Who is a Hindu & What is Hinduism
by S. ‘Vyas’
Hinduism is an incorrect name of Sanaatana Dharma or Varna-ashrama Dharma. “The Lord makes all the laws and orders, and these laws and orders are generally called dharma or religion. No one can create any religious formula.” – Srimad Bhagavat 1.8.4 Purport by Sri Prabhupada. The Vedas are the books of Hinduism, and the Vedas are given to Brahma, the first created being, by God Himself. This means that a Hindu (or Arya, meaning a believer in the Vedas) is surely a theist person, and Hinduism is a theist religion. Bhagavad Gita is the summary of the Vedas given by Bhagavan Krishna Himself. Therefore, Gita is well known as The Book of Hinduism.
Hinduism is not sectarian. It is true for all times, places, and peoples. Some religious scholars have said that Hinduism is the complete science of spirituality. Just as the laws of physical science are absolute, the laws of spiritual science are also absolute. They are always true, whether you believe or not.
Hinduism or Gita provides all possible ways how to know and worship and go to God or His kingdom. Some Hindus believe God is formless and soul and supersoul is same. They are the followers of Sripad Shankaracharya’s advaita vada or mayavada. Others believe God has a form. They worship Vishnu tattva incarnations (Narasimha, Rama, Krishna, etc.), Shankar, Ganesh, Durga, or Surya. They are called bhaktas or devotees. Please do not confuse them with “Bhaktas” or the followers of Kabir.
Hinduism has grown in Bharat (India). So, to a Hindu, Bharat is deva bhoomi, the land of the devas and the Home of the Hindus. Bharat always have thousands of holy personalities and places of pilgrimages. A Hindu is always desires to associate with holy persons who are great devotees or have realized God.
Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism are off-shoots of Hinduism. Buddhism is an anti vedic and atheistic religion. Hindus do not follow it, but consider Buddha as an incarnation of God. According to Bhagavatam, Jainism has started after Rishabhdeva, a Vishnu tattva incarnation, and it was theistic originally. But it its current form it is atheistic. Sikhism is a mix of Islam and Hindu faiths. Culturally and historically, Jains and Sikhs have always lived peacefully with the Hindus.
Most Hindus keep an altar of a deity in home and practice their sadhana. A temple is a religious community infrastructure and very dear to Hindu devotees.
To Hindus,
– tulasi plant and pippal tree is holy.
– Ganga, Yamuna, and other rivers are holy.
– Himalayas including Kailash are holy.
– Cow is holy animal (no Hindu should kill or eat or cook cow).
– Gita, Bhagavat, and the Vedas are literary forms of God.
– Guru is God. So much they revere guru.
– Earth, queen, guru’s wife, teacher’s wife, elder brother’s wife, and cows are mothers.
In contrast to Islam and Christianity who have used brute force to convert, Hinduism is preached to interested people only. No one is forced to accept Hinduism just like no one is forced to love a beautiful and fragrant rose or lotus.
ॐ Hinduu Nation ॐ 
Shri Sureshji
Thanks for a very good article clarifying the Sanatan Dharma. It is the source of all religion in the world. You are right that Hinduism is an incorrect name of Sanaatana Dharma. The laws of spiritual science are also absolute. They are always true, whether you believe or not. The God is formless and soul and supersoul is same.
(Per Vedic scriptures God can be realized as formless of specific form. countness aatmaas and only one param aatmaa are not same as is clear from Krishna’s message in Gita. -skanda987)
Hence there is freedom of worship and deities, a person can choose any name or form of deity as per his mentality.
(The Vedic scriptures have vivid description of God’s foms and devas’ devis’ forms. No need to concoct any new form. Although God has freedom to appear in ain form He likes to appear for a soul. -skanda987)
God is present everywhere, it has converted into polytheism.
The life on the earth is endless cycle of rebirth and death, where the aim of life is to evolve ones own self towards higher mentality (God consciousness) towards humanism (no, it is atheistic) and divinity.
The man is responsible for his own actions, whether he has faith in one God or many is immaterial. The God is without attribute and character.
(God has all the attributes. Krishna describes Himself in Gita; and srimad bhagavatam gives god’s attributes described by many others.-skanda987)
Hence the ‘Sanatan Dharma’ has freedom of worship and faith in any (Vedic) name or form of God.
(If one worships non-Vedic names and forms of God, then one is not a Hindu any more. -skanda987)
The thought and action of an individual follow him with new life, under the cycle of rebirth and death. To follow ethics with harmony in the nature is eternal Dharma duty, hence it has no code of conversion.
Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are off-shoots of Sanatan dharma (which is also known as Vedic dharma or Hindu dharma).
The Christians, Muslim are organized religion and to compare the Sanatan Dharma with organized religion with stress on monotheism is a just like accepting superstition (or dogmas).
The name of Bhaarat or India is Hindustan also. The Hindu is term for Indian.
(If one worships non-Vedic names and forms of God, then one is not a Hindu any more. -skanda987)
Dear Sureshji,
When we say India Hindustan, every citizen of Indian republic is Hindu by birth,
The birth place is Deva Bhumi – land of God, Matra bhumi – mother land Pitra bhumi – land of forefathers, hence the devotion to birth place is Dharma- duty.
It is not the superstition of religion that one can change at his own?
The religion is the name of superstition on the name of monotheism or polytheism.
The sanatan dharma is not the superstition of God or idol worship, it is based on ‘the life is endless cycle of rebirth and death, where human-beings are themselves responsible for their actions in life. Every one is bound to face consequences of his deeds with time and new life.
To act ethically in the society and harmony with nature natural components is the self duty of an individual’
It is the the law of action, it does not require any divine rule or commandments from God, hence the Sanatan Dharma has freedom of worship of any name or form of God, to follow ethics is his self duty.
The man made religion can bind the man in commandments of God, rituals and traditions as per space, time and environmental conditions. Hence we have many religions.
(If one worships non-Vedic names and forms of God, then one is not a Hindu any more. -skanda987) it has gives the way for inter religious competition on the name of monotheism and polytheism in the past as well as in present condition of India, it has given birth to Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Arya samaj etc from Sanatan Dharma.
With regards
Question with supposition: I am born brahman but don’t pray and worship as per Sanatan Dharma. I also do not practice any other religion. What religion do I have? You might say I am religionless. But, in the eyes of law, I can not be religionless as there is no such thing defined in Law. Also law do not define Hindu or Hinduism. Govt. has recently admitted of being clueless on these definition while answering the RTI query.