Watch Hindu for more just about world health organization the Hindu is & different communities of Hindus.

Core Concepts
The Eternal Way
"The Eternal Values" (inside Sanskrit सनातन धर्म, Sanātana Dharma), its traditional name, speaks to the idethe that certain spiritual information hang on to evermore avowedly, transcending human-synthetic constructs, representing a pure science of consciousness. This consciousness is does'nt however that of the person or even mind & intellect, but of the otherworldly state that lives in & beyond my being, a unsullied Soul of completely. Religion to the Hindu is the eternal seek for the divine Brahman, the Supreme Reality.

Hinduism's aspiration is better expressed in the charted sutra:

Basic beliefs

What may exist as said to be park to a lot Hindus is the belief inside Dharma (Duties and obligations), Reincarnation (rebirth), Karma (cause & symptom relationship), & Moksha (salvation) of every soul across the kind of paths, like Bhakti (devotion), Karma (action) & Jnana (cognition). Reincarnation or even a soul's transmigration across the period of birth & demise, until it attains Moksha, is governed by Karma. A philosophy of Karma lays forth river a final result of yours free!-willed actions, which leave their imprint on the soul. These actions determines a course of life & a life span for the soul inside its subsequent life. Virgin actions choose the soul nearer to the divine supreme & lead to a birth by owning higher-consciousness. Evil actions hinder this recognition of a divine supreme & the soul requires moo forms of worldly life. Tons being, by the Hinduism, from either vegetation to human beings, come cases to the eternal Dharma, which is the law. Liberatiin from either this page being & period of birth & demise, to join or even even email a Universal spirit or God (based on belief), is called moksha, which is the ultimate goal of Hindus.

A more information include a guru/chela dynamic, the Divinity of Word of OM and the power of mantras (religious hymn), manifestations of Gods spirit altogether forms of being; that is an understanding that a necessary spark of the Divine (Atman/Brahman) is in each residing existence. It allow several spiritual paths leading to the 1 Ultimate Reality.

Practice (Yoga Dharma)
Hinduism includes the kind of practices, primarily spiritual devotion (Bhakti Yoga), selfless service (Karma Yoga), knowledge & meditation (Jnana or even Raja Yoga). Which are actually described in the deuce main texts of Hindu Yoga: The Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras. A Upanishads are also crucial as a philosophic foundation for these practices. the yogwhen provide a kind of replacement paths (or even faiths) that links together various hindu beliefs & can likewise exist as utilized to categorize non-hindu beliefs that come seen as paths to moksha, or nirvana.

The four goals of life
A second major aspect of Hindu dharma that is park to practically completely Hindus is that of purushartha, a "four objectives of life". It is kama, artha, dharma and moksha. These are said that 100% human being search kama (pleasure, physical or even emotional) & artha (poop wealth), however presently, using maturity, study to govern these legitimate desires inside the higher, framework of dharma, all told. Naturally, a exclusively goal that is truly ultimate, whose attainment effects within ultimate happiness, is moksha (salvation), (a.k.the. Mukti (spiritual liberation), Samadhi, Nirvana, etc.) from Samsara (a.k.the. period of birth & demise).

The four stages of life
Ideally, a person life is divided into 4 Ashramas ("phases" or "stages"). It is Brahmacharya, Grihasthya, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa. A number of these quarter of one's life, Brahmacharya ("meditation in Brahma") is spent around celibate, controlled, sober and pure contemplation of under a Guru, building up mind for the realization of truth. Grihastya is the householder's stage, alternatively called samsara, in which of these marries & satisfies kama and artha within a married life & professional career. Vanaprastha is gradual detachment from the material world, ostensibly yielding above duties to a single's kids, spending additional instance inside contemplation of the Divine, and making holy pilgrimages. Eventually, within sanyasa, a person goes into seclusion, typically envisioned when a renunciation, to locate God across detachment from either worldly life & peacefully shed the system for the next life.

Nature of God

A Vedas depict Brahman as the Ultimate Reality, by owning completely more Gods emanating therefrom. Brahman (does'nt to exist as confused using Brahma) is seen as a Universal Spirit. Brahman is the ultimate, two transcendent and immanent the absolute infinite existence, the summation of tons that ever is, was, or even ever is.

