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¶ … Hinduism Is and What it Is Difficult to Reconstruct a Historical Chronology of Its Development
It is a fairly simple matter to identify the precise point of origin of many of the world's major religions; for example, the origins of Buddhism, Christianity and Islam can be historically placed with some degree of accuracy because of the known historical personages associated with their creation (Zaehner 1307). By sharp contrast, the origins of the world's most ancient religions such as Hinduism and Judaism have largely been lost in the mists of time, but this has not impacted the popularity of this religion today or the efforts of researchers to shed more light on their origins (Kelkar & Vaishnav 24). To this end, a brief overview of Hinduism is provided below, followed by an assessment of why it is particularly difficult to reconstruct a historical chronology of its development. A summary of the research and salient findings will be provided in the conclusion.
Review and Discussion
What Is Hinduism? In his essay on Hinduism, R.C. Zaehner (1970) says that, "Hindu' is a Persian word and it means simply 'Indian.' . . . The Indians themselves, however, never refer to...
The reference to "eternal dharma" is an allusion to the concept that the religion's origins lie beyond human history, and its truths have been divinely revealed (shruti) and handed down through the ages to the present day in the most ancient of the world's scriptures, the Veda (Knott 5). Although Hinduism is a polytheistic religion, Zaehner suggests that it is also, at least in some sense, a monotheistic religion as well because the numerous gods have long been recognized to be mere reflections of the guiding principle of Hinduism, which may appear to its practitioners as a personal god (1307). While descriptions of Hinduism tend to vary from book to book and author to author, the common theme that emerges from the literature is that Hinduism is a religion of love, and that for devout Hindus, the Veda is revealed and does not originate at a particular time in history but is eternal and of divine origin (Knott 8).
Why Is It Difficult to Reconstruct a Historical Chronology…
Works Cited
Brockington, J.L. The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in Its Continuity and Diversity. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press, 1981.
Doniger, Wendy and Brian K. Smith. "Hinduism." In Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 8.
Encyclopedia Britannica.
Hinduism is among the world's oldest religion that has no beginning it was there before recorded history. Unlike most other religions, it cannot be linked to a single founder as it is formed from diverse traditions. It is a predominant religion in the Indian subcontinent and is one of its indigenous religions (Sen, 2005) Due to the fact that it cannot be clearly defined and does not have rigid guidelines
Hinduism religion is a complex set of principles that encompass the following nine basic beliefs: The divinity of the Vedas (ancient scripture) and the Agamas (primordial hymns), which are God's word; the belief in one Supreme Being which is transcendant; the belief that the universe experiences constant cycles of creation, preservation, and dissolution; the belief that karma creates a person's destiny through personal thoughts, words and actions; the belief
Christianity and Hinduism are among the major religions in the world. Christianity being one of the world tremendous religions has the largest number of followers. This is as a result of forces that accompanied the civilization of the western world, which has contributed a lot in terms of social and material hence, out doing other religions. Many people have attained highest levels of spiritual realization, faith and beatitude through the
Though the idea encompasses any personal relationship with and worship of the divine, it is not nearly that inclusive when examined from a holistic viewpoint. Instead, there are divisions in bhakti worship. "The major forms of bhakti are described by Hindus themselves, not only by their special relation to particular forms of deity, but also according to the various moods of the devotee" (Carman 1987, p. 587). In fact,
The Vedas are the primary texts of Hinduism. The oldest is called the Rig Veda (hymns praising a number of gods), with the other three being the Yajur Veda (rituals for sacrifices), the Sama Veda (chants for ritual worship), and the Athara Veda (spells and charms for healing the sick). The Rig Veda, the oldest of the four Vedas, was composed around 1500 B.C. Vedas are ancient oral traditions
For this reason, it is important to identify the most basic differences between Hinduism and Christianity (Christian Response to Hinduism (http://contenderministries.org/hinduism/christianresponse.php)." While Hindus believe in a Creator the truth behind that creator is that there are many Gods within the Brahman. The Christian faith provides one Lord, one God and one true creator. The bible instructs man to worship and love only one God. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the