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| {{short description|Indian religion and dharma, or way of life}} | | {{cleanup|reason=|date=March 2018}} [[File:Aum Om navy blue circle coral.svg|thumb|[[Om]], a stylized letter of [[Devanagari]] script, used as a religious symbol in Hinduism]] |
| {{Pp-semi-protected||small=yes}} | | '''Hinduism''' is not only a [[religion]] but also a way of life.{{refn|group=note|name="definition"}} Hinduism is known to have more than one god and is widely practiced in [[South Asia]] mainly in [[India]] and [[Nepal]]. Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world,{{refn|group=note|See: |
| {{Sprotected2}} | | * Fowler: and "probably the oldest religion in the world" ({{harvnb|Fowler|1997|p=1}}) |
| {{Pp-semi-indef|small=yes}} | | * Klostermaier: The "oldest living major religion" in the world ({{harvnb|Klostermaier|2007|p=1}}) |
| {{Pp-move-indef|small=no}} | | * Kurien: "There are almost a billion Hindus living on Earth. They practice the world's oldest religion..." <ref>{{cite journal | last=Kurien | first=Prema | title=Multiculturalism and American Religion: The Case of Hindu Indian Americans| url=https://archive.org/details/sim_social-forces_2006-12_85_2/page/723 | journal=Social Forces | publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press | volume=85 | issue=2 | year=2006 | pages=723–741 | doi=10.1353/sof.2007.0015 | s2cid=146134214 }}</ref> |
| | * Bakker: "it [Hinduism] is the oldest religion".<ref>{{cite journal| author=FL Bakker| title= Balinese Hinduism and the Indonesian State: Recent Developments| journal=Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde|year=1997| volume=Deel 153, 1ste Afl.| issue= 1|pages= 15–41|publisher= Brill|jstor= 27864809}}</ref> |
| | * Noble: "Hinduism, the world's oldest surviving religion, continues to provide the framework for daily life in much of South Asia."<ref>{{cite journal | last=Noble | first=Allen | title=South Asian Sacred Places | journal=Journal of Cultural Geography | volume=17 | publisher=Routledge | issue=2 | year=1998 | pages=1–3 | doi=10.1080/08873639809478317 }}</ref>}} and Hindus refer to it as ''[[Sanātanī|{{IAST|Sanātana Dharma}}]]'', "''the eternal tradition''," or the "''eternal way''," beyond human history. The followers of ''Sanātana Dharmā'' are known as ''[[Sanātanī]]s'' and the name ''Sanātana Dharmā'' literally translates to in English, ''Eternal Religion'' or ''Eternal Faith''.{{sfn|Knott|1998|pp=5, Quote: "Many describe Hinduism as ''sanatana dharma'', the [[eternal]] tradition or religion. This refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history"}}<ref>{{harvnb|Bowker|2000}}; {{harvnb|Harvey|2001|p=xiii}}</ref> Scholars regard Hinduism as a combination{{sfn|Samuel|2010|p=193}} of different Indian cultures and traditions,<ref name="Hiltebeitel 2007 12">{{harvnb|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}}; {{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=16}}; {{harvnb|Lockard|2007|p=50}}</ref> with diverse roots.{{sfn|Narayanan|2009|p=11}}{{refn|group=note| Among its roots are the [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic religion]] of the late [[Vedic period]] ({{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=16}}) and its emphasis on the status of Brahmans ({{harvnb|Samuel|2010|pp=48–53}}), but also the religions of the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]] ({{harvnb|Narayanan|2009|p=11}}; {{harvnb|Lockard|2007|p=52}}; {{harvnb|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=3}}; {{harvnb|Jones|Ryan|2006|p=xviii}}) the [[Sramana]] or renouncer traditions of [[Maurya Empire|north-east India]] ({{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=16}}; {{harvnb|Gomez|2013|p=42}}) and "popular or [[Adivasi|local traditions]]" ({{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=16}}).}} Hinduism has no founder and origins of Hinduism is unknown.{{sfn|Fowler|1997|pp=1, 7}}. Hinduism has roots in [[Indus Valley civilization]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KpIWhKnYmF0C&pg=PA50|title = An Introduction to Hinduism|isbn = 9780521438780|last1 = Flood|first1 = Gavin D.|last2 = Flood|first2 = Gavin D. Flood|date = 13 July 1996}}</ref> There was no concept of religion in India and Hinduism was not a religion. Hinduism as a religion started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE,{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}} after the [[Vedic period]] (1500 BCE to 500 BCE).{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}}{{sfn|Larson|2009}} |
| | Hinduism contains a wide range of philosophies, and is linked by the concepts, like rituals, [[Hindu cosmology|cosmology]], Texts, and [[Pilgrimage|pilgrimage to sacred sites]]. [[Hindu texts]] are divided into [[Śruti]] ("heard") and [[Smriti|Smṛti]] ("remembered"). These texts discuss [[Hindu philosophy|philosophy]], [[Hindu mythology|mythology]], [[Vedas|Vedic]] [[yajna]], [[Yoga]], [[Āgama (Hinduism)|agamic]] [[ritual]]s, and [[Hindu temple|temple building]], and many more.{{sfn|Michaels|2004}} Major scriptures in Hinduism include the [[Vedas]] and [[Upanishads]], the [[Bhagavad Gita]], and the [[Āgama (Hinduism)|Agamas]].<ref>{{cite book| last = Zaehner| first = R. C.| title = Hindu Scriptures| year = 1992| publisher = Penguin Random House| isbn = 978-0-679-41078-2| pages = 1–7 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite book| last = Klostermaier| first = Klaus| title = A Survey of Hinduism| url = https://archive.org/details/surveyhinduismth00klos| edition = 3rd| year = 2007| publisher = State University of New York Press| isbn = 978-0-7914-7082-4| pages = [https://archive.org/details/surveyhinduismth00klos/page/n64 46]–52, 76–77 }}</ref><ref name="frazierintrop2">{{cite book| last1 = Frazier| first1 = Jessica| last2 = Flood| first2 = Gavin| title = The Continuum companion to Hindu studies| url = https://archive.org/details/continuumcompani00fraz| date = 2011| publisher = Continuum| location = London| isbn = 978-0-8264-9966-0| pages = [https://archive.org/details/continuumcompani00fraz/page/1 1]–15 }}</ref> |
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| {{Use Indian English|date=October 2014}} | | There are 4 goals or aims of human life, namely [[Dharma]] (duties), [[Artha]] (prosperity), [[Kama]] (desires/passions), [[Moksha]] (liberation/freedom/salvation);<ref name="Bilimoria 2007 p. 103">{{cite book|title=Indian Ethics: Classical Traditions and Contemporary Challenges|last=|first=|publisher=|year=2007|isbn=|editor-last=Bilimoria | display-authors = etal|location=|page=103|quote=|via=}} See also {{cite journal|last=Koller|first=John|year=1968|title=Puruṣārtha as Human Aims|url=|journal=Philosophy East and West|volume=18|issue=4|pages=315–319|doi=10.2307/1398408|jstor=1398408}}</ref><ref name="Gavin Flood 1997 pages 11">{{cite book| last = Flood| first = Gavin| editor-last = Lipner| editor-first = Julius J.| title = The Bhagavadgita for Our Times| year = 1997| publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 978-0-19-565039-6| pages = 11–27| chapter = The Meaning and Context of the Puruṣārthas }}</ref> [[karma]] (action, intent and consequences), [[Saṃsāra]] (cycle of rebirth), and the various [[Yoga]]s (paths or practices to attain moksha).<ref name=":0" />{{sfn|Brodd|2003}} Hindu rituals include [[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]] (worship) and recitations, meditation, family-oriented [[Sanskara (rite of passage)|rites of passage]], annual festivals, and occasional pilgrimages. Some Hindus leave their social world and become sanyasi to achieve Moksha.<ref name="ellinger70">{{cite book| last = Ellinger| first = Herbert| title = Hinduism| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pk3iAwAAQBAJ| year = 1996| publisher = Bloomsbury Academic| isbn = 978-1-56338-161-4| pages = 69–70 }}</ref> Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, non-violence ([[ahimsa]]), patience, self-restraint, and compassion, among others.<ref name="EB-sanatana dharma">{{cite book|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/665848/sanatana-dharma|title=sanatana dharma {{!}} Hinduism|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2016-11-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=History of Dharmasastra|last1=Dharma|first1=Samanya|last2=Kane|first2=P. V.|publisher=|isbn=|volume=2|location=|pages=4–5|quote=|via=}} See also {{cite journal|last=Widgery|first=Alban|year=1930|title=The Priniciples of Hindu Ethics|url=|journal=International Journal of Ethics|volume=40|issue=2|pages=232–245|doi=10.1086/intejethi.40.2.2377977|s2cid=170183611}}</ref> The four largest sects of Hinduism are the [[Vaishnavism]], [[Shaivism]], [[Shaktism]] and [[Smarta Tradition|Smartism]].<ref>{{cite book| last = Lipner| first = Julius| title = Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices| year = 2009| publisher = Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices| isbn = 978-0-415-45677-7| page = 377 }}</ref> |
| {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}} | |
| {{Hinduism small}}
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| '''Hinduism''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɪ|n|d|u|ɪ|z|əm}})<ref>{{cite Merriam-Webster|Hinduism|access-date=19 April 2021}}</ref> is an [[Indian religions|Indian religion]] and ''[[dharma]]'', or way of life.{{refn|group=note|name="definition"}}{{refn|group=note|name="dharma"}} It is the [[Major religious groups|world's third-largest religion]], with over 1.2 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as [[Hindus]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021|title=Hindu Countries 2021|url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/hindu-countries|access-date=2 June 2021|website=World Population Review|language=en-US}}</ref><ref group="web" name="pewforum_Hinduism" /><ref name="gordonconwell.edu" group="web" /> The word ''[[Hindu]]'' is an [[exonym]],{{sfn|Siemens|Roodt|2009|p=546}}{{sfn|Leaf|2014|p=36}}{{refn|group=note|name="Hindu_term"}} and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world,{{refn|group=note|name="oldest religion"}} many practitioners refer to their religion as [[Sanātana Dharma]] ({{lang-sa|सनातन धर्म|lit='the Eternal Dharma'}}), which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the [[Hindu texts]].{{sfn|Knott|1998|pp=3, 5}}{{sfn|Hatcher|2015|pp=4–5, 69–71, 150–152}}{{sfn|Bowker|2000}}{{sfn|Harvey|2001|p=xiii}}{{refn|group=note|name="Knott_sanatana dharma"}} Another, less fitting,<ref name=SmithBK1998>{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Brian K. |title=Questioning Authority: Constructions and Deconstructions of Hinduism |journal=International Journal of Hindu Studies |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=313–339 |year=1998 |doi=10.1007/s11407-998-0001-9 |jstor=20106612 |s2cid=144929213}}</ref> [[endonym]] is ''[[Vaidika dharma]]'',{{sfn|Sharma|Sharma|2004|pp=1–2}}{{sfn|Klostermaier|2014|p=2}}{{sfn|Klostermaier|2007b|p=7}}<ref name=Sharma1985a /> the 'dharma related to the [[Vedas]].'<ref>{{Cite web|title=View Dictionary|url=https://sanskritdictionary.com/scans/?col=1&img=mw1022.jpg|access-date=19 November 2021|website=sanskritdictionary.com}}</ref>
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| Hinduism is a diverse system of thought marked by a range of [[Hindu philosophy|philosophies]] and shared concepts, [[ritual]]s, [[Hindu cosmology|cosmological]] systems, [[Hindu pilgrimage sites|pilgrimage sites]], and shared textual sources that discuss theology, [[metaphysic]]s, [[Hindu mythology|mythology]], Vedic [[yajna]], [[yoga]], [[Āgama (Hinduism)|agamic]] rituals, and [[Hindu temple|temple building]], among other topics.{{sfn|Michaels|2004}} Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four [[Puruṣārtha]]s, the proper goals or aims of human life; namely, dharma (ethics/duties), [[artha]] (prosperity/work), [[kama]] (desires/passions) and [[moksha]] (liberation/freedom from the passions and the cycle of death and [[reincarnation|rebirth]]),<ref name="Bilimoria 2007 p. 103">{{harvnb|Bilimoria|2007}}; see also {{harvnb|Koller|1968}}.</ref>{{sfn|Flood|1997|p=11}} as well as [[karma]] (action, intent and consequences) and [[saṃsāra]] (cycle of death and rebirth).{{sfn|Klostermaier|2007|pp=46–52, 76–77}}{{sfn|Brodd|2003}} Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings (''[[Ahiṃsā]]''), patience, forbearance, self-restraint, virtue, and compassion, among others.<ref name="EB-sanatana dharma" group="web" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dharma |first1=Samanya |title=History of Dharmasastra |last2=Kane |first2=P. V. |volume=2 |pages=4–5}} See also {{harvnb|Widgery|1930}}</ref> Hindu practices include rituals such as [[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]] (worship) and recitations, [[japa]], meditation ([[Dhyana in Hinduism|dhyāna]]), family-oriented [[Sanskara (rite of passage)|rites of passage]], annual festivals, and occasional pilgrimages. Along with the practice of various yogas, some Hindus leave their social world and material possessions and engage in lifelong [[Sannyasa]] (monasticism) in order to achieve moksha.<ref name="ellinger70">{{Cite book |last=Ellinger |first=Herbert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pk3iAwAAQBAJ |title=Hinduism |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |year=1996 |isbn=978-1-56338-161-4 |pages=69–70}}</ref> | | Hinduism is the world's third largest religion, There are approximately 1.15 billion Hindus which are 15-16% of the global population.<ref group="web">{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-hindu.aspx|title=The Global Religious Landscape - Hinduism|last=|first=|publisher=Pew Research Foundation|work=A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Major Religious Groups as of 2010|date=18 December 2012|accessdate=31 March 2013}}</ref><ref name="gordonconwell.edu">{{cite web|url=http://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/documents/1IBMR2015.pdf|title=Christianity 2015: Religious Diversity and Personal Contact|publisher=gordonconwell.edu|date=January 2015|accessdate=2015-05-29|archive-date=2017-05-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525141543/http://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/documents/1IBMR2015.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The vast majority of Hindus live in [[India]], [[Nepal]] and [[Mauritius]]. Hindus are also found in other countries.<ref>{{cite book| last = Vertovec| first = Steven| title = The Hindu Diaspora: Comparative Patterns| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FRVTAQAAQBAJ| year = 2013| publisher = Routledge| isbn = 978-1-136-36705-2| pages = 1–4, 7–8, 63–64, 87–88, 141–143 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-hindu/|title=Hindus|date=18 December 2012|work=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|accessdate=14 February 2015}};<br/>{{cite web|url=http://features.pewforum.org/grl/population-number.php?sort=numberHindu|title=Table: Religious Composition by Country, in Numbers (2010)|date=18 December 2012|work=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|accessdate=14 February 2015|archive-date=1 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201224548/http://features.pewforum.org/grl/population-number.php?sort=numberHindu|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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| Hindu texts are classified into [[Śruti]] ("heard") and [[Smriti|Smṛti]] ("remembered"), the major scriptures of which are the ''Vedas'', the ''[[Upanishads]]'', the ''[[Puranas|Purānas]]'', the ''[[Mahabharata|Mahābhārata]]'', the ''[[Ramayana|Rāmāyana]]'', and the ''[[Agama (Hinduism)|Āgamas]]''.{{sfn|Klostermaier|2007|pp=46–52, 76–77}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Zaehner|first=R. C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eWuezQEACAAJ|title=Hindu Scriptures|publisher=[[Penguin Random House]]|year=1992|isbn=978-0-679-41078-2|pages=1–7|author-link=Robert Charles Zaehner}}</ref> There are six [[Āstika and nāstika|āstika]] schools of [[Hindu philosophy]], who recognise the authority of the Vedas, namely [[Samkhya|Sānkhya]], [[Yoga (philosophy)|Yoga]], [[Nyaya|Nyāya]], [[Vaisheshika]], [[Mīmāṃsā|Mimāmsā]] and [[Vedanta|Vedānta]].<ref name="Matthew Clarke 2011 28">{{Cite book |last=Clarke |first=Matthew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DIvHQc0-rwgC&pg=PA28 |title=Development and Religion: Theology and Practice |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-85793-073-6 |page=28 |access-date=11 February 2015 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174115/https://books.google.com/books?id=DIvHQc0-rwgC&pg=PA28 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |editor-last=Holberg |editor-first=Dale |title=Students' Britannica India |year=2000 |volume=4 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica India |isbn=978-0-85229-760-5 |page=316}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicholson |first=Andrew |title=Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-231-14987-7 |pages=2–5}}</ref> While the [[Puranic chronology]] presents a genealogy of thousands of years, starting with the Vedic ''rishis'', scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion{{refn|group=note|name="Lockard-fusion"}} or synthesis{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=193}}{{refn|group=note|name="Hiltebeitel-synthesis"}} of [[historical Vedic religion#Brahmanism|Brahmanical orthopraxy]]{{refn|group=note|name="Brahmanism"}} with various Indian cultures,<ref name="various cultures">{{harvnb|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}}; {{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=16}}; {{harvnb|Lockard|2007|p=50}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|name="fusion"}} having diverse roots{{sfn|Narayanan|2009|p=11}}{{refn|group=note|name="roots"}} and no specific founder.{{sfn|Fowler|1997|pp=1, 7}} This [[Hindu synthesis]] emerged after the Vedic period, between c. 500{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}}–200{{sfn|Larson|2009}} BCE and c. 300 CE,{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}} in the period of the [[Second Urbanisation]] and the early [[History of Hinduism#Hindu synthesis and Classical Hinduism (c. 200 BCE – 1200 CE)|classical period of Hinduism]], when the [[Indian epic poetry|Epics]] and the first Purānas were composed.{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}}{{sfn|Larson|2009}} It flourished in the [[Medieval India|medieval period]], with the [[Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent|decline of Buddhism in India]].{{sfn|Larson|1995|pp=109–111}}
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| Currently, the four major [[Hindu denominations|denominations]] of Hinduism are [[Vaishnavism]], [[Shaivism]], [[Shaktism]], and the [[Smarta tradition]].{{sfn|Bhandarkar|1913|p=}}{{sfn|Tattwananda|n.d.|p=}}{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=113, 134, 155–161, 167–168}}{{sfn|Lipner|2009|pp=377, 398}} Sources of authority and eternal truths in the Hindu texts play an important role, but there is also a strong Hindu tradition of questioning authority in order to deepen the understanding of these truths and to further develop the tradition.<ref name="frazierintrop2">{{Cite book |last=Frazier |first=Jessica |url=https://archive.org/details/continuumcompani00fraz |title=The Continuum companion to Hindu studies |date=2011 |publisher=Continuum |isbn=978-0-8264-9966-0 |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/continuumcompani00fraz/page/1 1]–15 |url-access=limited}}</ref> Hinduism is the most widely professed faith in [[Religion in India|India]], [[Religion in Nepal|Nepal]] and [[Religion in Mauritius|Mauritius]]. Significant numbers of Hindu communities are found in [[Hinduism in Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]] including in [[Hinduism in Bali|Bali]], [[Hinduism in Indonesia|Indonesia]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peringatan |url=https://sp2010.bps.go.id/index.php/page/warning |website=sp2010.bps.go.id}}</ref> the [[Hinduism in the West Indies|Caribbean]], [[North America]], [[Hinduism in Europe|Europe]], [[Hinduism in Oceania|Oceania]], [[Hinduism in Africa|Africa]], and [[Hinduism by country|other regions]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vertovec |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FRVTAQAAQBAJ |title=The Hindu Diaspora: Comparative Patterns |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-136-36705-2 |pages=1–4, 7–8, 63–64, 87–88, 141–143}}</ref><ref>{{Spaced en dash space}}{{Cite web|date=18 December 2012|title=Hindus|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-hindu/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209012719/https://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-hindu/|archive-date=9 February 2020|access-date=14 February 2015|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project}}<br />{{Spaced en dash space}}{{Cite web|date=18 December 2012|title=Table: Religious Composition by Country, in Numbers (2010)|url=http://features.pewforum.org/grl/population-number.php?sort=numberHindu|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201224548/http://features.pewforum.org/grl/population-number.php?sort=numberHindu|archive-date=1 February 2013|access-date=14 February 2015|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project}}</ref>
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| == Etymology == | | == Etymology == |
| {{further|Hindu}}
| | The word ''Hindu'' is taken from the [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]{{sfn|Flood|2008|p=3}}/[[Sanskrit]]{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=6}} word '' Sapta Sindhu'', which is Sanskrit name for the [[Indus River]] which lies west of the border of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]].{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=6}}{{refn|group=note|The Sanskrit word ''Sindhu'' means "river", "ocean".{{sfn|Flood|2008|p=3}} The Sindhu-area is part of [[Āryāvarta]], "the land of the Aryans".}} According to [[Gavin Flood]], The word Hindu was used by Persians for the people who live beyond the Indus River,{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=6}} Inscription of Darius I which was written around 550–486 BCE also refer Hindu as the people who live beyond the Indus River.<ref name="arvindsharmahhhh">Arvind Sharma (2002), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3270470 On Hindu, Hindustān, Hinduism and Hindutva] Numen, Vol. 49, Fasc. 1, pages 2-3</ref> These records didn't refer '''Hindu''' as a religion.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=6}} The earliest record which refer ''Hindu'' as religion may be the 7th-century CE Chinese text ''Record of the Western Regions'' by [[Xuanzang]],<ref name="arvindsharmahhhh" /> and 14th-century Persian text ''Futuhu's-salatin'' by 'Abd al-Malik [[Isami (historian)|Isami]].{{refn|group=note|There are several views on the earliest mention of 'Hindu' in the context of religion: |
| [[File:Bratan Bali Indonesia Balinese-family-after-Puja-01.jpg|thumb|A [[Balinese people|Balinese]] [[Bali Hinduism|Hindu]] family after [[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]] at [[Pura Ulun Danu Bratan|Bratan temple]] in [[Bali]], [[Indonesia]]]]
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| The word ''Hindū'' is derived from [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]{{sfn|Flood|2008|p=3}}/[[Sanskrit]]{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=6}} root ''Sindhu''.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=6}}{{sfn|Parpola|2015|loc="Chapter 1"}} The [[Proto-Iranian language|Proto-Iranian]] sound change ''*s'' > ''h'' occurred between 850 and 600 BCE, according to [[Asko Parpola]].<ref>{{harvp|Parpola|2015|loc="Chapter 9"}}: "In Iranian languages, Proto-Iranian *s became h before a following vowel at a relatively late period, perhaps around 850–600 BCE."</ref> | |
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| The use of the English term "Hinduism" to describe a collection of practices and beliefs is a fairly recent construction: it was first used by [[Raja Ram Mohun Roy|Raja Ram Mohan Roy]] in 1816–17.{{sfn|Singh|2008|p=433}} The term "Hinduism" was coined in around 1830 by those Indians who opposed British colonialism, and who wanted to distinguish themselves from other religious groups.{{sfn|Singh|2008|p=433}}{{sfn|Doniger|2014|p=5}}{{sfn|Parpola|2015|p=1}} Before the British began to categorise communities strictly by religion, Indians generally did not define themselves exclusively through their religious beliefs; instead identities were largely segmented on the basis of locality, language, [[Varna (Hinduism)|varṇa]], [[jāti]], occupation, and sect.{{sfn|Doniger|2014|p=3}}{{refn|group=note|In [[D. N. Jha]]’s essay ''Looking for a Hindu identity'', he writes: "No Indians described themselves as Hindus before the fourteenth century" and "Hinduism was a creation of the colonial period and cannot lay claim to any great antiquity."<ref name="amp.scroll.in">{{Cite web|title=A short note on the short history of Hinduism|url=https://amp.scroll.in/article/801580/a-short-note-on-the-short-history-of-hinduism|url-status=live}}</ref> He further wrote "The British borrowed the word ‘Hindu’ from India, gave it a new meaning and significance, [and] reimported it into India as a reified phenomenon called Hinduism."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Short note on the short history of Hinduism|url=https://amp.scroll.in/article/801580/a-short-note-on-the-short-history-of-hinduism|url-status=live}}</ref>}} In the 18th century, the European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of [[Indian religions]] collectively as Hindus.<ref name="amp.scroll.in">{{Cite web|title=A short note on the short history of Hinduism|url=https://amp.scroll.in/article/801580/a-short-note-on-the-short-history-of-hinduism|url-status=live}}</ref>
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| The word "Hindu" is much older, and it is believed that it was used as the name for the [[Indus River]] in the northwestern part of the [[Indian subcontinent]].{{sfn|Singh|2008|p=433}}{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=6}}{{refn|group=note|The Indo-Aryan word ''Sindhu'' means "river", "ocean".{{sfn|Flood|2008|p=3}} It is frequently being used in the [[Rigveda]]. The Sindhu-area is part of [[Āryāvarta]], "the land of the Aryans".}} According to [[Gavin Flood]], "The actual term ''Hindu'' first occurs as a [[Persian language|Persian]] geographical term for the people who lived beyond the river Indus (Sanskrit: ''Sindhu'')",{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=6}} more specifically in the 6th-century BCE inscription of [[Darius I]] (550–486 BCE).{{sfn|Sharma|2002}} The term ''Hindu'' in these ancient records is a geographical term and did not refer to a religion.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=6}} Among the earliest known records of 'Hindu' with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text ''Record of the Western Regions'' by [[Xuanzang]],{{sfn|Sharma|2002}} and 14th-century Persian text ''Futuhu's-salatin'' by 'Abd al-Malik [[Isami (historian)|Isami]].{{refn|group=note|name="Hindu_term"}}
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| Thapar states that the word ''Hindu'' is found as ''heptahindu'' in [[Avesta]] – equivalent to Rigvedic ''sapta sindhu'', while ''hndstn'' (pronounced ''Hindustan'') is found in a [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] inscription from the 3rd century CE, both of which refer to parts of northwestern South Asia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thapar |first=Romila |title=Early India: From the Origins to A.D. 1300 |url=https://archive.org/details/earlyindiafromor00thap |publisher=University of California Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-520-24225-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/earlyindiafromor00thap/page/38 38]}}</ref> The Arabic term ''al-Hind'' referred to the people who live across the River Indus.{{sfn|Thapar|1993|p=77}} This Arabic term was itself taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term ''Hindū'', which refers to all Indians. By the 13th century, ''[[Hindustan]]'' emerged as a popular alternative [[Names of India|name of India]], meaning the "land of Hindus".{{sfn|Thompson Platts|1884}}{{refn|group=note|In ancient literature the name ''Bharata'' or ''Bharata Vrasa'' was being used.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Garg |first=Gaṅgā Rām |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9pmo51lRnYC |title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World, Volume 1 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |year=1992 |isbn=978-81-7022-374-0 |page=3}}</ref>}}
| | # Gavin Flood (1996) states: "In Arabic texts, Al-Hind is a term used for the people of modern-day India and 'Hindu', or 'Hindoo', was used towards the end of the eighteenth century by the British to refer to the people of 'Hindustan', the people of northwest India. Eventually 'Hindu' became virtually equivalent to an 'Indian' who was not a Muslim, Sikh, Jain or Christian, thereby encompassing a range of religious beliefs and practices. The '-ism' was added to Hindu in around 1830 to denote the culture and religion of the high-caste Brahmans in contrast to other religions, and the term was soon appropriated by Indians themselves in the context of building a national identity opposed to colonialism, though the term 'Hindu' was used in Sanskrit and Bengali hagiographic texts in contrast to 'Yavana' or Muslim as early as the sixteenth century".({{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=6}}) |
| | # [[Arvind Sharma]] (2002) and other scholars state that the 7th-century Chinese scholar [[Xuanzang]], whose 17 year travel to India and interactions with its people and religions were recorded and preserved in Chinese language, uses the transliterated term ''In-tu'' whose "connotation overflows in the religious".<ref name=arvindsharmahhhh/> Xuanzang describes [[Hindu temple|Hindu Deva-temple]]s of the early 7th century CE, worship of [[Surya|Sun]] deity and [[Shiva]], his debates with scholars of Samkhya and Vaisheshika schools of Hindu philosophies, monks and monasteries of Hindus, Jains and Buddhists (both Mahayana and Theravada), and the study of the Vedas along with Buddhist texts at [[Nalanda]].<ref>{{cite book| last1 = Gosch| first1 = Stephen Spencer| last2 = Stearns| first2 = Peter N.| title = Premodern Travel in World History| year = 2008| publisher = Psychology Press| isbn = 978-0-415-22941-8| pages = 88–99 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Sharma| first = Arvind| title = Hinduism as a Missionary Religion| url = https://archive.org/details/hinduismasmissio0000shar| year = 2011| publisher = SUNY Press| isbn = 978-1-4384-3211-3| pages = [https://archive.org/details/hinduismasmissio0000shar/page/5 5]–12 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| author = Bonnie G. Smith| author2 = Marc Van De Mieroop, Richard von Glahn, Kris Lane| title = Crossroads and Cultures, Combined Volume: A History of the World's Peoples| url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_2740301735291| year = 2012| publisher = Macmillan| isbn = 978-0-312-41017-9| pages = [https://archive.org/details/isbn_2740301735291/page/321 321]-324 }}</ref> |
| | # Arvind Sharma (2002) also mentions the use of word ''Hindu'' in Islamic texts such those relating to 8th-century Arab invasion of Sindh by Muhammad ibn Qasim, Al Biruni's 11th-century text ''Tarikh Al-Hind'', and those of the Delhi Sultanate period, where the term ''Hindu'' retains the ambiguities of including all non-Islamic people such as Buddhists and of being "a region or a religion".<ref name="arvindsharmahhhh2">Arvind Sharma (2002), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3270470 On Hindu, Hindustān, Hinduism and Hindutva] Numen, Vol. 49, Fasc. 1, pages 5-9</ref> |
| | # [[David Lorenzen]] (2006) states, citing Richard Eaton: "one of the earliest occurrences of the word 'Hindu' in Islamic literature appears in 'Abd al-Malik Isami's Persian work, ''Futuhu's-salatin'', composed in the Deccan in 1350. In this text, 'Isami uses the word 'hindi' to mean Indian in the ethno-geographical sense and the word 'hindu' to mean 'Hindu' in the sense of a follower of the Hindu religion".<ref>{{cite book| last = Lorenzen| first = David N.| title = Who Invented Hinduism: Essays on Religion in History| year = 2006| publisher = Yoda Press| isbn = 978-81-902272-6-1| page = 33 }}</ref> |
| | # David Lorenzen (2006) also mentions other non-Persian texts such as ''Prithvíráj Ráso'' by ~12th century Canda Baradai, and epigraphical inscription evidence from Andhra Pradesh kingdoms who battled military expansion of Muslim dynasties in the 14th century, where the word 'Hindu' partly implies a religious identity in contrast to 'Turks' or Islamic religious identity.<ref>{{cite book| last = Lorenzen| first = David N.| title = Who Invented Hinduism: Essays on Religion in History| year = 2006| publisher = Yoda Press| isbn = 978-81-902272-6-1| pages = 32–33 }}</ref> One of the earliest uses of word 'Hindu' in religious context, in a European language (Spanish), was the publication in 1649 by Sebastiao Manrique.<ref>{{cite book| last = Lorenzen| first = David N.| title = Who Invented Hinduism: Essays on Religion in History| year = 2006| publisher = Yoda Press| isbn = 978-81-902272-6-1| page = 15 }}</ref>}} This is because the name if the religion is called Hinduism, not Hindu. |
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| The term ''Hindu'' was later used occasionally in some Sanskrit texts such as the later ''[[Rajatarangini]]s'' of Kashmir (Hinduka, c. 1450) and some 16th- to 18th-century [[Bengali language|Bengali]] [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism|Gaudiya Vaishnava]] texts including ''[[Chaitanya Charitamrita]]'' and ''[[Chaitanya Bhagavata]]''. These texts used it to distinguish Hindus from Muslims who are called [[Yona#Later meanings|Yavanas]] (foreigners) or [[Mleccha]]s (barbarians), with the 16th-century ''Chaitanya Charitamrita'' text and the 17th-century ''Bhakta Mala'' text using the phrase "''Hindu dharma''".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=O'Conell |first=Joseph T. |year=1973 |title=The Word 'Hindu' in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Texts |volume=93 |pages=340–344 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |issue=3 |doi=10.2307/599467 |jstor=599467}}</ref> It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as ''Hindus''.{{Refn|In the contemporary era, the term Hindus are individuals who identify with one or more aspects of Hinduism, whether they are practicing or non-practicing or ''[[Laissez-faire]]''.<ref>{{cite book|first=Bryan|last=Turner|year=2010|title=The New Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Religion|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4051-8852-4|pages= 424–425}}</ref> The term does not include those who identify with other Indian religions such as Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism or various animist tribal religions found in India such as ''Sarnaism''.<ref>{{cite book|first=James|last=Minahan|year=2012|title=Ethnic Groups of South Asia and the Pacific: An Encyclopedia|isbn=978-1-59884-659-1|pages=97–99}}</ref> The term Hindu, in contemporary parlance, includes people who accept themselves as culturally or ethnically Hindu rather than with a fixed set of religious beliefs within Hinduism. One need not be religious in the minimal sense, states [[Julius J. Lipner|Julius Lipner]], to be accepted as Hindu by Hindus, or to describe oneself as Hindu.{{sfn|Lipner|2009|p=8}}|group=note}} | | The Arabic term ''al-Hind'' referred to the people who live across the River Indus.{{sfn|Thapar|1993|p=77}} It means "Land of Hindus" which is what it stood for until Muslims started to come into India. |
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| The term ''Hinduism'', then spelled ''Hindooism'', was introduced into the English language in the 18th century to denote the religious, philosophical, and cultural traditions native to India.<ref name=Sweetman2003>{{Cite book |last=Sweetman |first=Will |title=Mapping Hinduism: 'Hinduism' and the Study of Indian Religions, 1600–1776 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |year=2003 |isbn=978-3-931479-49-7 |pages=163, 154–168}}</ref> | | The term ''Hindu'' was later used in some Sanskrit texts such as the later ''[[Rajatarangini]]s'' of Kashmir (Hinduka, c. 1450) and some 16th- to 18th-century [[Bengali language|Bengali]] [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism|Gaudiya Vaishnava]] texts including ''[[Chaitanya Charitamrita]]'' and ''[[Chaitanya Bhagavata]]''. These texts used to distinguish Hindus from Muslims who are called [[Yona#Later meanings|Yavanas]] (foreigners) or [[Mleccha]]s (barbarians), with the 16th-century ''Chaitanya Charitamrita'' text and the 17th century ''Bhakta Mala'' text using the phrase "''Hindu dharma''".<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Word 'Hindu' in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Texts| author = O'Conell, Joseph T.| journal= Journal of the American Oriental Society| volume= 93| number =3 | year =1973| pages=340–344| doi=10.2307/599467| jstor = 599467}}</ref> In the end of the 18th century the European merchants and colonists began to call followers of Indian religions collectively as ''Hindus''. The term ''Hinduism'', then spelled ''Hindooism'', was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, and cultural traditions native to India.<ref>{{cite book| last = Sweetman| first = Will| title = Mapping Hinduism: 'Hinduism' and the Study of Indian Religions, 1600-1776| year = 2003| publisher = Otto Harrassowitz Verlag| isbn = 978-3-931479-49-7| page = 163 }}</ref> |
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| == Definitions == | | == Definitions == |
| Hinduism includes a diversity of ideas on [[Spirituality#Hinduism|spirituality]] and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophet(s) nor any binding holy book; Hindus can choose to be [[Polytheism|polytheistic]], [[Pantheism|pantheistic]], [[Panentheism|panentheistic]], [[Pandeism|pandeistic]], [[Henotheism|henotheistic]], [[Monotheism|monotheistic]], [[Monism|monistic]], [[Agnosticism|agnostic]], [[Atheism|atheistic]] or [[Humanism|humanist]].<ref name=Lipner2009p8>{{harvnb|Lipner|2009|p=8}} Quote: "[...] one need not be religious in the minimal sense described to be accepted as a Hindu by Hindus, or describe oneself perfectly validly as Hindu. One may be polytheistic or monotheistic, monistic or pantheistic,henotheistic, panentheistic ,pandeistic, even an agnostic, humanist or atheist, and still be considered a Hindu."</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict |publisher=Academic Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-12-369503-1 |editor-last=Kurtz |editor-first=Lester}}</ref><ref>MK Gandhi, ''[http://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/essence_of_hinduism.pdf The Essence of Hinduism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724045756/http://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/essence_of_hinduism.pdf |date=24 July 2015 }}'', Editor: VB Kher, Navajivan Publishing, see page 3; According to Gandhi, "a man may not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu."</ref> According to Doniger, "ideas about all the major issues of faith and lifestyle – vegetarianism, nonviolence, belief in rebirth, even [[Caste system in India|caste]] – are subjects of debate, not [[dogma]]."{{sfn|Doniger|2014|p=3}}
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| Because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=6}} The religion "defies our desire to define and categorize it".{{sfn|Knott|1998|p=117}} Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and "a way of life".{{sfn|Sharma|2003|pp=12–13}}{{refn|group=note|name="definition"}} From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion. In India, the term ''dharma'' is preferred, which is broader than the Western term ''religion''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Radhakrishnan|Moore|1967|p=3}}; {{Harvnb|Witzel|2003|p=68}}</ref> | | Hinduism is diverse on ideas on [[Spirituality#Hinduism|spirituality]] and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophet(s) nor any binding holy book; Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist.<ref name="Lipner 2009 8">{{cite book| last = Lipner| first = Julius| title = Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices| year = 2009| publisher = Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices| isbn = 978-0-415-45677-7| page = 8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Kurtz| first = Lester R.| title = Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict| year = 2008| isbn = 978-0-12-369503-1 }}</ref><ref>MK Gandhi, [http://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/essence_of_hinduism.pdf The Essence of Hinduism], Editor: VB Kher, Navajivan Publishing, see page 3; According to Gandhi, "a man may not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu."</ref> Because of the wideness and openness of Hinduism, arriving at a definition is difficult.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=6}} <ref>{{cite book| last = Knott| first = Kim| title = Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction| year = 1998| publisher = Oxford University press| location = Oxford| isbn = 978-0-19-285387-5| page = 117 }}</ref> Hinduism has been defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and "a way of life."{{sfn|Sharma|2003|p=12-13}}{{refn|group=note|name="definition"|Hinduism is variously defined as a "religion", "set of religious beliefs and practices", "religious tradition", "a way of life" ({{harvnb|Sharma|2003|pp=12–13}}) etc. For a discussion on the topic, see: "Establishing the boundaries" in {{harvnb|Flood|2008|pp=1–17}}}} From a Western point of view, Hinduism like other faiths is referred to as a religion. In India the term ''dharma'' is preferred, which is broader than the western term ''religion''. |
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| The study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of "Hinduism", has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion.{{sfn|Sweetman|2004}}{{sfn|King|1999}} Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism,{{sfn|Sweetman|2004}}{{Refn|group=note|Sweetman mentions: | | The study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of "Hinduism", has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion.<ref>{{harvnb|Sweetman|2004}}; {{harvnb|King|1999}}</ref> Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism,{{sfn|Sweetman|2004}}{{Refn|group=note|Sweetman mentions: |
| * {{harvnb|Halbfass|1988}}, ''India and Europe'' | | * Wilhelm Halbfass (1988), ''India and Europe'' |
| * {{harvnb|Sontheimer|1989}}, ''Hinduism Reconsidered'' | | * IXth European Conference on Modern Asian Studies in Heidelberg (1989), ''Hinduism Reconsidered'' |
| * [[Ronald Inden]], ''Imagining India'' | | * [[Ronald Inden]], ''Imagining India'' |
| * [[Carol Breckenridge]] and [[Peter van der Veer]], ''Orientalism and the Postcolonial Predicament'' | | * [[Carol Breckenridge]] and [[Peter van der Veer]], ''Orientalism and the Postcolonial Predicament'' |
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| * [[S.N. Balagangadhara]], ''The Heathen in his Blindness...'' | | * [[S.N. Balagangadhara]], ''The Heathen in his Blindness...'' |
| * [[Thomas Trautmann]], ''Aryans and British India'' | | * [[Thomas Trautmann]], ''Aryans and British India'' |
| * {{harvnb|King|1999}}, ''Orientalism and religion''}} and have also been taken over by critics of the Western view on India.{{sfn|Nussbaum|2009}}{{refn|group=note|See [[Rajiv Malhotra]] and [[Being Different]] for a critic who gained widespread attention outside the academia, [[Invading the Sacred]], and [[Hindu studies]].}} | | * Richard King (1989), ''Orientalism and religion''}} and have also been taken over by critics of the Western view on India.{{sfn|Nussbaum|2009}}{{refn|group=note|See [[Rajiv Malhotra]] and [[Being Different]] for a critic who gained widespread attention outside the academia, [[Invading the Sacred]], and [[Hindu studies]].}} |
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| === Typology === | | == Beliefs == |
| [[File:Aum Om navy blue circle coral.svg|thumb|[[Om]], a stylized letter of [[Devanagari]] script, used as a religious symbol in Hinduism]]
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| {{Main|Hindu denominations}}
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| Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents. Of the historical division into six [[darsanas]] (philosophies), two schools, [[Vedanta]] and [[Yoga (philosophy)|Yoga]], are currently the most prominent.<ref name="Matthew Clarke 2011 28" /> Classified by primary deity or deities, four major Hinduism modern currents are [[Shaivism]] (Shiva), [[Vaishnavism]] (Vishnu), [[Shaktism]] (Devi) and [[Smarta Tradition|Smartism]] (five deities treated as equals).{{sfn|Bhandarkar|1913|p=}}{{sfn|Tattwananda|n.d.|p=}}{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=113, 134, 155–161, 167–168}}{{sfn|Lipner|2009|pp=377, 398}} Hinduism also accepts numerous divine beings, with many Hindus considering the deities to be aspects or manifestations of a single impersonal absolute or ultimate reality or God, while some Hindus maintain that a specific deity represents the supreme and various deities are lower manifestations of this supreme.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=14}} Other notable characteristics include a belief in the existence of [[Ātman (Hinduism)|ātman]] (Self), [[reincarnation]] of one's ātman, and karma as well as a belief in dharma (duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and right way of living).