In addition, rather Abrahamic religions which suppose withinside household God, Hindus as well believe in God that emanates from either Brahman, like Shiva & Vishnu.

Brahman is take for while forgoing family attributes (Nirguna Brahman) or by owning attributes (Saguna Brahman)as God. Around Vaishnavism & Shaivism, Saguna Brahman is God viewed when mostly male as around Vishnu or Shiva. God's power (or even even energy) is personified when female or Shakti. Yet, God & God's energy come indivisible, one, & a equivalent. A analogy is that fire is God and the actual heat Shakti. Based on data from Smarta views, God can be by having attributes, Saguna Brahman, and by using whatever attributes, (e.g., the female God) the fan conceives.

Though a lot a different paths of Moksha (salvation) come, to various extents, acknowledged by all denominations, the actual conception of Brahman & its nature and severity is what differentiates the two. These are significant to note that Hinduism occurs as monotheistic religion (or even thomas more precisely, the henotheistic a single).

Denominations
Apiece of Hinduisms little joe denominations part rituals, beliefs, traditions and personalized immortal by using 1 the second, however apiece sect has a different philosophy in training achieve life's ultimate goal (moksa, salvatiin) and on their construct of God (Ishwara). Even so, to each one denomination respects everthing others, & conflict of any form is uncommon.

Contemporary Hinduism is currently divided into quatern major divisions, Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, & Smartism. Even as Jews, Christians, & Muslims a lot guess inside a single God however differ around their conceptions of Him, Hindus everthing guess in of these God however differ in their conceptions. Them primary form of differences come between a sects of Vaishnavism which conceives God as Vishnu, and Shaivism which conceives God as Shiva. Shaktism worships the Goddess Devi or alternatively (in which these are take for a subsect of Shaivism) when a energy of Shiva. Smartism, around direct contrast, believes all told paths existence a equivalent & leading to a single God or even source, whatever of these chooses to call for a Ultimate Reality. A Trimurti concept (also known when a Hindu trinity) of Smartism denotes a tercet aspects of God as Brahma a Author, Vishnu a Preserver, & Shiva a Destroyer.

When by a http://adherents.com/adh_branches.html#Hinduism Adherents.com the majority of Hindus are Vaishnavas, though typically mixing within a select few aspects of the Smarta viewpoint.

Smartism

A Smarta perspective dominates a learn from of Hinduism in the West. Smartas invariably watch Advita (monist) philosophy, seeing multiple manifestations emanating from either one source known as Brahman. These are seen when ultimate unity, sustaining a family Gods existence different manifestations of Brahman which may be known as by different list." Smartism is the only branch of Hinduism that adopts these ideas strictly.

Vaishnavism
A Vaishnavite considers Vishnu as the Supreme God, and consider other Gods as subordinate. Accordingly, many Vaishnavites, for example, believe that Vishnu grants ultimately moksha. Vaisnavites, consider worship of other Gods as secondary because Lord Krishna, avatar of Vishnu, and God in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, says in the Gita :

Whatever deity or form a devotee worships,their wishes are granted by Me (Gita: 7:21-22)

O Arjuna, even those devotees who worship other subordinate deities (e.g., Devas, for example) with faith, they also worship Me, but in a different way because I am the Supreme Being. I alone am the enjoyer of all sacrificial services (Seva, Yajna) and Lord of the universe (Gita: 9:23).

Shaivism

Similar to Vaishnavism, many Shaivites hold that God Shiva is the Supreme and all other deities sprung forth from him. They follow either monistic or dualistic philosophies.

Shaktism

Shaktas worship Shakti (or Devi) in all of her forms, whilst not rejecting the importance of masculine and neuter divinity. The "History of the Shakta Religion" explains that The Shaktas conceive their Great Goddess as the personification of primordial energy and the source of all divine and cosmic evolution. She is identified with the Supreme Being, conceived as the Source and the Spring as well as the Controller of all the forces and potentialities of Nature. It is associated with Vedanta, Samkhya and Tantra philosophies, is ultimately monist, and has a rich tradition of Bhakti yoga associated with it.

