It is the main religion of India. It has had a huge impact on the culture of this country and is one of the oldest world religions. The number of Hindu believers in India exceeds 300 million.

Unlike other major Asian religions, Hinduism originated on the basis of the teachings of a single personality, but developed organically, creating its own philosophy, religion and culture.

The multitude of sources of Hinduism, along with a huge number of sacred texts and a variety of forms of its practice, has made this religion almost inaccessible to the understanding of the uninitiated.

Hinduism talks about the existence of gods, life after death and assumes a certain way of life for believers. The main ideas in Hindu doctrine are the idea of overpopulation of souls and karma. According to the first, the soul moves from one body to another according to its deeds. Gods, humans, animals, and demons are locked in this cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

The nature of a transmigrated soul's new life is determined by karma (which means "action", "deed", "deed"). How a person behaves in this life will determine his happiness or troubles in the next. So, a withered hand in this life can be a punishment for the fact that violence was committed with this hand in a previous life.

Hindus believe that this cycle of reincarnation will not stop until a person attains spiritual perfection. Then the soul passes into a new state (moksha) and does not return from it.

It is also believed that there are terrible purgatories underground, where the souls of terrible sinners are tormented until they atone for their sins: then they come back to earth. In the ideas of karma and rebirth, Hinduism coincides with Buddhism.

But the followers of Hinduism are polytheists.: They believe in the existence of many gods. Hindus believe that although the deities appear in different guises, they are all part of a single spirit, Brahman (translated from Sanskrit, this word means "absolute", or "spirit of the world"). Three main deities are identified: Brahma, the creator of the universe; Vishnu, its protector; Shiva, its destroyer.

Another important deity in Hinduism is Shiva's wife, who has several names: Durga, Kali, Parvati and Uma. She is the goddess of motherhood and at the same time the terrible goddess of destruction. For many Hindus, these contrasting goddess essences reflect how time and matter slowly move from birth to death and from creation to destruction.

According to the doctrine of Hinduism, not only humans have souls, but also animals. Hindus worship many animals as gods. Cows are the most sacred animals for them, but monkeys, snakes, etc. are also revered.

Hindus do not pray together, but alone. Most Hindu temples have a large altar dedicated to one of their main gods or goddesses, and several small ones dedicated to lesser deities. The main shrine in the temple is a sculptural image of the deity. Hindus consider this sculpture to be a living being. For example, every day the priest washes, clothes and feeds the idols. Hindus do not consider this idolatry: they believe that the spirit of the deity really dwells in the images.

Believers observe many Hindu rituals at home. Most dwellings have altars dedicated to the deity chosen by the family, and husband and wife perform daily rituals. Many important ceremonies take place at home, including the initiation of boys into the Hindu community, weddings, and rituals related to pregnancy and childbirth.

Hinduism is the basis of the caste system in India, which determines the way of life of many Hindus. There are four castes, or varnas. Here they are, arranged in order of importance:

- Brahmins, or priests.
- Kshatriyas, sovereigns and warriors.
- Vaishyas, merchants and landowners.
- Sudras, farmhands, workers and servants.

These castes include thousands of podcasts, each with its own rules of conduct. For centuries, there was a large group of so-called "untouchables" outside the caste system, which was lower in importance than the lowest caste. Over time, India's caste system weakened. Some social boundaries have been erased, especially in cities. Many educated Indians from different castes communicate freely with each other. Nevertheless, the caste system still strongly influences life in India. Scopri FEZbet e inizia a giocare oggi.