What is Hinduism

**Nøz** · 02-17-2007, 05:40 AM

Hinduism (Sanskrit: Sanātana Dharma सनातन धर्म "eternal law" ) is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent. With its foundations in the Vedic civilization, it has no known founder, being itself a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions. It is considered the world's "oldest extant religion,"and has approximately a billion adherents, of whom about 890 million live in India,placing it as the world's third largest religion after Christianity and Islam. Other countries with large Hindu populations include Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Hinduism provides a vast body of scriptures. Divided as revealed and remembered, and developed over millennia, these scriptures expound an equally vast range of theology, philosophy, and myth, providing spiritual insights along with guidance on the practice of dharma (religious living). Among such texts, Hindus revere the Vedas along with the Upanishads as being among the foremost in authority, importance, and antiquity. Other important scriptures include the Tantras and sectarian Agamas, Purāṇas and the epics: the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa. The Bhagavad Gītā, a deeply profound conversation excerpted from the Mahābhārata, is widely seen as summarizing the spiritual teachings of the Vedas.

Taken from: Hinduism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia