What makes up the Hindu religion? Explain the desire for liberation from earthy existence?
446939
indiebaptist, I would say go jump in a lake and die except that my religion teaches me tolerance [unlike yours, apparently] and I wish the best for all [even pieces of scum]\n\n\nHinduism involves the belief that God is in everything and that God may be present in many forms. Therefore, we consider all life sacred [ because all life has the God force] and are often considered a polytheistic religion. The three main Gods are often said to be Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer. We believe that God is both male and female, so we worship God equally in female form. Our goddesses include Parvati, Saraswati, and Lakshmi. One very powerful Goddess is Durga, who the all forms of God turn to as the remover of obstacles. In her role as destroyer, she becomes Kali. All these Gods and Goddesses are part of the eternal, the universe, known as Brahman, one entity. Our human souls are considered to be part of Brahman. The soul transcends death. We are encouraged to fulfill our duty, whatever that may be, depending on the person, and become conscious of God. Once that happens, once our souls are cleansed, we can become part of the ultimate reality. What other religions refer to as "hell" is, for us, separation from God. Heaven is the perfect bliss that comes from being one with Brahman. We are reincarnated until we finally reach that state of perfect order and bliss. We wish to be liberated from an Earthly existence because, to put it simply, the further we get from our Earthly existence, the closer we get to becoming part of Brahman. \n\nHope that helped : )
688658
Hinduism is a way of life rather than a religion. We do not believe that our way is the only way to God. Even within our religion there are many different paths to becoming one with God. That is the ultimate goal for a Hindu to achieve liberation from the chain of reincarnation. The soul must be cleansed through the course of, in many cases, many lifetimes before it is rid of worldliness and can join the ultimate reality, what is known as Brahman, or God. There are many ways to becoming closer to God. You can do so through rituals or simply by being a good person. Krishna tells us that no matter what God we pray to, we are ultimately praying to him. God is both male and female, appears in many forms, is called by many names, and is everything. Hinduism is the world's oldest religion, and still continues today because we do not force a particular way of living on anyone. You are a Hindu if you are born one or if you choose to be. You do not have to follow any one ritual or any one set of rules to be Hindu. \n\nHope that helped at least a little. Contact me if you have questions.
956420
Hinduism has many gods and goddess. Do your homework...
912556
Hindus believe in a variety of things, such that it is hard to classify Hindu beliefs.  But in general, Hindus believe that there is one God, but that this One God has made Himself/Herself known in many ways, through various forms and names.\nGod is believed to be in all things, although not the same as material objects.  He is IN all, but he is not ALL.  (so it's not really pantheism).\n\nSince God is in all, this is why many Hindus believe that God can be worshiped by means of murtis, or images.  God is present within the image, though not the same as the image itself.\n\nHindus believe in reincarnation, and that salvation from the cycle of rebirths (samsara) is possible.  There are many paths to salvation in Hinduism.  There is the path of knowledge, where one learns the scriptures and the philosophy as a means to breaking free from the constraints of human existence.  There is the path of devotion, which is just living a life of devotion to God, where one considers God as his close companion and friend.\nThere is a path of work, where one offers all his actions to God.  He does what is right, works hard, and is not himself attached to the results.  In other words, he does not work just to gain money or prestige, but only for the sake of following God.\nThere are also methods such as meditation, and yoga and other spiritual practices.
524684
In one sentence, \n\n"The divinity of man"\n\nHinduism teaches that all religions are good and are valid paths to god...\n\njust like different ppl wear different clothes, eat different food, but are all the same "humans", so also different religions use different methods to reach the same\n"God"\n\nIt says that everything in the universe is god, you are god.\nI am god, \n\nall the suffering humanity goes through is because we forget our own divine nature, and think that we are nothin but bodies...\n\nThe goal of life is to realize our own divine nature,\n\nso hinduism shows 4 paths to that realization\n\nthey are\n\n1.bhakti yoga (through workship)\n\n2.karma yoga (through selfless work)\n\n3,raja yoga ( by psychic control, meditation and pranayama etc )\n\nand\n\n4.jyana yoga ( through philosophical discrimination of what is real and what is not real.)\n\nThe watch word of hinduism is\n\n"Truth alone triumphs"..........\n\nhinduism teaches us to be fearless...
