Hinduism is one of the oldest major religions still believed in today. There has been many disputes on the origin, but most agree that the origin came about during the 2nd millennium B.C. in what is now India. Living in India at the time was the Aryans, which are believed to have had an influence on Hinduism. One of the first scriptures that the Hindus learn about is called the “Vedas” which was originally written in Aryan making people some people believe it had an Aryan origin. The Aryans believed, much like the current Hindus, in practices that involve bathing at certain times and long bursts of meditation. Hindus would disagree with that accusation saying that the origin of their religion came from a certain time or place because they believe that their religion is timeless. They believe that the origin of their religion is beyond that of human written history (Hay 30-31).
Hinduism is called a religion, but it is actually more like a group of religions. Hinduism, unlike most religions, is not based on a book or single author, but is a gathering of many authors writings which all come from many different times periods (Garcia). This has caused Hinduism to be shaped by the many cultures it has been introduced too over the millennia. One of the earliest influences on Hinduism comes from the people called Dravidians which were located in the Indus River Valley, where is now present day Pakistan (Religious Studies Center). Here, evidence was found of
Hinduism is a religion practiced all over the world and has gained a large following. Hinduism got its start in the Indus Valley civilization and since then has evolved into a open and tolerant religion upon which every and anybody from all walks of life are welcome. In Hinduism there is a divine reality which can best be described as all reality is ultimately one for monistic Hindus or that there is no distinction between the divine reality and the rest of reality for dualistic Hindus. Either way it is put Hindus try to understand divine reality through their different gods, images, nature, and avatars.
Hinduism is known as the world's oldest religion. According to ISKCON Educational Services (2004), it is hard to construct a timeline because Hinduism has no identifiable human founder or specific origin in history. It is so old that its past goes into pre-history. It is extremely diverse with the Hindu people being more interested in the meaning of events than in providing first hand records. There is also no clear-cut divide between history and myth.
The question of origin- In order for us to completely understand Hinduism, we must first understand that this a philosophical system of beliefs. To give a definite origin of Hinduism would be very hard to address because there are no known origins. There are no beginning points or a name of a founder. Hinduism can be traced all the way back to around 1500 B.C in what we now call India and has a lot of different beliefs, philosophies and views that contradict each other. All Hindus believe in one God, a supreme being known as Brahma. Brahma is an entity believed to live in every single facet of reality and existence throughout the whole universe. Brahma is both impersonal and unknowable and is often believed to exist in three separate forms: Brahma, the Creator, Vishnu, the Preserver, and Shiva, the Destroyer.
“Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma ("eternal spiritual path") began about 4000 years ago in India. It was the religion of an ancient people known as the Aryans ("noble people") whose philosophy, religion, and customs are recorded in their sacred texts known as the Vedas” (United Religions). Vedas are written in the ancient language of India, called Sanskrit. Vedas means “knowledge” or “sacred lore.” The Vedas gives great intelligence about the variety of Gods from the Vedic period, 2000 to 500 BCE (Molloy,78).
Hinduism is almost like a lifestyle in India. Hinduism has had a great societal impact on Indian culture. One of the more interesting impacts Hinduism had on society was the position of women. They ultimately were given a slightly higher position in society than they previously had. Hinduism has also impacted India through the caste system. The caste system was originally created to form a society where all people took on important roles based on their abilities. However, in later years they became assigned based on status. Buddhism made a unique impact on India because it practiced complete equality and rejected the caste system.
The word Hindu has evolved from being the word the Persians used for the Indus River in 500 BC to the accepted name for the primary religion of India this name was originally given by foreign rulers and ultimately used by Europeans in the 1500's as the official name of the religion. History plays an important part of Hinduism because new developments reinterpret an update past practices rather than end them. The Hindu religion is broke down into three periods the Vedic period, the Upanishadic period, the classical period, and the devotional period.
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,
Hinduism is a collective term applied to the many philosophical and religious traditions native to India. Hinduism doesn’t have a specific point of origin or a specific founder.
