Hinduism is a mixture of Indian religions. It also has many beliefs, texts, symbols, deities, rituals, philosophies, and medicine. It has 4 denominations. Hinduism exist alongside other religions in India. They influenced each other. Hinduism had a big impact on Southeast Asia and Europeans.
History
The origin of Hinduism goes back to prehistoric times. Indus Valley Civilization religion became a part of Hinduism. The Aryans invaded India over 3,000 years ago and they brought Brahmanism with them. Brahmanism became a part of Hinduism. There was/are various ethnic groups in India that contributed to Hinduism. Folk Hinduism is practiced by people in rural areas. A lot of these people are Dravidian. The Hinduism that focuses on the Vedas is called Sruti.
Beliefs
Karma: What goes around comes around. If you do good/evil it comes back to you in this life or the next.
Reincarnation: The Atman incarnates into another body after death. If you have good karma you will reincarnate in a better position in life; likewise, if you have evil karma you will reincarnate in a worse position in life.
Caste System: People are born to do certain occupations. The castes are priests, warriors & government, merchants, and farmers. Each caste represents parts of Purusha. The priests represent the head. The warrior and government represent the arms. Merchants represent the thighs and the farmers the feet. Higher caste people mistreat lower caste people. Some people aren't even in the caste system. They are called untouchable. They catch hell. If a person has good karma they will be born in a higher caste. That belief is used as an excuse to mistreat people. The caste system isn't important in the cities, but they are important in rural areas.
Maya: Illusion. The phenomenal universe.
Samsara: Being reborn in maya over and over again.
Dharma: It is duty, destiny, and righteousness.
Artha: Wealth, prosperity, job, and career.
Kama: Pleasure
Moksha: Liberation from the cycle of samsara.
Atman: Soul
Texts
Agamas: Books on worship, yoga, temple building, town planning, festivals, cosmology, etc. They may predate the Vedas.
Vedas: A collection of hymns and other religious text. It seems like it was written by Aryans, but it may have been written Dravidians.
Tantras: Books dealing with conjoining the Atman with Shakti. Some texts explain how to use sexual energy to do this.
Upanishads: Books of philosophy dealing with ideas from the Vedas.
There may other scriptures in Hinduism.
Symbols
Om: This is the sound of creation.
Namaskar: Hands in prayer position. It is used in greetings. The word means I bow to you.
Lotus: Purity.
Swastika: It was put on doors to keep evil spirits from coming in. It represents changing seasons.
Trident: Shiva's weapon.
Cow: Represents motherhood.
Lamp: Symbol of enlightenment.
Deities
Agni: Fire god. He connects heaven to earth.
Hanuman: Monkey King. He may have been a god of the Adivasi ancestors.
Surya: Sun god. He rides in a chariot pulled by 7 white horses.
Indra: Rain and thunder god. He may have originally been an Aryan chief that conquered a part of India.
Kali: Path of Durga. She is a killa. She is my favorite goddess and I call her lady Saturn.
Brahma: Creator of the phenomenal universe.
Vishnu: Preserver of life.
Shiva: Destroyer of the universe, so it can be reborn.
Saraswati: Goddess of knowledge. Wife of Brahma.
Lakshmi: Goddess of wealth and beauty. Wife of Vishnu.
Parvati: Goddess of love and fertility. Wife of Shiva.
Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva make up a trinity. Their wives make up another trinity.
There are many other deities.
Rituals
Yajnas: This is a sacrifice of ghee, milk, and grains. People chant mantras while doing sacrifice. It can very simple or complex.
Japa: Chant a name of a deity out loud or in the mind.
Shraddha: Ancestor veneration. The person imagines a noble spirit or cow comes to them and they offer them food.
Samskaras: Rituals for major stages of life. Examples: birth, marriage, puberty, etc. There are 16 of these in Hinduism!!!!!!!!!!!
These are most common and important rituals. There are many others.
6 Philosophies
Vaisheshika: This philosophy promoted the idea that atoms exist. It proposals the world is created out of earth, water, air, and fire. Knowledge can only be gained by perception and inference. Vaisheshika became more like Nyaya over time.
