Origin of Hindu Religion

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A Hindu ( pronunciation (help·info), Devanagari: हिन्दु) is an adherent of Hinduism, a set of religious, philosophical and cultural systems that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The vast body of Hindu scriptures, divided into Śruti ("revealed") and Smriti ("remembered"), lay the foundation of Hindu beliefs, which primarily include dhárma, kárma, ahimsa and saṃsāra. Vedānta and yoga are one of the several core schools of Hindu philosophy, broadly known as the Sanātana Dharma. The word Hindu is at times attributed to all persons professing Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism or Sikhism as is used in the Constitution of India.[1]

With more than a billion adherents, Hinduism is the world's third largest religion. The vast majority of Hindus, …show more content…

They brought Vedic, Puranic and Tantric literature and philosophy to Europe and the United States. At the same time, societies such as the Brahmo Samaj and the Theosophical Society attempted to reconcile and fuse Abrahamic and Dharmic philosophies, endeavouring to institute societal reform. This period saw the emergence of movements which, while highly innovative, were rooted in indigenous tradition. They were based on the personalities and teachings of individuals, as with Ramakrishna and Ramana Maharshi. Prominent Hindu philosophers, including Aurobindo and Prabhupada (founder of ISKCON), translated, reformulated and presented Hinduism's foundational texts for contemporary audiences in new iterations, attracting followers and attention in India and abroad. Others such as Vivekananda, Paramahansa Yogananda, B.K.S. Iyengar and Swami Rama have also been instrumental in raising the profiles of Yoga and Vedanta in the West. Today modern movements, such as ISKCON and the Swaminarayan Faith, attract a large amount of followers across the world.[16]

[edit]Definition

The Bhagavad Gītā, a conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna before the start of the Kurukshetra war, is one of the foremost Hindu scriptures[17] and is described as a concise guide to Hindu philosophy and beliefs.[18]
The roots of the diverse set of religious beliefs, traditions and philosophy of Hindus were laid during the Vedic age which originated in India between 2000 and 1500 BC.[19]

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