Hinduism | History, Origin, Founder, Gods & Facts

Hinduism is a religion or a way of living all around the world, also known as Sanatana Dharma is one of the oldest religions in the world still practiced which has neither founder, nor imposed dogma, nor uniformly organized clerical institution (the Brahmins can be from different schools).

In 2020, the number of faithful is estimated at 1.25 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. Hinduism practice in more than 85 countries, it is currently the third most practiced religion in the world after Christianity and Islam. It comes from the Indian subcontinent which remains its main focus of settlement.

For the Muslims who entered India, the Persian term Hindu (from Sanskrit Sindhu) originally referred to the inhabitants of the Indus basin. The majority of Hindus have faith in the authority of Veda, considered “permanent” (Nitya), which was revealed to men in a “non-human” way (अपौरुषेय, apauruṣeya) by Brahma and through the “hearing” of the Rishi 10 (ie the“Sages”);

This is the opinion of the Brahmanic traditions like Vedanta and Mîmâmsâ (means “reflection” or “critical investigation”), but not for the Brahmanic schools of philosophy Nyâya and Vaisheshika which recognize the authority of the Veda while considering it Anitya (“impermanent”) and paurusheya (“human”). The authors of Vedic texts are not all identified, or in a legendary way as Vyāsa.

Hinduism is presented as a set of philosophical concepts stemming from a tradition dating back to Indian protohistory, Hindu practice undoubtedly stemming from a very ancient oral tradition, close to animism. We sometimes remember a historical tripartition that makes Hinduism the last phase of the development of religions in India, after Vedism (c. 1500-500 BC) and Brahmanism (-600 to 500 AD).

Beyond theological syncretism, Hinduism before Islam and European colonialism which submitted India to their authority 14 was a vector of all the sciences of its time: law, politics, architecture, astronomy, philosophy, Ayurvedic medicine, and other knowledge which shared the religious substratum.

Hinduism Facts

• Originated: Around 1500 B.C
• Original Name: Sanatana Dharma
• Place of Origin:  Indus Valley (Near modern-day Pakistan)
• Founder:
  Brahma (Creates the Universe)
  Vishnu (Preserves the Universe)
  Shiva (Destroys the Universe)
• People: Indo-Aryan
• Classification: Indian religions
• Original Language: Sanskrit and Devanagari
• Scripture: Vedas, Puranas, Itihasa, and various other Hindu texts
• Follower: 1.25 Billion
• Hinduism present in:
  Nepal 81.3%
  India 79.8%
  Mauritius 48.54%
  Fiji 27.9%
  Bhutan 25%
  Guyana 24.8%
  Suriname 22.3%
  Trinidad and Tobago 18.2%
  United Arab Emirates 15%
  Sri Lanka 12.6%

Hinduism Origin and History

Most scholars consider Vedism, the religion of the Vedas practiced by the Indo-Aryan, at the origin of what we now refer to as “Hinduism”. This civilization originated in the Neolithic (7000 BC), developed from 3300 BC-2500 BC, and faded around 1800-1500 BC.

It was a highly developed agricultural and urbanized civilization, with commercial links with Mesopotamia, which has left important vestiges and works of art. Several elements of linguistic and iconographic heritage are documented between the Indus Valley Civilization and the Dravidian culture of southern India.

The large number of figurines representing female fertility found to indicate a cult to a “mother goddess”, which could be at the origin of the goddess cult of later Hinduism. The images of statuettes prefer to represent the female divinity in human form and the male divinity in animal form (especially bull, water buffalo, and zebu).

The Indus Valley Civilizations suddenly declined around the 19th century BC due, it would seem, to climate changes such as droughts or floods. Nevertheless in Mohenjo-Daro skeletons of victims of violent death have been found, fallen where they were found, according to Mortimer Wheeler this would, however, testify to the invasion of the indoor.