Nyaya: This philosophy's focus is on logic. Its metaphysics has 16 categories. People of this school of thought made arguments for and against the existence of God.
Mimamsa: The focus of this system of thought is epistemology and language. Knowledge can be gained by perception, inference, comparison and analogy, knowing what is not, testimony, circumstantial postulation.
Vedanta: This philosophical system is based on the Vedas, Brahma Sutras, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita. This philosophy is related to Mimamsa. I assume it is its descendant. There are 2 different types subschools in this system. The first subschools promote unity. We are all one. The second subschool promotes duality. The universe is composed of spirit (energy) and matter. There 6 ways to gain knowledge. It is the same as Mimamsa.
Samskhaya: This philosophy is very dualistic. There are 3 ways of knowing: perception, inference, and testimony. Purusha is pure consciousness and Prakti is matter. Bodymind is Prakti. Atman is Purusha. Evolution occurs when Prakti mixes with Purusha. Brahma does not exist, but the Atman do. Samskhaya is related to Tantra and Yoga.
Yoga(union): This philosophy was created or popularized by Patanjali. This school of thought is dualistic like Samskhaya, which it is closely related too. You can only gain knowledge from perception, inference, and testimony. The rules of yoga are called Yamas and Niyams. Patanjali created or learned the 5 Yamas & Niyamas. Yamas: non-violence, honesty, no stealing, no cheating, and no jealousy. Niyamas: purity, contentment, perseverance, studious, and meditate on Brahman. Suffering is caused by ignorance.
Medicine
There are 2 kinds of Hindu medicine. They are Ayurved and Siddha. Ayurveda was created in Northern India by Aryans. Siddha was created in Southern India by Dravidians. They have a lot in common. Both systems deal with elements doshas. There are 5 elements space, air, fire, water, earth. A dosha is a fundamental energy source that affects the body. It is composed of 2 elements. There are 3 doshas: Kapha(earth & water), Pitta(fire & water), Vatta(space & air). Your dosha affects your health and personality. If doshas become imbalance, then you will become ill. If they are balanced you will be healthy.
Ayurveda: This system of medicine is disease oriented. Herbalism is a big part of this medicine. This style of medicine is holistic. It focuses on the whole person: body, mind, spirit, etc.
Siddha: This system is health focused. It deals with the energies of the body. This is somewhat of a spiritual practice and it is based on yoga. It is also holistic.
4 Types
Vaishnavism: Followers of this denomination believe Vishnu is the supreme being. Vishnu had avatars. Avatars are humans that are incarnations of Vishnu. Krishna is the most important avatar.
Shaivism: Followers of this denomination believe Shiva is the supreme being. 27% of Hinduism follow this denomination. These type of Hindus are big on asceticism. Shiva was worshiped in the Indus Valley Civilization. Shiva may be a deified ancestor.
Shaktism: Followers of this denomination see Shakti as the supreme being. Shakti has many paths (versions of a deity). 3% of the Hindus in India follow this denomination. Shaktism became popular after Buddhism declined. Tantra is a part of this denomination.
Smartism: Followers of this denomination feel Brahman is the supreme reality. This is my favorite denomination; because force comes b4 form and it's impersonal. There are 5 major deities of this religion. The Atman is Brahman (ultimate reality) in maya.
Hinduism Interaction with Other Religions
Jainism: This religion believes everyone as an Atman, but it doesn't believe in a creator. Since animals have a souls people of this religion don't eat them. Jainism promotes relativism. The vegetarianism, samsara, moksha of Hinduism may have come from Jainism. There is a 3 fold path in Jainism to moksha. In the past Hindus killed practitioners of Jainism.
Buddhism: Buddha was something like a Hindu b4 he founded Buddhism. Buddhism to Hinduism is like Protestantism to Catholicism. A lot of the main ideas of Hinduism are in Buddhism. Buddhists monks and nuns were supposed to treat everyone the same no matter their caste. There is an 8 fold path to nirvana in Buddhism. Tibetian Buddhism is my favorite form of Buddhism; because it's the most magickical form and it is full of sex and death symbolism.
