In the history of mankind, many cultures have come and gone but Hinduism have withstood many challenges posed by the time and has spread all over the world. The secret of the success of this religion lies in the fact in its practical approach towards human life, belief, in eternal truths and modifications made without changing the basic beliefs.
Hinduism is the world’s oldest known religion and the history of Hinduism can be traced back to 5000 to 10,000 BC and it is the third largest religion in the world with more than 1 billion followers. Most of the Hindus live in Nepal, India and Srilanka with considerable presence in all other parts of the world also. About 85% of Hindus live in India and that is why India is called as Hindustan.
Hinduism is also known as Hindu Dharma, Hindu Religion or Vedic Religion or Vedic Dharma. The word Hinduism actually has no meaning because Hinduism was not founded as a religion. The name “Hindu” is given by the people outside of the India, especially the Greeks and Arabs, to those living in the vicinity of Sindhu river. So the way of life of those people were following is called “Hinduism”.
Hindus believe in one God named as “Brahman” but views other Gods and Goddess as manifestations of Him. Cow is the most revered animal for Hindus. Most of the Hindu scriptures are written in Sanskrit, which is the mother of all languages. Most of the Hindus do not eat non vegetarian food on auspicious day. The ultimate goal of Hinduism is to attend Moksha which means freedom from cycle of birth and re-birth.
