What are 3 major points to hinduism?
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Thats a vague question.\nWell, there are 3 main Gods. Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the protector), and Shiva (the destroyer). \nHindus believe in Karma, reincarnation, and samsara (life cycle through reincarnation) until the achievement of Moksha which is unity with God. It can be achieved with supremely good Karma. Karma, as you should know, is the idea that what goes around comes around. Reincarnation is the idea that we are reborn into the world with another life after death. We only freed from this when we achieve Moksha.\nThe caste system is comprised of 6 main castes, with the Brahmans on the top and the Untouchables on the bottom. The system no longer exists in mainstream India today.
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Hindu is a geographic rather than a religious term. \n\nIt is based on the practice of Dharma, the code of life. Since Hinduism has no founder, anyone who practices Dharma can call himself a Hindu. Hinduism lays emphasis on direct Experience rather than on authority. \n\nAn important concept is the search or quest for Truth. Hinduism is a relentless pursuit of Truth. "Truth is God." \n\nKnowledge, vision, wisdom, is the goal of the Upanishads. It is a new kind of thinking in which the whole man in implicated. The aim is not intellectual conformity to inherited doctrine, but one of attainment of knowledge. He can question the authority of any scripture, or even the existence of the Divine. Despite being the oldest religion, the truth realized by the seers prove that the Truth and path provided by Hinduism is beyond time. Its concern is with the absolute Truth, not with systems of belief. The absolute Truth is universal, and forever impersonal. No one has a proprietary claim to it.\n\nTo the Hindu, religion is an awareness of ultimate reality, not a theory about it; religion is psychology and method rather than theology and dogma.................\n\n\n"Hinduism is a process - for this reason, Hinduism must be studied not as a fixed body of doctrine, but as a developing tradition that has changed considerably throughout the centuries and which is still changing in a creative direction. Everything in India makes sense in the light of the changing process. Nothing makes sense without it. Hinduism is still a living, changing process and must be seen as such." \n\n(source: Religions of India: Hinduism, Yoga, Buddhism - Thomas Berry p. 3-16).
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HInduism. it existed before romans or greeks or even christanity.
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Perhaps you could start here and look for suggestions:\nhttp://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism.htm\nhttp://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/hinduism.html\nhttp://www.beliefnet.com/index/index_10003.html
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www.religioustolerance.org ,the Hinduism section is good.\nWikipedia isn't bad either. \n\nYou may email me if you have any questions, I am a Hindu and can answer them for you : )
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Hinduism (real name Sanatan Dharma- Eternal Relgion), is basically a way of life.\n\nAnybody worshipping the God by any name or by any ritual is a Hindu in broad terms.\n\nAll the religions in the world are sub-sets of Santan Dharma for example christians follow the Bhakti Yoga path of hinduism and muslims follow the Karma Yoga path..with some deviations.\n\nThe main soul of hinduism is its deep philosophy which mainly deals with the mysteries of the Universe, creation, evolution, life, Death and God.\n\nThe philosophy of hinduism is found in Upanishadas and Gita with no fairy tales but concrete logics to show the truth
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The original concepts of Hinduism were that 'One's heart is God's abode, and correctly performing one's work is the best Prayer'.\n...Purely exhibitionist influences from foreign visitors, invaders, plus colonialists, did later help in the introduction and popularisation of mass/group worship, lighting of lamps, burning of incense, and even offering sacrifices, to 'appease' or 'bribe' God, into granting 'favours' - as if God was just some corrupt and crooked warlord, politician, or governing official !