Shaivite views often consider Shaktism to be sub-denomination of Saivism, arguing that Devi is worshipped as female in order to attain union with Siva, who in Saivism is the male counterpart of Devi.

Hindu sacred texts

The overwhelming majority of Hindu sacred texts are composed in the Sanskrit language. Indeed, much of the morphology and linguistic philosophy inherent in the learning of Sanskrit is sometimes claimed to be inextricably linked to study of the Vedas and relevant Hindu scriptures.

Shruti
The Vedas (literally Knowledge) are considered as Shruti (revealed) by Hindus. While the overwhelming majority of Hindus may never read the Vedas, there prevails in them a reverence for this transcendental notion of Eternal Knowledge. The four Vedas (the Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva Vedas) are various shakhas or branches of knowledge. Depending on the branch, different commentaries and instructions are associated with each Veda. The oldest of these from the point of view of modern indology are the Brahmanas and the Shrautasutras and Grhyasutras form a younger stratum dealing with domestic ritual. The Aranyakas and the Upanishads were originally esoteric, mystical teachings. The Upanishads set Hindu philosophy apart with its embrace of transcendent and yet multiple immanent forces that is subjective to each man, seen by some as an identification of unity in diversity. Modern indology suggests that while early Hinduism is most reliant on the four Vedas, Classical Hinduism, from the Yoga and Vedanta to Tantra and Bhakti streams, was moulded around the Upanishads.

Bhagavad Gita
A core sacred text of Hinduism and its philosophy, the Bhagavad Gita, often referred to as the Gita, is a summation of the Vedic, Yogic, Vedantic and Tantric philosophies. The Bhagavad Gita, meaning "song of the Lord", refers to itself as a 'Yoga Upanishad' and is sometimes called Gītopanişad. It expounds on Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga.

While technically it is considered as Smriti text, it has singularly achieved nearly the status of Shruti, or revealed knowledge. This Gita is easy to follow and is also one of the most popular book in Hinduism. Unlike the Vedas that are most esoteric and intricate, the Gita is read by many practising Hindus.

Smriti
The post- Vedic Hindu texts form the latter category, the most notable of which are the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, major epics considered sacred by all followers of Sanatana Dharma. Their stories are arguably familiar to the vast majority of Hindus. Other texts considered important by today's Hindus include the Devi Mahatmya, an ode to Devi, the Divine Mother, and the Yoga Sutras, a key meditative yoga text of Shri Patanjali. There are also a number of revered Hindu Tantras, Puranas and Sutras that command the respect of various Hindu sects of different persuasion, some including the Mahanirvana Tantra, Tirumantiram and Shiva Sutras. Other important scriptures are the sectarian Hindu Agamas which are texts related to rituals and worship and is dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva and Devi.

Origins, definition and society

Origins of Hinduism

Hinduism is the world's oldest major religion in existence. From a Hindu perspective, the Sanatana Dharma is eternal, Universal principles with no beginning or end. Modern indology suggests that Hinduism developed sometime between 1500-1300 BCE based on the linguistic and literary dating of the Rig Veda, claimed the oldest of the Hindu spiritual texts. Hindu puranas place Lord Krishna's birth at a date 3100 B.C. Krishna was preceded by an incarnation as Lord Rama which is sometimes dated at over 5,000 B.C. It is believed by many Hindus that their religious tradition was fully formed by the time of Lord Rama's incarnation, which was believed to be the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. If this is true, this makes the religion much older than previously thought, though no evidence exist from those times to confirm this.

The origin of collective Hindu thought cannot be ascribed to any single founder (though most of its later schools of philosophy and belief can be), or associated with a specific time or a single place of foundation. The Vedas, the earliest Hindu scriptures, are the compilation of spiritual laws and truths binding upon all of creation. It is believed that each Veda was revealed to enlightened sages over a long period of time in the remote past. The term 'Hindu' itself is a corrupt form of the word 'Sindhu', which literally means 'dweller across the Indus Valley'. The religion is often named (more appropriately) as Sanatana Dharma in all of its books.

