What is Hinduism?
Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world with a billion followers and also known as Sanatana Dharma. It is a dominant religion, or way of life in Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is a way of life, a Dharma, that is, the law that governs all action. It has its own beliefs, traditions, advanced system of ethics, meaningful rituals, philosophy and theology. The religious tradition of Hinduism is solely responsible for the creation of such original concepts and practices as Yoga, Ayurveda, Vastu, Jyotish, Yajna, Puja, Tantra, Vedanta, Karma, etc.
Origin of Hinduism
The actual term ‘hindu‘ first occurs as a Persian geographical term for the people living across the River Indus or Sindhu. in the north of India, around which the Vedic religion is believed to have originated. Pease note here the term ‘Hindu’ then was a geographical term and did not refer to a religion. The word “Hinduism” is not to be found anywhere in the scriptures.
History of Hinduism
The exact beginnings of Hinduism are impossible to determine, since they evolved as time and culture impacted the religious ideas of early India.
Quick Facts
| Formed |
|
| Origin | India |
| Followers | 1,000,000,000 |
| Deity | Polytheistic |
| Sacred Texts | Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Epics |
| Headquarters | None |
Hinduism Facts
There is no “one Hinduism”, and so it lacks any unified system of beliefs and ideas. Hinduism is a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions, in which the prominent themes include:
- Dharma (ethics and duties)
- Samsara (rebirth)
- Karma (right action)
- Moksha (liberation from the cycle of Samsara)
It also believes in truth, honesty, non-violence, celibacy, cleanliness, contentment, prayers, austerity, perseverance, penance, and pious company.
Human life is divided into four stages, and there are defined rites and rituals for each stage from birth till death.
Four Stages
- The First Ashrama – “Brahmacharya” or the Student Stage
- The Second Ashrama – “Grihastha” or the Householder Stage
- The Third Ashrama – “Vanaprastha” or the Hermit Stage
The Fourth Ashrama – “Sannyasa” or the Wandering Ascetic Stage
Traditional Hinduism has two life-long dharmas that one can follow: ‘Grihastha Dharma’ (Domestic Religion) and ‘Sannyasin Dharma’ (Ascetic Religion). The ‘Grihastha Dharma’ has four goals: ‘kāma’ (sensual pleasure), ‘artha’ (wealth and prosperity), ‘dharma’ (the laws of life), and ‘moksha’ (liberation from the cycle of births). The ‘Sannyasin Dharma’ recognizes ‘moksha’ as its ultimate goal.
Hinduism Gods
The most fundamental of Hindu gods, is the Trinity (trimurti) of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva – creator, preserver and destroyer respectively. Other popular deities or idols are Ganesha, Krishna, Hanuman and a number of Goddesses – Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, Saraswati, et al.
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Hinduism Symbols
Basic Hindu symbolism is enunciated in the Dharmashastras, but much of it developed with the evolution of his unique ‘way of life’. On the surface, many Hindu symbols may seem to be absurd or even dumb, but discovering the deeper meaning of the such symbolism is sheer joy!
Om or Aum
As the cross is to Christians, the Om is to Hindus. It is made up of three Sanskrit letters, aa , au and ma which, when combined, make the sound Aum or Om . The most important symbol in Hinduism, it occurs in every prayer and invocation to most deities begins with it. As the symbol of piety, Om is often found at the head of letters, pendants, enshrined in every Hindu temple and family shrines.
The syllable Om occurs even in English words having a similar meaning, for instance, ‘omniscience’, ‘omnipotent’, ‘omnipresent’. Thus Om is also used to signify divinity and authority. Its similarity with the Latin ‘M’ as also to the Greek letter ‘Omega’ is discernable. Even the word ‘Amen’ used by Christians to conclude a prayer seems to be akin to Om.
Swastika
The term ‘Swastika’ is believed to be a fusion of the two Sanskrit words ‘Su’ (good) and ‘Asati’ (to exist), which when combined means ‘May Good Prevail’. Historians say Swastika could have represented a real structure and that in ancient times forts were built for defense reasons in a shape closely resembling the Swastika. For its protective power this shape began to be sanctified.
The Saffron Color
If there is any color that can symbolize all aspects of Hinduism, its saffron – the color of energy—the color of Agni or fire, which reflects the Supreme Being. As such, the fire altar is regarded as a distinct symbol of ancient Vedic rites.
Caste System in Hinduism
Caste system in Hinduism has four main classes (also called varnas) based originally on personality, profession, and birth. In descending order, the classes are as follows:
Brahmana (now more commonly spelled Brahmin): Consist of those engaged in scriptural education and teaching, essential for the continuation of knowledge.
Kshatriya: Take on all forms of public service, including administration, maintenance of law and order, and defense.
Vaishya: Engage in commercial activity as businessmen.