Hinduism is a complex religion and it has some things in common with Buddhism which became a major world philosophy. Hinduism is a very old religion its been around for a really long time, it has first appeared around 1500 BCE. Many people label Hinduism as a religion but its really the way of how a person should live their life (ancient.eu). “ Hinduism is considered a complex religion for the prime reason that it consists of innumerable gods, has unlimited scriptures, untold rituals and from where to begin is difficult.” (Google.com). Hinduism is mostly about beliefs and practices. Hinduism doesn’t have a single founder, their culture changed over the past centuries. In Hinduism there’s many beliefs that people go by.
Originally Hinduism began in India and it is one of the oldest religions around. Unlike most religions that can be traced back to whom founded the religion, there is no prominent founder of Hinduism. Hinduisms original name is Sanatana Dharma meaning “Eternal or Universal Righteousness or Teachings”. Primarily Santa Dharma comprises of spiritual laws which governs the human existence. Hinduism is initially a combined religion with most of its ways coming from the Indians religious views. The word “Hindu” came from the word Indian. Hinduism is not like most religions because it was not a planned or an organized religion like most are. It is more of an open religion that has a combination of many different thoughts and beliefs. Hinduism is the dominant religion in Nepal, India, and among the Tamil in Sri Lanka (Patheos, 2014).
Originated in the Indian subcontinent, Hinduism is the world 's third largest religion and the oldest living religion, ranging from 2500 BCE to present. Hinduism referred to as, “A major religious and cultural tradition of South Asia, which developed from the Vedic religion.” Many people have searched for any documentation or evidence of the founder of Hinduism only to conclude that Hinduism was a collection of several paths of wisdom and reasoning rather than a specific founder. For this reason, Hinduism has been open to interpretation as ones see fit, thus contains no central rules. As a result, Hinduism has a broad range of philosophies including to honor the past and continue to add-on, and life after death, reincarnation. To many people Hinduism is not just a religion, but rather a way of life. Also, Hinduism has influenced various religions, including Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Hinduism has become one of the world’s largest religion, not solely from the fact that it has numerous followers, but also from the influence and impact it has on other religions. Hinduism, composed of five developments is not just a religion, but rather a life filled with rituals/philosophes.
Hinduism is a religion that is difficult to define. No one can say who the founder is, or connect it to a certain place or time. So in order to understand Hinduism, we follow a coherent set of assumptions upon which people base their lives; otherwise defined as the Indian Worldview.
Although we do not know the exact time that Hinduism began, it is believed to be over 4,000 years old. There have been overlapping civilizations in India that may have molded the religion into what it is now (Kinnard 1). Around 2,000 B.C.E., located near the great Indus River, the Indus Valley Civilization, who worshipped many goddesses, may have been the very beginning of the shaping of Hinduism. Near the end of the Indus Valley Civilization around 1,500 B.C.E., a new society surfaced in India. Believed to be brought by the central Asian Aryans, the Vedic religion began (Kinnard). The Aryans’ practices included the sacrifice of animals and other offerings to their gods into a sacred fire. The gods they worshipped were mainly gods of nature such as the fire god and the plant god (flood). This era was the time of the Vedas, which are scriptures describing rituals to please the gods (Kinnard). Later, around 1,000 B.C.E., priests called Brahmins began to reject the materialistic ways of the Vedic tradition and began to adopt practices
Hinduism is the oldest religions. The most interesting thing about Hinduism is that they have no specific founder or date of origin. Based on their beliefs Hindu’s are divided in to two casts. In the current world, there is still a big conflict about whether Hinduism is a monotheistic religion or a polytheistic religion. Because according to Hindus believe it’s one God with many different faces. This concept regarding Gods is accepted by some scholars, but not all of them. Hinduism has four sacred text Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Epics. The two most common sacred texts are the Vedas and Bhagavad Gita. The authors of all sacred texts are still unknown.
Hinduism originated in India over four thousand years ago. The India-based religion lacks an individual founder. In the beginning, the term “Sanatana Dharma” erupted; but Sanatana Dharma soon transformed to “Hindu” after Islamic invasions occurred: “the Muslim invaders pronounced H for I” (Patheos), thus, the inhabitants along the Indus River were called “Hindus” as a result. The primary goal Hindus hope to achieve is to become reincarnated – thus reaching closer and closer to the state of nirvana every Hindu is called to with each transformation after death.