Vedic religion

Modern Hinduism grew out of the knowledge described in the Vedas. The earliest of these, the Rigveda centres on worship of the gods Indra and Agni, and on the Soma ritual. The Ashvamedha was the most important sacrifice described in the Yajurveda, possibly performed for the last time by Samudragupta in the 4th century. The age and origins of the Vedas themselves are disputed, but it is clear that they were transmitted orally for several millennia. They show strong similarities to the language and religion of the Avesta, which are sometimes traced back to either the influence of the 3rd millennium BC Indus Valley Civilisation, or to a 2nd millennium BC Indo-Iranian migration (see Aryan invasion theory), or to a combination of these.

Caste system
The four Hindu varnas (literally, 'colors') or castes are Brahmins (priests, learned men), Kshatriyas (warriors & royalty), Vaishyas (artisans & craftsmen) and Sudras (farmers). These divisions are based upon the duties to society and the different varnas are meant to work together towards the general welfare of the society.

The hereditary nature of caste and whether it is sanctioned by the scriptures is the subject of much discussion and controversy. In spite of centuries of numerous reform movements, notably within Vedanta, bhakti yoga and Hindu streams of Tantra, and reformers, with recent stalwarts like Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi, caste based marriages is so deeply ensconced in the Indian consciousness that even Christian converts have been known to adopt such practices. A number of Muslim communities have retained caste practices as well.

Caste still plays a significant role in Hindu society especially for marriage. However, post Independence, caste-based discrimination has been illegitimised. There is provision for reverse discrimination and measures such as backward caste quotas in collegiate admissions and jobs have been implemented by the government. [http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2001/10/19/stories/05192524.htm]. Caste-based quotas have been controversial with various political parties exploiting these sub-divisions for electoral gain.

Hindutva
Main Articles: Hindutva, Hindu Rashtra,

In the 20th century, emerging Indian nationalism began to emphasise Hinduism, in opposition to the British Raj, but also in contrast to Islam, and after Independence in connection with the territorial disputes with Pakistan. Such nationalistic Hinduism is generally termed Hindutva ("Hinduness", paradoxically not a well-formed Sanskrit word, since "Hindu" is a Persian word), but the boundaries are fluid and the Indian Supreme Court ruled that "there are no exact meaning may be ascribed to the terms 'Hindu', 'Hindutva' & 'Hinduism'; & there are no meaning in the abstract might confine it to the narrow restricts of religion alone, excluding the content of Indian culture & heritage." Hindutva ideology was enunciated first by Savarkar in his seminal work 'Hindutva'. Hindutva ideology rose to importance in Indian politics in the 1980s and is chiefly associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh movement. It has come to symbolise the rising bi-polarisation of Indian polity in the late 1990's and the first decade of the 21st century, evident in the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the same period.

Temples
Hindu temples inherited rich and ancient rituals and customs, and have occupied a special place in Hindu society. They are usually dedicated to a primary deity, called the presiding deity, and other subordinate deities associated with the main deity. However, some mandirs are dedicated to multiple deities. Most major temples are constructed as per the aagama shastras.

Temples are a place for darshan (vision of the divine), puja, meditation, and religious congregation among other religious activities. Puja or worship, frequently uses the aid of a murti (statue-like image) in conjunction with the singing or chanting of meditational prayer in the form of mantras. Devotional songs called bhajans (written primarily from the 14th-17th centuries), kirtan (devotional songs), and arti are sometimes sung in conjunction with performance of puja. This rather organic system of devotion attempts to aid the individual in connecting with God through symbolic communion.

The temple culture and tradition has been undergoing dramatic changes, partly due to the deteriorating values in society. Similarly, the unique institute of sacred temple dancers and artists, devadasis, has gone through many upheavals.

Most practising Hindus maintain a mandir (temple) in their neighbourhood for daily worship and meditation.

Current geographic distribution

Of the total Hindu population of the world, about 94% (890 million) live in India (ie. Bharat). Other countries with a significant number of Hindu communities include:

Nepal (23 million) Bangladesh (14.4 million) Indonesia (4.3 million) Pakistan (2.5 million) Sri Lanka (3 million) Malaysia (1.5 million) The United States (1.5 million) South Africa (1.1 million) Middle East (1 million) The United Kingdom (800,000) Russia (700,000) Mauritius (600,000) Bhutan (560,000) Trinidad and Tobago (330,000) Canada (320,000) Fiji (340,000) Guyana (300,000) Netherlands (250,000) Singapore (160,000) Suriname (110,000) Kenya (100,000) Germany (100,000) Australia (60,000) France (50,000) Switzerland (50,000)

The Indonesian islands of Bali, Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra, and Borneo have significant native Hindu populations. Bali's major religion is Hinduism and is still reflected on the traditional Balinese culture and architecture.

