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The Foundations and History of Hinduism in India. The Origins of Hinduism. The Rigveda is composed of three major parts: 1. The Vedas – this is the the Hindu scripture, passed from the Brahman directly to ancient Hindu sages.
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The Origins of Hinduism The Rigveda is composed of three major parts: 1. The Vedas – this is the the Hindu scripture, passed from the Brahman directly to ancient Hindu sages. 2. The Upanishads – these contain the laws governing reincarnation and the relationship between the Atman and Brahman. 3. The Smrutis – traditional Hindu laws The origins of Hinduism can be traced back to 1500 B.C.E. to the northern parts of India. While the practice of Hinduism may date much earlier (and indeed probably does), the first recorded evidence of Hinduism comes from the Rigveda. The Rigveda is written in ancient Sanskrit, and is a collection of hymns and poems praising the gods, prayers, and a creation story. The Rigveda With records dating back nearly 4,000 years, the Rigveda is the oldest continually used sacred text in the world, making Hinduism the world’s oldest continually practiced religion.
Hinduism – The Facts The difficulty in understanding Hinduism is understanding from where the religion derives its central beliefs. 1. Hinduism is not a single religion and takes many different forms. 2. Hindu’s believe in Brahman (god), or universal soul, which take many different forms, including Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. 3. Hindus believe there is a part of Brahman in everyone, called Atman. 4. Hindus believe in Samsara, or reincarnation. Reincarnation is the belief that the soul is eternal and lives through many lifetimes, in one body after another.
Brahman Hindus truly only believe in one God, but their God takes on many different forms. The three most important forms of Brahman are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Brahma – the Creator Shiva – the Destroyer Vishnu – the Preserver
The Atman A major difference between Hinduism and the more traditional western religions of Christianity and Judaism is how we choose to classify Hinduism. While Hindus acknowledge that they worship only one god, they also accept that this one god takes many forms. "According to the tenets of Hinduism, God is one as well as many." While there is some controversy, most religious scholars can agree that Hinduism is panentheistic, meaning that God is in everything.
Samsara As with many Christians, whose goal is to achieve eternal life, Hindus do try and achieve a form of communion with their god. The difference is that Hindus believe that religion is more about practice than faith. Karma is the belief that the soul passes through a cycle of successive lives and its next incarnation (rebirth) is always dependent on how the previous life was lived. Hindus believe that all forms of life contain a soul, and that all souls have the chance to experience life in different forms. So, as the soul is eternal in Hinduism, Samsara is the cycle or repeated deaths and births. So what governs this cycle of reincarnation? KARMA
Hindu Way of Life Hindus act on four major beliefs: 1. Moksha - the release of the soul (Atman) from the cycle of rebirth. The individual soul (Atman) unites with Brahman the universal soul. 2. Karma - through pure acts, knowledge and devotion, you can reincarnate to a higher level. The opposite achieves the contrary result. 3. Dharma – The code for leading one’s life. Respect for elders and marriage are considered religious duties. 4. Artha– the pursuit of material gain through lawful means.
