Hinduism

What is Hinduism?
Hinduism is a religious system originating from India. It is made up of a
great diversity of trends. However, its fundamental elements are the
belief in Brahman as the supreme universal principle, karma, reincarnation and the
liberation.

The term Hinduism comes from the word Hindu, a Persian adaptation of the name of the river.
Sindhu. Starting from the 19th century, the suffix -ism was added to designate the set
of values, beliefs, and religious practices of the peoples of the Indus Valley.

Its practitioners, called Hindus, conceive it as a way of life and a cosmology.

Therefore, they do not refer to Hinduism as a religion, but as 'Sanatana Dharma', which
it means 'tradition' or 'eternal path'.

SymbolOm

The symbol of Hinduism is Om, which represents the impersonal god Brahman, as well as the
universe and the essential. ElOme is a sacred syllable that functions as a mantra. That is to say,
a vibrant chant or prayer that Hindus value as a primordial sound, from which it is
they generate other sounds.

Hinduism has no founder and does not possess a vertical hierarchy similar to religions.
monotheists. This favors the great diversity of metaphysical and spiritual currents,
philosophical, customs, cults, and rituals that characterize it.
Currently, Hinduism is the dominant spirituality in India, Nepal, the island of
Mauritius (Africa) and the island of Bali (Indonesia), although its practice has spread to some
countries of other cultures.

Origin and history of Hinduism

The origin and formation of Hinduism is a millennial process, characterized by the sum of
various beliefs throughout the years, as if they were layers.

It is estimated that the origins of Hinduism date back to around 1750 or 1500 B.C.
introduced to India by nomadic Indo-European tribes that worshipped the forces of the
nature.

Characteristics of Hinduism
• It does not have a hierarchical structure. Hinduism does not have a figure of authority.
principal, nor does it have a church in the hierarchical sense of the term. That explains the
variety of beliefs and rituals associated with this spirituality, which grow with the
popular devotion.
• It is diverse and plural. Hinduism is a syncretic religion that accepts many.
beliefs and philosophies, as it has gathered a great diversity of cultures throughout
centuries. These beliefs can be of monotheistic, polytheistic expression, or even,
agnostic.
• It has a rich pantheon of deities. Hindus have a system of
different deities, gods and goddesses, that is, idols, demigods and demigoddesses, which
they represent different manifestations of the supreme universal principle. Therefore,
Some specialists point out that Hinduism is not exactly polytheistic.
• It is not a proselytizing religion. In its origin, Hinduism was transmitted through the
caste system of India. Therefore, it is not an expansive religion in search of
adepts. However, it is open to new memberships. This explains its growth and
presence in the Western world.

Main beliefs of Hinduism

The belief system of Hinduism is very varied and complex due to its
characteristics. Within this diversity, all Hindus share a set of
{"fundamental beliefs":["karma","dharma","reincarnation","liberation"]}

What is Karma:
Karma means action or transcendent energy that derives from acts, words and
thoughts of people.

Karma is a word in Sanskrit and is used in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.

later adopted in spiritualism.

In physics, the word is equivalent to the law: 'For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.'
equivalent in the opposite direction.
Karma reminds humans that for every action an individual takes, there will be a
reaction. Depending on the religion, the meaning of the word can have connotations of
specific actions and different consequences, but generally relates to the
action and its consequences.

In Buddhism, karma is used to highlight the importance of developing attitudes and

correct intentions, since karma returns bad actions obeying dharma
translated as Divine Law, which returns the good.

Law of Karma
The law of karma is the law that adjusts the effect to its cause, that is, everything good or bad
What we have done in life will bring us good or bad consequences in this life or in the next.
following.

The Law of Karma is known in various religions as 'divine justice' and is unchanging. It is
always accompanied by the "divine law" called Dharma that balances the good and
bad actions and consequences.

