Hinduism

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Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend

Hinduism  is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent. With its foundations in the Vedic civilization, it has no known founder being itself a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions. It is considered the world's "oldest extant religion," and has approximately a billion adherents, of whom about 890 million live in India, placing it as the world's third largest religion after Christianity and Islam. Other countries with large Hindu populations include Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Hinduism provides a vast body of scriptures. Divided as revealed and remembered, and developed over millennia, these scriptures expound an equally vast range of theology, philosophy, and myth, providing spiritual insights along with guidance on the practice of dharma (religious living). Among such texts, Hindus revere the Vedas along with the Upanishads as being among the foremost in authority, importance, and antiquity. Other important scriptures include the Tantras and sectarian Agamas, Purāṇas and the epics: the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa. The Bhagavad Gītā, a deeply profound conversation excerpted from the Mahābhārata, is widely seen as summarizing the spiritual teachings of the Vedas.

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Etymology
The Persian term Hindu comes from the Sanskrit Sindhu, i.e. the Indus River. In the Rig Veda, the Indo-Aryans mention their land as Sapta Sindhu (the land of the seven rivers of the northwestern Indian subcontinent, one of them being the Indus). This corresponds to Hapta-Hendu in the Avesta (Vendidad: Fargard 1.18)—the sacred scripture of Zoroastrianism of Iran. The term was used for people who lived in the Indian subcontinent beyond the Sindhu.

Core Concepts
Hinduism originates from the ancient Vedic tradition and other indigenous beliefs, incorporated over time. Prominent themes in Hinduism include Dharma (ethics and duties), Samsāra (rebirth), Karma (right action), and Moksha (liberation from the cycle of samsara). Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism share traits with Hinduism, because these religions originated in India and focus on self-improvement with the general aim of attaining personal (first hand), spiritual experiences. They along with Hinduism are collectively known as Dharmic religions.


Concept of God
Hinduism is sometimes considered to be a polytheistic religion, but such a view tends to oversimplify a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, monism and even atheism. For instance, the Advaita Vedanta school holds that there is only one causal entity (Brahman), which manifests itself to humans in multiple forms while many scholars consider Samkhya to have atheistic leanings.