MISNOMER OF HINDU RELIGION

"Hindu means" hinsam dusayati khandayati Iti hinduh "" where violence, and sin are hated is a  Hindu.  ("హిందూ అంటే "హింసాం దూషయతి ఖండయతి ఇతి హిందుః"" ఎక్కడైతే హింస, పాపము ఉన్నాయో దానిని ఖండించేవాడే హిందువు .   ఋగ్వేదం సిందు నది పరివహక ప్రాంతాన్ని సప్త సింధు (ఏడు నదులు కల ప్రాంతం) అని పేర్కొంది. జొరాస్ట్రియనుల గ్రంథాలలో కూడా దీని గురించి ప్రస్తావన ఉంది.

The word Hindu is derived (through Persian) from the Sanskrit  word Sindhu, the historic local name for the Indus River  in the northwestern part of the Indian Subcontinent (Modern day Pakistan). The word Sindhu is first mentioned in the Rigveda.

The word Hindu was taken by European languages from the Arabic term " al-Hind "  and refers to the land of the people who live across the River Indus.     This Arabic term was itself taken from the Persian term Hindū, which refers to all Indians. By the 13th century, Hinduism  emerged as a popular alternative Name of India,  meaning the "land of Hindus"

Hinduism consists of  many diverse traditions  and has no single founder,   Among its direct roots is the Historical Vedic Religion of Iron age of India.      As such, Hinduism is often called the as the " Oldest Religion " or "oldest living religion" in the world.

 Hinduism is also the oldest living major tradition on earth with roots reaching back into prehistory.    It is described as both the oldest of the world's religions and the most diverse.   Hinduism does not have a "unified system of belief encoded in a declaration of faith or  a Creed,  but is rather an umbrella term comprising the plurality of religious phenomena originating in, and based on, the Vedic Traditions.

According to the Supreme Court of India, "Unlike other religions in the World, the Hindu religion does not claim any one Prophet, it does not worship any one God, it does not believe in any one philosophic concept, it does not follow any one act of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not satisfy the traditional features of a religion or creed. It is a way of life and nothing more"

However, other religions of India , such as Budhism , Jainism  and Sikhism,   believe in karma, outside the scope of Hinduism.      Hinduism is therefore viewed as the most complex of all the living, historical world religions.

 Hinduism, is defined , as Sanātana Dharma, a Sanskrit  phrase meaning "The Eternal Law" or  the "eternal way".    To its adherents, Hinduism is the traditional way of life.   Because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term. 

A definition of Hinduism given by the first Vice President of India who was also a prominent theologian, Sarvepalli Radhakrishna, states that Hinduism is not "just a faith" but in itself is related to the union of reason and  Intuition.    Radhakrishna  explicitly states that Hinduism cannot be defined, but is only to be experienced.

Hinduism's tolerance to variations in belief and its broad range of traditions make it difficult to define as a religion according to traditional Western conceptions.