Shaligrams introduction

Shaligrams

Sri Saligrams is considered the direct symbol of Lord Vishnu, They are found only in Mukti chhetra and Damodar Kunda (north-west of Nepal). According to the religious text of Devi Bhagwate (and other scriptures) to kill demon Jalandhar Lord Vishnu have to destroy Sati Brindha's sati dharma. When he did that Sati Brindha gave four seeming desecrations to Lord Vishnu to become stone, grass, tree, plant. To wash away this reaction Lord Vishnu took four avatars (incarnations). He became stone (Sri Saligram) grass (kush) tree (Pipal) and plant (Tulsi). Since this time the Saligrams are considered to be most auspicious to behold and to worship. The worshipper knows no fear and by Sri Saligram's mercy the worshipper is blessed to attain all desirable things; worldly comforts, good wife, good sons, good health and wealth etc. It is all by the blessings of Lord Mahavishnu that His pastimes are being served. It is an excellent service for devotees of Lord Narayana.


The Saligrams are basically described as fossil-stones and characterized by the presence of discus marks. Saligram-stones (black stones in which fossil ammonites are embedded) are the most celebrated universally. Worship of these stones is widespread and dates back to a distant past. They are worshipped in temples, monasteries and households all over the world, as visible and natural emblems of Vishnu. They are also worshipped in quasi-religious functions like house-warming (grha-pravesa, vastu-puja), pacificatory rites of different sorts (santi), marriages and funerary rituals. 

The legend, related at length tells us that Lord Vishnu for benefit of mankind in kaliyuga comes in earth in the form of Saligram and in tulsi tree. Like the worship of Shiva in the form of a Linga, the worship of Vishnu in the shape of a Saligram, is aniconic in character. Saligrams are naturally found in the river Gandaki in Nepal. They are never made by man. In the worship of Saligrams, no initiation is required; there is no special hymnology or specific procedure of worship, nor any need for a qualified priest or master of ceremonies. Worshipped by regular bathing saligram stones in curds, ghee, milk or water will give untold merit and will bestow all the benefits. 

Saligram-stones are found only in the river Gandaki, which is a Himalayan stream, celebrated since antiquity as Narayani, Saligrami, Hiranvati and Hiranyavati. The epic Mahabharata speaks of its sanctity (Bhishma-Parva). The Puranas also describe it as a sacred stream in which all the gods and titans abide. By merely looking at it, one would eliminate all his mental dement’s, by touching it his bodily sins are burnt , and by sipping its water the verbal demerits are destroyed. One who comes into contact with this sacred stream will be liberated from the cycle of birth and deaths, even if he be a sinner. 

There is a lake at the source of the Kali-Gandaki, called Damodar-Kunda at Nepal. The lower Gandaki is well known as Mukti-Natha-Kshetra, also called Saligrama-Kshetra. The sacred stones are largely found on the banks of Kali-Gandaki near Tukche, between the two mountains Dhavala-Giri and Annapurana. Damodara-Kunda is a Saivite place of pilgrimage. These spots where saligrama-stones are found located within the Nepal territory. Actually there are four spots in the river within Nepal jurisdiction, where the sacred stones are picked up. 

Whether one has real devotion or not, if he worships a saligrama-stone with prostration before it, he will surely get emancipated from the cycle of phenomenal existence. 

The person who offers a daily service for the saligrama stone will be freed from the fear of death, and he will cross over the stream of births and deaths.

Following are different forms of Shaligrams

2nd Pose Shaligram, Ananta Shaligram, Aniruddha Shaligram, Auspicious Big Shaligram, Damodar Krishna Shaligram, Damodar Shaligram Delhi India, Auspicious Big Shaligram, Damodar Krishna Shaligram, Damodar Shaligram, Devi Mansarovar Shaligram, Exotic Saligram, Ganesha Shaligram, Garuda Shaligram, Golden Ananta Shaligram, Gopinath Dwarka Shaligram, Govind Shaligram, Hayagriva Shaligram, Hiranya Garv Shaligram, Kalki Shaligram, Kalp Vriksha Shaligram, Kalpa Laxmi Conch Shaligram, Kamal Narayan Shaligram, Kamal Varaha Shaligram, Keshav Shaligram etc.

