Hinduism has no founder, it was developed out of Brahminism. Hinduism is the oldest religion, it may date to prehistoric times.

Aum or Om  is the main symbol of Hinduism. It is the sound heard in deepest meditation and is said to be the name most suited for God. 

The word “Hindu” comes from the name of the river Indus, which flows 1800 miles from Tibet through Kashmir and Pakistan to the sea.

Hinduism has no founder, single teacher nor any prophets.
Hinduism is not a Single Religion. Hinduism is the practices of a variety of different religious groups which come out of India.

For many Hindus, religion is a matter of practice rather than of beliefs. It’s more what you do, than what you believe. Hindus believe in a universal soul or God called Brahman. Brahman takes on many forms that some Hindus worship as Gods or Goddesses in their own right. Hindus believe that there is a part of Brahman in everyone and this is called the Atman.

Hindus believe in reincarnation – a belief that the soul is eternal and lives many lifetimes, in one body after another. The soul is sometimes born in a human body, sometimes in an animal body and sometimes in a plant body. Hindus believe that all forms of life contain a soul, and all souls have the chance to experience life in different forms.

Samsara means going through the cycle of repeated births and deaths (reincarnation). Hindus believe that existence of this cycle is governed by Karma.

Hindus believe that the soul passes through a cycle of successive lives and its next incarnation is always dependent on how the previous life was lived. (Similar to Buddhist beliefs) Karma is the cause of our particular destiny. Misfortunes in our present life are the result of acts that we have committed in the past. In the same way, our actions in our present lives will determine our fate in the lives that follow. Hindus therefore aim to live in a way that will cause each of their lives to be better than the life before.

The spiritual goal of a Hindu is to become one with Brahma. This freedom is referred to as moksha or simply – liberation. Until moksha is achieved, a Hindu believes that he/she will be repeatedly reincarnated in order that he/she may work towards self-realization of the truth (the truth being that only Brahman exists, nothing else).

For many Hindus there are four goals in human life (purusharthas);

1 Moksha – the release of the soul (Atman) from the cycle of rebirth. The individual soul (Atman) unites with Brahman the universal soul. There are different ways to Moksha.

• spiritual – involves acquiring spiritual knowledge through yoga and meditation. devotion to God
• working selflessly for the good of society.

How a person is reincarnated is determined by karma.

2 Dharma – the code for leading one’s life.
Respect for elders is considered important and many consider marriage as a son’s religious duty.

3 Artha – the pursuit of material gain by lawful means.

4 Karma– through pure acts, knowledge and devotion, you can reincarnate to a higher level. The opposite achieves the contrary result.

Understanding the Trimurti.

Hindus actually only believe in one God, Brahman, the eternal origin who is the cause and foundation of all existence. The Gods of the Hindu faith represent different forms of Brahman. These Gods are sent to help people find the universal God (Brahman).

Most Hindus have a personal God or Goddess such as Shiva, Krishna or Lakshmi to whom they pray regularly.

The three most important Hindu Gods (forms of Brahman) are:

Brahma – known as the Creator.
Vishnu – known as the Preserver
Shiva (Siva)- known as the Destroyer.

The Tridevis are linked to the Trimurti’s

Saraswathi – Goddess of Wisdom – Consort of Lord Brahma. Saraswathi is the Hindu Goddess of knowledge, music and all the creative arts.

Lakshmi – Goddess of Wealth – Consort of Lord Vishnu. Lakshmi is the Goddess of light, beauty, good fortune and wealth.

Parvati – regarded as a representation of Shakti. Parvati is the Consort of Lord Shiva and the Goddess of household and motherhood. (Shakti is by literal definition sacred force, power, or energy. Shakti is the personification of Brahman as feminine)

Most Hindus worship (puja) every day at home and have a shrine there. A shrine can be anything from a room, a small altar or simply pictures or statues. Family members often worship together. At the shrine, Hindus make offerings to a murti. A murti is a sacred statue of God, or a Divine Deity

The Hindu building for communal worship is called Mandir (Hindu Temple). The temples are dedicated to different Gods and are the focus of religious life. Outside India, people mainly gather at the Mandir on the weekend.

Worshippers repeat the names of their favourite Gods, Goddesses, with mantras and offer water, fruit, flowers and incense.

The Vedas are the oldest religious texts in Hinduism. The word Veda means knowledge. It is believed that the Vedas were orally revealed by Brahma to certain sages, who heard them and passed them down in an oral tradition. They were not written down; in fact this was prohibited. Because of this earliest oral tradition continuing even now when the Vedas are available in the written form, the Vedas are still known to be Sruti or shruti – ‘ that which is heard ‘.

The Vedas are mainly comprised of hymns or mantras written in the Sanskrit language. They cover various subjects, from nature to everyday life and behaviour, and form the basis of all other religious writings. The books are so special that they are often kept in glass cases.

The four Vedas are:

• Rg-Veda (Rigveda) – The oldest and holiest Veda.
• Yajur-Veda
• Sama-Veda
• Atharva-Veda

Each Veda is divided into four sections:

• The Samhitas – The oldest portion – Contains the mantras and hymns The Brahmanas – The ritualistic teachings – They are written in prose and explain the hymns. The Aranyakas – The meditational section
• The Upanishads – The mystic and philosophical. They consider the nature of the individual soul (Atman) and the universal soul (Brahman.) One of the Upanishads contains the earliest reference to the reincarnation of the soul in different bodies (transmigration) of the soul.  

The Vedas are the law. Most beliefs, concepts, and ceremonies are based on information contained in the Vedas.

The practice of Hinduism consists of rites and ceremonies centering on birth, marriage, and death.

There are three basic practices:

1 Worship (called Puja)

This is an integral part of the faith. Offerings (puja) are usually made to representations of the Gods.

2 Cremation

The dead are burnt not buried

3 Compliance with the rules of the caste system

The caste system, prescribed in the Vedas, was a division of society to preserve society’s similar to the society in ancient Egyptian times. Each group had rules of conduct to be obeyed.

The caste system divided people by occupation i.e. teachers and philosophers were brahmins; fighters were kshatriya; shopkeepers, moneylenders and tradespeople were vaishya; and servants and cleaners were shudra.

No caste was higher or more important (superior) to another. All were equal and acknowledged as essential to the society.

Yes, pilgrimage is important to Hindus.

Popular pilgrimage places are rivers, temples, mountains, and other sacred sites in India or places around the world. These are sites where the Gods have appeared or become manifest in the world.

Such Places are: Palany Malay, Thirupati, Baktu Caves, Madurai, Rishikesh, Sai Ashram, River Ganges, Mt Kailash, etc.