attention to the Himalayas in the 1880s.
In the 1900s mountaineers climbed the
highest Himalayan peaks for the first
time. The New Zealander Edmund Hillary
and the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay
reached the summit of Mount Everest in
1953. The Himalayas challenge an
increasing number of trekkers and
climbers every year.
#More to explore
Everest, Mount
Hinduism
Hinduism is the world’s oldest major
religion. Some traditions of Hinduism
date back more than 3,000 years. Over
the centuries, however, its followers—
called Hindus—have accepted many
new ideas and combined them with the
old ones. More than 800 million people
practice Hinduism worldwide. Most of
them live in India, where Hinduism
began.
Beliefs
Hinduism has neither a founder nor a
central organization. No one has set
In Hinduism
the law of
karma says
that a person’s
actions in the
present life will
affect the
quality of the
next life.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Hinduism 55
down a list of beliefs for all Hindus to
follow. But all Hindus revere the Veda,
an ancient body of sacred writings.
Hindus believe in a spiritual power
called Brahman. Brahman is the source
of all existence and is present in every
thing and every place. The human soul,
called atman, is part of the universal
Brahman. Hindus generally believe that
when someone dies, the atman is reborn
in another body. A soul may return
many times in human, animal, or even
plant form. This idea is known as reincarnation.
The cycle of rebirth continues
until one accepts that the atman and
Brahman are one. Most Hindus consider
breaking free from this cycle to be a person’s
highest purpose.
Hindus are expected to act according to
the principle of ahimsa, which means
“nonviolence.” This means that one
must never wish to harm anyone or anything.
Hindus consider many animals to
be sacred, especially the cow. Devout
Hindus eat only vegetarian food.
Hindus worship many gods. The god
Vishnu is considered the protector and
preserver of life. The god Siva represents
the forces that create life as well as those
that destroy it. The supreme goddess is
most commonly called Shakti. Like Siva,
she can be either beneficial or fierce,
depending on her form. The worship of
Vishnu, Siva, and Shakti are the three
major branches of modern Hinduism.
Brahma (not to be confused with Brahman)
is considered the creator of the
universe. In ancient times he was widely
worshipped, but his following is now
small.
Practices
In a form of worship called puja, Hindus
pray for a god to enter a home or
A shrine in a Hindu temple
honors Durga, one of the many
forms of the goddess Shakti.
Some Important Hindu Holidays
Holiday Meaning Date
Diwali festival of lights; honors Laksmi, the goddess of wealth October/November
Vasantpanchami honors Sarasvati, the goddess of learning February
Holi festival of colors; celebrates spring February/March
Dussehra celebrates the triumph of the hero Rama over September/October
the evil Ravana
Note: Actual dates depend on the Hindu lunar (moon) calendar.
56 Hinduism BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
temple and then treat the god as an honored
guest. They worship an image of
the god and offer up food, water, and
other items.
Tantrism is the search for spiritual
knowledge and for release from the cycle
of rebirth. It involves chanting sacred
sounds and words called mantras and
drawing symbols called mandalas.
Pilgrimages, or journeys to holy places,
have been common in Hinduism since
ancient times. Many pilgrimage sites lie
along the Ganges River in northern
India, which Hindus consider the holiest
of rivers.
History
In about 1500 BC people called Aryans
invaded India from what is now Iran.
The Aryans composed the oldest writings
in the Veda. They developed a religion,
called Vedism, that centered on
making animal sacrifices to the gods.
Vedism was the starting point of Hinduism.
But the influence of other peoples
and ideas over the years made Hinduism
a very different religion from Vedism.
Over time, for example, people began to
disapprove of the killing of animals as
sacrifices. From the 100s BC to the AD
300s, the older gods of Vedism were
slowly replaced by newer ones. But some
rites of Vedism have survived in modern
Hinduism.
In the 1000s Muslims invaded northern
India and Islam influenced some new
schools of Hinduism. In the late 1400s a
new religion, Sikhism, combined Hindu
and Islamic elements.
In the early 1800s Great Britain began
making India into a colony. In reaction
to foreign rule, Hinduism underwent a
revival. It helped unify Indians against
the British. Also during this period,
however, some Hindu leaders began
criticizing elements of traditional Hinduism.
The reformer Ram Mohun Roy,
for example, spoke out against the
ancient form of social organization
called the caste system. Under this system,
people were treated differently
depending on which social class they
were born into. The reformers used
someWestern ideas to make Hinduism
more modern.
The most famous Hindu leader of the
1900s was Mahatma Gandhi. He
brought the idea of ahimsa into politics.
He helped win India’s independence
from Britain using only nonviolent
methods.