LORD SHIVA

Shiva

Shiva (or Siva) is one of the chief deities of Hinduism. His name means "Auspicious One." Devotees of Shiva are called "Saivites." Shiva is known by many other names, including Sambhu ("Benignant"), Samkara ("Beneficent"), Pasupati ("Lord of Beasts"), Mahesa ("Great Lord") and Mahadeva ("Great God"). 

Shiva is a paradoxical deity: "both the destroyer and the restorer, the great ascetic and the symbol of sensuality, the benevolent herdsman of souls and the wrathful avenger." In the most famous myth concerning Shiva, he saves humanity by holding in his throat the poison that churned up in the waters and threatened mankind. For this reason he is often depicted with a blue neck.

History of Shiva and Shiva-Worship

In the Vedas, shiva is an aspect of the god Rudra, not a separate god. However, a joint form Rudra-Shiva appears in early household rites, making Shiva one of the most ancient Hindu gods still worshipped today. By the 2nd century BCE, Rudra's significance began to wane and Shiva rose in popularity as a separate identity.

In the Ramayana, Shiva is a mighty and personal god, and in the Mahabharata he is the equal of Vishnu and worshipped by other gods. Shiva became associated with generation and destruction; sometimes fulfilling the role of Destroyer along with Vishnu (the Preserver) and Brahma (the Creator) and sometimes embodying all three roles within himself.

In the Mahadeva image in the Elephanta caves (on an island off of Bombay), which dates to between the 5th and 7th centuries CE, Shiva is shown in his threefold form. This triple aspect of Shiva, which has become a dominant form, is rich with symbolism:
The two faces on either side represent (apparent) opposites - male and female (ardhanari); terrifying destroyer (bhairava) and active giver of repose; mahayogi and grhasta - while the third, serene and peaceful, reconciles the two, the Supreme as the One who transcends all contradictions. 

The three horizontal lines Saivites mark on their foreheads represent this threefold aspect of Shiva.

Shiva's Family and Associations

Shiva's female consort is variously manifested as Uma, Sati, Parvati, Durga, Kali, and sometimes Shakti. Their sons are Skanda, the god of war, and the beloved elephant-headed Ganesh, remover of obstacles. 

Shiva is especially associated with the Ganges River, which flows through his hair in images, and Mount Kailasa in the Himalayas.

Iconography and Symbolism of Shiva 

Shiva's symbols are the bull and the linga. The latter symbol is historically associated with the phallus, but is not generally perceived as such by worshipers. Other depictions of Shiva have his hair in matted locks and piled atop his head like an ascetic and adorned with the crescent moon and the Ganges River (according to legend, he broke the Ganga's fall to earth by allowing her to trickle through his hair). 

Shiva has a third eye, giving him the capability of inward vision but also burning destruction when focused outward. He is variously shown with two or four hands, which hold a deerskin, a trident, a small hand drum, or a club with a skull at the end. 

One of the most popular representations of Shiva is as Nataraj, the cosmic dancer. He is also variously depicted as a naked ascetic, a beggar, a yogi, and the union of he and his female consort in one body. 

Shiva as Nataraja: The Cosmic Dancer

Shiva the Hindu god of destruction is also known as Nataraja, the Lord of Dancers (In Sanskrit, Nata means dance and raja means Lord). The visual image of Nataraja achieved canonical form in the bronzes cast under the Chola dynasty in the 10th century AD, and then continued to be reproduced in metal, stone and other substances right up to the present times. The Chola Nataraja is often said to be the supreme statement of Hindu art. 

