Hinduism is the age-old religion of India, which honors many gods and goddesses all of whom, however, are regarded as manifestations of the one divine spirit.
The Brahmins introduced into religious thinking the concept of spiritual peace and happiness which can be attained only through physical and mental discipline (yoga).
The Aryans divided the Hindus into different castes, each caste destined to perform certain functions. The caste structure of society is an expression of the eternal transmigration of souls.
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For the Hindus, the primary aim of this life is to conform to prescribed social and ritual duties and to the rules of conduct for the assigned caste and profession.
Those requirements comprise the individual’s dharma—law and duties. To violate them upsets the balance of society and nature and yields undesirable consequences.
To observe them improves the chance of promotion at the next rebirth. Traditionally, each craft or profession is the property of a particular caste.
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The caste system apparently originated around 1500 B.C., when the Aryans invaded India. The Aryans were divided into four groups: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.
The Brahmins were the priests and top administrators, the elite of India. Kshatriyas and the Vaishyas were warriors and businessmen respectively. These two castes were also relatively privileged.
The fourth caste Shudras was not entitled to the same status and the basic function of the people of this caste was to do menial jobs like scavenging, cremation and landless labourers.
These were considered as untouchables or outcastes, who served the upper castes as slaves. The untouchables descended from the people living in India prior to the Aryan conquest.
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Until recently, the social relations (marriages etc.) among these castes were limited, the rights of non-Brahmins were restricted and the untouchables were like slaves almost without rights. After independence, the rigid caste system has been considerably relaxed. The untouchable class was legally abolished and its people were given equal rights.
But, in practice, untouchability still exists and the orthodox Brahmins and people of other upper castes do not appreciate social interaction with them.
The caste system has affected not only the arrangement of space in the settlements and the house types; it has also influenced the cropping patterns and management of natural resources.
Within a village variations are found in the crops to be sown by the upper and the lower castes. In the Sutlej-Ganga plains one may observe variations in the crops to be sown by the upper and lower castes.
For example, when the Rajputs and Jats prefer to grow wheat, rice and sugarcane in their fields, the Sainis devote their land to vegetables and other short-duration crops.
The total population of Hindus in 2000 was about 755 million, out of which 715 million or 99.3 per cent were in Asia, especially in India.
The population of Hindus in Africa was 1.6 million, followed by Europe, North and Latin America with about 0.7 million each. There were about 0.3 million Hindus in Oceania.
The second highest population of Hindus was in Nepal (18 million), followed by Bangladesh (15.9 million) and Indonesia 7.2 million.
Apart from India, the Hindus are found mainly in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Kampuchia, Laos, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar, Mauritius and Fiji.
The followers of Hindu religion organize their space in a particular manner. The Hindu holy places comprise a variety of features of the physical environment. As an ethnic religion of India, Hinduism is tied to the holy character of much of the Indian landscape.
The most holy sites in India are river banks or coast lines. Moreover, Hindu holy places can be organized into a hierarchy. Some places have a large range and attract pilgrims from the entire country; other shrines are important to the local but are not frequently visited by people from other regions.
Hardwar, Allahabad, Varanasi, Badrinath, Duwarka, Amarnath, Puri, Venkateshwara (Tirupati), etc., are the first order shrines which attract pilgrims from all over the country.
Since Hinduism has no central authority, the relative importance of shrines is established by tradition, not by doctrine.
There are numerous pilgrimages centers of Hindus. The Hindus consider a pilgrimage (tirtha) as an act of purification. Although not a substitute for meditation, the pilgrimage is an important act in achieving redemption.
The sacred places attract Hindus from all over the world, while less important shrines attract primarily nearby pilgrims.
Among the Hindus, most of the religious functions are performed at the home, within a family unit, while temples house shrines to particular gods rather than congregational worship. There are numerous temples of Hindus, each housing one or more gods, although a god may have more than one temple.
The Hindu temple does not need a large closed interior space for a congregation to sit in. The gods may be present in the temple in the form of some images or symbolic artifacts, stored in dimly lit interior rooms.
The remainder of the temple may be devoted to space for ritual processions. The temple land is usually demarcated by a wall.
Hinduism has no centralized structure of religious control. It is also a highly autonomous religion with worship primarily a private or household occupation. Ideas, however, are transmitted within the Hindu world through pilgrimages, religions and traditional writings.
For the dead people, the Hindus generally practice cremation rather than burial. The body is burned at a fire on a funeral pyre. Burial is reserved for children, ascetics, and people with certain disease.
Cremation is considered an act of purification. It also strains India’s wood supply; adversely affect the forest resources, and leads to serious environmental pollution.
Although there are serious efforts by some of the organizations for the revival of Hinduism, a substantial proportion of its urban elite have been influenced by the non-religious ideas from the West. Communism in several parts of India has also reduced the importance of religion.
It has been observed that the traditional vegetarian food habits are being given up and the younger generation is increasingly taking non-vegetarian food. The consumption of liquor has also increased among the educated and uneducated Hindus alike.
The Hindu religion has a close effect on the growth of settlements. There are inferior and superior cardinal directions in the Hindu religion.
The upper castes, for example, occupy the western, northern or eastern sides of the village, while the Shudras (lower castes) are allowed to settle in the southern side of a settlement.