Hinduism Research Paper

Hinduism

Per thefreedictionary.com, “A religious, philosophical, and cultural tradition that developed in India with the composition of the Vedas, characterized by belief in a supreme being of many forms and natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of one eternal truth, by the desire for liberation from earthly evils, and by belief in reincarnation”. Hinduism is a very important religion as it is considered the eldest religion known to man. Being the oldest religion, it has had time to spread throughout the world and be practiced by millions. Unlike the world’s major world traditions, Hinduism was once considered a culture and not a religion, the faith has holy texts called Vedas that they consider to be an authority figure,

Due to there being no creator of the religion, Hindus consider these books as the formation of the religion that they know as a way of life. They are the holy texts that influence the Hindu culture and beliefs. They are defined as “books of knowledge”. It is believed that the Vedas are created by God, so since the Vedas are created by God, it is thought that God is the creator, but only to some. There are four Vedas; the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda. These Vedas are very influential to the Hindu religion as they look to them for guidance. From ancient India, the Vedas cover hymns, incantations, and rituals that most of the followers go by. They teach the followers lessons and the ways to live the Hindu style. Even though these Vedas are well known throughout the religion and highly regarded, not all Hindus look at them the

Looking at a religions past, we can understand their way of life and culture. Hinduism is a way of life for Hindus. However, Hindus tend to not look at their religion’s previous events, but to the “spiritual truths”. Hindus seek for change for the better and not pay attention to things that happened previously in the Hindu religion. Although they do not look at the past, it is significant to look at their past because their modern religious events to correlate to the old events. Hindus also have the “Four stages of a man’s life”. Modernly, it is not a very popular way of life for them. The stages include the “student stage”, the “householder stage”, the “forest dweller stage”, and the “sannyasin stage”. Hindus that do go through the stages usually do not pass the second stage. The first stage involves the male learning his duties. The second stage involves marriage and birth of a child or children. The third stage consists of the man retiring. The final stage is when the man transforms into a renunciant. The final stage involves the becoming a moksha, which is a very respectable title as a Hindu. Although this is a part of the Hindu’s ways, it is not a very popular thing to practice; as the religion, has evolved, this has become