Hinduism – Origin and Hindu Movements

The Indian subcontinent is home to numerous religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Christianity, etc. Hinduism is one of the biggest religions in India as around 80% of the Indian population followed this religion. There are different cults and sects which are associated with Hinduism.

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Meaning and Origin of the Religion Hinduism

The word Hinduism is drawn from ‘Hindu’ which is a term to connote people living in the geographical area around the river Indus. The basic principles of Hinduism are borrowed from the Vedic and pre-Vedic religious philosophies. The Shrutis, Vedas (Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda), Brahmanas attached with Vedas, Upanishads, Arayankas, etc. all these texts with their mystical teachings gave principles to Hinduism.

Initially, Hinduism included various sacrifices and offerings which were done open air but later the ‘Puja’ or worship of divine power’s image began. Thus, Hinduism became a religion with holy books like Bhagavat Gita, Vedas, etc. In Upanishads, four stages of life are mentioned; Brahmachari (celibate students), Grihastha (entered after graduation), Vanaprastha (a hermit), and Sanyasi (an ascetic). Once a person becomes an ascetic, he strives for the achievement of Moksha or Salvation.

Hinduism went through several transitions. In Medieval India, the Bhakti movement was prominent and during this period priests translated Sanskrit Hindu texts into vernacular languages. During this period, in south India, the Vaishnavite movement was very strong and saints who were devoted to Lord Shiva came to be known as Nayanars while those who worshipped Lord Vishnu came to be known as Alvars. But with time number of evil practices like the Sati system, child marriage, Caste discrimination, untouchability, etc. entered in Hinduism. To combat the evils of Hinduism number of movements were started by different peoples in India.

Movements for Reforms and Revival of Hinduism in India

As I mentioned earlier several evil practices entered Hinduism and hence, many people tried to revive the old Hinduism hence, many reform movements were started in India since the Medieval age. The Brahmo Movement began with Raja Rammohan Roy who questioned the problems of Hinduism and found the truth of Vedanta. He rejected iconography and spoke against the practice of Sati.

Later Devandranath Tagore and Keshabchandra Sen joined the movement and also spoke against child marriage, polygamy, and the caste system. Ramakrishna Mission, started by Swami Vivekanand in 1897, advocated supreme devotion to God. It is sometimes called “neo-Hinduism’ as it says that God could be formless or in an object but the purpose of man is to find him. The three-fold philosophy was to spread the Vedantic spirituality; to strive for a harmonious existence of all world religions and to consider the service to mankind as service to God.

The Arya Samaj was started by Swami Dayanand Saraswati for the revival of Hinduism and they believed in the supremacy of the Vedas. One of the major policies of this samaj was to work for the welfare of mankind. They believed in good education for the masses and established many schools. They started the Suddhi movement or purification movement through which they wanted to convert non-Hindus into religion.

Thus, Hinduism evolved with time in India and emerged as the most followed religion in India.