The oldest religion in the world?

Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world. Unlike Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and other religions, Hinduism has no founder, and its main spiritual source can be traced back to a set of ancient Vedas with unknown authors. Vedas come from the worship hymns sung by Aryan nomads (the same ancestor of northern Europeans). Aryans entered India around the time when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, that is, around 1500 BC, and brought their Vedas with them.

Hinduism and Brahmanism

Although Hinduism is traditionally based on Aryan classics, its important concepts originated from primitive Indians, called Dravidians, who lived in India earlier than Aryan immigrants. Therefore, if Hinduism is the product of foreign Aryan religions, it is better to say that Dravida religion in India, that is, (ancient) Brahmanism, is stimulated by Aryan ideas.

In 5600 BC, Buddhism and Jainism advocated liberating the soul by suppressing feelings and gaining true knowledge, and advocated extreme asceticism. ) was widely popular in India, causing the decline of Brahmanism. Around 400 BC, Brahmanism further absorbed Buddhism, Jainism and folk beliefs from all over India. In Sankara, reforms were carried out in the eighth and ninth centuries, forming the modern embryonic form of Hinduism, also known as neo-Brahmanism.

Hinduism combines India's cultural background, social structure and religious concepts to form different sects. Hundreds of sects have different doctrines and creeds, and each sect thinks its own is the best. Although there is no unified creed among these sects, there are two doctrines that are common in all sects: one is pantheism of polytheism; The other is reincarnation, that is, the rebirth and reincarnation of the soul.

30 million gods

Hindus are polytheists, with more than 30 million gods (another 300 million), but they only worship one god. From this perspective, he is like a monotheist, or maybe a polytheist monotheist.

They think that everything in nature is sacred, and mountains, rivers, trees, flowers, insects, animals and even the water in the jar at home may be worthy of worship. Therefore, most Hindus are vegetarians and try not to kill anything without eating meat.

Among the sacred animals, the cow is the most famous. Cattle can pass freely in modern cities with heavy traffic, and even enter the temple area where only monks can enter. Even in famine areas, children can eat whatever they want. Other animals, such as monkeys and mice, are not as tall as sacred cows, but they are also particularly respected.

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the three great gods in India, representing the creation, protection and destruction of the universe respectively.

Among more than 30 million gods, there are also gods that combine images of people, livestock, birds and trees, such as gods with heads and reptiles.

graded system

Hinduism divides people into four classes (castes) according to their occupations: Brahman, Khshatriya, Vishnus and Shudra.

Strictly speaking, the caste system is a gradually formed social system, not a religious system.

Brahman is the highest of the four classes in India, referring to priests and other people in charge of religious affairs. Khrushchev, like Brahmins, belongs to the aristocratic class and usually refers to the rulers of the world, such as local kings, warriors and other nobles. Vedas of the third grade, including merchants and craftsmen. People who do menial work in society, such as street sweepers and shoemakers, belong to the fourth class and are usually slaves of the other three castes.

In addition to the four castes, the bottom of society is the untouchable, also known as Panchamas, which literally means "the fifth" and is composed of people outside the four castes and classified as "outsiders" or "outer classes".

Samsara and Nirvana

Hindus believe that the soul is immortal, and life does not begin with life and end with death, but an endless cycle. God, man and animal are all members of this reincarnation, and the reincarnation role of new life is determined by what this man did in the past and the degree of his devotion to Hinduism, which is what Hindus call karma, and karma in this life determines the status of the next reincarnation, so it circulates among god, man (caste class) and animals.

If Hindus want to be saved, they must meet three conditions: (1) upright behavior (2) devout faith (3) pursuit of knowledge and meditation.

Whether it is because good deeds ascend to heaven or because evil deeds become animals, such a life needs reincarnation. Therefore, what devout Hindus pursue is to get rid of the cycle of life and death and enter the personal and eternal realm of "God One" (also known as "Brahma"). This is an unchangeable static state, which is called "Unity of Brahma and Me" or "Nirvana".

Yoga and pilgrimage

Devout Hindus hold a gathering ceremony at sunrise and fast and bathe in the morning or evening. Start personality worship before sunrise, and do it again at noon and before sunset. At home or in temples, they provide food, money, prayers and so on. As a sacrifice to God, I hope to stay away from evil spirits and get peace from God. In order to concentrate on worship more successfully, they use certain methods, such as body posture, gestures and so on. To achieve the unity of Brahma and me, which is also the purpose of Hindu worship.

Another way to achieve the unity of Brahma and me is to practice yoga.

By using various body postures and concentrating physiological energy, the individual's psychology, spirit and soul are combined with Brahma through such training.

There are many festivals in Hinduism, and pilgrimage is one of the important ceremonies. The main holy land is the birthplace of the Ganges and its three tributaries, and Benares is often the worship center of Hindus. In order to repent of their wrong behavior, to demand a change of fate, or just to present gifts to sacred lines, they often make pilgrimages to the seaside in the Bay of Bengal and the birthplace of the Ganges in the Himalayas. They believe that the water of the Ganges can wash away all their sins.