There is an interesting legend behind the conception of Shiva as Nataraja. In a dense forest in South India, there dwelt multitudes of heretical sages. Thither proceeded Shiva to confute them, accompanied by Vishnu disguised as a beautiful woman. The sages were at first led to violent dispute amongst themselves, but their anger was soon directed against Shiva, and they endeavored to destroy him by means of incantations. A fierce tiger was created in sacrificial fires, and rushed upon him; but smiling gently, he seized it and, with the nail of his little finger, stripped off its skin, and wrapped it about himself like a silken cloth. Undiscouraged by failure, the sages renewed their offerings, and produced a monstrous serpent, which however Shiva seized and wreathed about his neck like a garland. Then he began to dance; but there rushed upon him a last monster in the shape of a malignant dwarf. Upon him the god pressed the tip of his foot, and broke the creature’s back, so that it writhed upon the ground; and so, his last foe prostrate, Shiva resumed the dance.

To understand the concept of Nataraja we have to understand the idea of dance itself. Like yoga, dance induces trance, ecstasy and the experience of the divine. In India consequently, dance has flourished side by side with the terrific austerities of the meditation grove (fasting, absolute introversion etc.). Shiva, therefore, the arch-yogi of the gods, is necessarily also the master of the dance.

Shiva Nataraja was first represented thus in a beautiful series of South Indian bronzes dating from the tenth and twelfth centuries A.D. In these images, Nataraja dances with his right foot supported by a crouching figure and his left foot elegantly raised. A cobra uncoils from his lower right forearm, and the crescent moon and a skull are on his crest. He dances within an arch of flames. This dance is called the Dance of Bliss (anandatandava).

These iconographic details of Nataraja are to be read, according to the Hindu tradition, in terms of a complex pictorial allegory. The most common figures depict a four-armed Shiva. These multiple arms represent the four cardinal directions. Each hand either holds an object or makes a specific mudra (gesture).

The upper right hand holds a hour-glass drum which is a symbol of creation. It is beating the pulse of the universe. The drum also provides the music that accompanies Shiva’s dance. It represents sound as the first element in an unfolding universe, for sound is the first and most pervasive of the elements. The story goes that when Shiva granted the boon of wisdom to the ignorant Panini (the great Sanskrit grammarian), the sound of the drum encapsulated the whole of Sanskrit grammar. The first verse of Panini’s grammar is in fact called Shiva sutra. 

The hour-glass drum also represents the male and female vital principles; two triangles penetrate each other to form a hexagon. When they part, the universe also dissolves. 

The opposite hand, the upper left, bears on its palm a tongue of flames. Fire is the element of destruction of the world. According to Hindu mythology at the end of the world, it will be fire that will be the instrument of annihilation. Thus in the balance of these two hands is illustrated a counterpoise of creation and destruction. Sound against flames, ceaselessness of production against an insatiate appetite of extermination.

The second right hand is held in the abhaya (literally "without fear") pose and so a gesture of protection, as an open palm is most likely to be interpreted. It depicts the god as a protector.

The left leg is raised towards the right leg and reaches across it; the lower left hand is stretched across the body and points to the upraised left foot which represents release from the cycle of birth and death. Interestingly, the hand pointing to the uplifted foot is held in a pose imitative of the outstretched trunk of an elephant. In Sanskrit this is known as the ’gaja-hasta-mudra’ (the posture of the elephant trunk), and is symbolic of Ganesha, Shiva’s son, the Remover of obstacles.

Shiva dances on the body of a dwarf apasmara-purusha (the man of forgetfulness) who embodies indifference, ignorance and laziness. Creation, indeed all creative energy is possible only when the weight of inertia (the tamasic darkness of the universe) is overcome and suppressed. The Nataraja image thus addresses each individual to overcome complacency and get his or her own act together. 

The ring of fire and light, which circumscribes the entire image, identifies the field of the dance with the entire universe. The lotus pedestal on which the image rests locates this universe in the heart or consciousness of each person. 

