Hinduism

Hinduism in India: Hinduism is the biggest religion of India. 80.5% of the population indentify themselves as Hindus. The majority of Hindus in India belong to Shaivite and Vaishavite denominations. Between 2000 and 1500 before Christ this Vedic culture originated it in India. Because of this the Hinduism is considered to be the successor of Vedic religion. History, culture and philosophy all have come out of the Vedic religion. India is also known as ‘Hindustan’, meaning the “Land of Hindus”. History of Hinduism: Hinduism is one of the most interesting and unique religions because it has no founder. Another name for Hinduism is "Sanatan Dharma”. Sanatan Dharma means the eternal teachings. It is very difficult but not impossible to give a precise indication of the origins and development of Hinduism in India. The history of Hinduism can be divided into three time periods: I. The first time period starts from about 3500 years BC, with the civilization of the Indus valley. The first archaeological founding’s of civilization in the Indus valley covered the period from about 3500 years BC. People that where living along the Indus River are called Hindus afterwards. Excavations that where found at Mohenjo Daro, stands for the mound of the dead and Harappa has shown that a high civilization existed here. The people that where living here worshipped their God in a lot of different shapes. But from their religious expression it is very clear that it was the beginning of a religion that we now call Hinduism. An example is for instance, "Pasupati" the lord of animals, this became Lord Shiva. Later there were statues of people or gods meditating in lotus position found. II. The second time period is until almost a 1000 years BC, its called the Vedic Age. This time period has a very big influence and role on the development of the Indian culture. The Vedas were first transmitted in forms of telling stories and where kept by the priests. The Vedic gods were created during the ritual and are not represented by images. They were called in the visual language of the poems and sayings of the priests. With words they were invited to participate and receive the sacrifices in the rituals. The younger Vedic texts, Upanishads, is about redeeming insight into the unity of Atman and Brahman, the individual soul and cosmic soul. The basis of Hinduism is the assimilation of civilization in the Indus valley, with the Aryans coming from the north in a society. III. The third time period is until now 2011 years after Christ. It’s the time period of the epics and the great Hindu mystics. The two most important epics are, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The famous Bhagavad Gita is a part of the Mahabharata. Although the origin of these epics dating from very early times, they came after the Vedic period in writing. Forms of Hindu ethics it what people learn from the Ramayana. This is called ‘Dharma’. The story in the Ramayana is about Rama, Sita and Hanuman. Rama is the one that puts general interest above his own interest. Sita is his faithful, devoted wife. And Hanuman is the unconditional helper. All three reached the state of happiness, each from a different position while his duty. Of the Mahabharata is the Bhagavad Gita especially important. This text is a dialogue between Sri Krishna (God) and Arjuna (man) explained the meaning of life and the different ways that meaning of life to achieve specified. The more you begin to understand these texts, the deeper and more mystical they get. The Bhagavad Gita can be considered the most "holy" book of the Hindus.