HINDUISM

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF HINDUISM

• Hinduism is mankind's oldest living tradition, which means it has been practiced since the beginning of time.
• The Term 'Hindu' is related to the word Sindhu, which is the name of a river.
• Hinduism became a description of all religious ideas in the Indian Sub-Continent.

GLOBAL LOCATION

• Most of the Hindus live in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and other parts of the world.
• About 85% of Hindus live in India. That is why India is also called "Hindustan."

KEY BELIEFS, HOLY DAYS AND CUSTOMS

• Some key beliefs of Hindus include that truth is eternal, everyone should strive to achieve dharma, and that individual souls are immortal.
• A holy day celebrated by the Hindus is Diwali. Diwali is a Festival of Lights and is held during October and November. It is associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity.
• Some customs include never wearing footwear inside holy places, Hindus pierce the ears of babies and put earings in them, and they worship Lord Ganesha and chant mantra before the start of religious ceremonies.

IMPORTANT PEOPLE

• Ramanuja- Is one of the most important people in Hinduism. He taught Hindus should worship a personal God.
• Lord swaminarayan is an important part in the sector of Hinduism called Vaishnavism. He had followers it only from Hindu denominations, but also from Islam and Zoroastrianism.
• Dayananda Saraswati was a very important religious leader in his time period. He was a big promoter for women's rights.

RELIGIOUS TEXTS

• The Vedas or "Books of knowledge," are the foremost sacred texts in Hinduism. These texts were written around 1200 BCE through 100 CE.
• These books began with 4 books, Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda.
• These soon expanded to turn into Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads.

SUBDIVISIONS

• There are 4 subdivisions of the Hindu faith: Vaishnavas (Vishnu), Shaivas (Shiva), Shaktas (Shakti) and Smartas (5 deities: Vishnu, Shiva Devi, Ganesh and Surya).
• The biggest subdivision is Vaishnavities. This subdivision has 580,000,000 Adherents.

HOLY SYMBOL

• The holy symbol of Hinduism is called the Aum, which represents the universe and the ultimate reality, Brahman.
• The Aum represents God in three aspects: Brahama, Vishnu and Shiva.

CURRENT DAY INFORMATION

• On December 30, 2015, Mr. Ikhlaq, an important person to the Hindu culture, was killed after residents stormed into his house following a public announcement that he had killed and eaten parts of a cow.
• The cow is a holy symbol for Hindus, and it's slaughter is banned in much of India.

PLACE OF WORSHIP

• The Hindus worship at home. They usually have a room that has a decorated shrine in it for worship.
• In the room there are images of deities, which are cooper or marble statues.