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| McDaniel (2007) classifies Hinduism into six major kinds and numerous minor kinds, in order to understand the expression of emotions among the Hindus.<ref name="junemcdaniel6">June McDaniel "Hinduism", in {{Cite book |last=Corrigan |first=John |title=The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Emotion |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-19-517021-4 |pages=52–53}}</ref> The major kinds, according to McDaniel are [[Folk Hinduism]], based on local traditions and cults of local [[deities]] and is the oldest, non-literate system; [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic Hinduism]] based on the earliest layers of the Vedas traceable to 2nd millennium BCE; Vedantic Hinduism based on the philosophy of the [[Upanishad]]s, including [[Advaita Vedanta]], emphasizing knowledge and wisdom; Yogic Hinduism, following the text of [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali]] emphasizing introspective awareness; Dharmic Hinduism or "daily morality", which McDaniel states is stereotyped in some books as the "only form of Hindu religion with a belief in karma, cows and caste"; and [[bhakti]] or devotional Hinduism, where intense emotions are elaborately incorporated in the pursuit of the spiritual.<ref name="junemcdaniel6" />
| | [[File:Halebid3.JPG|thumb|right|200px| Temple wall panel relief sculpture at the [[Hoysaleswara temple]] in [[Halebidu]], representing the [[Trimurti]]: [[Brahma]], [[Shiva]] and [[Vishnu]].]] |
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| Michaels distinguishes three Hindu religions and four forms of Hindu religiosity.{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=21}} The three Hindu religions are "Brahmanic-Sanskritic Hinduism", "folk religions and tribal religions", and "founded religions".{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=22}} The four forms of Hindu religiosity are the classical "karma-marga",{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=23}} [[Jnana yoga|jnana-marga]],{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=24}} [[bhakti yoga|bhakti-marga]],{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=24}} and "heroism", which is rooted in [[Sannyasa#Warrior ascetics|militaristic traditions]]. These militaristic traditions include Ramaism (the worship of a hero of epic literature, [[Rama]], believing him to be an incarnation of Vishnu)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Definition of RAMAISM|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Ramaism|access-date=28 October 2020|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|archive-date=29 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174144/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Ramaism|url-status=live}}</ref> and parts of [[Hindu nationalism|political Hinduism]].{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=23}} "Heroism" is also called [[Vīrya (Hinduism)|virya-marga]].{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=24}} According to Michaels, one out of nine Hindu belongs by birth to one or both of the Brahmanic-Sanskritic Hinduism and Folk religion typology, whether practicing or non-practicing. He classifies most Hindus as belonging by choice to one of the "founded religions" such as Vaishnavism and Shaivism that are moksha-focussed and often de-emphasize Brahman priestly authority yet incorporate ritual grammar of Brahmanic-Sanskritic Hinduism.{{sfn|Michaels|2004|pp=21–22}} He includes among "founded religions" [[Buddhism]], Jainism, Sikhism that are now distinct religions, [[Syncretism|syncretic]] movements such as [[Brahmo Samaj]] and the [[Theosophical Society]], as well as various "[[Guru]]-isms" and new religious movements such as [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]] and [[ISKCON]].{{sfn|Michaels|2004|pp=22–23}}
| | Hindu beliefs include (but are not restricted to) Dharma (ethics/duties), [[Samsara|{{IAST|Samsāra}}]] (the continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth), Karma (Every action has a reaction), Moksha (liberation from samsara or liberation in this life), and the various Yogas (paths or practices).{{sfn|Brodd|2003}} |
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| Inden states that the attempt to classify Hinduism by typology started in the imperial times, when proselytizing missionaries and colonial officials sought to understand and portray Hinduism from their interests.<ref name=ronaldinden127 /> Hinduism was construed as emanating not from a reason of spirit but fantasy and creative imagination, not conceptual but symbolical, not ethical but emotive, not rational or spiritual but of cognitive mysticism. This stereotype followed and fit, states Inden, with the imperial imperatives of the era, providing the moral justification for the colonial project.<ref name=ronaldinden127 /> From tribal Animism to Buddhism, everything was subsumed as part of Hinduism. The early reports set the tradition and scholarly premises for the typology of Hinduism, as well as the major assumptions and flawed presuppositions that have been at the foundation of [[Indology]]. Hinduism, according to Inden, has been neither what imperial religionists stereotyped it to be, nor is it appropriate to equate Hinduism to be merely the monist pantheism and philosophical idealism of Advaita Vedanta.<ref name="ronaldinden127">Ronald Inden (2001), ''Imagining India'', Indiana University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-253-21358-7}}, pp. 117–122, 127–130</ref>
| | === Purusharthas (objectives of human life) === |
| | {{Main|Purusharthas}} |
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| === Hindu views === | | {{see also|Initiation_in_Hinduism|l1=Initiation|Dharma|l2=Dharma|Artha|l3=Artha|Kama|l4=Kāma|Moksha#Hinduism|l5=Mokṣa}} |
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| ==== {{IAST|Sanātana Dharma}} ====
| | Hindism have accepted four proper goals or aims of human life: [[Dharma]], [[Artha]], [[Kama]] and [[Moksha]]. These are known as the [[Puruṣārtha]]s:<ref name="Bilimoria 2007 p. 103"/><ref name="Gavin Flood 1997 pages 11"/> |
| {{See also|Sanātanī}}
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| To its adherents, Hinduism is a traditional way of life.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Insoll |first=Timothy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QNxnYjYRuOMC&pg=PA35 |title=Archaeology and world religion |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-415-22155-9 |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174124/https://books.google.com/books?id=QNxnYjYRuOMC&pg=PA35 |url-status=live }}</ref> Many practitioners refer to the "orthodox" form of Hinduism as ''[[Sanātana Dharma|{{IAST|Sanātana Dharma}}]]'', "the eternal law" or the "eternal way".<ref>{{harvnb|Bowker|2000}}; {{harvnb|Harvey|2001|p=xiii}}</ref>{{sfn|Vivekjivandas|2010|p=1}} Hindus regard Hinduism to be thousands of years old. The [[Puranic chronology]], the timeline of events in ancient Indian history as narrated in the [[Mahabaratha]], the [[Ramayana]], and the [[Puranas]], envisions a chronology of events related to Hinduism starting well before 3000 BCE. The Sanskrit word ''dharma'' has a much broader meaning than ''[[religion]]'' and is not its equivalent. All aspects of a Hindu life, namely acquiring wealth (artha), fulfillment of desires (kama), and attaining liberation (moksha), are part of dharma, which encapsulates the "right way of living" and eternal harmonious principles in their fulfillment.{{sfn|Knott|1998|p=111}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hacker |first=Paul |title=Dharma in Hinduism |journal=Journal of Indian Philosophy |year=2006 |volume=34 |issue=5 |pages=479–496 |doi=10.1007/s10781-006-9002-4|s2cid=170922678 }}</ref>
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| According to the editors of the Encyclopædia Britannica, ''{{IAST|Sanātana Dharma}}'' historically referred to the "eternal" duties religiously ordained in Hinduism, duties such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings (''[[ahimsa|ahiṃsā]]''), purity, goodwill, mercy, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, generosity, and asceticism. These duties applied regardless of a Hindu's class, caste, or sect, and they contrasted with [[Bhagavad Gita#Svadharma and svabhava|svadharma]], one's "own duty", in accordance with one's class or caste (varṇa) and stage in life ([[puruṣārtha]]).<ref name="EB-sanatana dharma" group="web">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Sanatana dharma {{!}} Hinduism |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/665848/sanatana-dharma |access-date=17 November 2016}}</ref> In recent years, the term has been used by Hindu leaders, reformers, and nationalists to refer to Hinduism. Sanatana dharma has become a synonym for the "eternal" truth and teachings of Hinduism, that transcend history and are "unchanging, indivisible and ultimately nonsectarian".<ref name="EB-sanatana dharma" group="web" />
| | ==== Dharma (righteousness, ethics) ==== |
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| According to other scholars such as Kim Knott and Brian Hatcher, Sanātana Dharma refers to "timeless, eternal set of truths" and this is how Hindus view the origins of their religion. It is viewed as those eternal truths and tradition with origins beyond human history, truths divinely revealed ([[Shruti]]) in the [[Vedas]] – the most ancient of the world's scriptures.{{sfn|Hatcher|2015|pp=4–5, 69–71, 150–152}}{{sfn|Knott|1998|p=3}} To many Hindus, the Western term "religion" to the extent it means "dogma and an institution traceable to a single founder" is inappropriate for their tradition, states Hatcher. Hinduism, to them, is a tradition that can be traced at least to the ancient Vedic era.{{sfn|Hatcher|2015|pp=4–5, 69–71, 150–152}}{{sfn|Lipner|2009|pp=15–17}}{{refn|group=note|The term ''sanatana dharma'' and its Vedic roots had another context in the colonial era, particularly the early 19th-century through movements such as the [[Brahmo Samaj]] and the [[Arya Samaj]]. These movements, particularly active in British and French colonies outside India, such as in Africa and the Caribbean, interpreted Hinduism to be a monotheistic religion and attempted to demonstrate that it to be similar to Christianity and Islam. Their views were opposed by other Hindus such as the Sanatan Dharma Sabha of 1895.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XOyYCgAAQBAJ |title=The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions: Volume 1: A – L; Volume 2: M – Z |last2=Case |first2=Frederick I. |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-252-09433-0 |pages=902–903}}</ref>}}
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| ==== ''Vaidika dharma'' ====
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| {{See also|Historical Vedic religion|Vedic period}}
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| Some have referred to Hinduism as the ''Vaidika dharma''.{{sfn|Sharma|Sharma|2004|pp=1–2}} The word 'Vaidika' in Sanskrit means 'derived from or conformable to the Veda' or 'relating to the Veda'.<ref name="MW_Vaidika dharma" group="web">{{Cite web|last=Monier-Williams|first=Monier|author-link=Monier Monier-Williams|year=1988|title=Sanskrit English Dictionary|url=http://sanskritdictionary.com/scans/?col=1&img=mw1022.jpg|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174152/http://sanskritdictionary.com/scans/?col=1&img=mw1022.jpg|archive-date=29 December 2020|access-date=24 July 2018|website=sanskritdictionary.com}}</ref> Traditional scholars employed the terms Vaidika and Avaidika, those who accept the Vedas as a source of authoritative knowledge and those who do not, to differentiate various Indian schools from Jainism, Buddhism and Charvaka. According to Klaus Klostermaier, the term Vaidika dharma is the earliest self-designation of Hinduism.{{sfn|Klostermaier|2014|p=2}}{{sfn|Klostermaier|2007b|p=7}} According to [[Arvind Sharma]], the historical evidence suggests that "the Hindus were referring to their religion by the term ''vaidika dharma'' or a variant thereof" by the 4th-century CE.<ref name="Sharma1985a">{{Cite journal|last=Sharma|first=A|author-link=Arvind Sharma|year=1985|title=Did the Hindus have a name for their own religion?|url=https://josa-publications.sydney.edu.au/chronological-index-1960-2002/|journal=The Journal of the Oriental Society of Australia|volume=17|issue=1|pages=94–98 [95]}}</ref> According to Brian K. Smith, "[i]t is 'debatable at the very least' as to whether the term ''Vaidika Dharma'' cannot, with the proper concessions to historical, cultural, and ideological specificity, be comparable to and translated as 'Hinduism' or 'Hindu religion'."<ref name=SmithBK1998 />
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| According to Alexis Sanderson, the early Sanskrit texts differentiate between Vaidika, Vaishnava, Shaiva, Shakta, Saura, Buddhist and Jaina traditions. However, the late 1st-millennium CE Indic consensus had "indeed come to conceptualize a complex entity corresponding to Hinduism as opposed to Buddhism and Jainism excluding only certain forms of [[Antinomianism|antinomian]] Shakta-Shaiva" from its fold.<ref group=web name=sandersonpart1 /> Some in the [[Mimamsa]] school of Hindu philosophy considered the ''[[Āgama (Hinduism)|Agamas]]'' such as the Pancaratrika to be invalid because it did not conform to the Vedas. Some Kashmiri scholars rejected the esoteric tantric traditions to be a part of Vaidika dharma.<ref group=web name="sandersonpart1">{{Cite web |last=Sanderson |first=Alexis |date=March 2016 |title=Tolerance, Exclusivity, Inclusivity, and Persecution in Indian Religion During the Early Mediaeval Period – Part One |url=http://www.sutrajournal.com/tolerance-exclusivity-inclusivity-and-persecution-by-alexis-sanderson |website=Sutra Journal |access-date=13 March 2018 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174134/http://www.sutrajournal.com/tolerance-exclusivity-inclusivity-and-persecution-by-alexis-sanderson |url-status=live }}</ref><ref group=web>{{Cite web |last=Sanderson |first=Alexis |date=May 2016 |title=Tolerance, Exclusivity, Inclusivity, and Persecution in Indian Religion During the Early Mediaeval Period – Part Two |url=http://www.sutrajournal.com/tolerance-exclusivity-inclusivity-and-persecution-part-two-by-alexis-sanderson |website=Sutra Journal |access-date=13 March 2018 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174151/http://www.sutrajournal.com/tolerance-exclusivity-inclusivity-and-persecution-part-two-by-alexis-sanderson |url-status=live }}</ref> The Atimarga Shaivism ascetic tradition, datable to about 500 CE, challenged the Vaidika frame and insisted that their Agamas and practices were not only valid, they were superior than those of the Vaidikas.<ref group=web name="sandersonpart3">{{Cite web |last=Sanderson |first=Alexis |date=July 2016 |title=Tolerance, Exclusivity, Inclusivity, and Persecution in Indian Religion During the Early Mediaeval Period – Part Three |url=http://www.sutrajournal.com/tolerance-exclusivity-inclusivity-and-persecution-part-three-by-alexis-sanderson |website=Sutra Journal |access-date=13 March 2018 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174219/http://www.sutrajournal.com/tolerance-exclusivity-inclusivity-and-persecution-part-three-by-alexis-sanderson |url-status=live }}</ref> However, adds Sanderson, this Shaiva ascetic tradition viewed themselves as being genuinely true to the Vedic tradition and "held unanimously that the Śruti and Smṛti of Brahmanism are universally and uniquely valid in their own sphere, [...] and that as such they [Vedas] are man's sole means of valid knowledge [...]".<ref group=web name="sandersonpart3" />
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| The term Vaidika dharma means a code of practice that is "based on the Vedas", but it is unclear what "based on the Vedas" really implies, states Julius Lipner.{{sfn|Lipner|2009|pp=15–17}} The Vaidika dharma or "Vedic way of life", states Lipner, does not mean "Hinduism is necessarily religious" or that Hindus have a universally accepted "conventional or institutional meaning" for that term.{{sfn|Lipner|2009|pp=15–17}} To many, it is as much a cultural term. Many Hindus do not have a copy of the Vedas nor have they ever seen or personally read parts of a Veda, like a Christian, might relate to the Bible or a Muslim might to the Quran. Yet, states Lipner, "this does not mean that their [Hindus] whole life's orientation cannot be traced to the Vedas or that it does not in some way derive from it".{{sfn|Lipner|2009|pp=15–17}}
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| Though many religious Hindus implicitly acknowledge the authority of the Vedas, this acknowledgment is often "no more than a declaration that someone considers himself [or herself] a Hindu,"{{sfn|Lipner|2009|p=16}}{{refn|group=note|Lipner quotes Brockington (1981), ''The sacred tread'', p. 5.}} and "most Indians today pay lip service to the Veda and have no regard for the contents of the text."<ref>{{harvnb|Michaels|2004|p=18}}; see also {{harvnb|Lipner|2009|p=77}}; and {{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Brian K. |title=Sacred Texts and Authority |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |year=2008 |editor-last=Neusner |editor-first=Jacob |page=101 |chapter=Hinduism}}</ref> Some Hindus challenge the authority of the Vedas, thereby implicitly acknowledging its importance to the history of Hinduism, states Lipner.{{sfn|Lipner|2009|pp=15–17}}
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| ==== Hindu modernism ====
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| {{See also|Hindu reform movements}}
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| [[File:Swami Vivekananda-1893-09-signed.jpg|thumb|[[Swami Vivekananda]] was a key figure in introducing [[Vedanta]] and Yoga in Europe and the United States,{{sfn|Feuerstein|2002|p=600}} raising interfaith awareness and making Hinduism a world religion.{{sfn|Clarke|2006|p=209}}]]
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| Beginning in the 19th century, Indian modernists re-asserted Hinduism as a major asset of Indian civilisation,{{sfn|King|1999}} meanwhile "purifying" Hinduism from its Tantric elements{{sfn|Lorenzen|2002|p=33}} and elevating the Vedic elements. Western stereotypes were reversed, emphasizing the universal aspects, and introducing modern approaches of social problems.{{sfn|King|1999}} This approach had a great appeal, not only in India, but also in the west.{{sfn|King|1999}} Major representatives of [[Neo-Vedanta|"Hindu modernism"]]{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=258}} are [[Ram Mohan Roy]], [[Swami Vivekananda]], [[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan]] and [[Mahatma Gandhi]].{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=256–261}}
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| Raja Rammohan Roy is known as the father of the [[Hindu Renaissance]].<ref name="hindu1">{{Cite book |last=Young |first=Serinity |title=Hinduism |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7614-2116-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/hinduism0000youn/page/87 87] |quote=Rammohun Roy Father of Hindu Renaissance. |url=https://archive.org/details/hinduism0000youn |access-date=19 February 2015 |url-access=registration}}</ref> He was a major influence on Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902), who, according to Flood, was "a figure of great importance in the development of a modern Hindu self-understanding and in formulating the West's view of Hinduism".{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=257}} Central to his philosophy is the idea that the divine exists in all beings, that all human beings can achieve union with this "innate divinity",{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=258}} and that seeing this divine as the essence of others will further love and social harmony.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=258}} According to Vivekananda, there is an essential unity to Hinduism, which underlies the diversity of its many forms.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=258}} According to Flood, Vivekananda's vision of Hinduism "is one generally accepted by most English-speaking middle-class Hindus today".{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=259}} Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan sought to reconcile western rationalism with Hinduism, "presenting Hinduism as an essentially rationalistic and humanistic religious experience".{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=249}}
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| This "Global Hinduism"{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=265}} has a worldwide appeal, transcending national boundaries{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=265}} and, according to Flood, "becoming a world religion alongside Christianity, Islam and Buddhism",{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=265}} both for the Hindu diaspora communities and for westerners who are attracted to non-western cultures and religions.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=265}} It emphasizes universal spiritual values such as social justice, peace and "the spiritual transformation of humanity".{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=265}} It has developed partly due to "re-enculturation",{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=267}} or the [[Pizza effect]],{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=267}} in which elements of Hindu culture have been exported to the West, gaining popularity there, and as a consequence also gained greater popularity in India.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=267}} This globalization of Hindu culture brought "to the West teachings which have become an important cultural force in western societies, and which in turn have become an important cultural force in India, their place of origin".{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=267–268}}
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| ==== Legal definitions ====
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| The definition of Hinduism in Indian Law is: "Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence; recognition of the fact that the means or ways to [[Moksha]] are diverse; and realization of the truth that the number of gods to be worshipped is large".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Derrett |first1=J. |last2=Duncan |first2=M. |title=Dharmaśāstra and juridical literature |date=1973 |publisher=Harrassowitz |isbn=978-3-447-01519-6 |location=Wiesbaden |oclc=1130636}}</ref>{{sfn|Doniger|2014|p=20}}
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| === Scholarly views ===
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| The term ''Hinduism'' was coined in Western ethnography in the 18th century,<ref name=Sweetman2003 />{{refn|group=note|''Hinduism'' is derived from Persian ''hindu-'' and the ''[[:wikt:-ism|-ism]]'' suffix. It is first recorded in 1786, in the generic sense of "polytheism of India".<ref group=web>{{etymonline|Hinduism}}</ref>}} and refers to the fusion{{refn|group=note|name="Lockard-fusion"}} or synthesis{{refn|group=note|name="Hiltebeitel-synthesis"|{{harvnb|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}}: "A period of consolidation, sometimes identified as one of 'Hindu synthesis', 'Brahmanic synthesis', or 'orthodox synthesis', takes place between the time of the late Vedic Upanishads (c. 500 BCE) and the period of Gupta imperial ascendency (c. 320–467 CE)."}}{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=193}} of various Indian cultures and traditions,<ref name="various cultures" />{{refn|group=note|name="fusion"}} with diverse roots{{sfn|Narayanan|2009|p=11}}{{refn|group=note|name="roots"}} and no founder.{{sfn|Fowler|1997|pp=1, 7}} This [[Hindu synthesis]] emerged after the Vedic period, between c. 500{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}}–200{{sfn|Larson|2009}} BCE and c. 300 CE,{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}} in the period of the [[Second Urbanisation]] and the early classical period of Hinduism, when the [[Indian epic poetry|Epics]] and the first Puranas were composed.{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}}{{sfn|Larson|2009}} It flourished in the [[Medieval India|medieval period]], with the [[Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent|decline of Buddhism in India]].{{sfn|Larson|1995|pp=109–111}} Hinduism's tolerance to variations in belief and its broad range of traditions make it difficult to define as a religion according to traditional Western conceptions.{{sfn|Turner|1996a|p=275}}
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| Some academics suggest that Hinduism can be seen as a category with "fuzzy edges" rather than as a well-defined and rigid entity. Some forms of religious expression are central to Hinduism and others, while not as central, still remain within the category. Based on this idea [[Gabriella Eichinger Ferro-Luzzi]] has developed a 'Prototype Theory approach' to the definition of Hinduism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ferro-Luzzi |title=Hinduism Reconsidered |publisher=Manohar |year=1991 |editor-last=Sontheimer |editor-first=G.D. |location=Delhi |pages=187–95 |chapter=The Polythetic-Prototype Approach to Hinduism |editor-last2=Kulke |editor-first2=H.}}</ref>
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| == Diversity and unity ==
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| === Diversity ===
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| {{See also|Hindu denominations}}
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| [[File:Ganapati.1..JPG|thumb|[[Ganesha]] is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the [[Hindu deities|Hindu pantheon]].]]
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| Hindu beliefs are vast and diverse, and thus Hinduism is often referred to as a family of religions rather than a single religion.<ref group="web">{{Cite web |title=Hinduism |url=https://www.history.com/topics/religion/hinduism |access-date=23 April 2020 |website=HISTORY |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174138/https://www.history.com/topics/religion/hinduism |url-status=live }}</ref> Within each religion in this family of religions, there are different theologies, practices, and sacred texts.<ref group=web>{{Cite web |title=Basics of Hinduism |publisher=Kauai's Hindu Monastery |url=https://www.himalayanacademy.com/readlearn/basics/fourteen-questions/ |access-date=23 April 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174156/https://www.himalayanacademy.com/readlearn/basics/fourteen-questions/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dasgupta |first1=Surendranath |title=A history of Indian philosophy (part 1) |last2=Banarsidass |first2=Motilall |year=1992 |page=70}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chande |first=M.B. |title=Indian Philosophy in Modern Times |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist. |year=2000 |page=277}}</ref><ref>{{Cite document |last=Culp |first=John |date=4 December 2008 |title=Panentheism |editor=Edward N. Zalta |work=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition) |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/panentheism/ |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174122/https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/panentheism/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref group=web>{{Cite web |date=15 June 2004 |title=Is Hinduism monotheistic? |website=The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies |url=https://ochs.org.uk/news/hinduism-monotheistic |access-date=23 April 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174152/https://ochs.org.uk/news/hinduism-monotheistic |url-status=live }}</ref> Hinduism does not have a "unified system of belief encoded in a declaration of faith or a [[creed]]",{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=6}} but is rather an umbrella term comprising the plurality of religious phenomena of India.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=W. C. |year=1962 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5fImMZMqNIC |title=The Meaning and End of Religion |location=San Francisco |publisher=Harper and Row |isbn=978-0-7914-0361-7 |page=65 |access-date=27 October 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402211115/https://books.google.com/books?id=-5fImMZMqNIC |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Halbfass|1991|pp=1–22}} According to the Supreme Court of India,
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| {{blockquote|Unlike other religions in the World, the Hindu religion does not claim any one Prophet, it does not worship any one God, it does not believe in any one philosophic concept, it does not follow any one act of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not satisfy the traditional features of a religion or creed. It is a way of life and nothing more".{{sfn|Klostermaier|1994|p=1}}}}
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| Part of the problem with a single definition of the term ''Hinduism'' is the fact that Hinduism does not have a founder.{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=1, 7}} It is a synthesis of various traditions,<ref>{{harvnb|Lockard|2007|p=50}}; {{harvnb|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}}</ref> the "Brahmanical orthopraxy, the renouncer traditions and popular or local traditions".{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=16}}
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| [[Theism]] is also difficult to use as a unifying doctrine for Hinduism, because while some Hindu philosophies postulate a theistic [[ontology]] of creation, other [[Atheism in Hinduism|Hindus are or have been atheists]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Quack |first1=Johannes |last2=Binder |first2=Stefan |date=22 February 2018 |title=Atheism and Rationalism in Hinduism |journal=Oxford Bibliographies |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0196}}</ref>
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| === Sense of unity ===
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| Despite the differences, there is also a sense of unity.{{sfn|Halbfass|1991|p=15}} Most Hindu traditions revere a body of religious or [[sastra|sacred literature]], the Vedas,{{sfn|Nicholson|2010}} although there are exceptions.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=35}} These texts are a reminder of the ancient cultural heritage and point of pride for Hindus,<ref name=andreapinkney /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Haines |first=Jeffrey |title=Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics |publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-415-60029-3 |page=80}}</ref> though [[Louis Renou]] stated that "even in the most orthodox domains, the reverence to the Vedas has come to be a simple raising of the hat".<ref name="andreapinkney">{{Cite book |last=Pinkney |first=Andrea |title=Routledge Handbook of Religions in Asia |publisher=Routledge |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-415-63503-5 |editor-last=Turner |editor-first=Bryan |pages=31–32 |editor-last2=Salemink |editor-first2=Oscar}}</ref>{{sfn|Halbfass|1991|p=1}}
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| Halbfass states that, although Shaivism and Vaishnavism may be regarded as "self-contained religious constellations",{{sfn|Halbfass|1991|p=15}} there is a degree of interaction and reference between the "theoreticians and literary representatives"{{sfn|Halbfass|1991|p=15}} of each tradition that indicates the presence of "a wider sense of identity, a sense of coherence in a shared context and of inclusion in a common framework and horizon".{{sfn|Halbfass|1991|p=15}}
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| ==== Classical Hinduism ====
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| [[Brahmin]]s played an essential role in the development of the post-Vedic Hindu synthesis, disseminating Vedic culture to local communities, and integrating local religiosity into the trans-regional Brahmanic culture.{{sfn|Deutsch|Dalvi|2004|pp=99–100}} In the post-[[Gupta empire|Gupta period]] Vedanta developed in southern India, where [[Brahmanism|orthodox Brahmanic culture]] and the Hindu culture were preserved,{{sfn|Deutsch|Dalvi|2004|pp=100–101}} building on ancient Vedic traditions while "accommoda[ting] the multiple demands of Hinduism."{{sfn|Deutsch|Dalvi|2004|p=101}}
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| ==== Medieval developments ====
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| The notion of common denominators for several religions and traditions of India further developed from the 12th century CE.<ref>{{harvnb|Nicholson|2010|p=2}}; {{harvnb|Lorenzen|2006|pp=1–36}}</ref> Lorenzen traces the emergence of a "family resemblance", and what he calls as "beginnings of medieval and modern Hinduism" taking shape, at c. 300–600 CE, with the development of the early Puranas, and continuities with the earlier Vedic religion.{{sfn|Lorenzen|2006|p=36}} Lorenzen states that the establishment of a Hindu self-identity took place "through a process of mutual self-definition with a contrasting Muslim Other".{{sfn|Lorenzen|1999|p=648}} According to Lorenzen, this "presence of the Other"{{sfn|Lorenzen|1999|p=648}} is necessary to recognise the "loose family resemblance" among the various traditions and schools.{{sfn|Lorenzen|1999|pp=648, 655}}
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| According to the Indologist [[Alexis Sanderson]], before Islam arrived in India, the "Sanskrit sources differentiated Vaidika, Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva, Śākta, Saura, Buddhist, and Jaina traditions, but they had no name that denotes the first five of these as a collective entity over and against Buddhism and Jainism". This absence of a formal name, states Sanderson, does not mean that the corresponding concept of Hinduism did not exist. By late 1st-millennium CE, the concept of a belief and tradition distinct from Buddhism and Jainism had emerged.<ref group=web name=sandersonpart1 /> This complex tradition accepted in its identity almost all of what is currently Hinduism, except certain [[antinomian]] tantric movements.<ref group=web name=sandersonpart1 /> Some conservative thinkers of those times questioned whether certain Shaiva, Vaishnava and Shakta texts or practices were consistent with the Vedas, or were invalid in their entirety. Moderates then, and most orthoprax scholars later, agreed that though there are some variations, the foundation of their beliefs, the ritual grammar, the spiritual premises, and the soteriologies were the same. "This sense of greater unity", states Sanderson, "came to be called Hinduism".<ref group=web name=sandersonpart1 />
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| According to Nicholson, already between the 12th and the 16th centuries "certain thinkers began to treat as a single whole the diverse philosophical teachings of the Upanishads, epics, Puranas, and the schools known retrospectively as the 'six systems' (''saddarsana'') of mainstream Hindu philosophy."{{sfn|Nicholson|2010|p=2}} The tendency of "a blurring of philosophical distinctions" has also been noted by Burley.{{sfn|Burley|2007|p=34}} Hacker called this "inclusivism"{{sfn|Nicholson|2010}} and Michaels speaks of "the identificatory habit".{{sfn|Michaels|2004}} Lorenzen locates the origins of a distinct Hindu identity in the interaction between Muslims and Hindus,{{sfn|Lorenzen|2006|pp=24–33}} and a process of "mutual self-definition with a contrasting Muslim other",{{sfn|Lorenzen|2006|p=27}}{{sfn|Sharma|2002}} which started well before 1800.{{sfn|Lorenzen|2006|pp=26–27}} Michaels notes:
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| {{blockquote|As a counteraction to Islamic supremacy and as part of the continuing process of regionalization, two religious innovations developed in the Hindu religions: the formation of sects and a historicization which preceded later nationalism ... [S]aints and sometimes militant sect leaders, such as the Marathi poet Tukaram (1609–1649) and Ramdas (1608–1681), articulated ideas in which they glorified Hinduism and the past. The Brahmins also produced increasingly historical texts, especially eulogies and chronicles of sacred sites (Mahatmyas), or developed a reflexive passion for collecting and compiling extensive collections of quotations on various subjects.{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=44}}}}
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| ==== Colonial period and neo-Vedanta ====
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| {{See also|Orientalism|Neo-Vedanta}}
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| This inclusivism<ref>Hackel in {{harvnb|Nicholson|2010}}.</ref> was further developed in the 19th and 20th centuries by [[Hindu reform movements]] and Neo-Vedanta,{{sfn|King|2001}} and has become characteristic of modern Hinduism.{{sfn|Nicholson|2010}}
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| The notion and reports on "Hinduism" as a "single world religious tradition"{{sfn|King|1999|pp=100–102}} was also popularised by 19th-century proselytizing missionaries and European Indologists, roles sometimes served by the same person, who relied on texts preserved by Brahmins (priests) for their information of Indian religions, and animist observations that the missionary Orientalists presumed was Hinduism.{{sfn|King|1999|pp=100–102}}<ref name=ronaldinden127 />{{sfn|Sweetman|2004|pp=14–15}} These reports influenced perceptions about Hinduism. Scholars such as Pennington state that the colonial polemical reports led to fabricated stereotypes where Hinduism was mere mystic paganism devoted to the service of devils,{{refn|group=note|Pennington{{sfn|Pennington|2005|pp=76–77}} describes the circumstances in which early impressions of Hinduism were reported by colonial era missionaries: "Missionary reports from India also reflected the experience of foreigners in a land whose native inhabitants and British rulers often resented their presence. Their accounts of Hinduism were forged in physically, politically and spiritually hostile surroundings [impoverished, famine-prone Bengal – now West Bengal and Bangladesh]. Plagued with anxieties and fears about their own health, regularly reminded of colleagues who had lost their lives or reason, uncertain of their own social location, and preaching to crowds whose reactions ranged from indifference to amusement to hostility, missionaries found expression for their darker misgivings in their production of what is surely part of their speckled legacy: a fabricated Hinduism crazed by blood-lust and devoted to the service of devils."}} while other scholars state that the colonial constructions influenced the belief that the ''Vedas'', ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'', ''[[Manusmriti]]'' and such texts were the essence of Hindu religiosity, and in the modern association of 'Hindu doctrine' with the schools of Vedanta (in particular Advaita Vedanta) as a paradigmatic example of Hinduism's mystical nature".{{sfn|King|1999|p=169}}{{refn|group=note|name="Sweetman"}} Pennington, while concurring that the study of Hinduism as a world religion began in the colonial era, disagrees that Hinduism is a colonial European era invention.{{sfn|Pennington|2005|loc=pp. 4–5 and Chapter 6}} He states that the shared theology, common ritual grammar and way of life of those who identify themselves as Hindus is traceable to ancient times.{{sfn|Pennington|2005|loc=pp. 4–5 and Chapter 6}}{{refn|group=note|Many scholars have presented pre-colonial common denominators and asserted the importance of ancient Hindu textual sources in medieval and pre-colonial times:
| | Dharma is considered one of the most important goal of a human being in Hinduism.<ref>{{cite book| last = Lipner| first = Julius| title = The Fruits of Our Desiring: An Enquiry Into the Ethics of the Bhagavadgita for Our Times : Essays from the Inaugural Conference of the Dharam Hinduja Institute of Indic Research, Cambridge University| year = 1997| publisher = Bayeux Arts Incorporated| isbn = 978-1-896209-30-2| pages = 16–21 }}</ref> Dharma is considered Important because it is dharma which makes running of Universe and life possible,<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/dharma.aspx#1 The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, ''Dharma''], The [[Oxford Dictionary of World Religions]]: "In Hinduism, dharma is a fundamental concept, referring to the order and custom which make life and a universe possible, and thus to the behaviours appropriate to the maintenance of that order."</ref> and includes duties, virtues and "right way of living".<ref name="tce">{{cite book| last = University| first = Columbia| title = The Columbia Encyclopedia| url = https://archive.org/details/columbiaencyclop00laga| year = 2000| publisher = Visible Ink Press| isbn = 978-0-7876-5015-5 }}</ref> Hindu Dharma includes the religious duties, moral rights and duties of each individual, as well as behaviors that enable social order, right conduct, and those that are virtuous.<ref name=tce/> The [[Brihadaranyaka|Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]] states it as: |
| * Klaus Witz<ref>{{Cite book |last=Witz |first=Klaus G |title=The Supreme Wisdom of the Upaniṣads: An Introduction, Motilal Banarsidass |year=1998 |isbn=978-81-208-1573-5 |pages=10–11}}</ref> states that Hindu [[Bhakti movement]] ideas in the medieval era grew on the foundation of Upanishadic knowledge and Vedanta philosophies.
