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Hinduism is variously defined as an Indian religion, a set of religious beliefs or practices, a religious tradition, a way of life, or dharma—a religious and universal order to which followers abide. It is the world’s third-largest religion, with over 1.2 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. The word Hindu is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as Sanātana Dharma ( ”the Eternal Dharma”), which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts. Another endonym is Vaidika dharma, the ‘dharma related to the Vedas.
Hinduism is a diverse system of thought marked by a range of philosophies and shared concepts, rituals, cosmological systems, pilgrimage sites, and shared textual sources that discuss theology, metaphysics, mythology, Vedic yajna, yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life; namely, dharma (ethics/duties), artha (prosperity/work), kama (desires/passions) and moksha (liberation/freedom from the passions and the cycle of death and rebirth), as well as karma (action, intent and consequences) and saṃsāra (cycle of death and rebirth). Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings (Ahiṃsā), patience, forbearance, self-restraint, virtue, and compassion, among others. Hindu practices include rituals such as puja (worship) and recitations, japa, meditation (dhyāna), family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals, and occasional pilgrimages. Along with the practice of various yogas, some Hindus leave their social world and material possessions and engage in lifelong Sannyasa (monasticism) in order to achieve moksha.
Hindu texts are classified into Śruti (“heard”) and Smṛti (“remembered”), the major scriptures of which are the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Purānas, the Mahābhārata, the Rāmāyana, and the Āgamas. There are six āstika schools of Hindu philosophy, who recognise the authority of the Vedas, namely Sānkhya, Yoga, Nyāya, Vaisheshika, Mimāmsā and Vedānta. While the Puranic chronology presents a genealogy of thousands of years, starting with the Vedic rishis, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of Brahmanical orthopraxy with various Indian cultures, having diverse roots and no specific founder. This Hindu synthesis emerged after the Vedic period, between c. 500–200 BCE and c. 300 CE, in the period of the Second Urbanisation and the early classical period of Hinduism, when the Epics and the first Purānas were composed. It flourished in the medieval period, with the decline of Buddhism in India.
Currently, the four major denominations of Hinduism are Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and the Smarta tradition. Sources of authority and eternal truths in the Hindu texts play an important role, but there is also a strong Hindu tradition of questioning authority in order to deepen the understanding of these truths and to further develop the tradition. Hinduism is the most widely professed faith in India, Nepal and Mauritius. Significant numbers of Hindu communities are found in Southeast Asia including in Bali, Indonesia, the Caribbean, North America, Europe, Oceania, Africa, and other regions
Click the below thumbnails and Watch the Videos
Hinduism - origins and social structure - India and defining
Courtesy to Dr. Dale Tuggy
Hinduism - origins and social structure - Ancient history and Hindu origins
Courtesy to Dr. Dale Tuggy
Hinduism - origins and social structure - the four varnas, women, and sati
Courtesy to Dr. Dale Tuggy
Hindu Scriptures and Pantheon - the scriptures
Courtesy to Dr. Dale Tuggy
Hindu Scriptures and Pantheon - meet the deities
Courtesy to Dr. Dale Tuggy
Hindu Scriptures and Pantheon - Is Hinduism monotheistic or polytheistic?
Courtesy to Dr. Dale Tuggy
Hindu doctrines, schools, and history - Brahman, atman, and reincarnation
Courtesy to Dr. Dale Tuggy
Hindu doctrines, schools, and history - samsara, moksha, and Vedanta.
This segment covers some basics of classical Hindu philosophies, and their disagreements about Brahman and moksha - Samkhya, Yoga, and Vedanta.
Courtesy to Dr. Dale Tuggy
Hindu doctrines, schools, and history - Islam, and Christianity, and Modern Hinduism
Some key events in the history of Hinduism: its encounters with Islam, and Christianity, and its modern reformers.
Courtesy to Dr. Dale Tuggy
Mahatma Gandhi, the father of modern India - his life and teachings on ahimsa (non-violence), pacifism, sex, partition, and various Indian issues.
Courtesy to Dr. Dale Tuggy
Hindu Practices - Gandhi's pluralism and death, puja, and images
Continues the life of Mahatma Gandhi: his teachings on religious pluralism, his opposition to religious conversion, his views on scriptures, and his assassination. Hindu nationalism, Hindu use of idols or images in worship, and other religious practices.
Courtesy to Dr. Dale Tuggy
Hindu Practices - Eck on Hindu images / idols
Courtesy to Dr. Dale Tuggy
You may like to watch about Buddhism from the below link,
