I.

Introduction
This report covers the topic on Hinduism. It explains how and where Hindus
worship - even where the name originated. Did you know that the name “Hindu”
actually came from the mispronunciation of the river Sindhu in India? Well, by
reading this report you will. So if you want to get some information about
Hinduism, then you’ve come to the right place!

II. Hinduism as a religion

a. Third largest religion

Hinduism is world's third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. It has about
837 million followers - 13% of the world's population. It is the dominant religion in
India, Nepal, and among the Tamils in Sri Lanka. According to the "Yearbook of
American & Canadian Churches," there are about 1.1 million Hindus in the U.S. The
"American Religious Identification Survey" is believed to be more accurate. They
estimated a smaller number of 766,000 Hindus in 2001. Still, this is a very significant
increase from 227,000 in 1990. Statistics Canada estimates that there are about 157,015
Hindus in Canada.

b. Praying
Praying in Hinduism is very complex and is a very important part of Hinduism. In
fact, it is one of the largest and most complex religions in the world. Though complex, it
is also loosely organized, meaning there is no strict rule for when or why to pray. Hindus
pray at shrines, but the statues themselves are not worshipped.
The Hindus only worship one god. They also highly respect cows and think they
should not be slaughtering them. They respect cows this much because it was the first
animal Hindus domesticated and still domesticate today. It provided milk, milk products,
labor, and dung for families.

III. Originated
c. Where it was originated
The religion of Hinduism originated in India. Most Indians are Hindu, but not all.
In 1991, a census indicated that India’s population was: 83% Hindu, 11% Muslim,
2% Christian, 2% Sikh, 1% Buddhist, and 0.4% Jain. Also, 1 out of every 7
people are Hindu in the world. There are not all in India but populating many
other places spread across the world. Just most are in India and Southern Asia.
 d. When it was originated
Though we know where Hinduism was originated, we don’t know when it was
originated. If you go by Hindu mythological stories, it is trillions of years old
though the oldest fossil found by scientists is only 3.5 million years old. (does this
mean mythological stories are wrong?) If you go by Max Muller, a German
Philosopher, it is at least 8000 to 9000 years old (I agree more with this theory).

IV. Past
e. Name
Sanathana Dharma was the original name of Hinduism. It was the Persians who invaded
India during 6th century B.C who gave the name Hinduism meaning the religion of the
people living near the Indus River. And got confused with name Sindhu and Indus River.
That name became the name of the religion later.

f. Founder
Hinduism actually has no single founder as far as the modern history is concerned. The
ancient scriptures of India claim the religion is originally established by God Himself.
Hinduism cannot be described as an organized religion. It is not founded by any
individual. Hinduism is God centered and therefore one can call Hinduism as founded by
God, because the answer to the question ‘Who is behind the eternal principles and who
makes them work?’ will have to be ‘Cosmic power, Divine power, God’

g. Dharma

Dharma from the scriptural viewpoint, this religion or dharma manifests after every
creation by the will of the Lord. After the present cyclical creation, the Supreme Lord
Narayana instructed the first living entity within the universe, Brahma, in the matters of
religion. Brahma in turn instructed this same science to his son, Narada, who in turn
passed this knowledge on to his disciple Vyasa Mahamuni. In this way the ancient
religion has been passed down in a chain of disciplic succession directly from God for
countless millions of years.

This Vedic religion is known as Sanatana Dharma, or the "eternal religion", because it
predates all man-made understandings of time and space. We should not confuse this
Sanatana Dharma with any sectarian religious faith, for the true Sanatana Dharma is the
very function of the soul, as inseparable as liquidity from water.
 V. Beliefs

h. Afterlife
Hindus believe the soul is reincarnated and continues the cycle of rebirth until it
reaches Moksha, when the Ultimate Truth is realized. Then the soul becomes one with the
supreme god. This process is called Samsara.In 600 B.C. it was believed that if you were
good during your past life, you’d come back as a prince or princess. If you were bad in
your past life, you’d come back as a cockroach or rat.

i. Truth
Hindus belief that beliefs determine our thoughts and attitudes about life, which in
turn direct our actions. By our actions, we create our destiny. Beliefs about sacred
matters, God, soul, and cosmos,are essential to one's approach to life. They believe the
ultimate truth in inside everyone, though some people may never find it.

VI. Conclusion
Hinduism is a very peaceful religion because they believe in non violence and
forbid cow slaughter, because it provided families so much. Hinduism is one of the
most important beliefs in India that influences people the most. It influences their
praying, worshipping, habits, and what their community is like. So, take one
moment and think of India today and through its past if there was no such religion
as Hinduism. I believe that India would be another country than the one we know
today.
VII. Bibliography
j. Books

Bazad Wangu Madhu. Hinduism World Religions. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001

M. Harley Gail. Hindu and Sikh Faiths in America. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2003

George Carls. What makes me a Hindu? Miami: Kidhaven Press, 2004

k. Web Sites

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Hinduism

http://www.hindugateway.com/library/quickfacts/

http://www.hindunet.org/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/index.shtml

http://www.uni-giessen.de/~gk1415/hinduism.htm

http://www.himalayanacademy.com/basics/fourf/

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry?id=Hinduism

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion/hinduism/gsaraswt.jpg
I. Introduction......................................................................................................................1
II. Hinduism as a religion.....................................................................................................1
a. Third largest religion....................................................................................................1
b. Praying.........................................................................................................................1
III. Originated......................................................................................................................1
c. Where it was originated...............................................................................................1
d. When it was originated................................................................................................2
IV. Past.................................................................................................................................2
e. Name............................................................................................................................2
f. Founder.........................................................................................................................2
g. Dharma.........................................................................................................................2
V. Beliefs..............................................................................................................................3
h. Afterlife .......................................................................................................................3
i. Truth .............................................................................................................................3
VI. Conclusion.....................................................................................................................3
VII. Bibliography.................................................................................................................4
j. Books............................................................................................................................4
k. Web Sites......................................................................................................................4