Religion
Hinduism
Hindu texts describe many paths of duty, devotion, knowledge, and liberation from rebirth. (Bhagavad Gita 3:19; 4:11; 18:66)
01
Identity Card
- Name and etymology
- From Sindhu (the Indus River); term applied externally before being adopted.
- Type
- Dharmic religion / family of traditions ("Sanatana Dharma" = eternal way).
- Founder or origin
- No single founder; emerged from Indus Valley and Vedic civilizations.
- Date and place
- ~3000–1500 BCE, Indian subcontinent.
- Adherents
- ~1.2 billion (~15% of humanity); concentrated in India, Nepal.
02
Source of Authority
- Primary scripture
- Major Hindu texts include the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, and Mahabharata. Different traditions emphasize different texts.
- Source of truth
- Multiple paths — revelation, reason, experience, devotion.
- Authority structure
- No central authority; gurus, swamis, schools (sampradayas).
03
Core Beliefs
- Core idea
- Many Hindu traditions teach liberation (moksha) from rebirth through dharma, karma, devotion, knowledge, or disciplined practice. (Bhagavad Gita 2:47; 4:11; 18:66)
- View of God or ultimate reality
- Hindu texts speak of ultimate reality in different ways: one supreme reality, many deities, or the divine present in all things. (Rig Veda 1.164.46; Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.1; Bhagavad Gita 7:7)
- View of humanity
- Many Hindu texts describe the self (atman) as deeper than the body and connected to ultimate reality. (Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7; Bhagavad Gita 2:20)
- View of the world
- Hindu traditions often describe the world as cyclical and shaped by karma, while different schools debate its ultimate nature. (Bhagavad Gita 8:16; 9:8)
04
Practical Implications
- Purpose of life
- Many Hindu traditions speak of four aims of life: duty, prosperity, pleasure, and liberation. (Dharmaśāstra tradition; Bhagavad Gita 18:66)
- Ethics
- Hindu ethics emphasize duty, consequences of action, truthfulness, self-control, and non-harm. (Bhagavad Gita 16:1–3; Yoga Sutras 2.30)
- Afterlife
- Many Hindu texts teach rebirth shaped by karma, with liberation as the final goal. (Bhagavad Gita 2:22; 8:15)
- Key practices
- Puja (worship), yoga, meditation, pilgrimage, festivals (Diwali, Holi).
05
Comparative Lenses
- Main branches
- Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, Smartism.
- Relationship to others
- Often inclusive; sees other paths as valid routes to truth.
- Common critiques
- Caste system debates, gender issues, modern political nationalism.
- Modern adaptations
- Neo-Vedanta, global yoga movements, Hindutva politics.
Simple educational summaries. For religions, claims are attributed to scripture or major source texts where possible; where no scripture exists, wording describes what followers/supporters generally hold. References are starting points, not exhaustive academic citations.