The Role Heritage Plays in Our Lives

The religious life of many Hindus is focused on devotion to God (perceived as Brahman, Shiva, Vishnu, or Shakti) or several gods. This devotion usually takes the form of rituals associated with sculptures and images of gods in home shrines.

More philosophically-minded Hindus ignore the gods altogether and seek Realization of the Self through intense meditation. Still others focus primarily on fulfilling the social and moral duties appropriate to their position in life.

These various approaches are regarded as equally valid, and in fact are formally recognized as three paths (margas) to liberation: bhaktimarga (the path of devotion), jnanamarga (the path of knowledge or philosophy), and karmamarga (the path of works and action).

Hindu religious practices center on the importance of fulfilling the duties associated both with one's social position and one's stage of life. With regard to the latter, traditional Hindus are expected to pass through four stages (ashramas) over the course of their life:

brahmacharga, which takes place during the school years, is focused on acquiring knowledge and developing character; grastha, the middle years, is focused on worldly pursuits and pleasures such as marriage, family and career; vanaprastha, when one's children reach adulthood, is a time of increased focus on spiritual things; and sanngasu, in the last years of life, one may abandon the world entirely for a life of contemplation.
All stages of life for the Hindu, however, involve religious rituals and practices. Some of the major Hindu practices are described in the articles below.

Ayurveda
Ayurveda is an ancient Hindu system of medicine and healing that has found new popularity in the west today.

Hatha Yoga
Outside of Hindu culture, the word "yoga" is usually understood to refer to the practice of meditative movement, or Hatha Yoga. However, Hatha Yoga is only one part of the Hindu traditions of Yoga and Tantra. It is one of the paths leading to the ultimate goal of Raja Yoga, or contemplation of the One Reality.

Kundalini Yoga
Kundalini yoga is a tantric form of yoga focused on awakening the kundalini, the latent psychic energy that lies at the base of the spine, and making it rise through the seven chakras to the top of the spine.

Namaste Greeting
The gesture (or mudra) of namaste is a simple act made by bringing together both palms of the hands before the heart, and lightly bowing the head. In the simplest of terms it is accepted as a humble greeting straight from the heart and reciprocated accordingly.

Puja (Pooja)
Puja is a religious ritual which some Hindus perform every morning after bathing and dressing but prior to taking any food or drink. Puja is seen as a way of relating humans to the domain and actions of the divine, and can be performed for anything considered divine, from Vishnu to a holy tree.

The Sadhu (Holy Man)
Some Hindus choose to leave their homes and dedicate their lives to spiritual disciplines. They renounce their possessions and devote themselves to a particular god and/or meditation, yoga and spiritual discussion. These are called sadhus, or holy men.

Temples and Temple Rituals
A guide to Hindu temples: how they are designed and built and the rituals and ceremonies that take place there.

Introduction
Hinduism is an ancient religion with no founder or known date of origin. The term "Hinduism" simply derives from the word "India" and refers to a wide variety of religious traditions and philosophies that have developed in India over thousands of years. Most Hindus worship one or more deities, believe in reincarnation, value the practice of meditation, and observe festive holidays like Diwali and Holi. Learn more about Hinduism by selecting a topic below.

Beliefs
Hinduism embraces a great diversity of beliefs, a fact that can be initially confusing to westerners accustomed to creeds, confessions, and carefully-worded belief statements. One can believe a wide variety of things about God, the universe and the path to liberation and still be considered a Hindu.

This attitude towards religious belief has made Hinduism one of the more open-minded religions when it comes to evaluating other faiths. Probably the most well-known Hindu saying about religion is: "Truth is one; sages call it by different names."

However, there are some beliefs common to nearly all forms of Hinduism that can be identified, and these basic beliefs are generally regarded as boundaries outside of which lies either heresy or non-Hindu religion. These fundamental Hindu beliefs include: the authority of the Vedas (the oldest Indian sacred texts) and the Brahmans (priests); the existence of an enduring soul that transmigrates from one body to another at death (reincarnation); and the law of karma that determines one's destiny both in this life and the next.

Note that a specific belief about God or gods is not considered one of the essentials, which is a major difference between Hinduism and strictly monotheistic religions like Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Sikhism. Most Hindus are devoted followers of one of the principal gods Shiva, Vishnu or Shakti, and often others besides, yet all these are regarded as manifestations of a single Reality.

The ultimate goal of all Hindus is release (moksha) from the cycle of rebirth (samsara). For those of a devotional bent, this means being in God's presence, while those of a philosophical persuasion look forward to uniting with God as a drop of rain merges with the sea.

Authority of the Vedas and Brahmans

The authority of the ancient scriptures known as the Vedas as well as that of the priests known as the Brahmans are two concepts that are fundamental to Hinduism and differentiate the faith from Buddhism and Jainism.

Brahman: Ultimate Reality

Most Hindus venerate one or more deities, but regard these as manifestations of Ultimate Reality. So who, or what, is the Ultimate Reality that is behind the universe and all the gods? In the Rig Veda, it is referred to as "the One." In the Purushasukta, it is given the name "Purusha," and in the Upanishads it is called "Brahman," "the One," and several other names.

Karma

The Sanskirt word karma means "actions" and refers to the fundamental Hindu principle that one's moral actions have unavoidable and automatic effects on one's fortunes in this life and condition of rebirth in the next.

Polytheism?

Hinduism is a decidedly theistic religion, but it can be difficult to determine whether it is a polytheistic, pantheistic, or even monotheistic religion. Of course, this is chiefly a western question: the Indian mind is much more inclined to regard divergent views as complementary rather than competing.

Purpose of Life

In Hinduism, there is not just one purpose of human life, but four: Dharma - fulfilling one's purpose; Artha - prosperity; Kama - desire, sexuality, enjoyment; and Moksha - enlightenment.

Fast facts meaning of name
Hinduism, from the Persian hindu (Sanskrit sindhu), literally "river." Means "of the Indus Valley" or simply "Indian." Hindus call their religion sanatama dharma,"eternal religion" or "eternal truth." date founded
Earliest forms date to 1500 BC or earlier place founded
India
founder none adherents
900 million size rank third largest in the world main location
India, also United Kingdom and United States major sects
Saivism, Vaisnavism, Saktism sacred texts
Vedas, Upanishads, Sutras, Bhagavad Gita original language
Sanskrit
spiritual leader guru or sage place of worship temple or home shrine theism pantheism with polytheistic elements (see Is Hinduism Polytheistic?) ultimate reality
Brahman
human nature in bondage to ignorance and illusion, but able to escape purpose of life to attain liberation (moksa) from the cycle of reincarnation how to live order life according to the dharma afterlife if karma unresolved, soul is born into a new body; if karma resolved, attain moksa (liberation) major holidays
Mahashivarati (mid-February)
Holi (Spring)
Ramnavami (late March)
Dusserah (early November)
Diwali (mid-November