Hindu philosophy: the six Vedic schools of thought

The six Astika or orthodox (accepting the authority of the Vedas) schools of Hindu philosophy are Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa (also called just 'Mimamsa'), and Uttara Mimamsa (also called 'Vedanta'). The non-Vedic schools are called Nastika, or heterodox, and refer to Buddhism, Jainism and Lokayata. The schools that continue to enrich Hinduism today are Purva Mimamsa, Yoga, and Vedanta. See Hindu philosophy for a discussion of the historical significance of Samkhya, Nyaya, and Vaisheshika.

Purva Mimamsa
The main objective of the Purva ("earliest") Mimamsa school was to establish the authority of the Vedas. Consequently this school's most valuable contribution to Hinduism was its formulation of the rules of interpretation of Vedas. Its adherents believed that revelation must be consistent with reasoning, that it should not be accepted blindly as dogma. This school of thought led to later development of advaita philosophy which is key to the Sanatana/Hindu Dharma and was especially championed by philosophers like Adi Sankara and Swami Vivekananda.

Yoga

The Yoga system is generally considered to have arisen from the Samkhya philosophy. The yoga referred to here, however, is specifically Raja Yoga (or meditational union). It is based on the sage Patanjali's extremely influential text entitled the Yoga Sutra, which is essentially a compilation and systematisation of meditational Yoga philosophy that came before. Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita are also indispensable literature in the study of Yoga.

The most significant difference from Samkhya is that the Yoga school not only incorporates the concept of Ishvara (a God with physical attributes) into its metaphysical world view but also that it holds Ishvara as the ideal upon which to meditate. This is because Ishvara is the only aspect of purusha (the infinite Divine Ground) that has not become entangled with prakrti (the temporal creative forces). It also utilises the Brahman/Atman concepts that are found in depth in the Upanishads, adopting Vedantic monist concepts. Realisation of the goal of Yoga is known as moksha or samadhi. It, like the Upanishads, seeks realisation of the self or Atman which is none other than the infinite Brahman through meditational, physical and spritual practices.

Uttara Mimamsa: the three schools of Vedanta
The Uttara ("late") Mimamsa school is perhaps one of the cornerstone movements of Hinduism and certainly was responsible for a new wave of philosophical and meditative enquiry, renewal and revival of Hinduism, and established strong philosophical foundation. Primarily associated with the Upanishads and their commentary by Badarayana, the Vedanta Sutras, Vedanta thought, according to the pre-Shankaran Buddhist sources (Aryadeva, Kamalashila, Bhavya) monotheistic, later split into three groups, initiated by the thinking and writing of Adi Sankara. Most Hindu thought today in some way relates to changes affected by Vedantic thought, which focused on unity of all God. The great debate between followers the major Hindu philosophical school, Advaita and the schools such as those of Ramanuja and Madhva, focused on the true nature of Brahman, on whether Brahman was essentially monistic, qualified non-dualistic or dualistic in nature.

Pure monism: Advaita
Advaita literally means "non ii"; thus this is what we refer to as a monistic (or non-dualistic) philosophy, which emphasises oneness of all God. Its proponent was Sankara (788?-820?). Sankara expounded his theories largely based on previous teachings of the Upanishads and his own guru Govinda Bhagavadpada. By the analysis of consciousness, he exposed the relative nature of the Universe and established the non-dual nature of Brahman in which Atman (the individual soul) and Brahman (the Ultimate Reality) are identified to be identical.

