Hinduism is a style of living originated more than 25000 years ago with time tested principles in coordination with nature. It is not a religion but a life style. So it cannot be compared with any religion which are not older than 2500 years. This life style is 10 times older than any other religion on earth. Rigveda the oldest writing in Hinduism dates back to 23720 BC. In the history of mankind, many cultures have come and gone but Hinduism has withstood many challenges posed by the time and has spread all over the world. The secret of this success of Hinduism lies in the fact in its practical approach towards human life, belief in eternal truths, and modifications made without changing the basic beliefs. Despite being the world’s oldest life style, lots of people are unaware of the facts about Hinduism. There are also a number of misconceptions about Hinduism, which need to be explained.
Hinduism has no single founder. It has been evolving over the thousands of years and will continue to. The word “Hinduism” actually has no real meaning because Hinduism was not founded as a religion. The name “Hindu” is given by the people outside of the India, especially Greeks and Arabs, to those living in the vicinity of “Sindhu” river. So, the way of life those people were following is called “Hinduism.” Hindus worship God in the form of an idol. Rivers, mountains, trees, animals, and natural things which are useful for a human being are revered in Hinduism. Cow is the most revered animal for Hindus. Yoga, Pranayama, meditation, Ayurveda, vegetarianism, and meditation are the best gifts of Hinduism to the world. Tantric sex, Palmistry, acupressure, acupuncture, Jyotish Shastra, martial art, and many other ancient wonders originated in India and are parts of Hinduism.
Hinduism is the source of inspiration for three other major religions of the world viz. Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Zero, point system, and decimal system were invented in India. On the basis of which the modern science exists. Aum and Swastika are the main symbols of Hinduism. Besides those, Kalash, Trishul, Tilak, Lingam, Shri, and Yantra are other popular Hindu symbols. The saffron is the official color of Hinduism and the saffron flag is the official flag of Hindus. Four Vedas, Upanishadas, Bhagvadgita, 18 Puranas, Ramayana, and Mahabharata are the sacred books of Hindus.
Most of the Hindu scriptures are written in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is considered to be the mother of all the languages. Sanskrit is considered to be the language of demi-Gods.The languages Hindus use vary according to regions. They speak all the India languages like Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Malyalam, Gujarati, Kashmiri, etc. Outside India, the languages spoken by Hindus are English, Sinhali, Indonesian, etc. Most of the Hindus do not eat beef and/or pork. They also do not eat non-vegetarian food on auspicious days. Hinduism strongly advocates vegetarianism. Food is highly revered and wasting the food is considered as a very bad habit.
Basic concept of Hinduism:
It will be easier to understand the basic concept of Hinduism if you know Law of Conservation of Energy. For those who have a science background or have some interest in science know the Law of Conservation of Energy very well. It is like this: “Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Only one form of energy can be transformed into other. The sum of all the energies in the universe remains the same.” According to Hinduism, human body is perishable but the soul is immortal and is subjected to the continuous cycle of birth and rebirth. The soul changes bodies as a living person changes his/her clothes. So, the thing which we call death is actually just a transformation of soul from one body to another as the energy changes from one form to the other. This cycle continues births after births and the soul is subjected to sufferings endlessly. So, the ultimate goal of a Hindu’s life is to attend salvation (also called as Moksha or Nirvana) i.e. freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth. One can attend salvation when the soul of a person fully becomes one with the supreme spirit called “Brahman” (or God) who is eternal, genderless, omnipotent, and omniscient.
Today is 2nd October, 2012 the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. A person like Mahatma Gandhi can happen in Hinduism only. It's such a vivid, versatile, time tested and eteral life style. I will meet you at least once a week or a fortnight.
Hinduism has no single founder. It has been evolving over the thousands of years and will continue to. The word “Hinduism” actually has no real meaning because Hinduism was not founded as a religion. The name “Hindu” is given by the people outside of the India, especially Greeks and Arabs, to those living in the vicinity of “Sindhu” river. So, the way of life those people were following is called “Hinduism.” Hindus worship God in the form of an idol. Rivers, mountains, trees, animals, and natural things which are useful for a human being are revered in Hinduism. Cow is the most revered animal for Hindus. Yoga, Pranayama, meditation, Ayurveda, vegetarianism, and meditation are the best gifts of Hinduism to the world. Tantric sex, Palmistry, acupressure, acupuncture, Jyotish Shastra, martial art, and many other ancient wonders originated in India and are parts of Hinduism.
Hinduism is the source of inspiration for three other major religions of the world viz. Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Zero, point system, and decimal system were invented in India. On the basis of which the modern science exists. Aum and Swastika are the main symbols of Hinduism. Besides those, Kalash, Trishul, Tilak, Lingam, Shri, and Yantra are other popular Hindu symbols. The saffron is the official color of Hinduism and the saffron flag is the official flag of Hindus. Four Vedas, Upanishadas, Bhagvadgita, 18 Puranas, Ramayana, and Mahabharata are the sacred books of Hindus.
Most of the Hindu scriptures are written in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is considered to be the mother of all the languages. Sanskrit is considered to be the language of demi-Gods.The languages Hindus use vary according to regions. They speak all the India languages like Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Malyalam, Gujarati, Kashmiri, etc. Outside India, the languages spoken by Hindus are English, Sinhali, Indonesian, etc. Most of the Hindus do not eat beef and/or pork. They also do not eat non-vegetarian food on auspicious days. Hinduism strongly advocates vegetarianism. Food is highly revered and wasting the food is considered as a very bad habit.
Basic concept of Hinduism:
It will be easier to understand the basic concept of Hinduism if you know Law of Conservation of Energy. For those who have a science background or have some interest in science know the Law of Conservation of Energy very well. It is like this: “Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Only one form of energy can be transformed into other. The sum of all the energies in the universe remains the same.” According to Hinduism, human body is perishable but the soul is immortal and is subjected to the continuous cycle of birth and rebirth. The soul changes bodies as a living person changes his/her clothes. So, the thing which we call death is actually just a transformation of soul from one body to another as the energy changes from one form to the other. This cycle continues births after births and the soul is subjected to sufferings endlessly. So, the ultimate goal of a Hindu’s life is to attend salvation (also called as Moksha or Nirvana) i.e. freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth. One can attend salvation when the soul of a person fully becomes one with the supreme spirit called “Brahman” (or God) who is eternal, genderless, omnipotent, and omniscient.
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