1139707
The Hindu scriptures state that we are spirit souls which are neither created nor destroyed - therefore the first thing to understand here is that God did not create us we have always been existing. However, the Hindu scriptures also explain that God is altogether more superior to the infintesimal souls. God created the material universe so that the souls could try to enjoy life separately from him.\n\nIt is also explained in the Hindu scriptures that the material creation is a poor reflection / mirror image of the spritiual world. Thus we can gather from this that this material world provides all the opposites found in the spiritual world, i.e. darkness, sin etc. This is why the spiritual world is described as self luminous not requiring any sun/moon/stars whereas the earth needed a sun and moon to brighten things up and regulate seasons etc.\n\nTo learn more about God, souls, karma, reincarnation, the material universe and more importantly the true purpose of our existence, check out:
850002
Hindu's does not believes in converting other people to Hinduism because as per Hindu belief, whatever religion or belief you may belong to, we are all in the cycle of birth and death, and once our good deeds exceeds the bad deeds, we shall cease to exist anymore and be re-united with the supreme soul, call it God, Allah or Ishwar...anything.\n\nIsn't it a beautiful and selfless concept ?
64991
Hinduism is a complex religion that believes in many forms of one god.  They do not even consider themselves a religion, but a Dharma, which is something far greater.  The true name for Hinduism is Sanatana Dharma.  They worship numerous gods, but the main ones (called the Trimurti, similar to Christianity's Trinity) are Brahma the Creator(who created the world), Vishnu the Preserver/Protector (who protects and is currently Hinduism's most popular god and Shiva the Destroyer (who wil end the world when the time comes, for now he destroys evils.)  Hinduism believes in reincarnation.  You begin as a more lowly life form and work yourself up to being a human through good deeds (known as Karma, which is sort of a point system ith God.)  Once you achieve Moksha, which is utmost goodness and connection with God, you are granted eternal heaven.  Hinduism is far more complex than all this.  I suggest you do more research, it's an incredibly interesting religion.
683124
Because it is not an invented religion.\n\nHinduism has evolved through centuries. It is the Sanatan Dharma(eternal path).\n\nHinduism is among the oldest of the world's faiths. It is a total way of life. It is a dharma or way of life evolved by the great sages and seers of ancient India. Its traditions extend back before recorded history. The early phase of the Vedic tradition in India is dated between 10,000 - 7,000 BCE. Yet, in spite of the fact that it first evolved more than 5,000 years ago, Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma) is also very much a living tradition. And as such, Hindus are arguably the most intensely religious people on the earth. \n        \nFor thousands of years India has been a veritable laboratory of religion: everything imaginable has been tried out, and nothing ever has completely been rejected. India remains a predominantly Hindu country. Its ethos has evolved down the ages through its the ancient Hindu traditions, customs, philosophy and culture.  In spite of many attacks on Hinduism by varied invaders, in spite of rumors of decay and disarray, Hinduism has outlived all announcements of its impending demise. \n\nThe first fundamental principle of Hindu Dharma is that "the Reality is one without a second." This reality is beyond description by human mind. Hence it is indicated by a single world, "Brahman". "Infinite, eternal, changeless existence is the All; from that All, All comes forth; to that All, all returns," that is what the Chandogya Upanishad (vi.2.1) tells us. \n\nWhen religion becomes organized, man ceases to be free. It is not God that is worshipped but the group or the authority that claims to speak in his name. It is not faith, but just social idolatry.
615501
I was about to ask you what you meant by "pagan", but a couple of others have already taken the dictionary definition to pieces, so I'll plunge right in! I'm a Hindu, by the way. Your comments on Hinduism are absolutely correct- I'm seriously impressed! You sound like you know what you're talking about :-) Personally, I feel that Hinduism is more of a way of life than a religion. It's just too vast to be classified as 'pagan' or not. Hinduism is one of the most tolerant religions, and it gives its adherants the freedom to seek God in their own ways, whatever those may be. For me, the ultimate message of my religion is the same as that of every religion- love, tolerance, and the unity of all life. But getting back to your question, it really depends on how you define the term 'pagan'!
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Yes, it gets as close as possible. \nGo to amazon.com and buy a book called "Chariots of God" \nNext, to know more on Hindu philosophy, go to blog of Harshad Joshi at agneya2.blogspot.com to know about Hinduism. It contains mysterious hymns from ancient Indian culture.
800153
I would say that the most important aspect of Hinduism is darsan, or to see and be seen by the god(s). This is where the statues come in to play. The statues or sculptures are a temporary vessel for the god to enter and give darsan to the worshiper. To see and be seen by the divine is the whole point of worship. \n\nThis is hard for some people to understand without indepth study.\n\nHere is a really good website that can give you more information.\n\nhttp://www.hinduwisdom.info/index.htm
409866
Hinduism. it still includes mother goddess, sun, fire worship and shamans. \n\nwe call it Sanatana dharma. it includes most ancient traditions. yet always modifying itself according to changing ideas. still retaining old traditions and beliefs.\n\nstill for religious practices pots made of bronze are supposed auspicious. that was the first metal man used. \n\nHinduism has a continuous evolution tradition. but it never negated or disregarded earlier beliefs. it just modifies them. \n\nyou want to study religious evolution of man study hinduism. it will go back to stone age and latest off shoot of hinduism Sikh Panth is hardly 400 yers old.