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| * John Henderson<ref>{{Cite book |last=Henderson |first=John |title=Scripture, Canon and Commentary |url=https://archive.org/details/scripturecanonco0000hend |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-691-60172-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/scripturecanonco0000hend/page/120 120]}}</ref> states that "Hindus, both in medieval and in modern times, have been particularly drawn to those canonical texts and philosophical schools such as the Bhagavad Gita and Vedanta, which seem to synthesize or reconcile most successfully diverse philosophical teachings and sectarian points of view. Thus, this widely recognized attribute of Indian culture may be traced to the exegetical orientation of medieval Hindu commentarial traditions, especially Vedanta.
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| * Patrick Olivelle<ref name=Olivelle2014p3q>{{Cite book |last=Olivelle |first=Patrick |author-link=Patrick Olivelle |title=The Early Upanisads |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-535242-9 |page=3 |quote=Even though theoretically the whole of Vedic corpus is accepted as revealed truth [shruti], in reality it is the [[Upanishad]]s that have continued to influence the life and thought of the various religious traditions that we have come to call Hindu. Upanishads are the scriptures par excellence of Hinduism.}}</ref> and others<ref>{{harvnb|Doniger|1990|pp=2–3}}: "The Upanishads supply the basis of later Hindu philosophy; they alone of the Vedic corpus are widely known and quoted by most well-educated Hindus, and their central ideas have also become a part of the spiritual arsenal of rank-and-file Hindus."</ref><ref name=McDowell>{{Cite book |last1=McDowell |first1=Michael |title=World Religions |last2=Brown |first2=Nathan |publisher=Penguin |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-59257-846-7 |pages=208–210}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dissanayake |first=Wiman |title=Self as Body in Asian Theory and Practice |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-7914-1080-6 |editor-last=Kasulis |editor-first=Thomas P. |page=39 |display-editors=etal}}</ref> state that the central ideas of the Upanishads in the Vedic corpus are at the spiritual core of Hindus.}}
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| ==== Modern India and the world ====
| | {{quote|Nothing is higher than Dharma. The weak overcomes the stronger by Dharma, as over a king. Truly that Dharma is the Truth (''Satya''); Therefore, when a man speaks the Truth, they say, "He speaks the Dharma"; and if he speaks Dharma, they say, "He speaks the Truth!" For both are one.|[[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]|1.4.xiv <ref>{{cite book| last = Johnston| first = Charles| title = The Mukhya Upanishads: Books of Hidden Wisdom| year = 2014| publisher = Createspace Independent Publishing Platform| isbn = 978-1-4959-4653-0| pages = 478–505 }}</ref><ref>Paul Horsch (Translated by Jarrod Whitaker), ''From Creation Myth to World Law: The early history of Dharma'', Journal of Indian Philosophy, Vol 32, pages 423–448, (2004)</ref>}} |
| [[File:Hare Krishna in Helsinki H1118 C.JPG|thumb|The [[International Society for Krishna Consciousness|Hare Krishna]] group at the [[Esplanadi Park]] in [[Helsinki|Helsinki, Finland]]]]
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| The [[Hindutva]] movement has extensively argued for the unity of Hinduism, dismissing the differences and regarding India as a Hindu-country since ancient times.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hansen|first=Thomas Blom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SAqn3OIGE54C|title=The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India|date=23 March 1999|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=978-1-4008-2305-5|pages=[https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Saffron_Wave/SAqn3OIGE54C?hl=en&gbpv=77&dq=hindutva+in+modern+india&printsec=frontcover 77]|language=en}}</ref> And there are assumptions of political dominance of [[Hindu nationalism]] in [[India]], also known as ''<nowiki/>'Neo-Hindutva'<nowiki/>''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Anderson|first1=Edward|last2=Longkumer|first2=Arkotong|date=2 October 2018|title='Neo-Hindutva': evolving forms, spaces, and expressions of Hindu nationalism|journal=Contemporary South Asia|volume=26|issue=4|pages=371–377|doi=10.1080/09584935.2018.1548576|issn=0958-4935|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chacko|first=Priya|date=2019c|title=Marketizing Hindutva: The state, society, and markets in Hindu nationalism|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/abs/marketizing-hindutva-the-state-society-and-markets-in-hindu-nationalism/92243742C585CD73910BA63030F6A655|journal=Modern Asian Studies|language=en|volume=53|issue=2|pages=377–410|doi=10.1017/S0026749X17000051|hdl=2440/117274|s2cid=149588748|issn=0026-749X}}</ref> There have also been increase in pre-dominance of [[Hindutva]] in [[Nepal]], similar to that of [[India]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=As Nepal Strives to Become More Inclusive, Are Muslims Being Left Behind?|url=https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/insights/24085/will-an-incident-of-anti-muslim-violence-upend-nepals-bid-for-inclusivity|access-date=2 March 2021|website=www.worldpoliticsreview.com|language=en}}</ref> The scope of Hinduism is also increasing in the other parts of the world, due to the cultural influences such as [[Yoga]] and [[Hare Krishna movement]] by many missionaries organisations, specially by [[Iskcon]] and this is also due to the migration of [[Indian Hindus]] to the other nations of the world.{{sfn|Hatcher|2015|p=239}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Berg|first1=Travis Vande|last2=Kniss|first2=Fred|date=2008|title=ISKCON and Immigrants: The Rise, Decline, and Rise Again of a New Religious Movement|journal=[[The Sociological Quarterly]]|volume=49|issue=1|pages=79–104|doi=10.1111/j.1533-8525.2007.00107.x|issn=0038-0253|jstor=40220058|s2cid=146169730}}</ref> Hinduism is growing fast in many [[Hinduism in the West|western nations]] and in some [[Hinduism in Africa|African nations]].{{Refn|* Hinduism is the fastest growing religion in [[Hinduism in Russia|Russia]], [[Hinduism in Ghana|Ghana]] and [[Hinduism in the United States|United States]]. This was due to the influence of the [[ISKCON]] and the migration of [[Hindus]] in these nations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/700557/how-iskcon-took-hinduism-to-the-us-heartland|title=How ISKCON took Hinduism to the US heartland|access-date=9 April 2021|website=scroll.in}}</ref>
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| * [[Hinduism in the West|In western nations]], the ''growth of Hinduism'' has been very fast and is the second fastest growing religion in [[Europe]], after [[Islam]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.erg.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.329209.1492613166!/menu/standard/file/Hinduism%20in%20Europe_Abstracts.pdf|title=HINDUISM IN EUROPE|website=[[Microsoft Word]]|date=28 April 2017|access-date=9 April 2021}}</ref>|name=ty78|group=note}}
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| == Beliefs ==
| | In the [[Mahabharata]], [[Krishna]] says it is Dharma which is holding both this-worldly and other-worldly affairs. (Mbh 12.110.11). The word ''Sanātana'' means ''eternal'', ''perennial'', or ''forever''; thus, ''Sanātana Dharma'' means that it is the dharma that has neither beginning nor end.<ref>{{cite book| author = His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada| title = Bhagavad-gita As It Is| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dSA3hsIq5dsC&pg=PA16| year = 1986| publisher = The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust| isbn = 978-91-7149-534-1| page = 16 }}</ref> |
| [[File:Halebid3.JPG|thumb|right|Temple wall panel relief sculpture at the [[Hoysaleswara temple]] in [[Halebidu]], representing the [[Trimurti]]: [[Brahma]], [[Shiva]] and [[Vishnu]]]]
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| Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include (but are not restricted to) Dharma (ethics/duties), [[samsara|{{IAST|saṃsāra}}]] (the continuing cycle of entanglement in passions and the resulting birth, life, death, and rebirth), Karma (action, intent, and consequences), moksha (liberation from attachment and saṃsāra), and the various yogas (paths or practices).{{sfn|Brodd|2003}}
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| === Purusharthas ===
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| {{Main|Purusharthas}}
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| {{See also|Diksha|l1=Diksha|Dharma|l2=Dharma|Artha|l3=Artha|Kama|l4=Kāma|Moksha#Hinduism|l5=Mokṣa}}
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| Purusharthas refers to the objectives of human life. Classical Hindu thought accepts four proper goals or aims of human life, known as Puruṣārthas:<ref name="Bilimoria 2007 p. 103" />{{sfn|Flood|1997|p=11}}
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| * [[Dharma]],
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| * [[Artha]],
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| * [[Kama]], and
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| * [[Moksha]].
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| ==== Dharma (righteousness, ethics) ====
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| {{Main|Dharma}}
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| Dharma is considered the foremost goal of a human being in Hinduism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Flood |first=Gavin |title=The Fruits of Our Desiring |year=1996a |isbn=978-1-896209-30-2 |editor-last=Lipner |editor-first=Julius |pages=16–21 |chapter=The meaning and context of the Purusarthas |author-link=Gavin Flood}}</ref> The concept of dharma includes behaviors that are considered to be in accord with [[rta]], the order that makes life and universe possible,<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/dharma.aspx#1 "Dharma"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926234045/http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/dharma.aspx#1 |date=26 September 2016 }}, The ''[[Oxford Dictionary of World Religions]]'': "In Hinduism, dharma is a fundamental concept, referring to the order and custom which make life and a universe possible, and thus to the behaviours appropriate to the maintenance of that order."</ref> and includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and "right way of living".<ref name="tce">{{Cite book |title=The Columbia Encyclopedia |url=https://archive.org/details/columbiaencyclop00laga |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-7876-5015-5 |edition=6th |chapter=Dharma}}</ref> Hindu dharma includes the religious duties, moral rights and duties of each individual, as well as behaviors that enable social order, right conduct, and those that are virtuous.<ref name=tce /> Dharma, according to [[J. A. B. van Buitenen|Van Buitenen]],<ref name="vanbuitenen">{{Cite journal |last=Van Buitenen |first=J. A. B. |date=April–July 1957 |title=Dharma and Moksa |journal=Philosophy East and West |volume=7 |issue=1/2 |pages=33–40|doi=10.2307/1396832 |jstor=1396832 }}</ref> is that which all existing beings must accept and respect to sustain harmony and order in the world. It is, states Van Buitenen, the pursuit and execution of one's nature and true calling, thus playing one's role in cosmic concert.<ref name="vanbuitenen" /> The [[Brihadaranyaka|Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]] states it as:
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| {{blockquote|Nothing is higher than Dharma. The weak overcomes the stronger by Dharma, as over a king. Truly that Dharma is the Truth (''Satya''); Therefore, when a man speaks the Truth, they say, "He speaks the Dharma"; and if he speaks Dharma, they say, "He speaks the Truth!" For both are one.|[[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]]|1.4.xiv<ref>[[Charles Johnston (Theosophist)|Charles Johnston]], The Mukhya Upanishads: Books of Hidden Wisdom, Kshetra, {{ISBN|978-1-4959-4653-0}}, page 481, for discussion: pages 478–505</ref><ref>Paul Horsch (Translated by Jarrod Whitaker), ''From Creation Myth to World Law: The early history of Dharma'', Journal of Indian Philosophy, Vol 32, pages 423–448, (2004)</ref>}}
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| In the [[Mahabharata]], [[Krishna]] defines dharma as upholding both this-worldly and other-worldly affairs. (Mbh 12.110.11). The word ''Sanātana'' means ''eternal'', ''perennial'', or ''forever''; thus, ''Sanātana Dharma'' signifies that it is the dharma that has neither beginning nor end.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Swami Prabhupādā |first=A. C. Bhaktivedanta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSA3hsIq5dsC&q=%22neither%20beginning%20nor%20end%22&pg=PA16 |title=Bhagavad-gītā as it is |publisher=The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-89213-268-3 |page=16 |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174159/https://books.google.com/books?id=dSA3hsIq5dsC&q=%22neither+beginning+nor+end%22&pg=PA16 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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| ==== Artha (livelihood, wealth) ==== | | ==== Artha (livelihood, wealth) ==== |
| {{Main|Artha}}
| | Artha is second goal of life in Hinduism which means pursuit of wealth for livelihood, and economic prosperity. It includes political life, diplomacy and material well-being. The Artha includes all "means of life", activities and resources that enables one to be in a state one wants to be in, wealth, career and financial security.<ref name="johnk">John Koller, Puruṣārtha as Human Aims, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Oct., 1968), pp. 315-319</ref> The aim of artha is considered an important aim of human life in Hinduism.<ref>{{cite book| last = Lochtefeld| first = James G.| title = The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism| year = 2002| isbn = 978-0-8239-2287-1| pages = 55–56 }}</ref><ref name="bruces">{{cite book| last = Sullivan| first = Bruce M.| title = Historical Dictionary of Hinduism| url = https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000sull| year = 1997| publisher = Scarecrow Press| isbn = 978-0-8108-3327-2| pages = [https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000sull/page/29 29]-30 }}</ref> |
| Artha is objective and virtuous pursuit of wealth for livelihood, obligations, and economic prosperity. It is inclusive of political life, diplomacy, and material well-being. The artha concept includes all "means of life", activities and resources that enables one to be in a state one wants to be in, wealth, career and financial security.{{sfn|Koller|1968}} The proper pursuit of artha is considered an important aim of human life in Hinduism.{{sfn|Lochtefeld|2002a|pp=55–56}}<ref name="bruces">Bruce Sullivan (1997), ''Historical Dictionary of Hinduism'', {{ISBN|978-0-8108-3327-2}}, pp. 29–30</ref> | |
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| ==== Kāma (sensual pleasure) ==== | | ==== Kāma (sensual pleasure) ==== |
| {{Main|Kama}} | | {{Main|Kama}} |
| Kāma (Sanskrit, [[Pali]]: काम) means desire, wish, passion, longing, pleasure of the [[senses]], the aesthetic enjoyment of life, affection, or love, with or without sexual connotations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Macy |first=Joanna |year=1975 |title=The Dialectics of Desire |journal=Numen |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=145–60 |doi=10.2307/3269765 |jstor=3269765}}</ref><ref name="mmwse">Monier Williams, [http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/0300/mw__0304.html काम, kāma] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019211540/http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/0300/mw__0304.html |date=19 October 2017 }} ''Monier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary'', pp 271, see 3rd column</ref> In Hinduism, kama is considered an essential and healthy goal of human life when pursued without sacrificing dharma, artha and moksha.<ref>See:
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| * "The Hindu Kama Shastra Society" (1925), ''[https://archive.org/stream/kamasutraofvatsy00vatsuoft#page/8/mode/2up The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana]'', University of Toronto Archives, pp. 8;
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| * A. Sharma (1982), ''The Puruṣārthas: a study in Hindu axiology'', Michigan State University, {{ISBN|978-99936-24-31-8}}, pp. 9–12; See review by Frank Whaling in Numen, Vol. 31, 1 (Jul. 1984), pp. 140–142;
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| * A. Sharma (1999), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40018229 "The Puruṣārthas: An Axiological Exploration of Hinduism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174154/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40018229 |date=29 December 2020 }}, ''The Journal of Religious Ethics'', Vol. 27, No. 2 (Summer, 1999), pp. 223–256;
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| * Chris Bartley (2001), ''Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy'', Editor: Oliver Learman, {{ISBN|978-0-415-17281-3}}, Routledge, Article on Purushartha, p. 443</ref>
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| ==== Mokṣa (liberation, freedom from saṃsāra) ==== | | Kāma ([[Sanskrit]], [[Pali]]; [[Devanagari]]: काम) means desire, wish, passion, pleasure of the [[senses]], the enjoyment of life, affection, or love, with or without sexual connotations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Macy |first1=Joanna |year=1975 |title=The Dialectics of Desire |journal=Numen |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=145–60 |publisher=BRILL |jstor=3269765 |doi=10.2307/3269765}}</ref><ref name="mmwse">Monier Williams, [http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/0300/mw__0304.html काम, kāma] Monier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp 271, see 3rd column</ref> In Hinduism, Kama is considered an important and healthy goal of human life when pursued without sacrificing Dharma, Artha and Moksha.<ref>See: |
| | * The Hindu Kama Shastra Society (1925), [https://archive.org/stream/kamasutraofvatsy00vatsuoft#page/8/mode/2up The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana], University of Toronto Archives, pp. 8; |
| | * A. Sharma (1982), The Puruṣārthas: a study in Hindu axiology, Michigan State University, {{ISBN|978-99936-24-31-8}}, pp 9-12; See review by Frank Whaling in Numen, Vol. 31, 1 (Jul., 1984), pp. 140-142; |
| | * A. Sharma (1999), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40018229 The Puruṣārthas: An Axiological Exploration of Hinduism], The Journal of Religious Ethics, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Summer, 1999), pp. 223-256; |
| | * Chris Bartley (2001), Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy, Editor: Oliver Learman, {{ISBN|978-0-415-17281-3}}, Routledge, Article on Purushartha, pp 443</ref> |
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| | ==== Mokṣa (liberation, freedom from samsara) ==== |
| {{Main|Moksha}} | | {{Main|Moksha}} |
| Moksha ({{Lang-sa|मोक्ष|translit=mokṣa}}) or '''mukti''' ({{Lang-sa|मुक्ति|links=no}}) is the ultimate, most important goal in Hinduism. In one sense, moksha is a concept associated with liberation from sorrow, suffering and saṃsāra (birth-rebirth cycle). A release from this eschatological cycle, in after life, particularly in theistic schools of Hinduism is called moksha.<ref name="vanbuitenen" />{{sfn|Rinehart|2004|pp=19–21}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Long|first=J. Bruce|title=The concepts of human action and rebirth in the Mahabharata|publisher=University of California Press|year=1980|isbn=978-0-520-03923-0|editor-last=O'Flaherty|editor-first=Wendy D.|chapter=2 Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions}}</ref> Due to belief in the indestructibility of Atman c.q. ''[[purusha]]'',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Europa Publications Staff |title=The Far East and Australasia, 2003 – Regional surveys of the world |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85743-133-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e5Az1lGCJwQC&pg=PA39 |page=39 |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174155/https://books.google.com/books?id=e5Az1lGCJwQC&pg=PA39 |url-status=live }}</ref> death is deemed insignificant with respect to the cosmic Self.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58UZWWzqglMC |title=Hindu spirituality – Volume 25 of Documenta missionalia |publisher=Editrice Pontificia Università Gregoriana |year=1999 |isbn=978-88-7652-818-7 |page=1 |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229001010/https://books.google.com/books?id=58UZWWzqglMC |url-status=live }}</ref>
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| The meaning of ''moksha'' differs among the various Hindu schools of thought. For example, Advaita Vedanta holds that after attaining moksha a person knows their essence, Self as pure consciousness or the witness-consciousness and identifies it as identical to Brahman.<ref name=karlpotter /><ref name=klausklost /> The followers of [[Dvaita]] (dualistic) schools, in moksha state, identify individual essence as distinct from Brahman but infinitesimally close, and after attaining moksha expect to spend eternity in a [[loka]] (heaven). To theistic schools of Hinduism, moksha is liberation from saṃsāra, while for other schools such as the monistic school, moksha is possible in current life and is a psychological concept.{{sfn|Deutsch|2001}}<ref name="karlpotter">{{Cite journal|last=Potter|first=Karl H.|date=1958|title=Dharma and Mokṣa from a Conversational Point of View|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1397421|journal=Philosophy East and West|volume=8|issue=1/2|pages=49–63|doi=10.2307/1397421|jstor=1397421|issn=0031-8221}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ingalls|first=Daniel H. H.|date=1957d|title=Dharma and Moksha|url=https://cup.columbia.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Philosophies-of-Happiness-Supplementary-Notes.pdf|journal=Philosophy East and West|volume=7|issue=2|pages=41–48|doi=10.2307/1396833|jstor=1396833}}{{dead link|date=July 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="danielingails">{{Cite book|last=Pal|first=Jagat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y48QAQAAIAAJ&q=Dharma+and+Moksha|title=Karma, Dharma and Moksha: Conceptual Essays on Indian Ethics|date=2004|publisher=Abhijeet Publications|isbn=978-81-88683-23-9|language=en}}</ref><ref name="klausklost">{{Cite book|last=Klostermaier|first=Klaus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x6gvAAAAIAAJ&q=Mok%E1%B9%A3a+and+Critical+Theory|title=Philosophy East & West|date=1985|publisher=[[University Press of Hawaii]]|pages=61–71|author-link=Klaus Klostermaier}}</ref> According to Deutsch, moksha is transcendental consciousness to the latter, the perfect state of being, of self-realization, of freedom and of "realizing the whole universe as the Self".{{sfn|Deutsch|2001}}<ref name="karlpotter" /><ref name="danielingails" /> ''Moksha'' in these schools of Hinduism, suggests [[Klaus Klostermaier]],<ref name="klausklost" /> implies a setting free of hitherto fettered faculties, a removing of obstacles to an unrestricted life, permitting a person to be more truly a person in the full sense; the concept presumes an unused human potential of creativity, compassion and understanding which had been blocked and shut out. Moksha is more than liberation from life-rebirth cycle of suffering (saṃsāra); Vedantic school separates this into two:''Jivanmukti'' (liberation in this life) and ''Videhamukti'' (liberation after death).<ref name="klausklost" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=von Brück |first=M. |year=1986 |title=Imitation or Identification? |journal=Indian Theological Studies |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=95–105}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Fort|first=Andrew O.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iG_J96ALMZYC&q=Jivanmukti+in+Transformation|title=Jivanmukti in Transformation: Embodied Liberation in Advaita and Neo-Vedanta|date=3 September 1998|publisher=[[SUNY Press]]|isbn=978-0-7914-3904-3}}</ref>
| | Moksha ([[Sanskrit]]: {{lang|sa|मोक्ष}} ''{{IAST|mokṣa}}'') or '''mukti''' ([[Sanskrit]]: {{lang|sa|मुक्ति}}) is the ultimate, most important goal in Hinduism. In one school Moksha means liberation from sorrow, suffering and saṃsāra (birth-rebirth cycle).<ref>R.C. Mishra, Moksha and the Hindu Worldview, Psychology & Developing Societies, Vol. 25, Issue 1, pp 23, 27</ref><ref>J. A. B. Van Buitenen, Dharma and Moksa, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 7, No. 1/2 (Apr. - Jul., 1957), pp. 33-40</ref> In other schools of Hinduism, such as monistic, moksha means self-realization,"realizing the whole universe as the Self".<ref name="E. Deutsch pp 343-360">{{cite book| last = Perrett| first = Roy W.| title = Indian Philosophy: Metaphysics| year = 2001| publisher = Taylor & Francis| isbn = 978-0-8153-3608-2| pages = 343–360 }}</ref><ref>see: |
| | * Karl Potter, Dharma and Mokṣa from a Conversational Point of View, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 8, No. 1/2 (Apr. - Jul., 1958), pp. 49-63 |
| | * Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Dharma and Moksha, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 7, No. 1/2 (Apr. - Jul., 1957), pp. 41-48; |
| | * Klaus Klostermaier, Mokṣa and Critical Theory, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Jan., 1985), pp. 61-71</ref> |
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| === Karma and saṃsāra === | | === Karma and samsara === |
| {{Main|Karma}} | | {{Main|Karma}} |
| ''Karma'' translates literally as ''action'', ''work'', or ''deed'',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Apte |first=Vaman S |url=https://archive.org/details/studentsenglishs00apte_271 |title=The Student's English-Sanskrit Dictionary |publisher=Motilal Banarsidas |year=1997 |isbn=978-81-208-0300-8 |edition=New |location=Delhi}}</ref> and also refers to a Vedic theory of "moral law of cause and effect".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Huston |year=1991 |title=The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions |location=San Francisco |publisher=Harper |isbn=978-0-06-250799-0 |page=64 |author-link=Huston Smith |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/worldsreligions000smit}}</ref><ref>Karl Potter (1964), "The Naturalistic Principle of Karma", ''Philosophy East and West'', Vol. 14, No. 1 (Apr. 1964), pp. 39–49</ref> The theory is a combination of (1) causality that may be ethical or non-ethical; (2) ethicization, that is good or bad actions have consequences; and (3) rebirth.<ref name="wdointro">Wendy D. O'Flaherty (1980), ''Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions'', University of California Press, {{ISBN|978-0-520-03923-0}}, pp. xi–xxv (Introduction) and 3–37</ref> Karma theory is interpreted as explaining the present circumstances of an individual with reference to his or her actions in the past. These actions and their consequences may be in a person's current life, or, according to some schools of Hinduism, in past lives.<ref name=wdointro /><ref>Karl Potter (1980), in ''Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions'' (O'Flaherty, Editor), University of California Press, {{ISBN|978-0-520-03923-0}}, pp. 241–267</ref> This cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth is called ''[[saṃsāra]]''. Liberation from saṃsāra through moksha is believed to ensure lasting [[Ānanda (Hindu philosophy)|happiness]] and [[Peace#Hinduism|peace]].{{sfn|Radhakrishnan|1996|p=254}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vivekananda |first=Swami |title=Jnana Yoga |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-4254-8288-6 |author-link=Swami Vivekananda |pages=301–302}} (8th Printing 1993)</ref> Hindu scriptures teach that the future is both a function of current human effort derived from free will and past human actions that set the circumstances.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chapple|first=Christopher Key|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QSrzLfyHvxYC&q=Karma+and+Creativity|title=Karma and Creativity|date=1 January 1986|publisher=[[SUNY Press]]|isbn=978-0-88706-250-6|pages=60–64}}</ref> | | |
| | ''Karma'' means ''action'', ''work'', or ''deed'',<ref>* {{Citation|last=Apte|given1=Vaman S|year=1997|title=The Student's English-Sanskrit Dictionary|place= Delhi|edition=New |
| | | publisher=Motilal Banarsidas|isbn=978-81-208-0300-8}}</ref> and also the vedic theory of cause and effect".<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|1991|p=64}}</ref><ref>Karl Potter (1964), The Naturalistic Principle of Karma, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Apr., 1964), pp. 39-49</ref> The theory is a combination of (1) causality that may be moral or non-moral; (2) moralization, that is good or bad actions have consequences; and (3) rebirth.<ref name="wdointro">{{cite book| last1 = Doniger| first1 = Wendy| last2 = O'Flaherty| first2 = Wendy Doniger| title = Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions| year = 1980| publisher = University of California Press| isbn = 978-0-520-03923-0 }}</ref> Karma theory means <nowiki>''Whatever experience currently a man have is due to his/her past work''. These actions may be in a person'</nowiki>s current life, or, in some schools of Hinduism, actions in their past lives.<ref name=wdointro/><ref>{{cite book| last1 = Doniger| first1 = Wendy| last2 = O'Flaherty| first2 = Wendy Doniger| title = Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions| url = https://archive.org/details/karmarebirthclas00ofla| year = 1980| publisher = University of California Press| isbn = 978-0-520-03923-0| pages = [https://archive.org/details/karmarebirthclas00ofla/page/n241 241]-267 }}</ref> This cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth is called ''samsara''. Liberation from samsara through moksha is believed to ensure lasting happiness and peace.<ref>{{harvnb|Radhakrishnan|1996|p=254}}</ref><ref>See {{Citation|last= Vivekananda|first=Swami|authorlink=Swami Vivekananda|year=2005|title=Jnana Yoga|publisher= Kessinger Publishing|isbn=978-1-4254-8288-6}} pages 301-302 (8th Printing 1993)</ref> Hindu scriptures teach that the future depends on the current action and our past deeds. |
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| | === Moksha === |
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| | The ultimate goal of life,according to Hinduism is ''moksha'', ''[[nirvana]]'' or ''[[Samādhi|samadhi]]'', but is understood in different ways in different schools.For example, Advaita Vedanta says that after attaining moksha a person knows their "soul, self" and identifies it as one with Brahman (Ultimate reality or cause of everything).<ref name="karlpotter">see: |
| | * Karl Potter, Dharma and Mokṣa from a Conversational Point of View, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 8, No. 1/2 (Apr. - Jul., 1958), pp. 49-63 |
| | * Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Dharma and Moksha, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 7, No. 1/2 (Apr. - Jul., 1957), pp. 41-48</ref><ref name="klausklost">Klaus Klostermaier, Mokṣa and Critical Theory, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Jan., 1985), pp. 61-71</ref> The followers of [[Dvaita]] (dualistic) schools,state that after attaining moksha a person identify "soul, self" different from Brahman but very close to Brahman, and after attaining moksha one will spend eternity in a [[loka]] (higher planes). According to theistic schools of Hinduism, moksha is liberation from samsara, while for other schools such as the monistic school, moksha is possible in current life and is a psychological concept. |
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| === Concept of God === | | === Concept of God === |
| {{Main|Ishvara|God in Hinduism}} | | {{Main|Ishvara|God in Hinduism}} |
| Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with a wide variety of beliefs<!--systems listed at 'Definitions' above-->;<ref name=Lipner2009p8 /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chakravarti |first=Sitansu |title=Hinduism, a way of life |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1991 |isbn=978-81-208-0899-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J_-rASTgw8wC&pg=PA71 |page=71 |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=13 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413105302/https://books.google.com/books?id=J_-rASTgw8wC&pg=PA71 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref group=web>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Smart |first=Ninian |year=2007 |title=Polytheism |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-38143/polytheism |access-date=5 July 2007 |archive-date=10 August 2011 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/60pyc0FDi?url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469156/polytheism |url-status=live }}</ref> its concept of God is complex and depends upon each individual and the tradition and [[Hindu philosophy|philosophy]] followed. It is sometimes referred to as [[God in Hinduism|henotheistic]] (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an overgeneralization.{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=xiv}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gill |first=N.S |title=Henotheism |url=http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/egyptmyth/g/henotheism.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317151629/http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/egyptmyth/g/henotheism.htm |archive-date=17 March 2007 |access-date=5 July 2007 |publisher=[[About.com|About, Inc]]}}</ref> | | Hinduism is diverse and Hinduism include [[monotheism]], [[polytheism]], [[panentheism]], [[Hindu views on Pantheism|pantheism]], [[pandeism]], [[monism]], and [[Atheism in Hinduism|atheism]] among others;<ref name="Lipner 2009 8"/><ref>{{cite book| last = Chakravarti| first = Sitansu S.| title = Hinduism, a Way of Life| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=J_-rASTgw8wC&pg=PA71| year = 1991| publisher = Motilal Banarsidass Publ.| isbn = 978-81-208-0899-7| page = 71 }}</ref><ref group=web name="EBpolytheism">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-38143/polytheism |title=Polytheism|accessdate= 5 July 2007 |year=2007 |author =Ninian Smart | encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica Online}}</ref> Basically it depends on individuals choice and that's why sometimes Hinduism is referred to as [[henotheistic]] (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an over generalization.<ref name="heno">See {{harvnb|Michaels|2004|p=xiv}} and {{cite web |url=http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/egyptmyth/g/henotheism.htm |title=Henotheism |accessdate=5 July 2007 |last=Gill |first=N.S |publisher=[[About.com|About, Inc]] |archive-date=17 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317151629/http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/egyptmyth/g/henotheism.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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| {{Rquote|left|"Who really knows?<br />Who will here proclaim it? <br />Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation?<br />The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe.<br />Who then knows whence it has arisen?"|[[Nasadiya Sukta]], concerns the [[origin of the universe]], [[Rigveda]], ''10:129–6''{{sfn|Kramer|1986|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RzUAu-43W5oC&pg=PA34 34–]}}{{sfn|Christian|2011|pp=[https://archive.org/details/mapstimeintroduc00chri_515/page/n46 18–]}}{{sfn|Singh|2008|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA206 206–]}}}}
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| The ''[[Nasadiya Sukta]]'' (''Creation Hymn'') of the ''[[Rig Veda]]'' is one of the earliest texts{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=226}} which "demonstrates a sense of metaphysical speculation" about what created the universe, the concept of god(s) and The One, and whether even The One knows how the universe came into being.<ref>{{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=226}}; {{harvnb|Kramer|1986|pp=20–21}}</ref><ref name="3translations">* Original Sanskrit: [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_१०.१२९ Rigveda 10.129] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525145645/https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%8B%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A6%3A_%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%82_%E0%A5%A7%E0%A5%A6.%E0%A5%A7%E0%A5%A8%E0%A5%AF |date=25 May 2017 }} Wikisource;
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| * '''Translation 1''': {{harvnb|Muller|1859|pp=559–565}}
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| * '''Translation 2''': {{harvnb|Kramer|1986|p=[https://archive.org/details/worldscripturesi0000kram/page/21 21]}}
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| * '''Translation 3''': {{harvnb|Christian|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7RdVmDjwTtQC&pg=PA17 17]–[https://books.google.com/books?id=7RdVmDjwTtQC&pg=PA18 18]}}</ref> The ''Rig Veda'' praises various [[Hindu deities|deities]], none superior nor inferior, in a henotheistic manner.<ref>{{cite book |last=Muller |first=Max |author-link=Max Muller |year=1878 |title=Lectures on the Origins and Growth of Religions: As Illustrated by the Religions of India |publisher=Longmans Green & Co |pages=260–271}}<br />{{cite book |last=Wilkins |first=William Joseph |year=1882 |title=Hindu Mythology: Vedic and Purānic |publisher=London Missionary Society |location=Calcutta |page=8 |url={{Google books|ZBUHAAAAQAAJ|page=8|plain-url=yes}}}}</ref> The hymns repeatedly refer to [[Brahman|One Truth and One Ultimate Reality]]. The "One Truth" of [[Vedas|Vedic literature]], in modern era scholarship, has been interpreted as monotheism, monism, as well as a deified Hidden Principles behind the great happenings and processes of nature.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Raghavendrachar |first=H.N. |year=1944 |title=Monism in the Vedas |journal=The Half-yearly Journal of the Mysore University |department=Section A – Arts |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=137–152 |url=http://eprints.uni-mysore.ac.in/15675/1/12MONISMINTHEVEDAS.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206070146/http://eprints.uni-mysore.ac.in/15675/1/12MONISMINTHEVEDAS.pdf |archive-date=6 February 2015}}<br />{{cite journal |last=Werner |first=K. |year=1982 |title=Men, gods and powers in the Vedic outlook |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland |volume=114 |issue=1 |pages=14–24|doi=10.1017/S0035869X00158575 }}<br />{{cite journal |last=Coward |first=H. |year=1995 |department=Book Review |title=The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda's Reinterpretation of the Vedas |journal=Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=45–47 |doi=10.7825/2164-6279.1116 |quote=There is little doubt that the theo-monistic category is an appropriate one for viewing a wide variety of experiences in the Hindu tradition|doi-access=free }}</ref>
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| {{multiple image | | {{Infobox |
| | caption_align = center
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| | total_width = 300
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| | perrow = 2
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| | title = [[Deva (Hinduism)|Gods and Goddesses]] in Hinduism | | | title = [[Deva (Hinduism)|Gods and Goddesses]] in Hinduism |
| | image1 = MurudeshwarStatue.JPG | | | image = |
| | alt1 = Shiva | | {{image array|perrow=2|height=120|width=100 |
| | caption1 = [[Shiva]] | | | image1 = MurudeshwarStatue.JPG | alt1=Shiva | link1 = Shiva |
| | image2 = Durga Mahisasuramardini.JPG | | | image2 = Durga Mahisasuramardini.JPG | alt2=Durga | link2 = Durga |
| | alt2 = Durga | | | image3 = A powerful deity in her own right, Shri Lakshmi herself.jpg | alt3=Lakshmi | link3=Lakshmi |
| | caption2 = [[Durga]] | | | image4 = God_Vishnu.jpg | alt4=Vishnu | link4=Vishnu |
| | image3 = A powerful deity in her own right, Shri Lakshmi herself.jpg | | }} |
| | alt3 = Lakshmi | |
| | caption3 = [[Lakshmi]] | |
| | image4 = God Vishnu.jpg | |
| | alt4 = Vishnu | |
| | caption4 = [[Vishnu]] | |
| }} | | }} |
| | Hindus believe that all living creatures have a soul. This soul or true "self" of every living being is called the ''[[Atman (Hinduism)|ātman]]''. The soul is believed to be eternal.<ref name="monierwilliams2037">{{harvnb|Monier-Williams|1974|pp=20–37}}</ref> According to the monistic/pantheistic ([[Nondualism|non-dualist]]) theologies of Hinduism (such as [[Advaita Vedanta]] school), this Atman is indistinct from [[Brahman]].<ref name="bhaskaranandaessential">{{Harvnb | Bhaskarananda|1994}}</ref> The goal of life, according to the Advaita school, is to realise that one's soul is identical to supreme soul, that the supreme soul is present in everything and everyone, all life is interconnected and there is oneness in all life.<ref>{{harvnb|Vivekananda|1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last1 = Meister| first1 = Chad V.| last2 = Copan| first2 = Paul| title = The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion| year = 2012| publisher = Routledge| isbn = 978-0-415-78294-4| pages = 99–107 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last1 = Fort| first1 = Andrew O.| last2 = Mumme| first2 = Patricia Y.| title = Living Liberation in Hindu Thought| year = 1996| publisher = SUNY Press| isbn = 978-0-7914-2706-4| pages = 38–39 }}</ref> [[Dualistic]] schools (see [[Dvaita]] and [[Bhakti]]) sees Brahman as a Supreme Being separate from individual souls.<ref name="R Prasad 2009 pages 345-347">{{cite book| last = Prasad| first = Rajendra| title = A Historical-developmental Study of Classical Indian Philosophy of Morals| year = 2009| publisher = Concept Publishing Company| isbn = 978-81-8069-595-7| pages = 345–347 }}</ref> They worship the Supreme Being variously as [[Vishnu]], [[Brahma]], [[Shiva]], or [[Shakti]], depending upon the sect. God is called ''[[Ishvara]]'', ''[[Bhagavan]]'', ''[[Parameshwara (God)|Parameshwara]]'', ''[[Deva (Hinduism)|Devadu]]'' or ''[[Devi]]'', and these terms have different meanings in different schools of Hinduism.<ref>{{cite book| last1 = Eliade| first1 = Mircea| last2 = Trask| first2 = Willard Ropes| last3 = White| first3 = David Gordon| title = Yoga: Immortality and Freedom| year = 2009| publisher = Princeton University Press| isbn = 978-0-691-14203-6| pages = 73–76 }}</ref><ref>Radhakrishnan and Moore (1967, Reprinted 1989), A Source Book in Indian Philosophy, Princeton University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-691-01958-1}}, pages 37-39, 401-403, 498-503</ref><ref name="MW Sanskrit dict.">{{harvnb|Monier-Williams|2001}}</ref> Devi is typically used when refereeing to a female goddess. |
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| Hindus believe that all living creatures have a Self. This true "Self" of every person, is called the ''[[Atman (Hinduism)|ātman]]''. The Self is believed to be eternal.{{sfn|Monier-Williams|1974|pp=20–37}} According to the monistic/pantheistic ([[Nondualism|non-dualist]]) theologies of Hinduism (such as [[Advaita Vedanta|Advaita Vedanta school]]), this [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]] is indistinct from [[Brahman]], the supreme spirit or [[Ultimate reality|the Ultimate Reality]].<ref name="bhaskaranandaessential">{{Harvnb | Bhaskarananda|1994}}</ref> The goal of life, according to the [[Advaita Vedanta|Advaita school]], is to realise that [[Jiva|one's Self]] is identical to [[Paramatman|supreme Self]], that the supreme Self is present in everything and everyone, all life is interconnected and there is oneness in all life.{{sfn|Vivekananda|1987}}<ref>John Koller (2012), ''Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion'' (Editors: Chad Meister, Paul Copan), Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-415-78294-4}}, pp. 99–107</ref><ref>Lance Nelson (1996), "Living liberation in Shankara and classical Advaita", in ''Living Liberation in Hindu Thought'' (Editors: Andrew O. Fort, Patricia Y. Mumme), State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-2706-4}}, pages 38–39, 59 (footnote 105)</ref> [[Dualism (Indian philosophy)|Dualistic]] schools ([[Dvaita Vedanta|Dvaita]] and [[Bhakti]]) understand [[Brahman]] as a Supreme Being separate from [[Ātman (Hinduism)|individual Selfs]].<ref name="R Prasad 2009 pages 345-347">R Prasad (2009), A Historical-developmental Study of Classical Indian Philosophy of Morals, Concept Publishing, {{ISBN|978-81-8069-595-7}}, pages 345–347</ref> They worship the Supreme Being variously as [[Vishnu]], [[Brahma]], [[Shiva]], or [[Shakti]], depending upon the sect. God is called ''[[Ishvara]]'', ''[[Bhagavan]]'', ''[[Parameshwara (god)|Parameshwara]]'', ''[[Deva (Hinduism)|Deva]]'' or ''[[Devi]]'', and these terms have different meanings in different schools of Hinduism.{{sfn|Eliade|2009|pp=73–76}}{{sfn|Radhakrishnan|Moore|1967|pp=37–39, 401–403, 498–503}}{{sfn|Monier-Williams|2001}}
| | <ref name="Wallin1999p64">{{cite book| last1 = Buttimer| first1 = Anne| last2 = Wallin| first2 = L.| title = Nature and Identity in Cross-Cultural Perspective| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zUHFyGQcJxgC| year = 1999| publisher = Springer| isbn = 978-0-7923-5651-6| pages = 64–68 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Mabry| first = John R.| title = Noticing the Divine: An Introduction to Interfaith Spiritual Guidance| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qWVsNYQ5Gh4C| year = 2006| publisher = New York: Morehouse| isbn = 978-0-8192-2238-1| pages = 32–33 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last1 = Samovar| first1 = Larry A.| last2 = Porter| first2 = Richard E.| last3 = McDaniel| first3 = Edwin R.| last4 = Roy| first4 = Carolyn Sexton| title = Communication Between Cultures| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lsYaCgAAQBAJ| year = 2016| publisher = Cengage| isbn = 978-1-305-88806-7| pages = 140–144 }}</ref> |
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| Hindu texts accept a polytheistic framework, but this is generally conceptualized as the divine essence or luminosity that gives vitality and animation to the inanimate natural substances.<ref name="Wallin1999p64" /> There is a divine in everything, human beings, animals, trees and rivers. It is observable in offerings to rivers, trees, tools of one's work, animals and birds, rising sun, friends and guests, teachers and parents.<ref name="Wallin1999p64" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Berntsen |first=Maxine |url=https://archive.org/details/experienceofhind00zell |title=The Experience of Hinduism: Essays on Religion in Maharashtra |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-88706-662-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/experienceofhind00zell/page/n45 18]–19 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n301/mode/2up Taittiriya Upanishad] Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Robert Hume (Translator), pages 281–282;<br />Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-1468-4}}, pages 229–231</ref> It is the divine in these that makes each sacred and worthy of reverence, rather than them being sacred in and of themselves. This perception of divinity manifested in all things, as Buttimer and Wallin view it, makes the [[Vedas|Vedic]] foundations of Hinduism quite distinct from [[animism]], in which all things are themselves divine.<ref name="Wallin1999p64" /> The animistic premise sees multiplicity, and therefore an equality of ability to compete for power when it comes to man and man, man and animal, [[man and nature]], etc. The [[Vedas|Vedic]] view does not perceive this competition, equality of man to nature, or multiplicity so much as an overwhelming and interconnecting single divinity that unifies everyone and everything.<ref name="Wallin1999p64">{{Cite book |last1=Buttimer |first1=Anne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zUHFyGQcJxgC |title=Nature and Identity in Cross-Cultural Perspective |last2=Wallin |first2=L. |publisher=Springer |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-7923-5651-6 |pages=64–68}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mabry |first=John R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qWVsNYQ5Gh4C |title=Noticing the Divine: An Introduction to Interfaith Spiritual Guidance |publisher=New York: Morehouse |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8192-2238-1 |pages=32–33}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Samovar |first1=Larry A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lsYaCgAAQBAJ |title=Communication Between Cultures |last2=Porter |first2=Richard E. |last3=McDaniel |first3=Edwin R. |publisher=Cengage |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-305-88806-7 |pages=140–144 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> | | The Hindu scriptures refer to celestial entities called ''[[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]]'' (or ''[[Devi|{{IAST|devī}}]]'' in feminine form; ''{{IAST|devatā}}'' used synonymously for ''Deva'' in Hindi), which in English means demi-''gods'' or ''heavenly beings''.{{refn|group=note|For translation of ''deva'' in singular noun form as "a deity, god", and in plural form as "the gods" or "the heavenly or shining ones", see: {{harvnb|Monier-Williams|2001|p=492}}. For translation of ''{{IAST|devatā}}'' as "godhead, divinity", see: {{harvnb|Monier-Williams|2001|p=495}}.}} The devas are an integral part of Hindu culture and are depicted in art, architecture and through [[icon]]s, and stories about them are related in the scriptures, particularly in [[Indian epic poetry]] and the [[Puranas]]. They are, however, often distinguished from [[Ishvara]], a personal god, with many Hindus worshipping Ishvara in one of its particular manifestations as their ''{{IAST|[[iṣṭa devatā]]}}'', or chosen ideal.{{Sfn|Werner|2005|pp=9, 15, 49, 54, 86}}<ref>{{harvnb|Renou|1964|p= 55}}</ref> The choice is a matter of individual preference,<ref name="harman1">{{Harvnb |Harman |2004|pp=104–106}}</ref> and of regional and family traditions.<ref name=harman1/>{{refn|group=note|Among some regional Hindus, such as Rajputs, these are called ''Kuldevis'' or ''Kuldevata''.<ref>{{cite book| author = Lindsey Harlan| author2 = Professor of Religious Studies Lindsey Harlan| title = Religion and Rajput Women: The Ethic of Protection in Contemporary Narratives| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7HLrPYOe38gC| year = 1992| publisher = University of California Press| isbn = 978-0-520-07339-5| pages = 19–20, 48 with footnotes }}</ref>}} The multitude of Devas are considered as manifestations of Brahman.{{refn|group=note|name=avatars| |
| | | * {{cite book|title=Achieving Cultural Competency|author=Lisa Hark, Lisa Hark, R.D., Horace DeLisser, MD|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|date=7 September 2011|quote=Three gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, and other deities are considered manifestations of and are worshipped as incarnations of Brahman.}} |
| The [[Hindu texts|Hindu scriptures]] name celestial entities called ''[[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]]'' (or ''{{IAST|[[Devi]]}}'' in feminine form), which may be translated into English as ''gods'' or ''heavenly beings''.{{refn|group=note|For translation of ''deva'' in singular noun form as "a deity, god", and in plural form as "the gods" or "the heavenly or shining ones", see: {{Harvnb|Monier-Williams|2001|p=492}}. For translation of ''{{IAST|devatā}}'' as "godhead, divinity", see: {{harvnb|Monier-Williams|2001|p=495}}.}} The [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]] are an integral part of [[Hindu culture]] and are depicted in art, [[Hindu architecture|architecture]] and through [[Hindu iconography|icons]], and stories about them are related in the scriptures, particularly in Indian epic poetry and the [[Puranas]]. They are, however, often distinguished from [[Ishvara]], a personal god, with many Hindus worshipping [[Ishvara]] in one of its particular manifestations as their ''{{IAST|[[iṣṭa devatā]]}}'', or chosen ideal.{{sfn|Werner|2005|pp=9, 15, 49, 54, 86}}{{sfn|Renou|1964|p=55}} The choice is a matter of individual preference,<ref name="harman1">{{harvnb|Harman|2004|pp=104–106}}</ref> and of regional and family traditions.<ref name=harman1 />{{refn|group=note|Among some regional Hindus, such as Rajputs, these are called ''[[Kuladevata|Kuldevis]]'' or ''[[Kuladevata|Kuldevata]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harlan |first=Lindsey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7HLrPYOe38gC |title=Religion and Rajput Women: The Ethic of Protection in Contemporary Narratives |publisher=University of California Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-520-07339-5 |pages=19–20, 48 with footnotes}}</ref>}} The multitude of Devas are considered manifestations of Brahman.<ref name=avatars>* {{harvnb|Hark|DeLisser|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2020}}}}. "Three gods or [[Trimurti]], [[Brahma]], [[Vishnu]], and [[Shiva]], and other deities are considered manifestations of and are worshipped as incarnations of [[Brahman]]."