To Advaitists (nondualists) Ultimate Reality is best expressed as Nirguna Brahman, or God without form, or God without physical attributes; indeed, some might go so far as to say it is not 'God' but something beyond. However, even that definition can be limiting. Nirguna Brahman can never be described as that as It transcends all definitions. All personal forms of God (Ishwara) such as Vishnu or Shiva are different aspects of Nirguna Brahman in physical form, or God with attributes, Saguna Brahman. God's energy is personified as Devi, the Divine Mother. For Vaishnvaites who follow Ramanuja's philosophy, Devi is Lakshmi, who is the Mother of all and who pleads with Vishnu for mankind for salvation. For Shaivites, Devi is Parvati. For Shaktas, who worship Devi, Devi is the physical form of God. See Advaita for more.

Qualified monism: Vishistadvaita
Ramanuja (1040 - 1137) was the foremost proponent of the concept of Sriman Narayana as the supreme Brahman. He taught that Ultimate Reality had three aspects: Isvara (Vishnu), cit (soul) and acit (matter). Vishnu is the only independent reality, while souls and matter are dependent on God Vishnu for their existence. Because of this qualification of Ultimate reality, Ramanuja's system is known as qualified non-dualism.

Dualism: Dvaita
Like Ramanuja, Madhva (1238 - 1317) identified God with Vishnu, but his view of reality was purely dualistic in that he understood a fundamental differentiation between the ultimate Godhead and the individual soul, and the system is therefore called Dvaita (dualistic) Vedanta.

Alternative cultures of worship

The Bhakti schools
Essentially, it is God who effects all change, who is the source of all works, who acts through the devotee as love and light. 'Sins' and evil-doings of the devotee are said to fall away of their own accord, the devotee shriven, limitedness even transcended, through the devotion of God. The Bhakti movements rejuvenated Hinduism through their intense expression of devotion and their responsiveness to the emotional and philosophical needs of India.

Altogether, bhakti resulted in a mass of devotional literature, music and art that has enriched the world and given India renewed spiritual impetus, one eschewing elaborate rituals.

Tantra
Extolled as a short-cut to self-realization and spiritual enlightenment by some, left-hand tantric rites are often rejected as dangerous by most orthodox Hindus. Tantra can be concisely described as the black sheep of Hindu yoga.

The word "tantra" means "treatise" or "continuum", and is applied to a variety of mystical, occult, medical and scientific works as well as to those which we would now regard as "tantric". Most tantras were written in the middle ages and sprang from Hindu cosmology and Yoga.

Important symbolism and themes in Hinduism

Tika (symbol on forehead or between eyebrows)

The laltika (or bindi) (seen left) is a religious symbol sometimes denoting marriage. It is also believed to symbolise the need to cultivate supramental consciousness, which is achieved by opening the mystic "third eye."

Hindus stress meditation to acquire knowledge beyond the mind and body, a trait that is often associated with the ascetic god Shiva. Men, too, will bear on their foreheads the equivalent tika (tilaka) mark, usually on religious occasions, its shape often representing particular devotion to a certain main deity: a 'U' shape stands for Vishnu, a group of three horizontal lines for Shiva. It is not uncommon for some to meld both in an amalgam marker signifying Hari-Hara (Vishnu-Shiva indissoluble).

Ahimsa (non-violence), vegetarian diet and the cow
Ahimsa is a concept which advocates non-violence and a respect for all life. The term ahimsa first appears in the Upanishads and in Raja Yoga, it is the first of the five yamas, or eternal vows/restraints of yoga.

A large section of Hindus embrace vegetarianism in a bid to respect higher forms of life, restricting their diet to plants and vegetables. While vegetarianism is not dogma, it is recommended as a sattwic (purifying) lifestyle. About 30% of today's Hindu population, especially in orthodox communities in South India, in certain northerly states like Gujarat, where there is significant Jain influence, and in many Brahmin enclaves around the subcontinent, is vegetarian.

Those Hindus who do eat meat predominantly abstain from beef, some even avoid the usage of leather products. This is possibly because the largely pastoral Vedic people and subsequent generations relied so heavily on the cow for dairy products, tilling of fields and fuel for fertiliser that its status as a 'caretaker' led to identifying it as an almost maternal figure (so the term gau mata). While most Hindus do not worship the cow, it still holds an honoured place in Hindu society. It is said that Krishna is both Govinda (herder of cows) and Gopala (protector of cows), and Shiva's attendant is Nandi, the bull. With the stress on vegetarianism (usually followed even by meat-eating Hindus on religious days) and the sacred nature of the cow (Sacred cow), it is no wonder that most holy cities and areas in India have a ban on selling beef. However, consumption of carabeef (buffalo meat) remains and India is a leading exporter of carabeef [http://www.fas.usda.gov/dlp/circular/2004/04-10LP/beefoverview.pdf]. Further, some of the lower caste people (Dalits etc.) also eat such beef variants. Evidence also suggests that consumption of beef was quite prevalent in Vedic India. [http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2001/08/14/stories/13140833.htm]