The Nataraja image is also eloquent of the paradox of Eternity and Time. It shows us that the reposeful ocean and the racing stream are not finally distinct. This wonderful lesson can be read in the significant contrast of the incessant, triumphant motion of the swaying limbs to the balance of the and the immobility of the mask-like countenance. Shiva is Kala, meaning time, but he is also Maha Kala, meaning “Great Time” or eternity. As Nataraja, King of dancers, his gestures, wild and full of grace, precipitate the cosmic illusion; his flying arms and legs and the swaying of his torso produce the continuous creation-destruction of the universe, death exactly balancing birth. The choreography is the whirligig of time. History and its ruins, the explosion of suns, are flashes from the tireless swinging sequence of the gestures. In the beautiful cast metal figurines, not merely a single phase or movement, but the entirety of this cosmic dance is miraculously rendered. The cyclic rhythm, flowing on and on in the unstayable, irreversible round of the Mahayugas, or Great Eons, is marked by the beating and stamping of the Master’s heels. But the face remains, meanwhile in sovereign calm. 

Steeped in quietude, the enigmatic mask resides above the whirl of the four resilient arms and cares nothing forthe superb legs as they beat out the tempo of the world ages. Aloof, in sovereign silence, the mask of god’s eternal essence remains unaffected by the tremendous display of his own energy, the world and its progress, the flow and the changes of time. This head, this face, this mask, abides in transcendental isolation, as a spectator unconcerned. Its smile, bent inward, filled with the bliss of self-absorption, subtly refutes, with a scarcely hidden irony, the meaningful gestures of the feet and hands. A tension exists between the marvel of the dance and the serene tranquillity of this expressively inexpressive countenance, the tension, that is to say, of Eternity and Time. The two, invisible and visible, are quintessentially the same. Man with all the fibers of his native personality clings to the duality; nevertheless, actually and finally, there is no duality. 

Another aspect of Nataraja rich in a similar symbolism is his lengthy and sensuous hair. The long tresses of his matted hair, usually piled up in a kind of pyramid, loosen during the triumphant, violent frenzy of his untiring dance. Expanding, they form two wings, to the right and left, a kind of halo, broadcasting, as it were, on their magic waves, the exuberance and sanctity of vegetative, sensuous life. 

Supra-normal life-energy, amounting to the power of magic, resides in such a wildness of hair untouched by the scissors. The conceptualization here is similar to the legend of Samson who with naked hands tore asunder the jaws of a lion. His strength was said to reside in his hair.

Also central to understanding the symbolism behind Nataraja’s hair is the realization that much of womanly charm, the sensual appeal of the Eternal Feminine, is in the fragrance, the flow and luster of beautiful hair. On the other hand, anyone renouncing the generative forces of the vegetable-animal realm, revolting against the procreative principle of life, sex, earth, and nature, and entering upon the spiritual path of absolute asceticism, has first to be shaved. He must simulate the sterility of an old man whose hairs have fallen and who no longer constitutes a link in the chain of generation. He must coldly sacrifice the foliage of the head.

The tonsure of the Christian priest and monk is a sign of this renunciation of the flesh. (Clergymen of denominations in which marriage is not considered incompatible with the saintly office do not wear a tonsure.) These “Worthy Ones”, representing the victory of yoga-spirituality, have overcome all seduction by their taking of the monastic vows and following of the ascetic formula. With their voluntary baldness they have broken through to the peace beyond the seasons of growth and change.

Thus by donning long, luxurious hair, Shiva dispels the notion of the conventional ascetic and reiterates that the image of Nataraja assimilates and harmonizes within itself apparently contradictory and conflicting aspects. 

Shiva is thus two opposite things: archetypal ascetic and archetypal dancer. On the one hand he is total tranquillity-inward calm absorbed in itself, absorbed in the void of the Absolute, where all distinctions merge and dissolve, and all tensions are at rest. But on the other hand he is total activity- life’s energy, frantic, aimless and playful.

The Nataraja image represents not simply some event in the mythic life of a local deity but a universal view in which the forces of nature and the aspirations and limitation of man confront each other and are blended together. The curator of the Indian collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art has rightly written that: "If one had to select a single icon to represent the extraordinarily rich and complex cultural heritage of India, the Shiva Nataraja might well be the most remunerative candidate."

