Mr. Perez

Hinduism Paper

Jaime Perez

HUM 130

July 31, 2011

Ryan Shockey

Hinduism Paper

In the Indian Subcontinent there are certain religious systems that are most commonly practiced than others. These religions include Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Hinduism is a label given to all the other religious ways within that region. All of these religious ways have something in common, which is they have not set religious system or guidelines to follow. Because Hinduism is a set of multiple religious ways there are certain factors that make up Hinduism; there are also certain cultural and societal issue which have made Hinduism vital to the region it originated from, and it is important to explain the desire of liberation from earthly existence.

To begin one should give a background of Hinduism. The word Hinduism was applied to the people residing near the Indus River by foreigners. Sanatana Dharma is the alternate label that most prefer to use today. “Sanatana, “eternal” or “ageless,” reflects the belief that these ways have always existed. Dharma, often translated as “religion,” encompasses duty, natural law, social welfare, ethics, health, and transcendental realization” (University of Phoenix, 2005, Para 2). Dharma is a method that believes in the social well-being of all, and teaches a level of coherence which is vital for order in the cosmos (University of Phoenix, 2005). What makes up Hinduism religion is its diversity within Hinduism. There are over 330 million deities within India; it is the right to worship freely to the different deities is what makes Hinduism possible. There are also philosophical and metaphysical elements that make up Hinduism.

There is the Brahmanic tradition that can be traced back thousands of years ago, which was the Vedic age. The metaphysical beliefs were taught in schools by philosophers and sages. These beliefs were later translated on passed on through various spiritual disciplines (University of Phoenix, 2005)....