Hindu

Things that make up Hinduism a set of traditions and beliefs evolved over a long period of time. There are different sections of Hinduism, but they all admire the ancient scriptures called Vedas. Upanishads are more philosophically inclined Vedic texts. The ancient Indian scholars called Rishis' which means search for the knowledge, that would make man kind to be free from the cycle of reincarnation can be seen in Upanishads. Central themes the fundamental concept of Hinduism is the belief in the ultimate reality called Brahman meaning universal soul and its identification with the Aatman meaning individual soul. All creatures go through a cycle of birth and re-birth. The status of the being in each birth is determined by the principle of Karma. This can be broken only by self realization, and the being is said to be attained liberation. Gods the ultimate God is supposed to be Brahman, the absolute reality, which is formless and infinite. For the sake of worshipping the infinite reality with the limited human minds, Gods had been personified and associated with different attributes. The most worshipped Hindu deities are Shiva, Vishnu and Shakthi (Devi). Mythology the roots of the Hindu mythology lie in the Vedic civilization. But the major sources of Hindu mythology are epics like Mahabharata, Ramayana and Puranas. You also have vegetarianism a large section of Hindus are advocates of vegetarianism, even though it is not made compulsory in Hindu tradition. Cow is considered to be a holy animal. Themes and symbols Tilaka and Bindi: Hindus traditionally wear a mark on their forehead and other parts of the body, in different forms. Hindu women wear a decorative dot on their forehead, which is called Bindi. Sometimes Hindus wear holy ash called Vibhuti also. Aum is the sacred symbol which represents the absolute reality, Brahman. This can be seen in all mantras and prayers. It represents God in its three aspects- Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Another noble and auspicious...