Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is a religion that is not quite understood well by many. Hinduism has many different variations of beliefs help by followers. Even though it is all the same religion one may not follow and believe the same as someone else does. There is one commonality between all of them and that is they all believe in common principles and worship the same God(s). In order for us to better understand the religion we have to take a look at the answers to three questions. The questions are as follows:
• “Considering that Hinduism lacks a uniting belief system, what makes up the Hindu religion?”
• “What are the cultural and societal influences that have made Hinduism vital to the region in which it originated?”
• “Explain the desire for liberation from earthly existence.”
Once these three questions are answered Hinduism will be better understood by each of us.
Hinduism is a religion that is hard to describe as holding only one strict belief system. There are many variations of Hinduism that have evolved over time (Fisher 2005). When these many different variations evolved, they all evolved based on common principles (Fisher 2005). There are five principles that each variation follows:
• Brahman
• Karma
• Salvation
• Reincarnation
• Caste System
Hindus believe in Brahman, which is a three-in-one God. Brahman consists of Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer) (Fisher 2005). Another belief that Hindus have is Karma. Karma is the consequences of an action. The action can be good or bad and the consequence will follow either way (Fisher 2005). Hindus believe that their actions will affect their current and future life. The goals of a Hindu are to reach sattvic (peacefulness of mind), wisdom, purity, and a level balance (Fisher 2005). The Hindus practice Yoga to help increase their sattvic qualities. Yoga is the union with ones true self.
The Hindus believe that there are four different paths to salvation...