Understanding Hinduism: Holi Essay examples

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.

Hinduism is a polytheistic religion that is very much a part of the people in India and Nepal. It has over 900 million followers worldwide and it is considered one of the oldest religions in the world, dating back many thousands of years. This religion is split into many different branches because of their belief in many gods and goddesses. Each branch worships a different god that they view as “supreme above all others.” Granted that they had a great leader, Mahatma Gandhi, they were able to change the world, and more specifically the United States. His philosophical ideas inspired our country to fight for equality. But in order to understand this better, it is important to have a deeper understanding of the Hinduism beliefs.

First, I would like to introduce the religion of Hinduism. The term Hinduism was derived a river of South Asia, the Indus. This term was used by the ancient Persians to classify the people of that region of the North-West territory of the subcontinent. Indian religion, Hinduism, was the term given by the British in the nineteenth century to the population of India that were neither Muslim or Christian.

Since the beginning of civilization many religions and cultures have come and gone. One of the few that has stood the test of time is Hinduism. Hinduisms base flourishes from the practical view of human life, belief in eternal truth and it’s ability to make small adaptations to it without compromising its core values. Hinduism is the oldest known religion in the world and also the third largest in the world. Most of its one billion followers live in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Even with its immense amount of followers and lengthy existence, many non followers are unaware of its history, beliefs, and practices.

Hinduism is considered by many to be the oldest religion in the world that is still in practice today. Followers of the Hindu religion, called Hindus, make up the third largest religion in existence. Hinduism is mostly a polytheistic religion, meaning that most Hindus believe in many gods and goddesses, although some sects of Hinduism do believe that there is one supreme deity. Hindus traditionally have four life goals: moksa, dharma, artha, and karma. Like most religions, Hinduism has spread to the West. With this expansion of religion comes the use of sacred religious gods and symbols in Western pop culture. Many times, the use of Hindu religious symbols by non-Hindu Westerners is culturally appropriating and unnecessary. However, other times what some consider to be culturally appropriating is not so at all to others.

Hinduism is one of the most diverse religions still practiced today. They are an adaptive religion, often taking in the local Gods of its followers, leading to many branches of the religion that occur much like dialects within a language. Although it is difficult to catalog all of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses, there is estimated to be over 300 million of them. It is common for people unfamiliar with the religion to generalize all those living on the Indian subcontinent as “Hindu”, since they are usually not aware of the many religions that are practiced in India, and how similar they can be. This generalization can trace its roots back to imperial British rule of the country. In an attempt to offer their colony representation in Parliament, a census was taken of the colony to offer representation based on religion. The census did not allow for the diversity of belief that occurs under the Hindu

India is a country full of mysteries and differences. It has a long history, a profound yet unique culture, with diversified nationalities, races, religions, languages and a huge population. The pursuit of secularism and inveteracy of sectarianism have brought huge influence to the Indian society. As the mainstream culture in India, Hinduism plays an important role in the Indian society and has dominated almost 2000 years of its history. Although in the following years since, the Indian culture gradually becomes a combination of different races, religions and languages, Hinduism still remains to be the key to dig into the development of the culture and society of India.

Hinduism - stands for the faith and the way of life most of the people who live

What elements of earlier belief systems do you see integrated into Hinduism? What were the external conditions (environmental/societal/political/economic etc.) which gave rise to the origination of Hinduism? What was it about this time period? Location? Population?

They have duties and responsibilities that are personal and also involve their society. Taking care of their hygiene, of what they eat, their relations with their family, spouses, friends and castes. Because of all these reasons, when facts about the indian culture are mentioned, they involve their religion because they represent what an Hindu should do and what Hinduism is about. Even though, there are significant minorities that come from Asian Indian families but their religion is another one, like being Buddhist or Muslim. Hinduism and the existence of these other religions inside the Indian territory can be explained based on how Hinduism was developed in India. Different from other major historic religions, Hinduism can’t be traced directly to someone as their founder and there is no information about when it appeared in human history. Because of this Hinduism doesn’t have a beginning, it just appears in South Asia and its development is dense and complex. To be able to study the history of Hinduism, there have been identified six important periods for its

Hinduism is quite different from Western Religions. Hinduism is a way of life not, simply created by one person. For example, Jesus Christ and his followers spread the word about God. Christianity has the top number of followers today however, there are multiple variations on this religion. Hinduism is a well-known religion as well but, not a widely practiced. Hinduism followers don’t do missionary work like Christians are known to do. Christians will knock at your door and ask for a moment of your time to talk about their lord and savior.

Hindus don’t just have a harmony with the nature, they also have an astonishing respect for animals, specifically cow. To say that the cow is holy within the Hinduism, is just an understatement. The scripture says that, “One should never show disrespect for cow in any way

Many different religions and cultures have specific foods that cannot be eaten and those that are proven to be a delicacy among them. In Hinduism, the cow is a sacred animal and it should never be killed and eaten. For Hindus, food can play an important role in their daily life regarding their religion. The Hindu diet consists of foods that can be eaten, foods that cannot be eaten, and there are various reasons as to why they are or are not eaten. Hindus eat the way they eat because of a nonviolent belief system, cow protection, a vegetarian lifestyle, and offerings to God. All four of these reasons make up the belief system of most Hindus and are followed throughout their daily lives. Reincarnation, karma, and festivals can also influence the diet of a Hindu.

Hinduism is considered as the world’s third largest religion, it contains thousands of different sects and groups evolving in India since 1500 BCE because of their Indian traditions, beliefs, tolerant philosophies and weird point views. By Cristian Violatti: “the Hindu insight claims that the Oneness expresses itself in many different forms”. Hinduism is the dominant religion in India and nearby countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka…It’s not a religion as the word it seems but a socio-religious body shape of Indian society with its specific meanings and reflects.