Despite being the third-largest and the oldest religion in the world, lots of people are unaware of many Hinduism facts. There are also several misconceptions about Hinduism, which need to be explained. Therefore, in this article, I have tried to put forth all the Hinduism facts in brief before the world, so that everybody would have an idea about what Hinduism is.
In the history of mankind, many cultures have come and gone but Hinduism has withstood many challenges posed by time and has spread all over the world. The secret of this success of the Hindu religion lies in the fact in its practical approach towards human life, belief in eternal truths, and modifications made from time to time without changing the basic beliefs.
Fast Hinduism Facts:
Existence Since: Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion. The history of Hinduism can be traced back to 5000-10,000 B.C.
Facts about size and Rank: It is the third-largest religion in the world with approximately 1.2 billion followers. It is about 15% of the world population. In India, there are about 1.03 billion Hindus in 2020. The Hindu growth rate is 1.55% annually in India.
Location: Most Hindus live in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka with a considerable presence in all other parts of the world. About 85% of Hindus live in India. Therefore, India is also called “Hindustan.”
Known as: People who follow Hinduism are called “Hindus.” Hinduism is also known as “Hindu Dharma” (हिंदू धर्म), ” Hindu Religion, “Sanatan Dharma (Eternal Religion),” “Vedic Religion,” or Vedic Dharma.
Founder: Hinduism has no single founder. It has been evolving over the thousands of years and will continue to.
Origin: Hinduism originated in the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is largely based on the teachings from Vedas.
Meaning of the word: The word “Hinduism” actually has no real meaning because Hinduism was not founded as a religion. The name “Hindu” is given by the people outside of India, especially Greeks and Arabs, to those living in the vicinity of the “Sindhu” river. So, the way of life those people were following is called “Hinduism”.
What do they worship: Hindus believe in one God named as “Brahman” but view other gods and goddesses as manifestations of Him. Therefore, in practice, they worship more than one God.
Most Hindus worship God in the form of an idol. Hindus rever rivers, mountains, trees, animals, and natural things that are useful for human beings.
Place of Worship: The place of worship of Hindus is called a temple.
Main Deities: Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva are the creator, protector, and destroyer respectively. These are the three main deities in Hinduism. Besides them, Lord Ganesha, Lord Krishna, Lord Hanuman, Lord Rama, and goddess Parvati are the most popular deities in Hinduism.
Yugas: According to Hinduism, as there are four seasons in a year, there are four Yugas namely Satya-Yuga, Treta-Yuga, Dvapara-Yuga, Kali-Yuga. At the end of a full cycle of four Yugas, life on the earth comes to an end (though not completely) and a new era starts. Humanity enters into a new era. The present era is Kali-Yuga, i.e., Dark Age.
Facts about sects in Hinduism: Hinduism consists of different sects like Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism. The common people follow all the three sects collectively worshiping Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, and Devi.
Aims of life: Dharma (righteousness), Artha (wealth), Kama (desire), and Moksha (salvation) are the four objectives of a Hindu’s life.
Goal: Salvation is the ultimate goal of a Hindu’s life.
Stages of life: According to Hinduism, four stages of life are Brahmcharyashram (Student phase), Grihastahshram (Living with wife and children), Vanprasthashram (leaving the home and pray to God, may keep contact with family), and Sanyasashram (discard everything in life including wife, children, and material things).
Contribution: Yoga, Pranayama, meditation, Ayurveda, vegetarianism, and meditation are the best gifts of Hinduism to the world.
Tantra, palmistry, acupressure, acupuncture, Jyotish Shastra (astrology), martial art, and many other ancient wonders originated in India and are parts of the Hinduism Religion.
Hinduism is the source of inspiration for three other major religions of the world viz. Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism.
The Zero, point system and the decimal system were invented in India, based on which modern science exists.
Symbols: AUM and Swastika are the main symbols of Hinduism. Besides those, Kalash, Trishul, Tilak, Lingam, Shri, and Yantra are other popular Hindu symbols. The saffron is the official color of Hinduism and the saffron flag is the official flag of Hindus.
Sacred Books or Scriptures: Four Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavadgita, 18 Puranas, Ramayana, and Mahabharata are the sacred books of Hindus.
Language: Most of the Hindu scriptures are written in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is considered to be the mother of all the languages. Sanskrit is considered to be the language of demi-gods.
The languages Hindus use vary according to regions. They speak all the Indian languages like Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, Gujarati, Kashmiri, etc. Outside India, the languages spoken by Hindus are English, Sinhali, Indonesian, etc.
