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HINDUISM
Introduction Hinduism is also known as "Sanatana Dharma" to Hindus. In Sanskrit, the original language of India, 'Sanatana' means Everlasting and 'Dharma', by a crude translation, means Religion. The Everlasting Religion, Hinduism was founded, exists and flourishes in India. What is Hinduism? Is it a religion or is it a culture? The truth is - it is both a religion and a way of life. India gave to the world the original, oldest and most profound philosophy of life. The brilliant ancestors of present-day indians explored the Truth behind our existence and gave several philosophies and theories to define the Truth. At the same time, they created a set of rules for "good living" on this earth. The philosophical concepts that Indians gave to mankind are eternal and constitute no religion by themselves. However, the rules for good or "Dharmic" living that they laid down constitute the Hindu religion. This article will refer to "Hinduism" for both the philosophy and the religion, for purposes of simplicity.Sanatana Dharma does not have a starting point in history, does not have a founder, and has no Church. The sages who shaped the Hindu religion merely reiterated the teachings of the Vedas, the Hindu scriptures (most of which is unwritten). The Vedas are believed to have no origin. In ancient India, the Vedas formed the educational system and broadly comprised all the different spheres of life, such as spiritual, scientific, medical and so on. Purpose The purpose of this web page is not to "sell" Hinduism or to seek conversions. As a matter of fact, Hinduism does not believe in conversions. More on that topic follows later. The purpose of this page is to simply try and give a high-level overview of the religion and the culture that continues to fascinate a lot of people in the West and in America. The Mother of All Alphabets Click on the rotating image above to view the symbol in the image.The symbol is an Alphabet in the Sanskrit language and is the most important symbol in
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the hindu religion It is pronounced - OM - and signifies God Almighty. Om means "That which hath No Beginning nor End". The chanting of Om and meditation on the symbol are believed to bestow good health, peace, and prosperity to the spiritual aspirant. Important Concepts and Misconceptions In the following sections, I have attempted to highlight popular misconceptions about important concepts in the Hindu religion and Hindu philosophy, while avoiding controversial topics, debate over which will not serve the main objective of this web page. The Religion God or Gods? Misconception A popular misconception is Hinduism is polytheistic - believes in multiple Gods. Truth The Vedas tell us this about God - "OM Poornamadah Poornamidam Poornaad Poornamudachyate; Poornasya Poornamaadaaya Poornamevaavashisyate". Translated in English, this verse means "What is Whole - This is Whole - What has come out of the Whole is also Whole; When the Whole is taken out of the Whole, the Whole still remains Whole". The essence of this verse is that the Infinite cannot be measured arithmetically - God is Infinite. The Infinite can be represented in Infinite ways and does manifest in infinite ways. This, in short, is the essence of the Hindu belief in God. That He is everywhere, aorund us and within us. Infact, Hinduism takes the bold step of proclaiming that "we are God". |

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