When it comes to Hinduism there are a whole lot of different beliefs about it seeing that it's one of the largest religions in the world and even then that may not even be an accurate statement that I just said. well, you'll see what I mean as we go through this blog welcome back to indiasonet.
What is Hinduism?
Hinduism (/hɪnduɪzəm/) is the Indian religion and religion or way of life. It is the 3rd largest religion in the world after Christianity and Islam, with over 1.2 billion followers, or 15–16% of the world's total population, called Hindus. The name Hinduism is unknown, while Hinduism is said to be the oldest religion in the world, with many practitioners referring to their religion as Sanatana Dharma (Sanskrit: ān, enlightened "eternal dharma"). As it appears in Hindu texts, its origins go beyond human history. The second, though less relevant, calls itself the Vedic religion, the 'religion associated with the Vedas'.
Top 10 biggest lies and misconceptions about Hinduism
10. Name of the Religion
the terms Hindu and Hinduism do not refer to any ancient texts
of Hinduism, the term actually refers to the people of the Indus River region in
India. the common name for Hinduism is Sanatana-dharma meaning the eternal
duty of God. that sometimes translated as the eternal way. followers are
called armies which mean followers of Dharma and the words Hindu and Hinduism
are predominantly used in Western society but modern Indians have started to
use the terms as well for the sake of familiarity though and understanding.
9. 330 Million Gods
330 million gods or
33 million gods some people say why do Hindus have so many gods? well, you see
the monotheistic view of God meaning that there's only one God is the most
common religious view of the divine. Hinduism it's commonly seen throughout
the world as a polytheistic religion. Due to the representation of 330 million
gods or 33 million gods depending on how you look at the translation and
polytheistic of course means multiple gods. However, that's not entirely accurate
see the Hindu concept of God can be different for each person but generally
speaking it centers around a single God or Supreme Being. Now different Hindu
practices allow for various representations of God but each representation is a
depiction of God. Hindus believe that the one supreme god cannot be fully
understood so the various representations such as Vishnu and Shiva and others
are just symbolic of the one god and different cultures or times created
millions of various representations.
8. Hinduism Supports Caste System
Hinduism caste system discrimination finds
its roots in culture rather than religion and spirituality. Now Caste was an ancient system of the occupational class described in Hindu texts throughout the
years it developed into a social class system. Now the people of the lowest
caste were marginalized but many Hindus have argued that this social caste
system that's happening now is not rooted in Hinduism at all and it should not
be viewed as something that the religion promotes.
7. Hindu Women With Red Dots are Married
another big lie about
Hinduism out there is that Hindu women who are married have red dots on
their forehead. So, today the dot or the bindi is mainly used as body decoration
now a bindi was once a symbol of marriage for Hindu women now females whether
they're married or single they wear bindis in various different colors there's
also, a Tilak and that's also a mark on the forehead and it has religious
significance too. it's generally made with sandalwood paste or red turmeric
or something and you will see men wearing this also.
6.
The reasons religions become organized very you know like Christianity spread via the Roman / the Byzantines and Islam spread through the Muslim campaigns in Asia as well as in Europe but Hinduism was actually never organized and it did not spread very much. Until recent years actually, there is no particular leader or founder of the religion and it has never been backed by an empire. So the religion if we were to use that term has evolved into a collection of teachings and principles without the political influence seen in Islam and Christianity. The Hindu collections of teachings are believed to have begun between 500 to 300 BC.
5. Hindus are All Vegetarians
I hear this one quite often- now it's true that many Hindu
people practice vegetarianism but many others eat as they feel. It's estimated
that 30 to 35 percent of Hindus are vegetarians. Due to the spiritual belief of
ahimsa which refers to the non-violence against living things. Most spiritual
leaders are vegetarians but then and Hindu follower is more likely to eat meat.
4.
I honestly thought this
too so I bought myself a copy of the Bhagavad-Gita and I was like okay this is
totally not a Bible or anything like that. So the Bhagavad-Gita is widely
recognized but it's not a Hindu Bible the Bhagavad-Gita teaches many principles
of Hinduism through a dialogue between Prince Arjuna and Lord Krishna and the
Hindu sacred texts are divided into Sruti meaning what is heard and Srmiti meaning what is remembered and the Gita is used by many as a moral guide but
it's just one of the many Hindu taxes.
3.
Hindus do not actually worship
cows like one would worship God or anything so this is a common misconception. It's due to the fact that Hindus treat cows in a very special way because
they believe that cows represent life and sustenance of life and because they
eat only grains and grass and water and it provides so much like milk cheese
and butter and fertilizer and all of that it's honored because this animal takes
less but it gives out so much more. So because the cows are honored in this way
in Hinduism and Indian society it appears to outsiders that their worship like
one would worship a god but they just say that this is strictly just honoring
the cow.
2.
Many people believe that Hindus worship idols because the rest of the
world's major religions like Islam and Christianity they both forbid any form
of idol worship. However, Hindus don't consider what they do as idol worship instead
they view it as we hate we see God in everything so all objects are considered
arka which is a living embodiment of God. Hindus call the practice Murthy
puja means image worship and it refers to the belief that the entirety of
creation is a form of God so that his form is in everything. So yeah that can be
really confusing and that can look like it totally contradicts everything that
Islam and Christianity teach about idol worship but hey I guess different
strokes for different folks.
1.
Finally, the lie at number one is Hinduism advocates its being
anti-materialistic you got to give up your wealth you can't be rich none of
that stuff well what Hinduism teaches is that materialistic pursuit or chasing
after sensual pleasures are not actually going to provide you everlasting
happiness. Hinduism advises that one must practice moderation and must be
completely careful of their life and not get too carried away in any area. Hinduism also places liberation or moksha as the ultimate goal of life and for
the majority of the path of progress towards this goal of moksha includes Dharma meaning
righteousness our thought meaning materialism and kama meaning sensual
enjoyments. So yeah, you can have all of those things it's totally fine Hinduism
is not against any of them.
Alright guys so those were ten of the biggest lies and
misconceptions about Hinduism as always let me know your thoughts and comments
down below what other beliefs about Hinduism do you have.
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