According to historians, the origin of Hinduism dates back to 5,000 or more years. The word "Hindu" is derived from the name of River Indus, which flows through northwestern India. In ancient times the river was called the "Sindhu", but the Persians who migrated to India called the river "Hindu," the land "Hindustan" (Sanskrit, Hindi), and its inhabitants "Hindus". Thus the daily life practices evolved as the religion followed by the Hindus came to be known as "Hinduism." The term generally denotes the religious, philosophical, and cultural traditions native to the Indian subcontinent. The word "Hindu," from "Sindhu", referred to the people who lived near or across the Sindhu River and their religion later became known as "Hinduism." The religion had previously been known as Sanatana dharma (the eternal law - the eternal spirit or soul the true "self" of every person, called the atman), Vaidika dharma (law of the Vedas), Arya dharma (the noble religion), or Manava dharma (the religion of mankind). Eventually the word "Hindu" came into common use among Hindus themselves and was adopted into Greek as Indos and Indikos ("Indian"), into Latin as Indianus. and into Sanskrit, as Hindu . In 1995 The Supreme Court of India highlighted Bal Gangadhar Tilak's formulation of Hinduism's defining features: Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence; Recognition of the fact that the means or ways to salvation are diverse; and the realization of the truth that the number of gods to be worshipped is large, that indeed is the distinguishing feature of Hindu religion.
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on Hinduism.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL of this page.
If you are Hindu, your feedback is much appreciated.
References
BBC
2008 Religion and Ethics-Hinduism. Electronic document: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/, accessed 5/19/08.
Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
2008 History of Hinduism. Electronic document: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266312/Hinduism, accessed 5/19/08.
Rajaram, N.S.
2006 Aryan Invasion - History or Politics? Electronic document: http://www.archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/aryan-invasion-history.html, accessed 5/19/08.
Images
'Brahma' courtesy of http://members.nbci.com/_XMCM/ekprem/hinduism.htm
Created by Melissa Lorentz, 2008. Written by Prathyusha Kolanu, 2009.