Hinduism Case

Origins of Hinduism

Hinduism is the world's third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. Hinduism is very different from Christianity and any other Western religions that are known. The word Hindu is derived from the name of the River Indus, which flows through Northern India.

It is said that Hinduism was founded some four hundred year ago by the ancestors of pastoral nomads. They moved from the soil of northeastern Europe and entered the Indus Valley of ancient India. They called themselves Aryans. The roots of Hinduism have been traced back to the Indus Valley Civilization and the Indo-Aryan culture. In ancient times the river was called the 'Sindhu', but the Persians who migrated to India called the river 'Hindu', and their religion was thus called Hinduism.

Hinduism does not owe its existence to any single historic event. Rather, it is a complex religion that has continually evolved and transformed over the course of millenniums. According to scholars, the evolution of Hinduism may be divided into three periods: the ancient (6500 BC-1000 AD), the medieval (1000AD-1800 AD), and the modern (1800 AD to present). Hinduism is commonly believed to be the oldest religion in the history of Human Civilization.

The first period, the ancient period, shows four different stages: Samhitas or Mantras, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads. The second one, the medieval period in Hinduism, is primarily characterized by the rise of devotional movements. With the rise of devotional movement temples became one of the important religious centers in Hinduism. The third period, the modern period, is the running period and it is also said that modern period in Hinduism is heavily influenced by its increasing contact with the western cultures.

In Hinduism, religion and culture are nearly interchangeable terms. Emotive expressions like 'bhakti', which means devotion, or 'dharma' means to do the right things, and 'yoga' means discipline, are used to describe the essential aspects of the religion. Hinduism mainly believes in idol worship, reincarnation, karma, dharma and moksha. Moksha means pursuit of liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, loss of the egoistic self, and union with Brahman (Priest).

The ritual centerpiece of Aryan religion was a fire sacrifice, a burnt offering to the gods, performed by the priests specially trained to chant sacred offerings. The hymns themselves were known as Vedas or "sacred knowledge". There are four collections which comprise the Veda, the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda. The Veda contains accounts of creation, information on ritual sacrifices, and prayers to the deities. The Upanishads are considered to be the most important of the remaining three scriptures of Shruti literature. It is believed that these texts were secret scriptures taught by a sage to a disciple.