Hinduism
Hinduism (/ˈhɪnduˌɪzəm/)[1][2] is an Indian religion or dharma, a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide.[note 1][note 2] The word Hindu is an exonym,[note 3] and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world,[note 4] it has also been described as sanātana dharma (Sanskrit: सनातन धर्म, lit. ''the eternal dharma''), a modern usage, based on the belief that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts.[note 5] Another endonym for Hinduism is Vaidika dharma.[web 1]
Hinduism entails diverse systems of thought, marked by a range of shared concepts that discuss theology, mythology, among other topics, in textual sources.[3] The major Hindu denominations are Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and the Smarta tradition. The six Āstika schools of Hindu philosophy, which recognise the authority of the Vedas, are: Sānkhya, Yoga, Nyāya, Vaisheshika, Mimāmsā, and Vedānta.[4][5] Hindu texts have been classified into Śruti ("heard") and Smṛti ("remembered"). The major Hindu scriptures are the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Purānas, the Mahābhārata, the Rāmāyana, and the Āgamas.[6][7] Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include karma (action, intent and consequences)[6][8] and the four Puruṣārthas, proper goals or aims of human life, namely: dharma (ethics/duties), artha (prosperity/work), kama (desires/passions) and moksha (liberation/freedom from the passions and the cycle of death and rebirth).[9][10] Hindu religious practices include devotion (bhakti), worship (puja), sacrificial rites (yajña), and meditation (dhyāna) and yoga.[11]
While the puranic chronology presents a genealogy of thousands of years, starting with the Vedic rishis, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion[note 6] or synthesis[note 7] of Brahmanical orthopraxy[note 8] with various Indian cultures,[note 9] having diverse roots[note 10] and no specific founder.[12] This Hindu synthesis emerged after the Vedic period, between c. 500[13]–200[14] BCE and c. 300 CE,[13] in the period of the second urbanisation and the early classical period of Hinduism when the epics and the first Purānas were composed.[13][14] It flourished in the medieval period, with the decline of Buddhism in India.[15] Since the 19th century, modern Hinduism, influenced by western culture, has also a great appeal to the west, most notably in the popularisation of yoga and various sects such as Transcendental Meditation and the Hare Krishna movement.
Hinduism is the world's third-largest religion, with approximately 1.20 billion+ followers, or 15%+ of the global population, known as Hindus.[16][web 2][web 3] It is the most widely professed faith in India,[17] Nepal, Mauritius, and in Bali, Indonesia.[18] Significant numbers of Hindu communities are found in other countries of South Asia, in Southeast Asia, in the Caribbean, Middle East, North America, Europe, Oceania, Africa, and other regions.[19][20]