Hinduism Paper

RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD

HINDUISM PAPER

KIMBLE BULLARD

MARCH 10, 2013

RICHARD KIRK

Haryana (2009), states that Hinduism (Santana Dharma) is a way of life, an Indian tradition that encompass several religious beliefs, cultural practices and ideologies. The exact date of Hinduism’s origin is not known; through estimates vary from 3200 BC to 2500 BC. It is the world’s oldest major religion. It is also the third largest religion with a following of approximately 1.2 billion people. The Indian subcontinent is home to 98% of this populace. The Himalayan kingdom of Nepal is the only nation which has Hinduism for its state religion. This religion is characterized by the belief of reincarnation, one absolute being of multiple manifestations, the law of cause and effect, following the path of righteousness, and the desire for liberations from the cycle of births and deaths. The term Hindu itself drive from the name of the Sindh River.

Hinduism have a great diversity of beliefs (Mocks, 2012), one can believe a wide variety of things about God, the universe and the path to liberation and still be considered a Hindu. Under the Hinduism umbrella are many different traditions which apply different enlighten, and perspective things differently. According to (Fisher, 2005) the oldest among the existing scriptures is the Vedas (the oldest Indian sacred texts) and the Brahmans they were the religious leaders of priests. They received formal education and were the only ones that were allowed to read and write. Another aspects of this belief, which is the existence of an endurance soul that transmigrates from one body to another at death (reincarnation) and the law of Karma that determines one’s destiny both in this life and the next. Hinduism is not a homogeneous organized system. Many Hindus are devoted followers of Shive or Vishnu, whom they regard as the only true God while others look inward to the divine Self (atman). But most recognize the existence of Brahman, the...