Knowing Hinduism or Hindu Religion

Hindus are concentrated in India, Nepal and Sri Lankaof ancient India, comprising of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal,
and these places have been the hot spot of thisPakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, etc.
culture since time immemorial. Unlike other religions,Unlike the earlier Islamic invaders, known for violent
Hinduism does not recognize a single prophet and hasway of promoting their religion by invading and
multitude of gods and goddesses, mythologicallydestroying the local cultures and Christianity which is
numbering at around 30 millions! Such a figure is givenknown for aggressive promotion through missionary
in mythology by people of wisdom who have includedactivities, Hinduism is never known to have been
all such perceptible forms as things of worship, so thatpromoted aggressively or purposively.Hindusim or
man can see god in them and respect the existencepeople of the ancient culture of India have allowed
of such all forms (plant, animal, stone, sky, stars, soil,religions like Buddhism to take root in India. In act
water, rain, fellow human being, etc.Buddhism has not been promoted in other countries by
While failing to appreciate such deep meaning of theIndians who traveled abroad, but it has been taken by
practices and beliefs, few people from within andthose people from other countries who have traveled
outside have started criticizing negatively the Hinduto India and back to their countries.
way of life as something of superstition andAnother great aspect of Hinduism is that it has
irrelavancy.The same people have done precious littlepromoted spirituality and recommended restraint in
in appreciating the basic tenets, principles, thoughts, etc.becoming overly materialistic. The knowledge gained
of Hinduism while magnifying the seemingly negativeby learned people, has been used for general good of
and negative things.the public (such as Ayurveda, Yoga etc). I believe, no
Also, Indian communists never miss an opportunity toother religion or religious literature has such copious mix
point out that the name 'Hindu' or 'Hinduism' is notof spiritualism and knowledge related to daily life
ancient and that the name has been given by Persianapplications.
invaders. Yes, it might me true, but the way of life, itsEven many traditional practices, have a scientific
culture being followed since thousands of years in India,background relevant either to the olden times or even
Nepal and in earlier days, in many other countriesthe present day. For example cow dung mixed with
surrounding India, does not cease to exist, just becausewater is sprinkled in the front yard daily after sweeping
it does not have a indigenous name. For example,and even the mud floors are applied with a dung paste
though coconut and rice are predominantly grown inperiodically. Sprinkling dung mixed with water is known
south of India, they are mandatory for religiousto be germicidal.
purposes in all parts of the country. Lord Srirama or SriDie hard detractors of Hinduism (read communists of
Krishna, though are believed to hail from the northernIndia), should note that the good old traditions cannot be
India, and are worshipped through out all the threelooked with oversight and that Hinduism is not
nations.equivalent to casteism alone, which they frequently
The Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists, though follow their ownrefer to.
religions are still part of the Hindu way of life in thatExplaining the Hindu way of life (Dharma)in an article
they worship the Hindu gods and goddesses and evensuch as this, though may not do justice, it will give
name themselves after the Hindu names. Thus theinsights for further research and understanding the
term Hinduism, irrespective of the time and origin,ancient Indian way of life.
represents the much older native culture and traditions