0_Wizard
Hi. I need to learn more about Hinduism, I don't know nearly enough about it. But a Hindu is someone who considers themselves either culturally or ethnically Hindu.
Hindu () refers to any person who regards themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism.
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Hindu
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Hindu
Hindu () refers to any person who regards themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. It has historically been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for people indigenous to South Asia. The historical meaning of the term "Hindu" has evolved with time. Starting with the Persian and Greek references to the land of the Indus in the 1st millennium BCE through the texts of the medieval era, the term Hindu implied a geographic, ethnic or cultural identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent around or beyond the Sindhu (Indus) river.
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta (IAST, '; , literally, "not-two"), originally known as Puruṣavāda"', is a school of Hindu philosophy and religious practice, and one of the classic Indian paths to spiritual realization. The term "Advaita" refers to its idea that the soul (true Self, Atman) is the same as the highest metaphysical Reality (Brahman). The followers of this school are known as "Advaita Vedantins", or just "Advaitins", and they seek spiritual liberation through acquiring "vidyā" (knowledge) of one's true identity as "Atman", and the identity of "Atman" and "Brahman". Advaita Vedanta traces its roots in the oldest Upanishads.
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.
Women in Hinduism
Hindu texts present diverse and conflicting views on the position of women, ranging from feminine leadership as the highest goddess, to limiting her role to an obedient daughter, housewife and mother. The "Devi Sukta" hymn of Rigveda, a scripture of Hinduism, declares the feminine energy as the essence of the universe, the one who creates all matter and consciousness, the eternal and infinite, the metaphysical and empirical reality (Brahman), the soul (supreme self) of everything. The woman is celebrated as the most powerful and the empowering force in some Hindu Upanishads, Sastras and Puranas, particularly the Devi Upanishad, Devi Mahatmya and Devi-Bhagavata Purana.
Persecution of Hindus
Hindus have experienced religious persecution in the form of forceful conversions, documented massacres, demolition and desecrations of temples, as well as the destruction of universities and schools. In modern times, Hindus in the Muslim-majority regions of Kashmir, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and other countries have suffered persecution. The Zoroastrian high-priest Kartir in the Sasanian Empire helped in propagation of Zoroastrianism and supported its priests while suppressing non-Zoroastrian communities, including Hindus among other religions. The Sasanian state, though often tolerant of other communities like Jews, made occasional attempts to extripate non-Zoroastrians, as evidenced by an inscription set up by Kartir at Ka'ba-yi Zardusht:  The Naqsh-i-Rustam inscription of Kartir states that "the teaching of Ahriman and devas disappeared from the empire and was abandoned, and Jews and Buddhists and Brahmins and Nazaraeans, and Christians and Mugdugs and Manichaeans were annihilated within the empire and the idols were destroyed and the caves of the devas were devastated and transformed into the house and seat of the gods."
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahātmā Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was an Indian activist who was the leader of the Indian independence movement against British rule. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā (Sanskrit: "high-souled", "venerable")—applied to him first in 1914 in South Africa—is now used worldwide. In India, he is also called Bapu (Gujarati: endearment for "father", "papa") and Gandhi ji. He is unofficially called the "Father of the Nation." Born and raised in a Hindu merchant caste family in coastal Gujarat, western India, and trained in law at the Inner Temple, London, Gandhi first employed nonviolent civil disobedience as an expatriate lawyer in South Africa, in the resident Indian community's struggle for civil rights.
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.
1_Apprentice
Yes. They consider themselves Hindu and they are also Buddhist for religion.