In 1500 BC, the arrival of the Indo-Aryan conquerors in the Punjab area, again for Thomas J. Hopkins and Alf Hiltebeitel, meant that this religious culture was inherited only by the Dravidian cultures of southern India, surviving in the North but limited to small rural communities and re-emerging in the late and post-Vedic period.

Vedic Period

The earliest evidence of the practice of Hinduism dates from the Late Neolithic to the Harappan civilization (5500-2600 BC). Beliefs and practices of the pre-classical period (XVI – VI centuries BC) are usually called Vedism. Modern Hinduism originated from the Vedas, the oldest of which is the Rig Veda, dated by most scholars to the second half of the 2nd millennium BC. e.

The Vedas are mainly dedicated to the worship of various devas (deities) such as Indra, Varuna, and Agni, they also contain a description of the Soma ritual. The main religious practice of the Vedic religion was the performance of fire sacrifices and the chanting of the Vedic mantras.

The ancient Vedic traditions bear a great resemblance to Zoroastrianism and other Indo-European religions.

Hinduism Beliefs

In Hinduism, there is a diversity of beliefs, but basically, the Hindus believe that behind the visible universe (“maia” or “Goddess powers”) – to which they attribute successive cycles of creation and destruction – is the principle that sustains the universe:

Brahman, that absolute that – considered through the veil of māyā (illusion) -, it is God [(Īśvara) mean “supreme soul, ruler, lord, king, queen or husband.”)]. Leaving the cycle of reincarnations (“samsara” or the concept of rebirth and “cyclicality of all life, matter, existence”) and returning to the divine principle is the greatest of all achievements for Hindus.

This god can be considered personal or impersonal. Personal worship constitutes bhakti (devotion), and impersonal worship implies jnana (wisdom). In the impersonal Hindu stream, God is called Brahman. All other beings are its expression, which is why it is considered the beginning of the universe.

This view can be called monism. It must be distinguished that impersonal Brahman is the non-personified aspect of God, 3 and is distinct from Brahma, who is the creator of this universe, but not the “one god.”

Brahma is a very high incarnated soul who temporarily occupies that position within the material world, but can fall from his place and be replaced by another soul. Depending on the complexity of each universe, the creative Brahma may have a different number of heads, up to a thousand.

One of the main characteristics of Hinduism is the varied concept of ishta devata (worshipper’s favorite deity). It recognizes that any person can have a personal conception of the Godhead, equally respectable, since God can have all the forms, and finally transcend them. Hence the infinity of representations of the Divine.

Although it is impossible to formulate a perfect definition of Hinduism and a doctrine common to all branches of Hinduism, some practices and beliefs are central to Hinduism and which can be considered typical of Hinduism:

• Dharma: Is a moral-ethical duty, an ethical obligation.
• Samsara: Is the cycle of birth and death, belief in the reincarnation of the soul after death into the bodies of animals, people, gods.
• Karma: Is the belief that the order of rebirth is determined by the actions performed during life and their consequences.
• Moksha:  Liberation from the cycle of birth and death, samsara.

Scriptures

Hindus accept various sacred scriptures, which cover a large number of ancient texts.

Shruti

There is a group of texts that are considered “revealed” (in Sanskrit shruti: ‘heard’), and that cannot be interpreted, but followed to the letter: The four Vedas.

• Rigveda, the oldest text in Indian literature, written in an archaic form of Sanskrit, possibly after the 15th century BC. C.
• Yajurveda, the book of sacrifices. Most of his texts come from the Rigveda.
• Samaveda contains hymns. Most of his texts come from the Rigveda.
• Atharvaveda, the book of rituals, an addition several centuries later, not directly related to the Rigveda.

The Upanishad, mystical-philosophical meditations written over several centuries, from 600 BC. C.

Smriti

Other sacred texts are the Smriti (‘what is remembered’, the tradition):

• The epic text Mahabharata (3rd century BC), which includes the religious text Bhagavad-Gita.
• The Ramayana (3rd century BC), the epic story of the god-king Rama.
• The 18 main Puranas (‘stories’) (3rd century BC to 11th century AD), and dozens of small Upa-puranas.
• Ancient texts on Ayurveda (herbalism and traditional Hindu medicine).

