Hinduism is considered the oldest religion in the world, whose customs date about 4000 years ago. It is also the third-largest religion after Christianity and Islam. Hinduism has about 900 million followers, of whom 95 percent live in India1. Hinduism is considered monotheistic and henotheistic since it believes in the worship of one God and still acknowledges the actuality of other Gods2. Hinduism has no particular founder, and thus it is hard to trace its source. Believers of Hinduism acknowledge Brahman as the supreme deity with many celestial powers. Hindus believe that God can have a form or be formless; when God possesses a form, He is called Brahman, but when He is formless, they call Him Paramatama. The Hinduism God can have three primary forms; Brahma as the creator, Vishnu as the sustainer, and Shira as the destroyer.
Hinduism believers esteem the teachings of Karma and samsara, that is, the cycle of life, death, and reincarnation. Hindus follow holy writings called Vedas, which historians believe were written around 1500 BC. Mercifulness is embraced as one of the critical teachings of the Hinduism religion. Moksha is regarded as the way to salvation when followers believe that reincarnation ends and one becomes an absolute soul. Moreover, Hindus hope to get dharma which upholds good behavior and morality.
Bibliography
Beck, Guy L. “Sacred Music and Hindu Religious Experience: From Ancient Roots to the Modern Classical Tradition.” Religions 10, no. 2 (2019): 85.
Flood, Gavin Dennis. Hindu Monotheism. Cambridge University Press, 2020.
Sarkar, Shyamal Chandra. “Concept of Education and Eight-Fold Path of Gautama Buddha: A Brief Study.” International Journal for Modern Trends in Science and Technology, 7(10): 165-170, 2021.
Footnotes
- Flood, Gavin Dennis. Hindu monotheism. Cambridge University Press, 2020.
- Flood, Gavin Dennis. Hindu monotheism, 2020.