Eating Habits: Most of the Hindus do not eat beef and/or pork. They also do not eat non-vegetarian food on auspicious days. Hinduism strongly advocates vegetarianism. Food is highly revered and wasting food is considered a very bad habit.
Important Hindu Festivals:
1. Diwali – The festival of lights.
2. Vijayadashami – Celebrating the victory of good over evil.
3. Gudhipadawa – Hindu New Year.
4. Mahashivratri – The day on which the universe was created.
5. Makar Sankranti – Transmigration of Sun into Makar Rashi.
6. Navratri – Mother goddess is worshiped for nine days.
7. Ramnavami – Birthday of Lord Rama.
8. Ganesh Festival – Festival of Lord Ganesha.
Vedic restraints for Hindus are (mentioned in Sandilya Upanishad):
1. Ahimsa (not to harm others).
2. Satya (truthfulness).
3. Asteya (Nonstealing).
4. Brahmacharya (Avoiding promiscuity in thoughts, word, and deed).
5. Kshama (Forgiveness).
6. Dhriti (Steadfastness).
7. Daya (Compassion).
8. Arjaya (Honesty).
9. Aparigraha (non-possessiveness).
10. Mitahara (moderate food).
Sixteen Samskaras in a Hindu’s life:
Samskaras are rituals that are performed at different stages of human life. According to Gautama Dharmasutra, there are 40 Samskaras of which 16 are referred to as Shodasha Samskaras.
1. Garbhadhana (pregnancy).
2. Pumsavana (quickening the fetus).
3. Simanatonnayana (parting of pregnant woman’s hair in 8th month).
4. Jatakarman (rite celebrating the birth).
5. Namakarana (naming the child).
6. Nishkramana (first outing).
7. Annaprashana (baby’s first feeding of solid food).
8. Chudakarana (first haircut of the baby).
9. Karnavedha (ear piercing).
10. Upanayana (entry into school).
11. Vidyarambha (initiation of knowledge).
12. Samavartana (rite of passage in the ancient texts of Hinduism).
13. Vivaha (marriage).
14. Vanaprastha (retirement from worldly life).
15. Sanyasa (renunciation of worldly life).
16. Antyeshti (last rites).
Hindu Philosophy:
Hindu philosophy is divided broadly into six different parts called as Darshanas.
1. Samkhya.
2. Yoga.
3. Nyaya or Logic.
4. Vaisheshika.
5. Mimamsa.
6. Vedanta.
Karma: Karma means your deeds. Hindus believe that our fate depends upon our Karma i.e., as you sow so shall you reap. If you do bad Karma, you have to compensate for it in this as well as your next life. Your next life depends upon your Karma.
Reincarnation: A soul dwells in every living thing. The body is mortal but the soul is immortal. When we die, our soul enters a new body, and the cycle continues until we get salvation.
Caste System:
Originally, there were no castes in Hinduism, but there were four Varnas, viz:
1. Brahmin (priests).
2. Kshatriya (warriors).
3. Vaishya (Businessmen).
4. Shudra (laborers).
These Varnas were further divided into castes and sub-castes. Originally, the caste system was not based upon birth. Nowadays, caste is determined by birth. During the medieval period, the persons belonging to a particular caste were supposed to do the same business as of their ancestors. This type of caste system no longer exists. People are free to do whatever they want. Castes come into play mainly during marriages. In arranged marriages, people prefer to marry a person from the same caste.
Five Biggest Sins (mahapataka):
1. Murder of a Brahmin (The word brahmin here means a scholarly person).
2. Stealing gold (Gold refers to valuable items).
3. Drinking intoxicating drinks (e.g. alcohol).
4. An illicit relationship with the teacher’s wife.
5. Being associated with the above-mentioned sinners.
Dashavatar:
According to Bhagavad-Gita, whenever Dharma weakens or the sins on the earth increase to the limit, Lord Vishnu incarnates on the earth and removes the sinners and protects the earth. So far, Vishnu has incarnated nine times and the tenth incarnation is yet to come. Following are the 10 incarnations of Vishnu known as Dashavataram:
1. Matsyavatar.
2. Kurmavatar.
3. Varaha avatar.
4. Narsimhavatar.
5. Vamanavatar.
6. Lord Parshurama.
7. Lord Rama.
8. Lord Krishna.
9. Lord Buddha.
10. Kalki Avatar.
The Basic Concept of Hinduism:
It will be easier to understand the basic concept of Hinduism if you know the Law of Conservation of Energy. For those who have a science background or have some interest in science know the Law of Conservation of Energy very well. It is like this:
“Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Only one form of energy can be transformed into another. The sum of all the energies in the universe remains the same.”
