Understanding Hinduism

Hinduism a religion practiced in India and other parts of the world, and originated on the Indian Subcontinent, is mainly referred to as Sanatan Dharma. It is said that the religion had its origin in the Indus Valley Civilization and Vedic Civilization. The religion has a vast number of followers spread across all borders especially in India. The religion is rich in art, culture, architecture and literature. The four Vedas, from which the Hinduism is derived are Rigveda, Samveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. Hinduism also tells Karma and Dharma the core of life, as Karma denotes one’s action and Dharma denotes the way of living.

Hinduism is the only religion with several gods and goddesses. The prominent among them are the three Lords who rule the world. {{brahma | Brahma]] ( the creator) Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the destroyer). It is believed that Lord Vishnu preserves the world by taking incarnations in different forms at times of crisis.

The three Lords that rule the world have consorts and they are goddesses. Consort of Brahma is Sarasvati (goddess of learning). Vishnu's consort is Lakshmi (goddess of wealth) and prosperity. Shiva's consort is Parvati who is worshiped as Kali or Durga.

Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world after Christianity and Islam in the top. The Vedas and the Upanishads are the texts with great importance. They all are the summary of the spiritual teachings the Bhagawad Gita is the holy book of the Hindu’s. Hinduism also has some ancient epics the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The story of Ramayana is based on Rama how he frees his wife Sita from the clutches of Ravan a demon. And Mahabharata is a family epic, in which the Pandava family and the Kaurava family who are cousins fight among each other for the control over a kingdom.

As hindu’s have many God’s and Goddess they also have many holy places like Varanasi, Badrinath, Puri, Dwarkha, Rishikesh, Nasik, Pushkar, Ujjain and Rameshwaram. They also worship few holy rivers above all river Ganga, Godavri, Yamuna and Sarawati which is invisible.

Hinduism is also classified under four different caste arranged in a hierarchy. The top most lies the Brahmin( priest), Kshatria (warrior), Vaishya (business men) and in the bottom are the Sudras, who are the common peasants and workers. Further there are several sub-castes also.