History of India

History of India


Ancient history of India can be divided into a period from 7000 BC to 1000 AD, then Medieval India (1000 AD to 1756 AD) and modern day (1757 to 1947 AD).

Ancient India (BC to 1000 AD)Age Event

7000-3750 BC Vedic Age
3000-2000 BC Harappa (Indus and Saraswati) Civilization
2200-1900 BC Decline of Indus and Saraswati Civilization
2000-1500 BC Period of Complete chaos and migration
1000 BC Aryans expand into the Ganga valley from the Indus valley
900 BC Mahabharata War
800 BC Aryans expand into Bengal (Epic Age of Mahabharata and Ramayana)
550 BC Composition of the Upanishads
544 BC Buddha's Nirvana
327 BC Alexander's Invasion
324 BC Chandragupta Maurya defeats Seleacus Nicator
322 BC Rise of the Mauryas; Chandragupta establishes first Indian Empire
272 BC Ashoka begins reign 
180 BC Fall of the Mauryas; Rise of the Sungas
145 BC Chola king Erata conquers Ceylon
30 BC Rise of the Satvahana Dynasty in the Deccan
40 AD Sakas in power in Indus Valley and Western India
320 AD Chandragupta I establishes the Gupta dynasty
340 AD Samudragupta conquers the North and most of the Deccan
360 AD Samudragupta conquers the North and most of the Deccan
380 AD Chandragupta II comes to power; Golden Age of Gupta Literary Renaissance
405 AD Fa-hein begins his travels through the Gupta Empire
415 AD Accession of Kumara Gupta I
467 AD Skanda Gupta assumes power
476 AD Birth of astronomer Aryabhatta
606 AD Accession of Harshavardhan Gupta
711 AD Invasion of Sind by Muhammad Bin Qasim
892 AD Rise of the Eastern Chalukyas
985 AD The Chola Dynasty: Accession of Rajaraja, the Great
1001 AD Defeat of Jaipal by Sultan Mahumd

