Hinduism

            Hinduism is very different from other religions such as Christianity and other Western religions. What I mean by that is Christianity and other Western religions have a single founder, a specific theological system, a single system of morality, or a central religious organizing. It consists of thousands of different relgious groups that have evolved in India since 1500 BC. I think that it is interesting that a religion can just be based on other religions and ways of others think and feel. Hinduism has grown to beocme the world's third largest religion, of course after Christianity and Islam. There are really many followers that believe in Hinduism, 13 % of the world's population to be exact. India, Nepal and among the Tamils in Sir Lanka are where Hinduism is more dominant. The United States has little over 1 million Hindus and about 160,000 in Canada. That impressed me, I was not aware that there were so many followers to this particular religion that lived in the United St!.
             ates. .
             Let us get into some of the beliefs that are in Hinduism. Hinduism has been viewed in the west as a religion that one which worships multiple gods and goddessed. Some have viewed it as the panethesie principle of Braham, that all reality is a unity. The entire universe is seen as one divine entity who is simultaneously at one with the universe and who transcends it as well. Most urban Hindus follow one of two major divisions within Hinduism, Vaishnavaism, which regards Vishnu as the ulitimate deity and Shivaism, which regards Shiva as the ultimate deity. However, many rural Hindus worship their own village goddess or an earth goddess. She is believed to rule over fertility and disease and thus over life and death. .
             In the religion of Hinduism, they believe in repetitious Transmigration of the soul. What this means to me is the transfer of one's soul after death into another body which is born; this sounds somewhat what we call rebirth.