Hinduism: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Indian religion and dharma, or way of life}}

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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>

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>

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>

 

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>

 

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"}}

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>}}

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 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>

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>

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:

* {{harvnb|Halbfass|1988}}, ''India and Europe''

* {{harvnb|Sontheimer|1989}}, ''Hinduism Reconsidered''

* {{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]].}}

=== Typology ===

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" />

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}}

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>

=== Hindu views ===

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>

 

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>}}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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}}

 

 

 

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,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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:

* 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.

* 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.

* 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.}}

[[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]]]]

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>

* [[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}}

 

 

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:

 

{{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>}}

 

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>

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>

==== Mokṣa (liberation, freedom from saṃsāra) ====

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>

=== Karma and saṃsāra ===

''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>

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>

 

{{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–]}}}}

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;

* '''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>

{{multiple image

| image1 = MurudeshwarStatue.JPG

| alt1 = Shiva

| caption1 = [[Shiva]]

| image2 = Durga Mahisasuramardini.JPG

| alt2 = Durga

| caption2 = [[Durga]]

| 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 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}}

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 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]]."

 

 

 

 

 

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 />

 

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}}

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}}

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}}

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>

[[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>

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&nbsp;million or 26.6%, Shaktism with 30&nbsp;million or 3.2% and other traditions including Neo-Hinduism and Reform Hinduism with 25&nbsp;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}}

=== Ethnicities ===

[[File:A Russian Hindu girl.jpg|thumb|A [[Hinduism in Russia|Russian Hindu]] girl]]

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]]).

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>

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}}

[[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:

:– Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahmaparva, Adhyāya 7

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''.}}

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.

''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>

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>

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>

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>

== Practices ==

{{Main|Puja (Hinduism)|Aarti|Abhisheka|Japa|Havan|Yajna|Hindu wedding}}

[[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}}]]

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}}

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>

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" />

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>

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}}

| footer = A home shrine with offerings at a regional [[Vishu]] festival (left); a priest in a temple (right).

''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>

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" />

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>

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" />

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>

[[File:Deepawali-festival.jpg|thumb|right|The festival of lights, [[Diwali]], is celebrated by Hindus all over the world. ]]

[[File:Hindus in Ghana celebrating Ganesh Chaturti.jpg|thumb|[[Hinduism in Ghana|Hindus in Ghana]] celebrating [[Ganesh Chaturti]]]]

[[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]].]]

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>

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>

Some major regional or pan-Hindu festivals include:

{{div col|colwidth=18em}}

* [[Diwali]] or [[Tihar (festival)|Tihar]] or [[Deepawali]]

=== Pilgrimage ===

{{See also|Tirtha (Hinduism)|Hindu_pilgrimage_sites_in_India|l2=Tirtha locations|Yatra}}

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}}

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}}

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}}}}

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}}

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]].

=== Architecture ===

=== Art ===

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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>

 

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>

 

 

 

 

 

 

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}}

 

 

 

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>

 

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.

 

Hinduism is a major religion in India. Hinduism was followed by around 79.8% of the country's population of 1.21&nbsp;billion ([[2011 Census of India|2011 census]]) (966&nbsp;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&nbsp;million), Bangladesh (15&nbsp;million) and the [[Hinduism in Indonesia|Indonesian]] island of [[Bali]] (3.9&nbsp;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>

 

# {{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]].}}

# {{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>

 

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>

 

| align="center" | [[Vaishnavism]]

 

 

{{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>

 

[[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>

 

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.

 

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 />}}

 

 

 

 

 

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)]].}}

* {{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|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|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|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>}}

* {{harvnb|Kurien|2006}}: "There are almost a billion Hindus living on Earth. They practice the world's 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 />

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 />

{{reflist|25em}}

 

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=== Printed sources ===

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* {{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}}