Current Hinduism is conformed from the 3rd century BC. C., combining Buddhist doctrines with Brahman (caste) and Dravidian beliefs.

Hinduism Gods

• Brahma: According to Hinduism, Lord Brahma is the creator of the entire universe.
• Vishnu: According to Hinduism, Lord Vishnu is the Preserves of the Universe.
• Shiva: According to Hinduism, Lord Shiva is the Destroys of the Universe.

Devi (Goddess)

• Bharat Mata: Also known as Mother India, and national personification of India as a mother goddess
• Durga: (a form of Parvati), the slayer of Durgamasura and Mahishasura
• Lakshmi or Ashtalakshmi: the goddess of wealth and wife of Lord Vishnu
• Saraswati: the goddess of wisdom and music and also the wife of Lord Brahma
• Bhumi: the mother of Earth known as Prithvi
• Sati(first wife of Lord Shiva): the goddess Adi ParaSakti early life of Parvati.
• Kali (a form of Parvati) as Bhadrakali: An auspicious form of Kali and Bharavi/Chamundeshwari often known as Chandi, as a ferocious form of Parvati
• Parvati, Navadurgas, Matrikas, and Mahavidyas
• Narmada: The daughter of Lord Shiva, also the goddess of river Narmada
• Annapoorna (personification of Goddess Parvati), the goddess of food
• Svaha: Considered as the goddess of ash and marriage, daughter of Daksha and wife of Agni.
• Savitri (a form of Saraswati): The wife of Brahma, born from the left side of Brahma, mother of all four Vedas.

Hinduism Symbols

Numerous symbols appear in Hindu art. Each symbol has a special meaning.

• The swastika is an age-old universal symbol with a deeply spiritual meaning of prosperity and happiness; in India, it is a natural element of the street scene, especially on temples and trucks.
• Om represents perfection.
• The lotus flower is a symbol of Vishnu.
• The Shri symbol is a sign of prosperity and well-being.
• The sacred sound. This is the sound ‘Ohm’. Hindus believe that it is a symbol of spiritual perfection and that this sound preceded the formation of the universe. It is spoken at the beginning of prayers, blessings, ceremonies, and readings from the sacred books and is also used during meditation.
• For strangers to Hinduism, a striking feature is the red dot on the forehead of women, the bindi. This dot symbolizes the third eye and is applied to protect the woman and her husband.

The Casting System

Hinduism is usually associated with a caste system, which is actually two different systems that coincide in part but not completely. Within religion, the defined main groups (warned) are priests (Brahmin), warriors (Kshatriya), peasants and merchants (Vaishya), and bodyworkers (Shudra). Outside this system are the so-called casteless, who is a relatively modern word are called Dalit.

In the parallel system, there are thousands of castes called jatis (a caste or sub-caste). Many are traditionally professional. The Jati structure is also found among Muslims, Sikhs, and other religions. The castes have different statuses but their mutual position is not strict, and the notion that every jati should belong to a warn is assumed to have been created under British colonial rule.

The caste system involves a very fixed social stratum and still affects Indian society, even though discrimination on the grounds of caste affiliation has been prohibited by Indian law since 1950. You are born into your caste, marry within your caste and remain there throughout your life.

Hinduism is patriarchal and women pass on to their husband’s family at marriage and remain there even as widows. Priests are treated with great respect for the sake of their moral purity and the casteless or untouchables take care of, among other things, waste management.

This is not seen as an injustice, but the caste you belong to depends on what karma you have received through your previous life. The leading figure in India’s independence struggle and the great social reformer of the 20th century, Mahatma Gandhi, did much to improve the position of the casteless and he called them Harijans – children of God.

Today, that name has been replaced by Dalit, which roughly means the downtrodden. Modern India has a comprehensive state regulatory framework to combat discrimination on the grounds of caste.