Shudra: Work as semi-skilled and unskilled laborers.
Hinduism Holy Book
In Hinduism there is not exactly a text that is a must for the follower. Even without reading the sacred texts one can get to the Eternal Bliss and also just reading the Holy Scriptures alone will not lead to the great liberation, as per Hinduism. Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Epics are the main Holy books which Hinduism follows.
Vedas
- AtharvaVed
- RigVed
- SamVed
- YajurVed
Purans
- Agni Puran
- Bhagwat Puran
- Bhavishya Puran
- Brahma Puran
- Brahmand Puran
- Garuda Puran
- Kurma Puran
- Ling Puran
- Markandya Puran
- Matsya Puran
- Narad Puran
- Padma Puran
- Shiv Puran
- Skand Puran
- BrahmVaivatra Puran
- Vaman Puran
- Varah Puran
- Vishnu Puran
Number of Species on Planet Earth
Modern biologists today can list and name around 1.3 million species of life forms on planet earth. But modern biologists also agree that this number is a significant underestimate of the actual total number of species on this planet, so millions of species and life forms are yet to be identified, named, listed and studied. Even today every year around 15,000 new species and life forms are discovered which keeps adding to the number of known species mentioned above. For centuries Taxonomists around the world have been trying to get an approximate definitive figure about the total number of species on Earth and to list them all. Now let us see what the ancient Hindu scriptures have to say about the total number of species on planet Earth.
Ancient Hindu Texts on Total Number of Species or Life Forums
Bhagavadgita – 5000 year old text
The ancient Hindu text Bhagavadgita which which is at least 5000 years old and dates back to the times of Mahabharatha says in (2.22) that just as one gives up an old shirt to put on a new one, the soul gives up an old body to acquire a new kind of a body (vasāmsi jirnāni yathā vihāya). And that a soul can be born as any of the 8.4 million species on this planet one of which is humans, the greatest of all life forms. Since being born as a human is such a rare opportunity, one should make complete use of this human life, and devout one’s lifetime to do good things, earn knowledge, help others, serve the society and try to attain moksha (salvation).
What is quite obviously hidden in this message is a statement which says that there are 8.4 million different life forms on this planet!
Padma Purana – 5000 year old text
Another ancient Hindu text Padma Purana which is also a contemporary of Bhagavadgita not only says that there are 8.4 million different species on Earth, but also goes a step ahead and categorizes or classifies them as follows.
Jalaja (Water based life forms) – 0.9 million
Sthavara (Immobile implying plants and trees) – 2.0 million
Krimayo (Reptiles) – 1.1 million
Pakshinam (Birds) – 1.0 million
Pashavah (terrestrial animals) – 3.0 million
Manavah (human-like animals) – 0.4 million
8.4 million life forms in all! The actual Sanskrit verse from the Padma Purana explaining the above numbers is as follows
jalaja nava lakshani, sthavara laksha-vimshati, krimayo rudra-sankhyakah, pakshinam dasha-lakshanam, trinshal-lakshani pashavah, chatur lakshani manavah
In other words these 5000 year old texts are not only suggesting that there are 8.4 million species or 8.4 million different life forms on earth, but have also categorized them.
Total Number of species estimated by Modern Science
A detailed study “estimated” (not discovered them all, but only calculated using a detailed mathematical analysis) the total number of species on planet earth to be around 8.74 million, plus or minus 1.3 million. What this means is that around 7 million species or life forms are yet to be discovered and cataloged! Also please note that it doesn’t have to be exactly 8.4 million species even today, because biodiversity on earth has changed in the past few thousand years with climate change, mass extinction, etc. Irrespective of whether the final number ends up near 8.4 million or not, this gives us a lot of insight into the scientific and analytic capabilities of our ancestors and proves that the ancients were as equally scientific tempered as the scientists of our age. Please note that the numbers quoted above are from texts which are atleast 5000 years old, a period which modern science says belongs to “Stone Age” !?
Look at the striking resemblance of the number 8.4 million life forms mentioned in the ancient Hindu scriptures, and the new number “8.7 million, plus or minus 1.3 million” arrived at using modern scientific analysis and decide for yourself. Be careful the next time you chose to ignore a number or a statement in an ancient text as myth or irrelevant.
Remember these lines from the 500 year old kannada dasara pada?
“ಎಂಭತ್ತ್ನಾಲ್ಕು ಲಕ್ಷ ಜೀವ ರಾಶಿಯನ್ನು ದಾಟಿ ಬಂದ ಈ ಶರೀರ…” which means that our human body evolved out of 8.4 million species.
Are you still saying there is no science in spirituality, and who said that the ancients knew no science. They knew better than us, isn’t it? 
Hinduism: Science in spirituality, Ancients Knew Better than Us
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