RELIGION:HINDUISM

-Hinduism has been one of the main religions in India for over 2000 years.
-Unlike other religious traditions, Hinduism does not originate in a single founder, a single book or a single point in time. It contains many different beliefs, philosophies and viewpoints, not always consistent with each other. These apparent contradictions strike only those who are not familiar with this tradition: the Hindu insight claims that the Oneness expresses itself in many different forms
-We know very little about Hinduism beyond what can be learned from the Vedas, a collection of hymns and other ritual texts composed in different periods. These texts contain a lot of material including the teachings of the early sages. The oldest evidence of religious practices in India date back approximately to 5500 BCE
-The Hindus began to believe in the concept of a trinity of gods: Brahma as the creator, Vishnu as the Preserver and Shiva as the destroyer.
-still remains the most prominent religion in South Asia
-polytheistic
-Karma - (in the Buddhist and Hindu religions) the force produced by a person's actions in one of their lives which influences what happen to them in their future lives
-worship in temples
-no head of religion
-the ultimate goal is to break the cycle of reincarnation & achieve moksha (union with Brahman)
-reborn into social hierarchy