Sikhism: It is a monotheistic religion. It was created Guru Nanak in Punjabi. It is a mixture of Hinduism and Islam.
There are religions in India that have a non-Indian origin.
Zoroastrianism: This a religion from Iran. It has similarities to Brahmanism because it was created by Aryans. Brahmanism is the father of Hinduism. The people that practice this religion are called Parsis (Persians) in India. They came to India to escape persecution.
Judaism: Different Jewish communities came to India at different times. Some came over 2,000 years ago! Some them are descendants of 10 lost tribes. Most of Indian Jews live in Israel now. Jews and Hindus always got along in India. Judaism was created in Canaan.
Islam: There are many Indian Muslims. Over 300 million of them! India contributed to the
Islamic Golden Age, Islamic Philosophy, and Sufism. Muslims conquered Indian centuries ago. The Mughal dynasty was very vicious to Hindus. Sometimes the Muslims and Hindus battle each other in India. Islam was created in Arabia.
Hinduism influence on Southeast Asia
Angor Wat in Cambodia was created for Vishnu. The Chola dynasty used to control parts of Southeast Asia. I assume they promoted Hinduism in those regions. Indians moved to different parts of Southeast Asia, they brought Hinduism with them. You can even find Hindu themes on Japanese cartoons such as Dragon Ball Z.
Hinduism Effect on Europeans
It had a big impact on Arthur Schopenhauer. He was a great European philosopher. I like him because he was depressed. Hinduism became popular in the U.S. in the 1960s. Hindu ideas are a big part of the New Age Movement. Chakras, karma, and reincarnation are ideas a lot of Westerners believe in. They learned these ideas from the New Age, which got them from Hinduism. These ideas exist in other religions as well, independent of Hinduism.
Conclusion
Hinduism is amazing!!!!!!!!!! It is even better than Catholicism. It has a long rich history. It has a lot of beliefs, texts, and symbols. It has its own philosophies and medicine. It has rituals and deities. It has 4 denominations. Hinduism interacted with several religions. It had a big impact on Southeast Asia and Europeans.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Hinduism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman
http://www.dummies.com/religion/hinduism/core-beliefs-of-hindus/
http://study.com/academy/lesson/the-four-goals-of-hindu-life-kama-artha-dharma-moksha.html
https://www.britannica.com/topic/moksha-Indian-religion
https://www.himalayanacademy.com/readlearn/basics/nine-beliefs
http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_caste.asp
http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/symbol-swastika-and-its-12000-year-old-history-001312
http://www.fullstopindia.com/10-important-symbols-of-hinduism/
http://www.dummies.com/religion/hinduism/hindu-gods-and-goddesses/
http://www.hindunet.org/
http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Agama
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/
http://www.ancient.eu/The_Vedas/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/texts/texts.shtml
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Ar%C4%81ddha
http://www.swamij.com/six-schools-indian-philosophy.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaisheshika
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyaya
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samkhya
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedanta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_(philosophy)
Mimamsa
http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/lifestyle/health-fitness/health-a-holistic-perspective/
http://www.siddhavaidyam.com/
http://www.eattasteheal.com/ayurveda101/eth_bodytypes.htm
http://www.webhealthcentre.com/S_altmedicine/siddha/siddha_elements1.aspx
http://www.jaina.org/page/Myths
https://public.wsu.edu/~brians/wcsyllabus/buddhind.html
Buddhism & Caste System
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sikhism
https://www.sikhs.org/
Religions in India
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism_in_Southeast_Asia
Hinduism's influence on Southeast Asia
Indus Valley Religion
Hindu History
Intro to Hinduism
Hindu Texts
Hindu Symbols
9 Forms of Durga
Lady Saturn
Hindu Gods
Hindu Hells
Heavens from around the World
Scientific Rituals
4 Denominations
Mooji Vedanta
Yoga a Philosophy that is not
Nyaya Mr. Lalit
V philosophy
Intro to S philosophy
Way of M
Ayurveda
Siddha
India's influence on Southeast Asia
Western Hinduism
Arthur & Upanishads
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