| | * {{harvnb|Toropov|Buckles|2011}}: The members of various Hindu sects worship a dizzying number of specific deities and follow innumerable rituals in honor of specific gods. Because this is Hinduism, however, its practitioners see the profusion of forms and practices as expressions of the same unchanging reality. The panoply of deities are understood by believers as symbols for a single transcendent reality. |
| * {{harvnb|Toropov|Buckles|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2020}}}}. "The members of various Hindu sects worship a dizzying number of specific deities and follow innumerable rituals in honor of specific gods. Because this is Hinduism, however, its practitioners see the profusion of forms and practices as expressions of the same unchanging reality. The panoply of deities is understood by believers as symbols for a single transcendent reality."
| | * {{cite book|year=2007|title=An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies|author1=Orlando O. Espín |author2=James B. Nickoloff |publisher=Liturgical Press|quote=The devas are powerful spiritual beings, somewhat like angels in the West, who have certain functions in the cosmos and live immensely long lives. Certain devas, such as Ganesha, are regularly worshiped by the Hindu faithful. Note that, while Hindus believe in many devas, many are monotheistic to the extent that they will recognise only one Supreme Being, a God or Goddess who is the source and ruler of the devas.}}}} |
| * {{harvnb|Espín|Nickoloff|2007|p={{page needed|date=October 2020}}}}. "The [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]] are powerful spiritual beings, somewhat like angels in the West, who have certain functions in the cosmos and live immensely long lives. Certain devas, such as Ganesha, are regularly worshiped by the Hindu faithful. Note that, while Hindus believe in many devas, many are monotheistic to the extent that they will recognise only one Supreme Being, a God or Goddess who is the source and ruler of the devas."</ref>
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| The word ''[[avatar]]'' does not appear in the [[Vedas|Vedic literature]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bassuk |first=Daniel E |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k3iwCwAAQBAJ |title=Incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity: The Myth of the God-Man |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=1987 |isbn=978-1-349-08642-9 |pages=2–4}}</ref> but appears in verb forms in post-Vedic literature, and as a noun particularly in the Puranic literature after the 6th century CE.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hacker |first=Paul |title=Zur Entwicklung der Avataralehre |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz |year=1978 |isbn=978-3-447-04860-6 |editor-last=Schmithausen |editor-first=Lambert |pages=424, also 405–409, 414–417 |language=de}}</ref> Theologically, the reincarnation idea is most often associated with the ''avatars'' of Hindu god [[Vishnu]], though the idea has been applied to other deities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kinsley |first=David |title=Encyclopedia of Religion |publisher=Thomson Gale |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-02-865735-6 |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Lindsay |edition=Second |volume=2 |pages=707–708}}</ref> Varying lists of avatars of Vishnu appear in Hindu scriptures, including the ten [[Dashavatara]] of the ''[[Garuda Purana]]'' and the twenty-two avatars in the ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'', though the latter adds that the incarnations of Vishnu are innumerable.{{sfn|Bryant|2007|p=18}} The avatars of Vishnu are important in Vaishnavism theology. In the goddess-based [[Shaktism|Shaktism tradition]], avatars of the [[Devi]] are found and all goddesses are considered to be different aspects of the same [[Brahman|metaphysical Brahman]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=McDaniel |first=June |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=caeJpIj9SdkC&pg=PA90 |title=Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls : Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal: Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-19-534713-5 |pages=90–91}}</ref> and [[Shakti]] ''(energy)''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hawley |first1=John Stratton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7DLj1tYmoTQC&pg=PA174 |title=The life of Hinduism |last2=Narayanan |first2=Vasudha |publisher=University of California Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-520-24914-1 |page=174 |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174125/https://books.google.com/books?id=7DLj1tYmoTQC&pg=PA174 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kinsley |first=David R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gkCsrfghkZ4C |title=Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahāvidyās |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1998 |isbn=978-81-208-1522-3 |pages=115–119}}</ref> While avatars of other deities such as [[Ganesha]] and Shiva are also mentioned in medieval Hindu texts, this is minor and occasional.<ref>"Shiva" in {{harvnb|Lochtefeld|2002n|p=635}}</ref>
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| Both theistic and atheistic ideas, for epistemological and metaphysical reasons, are profuse in different schools of Hinduism. The early [[Nyaya]] school of Hinduism, for example, was non-theist/atheist,<ref>John Clayton (2010), ''Religions, Reasons and Gods: Essays in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Religion'', Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-521-12627-4}}, page 150</ref> but later [[Nyaya]] school scholars argued that God exists and offered proofs using its theory of logic.<ref>Sharma, C. (1997). A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0365-7}}, pages 209–10</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Reichenbach |first=Bruce R. |date=April 1989 |title=Karma, causation, and divine intervention |journal=Philosophy East and West |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=135–149 [145] |doi=10.2307/1399374 |jstor=1399374 |url=http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/reiche2.htm |access-date=29 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027070413/http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/reiche2.htm |archive-date=27 October 2009}}</ref> Other schools disagreed with Nyaya scholars. [[Samkhya]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rajadhyaksha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ihkRAQAAIAAJ |title=The six systems of Indian philosophy |year=1959 |page=95 |quote=Under the circumstances God becomes an unnecessary metaphysical assumption. Naturally the Sankhyakarikas do not mention God, Vachaspati interprets this as rank atheism. |access-date=2 July 2015 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101025131/https://books.google.com/books?id=ihkRAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Mimamsa<ref name=Coward2008p114>{{harvnb|Coward|2008|p=114}}: "For the Mimamsa the ultimate reality is nothing other than the eternal words of the Vedas. They did not accept the existence of a single supreme creator god, who might have composed the Veda. According to the Mimamsa, gods named in the Vedas have no existence apart from the mantras that speak their names. The power of the gods, then, is nothing other than the power of the mantras that name them."</ref> and [[Carvaka]] schools of Hinduism, were non-theist/atheist, arguing that "God was an unnecessary metaphysical assumption".<ref group="web">[https://archive.org/stream/thesamkhyaphilos00sinhuoft/thesamkhyaphilos00sinhuoft_djvu.txt Sāṁkhyapravacana Sūtra] I.92.</ref>{{sfn|Sen Gupta|1986|p=viii}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Neville |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ThLR13JpCWsC |title=Religious truth |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7914-4778-9 |page=51 |quote=Mimamsa theorists (theistic and atheistic) decided that the evidence allegedly proving the existence of God was insufficient. They also thought there was no need to postulate a maker for the world, just as there was no need for an author to compose the Veda or an independent God to validate the Vedic rituals. |access-date=2 July 2015 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101025131/https://books.google.com/books?id=ThLR13JpCWsC |url-status=live }}</ref> Its [[Vaisheshika]] school started as another non-theistic tradition relying on naturalism and that all matter is eternal, but it later introduced the concept of a non-creator God.<ref>A Goel (1984), ''Indian philosophy: Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika and modern science'', Sterling, {{ISBN|978-0-86590-278-7}}, pages 149–151</ref><ref>Collins, Randall (2000), The sociology of philosophies, Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-674-00187-9}}, p. 836</ref>{{sfn|Klostermaier|2007|pp=337–338}} The [[Raja yoga|Yoga]] school of Hinduism accepted the concept of a "personal god" and left it to the Hindu to define his or her god.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Burley |first=Mike |title=Classical Samkhya and Yoga – An Indian Metaphysics of Experience |publisher=Routledge |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-415-64887-5 |pages=39–41}};<br />{{Cite book |last=Pflueger |first=Lloyd |title=Person Purity and Power in Yogasutra, in Theory and Practice of Yoga |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=2008 |isbn=978-81-208-3232-9 |editor-last=Knut Jacobsen |pages=38–39}};<br />{{Cite book |author-link1=K. T. Behanan |last=Behanan |first=Kovoor T. |title=Yoga: Its Scientific Basis |publisher=Dover |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-486-41792-9 |pages=56–58}}</ref> Advaita Vedanta taught a monistic, abstract Self and Oneness in everything, with no room for gods or deity, a perspective that Mohanty calls, "spiritual, not religious".<ref>Knut Jacobsen (2008), ''Theory and Practice of Yoga: Essays in Honour of Gerald James Larson'', Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-3232-9}}, pages 77–78</ref> Bhakti sub-schools of Vedanta taught a creator God that is distinct from each human being.<ref name="R Prasad 2009 pages 345-347" />
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| God in Hinduism is often represented, having both the [[God and gender in Hinduism|feminine and masculine]] aspects. The notion of the feminine in deity is much more pronounced and is evident in the pairings of Shiva with Parvati([[Ardhanarishvara]]), [[Vishnu]] accompanied by Lakshmi, [[Radha]] with [[Krishna]] and [[Sita]] with [[Rama]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rankin|first=John|date=1 June 1984|title=Teaching Hinduism: Some Key Ideas|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/0141620840060306|journal=British Journal of Religious Education|volume=6|issue=3|pages=133–160|doi=10.1080/0141620840060306|issn=0141-6200}}</ref>
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| According to [[Graham Schweig]], Hinduism has the strongest presence of the divine feminine in world religion from ancient times to the present.{{sfn|Bryant|2007|p=441}} The goddess is viewed as the heart of the most esoteric [[Shaivism|Saiva traditions]].{{sfn|Flood|2003|pp=200–203}}
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| === Authority ===
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| {{Anchor|Questioning authority}}
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| Authority and eternal truths play an important role in Hinduism.<ref name="frazier1415">{{Cite book |last=Frazier |first=Jessica |url=https://archive.org/details/continuumcompani00fraz |title=The Continuum companion to Hindu studies |date=2011 |publisher=Continuum |isbn=978-0-8264-9966-0 |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/continuumcompani00fraz/page/14 14]–15, 321–325 |url-access=limited}}</ref> Religious traditions and truths are believed to be contained in its sacred texts, which are accessed and taught by sages, gurus, saints or avatars.<ref name=frazier1415 /> But there is also a strong tradition of the questioning of authority, internal debate and challenging of religious texts in Hinduism. The Hindus believe that this deepens the understanding of the eternal truths and further develops the tradition. Authority "was mediated through [...] an intellectual culture that tended to develop ideas collaboratively, and according to the shared logic of natural reason."<ref name=frazier1415 /> Narratives in the [[Upanishads]] present characters questioning persons of authority.<ref name=frazier1415 /> The [[Kena Upanishad]] repeatedly asks ''kena'', 'by what' power something is the case.<ref name=frazier1415 /> The [[Katha Upanishad]] and Bhagavad Gita present narratives where the student criticizes the teacher's inferior answers.<ref name=frazier1415 /> In the [[Shiva Purana]], Shiva questions Vishnu and Brahma.<ref name=frazier1415 /> Doubt plays a repeated role in the Mahabharata.<ref name=frazier1415 /> [[Jayadeva]]'s [[Gita Govinda]] presents criticism via the character of [[Radha]].<ref name=frazier1415 />
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| == Main traditions == | | == Main traditions == |
| | {{Main|Hindu denominations}} |
| | [[File:Ganesha pachayatana.jpg|thumb|A Ganesha-centric [[Panchayatana puja|Panchayatana]] ("five deities", from the Smarta tradition): [[Ganesha]] (centre) with [[Shiva]] (top left), [[Devi]] (top right), [[Vishnu]] (bottom left) and Surya (bottom right). All these deities also have separate sects dedicated to them.]] |
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| === Denominations ===
| | Hinduism has no central doctrinal authority and Hindus do not claim to belong to any particular sect or tradition.<ref>{{harvnb|Werner|2005|pp=13, 45}}</ref> Four major sects in Hinduism are: ''Vaishnavism'', ''Shaivism'', ''Shaktism'' and ''Smarthism''.<ref name="lancenelson">{{cite book| last1 = Espin| first1 = Orlando O.| last2 = Nickoloff| first2 = James B.| title = An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies| url = https://archive.org/details/introductorydict0000unse| year = 2007| publisher = Liturgical Press| isbn = 978-0-8146-5856-7| pages = [https://archive.org/details/introductorydict0000unse/page/562 562]–563 }}</ref>{{Sfn|Flood|1996|p=113, 134, 155-161, 167-168}} |
| {{Further|Hindu denominations}}
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| [[File:Ganesha pachayatana.jpg|thumb|A Ganesha-centric [[Panchayatana puja|Panchayatana]] ("five deities", from the Smarta tradition): [[Ganesha]] (centre) with [[Shiva]] (top left), [[Parvati]] (top right), [[Vishnu]] (bottom left) and [[Surya]] (bottom right). All these deities also have separate sects dedicated to them.]]
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| [[File:Prambanan Java245.jpg|thumb|The great [[Prambanan]] Hindu temple complex built in the 9th century, [[Java]], Indonesia.]]
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| Hinduism has no central doctrinal authority and many practising Hindus do not claim to belong to any particular denomination or tradition.{{sfn|Werner|2005|pp=13, 45}} Four major denominations are, however, used in scholarly studies: ''Shaivism'', ''Shaktism'', ''Smartism'' and ''Vaishnavism''.{{sfn|Bhandarkar|1913|p=}}{{sfn|Tattwananda|n.d.|p=}}{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=113, 134, 155–161, 167–168}}{{sfn|Lipner|2009|pp=377, 398}} The followers of Vaishnavas are far the large majority of Hindus; the second large community are the Shaivites.{{sfn|Johnson|Grim|2013|p=400}}{{sfn|Hillerbrand|2004|p=906}}{{sfn|Rosen|2017|p=15, note 28}}{{sfn|Klostermaier|2007|p=199}}{{refn|group=note|According to {{harvnb|Jones|Ryan|2007|pp=474}}, "The followers of Vaishnavism are many fewer than those of Shaivism, numbering perhaps 200 million."{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2007|p=474}}{{dubious|date=February 2022}}}} These denominations differ primarily in the central deity worshipped, the traditions and the [[soteriology|soteriological]] outlook.<ref name="sskumar">SS Kumar (2010), ''Bhakti – the Yoga of Love'', LIT Verlag Münster, {{ISBN|978-3-643-50130-1}}, pp. 35–36</ref> The denominations of Hinduism, states Lipner, are unlike those found in major religions of the world, because Hindu denominations are fuzzy with individuals practicing more than one, and he suggests the term "Hindu polycentrism".{{sfn|Lipner|2009|pp=371–375}} | |
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| Vaishnavism is the devotional religious tradition that worships Vishnu{{Refn|group=note|sometimes with [[Lakshmi]], the spouse of Vishnu; or, as Narayana and Sri;{{sfn|Beck|2005|p=65 and Chapter 5}}}} and his avatars, particularly Krishna and Rama.{{sfn|Bryant|Ekstrand|2013|pp=15–17}} The adherents of this sect are generally non-ascetic, monastic, oriented towards community events and devotionalism practices inspired by "intimate loving, joyous, playful" ''Krishna'' and other Vishnu avatars.<ref name=sskumar /> These practices sometimes include community dancing, singing of [[Kirtan]]s and [[Bhajan]]s, with sound and music believed by some to have meditative and spiritual powers.{{sfn|Bryant|Ekstrand|2004|pp=38–43}} Temple worship and festivals are typically elaborate in Vaishnavism.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Nettl |first1=Bruno |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZOlNv8MAXIEC |title=The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia : the Indian subcontinent |last2=Stone |first2=Ruth M. |last3=Porter |first3=James |last4=Rice |first4=Timothy |publisher=Routledge |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-8240-4946-1 |pages=246–247 |access-date=21 February 2016 |archive-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011163910/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZOlNv8MAXIEC |url-status=live }}</ref> The Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana, along with Vishnu-oriented Puranas provide its theistic foundations.<ref>{{harv|Nelson|2007|pp=1441, 376}}</ref> Philosophically, their beliefs are rooted in the dualism sub-schools of Vedantic Hinduism.{{sfn|Bryant|Ekstrand|2013|pp=40–43}}{{sfn|Bryant|2007|pp=357–358}} | | [[Vaishnavism]] is the tradition that worships [[Vishnu]]<ref>{{cite book| last = Beck| first = Guy L.| title = Alternative Krishnas: Regional and Vernacular Variations on a Hindu Deity| year = 2006| publisher = SUNY Press| isbn = 978-0-7914-6416-8| page = 65 }}</ref> and his avatars, such as [[Krishna]] and [[Rama]].<ref>{{cite book| last1 = Bryant| first1 = Edwin| last2 = Ekstrand| first2 = Maria| title = The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mBMxPdgrBhoC| year = 2013| publisher = Columbia University Press| isbn = 978-0-231-50843-8| pages = 15–17 }}</ref> The people of this sect are generally non-ascetic, monastic.<ref name="sskumar">{{cite book| last = Kumar| first = Samrat Schmiem| title = Bhakti - The Yoga of Love: Trans-Rational Approaches to Peace Studies| year = 2010| publisher = LIT Verlag Münster| isbn = 978-3-643-50130-1| pages = 35–36 }}</ref> These practices include community dancing, singing of [[Kirtan]]s and [[Bhajan]]s, with sound and music believed by some to have meditative and spiritual powers.<ref name="edwinb">{{cite book| last1 = Bryant| first1 = Edwin| last2 = Bryant| first2 = Edwin Francis| last3 = Ekstrand| first3 = Maria| title = The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant| url = https://archive.org/details/harekrishnamovem00brya| year = 2004| isbn = 978-0-231-12256-6| pages = [https://archive.org/details/harekrishnamovem00brya/page/38 38]-43 }}</ref> |
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| Shaivism is the tradition that focuses on Shiva. Shaivas are more attracted to ascetic individualism, and it has several sub-schools.<ref name=sskumar /> Their practices include bhakti-style devotionalism, yet their beliefs lean towards nondual, monistic schools of Hinduism such as Advaita and Raja Yoga.<ref name="lancenelson">{{harv|Espín|Nickoloff|2007|year=2007|pp=562–563}}</ref>{{sfn|Bryant|Ekstrand|2004|pp=38–43}} Some Shaivas worship in temples, while others emphasize yoga, striving to be one with Shiva within.{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=209}} Avatars are uncommon, and some Shaivas visualize god as half male, half female, as a fusion of the male and female principles ([[Ardhanarishvara]]). Shaivism is related to Shaktism, wherein Shakti is seen as spouse of Shiva.<ref name=lancenelson /> Community celebrations include festivals, and participation, with Vaishnavas, in pilgrimages such as the [[Kumbh Mela]].<ref>James Lochtefeld (2010), ''God's Gateway: Identity and Meaning in a Hindu Pilgrimage Place'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-538614-1}}</ref> Shaivism has been more commonly practiced in the Himalayan north from Kashmir to Nepal, and in south India.{{sfn|Isaeva|1995|pp=141–145}} | | [[Shaivism]] is the tradition that focuses on [[Shiva]]. Shaivas are more attracted to ascetic individualism, and it has several sub-schools.<ref name=sskumar/> Their practices include Bhakti-style devotion but they leaned to philosply such as Advaita and [[Raja yoga|Yoga]].<ref name=lancenelson/><ref name=edwinb/> Some Shaivas worship in temples, but some practice yoga, striving to be one with Shiva within.<ref>{{cite book| last = Dalal| first = Roshen| title = The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pNmfdAKFpkQC| year = 2010| publisher = Penguin Books| isbn = 978-0-14-341517-6| page = 209 }}</ref> Shaivas visualize god as half male, half female, as a combination of the male and female principles ([[Ardhanarishvara]]). Shaivism is related to Shaktism, wherein Shakti is seen as wife of Shiva.<ref name=lancenelson/> Shaivism is mainly practiced in the Himalayan north from Kashmir to Nepal, and in south India.<ref>{{cite book| last = Isaeva| first = N.V.| title = From Early Vedanta to Kashmir Shaivism: Gaudapada, Bhartrhari, and Abhinavagupta| year = 1995| publisher = SUNY Press| isbn = 978-0-7914-2449-0| pages = 141–145 }}</ref> |
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| Shaktism focuses on goddess worship of Shakti or Devi as cosmic mother,<ref name=sskumar /> and it is particularly common in northeastern and eastern states of India such as [[Assam]] and [[West Bengal|Bengal]]. Devi is depicted as in gentler forms like [[Parvati]], the consort of Shiva; or, as fierce warrior goddesses like [[Kali]] and [[Durga]]. Followers of Shaktism recognize Shakti as the power that underlies the male principle. Shaktism is also associated with [[Tantra]] practices.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Scaligero |first=Massimo |year=1955 |title=The Tantra and the Spirit of the West |journal=East and West |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=291–296 |jstor=29753633}}</ref> Community celebrations include festivals, some of which include processions and idol immersion into sea or other water bodies.<ref>'''History:''' Hans Koester (1929), The Indian Religion of the Goddess Shakti, Journal of the Siam Society, Vol 23, Part 1, pp. 1–18;<br />'''Modern practices:''' June McDaniel (2010), ''Goddesses in World Culture'', Volume 1 (Editor: Patricia Monaghan), {{ISBN|978-0-313-35465-6}}, Chapter 2</ref> | | [[Shaktism]] focuses on goddess worship of [[Shakti]] or Devi as cosmic mother,<ref name=sskumar/> and it is mainly worshipped in northeastern and eastern states of India such as [[Assam]] and [[West Bengal|Bengal]]. Devi is depicted as in gentler forms like [[Parvati]], the consort of Shiva; or, as warrior goddesses like [[Kali]] and [[Durga]].<ref>Massimo Scaligero (1955), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/29753633 The Tantra and the Spirit of the West], East and West, Vol. 5, No. 4, pages 291-296</ref> Community celebrations include festivals, some of which include processions and idol immersion into sea or other water bodies.<ref>{{cite book| last = Monaghan| first = Patricia| title = Goddesses in World Culture| year = 2011| publisher = ABC-CLIO| isbn = 978-0-313-35465-6| pages = 1–18 }}</ref> |
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| [[Smartism]] centers its worship simultaneously on all the major [[Hindu deities]]: Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha, [[Surya]] and [[Kartikeya|Skanda]].{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=113}} The Smarta tradition developed during the (early) Classical Period of Hinduism around the beginning of the Common Era, when Hinduism emerged from the interaction between Brahmanism and local traditions.{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2013}}{{sfn|Flood|1996}} The Smarta tradition is aligned with Advaita Vedanta, and regards [[Adi Shankara]] as its founder or reformer, who considered worship of God-with-attributes ([[Saguna Brahman]]) as a journey towards ultimately realizing God-without-attributes (nirguna Brahman, Atman, Self-knowledge).<ref name="williamw">{{Cite book |last=Wainwright |first=William |title=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |url=http://stanford.library.usyd.edu.au/entries/concepts-god/ |publisher=Stanford University |year=2012 |chapter=Concepts of God |access-date=17 June 2015 |archive-date=23 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150323084508/http://stanford.library.usyd.edu.au/entries/concepts-god/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Murthy |first=U |title=Samskara |url=https://archive.org/details/samskarariteford0000anan |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-19-561079-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/samskarariteford0000anan/page/n150 150]}}</ref> The term ''Smartism'' is derived from Smriti texts of Hinduism, meaning those who remember the traditions in the texts.<ref name=lancenelson /><ref name="williamsonp89">{{cite book|first=L |last=Williamson |year=2010 |title=Transcendent in America: Hindu-inspired Meditation Movements as New Religion |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=978-0-8147-9450-0 |page=89}}</ref> This Hindu sect practices a philosophical Jnana yoga, scriptural studies, reflection, meditative path seeking an understanding of Self's oneness with God.<ref name=lancenelson /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Milner |first=Murray |title=Status and Sacredness |url=https://archive.org/details/statussacredness00miln |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-19-508489-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/statussacredness00miln/page/194 194]–197}}</ref> | | [[Smartism]] worship all the major Hindu deities like Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, [[Ganesha]], [[Surya]] and [[Kartikeya|Skanda]].{{Sfn|Flood|1996|p=113}} The Smarta tradition developed during the (early) Classical Period of Hinduism around the beginning of the Common Era, when Hinduism emerged from the interaction between Brahmanism and local traditions.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hiltebeitel |first=Alf |authorlink=Alf Hiltebeitel |year=2013 |chapter=Hinduism|editor-last=Kitagawa|editor-first=Joseph|title=The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture|publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781136875977 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kfyzAAAAQBAJ}}</ref>{{sfn|Flood|1996}} The Smarta tradition is very much same as [[Advaita Vedanta]], and consider [[Adi Shankara]] as its founder or reformer, who considered worship of God-with-attributes (saguna Brahman) as a journey towards ultimately realizing God-without-attributes (nirguna Brahman, Atman, Self-knowledge).<ref name="williamw">William Wainwright (2012), [http://stanford.library.usyd.edu.au/entries/concepts-god/ Concepts of God], Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, (Accessed on: June 17, 2015)</ref><ref>{{cite book| last1 = Murthy| first1 = U.R. Anantha| last2 = Anantamurthy| first2 = U.R.| title = Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man| year = 1978| publisher = Oxford University Press, USA| isbn = 978-0-19-561079-6| page = 150 }}</ref> |
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| There are no census data available on demographic history or trends for the traditions within Hinduism.<ref>[http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-hindu/ The global religious landscape: Hindus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209012719/https://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-hindu/ |date=9 February 2020 }}, Pew Research (2012)</ref> Estimates vary on the relative number of adherents in the different traditions of Hinduism. According to a 2010 estimate by Johnson and Grim, the Vaishnavism tradition is the largest group with about 641 million or 67.6% of Hindus, followed by Shaivism with 252 million or 26.6%, Shaktism with 30 million or 3.2% and other traditions including Neo-Hinduism and Reform Hinduism with 25 million or 2.6%.{{sfn|Johnson|Grim|2013|p=400}} In contrast, according to Jones and Ryan, Shaivism is the largest tradition of Hinduism.{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2007|p=474}}
| | == Hindu texts == |
| | Hindu text are world's oldest and had been written in [[Sanskrit]] and Tamil. The oldest Text is Rig Veda which is about 4000 years old.Hindu Texts can be divided in two parts: |
| | * [[Shruti]] (what is heard) |
| | * [[Smriti]] (what is remembered) |
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| === Ethnicities === | | === Shruti === |
| {{See also|Hinduism in South Asia|Hinduism in Southeast Asia|Balinese Hinduism|Hinduism in Java|Hinduism in Vietnam|Hinduism in the West|label 2=Southeast Asia|label 3=Bali|l4=Java|l5=Vietnam|l6=West}}
| | '''Shruti''' or '''Shruthi''' (Sanskrit: श्रुति; IAST: ''Śruti''; IPA/Sanskrit: [ʃrut̪i]) in Sanskrit means "that which is heard" These ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism includes the four Vedas including its four types of attached texts - the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the early Upanishads |
| [[File:A Russian Hindu girl.jpg|thumb|A [[Hinduism in Russia|Russian Hindu]] girl]]
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| Hinduism is traditionally a multi- or [[Polyethnicity|polyethnic]] religion. On the [[Indian subcontinent]], it is widespread among many [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]], [[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]] and other [[South Asian ethnic groups]], for example, the [[Meitei people]] ([[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]] ethnicity in the northeastern Indian state [[Manipur]]).
