Introduction
There are nearly 1 billion
Hindus Worldwide, 98% of whom live within South Asia. Over 80% of
all Hindus live in India. Many of the overseas communities live in
areas linked to the trading routes of colonial powers. Hinduism is
an all-embracing term to describe a huge array of beliefs and traditions.
The Religion
- more details
Hindus believe in one Godhead
or Divine Power, with innumerable forms. Three major forms are: Brahma,
creator of each universe; Vishnu, sustainer and defender; and Shiva,
destroyer and re-creator. Vishnu has ten main forms or avatars which
come to the help of the universe. These include Krishna and Rama.
Holy
Book - more details
There are many sacred books,
of which the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads are seen as the most
important.
There are thousands of
Hindu gurus, reflecting the huge variety of teachings. A guru, or
teacher, is someone who has gained enlightenment through knowledge
and practice. A Hindu wanting to follow a particular path of prayer,
meditation and devotion usually has a guru.
Before birth and in the
first months of life, there are many ceremonies. These include: reciting
the scriptures to the baby in the womb; casting its horoscope when
it is born; cutting its hair for the first time. At death, bodies
are cremated and the ashes thrown on to a sacred river. The River
Ganges is the most sacred river of all.
There are many festivals,
of which the main ones are: Mahashivaratri celebrating Shiva (February-March);
Holi, the harvest festival in honour of love and of Krishna (March-April);
Diwali, celebrating the New Year and Rama and Sita, central figures
of The Ramayana, a Hindu epic (October-November).
Places of Worship - more
details
India
is a land of temples. The Hindu temple is a house of worship with
unique features. This is because it is symbolically designed in such
a way that the place where it is built, the manner of its construction
and the rituals that are traditionally enacted within it all have
spiritual significance. All these aspects are so formulated as to
indicate the spiritual path a Hindu has to follow to achieve self-realization,
which is the ultimate goal of their existence.
Symbols - more
details
Symbolism
is used extensively in Hinduism as a means of understanding and describing
concepts like God, Self and Creation. The underlying principles behind
these concepts are very abstract and are not easy to grasp, which
is why in Hinduism abstract ideas have been translated into more tangible
and concrete symbols.
History - more
details
The history
of Hindus, and almost equivalently that of India, has its beginnings
in the distant past. Just like there are upheavals and periods of
distress in the life of a human, the historical traditions and philosophical
concepts underlying the history of India have witnessed similar ups
and downs. The understanding of the present day Hindu psyche, its
conditioning and the actions springing from it requires the study
of the Hindu history and the innumerable events and incidents associated
with it. Hinduism
today is very different to the Hinduism of pre-1880s. Many Hindus
beleive that Hinduism in its original sense no longer exists.
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