Hinduism is the religion followed by the people of South Asia, mainly in India though. The term HInduism actually means “what the Indians do” and was applied to these people by Islamic Invaders. Hinduism is actually a mix of several differents ideals from different religions. Parts of it draw on the Vedicreligion of the Aryan tribes from the north, some from the Dravidian civilization to the south, along with ideas from Buddhism. From the Dravidians came thebeilief of intense devotion to the gods and the rituals for fertility and other such things. It is not known yet how the Vedic religion manifested into Hinduism.As in all civilizations of the time, the priests held high power and stature in society, but unlike other religions of the time, Hinduism did not rely on sacrifice as much. They believed that they should instead use immense personal devotion, called bhakti, to a certain deity. This allowed for better relations between the gods and the people. The most common deities worshipped were Vishnu, Shiva, and Devi, all of which were formerly lesser gods in some other religion of the time. Shiva and Devi most likely came from the Dravidian culture. Vishnu is a god that was directly linked to his worshipers in a way. Whenever they were in trouble, VIshnu was there to help them out. If there wasa battle with the demons, it was believed that Vishnu would incarnate himself on earth to fight the war against evil. Such examples of this are the hero Rama and the Buddha. Shiva, who lived in the Himalayas in isolation. He is the symbol of both creation and destruction. Often, he is seen doing dances representing creation and destruction. Finally, Devi, called “the Goddess”, also manifested herself on earth. Such manifestations were a full-bodied mother-goddess that promoted fertility and procreation or a freightening deity, named Kali or Durga. This deity would then bring violence and destruct...
