1.Hinduism is the oldest known religion in the world. In fact, it goes back as far as 5,000-10,000 B.C.
2.There is no known founder or governing body of Hinduism.
3.“Hinduism” is not the real word for the religion. That was made up by Greeks and Arabs to those living by the Sindhu river. The real name for Hinduism is Sanātana Dharma. This means “eternal dharma”, or eternal truth.
4.Hindus believe the purpose of life is to attain self-realization, or enlightenment
5.Hinduism is the 3rd largest religion in the world, with over a billion followers.
6.Hindus believe there is only one unmanifested, eternal reality that can be found through enlightenment. This one reality has taken on the form of everything we see today- including gods and goddesses. So even though they worship many gods, in reality it’s a monotheistic religion.
7.Dharma (righteousness), Artha (means of money), Kama (right desire), and Moksha (salvation), make up the 4 main life-goals of Hinduism.
8.The major books of Hinduism are: the Vedas, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, 18 Puranas, and Mahabharata.
9.The most common language for Hindu scriptures is Sanskrit- the oldest language in the world.
10.Hinduism strongly encourages a vegetarian diet- something that many Hindus follow. However, many practitioners in India simply omit beef and pork from their diet, and follow vegetarian guidelines on auspicious days.