Medieval India (1000 AD to 1756 AD)Age Event

1026 Mahmud Ghazni sacks Somnath Temple
1191 Prithviraj Chauhan routs Muhammad Ghori: the first battle of Tarain
1192 Ghori defeats Prithviraj Chauhan: the second battle of Tarain 
1206 Qutbuddin establishes the Slave Dynasty
1221 Mongol invasion under Genghis Khan
1232 Foundation of the Qutub Minar
1288 Marco Polo visits India
1290 Jalaludin Firuz Khalji establishes the Khalji dynasty
1320 Ghiyasuddin Tughluk founds the Tughluk dynasty
1325 Accession of Muhammad-bin-Tughluk
1336 Foundation of Vijayanagar (Deccan)
1398 Timur invades India
1424 Rise of the Bahmani dynasty (Deccan)
1451 The Lodi dynasty established in Delhi
1489 Adil Shah dynasty at Bijapur
1490 Nizam Shahi dynasty at Ahmednagar
1498 First voyage of Vasco da gama
1510 Portuguese capture Goa
1518 Kutub Shahi dynasty at Golconda
1526 Establishment of the Mughul Dynasty; First Battle of Panipat: Babur defeats Lodis
1526-1530 Reign of Babur
1530 Humayun succeeds Babur
1538 Death of Guru Nanak
1539 Sher Shah Suri defeats Humayan and becomes Emperor of Delhi
1555 Humayun recovers the throne of Delhi
1556 Death of Humayun; Accession of Akbar
1564 Akbar abolishes poll tax on Hindus
1565 Battle of Talikota: Muslim rulers in Deccan defeats Vijaynagar Empire
1568 Fall of Chittor
1571 Foundation of Fatehpur Sikri by Akbar
1572 Akbar annexes Gujarat
1573 Surat surrenders to Akbar
1575 Battle of Tukaroi
1576 Battle of Haldighat: Akbar defeats Rana Pratap; Subjugation of Bengal
1577 Akbar troops invade Khandesh
1580 Accession of Ibrahim Adil Shah II in Bengal; Rebellion in Bihar and Bengal
1581 Akbar's march against Muhammad Hakim and reconciliation with him
1582 Divine Faith promulagated
1586 Annexation of Kashmir
1591 Mughul conquest of Sind
1592 Annexation of Orissa
1595 Siege of Ahmednagar; Annexation of Baluchistan
1597 Akbar completes his conquests
1600 Charter to the English East India Company
1602 Formation of the United East India Company of Netherlands
1605 Death of Akbar and Accession of Jahangir
1606 Rebellion of Khusrav; Execution of the Fifth Sikh Guru, Arjan
1607 Sher Afghan first, husband of Nur Jahan, killed
1608 Malik Ambar takes Ahmednagar
1609 The Dutch open a factory at Pulicat
1612 The English establish a factory at Masulipatnam
1615 Mughul Governor of Bengal defeats the Afghans; Mughuls annex Kuch ajo
1616 Submission of Mewar to the Mughuls; Arrival of Sir Thomas Roe in India
1620 The Dutch establish a factory at Surat
1621 Capture of Kangra Fort; Malik Ambar revolts in the Deccan
1622 Shah Abbas of Persia beseiges and takes Qandahar
1623 Shah Jahan revolts against Jahangir
1624 Suppression of Shah Jahan's rebellion
1626 Rebellion of Mahabat Khan
1627 Death of Jahangir; Accession of Shah Jahan
1628 Shah Jahan proclaimed Emperor
1631 Death of Shah Jahan's wife Mumtaz Mahal; The construction of Taj Mahal
1632 Mughul invasion of Bijapur
1633 End of Ahmednagar Dynasty
1636 Aurangzeb appointed Viceroy of Deccan
1639 Foundation of Fort St. George at Madras by the English
1646 Shivaji captures Torna
1656 The Mughuls attack Hyderabad and Golkunda; Annexation of Javli by Shivaji
1657 Invasion of Bijapur by Aurangzeb; Aurangzeb captures Bidar and Kalyani
1658 Coronation of Aurangzeb
1659 Battles of Khajwah and Deorai
1661 Cession of Bombay to the English; Mughul capture of Cooch Bihar
1664 Shivaji sacks Surat and assumes royal title
1666 Death of Shah Jahan; Shivaji's visit to Agra and escape
1674 Shivaji assumes the title of Chhatrapati
1678 Marwar occupied by the Mughuls
1680 Death of Shivaji; Rebellion of Prince Akbar
1686 English war with the Mughuls; Fall of Bijapur
1689 Execution of Sambhaji
1690 Peace between the Mughuls and the English
1691 Aurangzeb at the zenith of his power
1698 The new English company trading to the East Indies
1699 First Maratha raid on Malwa
1700 Death of Rajaram and regency of his widow Tara Bai
1702 Amalgamation of English and the London East India Companies
1707 Death of Aurangzeb; Battle of Jajau
1714 Husain Ali appointed Viceroy of the Deccan, signs treaty with the Marathas
1720 Accession of Baji Rao Peshwa at Poona
1739 Nadir Shah conquers Delhi; The Marathas capture Salsette and Bassein
1740 Accession of Balaji Rao Peshwa; The Marathas invade Arcot
1742 Marathas invade Bengal
1748 First Anglo-French war in India
1750 War of the Deccan and Carnatic Succession; Death of Nasir Jang
1751 Treaty of Alivadi with the Marathas
1756 Siraj-ud-daulah captures Calcutta

Introduction about Haridwar

Introduction about Haridwar

Haridwar (also spelled Hardwar, Hindi: हरिद्वार भारत) pronunciation, is a holy city and municipal board in the Haridwar District of Uttarakhand, India. In Hindi, Haridwar stands for Dwar of Hari or Gateway to God, with 'Hari' meaning god and 'dwar' meaning gate . Haridwar is regarded as one of the seven holiest places to Hindus.

