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Hinduism is the largest religion in the Indian subcontinent, and the third largest religion in the world. It has been called the "oldest religion" in the world, and many practitioners refer to Hinduism as "the eternal law" (Sanātana Dharma).[1] Within this faith, there are four major traditions or denominations, namely, Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism.[2][3][4][5] There also exist a number of minor traditions, such as Ganapatism[6] and Saurism.
The religion is a diverse system of thought with a wide variety of beliefs, and hence the concept of God, and the number of deities, rests upon the philosophy and the tradition that make up a devotee's adherence. The faith is described by some to be monotheistic, where all deities are believed to be forms of Brahman, the Ultimate Reality, as popularised by the Advaita philosophy.[7] It is also widely regarded to be polytheistic and henotheistic, though this is also considered to be a form of overgeneralisation.[8]
- ^ Knott 1998, p. 5.
- ^ An introductory dictionary of theology and religious studies. Orlando O. Espín, James B. Nickoloff. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press. 2007. pp. 562–563. ISBN 978-0-8146-5856-7. OCLC 162145884.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ G., Bhandarkar, R. (1913). Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism and minor religious systems. Verlag von Karl J. Trübner. OCLC 873230384.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Bishara, Azmi (1 August 2021), "Ibn Khaldun's 'Asabiyya and Sects", Sectarianism without Sects, Oxford University Press, pp. 199–220, doi:10.1093/oso/9780197602744.003.0007, ISBN 978-0-19-760274-4, archived from the original on 2 October 2022, retrieved 25 September 2022
- ^ Flood, Gavin D. (1996). An introduction to Hinduism. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43304-5. OCLC 50516193.
- ^ Nath 2001, p. 31.
- ^ Fowler, Jeaneane D. (2002). Perspectives of reality : an introduction to the philosophy of Hinduism. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press. pp. 49–55. ISBN 1-898723-93-1. OCLC 49530055.
- ^ Michaels, Axel (2004). Hinduism : past and present. Barbara Harshav. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-08953-1. OCLC 51886444.