What is Hinduism?

Question

Is it a Religion
Is it a belief
Is it a way of life
Is it culture


Will you please enlighten me

Sorry it is westerners name originally it is

SANATANA DHARMA

Arif in YA! anyone can only give tip of Hinduism. If you personally contact any of the best you feel will give you more detailed answers.

Thanks for the concern

Arif I'm not the right person because I'm in the starting stage, May be PRR Krishna, Level Five, Aum, Nitai Gaura, Prahlad can help you in this topic. And i say you need to be patient, It is not a small one you are just seeing a leaf or two in the biggest banyan tree, and there are stems, trunk, roots and many more.

Sanatana means eternal, never beginning nor ending.
Dharma is from dhri, meaning to hold together, to sustain.
Sanatana Dharma eternally holds All together.
Sanatana Dharma means:
Eternal Path Never Beginning nor Ending Way
Perennial Philosophy Universal Tradition
All-Pervading Truth Natural Flow
Sanatana is: Eternal Perennial Never Beginning nor Ending Abiding Universal Ever-present Unceasing Natural Enduring
Dharma is:
Harmony The Way Righteousness Compassion Natural Law Morality Truth Teachings Tradition Philosophy Order Universal Flow Spirituality Religion Wisdom Divine Conformity Cosmic Norm Blueprint Inherent Nature Law of Being Duty
By its nature, Sanatana Dharma is:
God-centered rather than prophet-centered.
Devoid of sectarianism or denominationalism.
Experience based rather than belief based.
Without any ideological divisions. Beyond any historical date of founding. The process of growth, which comes from the seed.
Inherent in, and inclusive of all.
Applicable to all

Applicable to all people of all places and times. In the world, while above the world.
Both immanent and transcendent.
The whole and the parts.
Loving of all and excluding of none.

The universal flow of Dharma,
regardless of what name you call it,
whether Dharma or some other name,
has eternally existed.
It has been before any of
the great teachers were born.
It is not better than, or alternative to,
but is inclusive of all.
Dharma is that out of which
our earth and humanity itself emerged.
Dharma not only is,
but always was, and always will be.
To live in alignment with,
and to know the true nature
of that Sanatana Dharma
is one of the ways of describing
the higher goal of life.

Arif this is what i can explain

Answer 1

It is a Unique religion with diverse belief,a way of life developed over generations and a rich culture.

Answer 2

Honestly a lot of us would like to know as to what is Hinduism.
I am not being sarcastic, believe me, I am searching for the answer since a very long time. Some body promised to send a BIG Essay. Well, I am still awaiting it. Please do enlighten us.
Addition: Dear Om Tat Sat, my e-mail option is open, if this forum is too small you can send me an e-mail. Half a century I have stayed in a country which is predominantly Hindu, and I have not received a convincing answer. Please trust me when I say that I would really like to know, what Hinduism actually is. No offence intended.

Answer 3

"Hinduism is the oldest Living Religion -- RigVeda the oldest scripture in the world. Why has Hinduism survived so long?

Because it is an accepting and all embracing religion. It allows people to seek Truth in many ways. There is something in Hindu faith which satisfies the greatest intellectual and also the simplest soul in their search for God."

-- Patricia Bahree

http://www.gitananda.org/hinduism/words-of-wisdom-on-vedanta.html

Answer 4

Hinduism is a way of life. It is not a religion it Is not a belief and most definately not a culture. It is a way of life. People llive like Hindus. Tradition, Beliefs, ZCulture are part of this way of life.

Answer 5

The religious aspect of the hindu culture was called Hinduism by the arab traders and the invaders of Inida and it has come to stay as the name o the religous practices alone of the Hindus.
People who had a religion have given the name Hinduism to the religious practices of the people of the Indian sub-continent .Religion as an exclusive group was unknown to the Hindus .

Answer 6

This is likely to be wrong:

Hinduism is a religion that i mainly in India and that area.

They believe in many Gods the three main ones are Vishnu(maintainer), Shiva(destroyer) and [not sure](creater).

One thing that i am sure about is that they believe in reincarnation.

They have temples and deities. I wouldn't call it a culture.

Answer 7

Hinduism is a religion and it allows many different kinds of beliefs. They believe in the law of karma and the burden of their actions are heavy. They believe in many gods (brahman) rather than just the one. They believe that Jesus is a wise teacher and that he occasionally comes to earth as an avatar. Also, they believe that the only way to salvation is by works.
I honestly hope that you aren't interested in this religion to become involved in it. There is only one God and he loved you enough to send his only son to die for you. (John 3:16). God forgives your every move and salvation is free, you don't have to work for it. All you have to do is believe.

Answer 8

It is an Indo-Aryan culture. Not founded by a single individual.World's largest religion

Answer 9

This is the beauty of Sanatan Dharma.. it is all of them... and still beyond them

The back bone of hinduism is its deep philosophy, which many other religions lack.

temples, idols, rituals all make just 5-10% of hinduism are tip of the iceberg

The real hinduism lies in its deep philosophies of Vedanta, Sankhya, Yoga, Tantra, dealing mainly with mysteries of Life, death, universe, God etc

Hinduism does not condemn non-hindus to hell or call them ignorant.... atheists included

Answer 10

It is all of those things. I heard you cannot be a true Hindu unless you are born of Indian heritage. It's also one of the oldest religions.