Hindu symbolism
Among the most revered symbols in Hinduism, two are quintessentially a part of its culture and representative of its general ethos:

Aum (ॐ) is the sacred symbol of Hinduism, and is prefixed and sometimes suffixed to all Hindu mantras and prayers. Its contains a deep symbolic message; which is considered as divine primordial vibration of the Universe which represents all existence, encompassing all of nature into the One Ultimate Reality.

swastika (卐) is an Arya, or noble and auspecious symbol. It stands for satya, truth, and stability within the power of Brahma or, alternatively, of Surya, the sun. Its rotation in four directions has been used to represent many ideas, but primarily describes the four directions and their harmonious whole. It has been used in ancient cultures around world and predomenantly in Hinduism since the early Vedic culture and is still widespread in the Indian subcontinent. Many other cultures still hold it to be auspecious, especially in India, in spite of the recent association with Nazism which used a modified version of this symbol.

Murtis (icons)

Whether believing in the One source as formless (nirguna brahman, without attributes) or as a personal God (saguna Brahman, with attributes), Hindus understand that the one truth may be seen as different to different people. The philosophy of Bhakti seeks contact with the personal form of Brahman, which explains the proliferation of so many Gods and Goddesses in India, often reflecting the singular inclinations of small regions or groups of people.

Worship of God is often represented symbolically through the aid of icons (murti) which are conduits for the devotee's consciousness, markers for the human mind that signify the ineffable and illimitable nature of the power and grandeur of God. They are symbols of the greater principle and according to the understanding of the worshipper they are sometimes presumed to be the concept or entity itself (in monotheistic doctrines) and sometimes not (in monistic doctrines).

In a Hindu Temple, the divine spirit/energy is commonly invoked into the Murtis at the time of their consecration. Worship of such Murtis is done everyday in a temple. Most practising Hindus also maintain a temple in their homes for worship and meditation.

Some of deities worshipped are Vishnu (as Krishna or Rama), Swaminarayan, Shiva, Devi (the Mother as many female deities, such as Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali and Durga), Ganesha, Skanda and Hanuman. Also, the Puranas list twenty-five avatara of Vishnu : Catursana, Narad, Varaha, Matsya, Yajna, Nara-Narayana, Kapila, Dattatreya, Hayasirsa, Hamsa, Prsnigarbha, Rsabha, Prithu, Narasimha , Kurma, Dhanvantari, Mohini, Vamana, Parasurama, Raghavendra, Vyasa, Balarama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki.

Mantra

Reciting mantras is a general practice in Hindu rituals. Much of mantra yoga, as it is called, is done through japa (repetition). Mantras are chanted, through their meaning, sound, and chanting style, to help meditational focus for the sadhaka (practitioner). They can also be used to aid in expression of love for the deity, another facet of Bhakti yoga akin to the understanding of the murti. They often give courage in exigent times and serve to help 'invoke' one's inner spiritual strength. Indeed, Mahatma Gandhi's dying words were a two-word mantra to the Lord Rama: ''"Hai Ram!"'.

The most revered mantra in Hinduism is the famed Gayatri Mantra (see Sanskrit for pronunciation):

It is considered one of the most sacred of all Hindu mantras, invoking the universal Brahman as the principle of knowledge and the illumination of the primordial Sun. Many Hindus to this day, in a tradition that has continued unbroken for at least 3,000 years, perform morning ablutions at the bank of a sacred river (especially the Ganga/Ganges) while chanting this mantra.

Criticism
[http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/ramendra_nath/hindu.html *"Why I Am Not a Hindu" by Ramendra Nath] [http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/a_hindu_woman/answertohindu.shtml "Answer to - Why I am not a Hindu" by a Hindu woman]