Hinduism
The Hindu religion is very different than what we have always considered a religion. In reality it is a group of several smaller religions, or beliefs, that are all comprised of the same basis. Most see that there is a uniformity of behavior and not belief. Hinduism, in a general speaking though, is the belief in either several Gods and Goddesses, or the belief in one god that has many different faces. The gods would choose whether you were a good soul or bad soul, and your fate depended upon their choice and your deeds. Those that lived there lives with good karma were able to be liberated from the circle of birth, and given redemption, or Moksha meaning freedom. Those who had bad karma though, were to be punished for their sins by being forced to live in this world and be born again and again (Pecorino & Romano 2001).
As said, Hinduism is a religion with various Gods and Goddesses. The three main Gods that are considered to rule the world are, Brahma: the creator, Vishnu: the preserver, and Shiva: the destroyer. For some, they believe that one God controls all three characters. Some people outside the Hindu religion do not believe it is a true religion. Some say that since it does not have one single unified structure that it cannot be. One who felt very strongly about this was Chief justice P.B. Gajendragadkar. In 1995 he was quoted:
"When we think of the Hindu religion, we find it difficult, if not impossible, to define Hindu religion or even adequately describe it. Unlike other religions in the world, the Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet; it does not worship any one god; it does not subscribe to any one dogma; it does not believe in any one philosophic concept; it does not follow any one set of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not appear to satisfy the narrow traditional features of any religion of creed. It may broadly be described as a way of life and nothing more."
In the current...
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