Hinduism

Hinduism

Today , most people in the Indian subcontinent prefer to use the label Sanatana Dharma instead of Hinduism to refer to the religious practices which fall outside of the unified religions of Buddhism , Jainism , and Sikhism . Sanatana means ageless ' or eternal , and Dharma translates as religion . Sanatana Dharma , therefore , literally means an ageless religion , a collection of religious practices which people in the country believe has existed even before man himself . It is characterized by the coexistence of various religious paths , rather than a dominant tradition , and composed of beliefs handed

down from generation to generation tell of the existence of about 330 million deities (Fisher , 2005 , ch .3 ,

. 69 . Sanatana Dharma allows believers to choose their own deities and make up their own manners and schedules of worshipping their chosen deity which they call puja . Some practitioners do their puja several times a day as a way of reminding themselves of their religion (p .112

The foundation of Sanatana Dharma is often thought to be a collection of religious texts which they call the Vedas . The Vedas consist of four parts , namely the : Samhitas , or the hymns of praise ' the Brahmanas which give directions on how to perform their ritual sacrifices , the Aranyakas which are also called forest treatises ' These are the writings of those who go to the forest to meditate , and finally , the Upanishads , which consist of teaching from highly realized spiritual masters ' These Vedas explain the transformation experienced by an individual after he or she has participated in the ritual processes (p 72

The origin of these Vedas is still a of debate between western historians and Hindu nationalists . The former theorized that the Vedas were brought to the Indian subcontinent by the Aryans from southern Russia who invaded and conquered the Indus Valley during the second millenium BCE . However , the Hindu nationalists refuse to believe the theory that their religion was brought in from the outside because although those Aryans were great warriors , they believed them to be illiterates (p .71

The teachings of Hinduism are spread to the broad masses by means of epics and puranas , narratives and poems which popularized spiritual knowledge and devotion through national myths and legends (p . 88 . Two of the most popular Hindu epics are the Ramayana and the Mahabharata The Ramayana is about the ideal relationships in the family . It defines what ideal family roles are , i .e , ideal brother , sister , father , and mother , and requires strict adherence to such ideals . For instance sons and daughters must do exactly what their parents want them to do even if they sometimes doubt the correctness of their parents ' biddings This epic stresses that one 's role in the family is more important than his being an individual (p . 89

The Mahabharata , on the other hand , is not only about what is ideal It shows all sides of human nature , including greed , lust , intrigue and the desire for power . It is thought to be relevant for all times and...