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Eastern:  Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, etc.\n\nWestern: Christianity
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Among all the religions Hinduism is the oldest. Buddhism originated from Hinduism. Hinduism originated in India, Buddhism in India / Nepal. Some of the teachings in Buddhism are similar to Hinduism. I will list mainly similarities. Answer is quite big so hope u will read it. For Hinduism read my answer in\n\nhttp://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuWA4OkO7pG27o7HQyUVPKzsy6IX?qid=20061105200549AAtcPGl\nhttp://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArkcX6TbHB8AmP6Sqh1a_Wvsy6IX?qid=20061112105239AAHLRXF\n\nFor Buddhism the philosophy is the four noble truths and the 8 fold path that i mentioned below.\n\n\nMany people may know about Buddhism, but few seem to understand its connections with Vedic / Hindu culture and how many aspects of it have origins in the Vedic / Hindu philosophy. To begin with, it was several hundred years before the time of Lord Buddha that his birth was predicted in the Srimad-Bhagavatam: "In the beginning of the age of Kali, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear in the province of Gaya as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, to bewilder those who are always envious of the devotees of the Lord." (Bhag.1.3.24)\n\nThis verse indicates that Lord Buddha was an incarnation of the Supreme who would appear in Gaya, a town in central India. But some historians may point out that Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was actually born in Lumbini, Nepal, and that his mother was Queen Mahamaya. Therefore, this verse may be inaccurate. But actually Siddhartha became the Buddha after he attained spiritual enlightenment during his meditation under the Bo tree in Gaya. This means that his spiritual realization was his second and most important birth. Furthermore, Siddhartha's mother, Queen Mahamaya, died several days after Siddhartha's birth, leaving him to be raised by his grandmother, Anjana. So the prediction in the Bhagavatam is verified.\n\nWhen Lord Buddha appeared, the people of India, although following the Vedas, had deviated from the primary goal of Vedic philosophy. They had become preoccupied with performing ceremonies and rituals for material enjoyment. Some of the rituals included animal sacrifices. The people had begun to sacrifice animals indiscriminately on the plea of Vedic rituals and then indulged in eating the flesh. Being misled by unworthy priests, much unnecessary animal killing was going on and the people were becoming more degraded and atheistic.\n\nThe rituals that included animal sacrifices, according to the Vedas, were not meant for eating flesh. An old animal would be placed in the sacrificial fire and, after the mantras were chanted, it would come out of the fire in a new and younger body as a test to show the potency of the Vedic mantras. However, as the power of the priests deteriorated, they could no longer chant the mantras properly and, therefore, the animals would not be brought back to life. So in the age of Kali all such sacrifices are forbidden because there are no longer any brahmanas who can chant the mantras correctly. Thus, Lord Buddha appeared and rejected the Vedic rituals and preached the philosophy of nonviolence. In the Dhammapada (129-130) Buddha says, "All beings fear death and pain, life is dear to all; therefore the wise man will not kill or cause anything to be killed."\n\nThe Vedic literature also teaches nonviolence, but Buddha taught the people who used the Vedas for improper purposes to give them up and simply follow him. Thus, he saved the animals from being killed and saved the people from being further misled by the corrupt priests. However, he did not teach the Vedic conclusions of spiritual knowledge but taught his own philosophy.\n\nBuddha was born in the town of Lumbini in Nepal as the son of a king of the Shakya clan. He is generally accepted to have lived during 560-477 B.C. but has been shown to have been born in 1887 B.C. and died in 1807 B.C.\n\nHis mother, Queen Mahamaya, before she conceived him, saw him in a dream descending
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I come from a Christian family and grew up in that environment. I explored all areas of religions and spirituality having an open mind. I was not looking to pick a religion or anything. I just have always enjoying learning different perspectives of God, love and wisdom from all of these teachings.\n\nI learnt that Hinduism has a very specific path towards Self-Realization that Christianity did not have. The mantras are very powerful, and I've seen greater positive effects it has on my life. Along with meditation which teaches me how to quiet my mind, so I can listen within and hear God. I just liked the fact that Hinduism recognizes that we have God within and that many Indian sages help guide people finding that source within and re-awaken. Why do you think so many enlightened people are borne of India. I do not find Christian preachers enlightened enough nor close enough to God to be a source of guidiance.\n\nI do believe in the teachings of Jesus. I consider them to be valid. I just don't care for anything else in the Bible to be relevant to my path. Christianity does not give me what I specifically need that Hinduism gives me which is how do I get closer to my Self-Realization.