After travelling, 253 km (157 mi) from its source, at Gaumukh, 3,139 m (10,300 ft) above sea level, situated at the edge of the Gangotri Glacier, Ganga enters the Indo-Gangetic Plain of North India for the first time at Haridwar,  and this is what gave the city its ancient name, Gangadwára (गंगाद्वार), as the place where the Ganges descends to the plains .

According to Hindu mythology, Haridwar is one among the four sites where drops of the elixir of immortality, Amrita, accidentally spilled over from the pitcher, in which it was being carried away by the celestial bird Garuda, after the Samudra manthan [3]. These four spots -- Ujjain, Haridwar, Nasik, and Allahabad -- have today become places, where the Kumbha Mela is celebrated once every 3 years in any of these 4 places and after a period of 12 years, the Maha Kumbha Mela is celebrated on the 12th year at Prayag in Allahabad. Millions of pilgrims, devotees, and tourists congregate here from all over the world to celebrate the event. They perform ritualistic bathing on the banks of the river Ganga.

The spot where the nectar fell is considered to be the Brahma Kund at Har-ki-Pauri (literally, "footsteps of the Lord," and symbolically the footprints of the Amrita), the most sacred ghat of Haridwar; thousands of devotees and pilgrims flock here during festivals or snan from all over India to take a holy dip. This act is considered to be the equivalent of washing away one's sins to attain Moksha.

Introduction about Hinduism

Hinduism is the only major religion of the world that can neither be traced to a specific founder nor has a holy book as the one and only scriptural authority. India's major religion, Hinduism is followed by approximately 80% of the population and is one of the oldest extant religions with its roots extending back to 1000 BC. The rituals and the religious practices of the Indus Valley Civilization developed with the influence of the southern Dravidians and the Aryans around 1500 BC. The religion has gifted a number of Holy books to the world including, the Bhagwad Gita, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Puranas.Hinduism has a number of sacred writings that outline how its followers should conduct their lives. These writings include the Mahabharata and its famous section, the Bhagavad-Gita. 



Hinduism believes that a person's life is actually the journey of the soul. The Hindu goes through a series of reincarnations that eventually lead to 'moksha', or salvation, freeing the body from the cycle of rebirths (after reaching spiritual perfection). Purity of mind and action is essential, as 'karma' or actions in life determine your reincarnation. Bad 'karma' leads to being born into a lower reincarnation. 'Dharma' on the other hand controls the laws of the social, ethical and the spiritual. 

The most interesting fact about the religion is the number of Gods worshipped. The three main manifestations of the omnipresent God are: Brahma, the creator of the universe, Vishnu the protector and Shiva the destroyer. Wars between the Asuras (demons) and the Devas (Gods) are a common part of the Hindu mythology. The Asuras wanted to conquer the territory of the Devas. Many interesting stories are woven around this theme.

Hindus follow the principle of ahimsa, non-injury to living creatures. This principle especially applies to cows, which Hindus believe are sacred animals. As a result, hardly any Hindus eat beef, and many do not eat any kind of meat. 

Hindus are divided into a large number of social groups called castes. The castes are grouped into four main categories. These categories, from the highest to the lowest, are Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras. Each caste has a traditional occupation, such as priest, artist, or farmer. A Hindu is born into a caste and can never become a member of a different caste. Within a community, a person's social status usually depends on the caste to which he or she belongs. 

Each caste has its own rules of behavior. These rules limit social contacts with members of other castes. Marriage between people of different castes seldom occurs. Each caste also has rules concerning who may cook the food its members eat. For example, people of a high caste may eat only food that is prepared by members of the same caste. Most Hindus will eat food prepared by members of a higher caste. Each caste also has customs regarding the type of food its members may eat. Some castes eat meat, and others eat fish but not meat. Some eat neither meat nor fish, but do eat eggs. Still others do not eat eggs. Generally, the higher castes have more restricted diets than the lower castes. 

Education and modern industrial life have weakened many caste barriers. Today, Hindus of various castes mix in factories, offices, and public places. But few Indians want the caste system to die out completely. Many castes provide welfare and educational benefits to their needy members. Castes also help to pass on various skills in arts and crafts from generation to generation.