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| In addition, in antiquity and the [[Middle Ages]], Hinduism was the [[state religion]] in many Indianized kingdoms of Asia, the ''[[Greater India]]''{{snd}}from Afghanistan ([[Kabul]]) in the West and including almost all of [[Southeast Asia]] in the East ([[Cambodia]], [[Vietnam]], [[Indonesia]], partly [[Philippines]]){{snd}}and only by 15th century was nearly everywhere supplanted by Buddhism and Islam,{{sfnm|1a1=Cœdès|1y=1968|1p=|2a1=Pande|2y=2006|2p=|3a1=Acri|3a2=Creese|3a3=Griffiths|3y=2011|3p=}}<ref name="spread">{{cite encyclopedia|title=The spread of Hinduism in Southeast Asia and the Pacific|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Online|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism/The-spread-of-Hinduism-in-Southeast-Asia-and-the-Pacific}}</ref> except several still Hindu minor [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] ethnic groups, such as the [[Balinese people|Balinese]]{{sfnm|1a1=Howe|1y=2001|1p=|2a1=Stuart-Fox|2y=2002|2p=}}<ref name="Gonda">{{cite book|last=Gonda|first=Jan|url={{Google books|X7YfAAAAIAAJ|''Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 3 Southeast Asia, Religions''|plainurl=yes}}|title=Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 3. Southeast Asia, Religions|pages=1–47|chapter=The Indian Religions in Pre-Islamic Indonesia and their survival in Bali|author-link=Jan Gonda}}</ref> and [[Tenggerese people]]{{sfnm|1a1=Hefner|1y=1989|1p=|2a1=Kinney|2a2=Klokke|2a3=Kieven |2y=2003|2p=}} in Indonesia, and the [[Chams]] in Vietnam.{{sfnm|1a1=Phuong|1a2=Lockhart|1y=2011|1p=|2a1=Pande|2y=2006|2p=231}} Also, a small community of the Afghan [[Pashtuns]] who migrated to India after [[partition of India|partition]] remain committed to Hinduism.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tattooed-blue-skinned-hindu-pushtuns-look-back-at-their-roots/article22645932.ece |title=Tattooed 'blue-skinned' Hindu Pushtuns look back at their roots |author=Haider, Suhasini |date=3 February 2018 |website=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=9 February 2020}}</ref>
| | ===Smriti=== |
| | '''Smriti''' (Sanskrit: स्मृति, IAST: ''Smṛti''), means "that which is remembered" are a body of Hindu texts. Smriti were the texts which were remembered and were spread through mouth from generation to generation. Smriti includes (the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyana), the Dharmasūtras and Dharmaśāstras (or Smritiśāstras), the Arthasaśāstras, the Purānas, the Kāvya or poetical literature. |
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| There are many new ethnic [[Hinduism in Ghana|Ghanaian Hindus]] in Ghana, who have converted to Hinduism due to the works of [[Swami Ghanananda (Ghana)|Swami Ghananand Saraswati]] and [[Hindu Monastery of Africa]]<ref name="Joshi">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/10401741.stm |title=Ghana's unique African-Hindu temple |author=[[Rajesh Joshi]] |website=BBC News |date= |access-date=}}</ref> From the beginning of the 20th century, by the forces of Baba Premananda Bharati (1858–1914), [[Swami Vivekananda]], [[A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada]] and other missionaries, Hinduism gained a certain distribution among the Western peoples.{{sfn|Carney|2020}}
| | ==Festivals== |
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| == Scriptures ==
| | There are many [[Hindu]] Festivals celebrated throughout the world but mainly in [[India]] and [[Nepal]]. These festivals include worship, offerings to deities, fasting, rituals, fairs, charity, celebrations, Puja, etc. The festivals mainly celebrate events from Hindu mythology, changes in season, changes in Solar System. Different sects celebrate different festivals but festivals like Diwali, Holi, Shivratri, Raksha Bandhan, Janamashtmi etc. are celebrated by the majority of Hindus. |
| {{Main|Śruti|Smriti|List of Hindu texts|Śāstra pramāṇam in Hinduism}}
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| [[File:Rigveda MS2097.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Rigveda]]'' is the first among four Vedas<ref group="note">Rigveda is not only the oldest among the vedas, but is one of the earliest [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] texts.</ref> and is one of the oldest [[religious texts]]. This Rigveda [[manuscript]] is in [[Devanagari]].]] | |
| The ancient scriptures of Hinduism are in Sanskrit. These texts are classified into two: Shruti and Smriti. Shruti is ''[[apauruṣeyā]]'', "not made of a man" but revealed to the ''[[rishis]]'' (seers), and regarded as having the highest authority, while the smriti are manmade and have secondary authority.{{sfn|Muesse|2011|p=202}} They are the two highest [[sources of dharma]], the other two being ''[[Ācāra|Śiṣṭa Āchāra/Sadāchara]]'' (conduct of noble people) and finally ''[[Atmatusti|Ātma tuṣṭi]]'' ("what is pleasing to oneself"){{refn|group=note|According to [[Bhavishya Purana]], Brahmaparva, Adhyaya 7, there are four [[sources of dharma]]: ''[[Śruti]]'' (Vedas), ''[[Smṛti]]'' (Dharmaśāstras, Puranas), ''[[Ācāra|Śiṣṭa Āchāra/Sadāchara]]'' (conduct of noble people) and finally ''[[Atmatusti|Ātma tuṣṭi]]'' (Self satisfaction). From the sloka:
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| : {{lang|sa|वेदः स्मृतिः सदाचारः स्वस्य च प्रियमात्मनः । एतच्चतुर्विधं प्राहुः साक्षाद्धर्मस्य लक्षणम् ॥}}<ref group=web>{{cite web |url=http://www.vedagyana.info/maha-puranas-telugu/bhavishya-purana/brahma-parva/?chapter=7 |script-title=te:ఏడవ అధ్యాయము - 7. వివాహ ధర్మ వర్ణనము |trans-title=Chapter 7 – 7. Description of Marriage |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610234713/http://www.vedagyana.info/maha-puranas-telugu/bhavishya-purana/brahma-parva/?chapter=7 |archive-date=10 June 2020}}</ref>
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| :''{{IAST|vedaḥ smṛtiḥ sadācāraḥ svasya ca priyamātmanah<br />etaccaturvidham prāhuḥ sākshāddharmasya lakshaṇam}}''
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| :– Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahmaparva, Adhyāya 7
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| The meaning is ''vedas, smritis, good (approved) tradition and what is agreeable to one's Self (conscience), the wise have declared to be the four direct evidences of dharma''.}}
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| Hindu scriptures were composed, memorized and transmitted verbally, across generations, for many centuries before they were written down.{{sfn|Flood|2003|loc=See [[Michael Witzel]] quote|pp=68–69}}{{sfn|Sargeant|Chapple|1984|p=3}} Over many centuries, sages refined the teachings and expanded the Shruti and Smriti, as well as developed Shastras with epistemological and metaphysical theories of six classical schools of Hinduism.
| | ==History== |
| | ===Periodisation=== |
| | Hinduism can be divided in following ages |
| | * Prevedic religions (pre-history and Indus Valley Civilisation; until c. 1500 BCE); |
| | * Vedic period (c. 1500–500 BCE); |
| | * "Second Urbanisation" (c. 500–200 BCE); |
| | * Classical Hinduism (c. 200 BCE-1100 CE);[note 20] |
| | * Pre-classical Hinduism (c. 200 BCE-300 CE); |
| | * "Golden Age" (Gupta Empire) (c. 320–650 CE); |
| | * Late-Classical Hinduism - Puranic Hinduism (c. 650–1100 CE); |
| | * Islam and sects of Hinduism (c. 1200–1700 CE); |
| | * Modern Hinduism (from c. 1800). |
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| ''Shruti'' (lit. that which is heard){{sfn|Rinehart|2004|p=68}} primarily refers to the ''Vedas'', which form the earliest record of the Hindu scriptures, and are regarded as eternal truths revealed to the ancient sages (''[[rishi]]s'').{{sfn|Flood|2008|p=4}} There are four ''Vedas'' – ''[[Rigveda]]'', ''[[Samaveda]]'', ''[[Yajurveda]]'' and ''[[Atharvaveda]]''. Each Veda has been subclassified into four major text types – the [[Samhita]]s (mantras and benedictions), the [[Aranyakas]] (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the [[Brahmanas]] (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the Upanishads (text discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=35–39}}<ref>A Bhattacharya (2006), ''Hindu Dharma: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology'', {{ISBN|978-0-595-38455-6}}, pages 8–14; George M. Williams (2003), Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-533261-2}}, page 285</ref><ref>Jan Gonda (1975), ''Vedic Literature: (Saṃhitās and Brāhmaṇas)'', Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-447-01603-2}}</ref> The first two parts of the Vedas were subsequently called the ''{{IAST|Karmakāṇḍa}}'' (ritualistic portion), while the last two form the ''{{IAST|Jñānakāṇḍa}}'' (knowledge portion, discussing spiritual insight and philosophical teachings).<ref>{{harvnb|Roer|1908|pp=1–5}}; "The Vedas are divided in two parts, the first is the karma-kanda, the ceremonial part, also (called) purva-kanda, and treats on ceremonies; the second part is the jnana kanda, the part which contains knowledge, also named uttara-kanda or posterior part, and unfolds the knowledge of Brahma or the universal Self."</ref>{{sfn|Werner|2005|pp=10, 58, 66}}{{sfn|Monier-Williams|1974|pp=25–41}}<ref name="Olivelle1998Introduction">{{cite book |last=Olivelle |first=Patrick |year=1998 |title=Upaniṣads |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-282292-5 |chapter=Introduction}}</ref>
| | ===Pictures=== |
| | [[File:Shiva Pashupati.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Pashupati]]'' seal, [[Indus Valley civilization]]]] |
| | The origins of Hinduism are unknown but the earliest traces of Hinduism come from Mesolithic in the sites such as the rock paintings of [[Bhimbetka rock shelters]] dating to a period of 30,000 BCE or older,{{refn|group=note|{{harvnb|Doniger|2010|p=66}}: "Much of what we now call Hinduism may have had roots in cultures that thrived in South Asia long before the creation of textual evidence that we can decipher with any confidence. Remarkable cave paintings have been preserved from Mesolithic sites dating from c. 30,000 BCE in [[Bhimbetka rock shelters|Bhimbetka]], near present-day Bhopal, in the Vindhya Mountains in the province of Madhya Pradesh."}} as well as neolithic times.{{refn|group=note|{{harvnb|Jones|Ryan|2006|p=xvii}}: "Some practices of Hinduism must have originated in Neolithic times (c. 4000 BCE). The worship of certain plants and animals as sacred, for instance, could very likely have very great antiquity. The worship of goddesses, too, a part of Hinduism today, may be a feature that originated in the Neolithic."}} Some of the religious practices can be considered to have originated in 4000 BCE. Several [[Tribal religions in India|tribal religions]] still exist, though their practices may not resemble those of prehistoric religions.<ref group=web>[http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/india/tribal.html PHILTAR, Division of Religion and Philosophy, University of Cumbria, ''Tribal Religions of India'']</ref> |
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| The Upanishads are the foundation of Hindu philosophical thought, and have profoundly influenced diverse traditions.<ref name="wendydoniger" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dissanayake |first=Wiman |title=Self as Body in Asian Theory and Practice |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-7914-1080-6 |editor-last=Kasulis |editor-first=Thomas P. |page=39 |quote=The Upanishads form the '''foundations of Hindu philosophical thought''' and the central theme of the Upanishads is the identity of Atman and Brahman, or the inner self and the cosmic self |display-editors=etal}}</ref><ref name="McDowell" /> Of the Shrutis (Vedic corpus), they alone are widely influential among Hindus, considered scriptures par excellence of Hinduism, and their central ideas have continued to influence its thoughts and traditions.<ref name="wendydoniger">{{harvnb|Doniger|1990|pp=2–3}}: "The Upanishads supply the '''basis of later Hindu philosophy'''; they alone of the Vedic corpus are widely known and quoted by most well-educated Hindus, and their central ideas have also become a part of the spiritual arsenal of rank-and-file Hindus."</ref><ref name="Olivelle2014p3q" /> Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan states that the Upanishads have played a dominating role ever since their appearance.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Radhakrishnan |first=S. |year=1951 |title=The Principal Upanishads |url=https://archive.org/stream/PrincipalUpanishads/129481965-The-Principal-Upanishads-by-S-Radhakrishnan#page/n19/mode/2up |publisher=George Allen & Co. |isbn=978-81-7223-124-8 |edition=reprint |pages=17–19}}</ref> There are 108 [[Muktikā]] Upanishads in Hinduism, of which between 10 and 13 are variously counted by scholars as [[Mukhya Upanishads|Principal Upanishads]].<ref name="Olivelle1998Introduction" /><ref>{{Cite book |title=Thirteen Principal Upanishads |year=1921 |publisher=Oxford University Press |translator-last=Hume |translator-first=Robert |url=https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n1/mode/2up}}</ref>
| | ==Varna== |
| The most notable of the Smritis ("remembered") are the Hindu epics and the ''Puranas''. The epics consist of the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayana''. The ''Bhagavad Gita'' is an integral part of the ''Mahabharata'' and one of the most popular sacred texts of Hinduism.<ref>''Sarvopaniṣado gāvo'', etc. (''Gītā Māhātmya'' 6). ''Gītā Dhyānam'', cited in {{cite book |chapter=Introduction |chapter-url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/introduction/ |title=Bhagavad-gītā |trans-title=As It Is |via=Bhaktivedanta VedaBase |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174201/https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/introduction/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It is sometimes called ''Gitopanishad'', then placed in the Shruti ("heard") category, being Upanishadic in content.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Coburn |first=Thomas B. |date=September 1984 |title="Scripture" in India: Towards a Typology of the Word in Hindu Life |journal=[[Journal of the American Academy of Religion]] |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=435–459 |doi=10.1093/jaarel/52.3.435 }}</ref> The ''Puranas'', which started to be composed from c. 300 CE onward,{{sfn|Lorenzen|1999|p=655}} contain extensive mythologies, and are central in the distribution of common themes of Hinduism through vivid narratives. The ''[[Yoga Sutras]]'' is a classical text for the Hindu Yoga tradition, which gained a renewed popularity in the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Michelis |first=Elizabeth De |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sHBBDq_Ul3sC |title=A History of Modern Yoga: Patanjali and Western Esotericism |date=2005 |publisher=Continuum |isbn=978-0-8264-8772-8}}</ref>
| | According to one view, the Varna, which later transformed into [[caste]] system during the British rule, shows how strongly many have felt about each person following his or her dharma, or destined path. Many Hindus say it goes against the true meaning of dharma. However, Varna plays a big role in Hindu society. It's later transformation as Caste system by the British rule of India lost favor and became illegal after the independence of India. |
| Since the 19th-century Indian modernists have re-asserted the 'Aryan origins' of Hinduism, "purifying" Hinduism from its Tantric elements{{sfn|Lorenzen|2002|p=33}} and elevating the Vedic elements. Hindu modernists like Vivekananda see the Vedas as the laws of the spiritual world, which would still exist even if they were not revealed to the sages.{{sfn|Vivekananda|1987|loc=Volume I|pp=6–7}}{{sfn|Harshananda|1989}} In Tantric tradition, the ''Agamas'' refer to authoritative scriptures or the teachings of Shiva to Shakti,{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2007|p=13}} while ''Nigamas'' refers to the Vedas and the teachings of Shakti to Shiva.{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2007|p=13}} In Agamic schools of Hinduism, the Vedic literature and the Agamas are equally authoritative.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dhavamony |first=Mariasusai |title=Hindu Spirituality |publisher=Gregorian University and Biblical Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-88-7652-818-7 |pages=31–34}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=David |title=The Dance of Siva: Religion, Art and Poetry in South India |url=https://archive.org/details/danceofsivarelig0000smit |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-521-48234-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/danceofsivarelig0000smit/page/116 116]}}</ref>
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| == Practices == | | ==Temples== |
| | Puja (worship) takes place in the Mandir (temple). Mandirs vary in size from small village shrines to large buildings, surrounded by walls. People can also visit the Mandir at any time to pray and participate in the bhajans (religious songs). Hindus also worship at home and often have a special room with a shrine to particular gods. |
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| === Rituals ===
| | Temple construction in India started nearly 2000 years ago. The oldest temples that were built of brick and wood no longer exist. Stone later became the preferred material. Temples marked the transition of Hinduism from the Vedic religion of ritual sacrifices to a religion of Bhakti or love and devotion to a personal deity. Temple construction and mode of worship is governed by ancient Sanskrit scriptures called agamas, of which there are several, which deal with individual deities. There are substantial differences in architecture, customs, rituals and traditions in temples in different parts of India. During the ritual consecration of a temple, the presence of the universal all-encompassing Brahman is invoked into the main stone deity of the temple, through ritual, thereby making the deity and the temple sacred and divine |
| {{Main|Puja (Hinduism)|Aarti|Abhisheka|Japa|Havan|Yajna|Hindu wedding}}
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| [[File:(A) Hindu wedding, Saptapadi ritual before Agni Yajna.jpg|right|thumb|A wedding is the most extensive personal ritual an adult Hindu undertakes in his or her life. A typical [[Hindu wedding]] is solemnized before Vedic [[Yajna|fire]] ritual (shown).{{sfn|Lochtefeld|2002a|p=427}}]]
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| Most Hindus observe [[Puja (Hinduism)|religious rituals at home]].<ref>{{harvnb|Muesse|2011|p=[https://archive.org/details/hindutraditionsc00mues/page/216 216]}}. "rituals daily prescribe routine"</ref> The rituals vary greatly among regions, villages, and individuals. They are not mandatory in Hinduism. The nature and place of rituals is an individual's choice. Some devout Hindus perform daily rituals such as worshiping at dawn after bathing (usually at a family shrine, and typically includes lighting a lamp and offering foodstuffs before the images of deities), recitation from religious scripts, singing bhajans (devotional hymns), yoga, [[meditation]], chanting mantras and others.{{sfn|Heitzman|Worden|1996|pp=145–146}}
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| Vedic rituals of fire-oblation (''[[yajna]]'') and chanting of Vedic hymns are observed on special occasions, such as a Hindu wedding.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sharma |first=A |year=1985 |title=Marriage in the Hindu religious tradition |journal=Journal of Ecumenical Studies |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=69–80}}</ref> Other major life-stage events, such as rituals after death, include the ''yajña'' and chanting of Vedic [[mantra]]s.<ref group="web">{{Cite web |title=Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 |url=http://www.sudhirlaw.com/HMA55.htm |access-date=25 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070605133731/http://www.sudhirlaw.com/HMA55.htm |archive-date=5 June 2007}}</ref>
| | == Alternative cultures of worship == |
| | === The Bhakti schools === |
| | The [[Bhakti yoga|Bhakti]] (Devotional) school takes its name from the Hindu term that signifies a blissful, selfless and overwhelming love of God as the beloved Father, Mother, Child, or whatever relationship finds appeal in the devotee's heart. The philosophy of Bhakti seeks to tap into the universal divinity through personal form, which explains the proliferation of so many gods and goddesses in India, often reflecting the singular inclinations of small regions or groups of people. Seen as a form of [[Yoga]], or union, it seeks to dissolve the ego in God, since consciousness of the body and limited mind as self is seen to be a divisive factor in spiritual realization. Essentially, it is God who effects all change, who is the source of all works, who acts through the devotee as love and light. 'Sins' and evil-doings of the devotee are said to fall away of their own accord, the devotee shriven, limitedness even transcended, through the love of God. The [[Bhakti]] movements rejuvenated Hinduism through their intense expression of faith and their responsiveness to the emotional and philosophical needs of India. They can rightly be said to have affected the greatest wave of change in Hindu prayer and ritual since ancient times. |
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| The words of the mantras are "themselves sacred,"{{sfn|Holdrege|1996|pp=346–347}} and "do not constitute [[Speech act|linguistic utterances]]."{{sfn|Holdrege|1996|p=347}} Instead, as Klostermaier notes, in their application in Vedic rituals they become [[Magic (supernatural)|magical]] sounds, "means to an end."{{refn|group=note|Klostermaier: "''Brahman'', derived from the root ''bŗh'' <nowiki>=</nowiki> to grow, to become great, was originally identical with the Vedic word, that makes people prosper: words were the pricipan means to approach the gods who dwelled in a different sphere. It was not a big step from this notion of "reified [[Speech act|speech-act]]" to that "of the speech-act being looked at implicitly and explicitly as a means to an end." {{harvnb|Klostermaier|2007|p=55}} quotes Madhav M. Deshpande (1990), [https://www.scribd.com/document/378011865/Madhav-Deshpande-Changing-Conceptions-of-the-Veda-From-Speech-Acts-to-Magical-Sounds ''Changing Conceptions of the Veda: From Speech-Acts to Magical Sounds''], p.4.}} In the Brahmanical perspective, the sounds have their own meaning, mantras are considered "primordial rhythms of creation", preceding the forms to which they refer.{{sfn|Holdrege|1996|p=347}} By reciting them the cosmos is regenerated, "by enlivening and nourishing the forms of creation at their base. As long as the purity of the sounds is preserved, the recitation of the ''mantras'' will be efficacious, irrespective of whether their discursive meaning is understood by human beings."{{sfn|Holdrege|1996|p=347}}<ref name="Coward2008p114" /> | | The most popular means of expressing love for God in the Hindu tradition has been through ''puja'', or ritual devotion, frequently using the aid of a ''[[#Forms of worship: icons and mantras|murti]]'' (statue) in conjunction with the singing or chanting of meditational prayer in the form of [[mantra]]s. |
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| === Life-cycle rites of passage ===
| | Devotional songs called [[bhajan]]s (written primarily from the 14th-17th centuries), [[kirtan]] (praise), and [[arti]] (a filtered down form of Vedic fire ritual) are sometimes sung in conjunction with performance of puja. This rather organic system of devotion attempts to aid the individual in connecting with God through symbolic medium. It is said, however, that the ''bhakta'', through a growing connection with God, is eventually able to avoid all external form and is immersed entirely in the bliss of undifferentiated Love in Truth. |
| {{Main|Saṃskāra}}
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| Major life stage milestones are celebrated as ''sanskara'' (''saṃskāra'', [[rites of passage]]) in Hinduism.<ref name="pandey">{{Cite book |last=Pandey |first=R |title=Hindu Saṁskāras: Socio-Religious Study of the Hindu Sacraments |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1969 |isbn=978-81-208-0434-0 |edition=2nd |location=Delhi}}</ref><ref name="knipe">{{Cite book |last=Knipe |first=David |title=Vedic Voices: Intimate Narratives of a Living Andhra Tradition |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-19-939769-3 |page=52}}</ref> The rites of passage are not mandatory, and vary in details by gender, community and regionally.<ref name="pvkanesamsk">{{Cite book |last=Kane |first=PV |title=History of Dharmasastras |publisher=Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute |series=Part I |volume=II |pages=190–417 |chapter=Saṁskāra |year=1941 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n248/mode/2up}}</ref> Gautama [[Dharmasutra]]s composed in about the middle of 1st millennium BCE lists 48 sanskaras,<ref name="patrick" /> while [[Kalpa (Vedanga)|Gryhasutra]] and other texts composed centuries later list between 12 and 16 sanskaras.<ref name="pandey" /><ref name="carlolson">{{Cite book |last=Olson |first=Carl |title=The Many Colors of Hinduism: A Thematic-historical Introduction |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8135-4068-9 |pages=93–94}}</ref> The list of sanskaras in Hinduism include both external rituals such as those marking a baby's birth and a baby's name giving ceremony, as well as inner rites of resolutions and ethics such as [[Compassion#Hinduism|compassion]] towards all living beings and positive attitude.<ref name="patrick">{{Cite book |last=Olivelle |first=Patrick |title=Dharmasutras – The Law Codes of Ancient India |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-19-955537-6 |pages=90–91}}</ref>
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| The major traditional rites of passage in Hinduism include<ref name="pvkanesamsk" /> [[Garbhadhana]] (pregnancy), [[Pumsavana]] (rite before the fetus begins moving and kicking in womb), [[Simantonnayana]] (parting of pregnant woman's hair, baby shower), ''Jatakarman'' (rite celebrating the new born baby), ''Namakarana'' (naming the child), ''Nishkramana'' (baby's first outing from home into the world), ''Annaprashana'' (baby's first feeding of solid food), ''Chudakarana'' (baby's first haircut, tonsure), ''Karnavedha'' (ear piercing), ''Vidyarambha'' (baby's start with knowledge), [[Upanayana]] (entry into a school rite),<ref>For Vedic school, see: {{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Brian K. |year=1986 |title=Ritual, Knowledge, and Being: Initiation and Veda Study in Ancient India |journal=Numen |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=65–89 |jstor=3270127}}</ref><ref>For music school, see: {{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Alison |title=The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia |publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8240-4946-1 |volume=5 |page=459 |display-authors=etal}} For sculpture, crafts and other professions, see: {{cite book|first=Heather |last=Elgood |year=2000 |title=Hinduism and the religious arts |isbn=978-0-304-70739-3 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |pages=32–134}}</ref> ''Keshanta'' and ''Ritusuddhi'' (first shave for boys, menarche for girls), [[Samavartana]] (graduation ceremony), Vivaha (wedding), ''Vratas'' (fasting, spiritual studies) and [[Antyeshti]] (cremation for an adult, burial for a child).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Siqueira |first=Thomas N. |date=March 1935 |title=The Vedic Sacraments |journal=Thought |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=598–609 |doi=10.5840/thought1935945}}</ref> In contemporary times, there is regional variation among Hindus as to which of these [[Saṃskāra|sanskaras]] are observed; in some cases, additional regional rites of passage such as ''[[Śrāddha]]'' (ritual of feeding people after cremation) are practiced.<ref name="pvkanesamsk" />{{sfn|Heitzman|Worden|1996|pp=146–148}}
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| === Bhakti (worship) ===
| | Altogether, bhakti resulted in a mass of devotional literature, music and art that has enriched the world and gave India renewed spiritual impetus, one eschewing unnecessary ritual and artificial social boundaries. See [[bhakti yoga]] for more. |
| {{Main|Bhakti|Puja (Hinduism)|Japa|Mantra|Bhajan}}
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| ''Bhakti'' refers to devotion, participation in and the love of a personal god or a representational god by a devotee.<ref name="encyclopediabrit" group="web">{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2009 |title=Bhakti |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/63933/bhakti |access-date=16 June 2015 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174330/https://www.britannica.com/topic/bhakti |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="karen">{{Cite book |last=Pechelis |first=Karen |title=The Continuum Companion to Hindu Studies |url=https://archive.org/details/continuumcompani00fraz |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-8264-9966-0 |editor-last=Frazier |editor-first=Jessica |pages=[https://archive.org/details/continuumcompani00fraz/page/107 107]–121 |chapter=Bhakti Traditions |editor-last2=Flood |editor-first2=Gavin}}</ref> ''Bhakti-marga'' is considered in Hinduism to be one of many possible paths of spirituality and alternative means to moksha.<ref>{{harvnb|Lochtefeld|2002a|pp=98–100}}; also see articles on karmamārga and jnanamārga</ref> The other paths, left to the choice of a Hindu, are ''Jnana-marga'' (path of knowledge), ''Karma-marga'' (path of works), ''Rāja-marga'' (path of contemplation and meditation).<ref name="johnmartin">{{Cite book |last=Sahajananda |first=John Martin |year=2014 |title=Fully Human Fully Divine |publisher=Partridge India |isbn=978-1-4828-1955-7 |page=60}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tiwari |first=Kedar Nath |title=Comparative Religion |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=2009 |isbn=978-81-208-0293-3 |page=31}}</ref>
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| Bhakti is practiced in a number of ways, ranging from reciting mantras, [[japa]]s (incantations), to individual private prayers in one's home shrine,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Huyler |first=Stephen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cnNcDn36VHcC |title=Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-300-08905-9 |pages=10–11, 71}}</ref> or in a temple before a [[murti]] or sacred image of a deity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gonda |first=Jan |year=1963 |title=The Indian Mantra |journal=Oriens |volume=16 |pages=244–297 |doi=10.1163/18778372-01601016}}</ref>{{sfn|Fowler|1997|pp=41–50}} [[Hindu temple]]s and domestic altars, are important elements of worship in contemporary theistic Hinduism.<ref name="Foulston2012p20">{{Cite book|last=Foulston|first=Lynn|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3N4mGlbutbgC|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=978-1-135-18978-5|editor-last=Cush|editor-first=Denise|pages=21–22, 868|display-editors=etal}}</ref> While many visit a temple on special occasions, most offer daily prayers at a domestic altar, typically a dedicated part of the home that includes sacred images of deities or gurus.<ref name="Foulston2012p20" />
| | === Tantrism === |
| | {{Main|Tantra}} |
| | According to the most famous Western Tantrik scholar, Sir John Woodroffe (pseudonym Arthur Avalon): "The Indian Tantras, which are numerous, constitute the Scripture (Shastra) of the Kaliyuga, and as such are the voluminous source of present and practical orthodox 'Hinduism'. The Tantra Shastra is, in fact, and whatever be its historical origin, a development of the Vaidika Karmakanda, promulgated to meet the needs of that age. Shiva says: 'For the benefit of men of the Kali age, men bereft of energy and dependent for existence on the food they eat, the Kaula doctrine, O auspicious one! is given' (Chap. IX., verse 12). To the Tantra we must therefore look if we would understand aright both ritual, yoga, and sadhana of all kinds, as also the general principles of which these practices are but the objective expression." (Introduction to Sir John Woodroffe's translation of "Mahanirvana Tantra.") |
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| One form of daily worship is aarti, or “supplication,” a ritual in which a flame is offered and “accompanied by a song of praise.”<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Lutgendorf|first=Philip|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fVFC2Nx-LP8C&q=hanuman's+tale|title=Hanuman's Tale: The Messages of a Divine Monkey|date=11 January 2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-804220-4|pages=401|language=en|access-date=29 December 2020|archive-date=29 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174158/https://books.google.com/books?id=fVFC2Nx-LP8C&q=hanuman%27s+tale|url-status=live}}</ref> Notable aartis include [[Om Jai Jagdish Hare]], a prayer to [[Vishnu]], [[Sukhakarta Dukhaharta]], a prayer to [[Ganesha]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/34752006|title=Ganesh, the benevolent|date=1995|publisher=Marg Publications|others=Pal, Pratapaditya., Marg Publications.|isbn=81-85026-31-9|location=Bombay|oclc=34752006|access-date=29 December 2020|archive-date=29 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174126/https://www.worldcat.org/title/ganesh-the-benevolent/oclc/34752006|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Raj|first=Dhooleka S.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1pn917|title=Where Are You From?: Middle-Class Migrants in the Modern World|date=2003|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-23382-9|edition=1|jstor=10.1525/j.ctt1pn917|access-date=29 December 2020|archive-date=29 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174126/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1pn917|url-status=live}}</ref> Aarti can be used to make offerings to entities ranging from deities to “human exemplar[s].”<ref name=":0" /> For instance, Aarti is offered to [[Hanuman]], a devotee of God, in many temples, including [[Balaji Mandir (disambiguation)|Balaji temples]], where the primary deity is an incarnation of [[Venkateswara|Vishnu]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lutgendorf|first=Philip|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fVFC2Nx-LP8C&q=hanuman's+tale|title=Hanuman's Tale: The Messages of a Divine Monkey|date=11 January 2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-804220-4|pages=23, 262|language=en|access-date=29 December 2020|archive-date=29 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174126/https://books.google.com/books?id=fVFC2Nx-LP8C&q=hanuman%27s+tale|url-status=live}}</ref> In [[Swaminarayan Sampradaya|Swaminarayan]] temples and home shrines, aarti is offered to [[Swaminarayan]], considered by followers to be supreme God.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Williams|first=Raymond Brady|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ODdqDwAAQBAJ&q=an+introduction+to+swaminarayan+hinduism|title=Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism|date=8 November 2018|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-42114-0|pages=84, 153–154|language=en|access-date=29 December 2020|archive-date=29 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174204/https://books.google.com/books?id=ODdqDwAAQBAJ&q=an+introduction+to+swaminarayan+hinduism|url-status=live}}</ref>
| | The word "[[tantra]]" means "treatise" or "continuum", and is applied to a variety of mystical, occult, medical and scientific works as well as to those which we would now regard as "tantric". Most tantras were written in the late Middle Ages and sprang from Hindu cosmology and [[Yoga]]. |
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| Other personal and community practices include puja as well as aarti,{{sfn|Lochtefeld|2002a|p=51}} kirtan, or bhajan, where devotional verses and hymns are read or poems are sung by a group of devotees.<ref group="web">{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2015 |title=Puja |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://www.britannica.com/topic/puja |access-date=16 June 2015 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174151/https://www.britannica.com/topic/puja |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=DeNapoli |first=Antoinette |title=Real Sadhus Sing to God |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-994003-5 |pages=19–24}}</ref> While the choice of the deity is at the discretion of the Hindu, the most observed traditions of Hindu devotion include Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reinhart |first=Robin |title=Contemporary Hinduism: ritual, culture, and practice |url=https://archive.org/details/contemporaryhind0000unse_x1k0 |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-57607-905-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/contemporaryhind0000unse_x1k0/page/35 35]–47}}</ref> A Hindu may worship multiple deities, all as henotheistic manifestations of the same ultimate reality, cosmic spirit and absolute spiritual concept called Brahman.{{sfn|Prentiss|2014}}{{sfn|Sharma|2000|pp=72–75}}<ref name="avatars" />
| | == Important symbolism and themes in Hinduism == |
| Bhakti-marga, states Pechelis, is more than ritual devotionalism, it includes practices and spiritual activities aimed at refining one's state of mind, knowing god, participating in god, and internalizing god.{{sfn|Prentiss|2014|pp=22–29}}<ref>{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Religion |publisher=Thompson Gale |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-02-865735-6 |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Lindsay |volume=2 |pages=856–857}}</ref> While bhakti practices are popular and easily observable aspect of Hinduism, not all Hindus practice bhakti, or believe in god-with-attributes (''saguna Brahman'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=Bob |title=Hindus meeting Christians |publisher=OCMS |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-870345-39-2 |pages=288–295 |postscript=;}}<br />{{Cite book |last=Vroom |first=Hendrick |title=No Other Gods |url=https://archive.org/details/noothergodschris0000vroo |publisher=Eerdmans Publishing |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-8028-4097-4 |location=Cambridge |pages=[https://archive.org/details/noothergodschris0000vroo/page/68 68]–69}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Smart |first=Ninian |title=The Yogi and the Devotee |publisher=Routledge |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-415-68499-6 |pages=52–80}}</ref> Concurrent Hindu practices include a belief in god-without-attributes, and god within oneself.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ardley |first=Jane |title=Spirituality and Politics: Gandhian and Tibetan cases, in The Tibetan Independence Movement |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-138-86264-7 |pages=98–99, ix, 112–113 |postscript=;}}<br />{{Cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Helen |title=Roots of Wisdom: A Tapestry of Philosophical Traditions |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-285-19712-8 |pages=188–189}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhavasar |first=SN |title=Hindu Spirituality: Postclassical and Modern |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=2004 |isbn=978-81-208-1937-5 |editor-last=Sundararajan |editor-first=K. R. |pages=28–29 |editor-last2=Mukerji |editor-first2=Bithika}}</ref>
| | === Ahimsa and the cow === |
| | Many Hindus are vegetarians (do not eat meat) because of their respect for life. About 30% of today's [[Hindu]] population, especially in orthodox communities in [[South India]], in certain northerly states like Gujarat, and in many [[Brahmin]] areas around the subcontinent, are vegetarian.{{fact|date=August 2022}} |
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| === Festivals ===
| | Most [[Hindus]] who do eat meat do not eat [[beef]]. Some do not even use [[leather]] products. This is most likely because many Hindus have relied so heavily on the cow for all sorts of dairy products, tilling of fields and fuel for fertiliser that its status as a willing 'caretaker' of humanity grew to identifying it as an almost motherly figure. Thus, while most Hindus do not worship the cow, and rules against eating beef arose long after the [[Veda]]s had been written, it still has an honored place in Hindu society. It is said that [[Krishna]] is both Govinda (herder of cows) and Gopala (protector of cows), and [[Shiva]]'s attendant is [[Nandi]], the bull. With the stress on vegetarianism (which is usually followed even by meat-eating Hindus on religious days or special occasions) and the sacred nature of the cow, it is no wonder that most holy cities and areas in India have a ban on selling meat-products and there is a movement among Hindus to ban cow-slaughter not only in specific regions, but in all of [[India]]. |
| {{Main|List of Hindu festivals}}
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| [[File:Deepawali-festival.jpg|thumb|right|The festival of lights, [[Diwali]], is celebrated by Hindus all over the world. ]]
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| [[File:Hindus in Ghana celebrating Ganesh Chaturti.jpg|thumb|[[Hinduism in Ghana|Hindus in Ghana]] celebrating [[Ganesh Chaturti]]]]
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| [[File:Holi Festival of Colors Utah, United States 2013.jpg|thumb|[[Holi]] celebrated at the [[Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple (Spanish Fork)|Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple]] in [[Utah]], [[United States]].]]
