Hindu: Difference between revisions

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[[Category:Asia]]
[[Category:Other Religions]]

Revision as of 10:20, 11 September 2005

Hindu

A Person that follows the religion of Hinduism, which was founded in India some 5000 years ago. It is one of the oldest major world religions. Hinduism is characterized by a diverse array of belief systems, practices and scriptures. It has its origin in the ancient Indo-European Vedic culture at least as far back as 2000 BC. It is the third largest religion with approximately 940 million followers worldwide, 96% of whom live in the Indian subcontinent. In the US alone, 3 million people follow some form of Hinduism. After including Yoga followers, Hinduism has around 1.05 billion followers worldwide.

Perhaps the Hindu spirit, inspired by no one man or woman in particular, is best captured in a line from the ancient Rig Veda:

English: "Truth is One, though the Sages know it as Many."
The Rig Veda (Book I, Hymn CLXIV, Verse 46)

Essentially, any kind of spiritual practice followed with faith, love and persistence will lead to the same ultimate state of self-realization. Thus, Hindu thought distinguishes itself by strongly encouraging tolerance for different beliefs since temporal systems cannot claim sole understanding of the one transcendental Truth.