Origin of Hinduism

1. HINDU
ISM

2. Hinduism = c. 15th-5th BCE
Zoroastrianism = c. 10th-5th BCE
Judaism = c. 9th-5th BCE
Jainism = c. 8th-2nd BCE
Confucianism = c. 6th-5th BCE
Buddhism = c. 6th-5th BCE
Taoism = c. 6th-4th BCE
Shintoism = c. 3rd-8th CE
THE WORLD’S 8 OLDEST RELIGIONS

3. 1) Hinduism
= c. 15th-5th
BCE; 1.1B
ORIGINS
OVERVIEW:
The term Hinduism became familiar
as a designator of religious ideas
and practices distinctive to India
with the publication of books such
as Hinduism (1877) by Sir Monier
Monier-Williams, the notable
Oxford scholar and author of an
influential Sanskrit dictionary.

4. 1) Hinduism
= c. 15th-5th
BCE; 1.1B
Early travelers to the Indus valley,
beginning with the Greeks and
Persians, spoke of its inhabitants as
“Hindu” (Greek: ‘indoi).
In the 16th century, residents of
India themselves began very
slowly to employ the term to
distinguish themselves from the
Turks. Gradually the
distinction became primarily
religious rather than ethnic,
geographic, or cultural.
ORIGINS

5. 1) Hinduism
= c. 15th-5th
BCE; 1.1B
Since the late 19th century, Hindus
have reacted to the term Hinduism in
several ways. Some have rejected it in
favor of indigenous formulations.
Others have preferred “Vedic
religion,” using the term Vedic to
refer not only to the ancient
religious texts known as the Vedas
but also to a fluid corpus of sacred
works in multiple languages and an
orthoprax (traditionally
sanctioned) way of life.
ORIGINS

6. 1) Hinduism
= c. 15th-5th
BCE; 1.1B
Still others have chosen to call the
religion sanatana dharma (“eternal
law”), a formulation made popular in
the 19th century and emphasizing
the timeless elements of the
tradition that are perceived to
transcend local interpretations
and practice.
ORIGINS

7. 1) Hinduism
= c. 15th-5th
BCE; 1.1B Finally, others, perhaps the
majority, have simply accepted
the term Hinduism or its
analogues, especially hindu
dharma (Hindu moral and
religious law), in various Indic
languages.
ORIGINS

8. 1) Hinduism
= c. 15th-5th
BCE; 1.1B There is no founder of Hinduism,
no date of origin, nor – according
to the faith – a development of the
belief system; the scribes who
wrote the Vedas are said to have
been simply recording that which
had always existed.
ORIGIN:
ORIGINS

9. 1) Hinduism
= c. 15th-5th
BCE; 1.1B
This eternal knowledge is known
as shruti (“what is heard”) and is
set down in the Vedas and their
various sections known as the
Samhitas, Aranyakas,
Brahmanas, and, most famously,
the Upanishads, each of which
addresses a different aspect of the
faith.
ORIGIN:
ORIGINS

10. 1) Hinduism
= c. 15th-5th
BCE; 1.1B
Hinduism most likely existed in
the Indus Valley prior to the 3rd
millennium BCE when a nomadic
coalition of tribes who referred to
themselves as Aryans (freemen)
came to the region from Central
Asia.
ORIGIN:
ORIGINS

11. 1) Hinduism
= c. 15th-5th
BCE; 1.1B
It is clear from the ruins of cities
such as Mohenjo-daro and
Harappa (to name only the two
most famous) that a highly
advanced civilization was already
well developed in the Indus River
Valley by c. 3000 BCE, having
grown from Neolithic Period
settlements dating to before 7000
BCE.
ORIGIN:
ORIGINS

12. 1) Hinduism
= c. 15th-5th
BCE; 1.1B
It is more certain that, whatever
form this religion took, significant
elements of it originated
elsewhere as the basic Vedic
thought (as well as the names
and characters of many of the
gods) correspond closely with the
Early Iranian Religion of Persia.
ORIGIN:
ORIGINS

13. 1) Hinduism
= c. 15th-5th
BCE; 1.1B
Adherents of the faith call
Hinduism as Sanatana Dharma
(“eternal order” or “eternal path”)
and understand the precepts, as
set down in the scriptures known
as the Vedas.
ORIGIN:
ORIGINS

14. 1) Hinduism
= c. 15th-5th
BCE; 1.1B
The Vedas sought to understand
the nature of existence and the
individual's place in the cosmic
order. In pursuing these
questions, the sages created the
highly developed theological
system which would become
Hinduism.
ORIGINS