According to Hinduism, the human body is perishable but the soul is immortal and is subjected to the continuous cycle of birth and rebirth. The soul changes bodies as a living person change his/her clothes. So, the thing we call death is just a transformation of the soul from one body to another as the energy changes from one form to another. This cycle continues births after births, and the soul is subjected to sufferings endlessly.
So, the ultimate goal of a Hindu’s life is to attend salvation (Moksha or Nirvana), i.e., freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth. One can attend salvation when a person’s soul fully becomes one with the supreme spirit called “Brahman” (or God) who is eternal, genderless, omnipotent, and omniscient.
Interesting Hinduism Facts:
So far, we have seen some common Hinduism facts, but now we will have a look at some interesting Hinduism facts.
1. The institution of marriage was founded and put forth in practice by Hindus.
2. The first lawmaker, Manu, was a Hindu and Manu Smriti was the first book on law in the world.
3. Rigveda is the oldest book.
4. Hindus believe that the Vedas are written by gods.
5. According to Vedas, lending money on interest is a bad Karma.
6. Acupuncture and acupressure are vital parts of Hindu customs.
7. Vedas were preserved for more than 5000 years without the help of printing technology. This was done by reciting and memorizing all the hymns and through the Teacher-Disciple tradition (Guru-Shishya Parampara).
8. India is the home of four great religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
9. Sanskrit is the oldest language in the world.
10. The concepts of the decimal system, zero, point, pi, and many others were used first by Hindus.
11. According to Vedas, Om is the sound that was present at the time of the creation of the universe and it is the only symbol, which represents God (Brahman).
12. Parents, teachers, and food are considered next to God.
13. Wasting food is considered a very bad habit in Hinduism.
14. There is no officially declared Hindu country in the world as there are Islamic and Christian countries. Nepal was the only Hindu country, but it has now become a republic.
15. Hindu community is the second most tortured community in the world after the Jews.
16. Hindus do not wear footwear inside the temples or homes.
17. Because of the usefulness of rivers, they are highly revered in Hinduism. People call them the mother.
18. Kashi Vishwanath Temple is the holiest temple for Hindus. It is located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
19. Kashi is situated along the banks of the river Ganges. It is the holiest place for Hindus. Some Hindus believe that if you die in Kashi, you would attend salvation. Some people prefer to spend the last days of their lives in Kashi.
20. There have been substantial pieces of evidence that Hinduism had spread all over the world including Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia, the USA, Italy, and many other parts of the world.
21. Hindu population constitutes about 14% of the world population.
22. Hindus believe that we get the human body when our soul passes through 8,400,000 species (Yonis).
23. A few decades back, Yoga, Ayurveda, Vedic Maths, and Hypnotism were considered superstitions and/or rubbish, but with the advent of modern science, it is proved that these things are very helpful for us.
24. Hindus do not worship Lord Brahma individually. They worship him only in the form of the trinity, i.e., Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh together. There is only one temple of Brahma in the world, which is in Pushkar, Rajasthan. The same thing applies to Indra. Indra and Brahma are both cursed because of their weak characters.
Some people use this thing against Hinduism but they should understand that Hinduism is bold enough to punish every culprit whoever he/she may be. This also proves that Hindu mythology is not a fairy tale but a history as no culture would abandon its gods.
25. The Ganges is the holiest river for Hindus. She is a goddess for them. They believe that all of a person’s sins are washed when he/she bathes in the Ganges. Ganges water contains more oxygen than any other river in the world, and the water remains fresh for a longer time.
According to a program broadcasted on Discovery, the Ganges water contains bacteriophage, which eats up harmful bacteria. Hence, despite being over-polluted, there are fewer harmful bacteria in it.
26. Most of the Hindus cremate dead bodies. The practice of burial is also observed in a small number of castes.
27. Since ancient times, Hindus know that there are nine planets in our solar system.
28. Hinduism believes in a circular rather than a linear concept of time.
29. The 108 is a sacred number for Hindus.
30. The cow is the holiest animal for Hindus.
If you know more interesting Hinduism facts, please share them in the comment section below.
Also Read: Hinduism Facts for Kids
Reference:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism
2. Ancient and Medieval History of India (Book).
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskara_(rite_of_passage)#The_40_Samskaras
Quiet interesting facts