0_Wizard
I would like to know more about the Hindu beliefs.
It has historically been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for people indigenous to South Asia.
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Hindu
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Hinduism
Hinduism is an Indian Dharma, or a way of life, widely practiced in South Asia. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as "", "the eternal tradition," or the "eternal way," beyond human history. Scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This "Hindu synthesis" started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE, following the Vedic period (1500 BCE to 500 BCE). Although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites.
Hinduism in Indonesia
Hinduism in Indonesia is practised by 1.7% of the total population, and by 83.5% of the population in Bali as of the 2010 census. Hinduism is one of the six official religions of Indonesia. In 2010, there were an estimated total of over 4 million Hindus in Indonesia according to Indonesian census. The Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia disputed the census methodology, and estimated 18 million Hindus lived in Indonesia in 2005. In 2010, the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Government of Indonesia estimated that about 10 million Hindus lived on Indonesian islands, in contrast to the Indonesian official decadal census of over 4 million.
Neo-Vedanta
Neo-Vedanta, also called Hindu modernism, neo-Hinduism, Global Hinduism and Hindu Universalism, are terms to characterize interpretations of Hinduism that developed in the 19th century. Some scholars argue that these modern interpretations incorporate western ideas into traditional Indian religions, especially Advaita Vedanta, which is asserted as central or fundamental to Hindu culture. The development took place partly in response to western colonialism and orientalism, contributing to the Indian freedom struggle and the modern national and religious identity of Hindus in the Republic of India.
Buddhism and Hinduism
Hinduism and Buddhism have common origins in the Ganges culture of northern India during the so-called "second urbanisation" around 500 BC. They have shared parallel beliefs that have existed side by side, but also pronounced differences. Buddhism attained prominence in the Indian subcontinent as it was supported by royal courts, but started to decline after the Gupta era, and virtually disappeared from India in the 11th century CE, except in some pockets of India. It has continued to exist outside India and is the major religion in several Asian countries. Certain Buddhist teachings appear to have been formulated in response to ideas presented in the early Upanishads – in some cases concurring with them, and in other cases criticizing or re-interpreting them.
Rajan Zed prayer protest
The Rajan Zed prayer protest were events surrounding the first official offering of a Hindu prayer at the United States Senate. On July 12, 2007, Rajan Zed, a Hindu cleric and a noted leader in Interfaith Relations from the Indian Association of Northern Nevada based in Reno, appeared at the United States Senate as its guest Chaplain. Several days prior to the scheduled prayer the American Family Association (AFA) called on its membership to phone and email their Senators "expressing your disappointment in the Senate decision to invite a Hindu to open the session with prayer." In the Action Alerts to their membership the AFA cited self-styled historian David Barton saying he wonders "why the U.S. government is seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god.
History of Hinduism
History of Hinduism denotes a wide variety of related Hindu denominations native to the Indian Subcontinent, most of whom live in modern-day India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Adherents are also found in the Indonesian island of Bali. Its history overlaps or coincides with the development of Indian religions since Iron Age India. It has thus been called the "oldest living religion" in the world. Scholars regard Hinduism as a synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no single founder or source. The history of Hinduism is often divided into periods of development, with the first period being that of the historical Vedic religion dated from about 1900 BCE to 1400 BCE.
Hindu temple architecture
Hindu temple architecture has many varieties of style, though the basic nature of the Hindu temple remains the same, with the essential feature an inner sanctum, the "garbha griha" or womb-chamber, where the primary "Murti" or the image of a deity is housed in a simple bare cell. Around this chamber there are often other structures and buildings, in the largest cases covering several acres. On the exterior, the garbhagriha is crowned by a tower-like "shikhara", also called the "vimana" in the south. The shrine building often includes an ambulatory for "parikrama" (circumambulation), a mandapa congregation hall, and sometimes an antarala antechamber and porch between garbhagriha and mandapa.