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| Hindu festivals (Sanskrit: ''Utsava''; literally: "to lift higher") are ceremonies that weave individual and social life to dharma.<ref name="sandrarobinson" /><ref name="yustf">{{Cite book |last=Yust |first=Karen-Marie |title=Nurturing Child and Adolescent Spirituality |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7425-4463-5 |page=234 |chapter=Sacred Celebrations |postscript=. See also Chapter 18.}}</ref> Hinduism has many festivals throughout the year, where the dates are set by the lunisolar [[Hindu calendar]], many coinciding with either the full moon (''Holi'') or the new moon (''Diwali''), often with seasonal changes.<ref name="denisecushf">{{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=Sandra |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |publisher=Routledge |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7007-1267-0 |editor-last=Cush |editor-first=Denise |page=907 |display-editors=etal}}</ref> Some festivals are found only regionally and they celebrate local traditions, while a few such as ''Holi'' and ''Diwali'' are pan-Hindu.<ref name="denisecushf" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Foulston |first1=Lynn |title=Hindu Goddesses: Beliefs and Practices |url=https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesbe0000foul |last2=Abbott |first2=Stuart |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-902210-43-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesbe0000foul/page/155 155]}}</ref>
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| The festivals typically celebrate events from Hinduism, connoting spiritual themes and celebrating aspects of human relationships such as the Sister-Brother bond over the ''Raksha Bandhan'' (or [[Bhau-beej|Bhai Dooj]]) festival.<ref name="yustf" /><ref>{{Cite book |editor-last=Holberg |editor-first=Dale |title=Students' Britannica India |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica (India) |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-85229-760-5 |volume=2 |page=120 |chapter=Festival calendar of India |quote=Raksha Bandhan (also called Rakhi), when girls and women tie a rakhi (a symbolic thread) on their brothers' wrists and pray for their prosperity, happiness and goodwill. The brothers, in turn, give their sisters a token gift and promise protection.}}</ref> The same festival sometimes marks different stories depending on the Hindu denomination, and the celebrations incorporate regional themes, traditional agriculture, local arts, family get togethers, [[Puja (Hinduism)|Puja]] rituals and feasts.<ref name="sandrarobinson">{{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=Sandra |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |publisher=Routledge |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7007-1267-0 |editor-last=Cush |editor-first=Denise |pages=908–912 |display-editors=etal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Frazier |first=Jessica |title=The Bloomsbury Companion to Hindu Studies |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-4725-1151-5 |pages=255, 271–273}}</ref>
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| Some major regional or pan-Hindu festivals include:
| | === Hindu symbols === |
| {{div col|colwidth=18em}}
| | Hindus use many symbols and signs. The two most important symbols used by Hindus are the "[[Aum]]" and the "[[Swastika (Hinduism)]]". |
| * [[Makar Sankranti]]
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| * [[Pongal (festival)|Pongal]]
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| * [[Thaipusam]]
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| * [[Vasant Panchami]]
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| * [[Maha Shivaratri]]
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| * [[Shigmo]]
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| * [[Holi]]
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| * [[Gudi Padwa]]
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| * [[Ugadi]]
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| * [[Bihu]]
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| * [[Vishu]]
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| * [[Ram Navami]]
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| * [[Kartik Purnima]]
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| * [[Raksha Bandhan]]
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| * [[Krishna Janmastami]]
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| * [[Gowri Habba]]
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| * [[Ganesh Chaturthi]]
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| * [[Onam]]
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| * [[Navaratri]]
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| * [[Dussehra]]
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| * [[Durga Puja]]
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| * [[Diwali]] or [[Tihar (festival)|Tihar]] or [[Deepawali]]
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| * [[Chhath]]
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| * [[Ashadhi Ekadashi]]
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| * [[Bonalu]]
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| * [[Rath Yatra]]
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| * [[Dashain]]
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| * [[Karva Chauth]]
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| {{div col end}}
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| === Pilgrimage === | | === Forms of worship: murtis and mantras === |
| {{See also|Tirtha (Hinduism)|Hindu_pilgrimage_sites_in_India|l2=Tirtha locations|Yatra}}
| | Contrary to popular belief, practiced Hinduism is neither [[polytheism|polytheistic]] nor strictly [[monotheism|monotheistic]]. The various [[Hindu gods]] and avatars that are worshipped by Hindus are understood as different forms of One truth, sometimes seen as beyond a mere god and as a formless Divine Ground ([[Brahman]]), akin but not limited to [[monism]], or as one monotheistic principle like [[Vishnu]] or [[Shiva]]. |
| Many adherents undertake [[pilgrimage]]s, which have historically been an important part of Hinduism and remain so today.{{Sfn|Fuller|2004|pp=204–05}} Pilgrimage sites are called ''[[Tirtha (Hinduism)|Tirtha]]'', ''Kshetra'', ''Gopitha'' or ''Mahalaya''.{{Sfn|Lochtefeld|2002n|pp=698–699}}{{Sfn|Jacobsen|2013|pp=4, 22, 27, 140–148, 157–158}} The process or journey associated with ''Tirtha'' is called ''Tirtha-yatra''.{{Sfn|Bhardwaj|1983|p=2}} According to the Hindu text ''[[Skanda Purana]]'', Tirtha are of three kinds: Jangam Tirtha is to a place movable of a [[sadhu]], a [[rishi]], a [[guru]]; Sthawar Tirtha is to a place immovable, like Benaras, Haridwar, Mount Kailash, holy rivers; while Manas Tirtha is to a place of mind of truth, charity, patience, compassion, soft speech, Self.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sharma |first1=Krishan |last2=Sinha |first2=Anil Kishore |last3=Banerjee |first3=Bijon Gopal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RrkUMlsu_YIC |title=Anthropological Dimensions of Pilgrimage |publisher=Northern Book Centre |year=2009 |isbn=978-81-89091-09-5 |pages=3–5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Maw |first=Geoffrey Waring |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IarXAAAAMAAJ |title=Pilgrims in Hindu Holy Land: Sacred Shrines of the Indian Himalayas |publisher=Sessions Book Trust |year=1997 |isbn=978-1-85072-190-1 |page=7 |access-date=5 July 2017 |archive-date=16 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216202914/https://books.google.com/books?id=IarXAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Tīrtha-yatra'' is, states Knut A. Jacobsen, anything that has a salvific value to a Hindu, and includes pilgrimage sites such as mountains or forests or seashore or rivers or ponds, as well as virtues, actions, studies or state of mind.{{Sfn|Jacobsen|2013|pp=157–158}}{{Sfn|Michaels|2004|pp=288–289}}
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| Pilgrimage sites of Hinduism are mentioned in the epic Mahabharata and the [[Puranas]].{{Sfn|Kane|1953|p=561}}{{Sfn|Eck|2012|pp=7–9}} Most Puranas include large sections on ''Tirtha Mahatmya'' along with tourist guides,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Glucklich |first=Ariel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KtLScrjrWiAC |title=The Strides of Vishnu : Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective: Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-971825-2 |page=146 |quote='''Quote:''' The earliest promotional works aimed at tourists from that era were called ''mahatmyas'' [in Puranas].}}</ref> which describe sacred sites and places to visit.{{Sfn|Kane|1953|pp=559–560}}{{sfn|Holm|Bowker|2001|p=68}}{{sfn|Rocher|1986|p={{page needed|date=October 2020}}}} In these texts, [[Varanasi]] (Benares, Kashi), [[Rameshwaram]], [[Kanchipuram]], [[Dwarka]], [[Puri]], [[Haridwar]], [[Sri Rangam]], [[Vrindavan]], [[Ayodhya]], [[Tirupati]], [[Mayapur]], [[Nathdwara]], twelve [[Jyotirlinga]] and [[Shakti Peetha]] have been mentioned as particularly holy sites, along with geographies where major rivers meet (''sangam'') or join the sea.{{Sfn|Kane|1953 |pp=553–556, 560–561}}{{Sfn|Eck|2012|pp=7–9}} [[Kumbhamela]] is another major pilgrimage on the eve of the solar festival [[Makar Sankranti]]. This pilgrimage rotates at a gap of three years among four sites: [[Prayag Raj]] at the confluence of the [[Ganges]] and [[Yamuna]] rivers, [[Haridwar]] near source of the [[Ganges]], [[Ujjain]] on the [[Shipra]] river and [[Nasik]] on the bank of the [[Godavari]] river.{{sfn|Eck|2013|pp=152–154}} This is one of world's largest mass pilgrimage, with an estimated 40 to 100 million people attending the event.{{sfn|Eck|2013|pp=152–154}}{{Sfn|Klostermaier |2010|p=553 note 55}}<ref group="web">{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Alan |date=14 January 2013 |title=Kumbh Mela: The Largest Gathering on Earth |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2013/01/kumbh-mela-the-largest-gathering-on-earth/100438/ |website=The Atlantic |access-date=14 November 2017 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174128/https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2013/01/kumbh-mela-the-largest-gathering-on-earth/100438/ |url-status=live }}<br />{{Cite news |last=Memmott |first=Mark |date=14 January 2013 |title=Biggest Gathering On Earth' Begins In India; Kumbh Mela May Draw 100 Million |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/01/14/169313222/biggest-gathering-on-earth-begins-in-india-kumbh-mela-may-draw-100-million |website=NPR |access-date=5 April 2018 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174326/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/01/14/169313222/biggest-gathering-on-earth-begins-in-india-kumbh-mela-may-draw-100-million |url-status=live }}</ref> At this event, they say a prayer to the sun and bathe in the river,{{sfn|Eck|2013|pp=152–154}} a tradition attributed to [[Adi Shankara]].{{Sfn|Dalal|2010|loc=chapter Kumbh Mela}}
| | Whether believing in the One source as formless (nirguna brahman, without attributes) or as a personal god (saguna Brahman, with attributes), Hindus understand that the one truth may be seen as different to different people. Hinduism encourages devotees to describe and develop a personal relationship with their chosen deity (ishta devata) in the form of a god or goddess. |
| [[File:Kedar Ghat in Varanasi.jpg|right|thumb|Kedar Ghat, a bathing place for pilgrims on the Ganges at Varanasi]]
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| Some pilgrimages are part of a ''Vrata'' (vow), which a Hindu may make for a number of reasons.{{Sfn|Eck|2012|pp=9–11}}{{Sfn|Bhardwaj|1983|p=6}} It may mark a special occasion, such as the birth of a baby, or as part of a [[sanskara (rite of passage)|rite of passage]] such as a baby's first haircut, or after healing from a sickness.{{Sfn|Eck|2012|p=9}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bharati |first=Agehananda |year=1963 |title=Pilgrimage in the Indian Tradition |journal=History of Religions |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=135–167 |doi=10.1086/462476|s2cid=162220544 }}</ref> It may, states Eck, also be the result of prayers answered.{{Sfn|Eck|2012|p=9}} An alternative reason for Tirtha, for some Hindus, is to respect wishes or in memory of a beloved person after his or her death.{{Sfn|Eck|2012|p=9}} This may include dispersing their cremation ashes in a Tirtha region in a stream, river or sea to honor the wishes of the dead. The journey to a Tirtha, assert some Hindu texts, helps one overcome the sorrow of the loss.{{Sfn|Eck|2012|p=9}}{{refn|group=note|The cremation ashes are called ''phool'' (flowers). These are collected from the pyre in a rite-of-passage called ''asthi sanchayana'', then dispersed during ''asthi visarjana''. This signifies redemption of the dead in waters considered to be sacred and a closure for the living. Tirtha locations offer these services.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maclean |first=Kama |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HznRCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA228 |title=Pilgrimage and Power: The Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, 1765–1954 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-971335-6 |pages=228–229}}</ref>{{sfn|Lochtefeld|2002a|p=68}}}}
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| Other reasons for a Tirtha in Hinduism is to rejuvenate or gain spiritual merit by traveling to famed temples or bathe in rivers such as the Ganges.{{Sfn|Bhardwaj|1983|pp=3–5}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Amazzone |first=Laura |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PM_TNDu8NHUC |title=Goddess Durga and Sacred Female Power |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7618-5314-5 |pages=43–45}}</ref>{{sfn|Holm|Bowker|2001|pp=69–77}} Tirtha has been one of the recommended means of addressing remorse and to perform penance, for unintentional errors and intentional sins, in the Hindu tradition.{{Sfn|Lingat|1973|pp=98–99}}{{Sfn|Bhardwaj|1983|p=4}} The proper procedure for a pilgrimage is widely discussed in Hindu texts.{{Sfn|Kane|1953|p=573}} The most accepted view is that the greatest austerity comes from traveling on foot, or part of the journey is on foot, and that the use of a conveyance is only acceptable if the pilgrimage is otherwise impossible.{{Sfn|Kane|1953|pp=576–577}}
| | While some censuses hold worshippers of one form or another of [[Vishnu]] (known as ''[[Vaishnav]]s'') to be at 80% and those of [[Shiva]] (called ''[[Shaivaites]]'') and [[Devi|Shakti]] at the remaining 20%, such figures are perhaps misleading. The vast majority of Hindus worship many gods as varicolored forms of the same prism of Truth. Among the most popular are [[Vishnu]] (as [[Krishna]] or [[Rama]]), [[Shiva]], [[Devi]] (the Mother as many female deities, such as [[Lakshmi]], [[Saraswati]], [[Kali]] and [[Durga]]), [[Ganesha]], [[Skanda]] and [[Hanuman]]. |
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| == Culture ==
| | Worship of the said deities is often done through the aid of pictures or icons (''murti'') which are said not to be God themselves but conduits for the devotee's consciousness, markers for the human soul that signify the ineffable and illimitable nature of the love and grandeur of [[God]]. They are symbols of the greater principle, representing and are never presumed to ''be'' the concept or entity itself. Thus, Hindu image worship is a form of [[icon]]olatry, in which the symbols are venerated as putative sigils of divinity, as opposed to [[idolatry]], a charge often levied (erroneously) at Hindus. For more details on this form of worship, see [[murti]]. |
| The term "[[Hindu culture]]" refers to mean aspects of culture that pertain to the religion, such as [[festivals]] and dress codes followed by the [[Hindus]] which is mainly can be inspired from the [[culture of India]] and [[Culture of Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]]. Though there has been a mixture of different culture in Hinduism and has also influenced the cultures of many nations, mainly of the part of [[Greater India]].
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| === Architecture === | | === Mantra === |
| {{Excerpt|Hindu architecture}}
| | Hindus use several prayers and group of words. Some group of words are called [[mantra]]s. |
| | These words are said to give the speaker a deeper concentration and understanding, thus coming closer to [[Brahman]]. |
| | A well known mantra is ''om'' or ''aum''. It symbolizes Brahman, and is often the opening word in many prayers. |
| | To pronounce a mantra well, you should say it slowly, and in a deep voice. |
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| === Art === | | ==Geographic distribution== |
| {{Excerpt|Hindu art}}
| | The nations of [[India]], [[Mauritius]], and [[Nepal]] as well as the [[Indonesia]]n island of [[Bali]] have more people who are Hindus than people who are not Hindus.In these nations, specially [[Nepal]] and [[India]] Hinduism is very popular. |
| | These countries also have many Hindus: |
| | * [[India]] (1.1 billion), |
| | * [[Bangladesh]] (12 million), |
| | * [[Sri Lanka]] (2.5 million), |
| | * the [[United States]] (2.0 million) |
| | * [[Pakistan]] (3.3 million), |
| | * [[South Africa]] (1.2 million), |
| | * the [[United Kingdom]] (1.2 million), |
| | * [[Malaysia]] (1.1 million), |
| | * [[Canada]] (0.7 million), |
| | * [[Fiji]] (0.5 million), |
| | * [[Trinidad and Tobago]] (0.5 million), |
| | * [[Guyana]] (0.4 million), |
| | * the [[Netherlands]] (0.4 million), |
| | * [[Singapore]] (0.3 million) |
| | * [[Myanmar]] (0.3 million), |
| | * [[Suriname]] (0.2 million), |
| | * [[Australia]] (0.1 Million). |
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| === Calendar ===
| | There are also strong Hindu communities in the countries of the ex-Soviet Union, especially in [[Russia]] and [[Poland]]. The Indonesian islands of [[Java (island)|Java]], [[Sulawesi]], [[Sumatra]], and [[Borneo]] also have big native Hindu populations. In its [[Yoga]] stream, Hinduism is even more widespread all over the world with 30 million (less than one percent can not be 30 million for US population) Hindus in the [[United States]] alone. |
| {{See also|Astronomical basis of the Hindu calendar}}{{Excerpt|Hindu calendar}}
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| == Person and society ==
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| === Varnas ===
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| {{Main|Varna (Hinduism)}}
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| [[File:12BCM11.jpg|thumb|Priests performing ''Kalyanam'' (marriage) of the holy deities at [[Bhadrachalam Temple]], in [[Telangana]]. It is one of the temples in India, where ''Kalyanam'' is done everyday throughout the year.|left]]
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| Hindu society has been categorised into four classes, called [[Varna (Hinduism)|''varṇas'']]. They are the ''[[Brahmin]]s'': [[Vedas|Vedic]] teachers and priests; the ''[[Kshatriya]]s'': warriors and kings; the ''[[Vaishya]]s'': farmers and merchants; and the ''[[Shudra]]s'': servants and labourers.{{sfn|Sharma|2000|pp=132–180}}
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| The ''[[Bhagavad Gita|Bhagavad Gītā]]'' links the varṇa to an individual's duty (''svadharma''), inborn nature (''svabhāva''), and natural tendencies (''[[guṇa]]'').{{sfn|Halbfass|1995|p=264}} The ''[[Manusmriti]]'' categorises the different [[Caste system in India|castes]].<ref group="web">{{Cite web |title=Manu Smriti Laws of Manu |at=1.87–1.91 |url=http://www.bergen.edu/phr/121/ManuGC.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528064608/http://www.bergen.edu/phr/121/ManuGC.pdf |archive-date=28 May 2010}}</ref>
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| Some mobility and flexibility within the [[Varna (Hinduism)|varṇas]] challenge allegations of social discrimination in the [[Caste system in India|caste system]], as has been pointed out by several sociologists,<ref name="Silverberg Paper">{{Harvnb|Silverberg|1969|pp=442–443}}</ref>{{sfn|Smelser|Lipset|2005}} although some other scholars disagree.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Huston |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedworld00smit_1 |title=The Illustrated World's Religions |publisher=Harper Collins |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-06-067440-3 |location=New York |chapter=Hinduism: The Stations of Life |author-link=Huston Smith |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedworld00smit_1 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Scholars debate whether the so-called ''[[Caste system in India|caste system]]'' is part of Hinduism sanctioned by the scriptures or social custom.{{sfn|Michaels|2004|pp=188–197}}<ref group="web">{{Cite web |last=V |first=Jayaram |title=The Hindu Caste System |url=http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_caste.asp |access-date=28 November 2012 |website=Hinduwebsite}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|Venkataraman and Deshpande: "Caste-based discrimination does exist in many parts of India today.... Caste-based discrimination fundamentally contradicts the essential teaching of [[Hindu texts|Hindu sacred texts]] that divinity is inherent in all beings."<ref group="web">{{Cite web |last1=Venkataraman |first1=Swaminathan |last2=Deshpande |first2=Pawan |title=Hinduism: Not Cast In Caste |url=http://www.hafsite.org/media/pr/hinduism-not-cast-caste-full-report |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202101032/http://www.hafsite.org/media/pr/hinduism-not-cast-caste-full-report |archive-date=2 December 2012 |access-date=28 November 2012 |publisher=Hindu American Foundation}}</ref>}} And various contemporary scholars have argued that the caste system was constructed by the [[British Raj|British colonial regime]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=de Zwart |first=Frank |date=July 2000 |title=The Logic of Affirmative Action: Caste, Class and Quotas in India |journal=Acta Sociologica |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=235–249 |doi=10.1177/000169930004300304 |jstor=4201209}}</ref>
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| A [[sannyasa|renunciant]] man of knowledge is usually called ''Varṇatita'' or "beyond all varṇas" in [[Vedanta|Vedantic]] works. The bhiksu is advised to not bother about the caste of the family from which he begs his food. Scholars like [[Adi Shankara|Adi Sankara]] affirm that not only is [[Brahman]] beyond all [[Varna (Hinduism)|varṇas]], the man who is identified with Him also transcends the distinctions and limitations of caste.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jhingran |first=Saral |title=Aspects of Hindu Morality |url=https://archive.org/details/aspectsofhindumo0000jhin |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1989 |isbn=978-81-208-0574-3 |location=Delhi |page=[https://archive.org/details/aspectsofhindumo0000jhin/page/143 143] |oclc=905765957}}</ref>
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| === Yoga ===
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| [[File:Shiva Bangalore .jpg|thumb|right|A statue of [[Shiva]] in yogic meditation.]]
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| {{Main|Yoga}}
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| In whatever way a Hindu defines the goal of life, there are several methods (yogas) that [[Rishi|sages]] have taught for reaching that goal. [[Yoga]] is a Hindu discipline which trains the body, mind, and consciousness for health, [[Ātman (Hinduism)|tranquility]], and [[Enlightenment (spiritual)|spiritual insight]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chandra |first=Suresh |title=Encyclopaedia of Hindu Gods and Goddesses |publisher=Sarup & Sons |year=1998 |isbn=978-81-7625-039-9 |edition=1st |location=New Delhi |page=178 |oclc=40479929}}</ref> Texts dedicated to [[yoga]] include the ''[[Yoga Sutras]]'', the ''[[Hatha Yoga Pradipika]]'', the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' and, as their philosophical and historical basis, the [[Upanishads]]. [[Yoga]] is means, and the four major ''marga'' (paths) of Hinduism are: [[Bhakti Yoga]] (the path of love and devotion), [[Karma Yoga]] (the path of right action), [[Rāja Yoga]] (the path of meditation), and [[Jñāna Yoga]] (the path of wisdom)<ref name="bhaskaressentgeneral">{{Harvnb|Bhaskarananda|1994}}</ref> An individual may prefer one or some yogas over others, according to his or her inclination and understanding. Practice of one yoga does not exclude others. The modern practice of [[yoga as exercise]] (traditionally [[Hatha yoga]]) has a contested relationship with Hinduism.{{sfn|Jain|2015|pp=130–157}}
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| === Symbolism ===
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| [[File:Three basic Hindu symbols.jpg|left|thumb|Basic Hindu symbols: Shatkona, Padma, and Swastika.]]
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| Hinduism has a developed system of [[Hindu iconography|symbolism and iconography]] to represent the sacred in art, architecture, [[Hindu texts|literature]] and worship. These symbols gain their meaning from the scriptures or cultural traditions. The syllable ''[[Om]]'' (which represents the ''[[Brahman]]'' and [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]]) has grown to represent Hinduism itself, while other markings such as the [[Swastika#Hinduism|Swastika]] sign represent auspiciousness,{{sfn|Doniger|2000|p=1041}} and ''[[Tilaka]]'' (literally, seed) on forehead – considered to be the location of [[Third eye|spiritual third eye]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Napier |first=A David |title=Masks, Transformation, and Paradox |publisher=University of California Press |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-520-04533-0 |pages=186–187}}</ref> marks ceremonious welcome, blessing or one's participation in a [[Puja (Hinduism)|ritual or rite of passage]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=SD |title=Rice: Origin, Antiquity and History |publisher=CRC Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-57808-680-1 |pages=68–70}}</ref> Elaborate ''Tilaka'' with lines may also identify a devotee of a particular denomination. Flowers, birds, animals, instruments, symmetric [[mandala]] drawings, objects, idols are all part of [[Hindu iconography|symbolic iconography]] in Hinduism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rao |first=TA Gopinath |title=Elements of Hindu iconography |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1998 |isbn=978-81-208-0878-2 |pages=1–8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Banerjea |first=JN |title=The Development of Hindu Iconography |date=September 2004 |publisher=Kessinger |isbn=978-1-4179-5008-9 |pages=247–248, 472–508}}</ref>
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| === Ahiṃsā and food customs ===
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| {{Main|Ahimsa|Diet in Hinduism|Sattvic diet|Mitahara|Jhatka}}
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| | caption1 = A goshala or cow shelter at [[Guntur]].
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| Hindus advocate the practice of {{IAST|[[Ahimsa|ahiṃsā]]}} ([[nonviolence]]) and respect for all life because divinity is believed to permeate all beings, including plants and non-human animals.{{sfn|Monier-Williams|1974}} The term ''{{IAST|ahiṃsā}}'' appears in the [[Upanishad]]s,<ref name="Radhakrishnan">{{Cite book |last=Radhakrishnan |first=S. |title=Indian Philosophy, Volume 1 |publisher=George Allen and Unwin Ltd. |year=1929 |edition=2nd |series=Muirhead library of philosophy |location=London |page=148 |author-link=Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan}}</ref> the epic [[Mahabharata]]<ref>For ''{{IAST|ahiṃsā}}'' as one of the "emerging ethical and religious issues" in the {{IAST|[[Mahabharata|Mahābhārata]]}} see: {{Cite book |last=Brockington |first=John |title=Flood |year=2003 |page=125 |chapter=The Sanskrit Epics}}</ref> and {{IAST|ahiṃsā}} is the first of the five [[Yamas]] (vows of self-restraint) in [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|Patanjali's Yoga Sutras]].<ref>For text of Y.S. 2.29 and translation of ''{{IAST|yama}}'' as "vow of self-restraint", see: {{Cite book |last=Taimni |first=I. K. |title=The Science of Yoga |publisher=The Theosophical Publishing House |year=1961 |isbn=978-81-7059-212-9 |location=Adyar, India |page=206 |author-link=I. K. Taimni}}</ref>
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| In accordance with {{IAST|[[Ahimsa|ahiṃsā]]}}, many Hindus embrace [[vegetarianism]] to respect higher forms of life. Estimates of strict [[lacto vegetarian]]s in [[India]] (includes adherents of all religions) who never eat any meat, fish or eggs vary between 20% and 42%, while others are either less strict vegetarians or non-vegetarians.<ref name="veg">Surveys studying food habits of Indians include:
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| *{{Cite web |ref=none |last1=Delgado |first1=Christopher L. |last2=Narrod |first2=Claire A. |last3=Tiongco |first3=Marites |date=24 July 2003 |title=Growth and Concentration in India |website=Policy, Technical, and Environmental Determinants and Implications of the Scaling-Up of Livestock Production in Four Fast-Growing Developing Countries: A Synthesis |url=http://www.fao.org/3/x6170e09.htm |quote=An analysis of consumption data originating from National Sample Survey (NSS) shows that 42 percent of households are vegetarian, in that they never eat fish, meat or eggs. The remaining 58 percent of households are less strict vegetarians or non-vegetarians. |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174129/http://www.fao.org/3/x6170e09.htm |url-status=live }}
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| *{{cite web |ref=none |last=Goldammer |first=Ted |title=Passage to India |publisher=USDA Foreign Agricultural Service |url=http://www.fas.usda.gov/htp/highlights/2001/india.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619160055/http://www.fas.usda.gov/htp/highlights/2001/india.pdf |archive-date=19 June 2009 }}
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| *{{cite web |ref=none |url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/amberwaves/February04/Features/ElephantJogs.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061228214808/http://www.ers.usda.gov/amberwaves/february04/features/elephantjogs.htm |archive-date=28 December 2006 |url-status=dead |title=The Elephant Is Jogging: New Pressures for Agricultural Reform in India |last=Landes |first=Maurice R. |date=February 2004 |website=Amber Waves |quote=Results indicate that Indians who eat meat do so infrequently with less than 30% consuming non-vegetarian foods regularly, although the reasons may be economical. }}</ref> Those who eat meat seek [[Jhatka]] (quick death) method of meat production, and dislike [[Halal]] (slow bled death) method, believing that quick death method reduces suffering to the animal.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gregory |first1=Neville |title=Animal Welfare and Meat Production |last2=Grandin |first2=Temple |publisher=CABI |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-84593-215-2 |pages=206–208}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Das |first=Veena |title=The Oxford India companion to sociology and social anthropology |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-19-564582-8 |volume=1 |pages=151–152}}</ref> The food habits vary with region, with Bengali Hindus and Hindus living in [[Himalayas|Himalayan regions]], or river delta regions, regularly eating meat and fish.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Grover |first1=Neelam |title=Cultural Geography, Form and Process, Concept |last2=Singh |first2=Kashi N. |year=2004 |isbn=978-81-8069-074-7 |page=366}}</ref> Some avoid meat on specific festivals or occasions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jagannathan |first=Maithily |title=South Indian Hindu Festivals and Traditions |publisher=Abhinav |year=2005 |isbn=978-81-7017-415-8 |pages=53, 69 |postscript=;}} {{cite book|first=Pyong Gap |last=Min |year=2010 |title=Preserving Ethnicity through Religion in America |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=978-0-8147-9586-6 |page=1}}</ref> Observant Hindus who do eat meat almost always abstain from beef. Hinduism specifically considers [[Zebu|Bos indicus]] to be sacred.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.3390/ani8050064|title=The Sheltering of Unwanted Cattle, Experiences in India and Implications for Cattle Industries Elsewhere|author=Uttara Kennedy, Arvind Sharma and Clive J.C. Philips|journal=Animals|year=2018|volume=8|issue=5|page=64|pmid=29701646|pmc=5981275|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=India's scared cow|url=http://spraakdata.gu.se/taraka/SacredCow.pdf|author=Marvin Harris}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/import/downloads/preliminary_literature_review_on_sacred_species__3_.pdf|title=Preliminary Literature Review On Scared Species|author=Dr Gloria Pungetti, Dr Anna Maclvor}}</ref> The [[cow]] in Hindu society is traditionally identified as a caretaker and a maternal figure,{{sfn|Walker|1968|p=257}} and Hindu society honours the cow as a symbol of unselfish giving,{{sfn|Richman|1988|p=272}} selfless sacrifice, gentleness and tolerance.<ref name="ajai16P pg62">{{cite journal|title= Stewards of Creation Covenant: Hinduism and the Environment |last=Mansingh|first=Ajai|journal=Caribbean Quarterly|year=2016|volume=41|issue=1|publisher=A Journal of Caribbean Culture|page=62|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00086495.1995.11672075|doi=10.1080/00086495.1995.11672075}}</ref>
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| There are many Hindu groups that have continued to abide by a strict [[vegetarian]] diet in modern times. Some adhere to a diet that is devoid of meat, eggs, and seafood.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Raymond |title=An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontosw0000will |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001 |edition=1st |location=Cambridge |page=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontosw0000will/page/159 159]}}</ref> Food affects body, mind and spirit in Hindu beliefs.<ref name="Vasudha">{{Cite book |last=Narayanan |first=Vasudha |title=A Concise Introduction to World Religions |url=https://archive.org/details/conciseintroduct00oxto |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |editor-last=Oxtoby |editor-first=Willard G. |location=New York |chapter=The Hindu Tradition |editor-last2=Segal |editor-first2=Alan F.}}</ref><ref name="Rosen">{{Cite book |last=Rosen |first=Steven |title=Essential Hinduism |url=https://archive.org/details/essentialhinduis00stev |publisher=Praeger Publishers |year=2006 |edition=1st |location=Westport |page=[https://archive.org/details/essentialhinduis00stev/page/n211 188]}}</ref> Hindu texts such as [[Shandilya Upanishad|Śāṇḍilya Upanishad]]<ref name="KN Aiyar 1914 pages 173-176">{{Cite book |last=Aiyar |first=KN |title=Thirty Minor Upanishads |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |year=1914 |isbn=978-1-164-02641-9 |pages=173–176 |chapter=22}}</ref> and [[Hatha Yoga Pradipika|Svātmārāma]]<ref name="svatmaram">{{Cite book |last1=Svatmarama |url=https://archive.org/stream/hathayogapradipika/hatha_yoga_pradipika#page/n219/mode/2up |title=The Hathayogapradīpikā of Svātmārāma |last2=Brahmananda |date=20 June 2014 |at=verse 1.58–63, pp. 19–21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lorenzen |first=David |url=https://archive.org/details/kapalikaskalamuk0000lore/page/186 |title=The Kāpālikas and Kālāmukhas |date=1972 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-01842-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/kapalikaskalamuk0000lore/page/186 186–190]}}</ref> recommend [[Mitahara]] (eating in moderation) as one of the [[Yamas]] (virtuous Self restraints). The Bhagavad Gita links body and mind to food one consumes in verses 17.8 through 17.10.<ref name="ckc">{{Cite book |last=Chapple |first=Christopher Key |title=The Bhagavad Gita: Twenty-fifth–Anniversary Edition |url=https://archive.org/details/bhagavadgitatwen00sarg |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4384-2842-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bhagavadgitatwen00sarg/page/641 641]–643}}</ref> | |
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| Some Hindus such as those belonging to the [[Shaktism]] tradition,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Harold F. |title=Outline of Hinduism |date=2007 |publisher=Read Books |isbn=978-1-4067-8944-7 |chapter=12}}</ref> and Hindus in regions such as [[Bali]] and [[Nepal]]{{sfn|Fuller|2004|p=83|loc="Chapter 4"}}<ref>{{Cite book |editor-last=Gouyon |editor-first=Anne |title=The natural guide to Bali: enjoy nature, meet the people, make a difference |first=Bumi Kita |last=Yayasan |date=30 September 2005 |publisher=Equinox Publishing (Asia) |isbn=978-979-3780-00-9 |page=51 |chapter=The Hidden Life of Bali |access-date=12 August 2010 |chapter-url=http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/jsp/welcome.jsp?action=search&type=isbn&term=9793780002 |archive-date=26 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726113644/http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/jsp/welcome.jsp?action=search&type=isbn&term=9793780002 |url-status=live }}</ref> practise [[Animal sacrifice in Hinduism|animal sacrifice]].{{sfn|Fuller|2004|p=83|loc="Chapter 4"}} The sacrificed animal is eaten as ritual food.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gwynne |first=Paul |title=World Religions in Practice: A Comparative Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tdsRKc_knZoC&pg=RA5-PT75 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4443-6005-9 |page=5 footnote 16}}</ref> In contrast, the [[Vaishnava]] Hindus abhor and vigorously oppose animal sacrifice.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Olcott |first=H.S. |title=The Theosophist |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jKBVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA146 |publisher=Theosophical Publishing House |year=1906 |volume=XXVII |pages=146 with footnote}}, Quote: "It is well known that Vaishnavas abhor animal sacrifice. In this province, like nearly all Bengalis, they celebrate [[Durga Puja]], but their ceremonies are bloodless".</ref>{{sfn|Fuller|2004|pp=101–102, Quote: "Blood sacrifice was a clear case in point, (,,,) sacrifice was a barbarity inconsistent with Hinduism's central tenet of non-violence. [...] Contemporary opposition to animal sacrifice rests on an old foundation, although it also stems from the very widespread influence of reformism, whose antipathy to ritual killing has spread well beyond the self-consciously nationalist political classes".}} The principle of non-violence to animals has been so thoroughly adopted in Hinduism that animal sacrifice is uncommon<ref>{{harvnb|Nicholson|2010|p=169}}, Quote: "The acceptance of the principle of non-violence has been so through that animal sacrifice among Hindus today is uncommon, and many [[India]]ns are of the opinion that such things as cow slaughter were never practiced in [[History of India|ancient India]]".</ref> and historically reduced to a vestigial marginal practice.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bekoff |first=Marc |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AmgYIBQ-XKkC&pg=PA482 |title=Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare, 2nd Edition |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-313-35256-0 |page=482}}</ref>
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| == Institutions ==
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| === Temple ===
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| {{Main|Hindu temple|Murti|Hindu iconography}}
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| {{For|list of temples|List of Hindu temples}}{{multiple image
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| | image1 = Vadakkunnathan Temple west nada DSC 0595.JPG
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| | image4 = Besakih Bali Indonesia Pura-Besakih-02.jpg
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| A [[Hindu temple]] is a house of god(s).{{sfn|Michell|1988|pp=61–65}} It is a space and structure designed to bring human beings and gods together, infused with symbolism to express the ideas and beliefs of Hinduism.<ref name="stellakvol1">{{harvnb|Kramrisch|1976a|pp=1–16}}</ref> A temple incorporates all elements of Hindu cosmology, the highest spire or dome representing [[Mount Meru]] – reminder of the abode of Brahma and the center of spiritual universe,{{sfn|Kramrisch|1976a|pp=161–169}} the carvings and iconography symbolically presenting [[dharma]], [[kama]], [[artha]], [[moksha]] and [[karma]].{{sfn|Kramrisch|1976b|pp=346–357, 423–424}}{{sfn|Klostermaier|2007a|pp=268–277}} The layout, the motifs, the plan and the building process recite ancient rituals, geometric symbolisms, and reflect beliefs and values innate within various schools of Hinduism.<ref name="stellakvol1" /> Hindu temples are spiritual destinations for many Hindus (not all), as well as landmarks for arts, annual festivals, [[sanskara (rite of passage)|rite of passage]] rituals, and community celebrations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stein |first=Burton |date=February 1960 |title=The Economic Function of a Medieval South Indian Temple |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=163–176 |doi=10.2307/2943547 |jstor=2943547}}</ref>{{sfn|Michell|1988|pp=58–65}}
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| Hindu temples come in many styles, diverse locations, deploy different construction methods and are adapted to different deities and regional beliefs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boner |first=Alice |title=Principles of Composition in Hindu Sculpture: Cave Temple Period |year=1990 |isbn=978-81-208-0705-1 |at=Introduction and pp. 36–37}}</ref> Two major styles of Hindu temples include the [[Gopuram]] style found in south India, and [[Nagara architecture|Nagara]] style found in north India.<ref group="web">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Gopura |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9037402/gopura |access-date=16 June 2015 |date= |archive-date=19 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819003114/https://www.britannica.com/technology/gopura |url-status=live }}</ref><ref group="web">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Nagara |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://www.britannica.com/topic/North-Indian-temple-architecture |access-date=16 June 2015 |date= |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174235/https://www.britannica.com/topic/North-Indian-temple-architecture |url-status=live }}</ref> Other styles include cave, forest and mountain temples.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meister |first=Michael W. |year=1981 |title=Forest and Cave: Temples at Candrabhāgā and Kansuān |journal=Archives of Asian Art |volume=34 |pages=56–73 |jstor=20111117}}</ref> Yet, despite their differences, almost all Hindu temples share certain common architectural principles, core ideas, symbolism and themes.<ref name="stellakvol1" />
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| Many temples feature one or more idols ([[murti]]s). The idol and Grabhgriya in the Brahma-pada (the center of the temple), under the main spire, serves as a focal point (''darsana'', a sight) in a Hindu temple.{{sfn|Kramrisch|1976a|pp=8–9}} In larger temples, the central space typically is surrounded by an ambulatory for the devotee to walk around and ritually circumambulate the [[Purusha|Purusa]] ([[Brahman]]), the universal essence.<ref name="stellakvol1" />
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| === Asrama ===
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| [[File:Iraivan Temple.jpg|thumb|[[Saiva Siddhanta Church|Kauai Hindu monastery]] in [[Kauai Island]] in Hawaii is the only Hindu Monastery in the North American continent.]]
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| {{Main|Āśrama (stage)}}
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| Traditionally the life of a Hindu is divided into four Āśramas (phases or life stages; another meaning includes monastery).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Olivelle |first=Patrick |title=The Āśrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution |url=https://archive.org/details/asramasystemhist00oliv |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1993 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/asramasystemhist00oliv/page/n1 1]–29, 84–111 |oclc=466428084}}</ref> The four ashramas are: [[Brahmacharya]] (student), [[Grihastha]] (householder), [[Vanaprastha]] (retired) and [[Sannyasa]] (renunciation).<ref name="rks">{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=RK |title=Indian Society, Institutions and Change |year=1999 |isbn=978-81-7156-665-5 |page=28}}</ref>
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| Brahmacharya represents the bachelor student stage of life. Grihastha refers to the individual's married life, with the duties of maintaining a household, raising a family, educating one's children, and leading a family-centred and a dharmic social life.<ref name="rks" /> Grihastha stage starts with Hindu wedding, and has been considered the most important of all stages in sociological context, as Hindus in this stage not only pursued a virtuous life, they produced food and wealth that sustained people in other stages of life, as well as the offsprings that continued mankind.{{sfn|Widgery|1930}} Vanaprastha is the retirement stage, where a person hands over household responsibilities to the next generation, took an advisory role, and gradually withdrew from the world.<ref name="alnu">{{Cite book |last=Nugteren |first=Albertina |title=Belief, Bounty, And Beauty: Rituals Around Sacred Trees in India |publisher=Brill Academic |year=2005 |isbn=978-90-04-14601-3 |pages=13–21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Saraswathi |title=Bridging Cultural and Developmental Approaches to Psychology |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-538343-0 |editor-last=Jensen |editor-first=Lene Arnett |pages=280–286 |chapter=Reconceptualizing Lifespan Development through a Hindu Perspective |display-authors=etal}}</ref> The Sannyasa stage marks renunciation and a state of disinterest and detachment from material life, generally without any meaningful property or home (ascetic state), and focused on Moksha, peace and simple spiritual life.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Radhakrishnan |first=S. |year=1922 |title=The Hindu Dharma |journal=International Journal of Ethics |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=1–22 |doi=10.1086/intejethi.33.1.2377174|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="DP Bhawuk 2011 pages 93-110">{{Cite book |last=Bhawuk |first=DP |title=Spirituality and Indian Psychology |url=https://archive.org/details/spiritualityindi00bhaw |publisher=Springer |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4419-8109-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/spiritualityindi00bhaw/page/93 93]–110 |chapter=The Paths of Bondage and Liberation}}</ref>
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| The Ashramas system has been one facet of the dharma concept in Hinduism.{{sfn|Widgery|1930}} Combined with four proper goals of human life ([[Purusartha]]), the Ashramas system traditionally aimed at providing a Hindu with fulfilling life and spiritual liberation.{{sfn|Widgery|1930}} While these stages are typically sequential, any person can enter Sannyasa (ascetic) stage and become an Ascetic at any time after the Brahmacharya stage.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holdrege |first=Barbara |title=The Hindu World |url=https://archive.org/details/hinduworld00mitt |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-415-21527-5 |editor-last=Mittal |editor-first=Sushil |page=[https://archive.org/details/hinduworld00mitt/page/231 231] |chapter=Dharma |editor-last2=Thursby |editor-first2=Gene}}</ref> Sannyasa is not religiously mandatory in Hinduism, and elderly people are free to live with their families.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Olivelle |first=Patrick |title=The Ashrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-19-534478-3}}</ref>
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| === Monasticism ===
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| [[File:Indian sadhu performing namaste.jpg|thumb|A sadhu in [[Madurai]], India.]]
