquired and enjoyed within the context of life, knowledge and joy. The sense of being that is discussed is a Hindu’s atman; this can be compared to the way in which one might associate one’s own soul. Three concepts of Hinduism will be discussed within this paper: karma, the yogic paths, and the caste system. These are three ideas of Hinduism that are separate practices yet can be used ideally together in order to achieve what a person truly wants. A person’s karma, or their actions are usually decided depending on the yogic pathway an adherent chooses to follow; these actions will transcend the practitioner to their chosen caste system, from here the process goes on. These three concepts would not work alone without the other, the main purpose of Hindu traditions is to diminish bad karma

Hindus tend to see the world in a “you get what you give” type of way. They believe that every action one makes will affect their future in one way or another. “Samsara” is the continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation. If one acts good, they will in turn get good karma, leading to a better next life. If one behaves badly on the other hand, they will obtain bad karma which will lead to suffering in the next incarnation. Hindus believe a person can be born in different varieties, in each variety ones’ soul or “atman” is kept but the body in which they are in can change. The atman can form into a human or any other living creature mainly depending on its karma. Each variety is another chance for their atman to attain good karma. Hindus also believe in the caste system, each caste has its own duties, or “dharma”. One must fulfill these duties and maintain good karma in order to work their way up the caste. The higher up in the caste system they are the better quality of life a person has. A legend has

The history of Hinduism is arguably the most complex of all major religions. Like any other religion, Hinduism has been and continues to be sculpted by cultural influences. But what distinguishes Hinduism from all other major religions is its innumerable gods, untold amount of scriptures, and countless rituals, all of which have evolved over the years. Even of the principle gods in Hinduism—Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, who compose the Hindu triumvirate and who handle the creation, upkeep, and destruction of the world—people hold broadly different beliefs.

Hinduism is the religion of Hindus and it is also one of the oldest religion in the world. This religion is also known as Sanatana-Dharma which means an eternal religion. Not because it is eternal only, but also because of it is protected by their own God (Jayaram, n.d.). Other than that, Hinduism is also known by the name of Vaidika-Dharma. Vaidika-Dharma is the religion of the Vedas. The foundational scriptures of Hinduism are the Vedas.

This essay will focus upon Hinduism’s diversity, willingness to accept other beliefs and how those attributes affect Hindu rituals, specifically death and rebirth. Hinduism is a complex and layered religion with multitudes of practices and devotion. A unique feature of Hinduism is the acceptance of other religions allowing for rituals, such as chanting, for the non-Hindu to participate. For all people have souls and it is the soul that transcend this life and this body, not religious belief. For Western society, this can be a confusing concept.

Hinduism is defined as a major religious and cultural tradition of South Asia, developed from Vedic religion. (Citation) This religion has over 300,000 gods. The religion Hinduism is more of a way of living than just a religion, Hinduism is a lifestyle. The reason I came to this conclusion is because my research has lead me to the fact that it is an acronym. The “H” in Hindu stands for Honesty. The “I” stands for indignity. The “N” stands for nobility. The “D” stands for devotion. The U stands for unity. Also in ancient Hindu there was something called the caste system. The caste system is a type of social organization hierarchy in which a persons occupaiton and position in life is determined by karma and Reincarnation. In the Hindu religion there were four caste Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sandra. Brahmins are priest, teacher, and judges. These guys don’t really own land and need other cast to work the land and provide for them. Kshatriyas are warriors and land owners. Vaisyas are skilled traders, merchants, and farmers. Sandra’s are the unskilled workers and laborers and craft workers. Each caste system has Dharma, code of behavior or set of moral and ethical rules that govern the conduct of each social class group has a different set of rules to live by. Karma is a persons social position life. The afterlife of the Hindus is called reincarnation. Reincarnation is when a person is born, lives, and dies and is reborn many times again. The belief of the Hindus is

Hinduism encompasses a vast sum of traditional religious beliefs, practices, customs, and so on of the Indian people (16). The faith is so deep in tradition, that its roots make it difficult to specifically define the religion. An important theme throughout Hinduism, however, is the understanding of the omnipresence of the divine in every alive being (17). The first way in which Semitic and Indian religions differ in origin is that 1) Semitic religions practice monotheism whereas Indian faiths practice polytheism. Secondly, 2) Semitic faiths are concerned with following the laws of Moses, of walking a straight moral path. Obedience to God’s laws are essential and sins must be repented. Indian faiths did not originate with the same intent, and to an extent, they embrace the insufficiencies of man. They also differ in that 3) Semitic faiths abide closely to the laws of Moses; they do not question the morals and values placed in front of them. It is also very difficult to please God, as it requires the strength to resist temptations to sin. Indian faiths, however, question God, existence itself, and answers relating their place in the world. This open-mindedness is encouraged, and it is relatively easy to be in good favor of the gods (21). Lastly, 4) there is a significant emphasis on nature in Indian religions. Whereas Semitic religions are focused on ethical preaching, the Indian are much more concerned with nature. The Vedic roots of the Indian religions were very focused

Modern Hinduism has an expansive history that is difficult to summarize. Because the religion built upon itself over the years, it is practically impossible to discuss modern Hinduism without elaborating on how we arrived at this point. Unlike many mainstream religions, Hinduism does not have one founder that can be credited. Instead, historians can only trace the pathway through civilizations that led to the development of this complex religion. From it comes the birth of Buddhism, which shapes culture and how religion is practiced throughout China and Japan. While both religions are entwined with each other, their methods and attitude towards salvation have numerous differences, but still possess a similar overarching theme that salvation can be achieved through the continual struggle to end suffering.