Hinduism Facts

Facts about Hinduism: Hinduism is the oldest surviving religion of the world, where its origin took place before history was ever recorded. It is called as ‘Sanatana Dharma’ i.e. it is eternal religion and spontaneous by nature. It has no founder to give credit to its discovery nor does anyone know its date of origin. Here are some basic facts about Hinduism.

Basic facts about Hinduism

• Hinduism is not a religion in the normal sense, but it is a set of traditions and beliefs evolved over a long period of time.
• It is also called Sanathana Dharma or Eternal Religion
• There exists no single scripture or single prophet to follow.
• No central organization or authority to control the movements or progress.

Size rank

It is the third largest religion in the world.

Founder of Hinduism

None

The Original Language

Sanskrit

Main location

India.

Spiritual Leader

Gurus or sages

Major Sects of Hinduism

• Shaivism
• Vaishnavism
• Shaktism

The Sacred Texts of Hinduism

• Vedas
• Upanishads
• Bhagavat Gita

Purpose of life in Hinduism

The purpose of life is to obtain liberation from the cycle of reincarnation.

The Three Debts:

• debt to God
• debt to saints and sages
• debt to ancestors

The Three Paths to be followed:

• Karmamarga - path of work and action
• Jnanamarga - path of knowledge
• Bhaktimarga - path of devotion to God

The Four Stages in Life:

• Brahmacharya - During education - grow and learn
• Grhastha - Taking care of marriage, family and career
• Vanaprastha - starts seeking spiritual things
• Sanryasa - abandon world to seek spiritual things

The Four Purposes of life:

• Dharma- Fulfilling social , moral, and religious duties
• Artha - Attaining financial and worldly success
• Kama – Satisfying desires God
• Moksha– Attaining freedom from rebirth

Basic Tenets of Hinduism

• Satya - Follow truth, do not lie
• Ahimsa - Follow non violence
• Brahmacharya - do not overindulge
• Asteya - do not steal, do not possess
• Aparigraha - Non-corrupt
• Shaucha - Be clean
• Santosha - Be content
• Tapas - Be self-disciplined
• Svadhyaya - Learning the scriptures
• Ishvara Pranidhana - surrender to God

Basic Beliefs in Hinduism

• It believes in one and all pervasive Supreme Being who is both transcendent and immanent.
• The universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation and dissolution.
• It believes in karma, the law of cause and effect by which each individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words and deeds.
• It believes that all life is sacred and pure to be loved and respected.
• It believes that our soul reincarnates through many births until it attains moksha- liberation from the cycles of birth and rebirth.
• It believes in ahimsa and dharma-doing one’s duties.

God in Hinduism

God in Hinduism is the Supreme Being-Maha Vishnu who is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. This Supreme Being is the universal energy which is everywhere and in everything. The different deities and Gods worshiped are different aspects and avatars of this Supreme Being. This Supreme Being is formless, shapeless and genderless.