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| {{Main|Sannyasa}}
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| Some Hindus choose to live a [[monastic]] life (Sannyāsa) in pursuit of liberation (moksha) or another form of spiritual perfection.<ref name="ellinger70" /> Monastics commit themselves to a simple and celibate life, detached from material pursuits, of meditation and spiritual contemplation.<ref name="bhaskaranandaessential112">{{Harvnb|Bhaskarananda|1994|p=112}}</ref> A Hindu monk is called a ''[[Sannyasa|Sanyāsī]]'', ''Sādhu'', or ''Swāmi''. A female renunciate is called a ''Sanyāsini''. Renunciates receive high respect in Hindu society because of their simple [[ahimsa|ahiṃsā]]-driven lifestyle and dedication to spiritual liberation (moksha) – believed to be the ultimate goal of life in Hinduism.<ref name="DP Bhawuk 2011 pages 93-110" /> Some monastics live in monasteries, while others wander from place to place, depending on donated food and charity for their needs.{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=316}}
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| == History ==
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| {{Main|History of Hinduism}}[[File:Shore temple, mahabalipuram.jpg|thumb|The Hindu [[Shore Temple]] at [[Mahabalipuram]] was built by [[Narasimhavarman II]].]]
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| Hinduism's varied history{{sfn|Brodd|2003}} overlaps or coincides with the development of religion in the Indian subcontinent since the [[Iron Age in India|Iron Age]], with some of its traditions tracing back to [[prehistoric religion]]s such as those of the Bronze Age [[Indus Valley Civilisation]]. It has thus been called the "[[oldest religion]]" in the world.{{refn|group=note|For instance Fowler: "probably the oldest religion in the world"{{sfn|Fowler|1997|p=1}}}} Scholars regard Hinduism as a synthesis{{sfn|Lockard|2007|p=50}}{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}} of various Indian cultures and traditions,{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}}{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=16}}{{sfn|Lockard|2007|p=50}} with diverse roots{{sfn|Narayanan|2009|p=11}} and no single founder.{{sfn|Osborne|2005|p=9}}{{refn|group=note| Among its roots are the [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic religion]]{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=16}} of the late [[Vedic period]] and its emphasis on the status of Brahmans,{{sfn|Samuel|2010|pp=48–53}} but also the religions of the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]],{{sfn|Narayanan|2009|p=11}}{{sfn|Lockard|2007|p=52}}{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=3}} the [[Sramana]]{{sfn|Gomez|2013|p=42}} or renouncer traditions{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=16}} of [[Maurya Empire|east India]],{{sfn|Gomez|2013|p=42}} and "popular or [[Adivasi|local traditions]]".{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=16}}}}
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| The history of Hinduism is often divided into periods of development. The first period is the pre-Vedic period, which includes the Indus Valley Civilization and local pre-historic religions, ending at about 1750 BCE. This period was followed in northern India by the Vedic period, which saw the introduction of the [[historical Vedic religion]] with the [[Indo-Aryan migrations]], starting somewhere between 1900 BCE to 1400 BCE.{{sfn|Michaels|2004|pp=32–36}}{{refn|group=note|There is no exact dating possible for the beginning of the Vedic period. Witzel mentions a range between 1900 and 1400 BCE.{{sfn|Witzel|1995|pp=3–4}} Flood mentions 1500 BCE.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=21}}}} The subsequent period, between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, is "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions",{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=38}} and a formative period for Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. The Epic and Early Puranic period, from c. 200 BCE to 500 CE, saw the classical "Golden Age" of Hinduism (c. 320-650 CE), which coincides with the [[Gupta Empire]]. In this period the six branches of Hindu philosophy evolved, namely [[Samkhya]], [[Yoga (philosophy)|Yoga]], [[Nyaya]], [[Vaisheshika]], [[Mīmāṃsā]], and [[Vedanta]]. Monotheistic sects like [[Shaivism]] and [[Vaishnavism]] developed during this same period through the [[Bhakti movement]]. The period from roughly 650 to 1100 CE forms the late Classical period{{sfn|Michaels|2004}} or early Middle Ages, in which classical Puranic Hinduism is established, and [[Adi Shankara]]'s influential consolidation of [[Advaita Vedanta]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=J. J. Navone|first=S. J.|date=1956|title=Sankara and the Vedic Tradition|journal=Philosophy and Phenomenological Research|volume=17|issue=2|pages=248–255|doi=10.2307/2104222|issn=0031-8205|jstor=2104222}}</ref>
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| Hinduism under both Hindu and [[Islamic rulers in South Asia|Islamic]] rulers from {{Circa|{{CE|1250–1750}}}},<ref>Blackwell's History of India; Stein 2010, page 107</ref><ref>Some Aspects of Muslim Administration, Dr. R.P.Tripathi, 1956, p. 24</ref> saw the increasing prominence of the Bhakti movement, which remains influential today. The [[Colonial India|colonial period]] saw the emergence of various [[Hindu reform movements]] partly inspired by western movements, such as [[Unitarianism]] and [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophy]].{{sfn|Sharma|2002|p=27}} In the [[Kingdom of Nepal]], the [[Unification of Nepal]] by [[Rana dynasty]] was accompanied by the Hinduization of the [[Nepal|state]] and continued till the {{Circa|1950s}} and after that the [[Shah dynasty]] also focused on the basic Hinduization.<ref name="Vir 1988 https://books.google.com/books?id=yEHODCDK-8kC&pg=PA56 56">{{Cite book|last=Vir|first=Dharam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEHODCDK-8kC&pg=PA56|title=Education and Polity in Nepal: An Asian Experiment|date=1988|publisher=Northern Book Centre|isbn=978-81-85119-39-7|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yEHODCDK-8kC&pg=PA56 56]|language=en}}</ref> [[Indian people|Indians]] were hired as plantation labourers in [[British colonial|British colonies]] such as [[Fiji]], [[Mauritius]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]].{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} The [[Partition of India]] in 1947 was along religious lines, with the [[India|Republic of India]] emerging with a Hindu majority.{{sfnm|1a1=Sharma|1y=2003|1pp=176–189|2a1=Thapar|2y=1993|2pp=239–241}} During the 20th century, due to the [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|Indian diaspora]], Hindu minorities have formed in all continents, with the largest communities in absolute numbers in the [[Hinduism in the United States|United States]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=The remarkable political influence of the Indian diaspora in the US|url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/remarkable-political-influence-indian-diaspora-us|access-date=17 March 2021|website=www.lowyinstitute.org}}</ref> and the [[Hinduism in the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2 March 2006|title=UK Hindu population to be studied|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/uk-hindu-population-to-be-studied/story-QBEF77yew4tdgiEEICZgHM.html|access-date=17 March 2021|website=Hindustan Times}}</ref>
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| In the 20th–21st century, many missionary organizations such as [[ISKCON]], [[Sathya Sai Organization]], [[Vedanta Society]] and so on. have been influential in spreading the core culture of Hinduism outside India.{{Refn||name=ty78|group=note}} There have also been an increase of [[Hindu identity]] in politics, mostly in [[India]], [[Nepal]] and [[Bangladesh]] in the form of [[Hindutva]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elst |first=Koenraad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b_ltAAAAMAAJ |title=Decolonizing the Hindu Mind: Ideological Development of Hindu Revivalism |year=2001 |publisher=Rupa & Company |isbn=978-81-7167-519-7 |author-link=Koenraad Elst}}</ref> The revivalist movement was mainly started and encouraged by many organisations like [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh|RSS]], [[BJP]] and other organisations of [[Sangh Parivar]] in India, while there are also many [[Hindu nationalist parties|Hindu nationalist parties and organisations]] such as [[Shivsena Nepal]] and [[Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal|RPP]] in [[Nepal]], [[HINDRAF]] in [[Malaysia]], etc.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pradhan|first=K. L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PP1yElRzIUC|title=Thapa Politics in Nepal: With Special Reference to Bhim Sen Thapa, 1806–1839|date=2012|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-8069-813-2|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Vir 1988 https://books.google.com/books?id=yEHODCDK-8kC&pg=PA56 56" /> In September 2021, the State of [[Indians in the New York City metropolitan area#Religion|New Jersey]] aligned with the World Hindu Council to declare October as Hindu Heritage Month.
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| == Demographics ==
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| {{Main|Hinduism by country}}
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| Hinduism is a major religion in India. Hinduism was followed by around 79.8% of the country's population of 1.21 billion ([[2011 Census of India|2011 census]]) (966 million adherents).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/india/ |access-date=6 August 2010 }}</ref> Other [[Hinduism by country|significant populations]] are found in Nepal (23 million), Bangladesh (15 million) and the [[Hinduism in Indonesia|Indonesian]] island of [[Bali]] (3.9 million).<ref name="bps">{{Cite web |url=https://sp2010.bps.go.id/index.php/site/tabel?tid=321&wid=0 |title=Penduduk Menurut Wilayah dan Agama yang Dianut |trans-title=Population by Region and Religion Adhered to |publisher=[[Statistics Indonesia]] |language=id |access-date=15 July 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174150/https://sp2010.bps.go.id/index.php/site/tabel?tid=321&wid=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> There is also a significant population of [[Hindus]] are also present in Pakistan (4 million).<ref>{{Cite web|date=7 January 2020|title=Two years after it counted population, Pakistan silent on minority numbers|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/2-yrs-after-it-counted-population-pakistan-silent-on-minority-numbers-6203547/|access-date=24 June 2021|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref> The majority of the Vietnamese [[Cham people]] also follow Hinduism, with the largest proportion in [[Ninh Thuận Province]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 October 2002 |title=Vietnam |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35433.htm |access-date=17 June 2014 |website=State.gov}}</ref> Hinduism is the [[Growth of religion|third fastest-growing religion]] in the world after [[Islam]] and [[Christianity]], with a predicted growth rate of 34% between 2010 and 2050.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wormald|first=Benjamin|date=2 April 2015|title=The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010–2050|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/|access-date=4 March 2021|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|language=en-US}}</ref>
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| <!-- Only add nations where the percentage of Hindus is more than 2% of the total population of the nation. -->
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| [[File:Countries by percentage of adherents to Hinduism.svg|thumb|Percentage of Hindus by country<ref name="prcpercent">{{cite web|year=2012|title=Table: Religious Composition (%) by Country|url=http://www.pewforum.org/files/2012/12/globalReligion-tables.pdf|url-status=dead|website=Pew Research Center|publisher=Global Religious Composition|access-date=12 January 2021|archive-date=5 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805151827/http://www.pewforum.org/files/2012/12/globalReligion-tables.pdf}}</ref>|center|700px]]
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| Countries with the greatest proportion of Hindus:
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Nepal}}{{Spaced en dash}}81.3%.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2012 |title=2011 Nepal Census Report |url=http://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/National%20Report.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525062716/http://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/National%20Report.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2013}}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|India}}{{Spaced en dash}}79.8%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population of India Today |url=https://www.livepopulation.com/country/india.html |access-date=5 August 2018 |website=livepopulation.com |archive-date=3 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403015935/https://www.livepopulation.com/country/india.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Mauritius}}{{Spaced en dash}}48.5%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Resident population by religion and sex |url=http://www.gov.mu/portal/goc/cso/file/2011VolIIPC.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016141533/http://www.gov.mu/portal/goc/cso/file/2011VolIIPC.pdf |archive-date=16 October 2013 |access-date=1 November 2012 |publisher=[[Statistics Mauritius]] |page=68}}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Guyana}}{{Spaced en dash}}28.4%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/guyana/ |access-date=10 May 2011 }}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Fiji}}{{Spaced en dash}}27.9%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/fiji/ |access-date=10 May 2011 }}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Bhutan}}{{Spaced en dash}}22.6%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bhutan |url=https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127364.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130031858/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127364.htm |archive-date=30 November 2009 |website=U.S. Department of State}}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Suriname}}{{Spaced en dash}}22.3%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Suriname |url=https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127405.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130031911/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127405.htm |archive-date=30 November 2009 |website=U.S. Department of State}}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Trinidad and Tobago}}{{Spaced en dash}}18.2%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2011 Demographic Report |url=https://guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/story/2011_DemographicReport.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019211618/https://guardian.co.tt/sites/default/files/story/2011_DemographicReport.pdf |archive-date=19 October 2017 |page=18}}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Qatar}}{{Spaced en dash}}13.8%.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Robin|first1=Christian Julien|last2=Gorea|first2=Maria|date=2002|title=Les vestiges antiques de la grotte de Hôq (Suqutra, Yémen) (note d'information)|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/crai_0065-0536_2002_num_146_2_22441|journal=Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres|volume=146|issue=2|pages=409–445|doi=10.3406/crai.2002.22441}}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Sri Lanka}}{{Spaced en dash}}12.6%.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2011 |title=The Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka-2011 |url=http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/index.php?fileName=pop43&gp=Activities&tpl=3 |website=Department of Census and Statistics |access-date=29 July 2013 |archive-date=24 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224211239/http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/index.php?fileName=pop43&gp=Activities&tpl=3 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Bahrain}}{{Spaced en dash}}9.8%.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Marsh|2015|pp=67–94}}.</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Bangladesh}}{{Spaced en dash}}8.5%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SVRS 2010 |url=http://www.bbs.gov.bd/WebTestApplication/userfiles/Image/SVRS/SVRS-10.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113153533/http://www.bbs.gov.bd/WebTestApplication/userfiles/Image/SVRS/SVRS-10.pdf |archive-date=13 November 2012 |access-date=2 September 2012 |publisher=Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics |page=176 (Table P–14)}}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Réunion}}{{spaced en dash}}6.8%.{{refn|group=note|[[Réunion]] is not a country, but an independent [[France|French terretory]].}}
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in the|United Arab Emirates}}{{Spaced en dash}}6.6%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2007/90223.htm|title=United Arab Emirates|website=U.S. Department of State}}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Malaysia}}{{Spaced en dash}}6.3%.<ref name="cia.gov">{{Cite web |title=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/malaysia/ |access-date=10 May 2011 }}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Kuwait}}{{Spaced en dash}}6%.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pew-Templeton: Global Religious Futures Project|url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/|access-date=18 March 2021|website=www.globalreligiousfutures.org}}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Oman}}{{Spaced en dash}}5.5%.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/oman/|title= Middle East OMAN|date= 22 September 2021|publisher= CIA The World Factbook}}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Singapore}}{{Spaced en dash}}5%.<ref name="2010 census Full report">{{Cite web |last=Singapore Department of Statistics |date=12 January 2011 |title=Census of population 2010: Statistical Release 1 on Demographic Characteristics, Education, Language and Religion |url=http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/C2010sr1/cop2010sr1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303155259/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/C2010sr1/cop2010sr1.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2011 |access-date=16 January 2011}}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Indonesia}}{{Spaced en dash}}3.86%.<ref>{{cite web|date=2011|title=Indonesia: Religious Freedoms Report 2010|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2010_5/168356.htm|access-date=4 March 2021|publisher=[[US State Department]]|quote=The Ministry of Religious Affairs estimates that 10 million Hindus live in the country and account for approximately 90 percent of the population in Bali. Hindu minorities also reside in Central and East Kalimantan, the city of Medan (North Sumatra), South and Central Sulawesi, and Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara). Hindu groups such as Hare Krishna and followers of the Indian spiritual leader Sai Baba are present in small numbers. Some indigenous religious groups, including the "Naurus" on Seram Island in Maluku Province, incorporate Hindu and animist beliefs, and many have also adopted some Protestant teachings.}}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|New Zealand}}{{Spaced en dash}}2.62%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Table 26, 2018 Census Data – Tables |url=https://www.stats.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/2018-Census-totals-by-topic/Download-data/2018-census-totals-by-topic-national-highlights.xlsx |format=xlsx |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=13 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413185957/https://www.stats.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/2018-Census-totals-by-topic/Download-data/2018-census-totals-by-topic-national-highlights.xlsx |url-status=live }}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Seychelles}}{{Spaced en dash}}2.4%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/seychelles/ |access-date=10 May 2011 }}</ref>
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| # {{flagg|pspew|al=c|pref=Hinduism in|Pakistan}}{{Spaced en dash}}2.14%.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Population by religion in Pakistan|url=http://www.census.gov.pk/Religion.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402081116/http://www.census.gov.pk/Religion.htm|archive-date=2 April 2014|access-date=3 March 2021}}</ref>
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| Demographically, Hinduism is the [[Major religious groups|world's third largest religion]], after [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]].<ref>{{Cite web |year=2015 |title=The Future of World Religions |url=http://www.pewforum.org/files/2015/03/PF_15.04.02_ProjectionsFullReport.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506113049/http://www.pewforum.org/files/2015/03/PF_15.04.02_ProjectionsFullReport.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2015 |website=Pew Research}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Schwarz |first=John |title=What's Christianity All About? |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-4982-2537-3 |page=176}}</ref>
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| {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" style="margin: 1em auto;"
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| |+ Demographics of major traditions within Hinduism (World Religion Database, 2010 data)<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 2012 |title=Chapter 1 Global Religious Populations |url=http://media.johnwiley.com.au/product_data/excerpt/47/04706745/0470674547-196.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020100448/http://media.johnwiley.com.au/product_data/excerpt/47/04706745/0470674547-196.pdf |archive-date=20 October 2013}}</ref>
| |
| |-
| |
| ! cyrus="col" | Tradition
| |
| ! scope="col" | Followers
| |
| ! scope="col" | % of the Hindu population
| |
| ! scope="col" | % of the world population
| |
| ! scope="col" | Follower dynamics
| |
| ! scope="col" | World dynamics
| |
| |-
| |
| | align="center" | [[Vaishnavism]]
| |
| | align="center" | 640,806,845
| |
| | align="center" | 67.6
| |
| | align="center" | 9.3
| |
| | align="center" | {{increase}} Growing
| |
| | align="center" | {{decrease}} Declining
| |
| |-
| |
| | align="center" | [[Shaivism]]
| |
| | align="center" | 252,200,000
| |
| | align="center" | 26.6
| |
| | align="center" | 3.7
| |
| | align="center" | {{increase}} Growing
| |
| | align="center" | {{increase}} Growing
| |
| |-
| |
| | align="center" |[[Shaktism]]
| |
| | align="center" | 30,000,000
| |
| | align="center" | 3.2
| |
| | align="center" | 0.4
| |
| | align="center" | {{steady}} Stable
| |
| | align="center" | {{decrease}} Declining
| |
| |-
| |
| | align="center" |[[Neo-Vedanta|Neo-Hinduism]]
| |
| | align="center" | 20,300,000
| |
| | align="center" | 2.1
| |
| | align="center" | 0.3
| |
| | align="center" | {{increase}} Growing
| |
| | align="center" | {{increase}} Growing
| |
| |-
| |
| | align="center" |[[Hindu reform movements|Reform Hinduism]]
| |
| | align="center" | 5,200,000
| |
| | align="center" | 0.5
| |
| | align="center" | 0.1
| |
| | align="center" | {{increase}} Growing
| |
| | align="center" | {{increase}} Growing
| |
| |-
| |
| ! Cumulative
| |
| ! 948,575,000
| |
| ! 100
| |
| ! 13.8
| |
| ! {{increase}} Growing
| |
| ! {{increase}} Growing
| |
| |}
| |
| | |
| == Criticism, persecution, and debates ==
| |
| | |
| === Criticism ===
| |
| {{Main|Criticism of Hinduism|Criticism of Hindutva|l2 = Hindutva}}
| |
| {{See also|Anti-Hindu sentiment|Saffron terror}}Hinduism has many a times criticised for the [[Brahmanism]] and attorney of upper-class [[Brahmin]]s in the [[Varna (Hinduism)|Varna system]], which is accompanied by discrimination of the [[Dalit]]s (or [[Shudra]]) as they were considered the lowest rung in the society.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Thapar|first=Romila|author-link=Romila Thapar|date=1989|title=Imagined Religious Communities? Ancient History and the Modern Search for a Hindu Identity|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/312738|journal=[[Modern Asian Studies]]|volume=23|issue=2|pages=209–231|doi=10.1017/S0026749X00001049|jstor=312738|issn=0026-749X}}</ref> This was often associated with practice of [[untouchability]] and distancing from the lower-caste citizens.<ref>{{Cite web|title=OHCHR {{!}} Caste systems violate human rights and dignity of millions worldwide – New UN expert report|url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=18497&LangID=E|access-date=16 March 2021|website=www.ohchr.org}}</ref>
| |
| | |
| === Persecution ===
| |
| {{Main|Persecution of Hindus}}
| |
| [[Hindu]]s have experienced both historical [[religious persecution]], ongoing [[religious persecution]] and [[Social system|systematic]] violence. These occur in the form of [[Forced conversion#India|forced conversions]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bakshi|first=Shiri Ram|title=Kashmir: Valley and Its Culture|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_U1LEY1yWmagC|publisher=Sarup & Sons|year=1997|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_U1LEY1yWmagC/page/n80 70]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fisher|first=Michael H.|date=|title=A History of Modern India, 1480–1950. Edited by Claude Markovits. Translated by Nisha George and Maggy Hendry. London: Anthem Press, 2002. xvii, 593 pp. $37.50 (cloth). |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|volume=62|issue=4|pages=1283–1284|doi=10.2307/3591813|jstor=3591813|s2cid=161426499|issn=0021-9118}}</ref> documented [[massacre]]s,<ref>{{Cite book|last=D'Costa|first=Bina |title=Nationbuilding, gender, and war crimes in South Asia |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-56566-0 |location=London |oclc=432998155}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Zamindar|first=Vazira Fazila-Yacoobali |title=The long partition and the making of modern South Asia: refugees, boundaries, histories |date=2010 |isbn=978-0-231-51101-8 |edition=Paperback |location=New York |oclc=630927040}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Sikand|first=Yoginder |title=Muslims in India since 1947 Islamic perspectives on inter-faith relations|date=2004|publisher=RoutledgeCurzon|isbn=0-203-35474-5|location=London|oclc=1162450134}}</ref> demolition and desecration of [[Hindu temple|temples]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brass|first=Paul R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9XGZ0kKmJx0C&q=persecution+of+hindus+by+muslims|title=The Production of Hindu-Muslim Violence in Contemporary India|date=1 May 2011|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-80060-8|language=en|author-link=Paul R. Brass}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Jain|first=Meenakshi|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1091630081|title=Flight of deities and rebirth of temples : espisodes from Indian history|date=2019|isbn=978-81-7305-619-2|location=New Delhi|oclc=1091630081}}</ref> Historic persecutions of [[Hindus]] happened under [[Muslim conquest of India|Muslim rulers]]<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Lal|first=Kishori Saran|title=Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India|publisher=Aditya Prakashan|year=1999|isbn=978-81-86471-72-2|pages=90–145|author-link=K. S. Lal}}</ref> and also by [[Christian Missionaries]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Priolkar|first=Anand Kakba|title=The Goa Inquisition|year=1992|publisher=South Asia Books|pages=2–67, 184|author-link=Anant Priolkar|isbn=978-0-8364-2753-0}}</ref> In the [[Mughal Period]], Hindus were forced to pay the [[Jizya]]. In [[Goa]], the [[Goa Inquisition|1560 inquisition]] by [[Portuguese India|Portuguese colonists]] is also considered one of the most brutal [[Persecution of Hindus|persecutions of Hindus]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Souza|first=Teotonio R. De|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vtf1eRE8FC8C&q=persecution|title=Discoveries, Missionary Expansion, and Asian Cultures|date=1994|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-497-6|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vtf1eRE8FC8C&q=persecution&PA=80 80]|language=en}}</ref> Between 200,000 and one million people, including both Muslims and Hindus, were killed during the [[Partition of India]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Twentieth Century Atlas – Death Tolls and Casualty Statistics for Wars, Dictatorships and Genocides|url=http://necrometrics.com/20c300k.htm|access-date=5 March 2021|website=necrometrics.com}}</ref> In modern times, [[Hindus]] face discrimination in many parts of the world and also face persecution and [[forced conversion]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Persecution of Hindus: What western media understands but won't tell you|url=https://www.mynation.com/views/persecution-of-hindus-what-western-media-understands-but-wont-tell-you-q6gdry|access-date=16 March 2021|website=Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd|language=en}}</ref> in many countries, especially in [[Pakistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Fiji]] and others.<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 June 1987|first1=Michael|last1=Laurence|first2=Girish|last2=Kumar|title=Lt-Colonel Rabuka throws out the allegedly 'Indian' Bavadra government in Fiji|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/international/story/19870615-lt-colonel-rabuka-throws-out-the-allegedly-indian-bavadra-government-in-fiji-798927-1987-06-15|access-date=16 March 2021|website=India Today|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=18 June 2006|title=Opinion|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1069111|access-date=16 March 2021|website=dawn.com|language=en}}</ref>
| |
| | |
| === Conversion debate ===
| |
| In the modern era, religious conversion from and to Hinduism has been a controversial subject. Some state the concept of missionary conversion, either way, is anathema to the precepts of Hinduism.<ref name="arvindmr">{{harvnb|Sharma|2011|pp=31–53}}</ref>
| |
| | |
| It is known that, unlike [[ethnic religion]]s, which exist almost exclusively among, for instance, the Japanese ([[Shinto]]), the Chinese ([[Taoism]]), or the Jews ([[Judaism]]), Hinduism in India and Nepal is widespread among many, both Indo-Aryan and non-Aryan ethnic groups. In addition, religious conversion to Hinduism has a long history outside India. Merchants and traders of India, particularly from the Indian peninsula, carried their religious ideas, which led to religious conversions to Hinduism outside India. In antiquity and the Middle Ages, Hinduism was the state religion in many kingdoms of Asia, the so-called [[Greater India]]: from Afghanistan (Kabul) in the West and including almost all of [[Southeast Asia]] in the East (Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia,<ref name="Gonda" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Kartakusama |first=Richadiana |title=Archaeology: Indonesian Perspective |publisher=Yayasan Obor Indonesia |year=2006 |isbn=978-979-26-2499-1 |editor-last=Simanjuntak |editor-first=Truman |pages=406–419 |display-editors=etal}}</ref> Philippines), and only by 15th century was nearly everywhere supplanted by Buddhism and Islam.{{sfnm|1a1=Cœdès|1y=1968|1p=|2a1=Pande|2y=2006|2p=|3a1=Acri|3a2=Creese|3a3=Griffiths|3y=2011|3p=}}<ref name="spread" /> Therefore, it looks quite natural for the modern Hindu preaching in the world.
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| | |
| Within India, archeological and textual evidence such as the 2nd-century BCE [[Heliodorus pillar]] suggest that Greeks and other foreigners converted to Hinduism.{{sfn|Sharma|2012|p=84}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Wick |first1=Peter |title=Religions and Trade: Religious Formation, Transformation and Cross-Cultural Exchange Between East and West |last2=Rabens |first2=Volker |publisher=Brill Academic |year=2013 |isbn=978-90-04-25528-9 |page=70 with footnotes 13 and 14}}</ref> The debate on proselytization and religious conversion between Christianity, Islam and Hinduism is more recent, and started in the 19th century.<ref name="rafiuddinahmed">{{Cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Rafiuddin |title=Religious Controversy in British India: Dialogues in South Asian Languages |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-7914-0827-8 |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Kenneth |pages=93–120 |chapter=Muslim-Christian Polemics}}</ref><ref name="ayeshajalal">{{Cite book|last=Jalal|first=Ayesha|title=Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|year=2010|isbn=978-0-674-04736-5|pages=117–146|author-link=Ayesha Jalal}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|The controversy started as an intense polemic battle between Christian missionaries and Muslim organizations in the first half of the 19th century, where missionaries such as [[Karl Gottlieb Pfander]] tried to convert Muslims and Hindus, by criticizing Qur'an and Hindu scriptures.<ref name=ayeshajalal /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Parsons |first=Martin |title=Unveiling God: Contextualising Christology for Islamic Culture |publisher=William Carey Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-87808-454-8 |pages=4–15, 19–27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Powell |first=A. A. |year=1976 |title=Maulānā Raḥmat Allāh Kairānawī and Muslim-Christian Controversy in India in the Mid-19th Century |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland |volume=108 |pages=42–63 |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00133003}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Powell |first=Avril |year=1995 |title=Contested gods and prophets: discourse among minorities in late nineteenth‐century Punjab |journal=Renaissance and Modern Studies |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=38–59 |doi=10.1080/14735789509366584}}</ref> Muslim leaders responded by publishing in Muslim-owned newspapers of Bengal, and through rural campaign, polemics against Christians and Hindus, and by launching "purification and reform movements" within Islam.<ref name=rafiuddinahmed /><ref name=ayeshajalal /> Hindu leaders joined the proselytization debate, criticized Christianity and Islam, and asserted Hinduism to be a universal, secular religion.<ref name=rafiuddinahmed /><ref name=csadcock />}}
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| | |
| Religious leaders of some Hindu reform movements such as the [[Arya Samaj]] launched ''[[Shuddhi (Hinduism)|Shuddhi]]'' movement to proselytize and reconvert Muslims and Christians back to Hinduism,<ref name="csadcock">{{Cite book |last=Adcock |first=CS |title=The Limits of Tolerance: Indian Secularism and the Politics of Religious Freedom |url=https://archive.org/details/limitsoftoleranc0000adco |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-999544-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/limitsoftoleranc0000adco/page/n1 1]–35, 115–168}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Coward |first=Harold |title=Modern Indian Responses to Religious Pluralism |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-88706-572-9 |pages=49–60}}</ref> while those such as the [[Brahmo Samaj]] suggested Hinduism to be a non-missionary religion.<ref name=arvindmr /> All these sects of Hinduism have welcomed new members to their group, while other leaders of Hinduism's diverse schools have stated that given the intensive proselytization activities from missionary Islam and Christianity, this "there is no such thing as proselytism in Hinduism" view must be re-examined.<ref name=arvindmr /><ref name=csadcock /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Viswanathan |first=Gauri |title=Outside the Fold: Conversion, Modernity, and Belief |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-691-05899-3 |pages=153–176}}</ref>
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| | |
| The appropriateness of conversion from major religions to Hinduism, and vice versa, has been and remains an actively debated topic in India, Nepal,{{sfn|Kim, Sebastian|2005|pp=1–29}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Masud|first=Muhammad Khalid|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iPzXAAAAMAAJ|title=Islamic Legal Interpretation: Muftis and Their Fatwas|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|year=2005|isbn=978-0-19-597911-4|pages=193–203|jstor=846021|jstor-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Barua|first=Ankur|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iZmsBwAAQBAJ&q=books+on+hinduism+in+Nepal|title=Debating 'Conversion' in Hinduism and Christianity|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=978-1-138-84701-9|chapter=Chapters 2 and 8}}</ref> and in Indonesia.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hefner|first=Robert|url=https://www.routledge.com/Hinduism-in-the-Modern-World/Hatcher/p/book/9780415836043|title=Hinduism in Modern Indonesia: A Minority Religion Between Local, National, and Global Interests|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=978-0-7007-1533-6|editor-last=Ramstedt|editor-first=Martin|location=New York|pages=93–108|chapter=Hindu Reform in an Islamising Java: Pluralism and Peril|author-link=Robert A. Hefner Jr.}}</ref>
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| | |
| == See also ==
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| {{See also|Outline of Hinduism}}
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| ; Hinduism
| |
| {{div col|colwidth=20em}}
| |
| * [[Hindu atheism]]
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| * [[Crypto-Hinduism]]
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| * [[Gautama Buddha in Hinduism]]
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| * [[Hinduphobia]]
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| * [[Hindu eschatology]]
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| * [[Hindu mythology]]
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| * [[Hinduism in Armenia]]
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| * [[Indomania]]
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| * [[Jagran]]
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| * [[List of Hindus]]
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| * [[Encyclopedia of Hinduism]]
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| {{div col end}}
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| | |
| ; Related systems and religions
| |
| {{div col|colwidth=20em}}
| |
| * [[Adivasi religion]]
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| * [[Ayyavazhi]]
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| * [[Bathouism]]
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| * [[Donyi-Polo]]
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| * [[Dravidian folk religion]]
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| * [[Eastern religions]]
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| * [[Eastern philosophy]]
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| * [[Gurung shamanism]]
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| * [[Hinduism and other religions]]
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| ** [[Hinduism and Judaism]]
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| ** [[Hinduism and Sikhism]]
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| ** [[Buddhism and Hinduism]]
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| ** [[Ayyavazhi and Hinduism]]
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| ** [[Hinduism and Theosophy]]
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| ** [[Hinduism and other religions#Zoroastrianism|Hinduism and Zoroastrianism]]
| |
| * [[Indian religions]]
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| * [[Jainism]]
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| * [[Kalash people|Kalash religion]]
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| * [[Kiratism]]
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| * [[Sarna sthal]]
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| * [[Manichaeism]]
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| * [[Peterburgian Vedism]]
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| * [[Proto-Indo-European religion]]
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| * [[Proto-Indo-Iranian religion]]
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| * [[Relationship between religion and science|Hinduism and science]]
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| * [[Sanamahism]]
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| * [[Sarnaism]]
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| * [[Sikhism]]
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| * [[Tribal religions in India]]
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| * [[Zoroastrianism]]
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| * [[Religion of the Indus Valley Civilization]]
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| * [[Ancient Iranian religion]]{{div col end}}
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| | |
| == Notes ==
| |
| {{reflist|group=note|30em|refs=
| |
| <!-- B -->
| |
| <!-- "Brahmanism" -->
| |
| {{refn|group=note|name="Brahmanism"|See:
| |
| * {{harvnb|Samuel|2008|p=194}}: "The Brahmanical pattern"
| |
| * {{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=16}}: "The tradition of brahmanical orthopraxy has played the role of 'master narrative'"
| |
| * {{harvnb|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}}: "Brahmanical synthesis"
| |
| According to {{harvnb|Heesterman|2005}}, Brahmanism developed out of the [[Historical Vedic religion]]; "It is loosely known as Brahmanism because of the religious and legal importance it places on the brāhmaṇa (priestly) class of society." According to {{harvnb|Witzel|1995}}, this development started around 1000 BCE in the [[Kuru Kingdom]], with the Brahmins providing elaborate rituals to enhance the status of the Kuru kings.}}
| |
| <!-- D -->
| |
| <!-- "definition" -->
| |
| {{refn|group=note|name="definition"|Hinduism is variously defined as a "religion", "set of religious beliefs and practices", "religious tradition", "a way of life" {{harv|Sharma|2003|pp=12–13}} etc. For a discussion on the topic, see: "Establishing the boundaries" in {{harvnb|Flood|2008|pp=1–17}}}}
| |
| <!-- "dharma" -->
| |
| {{refn|group=note|name="dharma"|There is [[Untranslatability|no single-word translation]] for ''dharma'' in Western languages.{{harv|Widgery|1930}}{{harv|Rocher|2003}}<br />
| |
| The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, [http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/dharma.aspx#1 ''Dharma''], defines dharma as follows: "the order and custom which make life and a universe possible, and thus to the behaviours appropriate to the maintenance of that order." See [[#Dharma (righteousness, ethics)|Dharma (righteousness, ethics)]].}}
| |
| <!-- F -->
| |
| <!-- "fusion" -->
| |
| {{refn|group=note|name="fusion"|See also:
| |
| * {{harvnb|Ghurye|1980|pp=3–4}}: "He [Dr. J. H. Hutton, the Commissioner of the Census of 1931] considers modern Hinduism to be the result of an amalgam between pre-Aryan Indian beliefs of Mediterranean inspiration and the religion of the Rigveda. 'The Tribal religions present, as it were, surplus material not yet built into the temple of Hinduism'."
| |
| * {{harvnb|Zimmer|1951|pp=218–219}}.
| |
| * {{harvnb|Sjoberg|1990|p=43}}. Quote: [{{cite book|ref=none |last=Tyler |year=1973 |title=India: An Anthropological Perspective |page=68 }}]; "The Hindu synthesis was less the dialectical reduction of orthodoxy and heterodoxy than the resurgence of the ancient, aboriginal Indus civilization. In this process the rude, barbaric Aryan tribes were gradually civilised and eventually merged with the autochthonous Dravidians. Although elements of their domestic cult and ritualism were jealously preserved by Brahman priests, the body of their culture survived only in fragmentary tales and allegories embedded in vast, syncretistic compendia. On the whole, the Aryan contribution to Indian culture is insignificant. The essential pattern of Indian culture was already established in the third millennium B.C., and ... the form of Indian civilization perdured and eventually reasserted itself."
| |
| * {{harvnb|Sjoberg|1990}}.
| |
| * {{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=16}}: "Contemporary Hinduism cannot be traced to a common origin [...] The many traditions which feed into contemporary Hinduism can be subsumed under three broad headings: the tradition of Brahmanical orthopraxy, the renouncer traditions and popular or local traditions. The tradition of Brahmanical orthopraxy has played the role of 'master narrative', transmitting a body of knowledge and behaviour through time, and defining the conditions of orthopraxy, such as adherence to ''varnasramadharma''."
| |
| * {{harvnb|Nath|2001}}.
| |
| * {{harvnb|Werner|1998}}.
| |
| * {{harvnb|Werner|2005|pp=8–9}}.
| |
| * {{harvnb|Lockard|2007|p=50}}.
| |
| * {{harvnb|Hiltebeitel|2007}}.
| |
| * {{harvnb|Hopfe|Woodward|2008|p=79}}: "The religion that the Aryans brought with them mingled with the religion of the native people, and the culture that developed between them became classical Hinduism."
