Saivism: The Oldest Practice of Hinduism Essay

It is not unknown when Hinduism began, but Veda scriptures state that they were written in the 1500 to 900BCE, but it is most likely that stories have been passed down for hundreds of years. (Fisher 76) Hinduism is one of the

“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).

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.

It is believed that Hindu traditions appeared around 1500 B.C.E. and can be traced to the ancient Aryans as they migrated into southeastern Asia. It was during this time that the Vedic hymns were composed. These hymns, called Vedas, were composed by different Brahman priests and

As two of the world’s oldest and most established religions, Hinduism and Buddhism have their similarities, as well as differences. Both religions are practiced in Southeast Asia, starting in India and have influenced each other. Hinduism dates back to 5,000 years ago, while Buddhism was created three centuries ago. I will explore what the two religions share and what separates the two from one another covering the origins, number of followers, the texts used, and the belief system followed.

In Chapter ten the history of Hinduism is discussed in America and India. Instead of illustrating the religious doctrines of Hinduism. The author lists statistics about the livelihoods of Asian Indians. For example, there are eighteen different official languages in India. As the author emphasizes that doctrines have nothing to do with Hinduism, but the actions that individuals commit. The orthodoxy is a set of responsibilities that Hindus must carry out. If they wish to be reincarnated into a higher caste. In addition, the origin of Hinduism is mentioned within the chapter. That Hinduism is the only major religion that does not have a founder and has no beginning as there is not a specific known date of when it originated. Moreover, Hinduism is the oldest major religion and is the only polytheistic faith among the five popular creeds.

Hinduism is a very broad term that encompasses a multitude of different backgrounds, traditions, beliefs, and practices. Hinduism, as we know it today, has gone through many changes. To fully understand how Hinduism became as it is currently, knowledge of its development over the course of history is essential. This paper will demonstrate the primary shifts of its central beliefs, practices, and goals between periods of Early Vedic, Late Vedic, and Classical Hinduism.

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.

The oldest religion shown in this info graphic is Hinduism. With the birth of Krishna in 3,000 B.C.E, Hinduism is the earliest founded of all the religions. Hinduism would soon grow and diffuse throughout the rest of India. As time goes on, Buddha is born in one of the northern-most parts of India. This leads to the founding of a new religion, Buddhism. Buddhism spreads rapidly throughout parts of Asia, surprisingly, not affecting the area in which Hinduism is prominent. While Christianity spread in the West, Buddhism flourished in the East, becoming prominent is China, Korea, The Philippines, and Eastern Russia. Hinduism also grew at this point, traveling to countries in Southeast Asia like Vietnam and Thailand. As it stands today, Hinduism

Around 1500 BCE, the Vedas, written in Sanskrit, were compiled. Vedas are known as the revered collection of ancient sacred hymns. Veda is the most ancient body of Indian religious literature and is also regarded as the basis of all the later Shastra texts (Britannica.com). Vedas were written by the middle of the 1st millennium but are much older than the earliest written forms. Around the years of 600 to 100 BCE, the Upanishads were developed. Upanishads are known as the Vedantic or the end of the Vedas and is what Hinduism is molded around. It is said that the Vedas and Upanishads were “breathed out” by the Gods and represent knowledge and are revealed rather than written by mortals

The Brahmans were very good at Sanskrit. They performed elaborate rituals and sacrifices. They passed sacred knowledge from one generation to another. The Vedas were composed about at the beginning of 1400 B.C. The Upanishads were the most important Hindu scared writings and it appeared between 800 and 600 B.C.

New York: Garland Publishing, 1981.) This source is one of the major readings of the New Hindu religion. Although there are many different “Purana’s” this one gives the most information to help define this religion. Much like the previously mentioned sources, this source offers its own version of stories such as, a creation story, a tales of how man was formed, and also guidelines for how one should live a proper life. This primary source, much like the others, also gives detailed instructions on a verity of rituals in which must be preformed in order to achieve a complete and full life. Another interesting item this source offers is a flood story, much like the one that can be found in most all sources from this time period. This tends to be a common story, and shows a lot about this time period. This also proves that everyone, no matter what race, religion, or region of the earth they live on has questions about where they come from, how they got here, why they are where they are today, and how they should live their lives. This common tie can be found in all aspects of any religion, and is quite interesting when aligning these early religious readings. One draw back of the Vishnu Purana was it was extremely difficult to read and fallow, which may cause some confusion, but other than that, it could be used for some very good correlation methods in comparing and contrasting these religions.

Considering that Hinduism lacks a uniting belief system, what makes up the Hindu religion is Sanarana Dharma, which is also known as Hinduism, an alternative label that is preferred today. Hinduism is the traditional religion of India. Sanatan Dharma is one of the oldest religions known to mankind and Hinduisms religion is still in practice today. The spiritual expressions of Sanatana Dharma range from extreme asceticism to the extreme sensuality, from the heights of personal devotion to a deity to the heights of abstract philosophy (Fisher, M.P., 2005). Hinduism have been able to hold itself together for several years; Hinduism is still one of the major religions in the world, so, the factor that it is more than a way of life,

Brahma is the god of creation. In today’s world, he is the least worshipped god in India. There are only two temples in all of India dedicated to him (Brahma). Brahma has a unique look, with four heads and four arms. The second god, Vishnu, is the god of preservation. Thus far in creation, he has been said to be incarnated nine times. Worshippers believe that he will incarnate one last time near the end of the world. Similarly, to what Paul thought of Jesus, “Like any major god, Vishnu is involved in a number of colorful stories which illustrate his virtues as the protector of cosmic order” (Vishnu). Vishnu is uniquely depicted by having blue skin, and four arms. In his four hands, he holds objects representing what he is dependable for. Shiva, the last god, is the god of destruction. In Hinduism, destruction is considered necessary for new life forms to appear. Shiva is portrayed by his blue face and white body, three eyes, and four arms.

The Hindu religion and culture is a very complex subject. The Hindu religion combines rich ethnical and standard beliefs. We will take a closer look and try to understand the Hindu religion and culture. The Hindu religion is the oldest religion of the five major religions, which are Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism (Major World Religions, 2006). The Hindu religion began to develop about 4.000 years ago in India, but it there was no single founder or system of belief (Major World Religions, 2006). There are many diverse and various Gods in the Hindu religion. One of the most important beliefs is the theory of karma, which holds that all beings, human or animal have karma which determines which soul is for which body and