What is Dharma:
The word dharma, also spelled darma, is of Sanskrit origin meaning 'law' or
Reality. Dharma is a term used in various religions, especially
of Vedic origin, such as: Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, later adopted
in spiritualism.
The human being can choose how and in what way they want to suffer the consequences of their
actions, this is the moment when the dharma that characterizes the inner nature comes into play
of the human being and recognizes that there is a Divine Law and moral principles that must
to be recognized and obeyed in order to achieve the path of perfection and happiness in this
world, and in the next.

The individual who practices dharma is characterized by doing good for others.
to develop happiness and universal brotherhood, as well as to develop behavior,
thoughts and other mental practices that elevate the character of a Being, that leads them to
to obtain prosperity, eternal happiness, and the total cessation of pain.
On its part, the word dharma is everything that provokes discord, separation, and
fosters hatred. In conclusion, the word adharma is the complete opposite of dharma.

Dharma and Karma

Every action is accompanied by a reaction, taking this principle into account
concludes that if an individual behaves according to their religion and moral principles, their
the consequence will be positive, and that is why one can receive a reward in the present,
this is what is known as dharma.
On the other hand, if the reactions to an action taken by the individual are negative, we are
In the presence of karma, and he will pay for it sooner or later.

Reincarnation (samsara)
In general, Hindus believe in reincarnation, which is called
desamsara. Reincarnation consists of the soul being able to occupy, after death,
a new body. Depending on the person's actions, they may reincarnate in
superior, intermediate or inferior stocks.

What is Reincarnation:
Originating from the East, reincarnation is a religious or philosophical belief according to which
the soul, after the biological death of the body, migrates and begins a new life in
another body.

Reincarnation according to religions

Reincarnation in Hinduism
According to the writings and philosophy of the Upanishads, the entity that reincarnates is the atma. The atma can
to be defined as everything except the personal attributes of each one, therefore it is
impersonal.

The spiritual progress that one accumulates to become Atma - Brahmans

registered in the karma.

The physical and mental complex of a human being is reconstructed in reincarnation according to
the karma. And this new human being will encounter experiences that are the result of
the fruits of their past life karmas in order to break the cycle they call avidya
karma - samsara.

Does reincarnation exist?

Many question whether reincarnation is true or not. Some of the practices, cases and
situations that claim to prove that reincarnation exists are:

• Past life regressions.

• Hypnosis.

• Memories of other lives.

• Studies of unexplained birthmarks that match situations
past.
• People who start speaking another language after a regression of parapsychology.
 Liberation (moksha)
• Hindus also believe in spiritual liberation, which in Sanskrit is called
name demoksha. As long as a person does not manage to overcome karma, they remain
tied to the illusion (maia) and to the suffering it induces.
• There are three paths to achieve spiritual liberation, which is the purpose of
Hinduism. These paths are: the path of action (karma marga); the path of
knowledge (jnana marga) and the path of devotion (bhakti marga).

Doctrines of Hinduism
The basic beliefs of Hinduism are subject to various interpretations that we can
call doctrines darśanas. The term darśana means 'vision', and in this case, it is used
to refer to the six doctrines that group Hinduism.

[Link] ‘ fin de los Vedas ’. Es una doctrina que se enfoca en estudiar tres libros:
the Upanishads; the Brahma-sutra (or Vedanta-sutra) and the Bhagavad Gita.
2. Yoga. It is a physical and mental discipline that seeks the liberation of the soul with respect to what
material. Accepts the existence of God. The term means 'union' in Sanskrit. Its text
The main text is the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali.
3. Sankhia. It means 'number' or 'enumeration'. It is based on dualism, which recognizes the
presence of a temporal body and a subtle material body, which transcends after the
death and migrate to another body.
4. Mimansa. It means 'reflection' or 'critical investigation'. It regulates the interpretation of the Vedas and the
Justification of the Vedic ritual. It is very important in Vedanta.
[Link]á.Means 'rule' or 'method'. Aims to end the suffering that results from the
ignorance, proposing four methods to know reality: perception, inference,
comparison and testimony.
6. Vaisesika. Means 'particular'. It is materialistic in tendency. It identifies and classifies everything.
existing. To this end, it proposes three categories of real existence (substance, quality and
movement) and four that derive from logic or intellect (community, particularity,
property and not being.