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Hinduism – predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. [1] Its followers are called Hindus , who refer to it as Sanātana Dharma [ 2 ] ( Sanskrit : सनातनधर्मः , lit.
Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and "a way of life". [ 68 ] [ note 1 ] From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism, like other faiths, is appropriately referred to as a religion.
The word Hindu is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, it has also been described by the modern term Sanātana Dharma (lit. ' eternal dharma ') emphasizing its eternal nature. Another endonym for Hinduism is Vaidika Dharma (lit. ' Vedic dharma ').
Hinduism (/ ˈ h ɪ n d u ˌ ɪ z əm /) is an umbrella term for a range of Indian religious and spiritual traditions (sampradayas) [1] that are unified by adherence to the concept of dharma, a cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and righteous living, as first expounded in the Vedas.
Though many religious Hindus implicitly acknowledge the authority of the Vedas, this acknowledgment is often "no more than a declaration that someone considers himself [or herself] a Hindu", [238] [note 24] and "most Indians today pay lip service to the Veda and have no regard for the contents of the text."
[9] [note 1] The subsequent period of the second urbanisation (600-200 BCE) is a formative period for Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism followed by "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions," [12] during the Epic and Early Puranic period (c. 200 BCE to 500 CE), when the Epics and the first Purānas were composed.
Hindu culture is a term used to describe the culture and identity of Hindus and Hinduism, including the historic Vedic people. [217] Hindu culture can be intensively seen in the form of art, architecture, history, diet, clothing, astrology and other forms. The culture of India and
Indian-origin religions Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, [4] are all based on the concepts of dharma and karma. Ahimsa, the philosophy of nonviolence, is an important aspect of native Indian faiths whose most well-known proponent was Shri Mahatma Gandhi, who used civil disobedience to unite India during the Indian independence movement – this philosophy further inspired Martin ...