151209
Islam is but hinduism is gaining ground.  However, the fastest going is people leaving beliefs completely becoming either agnostic or athiests
357757
your question is answered to an extent by PUMA. \n\nthere are questions about hinduism too. Some of your answerers to this question have also been asking about it.\n\nOften they use quite insulting things or just ignorant like that seeker above. \n\nhinduism is a collection of various kind of philosophies. It is neither as well defined doctrine as christianity nor as politically determined as islam.tolerance is its fundamental quality. The result is that askers do not get much furl to go on.\n\n hinduism is around since the first harrapan civilization came up. its roots go even beyond it. Such an old tradition is more like a grandpa. let the children argue and fight. grandpa has got more matured for that.\n\nRegarding seeker's post:\n\nwell I usually try to use nice language but... the seeker above is an idiot.\n\nhindus are not only free to ask questions, they are free to choose doctrines or parts of it. open debates were encouraged even in vedic times. if i believe in god i am hindu. if i do not even them i am hindu. \n\nnobody is ever condemn to hell and hindus never percecuted anybody for theiur religious beliefs. buddhism, jainism , sikhism all are off shoots of himnduism. it is always ready to accept new theories which have logical proofs. it never challanged any scientific theory.\n\nAnd no cow is not a god.
263856
dont plants and animals reincarnate as all the species then become humans? i think it makes sense that humans were last if u think about the religion as a whole b/c of Bhagwan's respect of nature, etc.  how do u know so much about Hinduism? that's pretty cool :]
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CONCEPT OF GOD IN HINDUISM\nby Dr. Zakir Naik\n \n1.   \nCommon Concept of God in Hinduism:\n \n Hinduism is commonly perceived as a polytheistic religion. Indeed, most Hindus would attest to this, by professing belief in multiple Gods. While some Hindus believe in the existence of three gods, some believe in thousands of gods, and some others in thirty three crore i.e. 330 million Gods. However, learned Hindus, who are well versed in their scriptures, insist that a Hindu should believe in and worship only one God.\n\nThe major difference between the Hindu and the Muslim perception of God is the common Hindus’ belief in the philosophy of Pantheism. Pantheism considers everything, living and non-living, to be Divine and Sacred. The common Hindu, therefore, considers everything as God. He considers the trees as God, the sun as God, the moon as God, the monkey as God, the snake as God and even human beings as manifestations of God!\n\nIslam, on the contrary, exhorts man to consider himself and his surroundings as examples of Divine Creation rather than as divinity itself. Muslims therefore believe that everything is God’s i.e. the word ‘God’ with an apostrophe ‘s’. In other words the Muslims believe that everything belongs to God. The trees belong to God, the sun belongs to God, the moon belongs to God, the monkey belongs to God, the snake belongs to God, the human beings belong to God and everything in this universe belongs to God.\n\nThus the major difference between the Hindu and the Muslim beliefs is the difference of the apostrophe ‘s’. The Hindu says everything is God. The Muslim says everything is God’s.\n \n \n2.   \n  \nConcept of God according to Hindu Scriptures:\n \n We can gain a better understanding of the concept of God in Hinduism by analysing Hindu scriptures. \n\nBHAGAVAD GITA\n\nThe most popular amongst all the Hindu scriptures is the Bhagavad Gita. \n\nConsider the following verse from the Gita:\n\n"Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures."\n                   [Bhagavad Gita 7:20]\n\nThe Gita states that people who are materialistic worship demigods i.e. ‘gods’ besides the True God.\n \n \nUPANISHADS:\n\nThe Upanishads are considered sacred scriptures by the Hindus. \n\nThe following verses from the Upanishads refer to the Concept of God:\n\n"Ekam evadvitiyam"\n"He is One only without a second."\n        [Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1]1\n\n"Na casya kascij janita na cadhipah."\n"Of Him there are neither parents nor lord."\n         [Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9]2\n\n"Na tasya pratima asti"\n"There is no likeness of Him."\n        [Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:19]3\n\nThe following verses from the Upanishad allude to the inability of man to imagine God in a particular form:\n\n"Na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati kas canainam."\n\n"His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye."\n        [Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20]4\n\n\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n1[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 447 and 448]\n[Sacred Books of the East, volume 1 ‘The Upanishads part I’ page 93]\n\n2[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 745]\n[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page 263.]\n\n3[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 736 & 737]\n[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page no 253]\n\n4[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 737]\n[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page no 253]\n \n \n \n  \n\nTHE VEDAS\nVedas are considered the most sacred of all the Hindu scriptures. There are four principal Vedas: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samveda and Atharvaveda.\n\n\n \n Yajurveda\nThe follow