Hinduism

Hinduism is believed to be the oldest religion of India which is also the religion of the majority of its population. Therefore, it is important to look at how Hindu religion has contributed, or can contribute, to happiness and prosperity. Yet, at the outset it must be pointed out that there are several difficulties in attempting this. The biggest of all the difficulties is that there is not one unique body of ideas and practices which can distinctively be called Hindu. The term Hindu was coined by the outsiders (invaders) who called all those people living on this side of the river Sindhu, including Muslims and others, Hindu. According to Dinkar (2009, 77), people generally believe that Hindu culture is same thing as Vedic culture which is associated with Aryans but the fact is that even Vedic culture is not fully Aryan. Many elements of Hindu culture are the product of Aryan culture but there are many which existed in India even before the invasion of Aryans (if the theory of Aryan invasion is correct). Moreover, at some point of time when the original (pre-Aryan) inhabitants of India, Aryans and Dravidians got well integrated they developed common habits and belief systems. It was this new and composite culture which came to be known as Hindu. Thus the Hindu culture is originated from the mixing of various races, groups, habits, beliefs, folk tales, thoughts, emotions, and customs. After that all those who came to India (e.g., the Yunani, the Huns, the Shaks) before the Muslim invasions got submerged into the vast ocean of Hinduism and were called Hindus. This explains why one finds it difficult to identify a common core of Hinduism today or identify a common idea or text to which all Hindus subscribe. According to some recent researches on the topic, based on archeological material, even Aryan invasion theory is doubted. Looked at from this perspective, the term Hindu connotes nothing. It consists of mixture of various, often contradictory, ideas.