OPPapers.com

Hinduism

 Hinduism is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as the “religion of India”. Hinduism does not have one founder. No single creed or doctrine binds Hindus together. Hinduism is perhaps the only religious tradition that is so diverse in its theoretical premises and practical expressions that it is like a compilation of religions. Other notable characteristics include a belief in reincarnation and karma, as well as personal duty, or dharma. Hinduism is often stated to be the “oldest religious tradition” or “ oldest living major tradition.” Despite its complexity Hinduism is not only one of the numerically largest, but also the oldest living major tradition on earth, with roots reaching back into the prehistory. Hinduism is the world's third largest religion after Christianity and Islam, with approximately a billion adherents, of whom about 905 million live in India. The Vedas and the Upanishads are the foremost in authority, importance, and antiquity. Although Hinduism is a clear practical concept to the majority of adherents, many expressed a problem arriving at a definition of the term, mainly because of the wide range of traditions and ideas incorporated or covered by it.
Most Hindu traditions revere a body of religious or sacred literature, the Vedas, although there are exceptions to it; some religious traditions regard certain particular rituals as essential for salvation, but a variety of views on it co-exist. Hinduism is sometimes characterized with the belief in reincarnation (samsara) determined by the law of karma, and the salvation is freedom from this cycle of repeated birth and death, however other religions of the region, such as Buddhism and Jainism, also believe in this, outside the scope of Hinduism. In Hinduism the concept of God is complex and depends on a particular tradition. In majority of traditions of Vaishnavism he is Vishnu, God, and the text of Vaishnava scriptures identifies this being as...