Know about Hinduism

It is the third largest and the oldest religion of the World. No one is actually certain how old is Hinduism but it can be said with certainty that Indus valley civilisation contributed some ideas to Hindu religion. The earliest known Hindu scriptures are the "Vedas". Vedas describe the religion of Aryans, who invaded India around 1500 B.C. The Vedic religion was not Hinduism although Hindus consider Vedas as their scriptures. Of the Hindu "Trinity" Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Mahesh (Shiva) the destroyer only Vishnu's name appears in the oldest Vedas. The concept of Trinity dates back to 500 A.D. Around the same time, the importance of goddess began which appears in many forms of Shakti (Shiva's consort).

However, Upanishads which were written several hundreds years later have characteristic Hindu ideas of unity of soul with Brahman, karma, reincarnation, and salvation (Moksha- escape from reincarnation). The notion of class and caste which was absent in Vedas starting appearing during this period. Hindus are mainly divided into three groups

i) Shivites, who are devoted to Shiva, whom they consider as their creator and preserver of the universe
ii) Vaishnavas, who assign the above roles to Vishnu and
iii) Shaktas, who worship Shakti.

These divisions of Hinduism are not very rigid as in other faiths and it is not strange for people of one belief to mix with others. The Hindus do not form congregations and mostly worship at home. They worship other God and Goddesses as well as these are considered as another reincarnation of main Hindu Gods. As a result, the major Gods and Goddesses are worshiped in many names and forms. Hindus have little missionary feeling because they believe that the proper way to become a Hindu is to born one. Hindu rituals cover all areas of a person's life. Hindu society has a high standard of conduct, with little immorality, crime, or violence.

• There are many definitions of the word 'Hindu' based on geography, religion, or politics etc. but none of them is perfect. It is a way of life; therefore, there is no need to define Hinduism. We should simply recognise the fact that Hindu society exists.
• Hinduism is universal and contains different schools of philosophy and religion.
• Hinduism is the oldest religion of the world but it reforms and changes with the demands of the time, thus it is ancient but remains modern.
• Every Hindu keeps these four objectives in view and tries to achieve them:

1) Duty (Dharma)
2) Material prosperity (artha)
3) Enjoyment (kama) and
4) Salvation (moksha)

• Theory of Action (karma): we reap what we sow. we must take responsibility for all actions we do in this life.
• To achieve the above objectives life is divided into four segments:

1) Celibacy (bramacharya)- student life i.e. acquiring knowledge.
2) Family life (grihastha)- enjoyment and prosperity and participation running of society and the nation.
3) Retirement (vanaprastha)- delegate responsibility to younger generation to perform selfless social service.
4) Renunciation (sanyas)- complete renunciation of the world for union with God.

IMPORTANT HINDU PLACES

Char Math

• Jyotirmath (Garhwal-Himalaya)
• Goverdhan (Jagannath puri)
• Shengari (Karnataka)
• Sharda (Dawarika-Gujarat)

Char Kumbhasthal

• Haridwar (Uttar Pradesh)
• Prayag (Allahbad-U.P.)
• Avantika (Ujjain-Madhya Pradesh)
• Nasik (Maharashtra)

Char Dham

• Badrinath (Himalaya)
• Jagannathpuri (Orissa)
• Rameshwar (Tamilnadu)
• Dwarika (Gujarat)