1. What is Hinduism?

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Download PDF: PCT-001 What is Hinduism

  • Hinduism is the religion followed by Hindus. It started in India, over 5,000 years ago.
  • Hinduism is the main religion in India. Many Indian people are Hindus. Others are Muslims, Sikhs or Buddhists. There are also quite a few Jews and Christians living in India.
  • India is a very hot country. It is over 4,000 miles away.
  • In India there are many interesting animals, such as: tigers; snakes; elephants; camels; monkeys; peacocks; wild pigs; cows.
  •  In India, there are some very long and wide rivers. The longest is the River Ganges. Indian people called it ‘the Ganga’ or ‘Mother Ganga’.
  • Some Hindus live outside of India. Many Hindu people live in Britain.
  • Hindu ladies often wear a saree, (although wearing a saree doesn’t mean someone is a Hindu).They sometimes wear a nose-ring and a bindi. A bindi is a dot worn between the eyebrows. Hindu men usually dress like everyone else.
  • Not all Hindus are from India, or from Indian families. There are some white Hindus also!
  • Yoga comes from India; so do joss sticks (incense), curries and lots of other things.
  • In Britain, we see many Indian restaurants.
  • Some English words come from India; here are a few you may recognise: pyjamas, bungalow, chutney, cot, jungle, shampoo, punch (‘panch’ in India means ‘five’).
  • Many languages are spoken in India. The main one is Hindi.
  • The Hindu holy books are written in a very old language called Sanskrit. Two important books are:
    (1) the Ramayana (the story of Rama and Sita)
    (2) The Bhagavad Gita (‘The song of God’)
  • Hindus worship at home and in the temple (called a ‘mandir’). There are about 150 Hindu temples in Britain.
  • One symbol used to show Hinduism is the Om sign.