Hinduism

Hinduism commonly called Sanatana Dharma, roughly Perennial Faith by Hindus) is 
the oldest major world religion still practised today and first among Dharma 
faiths. Hinduism is characterized by a diverse array of belief systems, 
practices and scriptures. It has its origin in ancient Vedic culture at least 
as far back as 2000 BC. It is the third largest religion with approximately 
940 million followers worldwide, 96% of whom live in the Indian subcontinent. 
In US alone, 30 million people follow some form of Hinduism. After including 
Yoga followers, Hinduism has around 1.05 billion followers worldwide.

Perhaps the Hindu spirit, inspired by no one man or woman in particular, is 
best captured in a line from the ancient Rig Veda, the "oldest religious 
scripture in the world." (1):
    
    Transliteration: Ekam Sat Vipraha Bahudha Vadanti
    English: "Truth is One, though the Sages know it as Many."

        — The Rig Veda (Book I, Hymn CLXIV, Verse 46)

Essentially, any kind of spiritual practice followed with faith, love and 
persistence will lead to the same ultimate state of self-realization. Thus, 
Hindu thought distinguishes itself by strongly encouraging tolerance for 
different beliefs since temporal systems cannot claim sole understanding 
of the one transcendental Truth.

To the Hindu, this idea has been an active force in defining the 'Eternal 
Dharma.' It has been for Hinduism what the infinite Divine Self of Advaita 
is to existence, remaining forever unchanged and self-luminous, central 
and pervasive, in spite of all the chaos and flux around it. In general, 
Hindu views are broad and range from monism, dualism, pantheism, panentheism, 
alternatively called monistic theism by some scholars, and strict monotheism, 
and also polytheistic.

Hindu monists see one unity, with the personal Gods, different aspects of 
only One Supreme Being, like a single beam of light separated into colours 
by a prism, and are valid to worship. Some of the Hindu aspects of God 
include Devi, Vishnu, Ganesh, and Siva. One of the most prominent Hindu 
monists is the saint Ramakrishna, whose preferred form of God is Devi 
and who reiterated traditional Hindu beliefs that aver devotees can invoke 
God in whatever form a devotee prefers (termed Ishta Devata, i.e., the 
preferred form of God) and ask for God's grace in order to attain Moksha, 
the end of the cycle of rebirth and death.

Although Hinduism is very diverse, one of the possible things that unites 
all hindus is the quest for enlightenment and to free oneself from the ring 
of rebirth. Another major concept is the concept of Ahmisa, which means 
" non-harm" Through this concept, strict movements of vegetarianism and 
tolerence grew. Hindus believe that everything in the world is part of the 
universal spirit, so therefore everything needs to be respected, preserved 
and protected.


Contemporary Hinduism is now divided into four major divisions, Vaishnavism, 
Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. Just as Jews, Christians, and Muslims all 
believe in one God but differ in their conceptions of him, Hindus all believe 
in one God but differ in their conceptions. The two primary form of 
differences are between the two monotheistic religions of Vaishnavism which 
conceives God as Vishnu and Shaivism, which conceives God as Shiva. Other 
aspects of God are in fact aspects of Vishnu or Shiva; see Smartism for more 
information. 

Hinduism rests on the spiritual bedrock of the Vedas, hence Veda Dharma, and 
their mystic issue, the Upanishads, as well as the teachings of many great 
Hindu gurus through the ages. Many streams of thought flow from the six 
Vedic/Hindu schools, Bhakti sects and Tantra Agamic schools into the one 
ocean of Hinduism, the first of the Dharma religions.

What can be said to be common to all Hindus is belief in Dharma, 
reincarnation, karma, and moksha (liberation) of every soul through a variety 
of moral, action-based, and meditative yogas. Still more fundamental 
principles include ahimsa (non-violence), the primacy of the Guru, the Divine 
Word of Aum and the power of mantras, love of Truth in many manifestations as 
Gods and Goddessess, and an understanding that the essential spark of the 
Divine (Atman/Brahman) is in every human and living being, thus allowing 
for many spiritual paths leading to the One Unitary Truth.