Who is hinduism

Holi is celebrated with great abandon and gusto all over India. It inaugurates the coming of spring and is celebrated primarily by throwing colored paste and water on anyone who happens to be out walking around. It, too, is celebrated over a period of days. For Hindus, there is no weekly worship service, no set day or time in which a community is called to gather publicly. Instead, all worship can be performed to icons in the home shrine, which is why the home is a very important place of worship in India.

The best word that describes and summarizes Hindu worship is puja, which means respect, homage, or worship. Each morning, one member of the family, usually the father or the mother, will perform a short puja at the altar. This may include saying prayers, lighting a lamp, burning incense, making offerings of fruit and flowers, and ringing a bell. The goal in this worship is to please the gods through all five senses.

Much the same thing happens in temple worship, though the rituals are much more elaborate there, since deities are believed to inhabit the temple images at all times, rather than just when invited, as in a home puja. In temple worship, the priest performs the puja , then on behalf of the god he returns to the people some of what they first brought as offerings—food, flowers, etc. This is called prasad , which means grace, goodwill, or blessing.

Furthermore, the prominence of each of the aspects of the Divine varies depending on the lineage of the individual Hindu. Hindus represent the various forms of God in consecrated images called murti. A murti can be made of wood, stone, or metals and sometimes can be naturally occurring, rather than fashioned by human hands.

Murti offer a way to visualize and meditate upon Brahman , which due to its infinite nature is believed to be beyond the grasp of the human mind. Hindu families conduct their daily worship at home altars and also at temples on special occasions. Many Hindus consult gurus recognized spiritual teachers and guides for advice or answers to spiritual questions. Hindus believe that the soul, atman , is eternal. When the physical body dies the soul is reborn in another body.

This continuous cycle of life, death, and rebirth is called samsara. Rebirth is governed by karma : the principle that every action be it physical or mental has a result, like cause and effect. What an individual experiences in this life is the result of their past actions, either actions they have already taken in this life or actions from a past life.

How an individual acts today impacts the future, both in terms of effects felt later on in this life or in a future birth. Though the effects of karma make certain actions easier or more difficult to take, just as our personal habits influence our lives, this is not a deterministic or fatalistic system.

Rather, we all have the ability to freely choose how to act in any situation. Hindus believe we have four goals in life: Dharma conducting ourselves in a way conducive to spiritual advancement , Artha the pursuit of material prosperity , Kama enjoyment of the material world , and Moksha liberation from the attachments caused by dependence on the material world and from the cycle of birth and rebirth.

Hinduism is a deeply pluralistic tradition, promoting respect for other religions and acknowledges the potential for truth in them. Hindus see the varieties of religions and philosophies as different ways to understand and relate to God.

Today, with about million followers, Hinduism is the third-largest religion behind Christianity and Islam. A swastika symbol featured on a tile at Hindu temple on Diu Island, India. The symbol is one of good luck and good fortune.

There are two primary symbols associated with Hinduism, the om and the swastika. The word swastika means "good fortune" or "being happy" in Sanskrit, and the symbol represents good luck. The om symbol is composed of three Sanskrit letters and represents three sounds a, u and m , which when combined are considered a sacred sound. The om symbol is often found at family shrines and in Hindu temples. The primary sacred texts, known as the Vedas, were composed around B. This collection of verses and hymns was written in Sanskrit and contains revelations received by ancient saints and sages.

Most scholars believe Hinduism started somewhere between B. But many Hindus argue that their faith is timeless and has always existed. Around B. Rituals, such as sacrifices and chanting, were common in the Vedic Period. Hindus began to emphasize the worship of deities, especially Vishnu, Shiva and Devi. The concept of dharma was introduced in new texts, and other faiths, such as Buddhism and Jainism, spread rapidly.

Hinduism and Buddhism have many similarities. Buddhism, in fact, arose out of Hinduism, and both believe in reincarnation, karma and that a life of devotion and honor is a path to salvation and enlightenment. But some key differences exist between the two religions: Buddhism rejects the caste system of Hinduism, and does away with the rituals, the priesthood and the gods that are integral to the Hindu faith.

The Medieval Period of Hinduism lasted from about to A. New texts emerged, and poet-saints recorded their spiritual sentiments during this time. In the 7th century, Muslim Arabs began invading areas in India.

During parts of the Muslim Period, which lasted from about to , Islamic rulers prevented Hindus from worshipping their deities, and some temples were destroyed. Indian statesman and activist Mahatma Gandhi, Between and , the British controlled India. At first, the new rulers allowed Hindus to practice their religion without interference. But later, Christian missionaries sought to convert and westernize the people. Many reformers emerged during the British Period.