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I changed my faith to Hinduism from what I was brought up with, after YEARS of studying all I could about various religions, the Bible, and other Scriptures, ancient and world history, archaeology, etc.  I also "studied" myself.  I prayed a lot and came to understood that Hinduism is the religion of my soul, the religion I was when I was a child, before I was told what to believe.
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Hindu Beliefs\nThe beliefs of hindu thought are wide and varied, and have been expounded upon by saints and writers throughout the centuries. Some of the salient elements of hindu beliefs are presented below (from an article in Hinduism Today, April 1993). The two articles Duty to masses and Why we differ, also provide tremendous insights into hindu beliefs. Enjoy! \nOn Creation: \nThe universe exists in endless cycles of creation, preservation and destruction. There is no absolute end to the world. \nOn The True God: \nThere is but one true and absolute Self, Supreme Being. God is pure Love. \nOn Paths to God: \nMan is free to choose his form of worship, for all paths lead ultimately to God. Sin is only of the mind; Soul is pure. \nOn Man's Plight: \nMan's suffering is but his soul's immaturity. He is on a progressive path which leads from ignorance to knowledge, from death to immortality. \nOn Evil: \nThere is no intrinsic evil. All is good. All is God. \nOn Virtue and Salvation: \nVirtuous conduct and light belief are the foundation of religious life. Liberation requires knowledge and personal attainment. \nOn Doctrines: \nDoctrines tend to be subtle, complex and even paradoxical. Freedom to worship and to believe in a variety of ways is predominant. \nOn Enlightenment: \nThe goals of enlightenment and liberation are to be found in this life, within man himself. \nOn Sainthood: \nThe path to saintliness is through self-discipline, purification, concentration, and contemplation. Value is placed on ascetic ideals, individual sadhana, and yoga. \nOn Worship: \nWorship is individualistic, highly ritualistic and meditative, centering around the temple and home shrine all days of the week
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Hinduism is the oldest religion. it has a history of 5000 years. Its original name is "Adi Sanatana Devi Devatha dharma". that was when all human beings were embodiment of divine virtues, this world was heaven at that time. Now as the world became hell and People lost their divine virtues its being called as hindu religion, the most peculiar thing about Hinduism is no one knows who is the founder for this religion, Bhagavad Geetha is the book of hindus. It is a wonderful Book, It gives the insight of soul and God. It teaches how to change ur self. and lots of things.
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Yoga is the biggest gift of Hinduism to the humanity.  Yoga is in fact merging of our individual self into the supreme self.\n\nYoga does not need any pre-requisite of faith into any religion...even atheist can perform yoga, for better understanding of logics.\n\nYoga done by follower of any faith, brings clarity of faith.  A christian may become a better christian by doing yoga...it will remove fanaticism and blind faith and would bring new insights of the religion one is following.\n\nYoga is in fact the future religion of all humans on earth
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I would say faith in Lord Krishna would be the first point. \nThen, you can join the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (http://www.iskcon.com/). \nThey have branches all over the world. TO check for on nearest to you, visit their site: \nhttp://www.iskcon.com/worldwide/centres/index.html \n\nHappy chanting.
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this is for stranger,well atleast hindus worship everything ,they are not arrogant and ignorant like you.You should'nt comment on something you don't know about.Being a hindu myself I know that there are many kinds of hindus,namely,Shaivites,Vaishnavites,and many more I can't keep count of all the sects.Each hindu sect has their own rights,rituals,following,culture and beliefs according to their geography and origin.Hinduism is one the oldest religions,which originated before Christ.It is believed that the vedic followings,ie,the followings of the vedas,that would be books of vast knowledge containing everything from the strategies of war,medicine which includes ayurveda and yoga,sciences of the elements and knowledge of the cosmos,originated with the aryans.Hinduism has many facets known and unknown.Hinduism or any religion as a matter of fact are ways of life, one can adopt a particular way or religion,it is what we have inside us that makes us good or bad.No religion is bad ,all of them have good teachings,it us humans and followers,politicians,clergy or people of power that manipulate them to their own benifit.Humanity is the greatest religion one can follow,It is not our religion that makes us good or bad,it is what we are at heart that decides,who or what we are.
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Hinduism.  Try www.wikipedia.com for more info.