| |
| * {{harvnb|Samuel|2010}}.}}
| |
| <!-- H -->
| |
| <!-- "Hindu_term" -->
| |
| {{refn|group=note|name="Hindu_term"|There are several views on the earliest mention of 'Hindu' in the context of religion:
| |
| * {{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=6}} states: "In Arabic texts, Al-Hind is a term used for the people of modern-day India and 'Hindu', or 'Hindoo', was used towards the end of the eighteenth century by the British to refer to the people of 'Hindustan', the people of northwest India. Eventually 'Hindu' became virtually equivalent to an 'Indian' who was not a Muslim, Sikh, Jain, or Christian, thereby encompassing a range of religious beliefs and practices. The '-ism' was added to Hindu in around 1830 to denote the culture and religion of the high-caste Brahmans in contrast to other religions, and the term was soon appropriated by Indians themselves in the context of building a national identity opposed to colonialism, though the term 'Hindu' was used in Sanskrit and Bengali hagiographic texts in contrast to 'Yavana' or Muslim as early as the sixteenth century."
| |
| * {{harvnb|Sharma|2002}} and other scholars state that the 7th-century Chinese scholar [[Xuanzang]], whose 17-year travel to India and interactions with its people and religions were recorded and preserved in the Chinese language, uses the transliterated term ''In-tu'' whose "connotation overflows in the religious".{{harv|Sharma|2002}} Xuanzang describes [[Hindu temple|Hindu Deva-temples]] of the early 7th century CE, worship of [[Surya|Sun]] deity and [[Shiva]], his debates with scholars of Samkhya and Vaisheshika schools of Hindu philosophies, monks and monasteries of Hindus, Jains and Buddhists (both Mahayana and Theravada), and the study of the Vedas along with Buddhist texts at [[Nalanda]]. See also {{harvnb|Gosch|Stearns|2007|pp=88–99}}, {{harvnb|Sharma|2011|pp=5–12}}, {{harvnb|Smith|Van De Mieroop|von Glahn|Lane|2012|pp=321–324}}.
| |
| * {{harvnb|Sharma|2002}} also mentions the use of the word ''Hindu'' in Islamic texts such as those relating to the 8th-century Arab invasion of Sindh by Muhammad ibn Qasim, Al Biruni's 11th-century text ''Tarikh Al-Hind'', and those of the Delhi Sultanate period, where the term ''Hindu'' retains the ambiguities of including all non-Islamic people such as Buddhists and of being "a region or a religion".
| |
| * {{harvnb|Lorenzen|2006}} states, citing Richard Eaton: "one of the earliest occurrences of the word 'Hindu' in Islamic literature appears in 'Abd al-Malik Isami's Persian work, ''Futuhu's-Salatin'', composed in the Deccan in 1350. In this text, 'Isami uses the word 'hindi' to mean Indian in the ethno-geographical sense and the word 'hindu' to mean 'Hindu' in the sense of a follower of the Hindu religion".{{harv|Lorenzen|2006|p=33}}
| |
| * {{harvnb|Lorenzen|2006|pp=32–33}} also mentions other non-Persian texts such as ''Prithvíráj Ráso'' by ~12th century Canda Baradai, and epigraphical inscription evidence from Andhra Pradesh kingdoms who battled military expansion of Muslim dynasties in the 14th century, where the word 'Hindu' partly implies a religious identity in contrast to 'Turks' or Islamic religious identity.
| |
| * {{harvnb|Lorenzen|2006|p=15}}<nowiki> states that one of the earliest uses of word 'Hindu' in religious context, in a European language (Spanish), was the publication in 1649 by Sebastiao Manrique.}}</nowiki>}}
| |
| <!-- K -->
| |
| <!-- "Knott_sanatana dharma" -->
| |
| {{refn|group=note|name="Knott_sanatana dharma"|{{harvnb|Knott|1998|p=5}}: "Many describe Hinduism as ''sanatana dharma'', the eternal tradition or religion. This refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history."}}
| |
| <!-- L -->
| |
| <!-- "Lockard-fusion" -->
| |
| {{refn|group=note|name="Lockard-fusion"|{{harvnb|Lockard|2007|p=50}}: "The encounters that resulted from Aryan migration brought together several very different peoples and cultures, reconfiguring Indian society. Over many centuries a fusion of [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Aryan]] and [[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]] occurred, a complex process that historians have labeled the Indo-Aryan synthesis."<br /> {{harvnb|Lockard|2007|p=52}}: "Hinduism can be seen historically as a synthesis of Aryan beliefs with Harappan and other Dravidian traditions that developed over many centuries."}}
| |
| <!-- O -->
| |
| <!-- "oldest religion" -->
| |
| {{refn|group=note|name="oldest religion"|See:
| |
| * {{harvnb|Fowler|1997|p=1}}: "probably the oldest religion in the world."
| |
| * {{harvnb|Klostermaier|2007|p=1}}: The "oldest living major religion" in the world.
| |
| * {{harvnb|Kurien|2006}}: "There are almost a billion Hindus living on Earth. They practice the world's oldest religion..."
| |
| * {{harvnb|Bakker|1997}}: "it [Hinduism] is the oldest religion".
| |
| * {{harvnb|Noble|1998}}: "Hinduism, the world's oldest surviving religion, continues to provide the framework for daily life in much of South Asia."
| |
| {{harvnb|Smart|1993|p=1}}, on the other hand, calls it also one of the youngest religions: "Hinduism could be seen to be much more recent, though with various ancient roots: in a sense it was formed in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century."<br />
| |
| Animism has also been called "the oldest religion."({{harvnb|Sponsel|2012}}: "Animism is by far the oldest religion in the world. Its antiquity seems to go back at least as far as the period of the Neanderthals some 60,000 to 80,000 years ago.")<br />
| |
| Australian [[Linguistics|linguist]], [[R. M. W. Dixon]] discovered that [[Australian Aboriginal mythology|Aboriginal myths]] regarding the origin of the Crater Lakes might be dated as accurate back to 10,000 years ago.{{harv|Dixon|1996}}<br />
| |
| See also:
| |
| * [[Urreligion]], [[Shamanism#Hypotheses on origins|Shamanism]], [[Animism]], [[Ancestor worship]] for some of the oldest forms of religion
| |
| * [[Sarnaism]] and [[Sanamahism]], Indian Tribal religions connected to the earliest migrations into India}}
| |
| <!-- R -->
| |
| <!-- "roots" -->
| |
| {{refn|group=note|name="roots"|Among its roots are the [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic religion]] of the late [[Vedic period]] ({{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=16}}) and its emphasis on the status of Brahmans ({{harvnb|Samuel|2008|pp=48–53}}), but also the religions of the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]] ({{harvnb|Narayanan| 2009|p=11}}; {{harvnb|Lockard|2007|p=52}}; {{harvnb|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=3}}; {{harvnb|Jones|Ryan|2007|p=xviii}}) the [[Sramana]] or renouncer traditions of [[Maurya Empire|north-east India]] ({{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=16}}; {{harvnb|Gomez|2013|p=42}}), with possible roots in a non-Vedic Indo-Aryan culture ({{harvnb|Bronkhorst|2007}}); and "popular or [[Adivasi|local traditions]]" ({{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=16}}) and prehistoric cultures "that thrived in South Asia long before the creation of textual evidence that we can decipher with any confidence."{{harvnb|Doniger|2010|p=66}})}}
| |
| <!-- S -->
| |
| {{refn|group=note|name="Sweetman"|{{harvtxt|Sweetman|2004|p=13}} identifies several areas in which "there is substantial, if not universal, an agreement that colonialism influenced the study of Hinduism, even if the degree of this influence is debated":
| |
| * The wish of European Orientalists "to establish a textual basis for Hinduism", akin to the Protestant culture,{{harv|Sweetman|2004|p=13}} which was also driven by preference among the colonial powers for "written authority" rather than "oral authority".{{harv|Sweetman|2004|p=13}}
| |
| * The influence of [[Brahmin]]s on European conceptions of Hinduism.{{harv|Sweetman|2004|p=13}}
| |
| * [T]he identification of Vedanta, more specifically [[Advaita Vedanta]], as 'the paradigmatic example of the mystical nature of the Hindu religion'.{{harv|Sweetman|2004|p=13}} (Sweetman cites {{harvnb|King|1999|p=128}}.) Several factors led to the favouring of Vedanta as the "central philosophy of the Hindus":{{harv|Sweetman|2004|pp=13–14}}
| |
| ** According to Niranjan Dhar's theory that Vedanta was favored because British feared French influence, especially the impact of the [[French Revolution]]; and Ronald Inden's theory that Advaita Vedanta was portrayed as 'illusionist pantheism' reinforcing the colonial stereotypical construction of Hinduism as indifferent to ethics and life-negating.{{harv|Sweetman|2004|pp=13–14}}
| |
| ** "The amenability of Vedantic thought to both Christian and Hindu critics of 'idolatry' in other forms of Hinduism".{{harv|Sweetman|2004|p=14}}
| |
| * The colonial constructions of caste as being part of Hinduism.{{harv|Sweetman|2004|pp=14–16}} According to Nicholas Dirks' theory that, "Caste was refigured as a religious system, organising society in a context where politics and religion had never before been distinct domains of social action. (Sweetman cites {{harvnb|Dirks|2001|p=xxvii}}.)
| |
| * "[T]he construction of Hinduism in the image of Christianity"{{harv|Sweetman|2004|p=15}}
| |
| * Anti-colonial Hindus{{harv|Sweetman|2004|pp=15–16}} "looking toward the systematisation of disparate practices as a means of recovering a pre-colonial, national identity".{{harv|Sweetman|2004|p=15}} (Sweetman cites {{harvnb|Viswanathan|2003|p=26}}.)}}
| |
| }}
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|
| |
|
| == References == | | == References == |
| <!-- Please do not edit here, if you came here to provide citations please read WP:CITE for more info on how to do so. Thank you. -->
| | {{reflist|colwidth=30em}} |
| {{reflist|25em}} | | <references/> |
| | |
| == Sources ==
| |
| <!-- Only references that are actually used and cited in the article should be placed here. Mainly list only books, and journals (not websites, newspapers). List in alphabetical order, by first author's last name. Try maintaining a standard formatting style and add ISBN numbers if possible. See [[Wikipedia:Cite sources]] for further details. --> | |
|
| |
|
| === Printed sources === | | ==Notes== |
| <!-- A --> | | <references group="note"/> |
| {{refbegin|30em}}
| | * [http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article?eu=402241 Rigveda. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040807175005/http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article?eu=402241 |date=2004-08-07 }} |
| * {{cite book |editor-surname1=Acri |editor-given1=Andrea |editor-surname2=Creese |editor-given2=Helen |editor-surname3=Griffiths |editor-given3=Arlo |year=2011 |title=From Lanka Eastwards: The Ramayaṇa in the Literature and Visual Arts of Indonesia |place=Leiden |publisher=KITLV Press}}
| | * [http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761555715/Hinduism.html "Hinduism" on Microsoft Encarta Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050228222350/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761555715/Hinduism.html |date=2005-02-28 }} |
| * {{Cite book |last=Anthony |first=David W. |title=The Horse The Wheel And Language. How Bronze-Age Riders From the Eurasian Steppes Shaped The Modern World |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2007}}
| | * Sâdhus, Going beyond the dreadlocks, by Patrick Levy, published by Prakash Books, Delhi, 2010. |
| * {{Citation | last1 =Anthony | first1 =David | last2 =Ringe | first2 =Don | year =2015 | title =The Indo-European Homeland from Linguistic and Perspectives | journal =Annual Review of Linguistics |volume=1 |pages=199–219 | doi =10.1146/annurev-linguist-030514-124812}}
| |
| * {{Cite book |last=Avari |first=Burjor |title=Islamic Civilization in South Asia: A history of Muslim power and presence in the Indian subcontinent |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-415-58061-8 |author-link=Burjor Avari}}
| |
| * {{Cite book |last=Ayalon |first=David |title=Studies in Islamic History and Civilisation |publisher=Brill |year=1986 |isbn=978-965-264-014-7}}
| |
| * {{cite book|first=P. K.|last=Acharya|year=1927|title=Indian Architecture according to the Manasara Shilpa Shastra|url=https://archive.org/stream/encyclopaediaofh07achauoft#page/n9/mode/2up |publisher=Oxford University Press (Republished by Motilal Banarsidass)|location=London|isbn=0-300-06217-6}}
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| <!-- B -->
| |
| * {{Cite journal |last=Bakker |first=F.L. |year=1997 |title=Balinese Hinduism and the Indonesian State: Recent Developments |journal=Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia |volume=153 |issue=1 |pages=15–41 |doi=10.1163/22134379-90003943 |jstor=27864809}} | |
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| * {{Cite book |last=Basham |first=A. L. |title=A Cultural History of India |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-19-563921-6 |author-link=Arthur Llewellyn Basham}}
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| *{{Cite book |last=Bhardwaj |first=Surinder Mohan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6XJFokSJzEC |title=Hindu Places of Pilgrimage in India: A Study in Cultural Geography |publisher=University of California Press |year=1983 |isbn=978-0-520-04951-2 }}
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| * {{Cite book |last=Bhaskarananda |first=Swami |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781884852022 |title=Essentials of Hinduism |publisher=Viveka Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-1-884852-02-2 }}
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| * {{cite book |surname=Bhandarkar |given=R. G. |author-link=R. G. Bhandarkar |year=1913 |title=Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism and Minor Religious Systems |series=Grundriss der indo-arischen Philologie und Altertumskunde, 3.6 |publisher=Trübner |place=Strassburg |url=https://archive.org/details/VaishnavismShaivismAndOtherMinorReligiousSystemsR.G.Bhandarkar/page/n1/mode/1up?view=theater}}
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| * {{Citation |last=Bronkhorst |first=Johannes |title=Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India |year=2007 |publisher=BRILL}}
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| * {{Citation |last=Bronkhorst |first=Johannes |title=Buddhism in the Shadow of Brahmanism |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294688170 |year=2011 |publisher=BRILL |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174126/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294688170_Buddhism_in_the_Shadow_of_Brahmanism |url-status=live }}
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| * {{Citation |last=Bronkhorst |first=Johannes |title=History and Religion: Narrating a Religious Past |year=2015 |editor-last=Otto |editor-last2=Rau |editor-last3=Rupke |chapter=The historiography of Brahmanism |publisher=Walter deGruyter}}
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| * {{Citation |last=Bronkhorst |first=Johannes |title=Brahmanism: Its place in ancient Indian society |work=Contributions to Indian Sociology |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=361–369 |year=2017}}
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| * {{cite book |last=Bryant |first=Edwin |author-link=Edwin Bryant (author) |year=2001 |title=The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-513777-9}}
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| * {{Cite book |last=Burley |first=Mikel |title=Classical Samkhya and Yoga: An Indian Metaphysics of Experience |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2007}}
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| <!-- C -->
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| * {{Cite book |surname=Carney |given=Gerald T. |chapter=Baba Premananda Bharati: his trajectory into and through Bengal Vaiṣṇavism to the West |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1hTADwAAQBAJ&pg=PT135 |title=The Legacy of Vaiṣṇavism in Colonial Bengal |url={{Google books|1hTADwAAQBAJ|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |editor1=Ferdinando Sardella |editor2=Lucian Wong |year=2020 |place=London; New York |publisher=Routledge |pages=135–160 |isbn=978-1-138-56179-3 |series=Routledge Hindu Studies Series}}
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| * {{Cite book |last=Clarke |first=Peter Bernard |url=https://archive.org/details/newreligionsglob00clar |title=New Religions in Global Perspective |publisher=Routledge |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7007-1185-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newreligionsglob00clar/page/n224 209] |author-link=Peter B. Clarke |url-access=limited}}
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| * {{cite book |surname=Cœdès |given=George |author-link=George Coedès |title=The Indianized States of Southeast Asia |translator=Susan Brown Cowing |year=1968 |place=Honolulu |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=978-0-8248-0368-1}}
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| * {{Cite book |last=Comans |first=Michael |title=The Method of Early Advaita Vedānta: A Study of Gauḍapāda, Śaṅkara, Sureśvara, and Padmapāda |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=2000 |location=Delhi}}
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| * {{Cite book |last=Cousins |first=L. S. |title=The Penguin Handbook of the World's Living Religions |publisher=Penguin |year=2010 |chapter=Buddhism |isbn=978-0-14-195504-9 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bNAJiwpmEo0C |access-date=27 October 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402211114/https://books.google.com/books?id=bNAJiwpmEo0C |url-status=live }}
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| * {{Cite book |last=Coward |first=Harold |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LkE_8uch5P0C |title=The perfectibility of human nature in eastern and western thought |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7914-7336-8 |author-link=Harold Coward |access-date=2 July 2015 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101025131/https://books.google.com/books?id=LkE_8uch5P0C |url-status=live }}
| |
| * {{Cite book |last=Crangle |first=Edward Fitzpatrick |title=The Origin and Development of Early Indian Contemplative Practices |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |year=1994}}
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| <!-- D -->
| |
| * {{Cite book |surname=Dalal |given=Roshen |url={{Google books|pNmfdAKFpkQC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths |place=Delhi |publisher=Penguin Books India |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-14-341517-6 |archive-date=18 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418131501/https://books.google.com/books?id=pNmfdAKFpkQC |url-status=live}}
| |
| * {{Cite book |last=Deutsch |first=Eliot |year=2001 |chapter=The self in Advaita Vedanta |pages=343–360 |editor=Roy Perrett |title=Indian philosophy: Volume 3, metaphysics |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=978-0-8153-3608-2}}
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| * {{Citation |last1=Deutsch |first1=Eliot |last2=Dalvi |first2=Rohit |year=2004 |title=The essential Vedanta. A New Source Book of Advaita Vedanta |publisher=World Wisdom |isbn=978-0-941532-52-5}}
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| * {{cite book|last=Dirks |first=Nicholas|year=2001|title=Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=978-0-691-08895-2}}
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| * {{Cite journal |last=Dixon |first=R. M. W. |author-link=Robert M. W. Dixon |year=1996 |title=Origin legends and linguistic relationships |journal=Oceania |volume=67 |number=2 |pages=127–140 |jstor=40331537 |doi=10.1002/j.1834-4461.1996.tb02587.x}}
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| * {{Cite book|last=Doniger |first=Wendy |title=Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism |publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=1990|isbn=978-0-226-61847-0|edition=1st|author-link=Wendy Doniger}}
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| * {{Cite book|last=Doniger |first=Wendy |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440 |title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions |publisher=Merriam-Webster |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-87779-044-0 |author-link=Wendy Doniger |url-access=registration }}
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| * {{Cite book|last=Doniger|first=Wendy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nNsXZkdHvXUC|title=The Hindus: An Alternative History|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0-19-959334-7|author-link=Wendy Doniger}}
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| * {{Citation |last=Doniger |first=Wendy |title=On Hinduism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iM_QAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |year=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press USA |isbn=978-0-19-936007-9 |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |author-link=Wendy Doniger|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174158/https://books.google.com/books?id=iM_QAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |url-status=live }}
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| <!-- E -->
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| * {{Cite book|last=Eaton|first=Richard M.|url=http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft067n99v9;brand=ucpress|title=The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760|publisher=University of California Press|year=1993|author-link=Richard M. Eaton|access-date=8 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527003759/http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft067n99v9;brand=ucpress|archive-date=27 May 2016|url-status=dead}}
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| * {{Cite journal|last=Eaton|first=Richard M.|author-link=Richard M. Eaton|year=2000a|title=Temple desecration in pre-modern India. Part I|url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/txt_eaton_temples1.pdf|journal=Frontline|access-date=8 August 2015|archive-date=29 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174152/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/txt_eaton_temples1.pdf|url-status=live}}
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| * {{Cite book|last=Eaton |first=Richard M.|title=Slavery and South Asian History |publisher=Indiana University Press 0–2533|year=2006|isbn=978-0-253-34810-4 |editor-last=Chatterjee|editor-first=Indrani|chapter=Introduction|author-link=Richard M. Eaton|editor-last2=Eaton|editor-first2=Richard M.}}
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| * {{Cite book |last=Eck |first=Diana L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uD_0P6gS-vMC |title=India: A Sacred Geography |publisher=Harmony |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-385-53190-0 |author-link=Diana L. Eck }}
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| * {{Cite book |last=Eck |first=Diana L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PyC4o7i9tnEC |title=India: A Sacred Geography |publisher=Random House |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-385-53192-4 |author-link=Diana L. Eck }}
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| * {{Cite book |last=Eliade |first=Mircea |author-link=Mircea Eliade |year=1970 |title=Yoga: Immortality and Freedom |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-01764-8}}
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| * {{Cite book |last=Eliade |first=Mircea |author-link=Mircea Eliade |year=2009 |title=Yoga: Immortality and Freedom |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-14203-6}}
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| * {{Cite book |editor-last1=Espín |editor-first1=Orlando O. |editor-last2=Nickoloff |editor-first2=James B. |year=2007 |title=An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies |publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=978-0-8146-5856-7}}
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| * {{Cite book |last=Esposito |first=John |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-19-512559-7 |chapter=Suhrawardi Tariqah |author-link=John Esposito}}
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| <!-- F -->
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| * {{Cite book |last=Feuerstein |first=Georg |title=The Yoga Tradition |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=2002 |isbn=978-3-935001-06-9 |author-link=Georg Feuerstein}}
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| * {{cite book |surname=Flood |given=Galvin D. |author-link=Gavin Flood |year=1996 |title=An Introduction to Hinduism |url={{Google books|KpIWhKnYmF0C|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |archive-url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo |archive-date=13 December 2000 |place=London |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-43878-0}}
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| * {{Cite book|last=Flood|first=Gavin|title=The Bhagavadgītā for Our Times|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-19-565039-6|editor-last=Lipner|editor-first=Julius J.|chapter=The Meaning and Context of the Puruṣārthas|author-link=Gavin Flood}}
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| * {{cite book|editor-last=Flood|editor-first=Gavin|author-link=Gavin D. Flood|year=2003|title=The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|isbn=978-1-4051-3251-0|url=https://archive.org/details/blackwellcompani00floo}} {{ISBN|978-0-631-21535-6}}.
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| <!-- W -->
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| * {{Cite book|last=Walker|first=Benjamin|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=1968|isbn=978-0-429-62465-0|author-link=Benjamin Walker (author)|url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Hindu_World/6zj3DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0|title=The Hindu world: an encyclopedic survey of Hinduism}}
| |
| * {{Cite book|last=Werner|first=Karel|title=Yoga And Indian Philosophy|author-link=Karel Werner|orig-year=1977|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|edition=Reprint|year=1998|isbn=978-81-208-1609-1}}
| |
| * {{Cite book|last=Werner|first=Karel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HvuQAgAAQBAJ|title=A Popular Dictionary of Hinduism|publisher=Routledge|year=2005|isbn=978-1-135-79753-9|author-link=Karel Werner}}
| |
| * {{Cite book|last=White|first=David Gordon|title=Tantra in Practice|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2000|editor-last=David Gordon White|chapter=Introduction|author-link=David Gordon White}}
| |
| * {{cite journal |last=Widgery |first=Alban G. |title=The Principles of Hindu Ethics |journal=International Journal of Ethics |volume=40 |issue=2 |date=Jan 1930 |pages=232–245 |doi=10.1086/intejethi.40.2.2377977 |jstor=2377977|s2cid=170183611 }}
| |
| * {{Cite book |last=Wink |first=Andre |title=Al-Hind: the Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Volume 1 |publisher=Brill Academic |year=1991 |isbn=978-90-04-09509-0}}
| |
| * {{Cite journal |last=Witzel |first=Michael |year=1995 |title=Early Sanskritization: Origin and Development of the Kuru state |url=http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs0104/ejvs0104article.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies |publisher=Praeger |volume=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611142934/http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs0104/ejvs0104article.pdf |archive-date=11 June 2007 |number=4 }}
| |
| <!-- Z -->
| |
| * {{Cite book|last=Zimmer|first=Heinrich|title=Philosophies of India|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|year=1951|author-link=Heinrich Zimmer}}
| |
| {{refend}}
| |
|
| |
|
| === Web sources ===
| | ==Web notes== |
| {{Reflist|group=web|30em|refs= | | {{Reflist|group=web}} |
| <!-- G -->
| |
| <!-- "gordonconwell.edu" -->
| |
| <ref name="gordonconwell.edu">{{Cite web |date=January 2015 |title=Christianity 2015: Religious Diversity and Personal Contact |url=http://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/documents/1IBMR2015.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525141543/http://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/documents/1IBMR2015.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2017 |access-date=29 May 2015 |website=gordonconwell.edu}}</ref>
| |
| <!-- P -->
| |
| <!-- pewforum_Hinduism -->
| |
| <ref name="pewforum_Hinduism" group="web">{{Cite web |date=18 December 2012 |title=The Global Religious Landscape – Hinduism |url=http://www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-hindu.aspx |access-date=31 March 2013 |website=A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Major Religious Groups <!-- {{as of|2010|lc=y}}--> |publisher=Pew Research Foundation}}</ref>
| |
| }} | |
|
| |
|
| == Further reading == | | ==Further reading== |
| <!-- only monographs dedicated to Hinduism in general should be listed here -->
| | * Chopra, R.M., "Hinduism Today", Kolkata, 2009. |
| {{refbegin|30em}}
| | *Mishra, Pankaj. "The Invention of the Hindu." Axess Magazine 2 (2004). |
| ; Encyclopedias
| |
| * {{cite encyclopedia |surname=Dalal |given=Roshen |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide |year=2010b |url={{Google books|DH0vmD8ghdMC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |place=New Delhi |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-341421-6}}
| |
| * {{cite encyclopedia |year=2009–2015 |title=Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism |editor-surname=Jacobsen |editor-given=Knut A. |editor-link=Knut A. Jacobsen |display-editors=etal |volume=1–6 |place=Leiden |publisher=Brill |url=https://brill.com/view/package/9789004271289?language=en&packages=about |isbn= 9789004271289 |url-access=registration |ref=none}}
| |
| ** Vol. 1: ''Regions, Pilgrimage, Deities'' (2009).
| |
| ** Vol. 2: ''Sacred Languages, Ritual Traditions, Arts, Concepts'' (2010).
| |
| ** Vol. 3: ''Society, Religious Professionals, Religious Communities, Philosophies'' (2011).
| |
| ** Vol. 4: ''Historical Perspectives, Poets/Teachers/Saints, Relation to Other Religions and Traditions, Hinduism and Contemporary Issues'' (2012).
| |
| ** Vol. 5: ''Symbolism, Diaspora, Modern Groups and Teachers'' (2013).
| |
| ** Vol. 6: ''Indices'' (2015).
| |
| * {{cite encyclopedia|year=2018 |editor-last=Jain |editor-first=Pankaj |editor2-last=Sherma |editor2-first=Rita |editor3-last=Khanna |editor3-first=Madhu |title=Hinduism and Tribal Religions |series=Encyclopedia of Indian Religions |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands |doi=10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_541-1 |isbn=978-94-024-1036-5}}
| |
| * {{cite encyclopedia |surname=Johnson |given=W. J. |title=A Dictionary of Hinduism |place=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198610250.001.0001/acref-9780198610250 |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-19-861025-0 |ref=none}}
| |
| * {{cite encyclopedia |surname=Jones |given=Constance A. |surname2=Ryan |given2=James D. |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |url={{Google books|OgMmceadQ3gC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=2007 |place=New York |publisher=Facts On File |isbn=978-0-8160-5458-9 |series=Encyclopedia of World Religions. [[J. Gordon Melton]], Series Editor |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402211115/https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&pg=PR17 |archive-date=2 April 2020|url-status=live |ref=none}} | |
| * {{cite encyclopedia |year=1998 |surname=Klostermaier |given=Klaus K. |author-link=Klaus Klostermaier |title=A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism |place=London |publisher=Oneworld Publications |isbn=978-1-78074-672-2 |url={{Google books|DB29DwAAQBAJ|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|ref=none}}
| |
| * {{cite encyclopedia |editor-surname=Potter |editor-given=Karl H. |editor-link=Karl Harrington Potter |title=Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophers |url=http://faculty.washington.edu/kpotter/xencyclo.html |place=Delhi |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |year=1970–2019 |volume=1–25- |ref=none |postscript=. Ongoing [[monographic series]] project.}}
| |
| * {{cite book|surname=Werner |given=Karel |author-link=Karel Werner |title=A Popular Dictionary of Hinduism |place=Surrey |publisher=Curzon Press |year=1997 |edition=Rev. |isbn=0-7007-1049-3 |url={{Google books|HvuQAgAAQBAJ|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|ref=none}}
| |
| | |
| ; Introductory
| |
| * {{cite book |surname=Flood |given=Galvin D. |author-link=Gavin Flood |year=1996 |title=An Introduction to Hinduism |url={{Google books|KpIWhKnYmF0C|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |archive-url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo |archive-date=13 December 2000 |place=London |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-43878-0 |ref=none}}
| |
| * {{cite book |last=Fowler |first=Jeaneane D. |year=1997 |title=Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-898723-60-8 |url={{Google books|RmGKHu20hA0C|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|ref=none}}
| |
| * {{cite book |year=2007 |surname=Klostermaier |given=Klaus K. |author-link=Klaus Klostermaier |title=Hinduism: A Beginner's Guide |publisher=Oneworld Publications |isbn=978-1-78074-026-3 |url={{Google books|P0VCO1900dMC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174233/https://books.google.com/books?id=P0VCO1900dMC |url-status=live |ref=none}}
| |
| * {{cite book |surname=Knott |given=Kim |year=1998 |url={{Google books|p4kzNzII3zAC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction |place=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-160645-8 |archive-date=29 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174324/https://books.google.com/books?id=p4kzNzII3zAC&pg=PA6 |url-status=live |ref=none}}
| |
| | |
| ; History
| |
| * {{cite book |editor-surname=Chattopadhyaya |editor-given=D. P. |editor-link=D. P. Chattopadhyaya |title=[[Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture|History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization]] |volume=1–15 |place=Delhi |publisher=[[Centre for Studies in Civilizations]] |ref=none}}
| |
| * {{cite book |surname=Basham |given=Arthur Llewellyn |author-link=Arthur Llewellyn Basham |title=[[The Wonder That was India|The Wonder That Was India: A Survey of the Culture of the Indian Sub-Continent Before the Coming of the Muslims]] |place=London |publisher=Sidgwick & Jackson |year=1954 |ref=none}}
| |
| * {{Cite book |last=Parpola |first=Asko |title=The Roots of Hinduism. The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-19-022693-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DagXCgAAQBAJ |ref=none }}
| |
| * {{Cite book |last=Samuel |first=Geoffrey |title=The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |ref=none}}
| |
| | |
| ; Philosophy and theology
| |
| * {{cite book |surname=Dasgupta |given=Surendranath |year=1922–1955 |authorlink=Surendranath Dasgupta |title=A History of Indian Philosophy |volume=1–5 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |place=London |url=https://www.indianculture.gov.in/reports-proceedings/history-indian-philosophy-vol-i |ref=none}} [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.96713 Vol. 1] | [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.57593 Vol. 2] | [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.57392 Vol. 3] | [https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.231099 Vol. 4] | [https://archive.org/details/AHistoryOfIndianPhilosophyVol5/page/n1/mode/2up Vol. 5.]
| |
| * {{cite book |year=1923–1927 |surname=Radhakrishnan |given=Sarvepalli |author-link=Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |title=Indian Philosophy |publisher=Oxford University Press |place=Oxford |volume=1–2 |url=https://archive.org/details/Sarvepalli.Radhakrishnan.Indian.Philosophy.Volume.1-2 |ref=none}}
| |
| | |
| ; Texts
| |
| * {{cite book |year=2010 |surname=Klostermaier|edition=3rd |given=Klaus K. |author-link=Klaus Klostermaier |title=A Survey of Hinduism |place=New York |publisher=SUNY Press |url={{Google books|8CVviRghVtIC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |isbn=978-0-7914-8011-3 |ref=none}}
| |
| * {{Cite book |editor-last=Flood |editor-first=Gavin |title=Blackwell companion to Hinduism |publisher=[[Blackwell Publishing]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-631-21535-6 |editor-link=Gavin Flood |ref=none}}
| |
| * {{cite book |editor-last=Richards |editor-first=Glyn |year=1985 |title=A Sourcebook of Modern Hinduism |location=London |publisher=Curzon Press |page=212 |isbn=978-0-7007-0173-5 |ref=none}}
| |
| {{refend}}
| |
|
| |
|
| == External links == | | == External links == |
| {{Prone to spam|date=June 2020}} | | {{Commons category|Hinduism}} |
| <!-- {{No more links}}
| | * [http://ompage.net/Text/hindutimeline.htm Hindu Timeline] |
| | | * [http://www.hinduism-today.com/archives/2003/10-12/44-49_four_sects.shtml http://www.hinduism-today.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108063824/http://www.hinduism-today.com/archives/2003/10-12/44-49_four_sects.shtml |date=2009-01-08 }} |
| Please be cautious adding more external links.
| | * [http://www.freebsd.nfo.sk/hinduism/ Some nice info about Hinduism in general including its all most important gods, festivals, personalities, demons, etc.] |
| | | * [http://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism.htm/ Religious Tolerance- Hinduism] |
| Wikipedia is not a collection of links and should not be used for advertising.
| | * [https://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_meaning.asp The Origin and Definition of the Name Hindu] |
| | | * [https://www.brahminji.com/ Brahminji - Book a Pandit for Vedic Rituals] |
| Excessive or inappropriate links will be removed.
| |
| | |
| See [[Wikipedia:External links]] and [[Wikipedia:Spam]] for details.
| |
| | |
| If there are already suitable links, propose additions or replacements on
| |
| the article's talk page.
| |
| | |
| -->
| |
| {{Sister project links|Hinduism|d=Q9089|n=Category:Hinduism|s=Category:Hinduism|voy=Hinduism}}
| |
| {{refbegin}}
| |
| {{EB1911 poster|Hinduism}}
| |
| ; Main resources
| |
| * {{cite encyclopedia |title=Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism Online |date= |editor-surname=Jacobsen |editor-given=Knut A. |editor-link=Knut A. Jacobsen |display-editors=etal |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/browse/brill-s-encyclopedia-of-hinduism }} | |
| * {{cite encyclopedia|title=Hinduism|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism|date=}}
| |
| * [https://www.learnreligions.com/hinduism-4684846 Many articles about Hinduism] by ''[[Dotdash]]'' (formerly ''About.com'') | |
| * {{Curlie|https://curlie.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Hinduism/}}
| |
| * {{Gutenberg book|no=subject/11274|name=Hinduism}}
| |
| ; Hindu views
| |
| * [http://www.iep.utm.edu/hindu-ph/ Hindu Philosophy and Hinduism], IEP, Shyam Ranganathan, York University
| |
| * [http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/vedica.pdf Vedic Hinduism] SW Jamison and M Witzel, Harvard University
| |
| * [[s:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures And Discourses/The Hindu Religion|The Hindu Religion]], Swami Vivekananda (1894), Wikisource
| |
| * [http://www.ramakrishna.org/catalog/archive/Spirit_of_Hinduism.htm Hinduism by Swami Nikhilananda], The Ramakrishna Mission (one of the Theistic Hindu Movements)
| |
| * [http://www.dlshq.org/download/hinduismbk.pdf All About Hinduism by Swami Sivananda (pdf)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222000944/http://www.dlshq.org/download/hinduismbk.pdf |date=22 December 2019 }}, The Divine Life Society (one of the Theistic Hindu Movements)
| |
| * [http://www.iep.utm.edu/adv-veda/ Advaita Vedanta Hinduism by Sangeetha Menon], IEP (one of the non-Theistic school of Hindu philosophy) | |
| * [https://web.archive.org/web/20051103040233/http://hinduism.iskcon.com/ Heart of Hinduism: An overview of Hindu traditions] by [[ISKCON]] (Hare Krishna Movement)
| |
| * [http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/wfchannel/index.php?wfc_cid=21 What is Hinduism?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418012219/https://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/wfchannel/index.php?wfc_cid=21 |date=18 April 2021 }} by ''[[Hinduism Today]]'' magazine | |
| | |
| ; Research on Hinduism
| |
| * {{Cite web|title=Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies|url=https://ochs.org.uk/|url-status=live|website=[[University of Oxford]]|language=en-US}} | |
| * {{cite web|url=http://jhs.oxfordjournals.org/content/current|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430112926/http://jhs.oxfordjournals.org/content/current|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 April 2012|title=Latest issue of 'The Journal of Hindu Studies|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|language=en-US}}
| |
| * {{cite web|url=https://link.springer.com/journal/volumesAndIssues/11407|url-status=live|title=Latest issue of the 'International Journal of Hindu Studies'|publisher=Springer|language=en-US}}
| |
| * {{cite web|url=http://digitalcommons.butler.edu/jhcs/|url-status=live|title=Latest issue of 'The Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies'|website=Butler University|language=en-US}}
| |
| * {{cite web|url=http://jewishstudies.fiu.edu/about-us/initiative-for-global-jewish-communities/society-for-indo-judaic-studies/journal-archives/|url-status=live|title=Latest issue of 'The Journal of Indo-Judaic Studies'|website=[[Florida International University]]|language=en-US}}
| |
| * {{Cite web|title=International Journal of Dharma Studies|url=https://internationaljournaldharmastudies.springeropen.com/|url-status=live|access-date=17 March 2021|website=International Journal of Dharma Studies|language=en|quote=Springer (Topical publications on Hinduism, other Indic religions)}}
| |
| * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150420084630/http://pluralism.org/religion/hinduism/bibliography Hinduism outside India], A Bibliography, Harvard University (The Pluralism Project)
| |
| * [https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00196705/ What's in a Name? Agama Hindu Bali in the Making – Hinduism in Bali, Indonesia] Michel Picard, Le CNRS (Paris, France)
| |
| | |
| ; Audio on Hinduism
| |
| * {{Citation|last=Vivekananda|first=Swami|title=Hinduism as religion by Swami Vivekananda 1893 Speech|date=1893|url=http://archive.org/details/SwamiVivekanandaSwamiVivekananda1893Speech|place=[[World Parliament of Religions|World Parliament of Religion]], [[Chicago]]|access-date=17 March 2021|author-link=Swami Vivekananda}}. (Audio Version, [http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/_includes/FCKcontent/file/Vivekananda.pdf Text]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}) | |
| * {{Cite web|title=Scholarly lectures on Hinduism|url=http://www.ochs.org.uk/lectures/previous|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620013322/http://www.ochs.org.uk/lectures/previous|archive-date=20 June 2015|location=OCHS, [[University of Oxford]]}}
| |
| {{refend}}
| |
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