Hinduism is an extremely complicated religion to explain, mostly due to the fact that it is not a religion, but rather a family of religions. The word “Hindu” was actually a Persian word meant to describe the people of India, not a specific religion. This brings up the point though that Hinduism and India go hand in hand. India is unbelievably diverse in every way; ethnically, geographically, religiously, you name it, and this diversity is celebrated, not feared. India is so diverse that there are 16 major languages spoken and hundreds of dialects, bringing it up to an estimated 850 languages spoken daily. This often makes it difficult for Indians from different parts of the country to talk with each other without a harsh language barrier, typically requiring English to be spoken as the lingua franca. This is all relevant to Hinduism because the family of religions practiced amongst this diverse people is equally diverse, and this diversity is again celebrated, not scorned. … [Read more...] about What Is Hinduism?
