The Hindu Religion

The Hindu religion is made of up many divinities which they serve. Hinduism does not have a defined founder, deity, or is it placed with a specific system of theology. The religion originated from the ancient Vedic age and other indigenous beliefs. The religion is still one of the major religions in the world. People have considered the religion to be restrictive and organized. The Hindus do recognize one God, Brahman. Brahman is the eternal origin who is the cause and foundation of all existence. Some may view Hinduism dealing with Trinity because Brahman is visualized as one God with three persons of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Brahma is one who created the universe, Vishnu is one who preserves the universe and Shiva is one who destroys the universe. Brahma is not worshiped the same as the other gods because it is believed that his work has been done which would have been the creation. Hinduism is also based on Vedic scriptures that some scholars say date back to 10,000 BCE. The basic scriptures of Hinduism, referred as Shastras, are a collection of spiritual laws discovered by sages at different points in history. The two types of sacred writings, Shruti(heard) and Smriti(memorized) comprise the Hindu scriptures. The sacred writings were passed on from generation to generation orally for centuries before they were written down in the Sankrit language dating far back s 6,500 BC.

The cultural and societal influences that have made Hinduism vital to the region in which it originated was in the Indus Valley. The Indus Valley was the cradle of the religion and vital to the survival of its surrounding inhabitants. There is also a reverence accorded to river Ganges, the dependents of which refer to it as Ganga Mata (Mother Ganga). The plains on either sides of these rivers provide the necessary fertile grounds for growing subsistence crops. Another cultural aspect of the Hindu heartland was the appreciation of of sensual arts. The adoption of the techniques

Week 3Assignment 3.

recommended in Kamasutra is the same as practicing Hinduism. The most striking example of this would be the stone temple at Kajuraho, whose walls and pillars depict Kama (the sex god) in all his manifestations (Van Horn, 2006). When we look at India, they were diverse in religion, ethnics, race, and culture. When they began to practice Hinduism, this created a unifying influence and philosophy for them and this created peace and cooperation.

The view of the Hindus in regard to the desire for liberation from earthly existence to me can vary. Apparently the Hindus have two basic views about the liberation. To them the liberation is known as moksa. Some of the Hindus believe that when they achieve liberation, after that death, they will merge into a totality of existence in a state called Neti-neti or Noth this-not. The Hindus believe that they transcend such concepts as gods and goddesses.

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