HINDUISM

Religion Analysis



Religion Analysis

Summary of Religion

Hinduism began about 3,500 years ago in India. There are thousands of gods in Hinduism, but only a few of them are worshiped in reality. The top three Gods of Hindus are Brahma (creation), Vishnu (preservation) and Shiva (destruction) are the gods of the Hindu trinity. Its origin is mixed with the history of India. It all started in the Indus Valley, one of the civilizations of the world's oldest (contemporary to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia). Before the arrival of the Aryans, probably from Central Asia, the Indus Valley lived the ' Dravidian 'or indigenous people with their own religious beliefs and practices. Then, the Dravidians were expelled to southern India by the Aryans. Current Hinduism is a mixture of beliefs, practices and the 'gods' of the Dravidians and Aryans (Hindson, 2008).

Every Hindu is born into one of several groups called castes. Some breeds are considered higher and purer than others. People of lower castes sweep, wash clothes, fix shoes, and usually are the servants of the higher castes. Hindus believe in 'reincarnation', i.e. they come back to life again as animals or people. Hindus make pilgrimages to holy places like Varanasi on the Ganges River in India. They believe that bathing in the river purify sins such as not keeping the rules of their caste or touch things they consider unclean. Sin for the Hindu has little to do with breaking the commandments of God or hurt others (Molloy, 2009). Hindus have altars in their homes and in temples, in which they worship gods and goddesses painted in bright colors, offering food, money, and prayers, hoping to find peace and be freed from evil spirits. Most Hindus are vegetarians. They believe that animals and insects have souls, and therefore do not eat meat or kill themselves if they can avoid. They think that the cow is especially sacred, and therefore are allowed to roam freely in the streets, eating what they want, but there are people close to starving. The religious practices of Hinduism involve complex public and domestic rituals that relate to the rhythms of life and nature like purifying ablutions in holy waters of rivers, visits to temples to practice daily worship, recitation or repetition of mantras of power magic, pilgrimage to holy places etc.

Flaws of the Religion

Hinduism is the religion most prevalent in India. It is one of the oldest religions in the world. Hindus are polytheists: that is to say, they believe in many gods who are in fact different facets of a single entity, the Brahman. Hindus believe in reincarnation of the soul according to the deeds done in past lives and present. Hinduism has organized the traditional Indian society into castes. There are many flaws in the religion of the Hindus. Firstly, how can there be so many Gods? The biggest flaw of Hinduism is that it is polytheistic. Monotheistic religions can maintain at least some semblance of one all powerful and perfect god, but Hinduism ...