Similarities between Beliefs and Philosophies from the World

“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 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 a major religious and cultural tradition of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a diverse family of devotional and ascetic cults and philosophical schools, all sharing a belief in reincarnation and involving the worship of a large pantheon of deities.

Scholars have traced the earliest origins of Hinduism to two distinct sources. The first being the Indus Valley civilisation. This civilisation dates back to the third millennium b.c.e. Postulates were made, indicating that certain features of Hinduism may have made their earliest foundations in the Indus Valley Civilisation. These include ritual purity and the worship of goddess deity for the purpose of fertility.

No one is sure where or who started Hinduism, the oldest written documents known as the Vedas, where the first copied onto parchment in 1000 BC yet has existed orally long before that time. Hinduism is thought to have derived from the Vedas. Hinduism has notably changed since it was first practiced, there are now new beliefs that have developed and different sects also known as denominations. There are still many things connected between the different sects of Hinduism, but their basic beliefs are what intertwine them together.

Hindu is the oldest religion on earth. Hinduism doesn’t have a single founder, a single holy text, or a central religious authority. Most forms of Hinduism view other Gods and Goddesses as manifestations or aspects of that supreme God or Goddess. About 14% of the world’s population is Hindu. According to the yearbook of “American and Canadian churches” they were about 1.5 million Hindus in the US during 1999.

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world. It has billions of followers not only in India, but all over the world. Hindus have many beliefs and worship many deities. Brahma is said to be the Absolute god, the Universal Being, he is above all and deities are its many forms. There is considered to be a trinity in

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

Hinduism advanced from Vedism, the religion of the early Aryan intruders. While it perceives multitudinous divine beings, they are generally viewed as differing signs of one extraordinary all inclusive soul. Hinduism has no standard, universal frame. It is, in actuality, what individuals who call themselves Hindus do in doing their Dharma, or religious commitments. This changes extensively starting with one locale and social gathering then onto the next.

The tradition itself maintains that it is a timeless religion that has always existed. Historians generally hold that the origins of what we call Hinduism can be traced to the ancient Indus Valley civilization. This would mean that the religion is over 4,000 years old, although it is a dynamic religious tradition that has continued to develop and evolve.

In particular ways, Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world; or at least there are aspects of Hinduism that have extended to today from many thousands of years ago. It is not easy defining Hinduism for it has boundless assortments of practices and beliefs found within it. To make it a bit easier to comprehend, they but meaning behind the first part of the word Hinduism, which is Hindu. Hindu can be a cultural political and geographical term. To make this religion a bit more of a mystery, Hinduism does not have a set founder, a particular scripture, or a set teaching. The religion believes itself to be timeless and having existed. There are many prime individuals teaching different philosophies that have extended throughout Hinduism’s history.

Unlike other religions to follow, Hinduism was not spread much past India, where it originated. Buddhism however, was spread to other Asian countries. It reached China in the 4th century, following with Japan in the 6th century; the

Hinduism is a religion that can be difficult to understand in a Western world. In the Western world where the majority of people are monotheistic the Hindu beliefs can be difficult to grasp. Hindus worship a number of gods and spirits, but these numerous spirits are all parts of

Hinduism has no single founder (namb.net), but played off the Aryan’s society caste system. “A caste is a social unit into which individuals are born and which dictates most aspects of daily life” (Adler/Pouwell p.50, 51).

Hinduism is the name given to a family of religions and cultures that began and still flourish in India. The word “Hindu,” comes from the name of the river Indus, which flows from Tibet through Kashmir and Pakistan to the sea. It originally referred to the people living in that particular region of the world, regardless of their faith. Hinduism has no original founder and is one of the world’s largest religions following Christianity and Islam, with approximately a billion adherents. Hinduism is henotheistic, which is the devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of other gods. Their god is present in everything, and they believe that their soul repeatedly goes through a cycle of being born into a body, dying, and then becoming reborn into another body, whether it is human, animal or spirit. Hindu’s also strongly believe in karma, which is a force that determines the quality of each life, depending on how well one behaved in a past life. Hindu’s do not separate religion from other aspects of their life. Hinduism in India dictates Hindu’s lives in that it involves a caste system which controls their position in society, assists them in earning a living, helps manage how they raise their a family and controls their diets. Hindu’s believe that freedom or liberation is the true goal in life. True freedom is the freedom from all external conditioning influences, whether of body or mind. This is the freedom of Self-realization,