Hinduism for Kids
Hinduism is practiced by people who live in the Indian subcontinent and parts of Asia, as well as by some in the Western world, It is viewed by scholars as being the most complex of all the living, historical world religions. Even though it is very complex, Hinduism not only has one of the largest numbers of followers, but is also the oldest living major tradition on Earth. It does not have a single or common historical founder and does not have a single system of salvation. There are different goals according to each sect or denomination. This means that in Hinduism there is no unified system of belief as declared in a single declaration of faith or a creed.
Hinduism, we know it in the West today, only became familiar to us in the 19th century through Western “orientalists” (scholars in England who tried to explain what they saw happening in that region of the world after England conquered and annexed India and surrounding lands to be a subject of the British Empire). Their opinions are now often considered to be biased in their view of philosophies as practiced by non-Western peoples. The understanding of Hinduism was strongly influenced by Western ideas of what a religion is and how it comes from more ancient forms of belief. Rather than truly understanding what they encountered, they constructed a definition to try and make sense of the different religious traditions and rituals coming from and based on the Vedic traditions.
The Vedic traditions that have shaped Hinduism are very ancient, going back in time to the Indus Valley civilization and earliest writings of historical Vedic religion. The earliest evidence for prehistoric religion in India dates back to the late Neolithic era in the years 5500–2600 BCE. The beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era (1500–500 BCE) are called the "historic Vedic religion". Modern Hinduism grew out of the Vedas, the oldest of which is the Rigveda, and dates to 1700–1100 BCE.
Unlike other major world religions, Hinduism has no central authority to set doctrine. The main divisions in contemporary Hinduism make up four major denominations: Vaishnavism (those who worship Vishnu as the supreme God), Shaivism (those who worship Shiva as the supreme God), Shaktism (those who worship Shakti (power) personified through a female divinity or Mother Goddess, Devi) and Smartism (those who accept and worship the six manifestations of God, (Ganesha, Shiva, Shakti, Vishnu, Surya and Skanda --- added by Hindus of the Tamil peoples. The choice of the nature of God is chosen by the individual worshipper because the different manifestations of God are thought to be equivalent. It is a tolerant and unusual sect.). These four denominations share rituals, beliefs, and traditions, but each denomination has a different philosophy on how to achieve life's ultimate goal (moksa, liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth).
Important themes in Hindu beliefs include: Dharma (ethics/duties), Samsara (the continuing cycle of reincarnation by birth, life, death and rebirth), Karma (action and subsequent reaction), Moksha (liberation from samsara), and the various Yogas (paths or practices). Gurus, such as A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and others who follow the Hare Krishna sect, brought a Vaishnavite perspective to the West when they were embraced by celebrities like the Beatles.
This is an original news article © The Kids Window
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