590 – Who is a Hindu?

Hinduism is the world’s oldest faith in the world. Hindus believe in the doctrines of samsara (the continues cycle of life, death and reincarnation) and karma (the universal law of cause and effect). In Hinduism, the soul or Atman is the crux of it.

The philosophy is that all living creatures have a soul and that they are part of the Supreme soul. The goal is to achieve moksha or liberation which ends the cycle of birth and death. One of the fundamental principles of Hinduism is the idea that people’s actions and thoughts directly determine their current and future lives. The Hindu code of conduct is living an honest and moral life. Hindus revere all animals and consider the cow a sacred animal.

Two symbols are associated with Hinduism, the Aum and the Swastika. Aum comprises three sounds A, U, M and when combined the sound that emerges is a sacred sound. The sign of the Swastika means good fortune or blessings of happiness.

Prominent deities

Hindus worship many deities, in addition to Brahman, who is the supreme God, present everywhere and in all creatures. The most prominent deities are Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer), Devi (Goddess who restores Dharma), Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth and purity) and Saraswati (Goddess of learning).

Hindu word was derived from the river Indus. It has three descriptions now.

Hinduism is called Sanatana Dharma (eternal faith). There are four aims in life and these are Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. Yoga means union with God and it is an important part of Hinduism. According to Hinduism, everything is a form of God. In Hinduism the feminine energy is worshipped in the form of Shakti. There is no violence in Hinduism.

Advaita Vedanta

Adi Shankaracharya gave us Advaita Vedanta. According to Advaita Vedanta Brahman is truth and he also spread the worship of the five deities (Panchayatana), who are Ganesha, Shiva, Vishnu, Surya and Shakti. Meditation derived from Tantra is also part of Vedanta and again Yoga is very much present.

Arya Samaj is another important aspect of Hinduism. It was founded by Dayananda Saraswati in 1875. It promotes a single God and emphasizes the importance of the Vedas. The prime object of the Arya Samaj is to do good to the world and promote spiritual, mental, physical and emotional health. Arya Samaj means noble society. It promoted equality between men and women. Child marriage was opposed, widow remarriage, no dowry and schools for girls were the goals, which were accomplished.

Hinduism is a non-violent faith. Hinduism thinks about the wellbeing of everyone.

If one considers one to be Hindu, one must follow the virtues such as honesty, refraining from injuring other living creatures, purity, goodwill, mercy patience, forbearance, self-restraint, generosity and asceticism.

My dear ones, I am a practicing Hindu and I am sharing with you the details of Hinduism and how important it is for us to understand that Yoga is an essential part of Hinduism. It is mentioned in Vedanta, Sanatana Dharma and Arya Samaj. Only by the practice of Yoga it is possible for us to continue on the Spiritual path. We are born as human beings after we have exhausted our 84,000 births and then we have to work on our gunas and become Nirguna.

Aim Hrim Klim

Photo by Sonika Agarwal on Unsplash

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