THE WORLD'S MOST POPULAR BELIEFS, DOCTRINES AND RELIGIONS
1. HINDUISM.
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Estimated year of creation: 11,000 BC, and later formalized with the Vedas between 2,500 and 1,500 BC
God or Prophet: Vishnu is the preserving god, Shiva is the destroying god and Brahma is the creator god.
Headquarters / Capital in the world: India, New Delhi.
Number of faithful around the world: More than 1,200 million.
Main symbol of Hinduism: The OM.
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It has its origin in the most ancestral beliefs of India, in a period before the Vedic period that coincides with the first records of advanced civilizations, about 11,000 years ago, but its formalization as a formal religion occurs when the sacred books are written known today, as, The Vedas, in reference to the culture and Vedic literature of ancient India.
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Between the years 500 and 300 BC, a period called by Karl Jaspers, as: Time-Axis , there is a great syncretism between all the Vedic currents and the sacred Upanishad texts are elaborated, which order the belief system and the Hindu pantheon of deities . Along with the Upanishads, the sacred texts of Hinduism are the Vedas, the Agama and the Bhagavad-gita.
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Despite this syncretism, Hinduism has developed several currents that do not splits (which we will see later):
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Shivaism , with Shiva as the supreme God.
Smartism , or the tradition that is based on the sacred texts called Shastras.
Shaktismo , matriarchal current that adores the goddesses (Devi) and their power, terms that are specified in shakti.
Gaudian Vaisnavism . It is the most important modern current and worships the gods Visnu and Krishna. In recent times the group that most identifies Vaisnavism are the Hare Krishna, with great penetration in the West.
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The number of practitioners in the case of Hinduism is a little more precise than in other religions because they are mostly concentrated in India.
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Main book of Hinduism:
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Hindus accept as sacred texts Vedic literature, which encompasses a large number of ancient texts.
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Shruti - There is a group of texts that are considered "revealed" (in Sanskrit shruti: 'heard [s]'), and that cannot be interpreted, but followed to the letter. Hinduism is shaped as we know it today from the third century, combining Buddhist doctrines with Brahmanic (caste) and Dravidian beliefs. The original Vedas and their numerous commentaries have produced a multitude of sects or movements, each of which has broken away due to their disagreement on the interpretations of some of the articles of faith or on certain rituals that are followed in celebrating their devotions.
All Hindus have a deep reverence for the oldest of their sacred books, the Vedas (Books of Knowledge) .
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The four Vedic books are large collections of materials among which a large number of hymns to various gods stand out; liturgical prayers to recite at sacrifices; songs to play with traditional melodies; exorcisms and incantations; beliefs and finally devotional prayers.
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The holy books of Hinduism are more numerous than any other religion. Apart from the absence of any obligation to follow the Vedas, other writings such as the Brahmanas (commentaries on the Vedas) and the Upanishads are added, which are mystical and philosophical speculations.
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It also incorporates a large number of highly esteemed apocryphal works that are better known today and have a greater influence on Hindus than Vedic literature proper.
Main prophets of Hinduism:
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Hinduism has DEITIES not prophets, its main deities are: Visnu is the preserving god, Shiva is the destroying god and Brahma is the creator god.
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Indra is the most important God in Hinduism. He is the God capable of protecting both the other gods and the human being from the evils that lurk in both worlds. It is the supreme being that controls and watches over everything. In any case, even though he is the most important God, the Indians not only worship him, but also others.
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Agni - Another of the most important gods is the God Agni, the God of sacrifices, fire, cooking, the Sun and the Moon. This God has the ability to control various things and for this he needs strength. If it were not like that, it could not control the fire.
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Vishnu is another of the most powerful gods in Hinduism. It has the power to balance the forces of good and evil. He is also the known God that he will reincarnate 10 times and for now he already has 9.
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Kama and Genesha are presented as the gods of love, wisdom and prudence. Specifically these two gods the believers of Hinduism take it into account because for them love is very important.
The God Hanuman is the God of music, the one who has the ability to harmonize the body and mind to the human being thanks to his own connection.
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Negative Gods - As in all religions there is also the dark side. For example, Goddess Kli is the Goddess of death or Shiva who is known as one of the most destructive gods.
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Basic principles of Hinduism:
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The norms of Hinduism are defined in relation to what people do: within Hinduism there is greater uniformity in actions than in beliefs.
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Hindus are divided into four castes , or social strata well defined:
the ksatria (chatria), warriors and rulers
the Vaisias, landowners, ranchers and merchants
the sudras , peons who worked for food and shelter, usually with darker skin, descendants of the local tribes conquered by the Aryans in the second half of the second millennium BC
the outcasts , untouchable slaves, generally black-skinned, outcast.
brahmins , priests
Hindus in the first three classes mentally recite the secret Gaiatri hymn at dawn, noon, and dusk.
They worship Siva , Visnu and the goddess Devi through simple rituals ―based on the complicated rituals of the temples―, but they also worship other minor deities, such as Ganesh , Kali , Suria .
The prohibition of eating meat (especially beef).
Marrying only a member of the same caste (jati) in the hope of having a male heir.
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Each individual perceives a model for living that they must follow and that gives order and meaning to their life. In Hinduism there is no doctrinal or ecclesiastical hierarchy, but the complicated social stratification, inseparable from religion, gives each person the feeling of occupying a position within this huge human group.
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Short description of Hinduism.
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With a large presence on the Asian continent, Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world (around 4,000 BC), so no single founder is recognized as such. It is usually taken as a religion, which over the years has been established from the union of different cultures and traditions from India, its country of origin.
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Hinduism is known as Sanatana Dharma, which refers to "the eternal path", or also "the eternal tradition". It is a religion with a great variety of ideologies, maintaining a series of rituals and knowledge, among which the principles of cosmology stand out.
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Reference:
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https://www.history.com/topics/religion/hinduism
https://www.cooperatingvolunteers.com/sin-categorizar/conoce-a-los-dioses-de-la-india/
https://www.ecured.cu/Hinduismo
https://selecciones.com.mx/religion-y-numeros-en-el-mundo/
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