Hinduism

Hinduism is one of the oldest and most prominent religions that reside in the country, India. This religion has spread beyond India’s subcontinent to all parts of the world, though most adherents to this faith claim Indian ancestry. The term Hinduism has “derived from a name applied by foreigners to the people living in the region of the Indus river, and was introduced in the nineteenth century under colonial British rule as a category for census-taking.” Throughout this paper, what makes up the Hindu religion, it is cultural and social influences on societies this religion has affected, and liberation from earthy existence will be explained.

What makes up the Hindu religion? Santana dharma is encompassing the concepts of eternal time, universal truths, and a human history that recedes indefinitely. “Hinduism is diverse; no single doctrine (or set of beliefs) can represent its numerous traditions (Heart of Hinduism, 2004).” The Hindus have always known the way of thinking of freedom of action, for the reason that they had a perfect religion, a religion on which one aspect of God was described as human, and their various Devas are nothing, but various characteristics of human nature, each of them are adored and worshipped. “Almost all Hindus believe that the real self (atman) is distinct from the temporary body made of matter (prakriti) (Heart of Hinduism, 2004).”The cultural and societal influences that have made Hinduism vital/very important to the region in which it originated is that in the old days, about a thousand years ago, the metaphysical beliefs in the Vedas were elaborated into various schools of thought by philosophers and sages. Various methods of spiritual discipline are how the beliefs were brought forth experimentally. Teaching their children and others about Hinduism is one way the people who practice this religion spread it...