Hindusim Religion

1. Considering the Hinduism lacks a uniting belief system, what makes up the Hindu religion?

Their belief system revolves around death and reincarnation of mankind, they do not have a known substantiated religion as we know, such as, Christianity or Catholicism. Although, there are various sects, they all continue to follow the scriptures that are more philosophical in their meanings. The ancient scholars continue to acquire the knowledge to free man of the reincarnation cycle, which are written in the Upanishads or the Holy Scriptures of the Hindu’s.

Brahman their creator is their formless yet infinite God or their absolute reality; they have over 330 million other deities that they worship. These are the names of a few, which are Shiva – the God of destruction, Vishnu – the preserver of the universe and Shakthi (Devi) the sacred force or empowerment.

They seek for the awareness their God, and blessings from a variety of other Gods. To relate oneself with the divinity they have created practices to aid in this process. Their religion is based on idolatry or worshipping idols of the Gods, which is not only in the temples but also in their homes as well. In fact, most of them only visit the temple during religious festivals.

“Hinduism is associated with many symbols and icons and these symbols get their meanings from mythology, scriptures and cultural traditions. Every symbol and icon has a sacred implication.” (http://hinduism.ygoy.com/hinduism/religion.php#ideology)

During worship they have an utterance that they speak called ‘Mantra’. This is done during prayer, devotion or dedication, which brings them closer and more into oneness within their own minds giving them holier and divine thoughts.

2. What are the cultural and societal influences that have made Hinduism vital to the region in which it originated?

It’s been extremely vital for the influence of their culture and society to continue as it has throughout their existence....