RLST 100 Hinduism Library Research Assigment Paper

HINDUISM
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I chose Hinduism since I have the interest of understanding the Hindu’s way of life and learning a different religion from the one I practice. By so doing, I will be able to interact well with them and have an idea of whatever is happening when I visit them or watch their programs. The term Hinduism is an invention and the Hindus themselves started using it as a religious order in the mid nineteenth century. This is when they commenced to fit it from the European use (Lubin, Jr & Krishnan, 2010). It can be defined as a way of life, a religion found mostly in India and Nepal. ‘Sanātana Dharma’ is a term professionals and students use to refer to Hinduism meaning the eternal law or the eternal way. It is also believed to be the oldest and the third largest religion in the whole world having over one billion followers. This is equivalent to over 15 percent of the global population (BBC, 2014). The religion differs from the other monotheistic religions. This is because they lack a single founder, concept of deity, holy text, morality system and an explicit system of theology (Robinson, 2016). Their texts are divided into Shruti meaning heard and Smriti meaning remembered. Their main scriptures include Vedas, Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Agamas. Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha are the four projecting themes in Hinduism meaning righteousness, prosperity, desires and liberation, respectively (Knott, 2016). They have several practices which include annual festivals - where they say that Diwali is the best - worship, recitations, meditation and pilgrimages. Some Hindus abandon their social life and material things and engross to Sannyasa. Hinduism lays down patience, empathy, restrain, decency among others as the external duties (Narayanan, 2010).