How Hinduism was started -
When did hinduism begin

How Hinduism was started is a million-dollar question. Why? Hinduism is not a religion... it is a way of life. The start of Hinduism has never been debated yet; many ask how Hinduism was started. The question is apparent as there is no preceptor of Hinduism that started Hinduism... similar as Buddhism followed Gautama Buddha and Christianity emanated from Jesus Christ.

How Hinduism was started has a beginning. Before India gained independence... it was a conglomerate of above 600 independent territories... states! With the coming of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as the home Minister of India... all the independent states were done away with and the combined power of the states was termed India... a sovereign independent country!

Before India gained independence India was ruled by British for above 200 years and before those Muslim invaders ruled India. It was for centuries Muslim invaders from the East attacked India. The regions in the East lay beyond River Indus. The Muslim invaders pronounced H for I. The region beyond River Indus was termed by them as belonging to Hindus and the religion Hinduism.

Hinduism does not have a shallow beginning. It exists from times immemorial. How? Hinduism primarily consists of teachings contained in Vedas, Upanishads and the Sacred Bhagavad Gita. These form the primary sacred scriptures of Hinduism. About 2600 years before came Mahavira... the 24th Tirthankara (preceptor) of Jainism.

About thousand years earlier to him came Lord Krishna... considered an Avatar his era (God manifest in human form). It was during the times of Lord Krishna the roots of wisdom spread all over. The teachings of Bhagavad Gita appealed to the masses. Lord Krishna in a nutshell had reduced writings of Vedas into Vedanta (aka Bhagavad Gita).

The voluminous Vedas were totally incomprehensible to the masses. Engaged in day-to-day routines of life that had the time to go through voluminous Vedas! The wisdom contained in the Vedas remained confined to priests... religious preachers of those times! With the coming of Lord Krishna... the wisdom of the ages percolated to the masses!

Vedas are the first words of God Almighty invoked by mankind. Vedas are essentially direct revelations from God Almighty. The message of the Vedas... the wisdom of Vedas was communicated further on... through mouth orally. As the written script had not yet evolved... the spiritual masters of their era spread the wisdom of the Vedas through the word of mouth.

Hinduism primarily exists from the beginning of time means when wisdom was in its infancy... there was none available world over who could fathom what we term as wisdom invoked through the path of Shruti (the universal mode of communication). Only accomplished sages and saints could invoke the wisdom directly from its source.

As evolved mankind... the brain of human beings also evolved. With passage of time few human beings became competent to invoke the wisdom of Vedas directly from God Almighty. The wisdom of Vedas was invoked by Aryans living in high altitudes... in snowy terrains! As the cold became unbearable... these Aryans came down and settled in the region we call India today.

The initial abode of Aryans laid somewhere in Afghanistan and erstwhile Persia. With the Aryans permanently settling regions of warmer region India... Hinduism is rightly the wisdom given by Indians to masses world over! As of today, Hinduism consists of Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Puranas, Itihasas, Agamas and Darshanas!

Apart from above, the two sacred epics Ramayana and Mahabharata form part of Hinduism. For living the physical manifest life... the earthly sojourn of 70 to 80 years... gaining wisdom contained in Ramayana suffices! For knowing the essence of life... the inner truths... fathoming the depths of wisdom contained in Sacred Bhagavad Gita becomes essential.

Bhagavad Gita is part of Mahabharata. The teachings of Bhagavad Gita... the doctrine of Bhagavad Gita were imparted by Lord Krishna to King Arjuna in the battle of Mahabharata. The wisdom of Bhagavad Gita has no parallel in mankind. It is absolute pure wisdom knowing which one gains enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) and finally salvation (moksha).

The beginning of Hinduism... the start of Hinduism is from times humanity gained a firm footing on platform of spirituality. Islamic Dharma is hardly 1500 years old, Christianity 2100... Buddhism followed Gautama Buddha about 2600 years earlier... and Jainism about 77 years before that. Between the coming of Mahavira and Lord Krishna there is a distinct gap of about 1000 years.

In a nutshell the entire history of mankind... the wisdom gained is not above 5000 years old. Lord Krishna belonged to India... and so did Gautama Buddha. Mahavira also belonged to India and followed them Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana. Both Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed gained their wisdom from Nalanda and Taxila universities of erstwhile India.

Hinduism is also termed Sanatana Dharma... a Dharma that exists from times immemorial... without a beginning! Even before the coming of Mahavira when no religion at all existed... how mankind conducted itself. In absence of religion everything should have decayed and died. Religion is not the absolute truth of life... in absence of religion human beings can sustain life.

Before coming of any religion existed Dharma and what is the definition of Dharma, "Your right to do what is just and right and not what was destined"! Based on the intellect... the power of discrimination that distinguishes us from animals' human beings conducted their day-to-day affairs of life. In absence of religion mankind survived the rigors of life following inherent Dharma.

Hinduism religion is also termed Sanatana Dharma is sufficient proof that the beginning of Hinduism religion... the start of Hinduism is from the beginning of time... beginningless... the prime reason why there is not one founder of Hinduism! The teachings of Hinduism are universal in nature. For following the tenets of Hinduism religion one need not convert to Hinduism religion.

Contrary to Christianity having one sacred Bible... and Islamic Dharma, the sacred Quran... Hinduism has not hundreds but multitudes of different sacred scriptures that combine together to form Hinduism. The four primary Vedas... the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda form the initial books of wisdom invoked by mankind.

Followed above 200 Upanishads (independent treatises) of which Katha Upanishad, Ken Upanishad and Isa Upanishad are primary. Does not mean value of other Upanishads like Mundaka, Mandukya, Aitareya, Taittiriya, Shwetashwatara and Brihadaranakya gets lessened. Brihadaranakya Upanishad was composed and compiled by Sage Jnanavalakya of Janaka era.

Finally sacred Bhagavad Gita... the song divine... the celestial nectar... the doctrine given to mankind by Lord Krishna came in vogue! In fact the teachings of Bhagavad Gita were imparted to King Arjuna by Lord Krishna for starting the fight with his cousin king Duryodhana. It was only after King Arjuna assimilated the teachings of Bhagavad Gita he agreed to fight king Duryodhana.

The army of king Duryodhana... his opponents consisted of his maternal grandfather... his teacher Guru Dronacharya, some very close and distant relatives and friends! Under no circumstances King Arjuna was prepared to fight his nears and dears. The moment King Arjuna realized the folly of his thinking he agreed to fight the battle of Dharma (righteousness).

King Arjuna understood that Dharma (righteousness) had to be upheld at all costs. It was imperative upon King Arjuna as the King of the kingdom to re-establish Dharma (righteousness) by destroying his enemy... those siding adharma (lawlessness)! King Arjuna was to fight for the sake of his country and countrymen and his personal interests carried no meaning in warfare!

Bhagavad Gita of Hinduism is one such document the teachings of which are universal in nature. At all times in the present or the past or in the coming future... the teachings of Bhagavad Gita hold good! Bhagavad Gita contains absolute truths of life. It is embodiment of pure truth. The knower of Bhagavad Gita finally emancipates from the cycle of birth and death forever.

For following the teachings of Hinduism earnestly... it does not matter who is the founder of Hinduism... when did Hinduism religion start or how Hinduism was started! What matters is assimilating the wisdom of Bhagavad Gita in entirety and reaching the 8.4 millionth manifestation... the last in the cosmic life cycle at the earliest!

By: Vijay Kumar "Atma Jnani"

Vijay Kumar... The Man who Realized God in 1993 explains the concept of When did Hinduism begin. For more on how hinduism was started visit - how hinduism was started. Send Your Query - click here Ref. 090723

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