Hinduism

Hinduism

      Hinduism is a set of religious, cultural and philosophical traditions that was created from the unity of many different belief systems that have existed in the geographical region of India. Hinduism has served as an umbrella term to bring these differences together for its followers. Most followers of Hindu beliefs and practices believe that there is one force that unifies everything in the Universe, and this force cannot and will not be understood by Humanity at any point in time. The religion begins to branch in practice under that broad heading; there are several deities that are worshipped by Hindu followers, and each Hindu is free to worship the deity or deities that influences his or her life the most. There are three main deities that are widely recognized by Hindus: Shiva, Veshnu, and Devi, or Brahma (Smithsonian Institution, 1997).
Although there are several different deities that are worshipped under the Hindu religion, each deity could not be without the existence of the Ultimate Reality. This is the name given to the one force that unifies everything, and nothing could exist without it. To Hindus, the personal form of this Ultimate Reality is referred to as the Supreme Being. The three deities represent different aspects of the Supreme Being, and they could not exist without its subsequent existence. These three deities make up the Hindu Trinity, and each of their individual attributes combine to create the Supreme Being (Pandit, 2009).
  Hinduism has directly influenced the social and cultural norms of the Indian region. The practice of Hindu has introduced a caste system that is still used in modern times to separate society into social classes. Although this practice has been scrutinized and heavily denounced in recent decades, it is remarkable that the ancient Hindu caste systems have survived so long. The highest class is referred to as the Brahmins, or priests. These are people that are entitled to study the Vedas and can...