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Essay on Hindu Religious Tradition Paper
Hinduism also acknowledged as Santana Dharma, and Vaidika-Dharma) is a global tradition that encompasses several religions and ideologies. The literal date of Hinduism's origin is not known, though estimates vary from 3102 BCE to 1300 BCE. It is generally regarded as the world's oldest major religion. It is also the third largest religion with a following of approximately a 1.2 billion people (including the practitioners of yoga).
The Indian subcontinent is home to 98 percent of this populace. It is noteworthy however that the relatively small Himalayan kingdom of Nepal is the only nation, which has Hinduism for its state religion. The term Hindu itself derives from the name of the Sindhu River.(Pauwels, Heidi, 2002) Hinduism comes under a much larger branch of religions known as the dharmic religions, which differ from the more popular Abrahamic religions. The dharmic religions are less prone to dogma and offer generic universal truths. Such universal truths serve as general guidelines for their follower's philosophies and actions. They remain open to interpretation, adaptation and enrichment at any date and in any age. This core makes Hinduism flexible in accommodating even contradictory opinions seamlessly within its fabric.(Pauwels, Heidi, 2002) The Jain philosophy is deeply antagonistic about the existence of a God. The Advaita philosophy of Hinduism aims at attaining universal bliss by understanding the divine nature of the soul and its indivisibility from the supreme truth.
The Bhakti philosophy explores divinity as separate from an individual and aims at unification with this divine through prayer and piety. The smartha theology, which incorporates Advaita theology, advocates a single supreme source of divine energy, i.e., Brahman that manifests itself in several forms of Gods. Hinduism provides several paths to the common goal of divine bliss. The choice of a particular path is left to the ability, discretion and temperament of the follower......
