How did hinduism originated and what are the practices?

Question

I had several questions about this. My knowledge is prety limited from books. regarding customs I have one specific question... why do women wear veiles in the head but expose their bellies? Aside from that I really want to know what is it that Hindus believe ... Must of the people do not really understand and are quick to judge, but I want to learn more. Thanks for your time!

cool cool cool I knew about the vedas, I studied them in school. And as for the veil cool fact... I went to queens and I asked an indian lady why do you veil, she saaid I do not know I am a Muslim... so from then on I was afraid to ask anyone :) This is really cool info... What else?

I am ignorant now about hinduism s please stick to the facts ... do not want to fill my head with fiction!

Is this true?
You just have to convert to hinduism, declared a miracle and that's it. You are a saint, and your practise will be included in hinduism.

What are you waiting for?

If possible I want to learn from Hindus themselves :) Thanks!

Answer 1

Hinduism's origins are lost in pre-history, but the closest we can know for sure is that it began with Indus Valley civilization (although archeological evidence is now revealing the Saraswati River civilization...as mentioned in the Vedas...and this civilization is older than the Indus Valley civilization). It's a very ancient religion.

Why do women wear veils but expose their bellies? This isn't really related to Hinduism at all. It's a cultural/fashion thing. Hindu women aren't required to wear veils. Many Indian women do occasionally wear them with certain clothing and with the bellies exposed then this is usually done for entertainment purposes (dances, etc). It's a cultural, not religious, thing. Only Islam and Sikhism require the head to be covered (male and female).

Explaining the rest of what Hindus believe would take a great deal of time, but you can always e-mail me and I'd be happy to answer questions that you have about Hinduism as well as explain more and more about what Hindus believe.

I'll just let you know right now that Hinduism is a very diverse religion. It is, in fact, more a family of religions that have their foundations in the Vedas and India than it is just a single monolithic religion. Thus there can be some very major differences between the various denominations. I mention this because when I answer questions or share things there will be times when I'll have to specify that one denomination believes this while the other believes this and yet another believes this. Beliefs and practices can vary. For example there are four major denominations and then within that there are many sects and subsects. There are six major philosophical schools. There are atleast four major yogic paths (the set of practices one does). There are thousands of sacred texts...the Rig Veda being the oldest sacred text in the world (it was written down in 5000BCE and by then it was already ancient and had been chanted to the various rhythms and melodies for thousands of years prior). In fact even today there are sacred texts still being written in Hinduism!

Wikipedia has some really great articles on Hinduism and the BBC's Religion & Ethics page does a really good job on explaining Hinduism, too. The Hindu Kids website is fun and explains a lot about Hinduism, too.
http://www.wikipedia.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion
http://www.hindukids.org

Here are some verses from sacred texts that give a little picture on the beliefs of Hindus.

"There is only one God, but humanity calls him by many names." Rig Veda 1:164.46

"That one Being has become all this. All this is only one." Rig Veda 8:10.2

"What I am is utterly beyond your mind's ability to fully understand, therefore worship me by whatever name and form you desire. I promise that by whatever name you call upon me I will hear you and whatever form you worship me by I will bless you." Tripura Rahasya

"This universe is the outpouring of the majesty of God, the auspicious One, radiant love. Every face you see belongs to Him. He is present in everyone without exception." Yajur Veda

"Everything in the outside world changes constantly. But the Lord of Love in the inner world never changes. He rules both the inner and the outer realities. Meditate on Him. Merge in Him. Wake up from the dream that you exist apart from Him." Shvetashvatara Upanishad 1:10

"There is an eternal, all pervading intelligence in which all individual souls are rooted. That Supreme Awareness is the final truth. That is your innermost being. You are that." Chhandogya Upanishad

"There is one Supreme Controller, Who is the Inner Self of all beings. He projects Himself outward, creating infinity from the One." Katha Upanishad 2:2.12

"Vishnu's supreme form is beyond form, though all forms are projected from it. Of it the sages can only say 'It exists.' From the self-existent Lord comes this entire universe." Vishnu Purana 6:7.69-71

Great question!! If I can be of further help please do not hesitate to contact me.

Peace be with you.

Answer 2

Hinduism is believed to be the oldest living religious tradition in the world. Unlike many other religions, Hinduism has no single founder.Hinduism does not rely exclusively on any single religious scripture; it looks to a large number of religious texts that contain spiritual insights and practical guidance for religious life. Among such texts, the ancient Vedas are usually considered the most authoritative. Other scriptures include the eighteen Puranas, and the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. The Bhagavad Gita, which is contained within the Mahabharata, is a widely studied teaching that is said to contain, in distilled form, the highest truths of the Vedas.

Answer 3

The real name for hinduism is Sanatan Dharma (eternal religion). It started with the humanity

you have to particularly ask a question to get replies

As regards hindu women wearing veils...this is a local practice and was in place after the muslim invaders came to India...so to save from them, women started hiding the face.

As per hindu religion, there is no such veil for women. Hinduism gives full liberty to women and in Shakta Path God is worshipped as a women, like MOTHER

Answer 4

Nobody really knows much about the origins of hinduism, especially about the authors of the Hindu holy scriptures. It's not really a historical religion like Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Also, it's pantheism. Pantheism says the universe is eternal. It has always been here. Science, namely the big bang theory, says that the universe had a beginning. It hasn't always been here. That's what the big bang is. It's the start of the 4 dimensions....3 dimensions of space and 1 dimension of time.

http://www.biblestudylessons.com/cgi-bin/gospel_way/hinduism.php

Answer 5

You just have to convert to hinduism, declared a miracle and that's it. You are a saint, and your practise will be included in hinduism.

What are you waiting for?

Answer 6

im not sure wish i could help u out....