How does hinduism impact culture

As your bus winds its way through a crowded city street, you may be rather surprised to see a cow or bull standing or walking carefree amidst a swarm of people. If you were to look at the people walking near these sacred animals, you would see many of them touching the body of the animal and then touching their own forehead and chest. It is well known that eating beef is religiously taboo for Hindus. The sacredness of the cow stems from the Hindu belief that the Hindu cosmos dwells in the body of the cow.

The bull is sacred; it is the vehicle of Siva. This same ethos applies to particular forms of plant life linked to Hindu mythology, such as the fig and banyan trees. Some Indian customs are Hindu, others are not. The Hindu element is so much a part of Indian culture that some of it has influenced non-Hindu aspects of Indian life, manners and customs. For example, anybody paying their respects to a cow would most likely be Hindu, but certainly not Christian or Muslim. But someone touching you as a gesture of apology could be Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, or even an atheist.

The custom is not specific to believers and practitioners of Hinduism alone. How do Indian customs relate to the wellspring of Hinduism? The source of these customs and practices may be found in Hindu philosophy and religion. A key concept in Advaita non-dualist philosophy is that there is a single reality behind and within all the more obvious duality that we experience.

That one reality is called brahman, which is different from the brahman caste even in its Sanskrit spelling and pronunciation. This brahman may be experienced by individuals within themselves as atman, or self. But brahman and atman are one. Thus, all reality is sacred. The Hindu Advaitic philosophical insight finds its corollary in bhakti, or the way the Hindu devotee or bhakta experiences the deity of his choice. Such loving devotion is experienced and expressed not only in the specific temple s of that goddess or god, where rituals are practiced individually as well as in community, but also toward all reality.

For the deity is to be found in loving devotion everywhere and in all things, persons and happenings. Does the reverential attitude of the Hindu, and by extension of the Indian generally, not seem to make deeper sense in this wider context?

In earlier centuries this kumkum was invariably red and worn exclusively by women whose husbands were alive. It was an auspicious symbol that singled out non-widows. But at some point in the latter half of the present century it has become fashionable even for non-Hindu women to wear the kumkum as a decorative ornament.

Indeed the married and the unmarried, teenage girls as well as those in their pre-teens, even widows and older women, all feel free to wear the kumkum!

What is more, women even choose to have the color of the kumkum match the color of their clothes, no longer discriminating against blue, green, silver, gold, black or yellow. Is the caste system Indian or Hindu? There are thousands of castes in India, despite what scholars correctly say about there being only four varnas strata , according to the classical texts of Hinduism.

Generally, people know quite well which castes are superior or inferior to their own. The Vedas is the most fundamental book for Hindus.

It was dictated by the god Syva's son, named Ganesha. In Hinduism, the basic goals of life called purushartha or "The Four Ends of Man," include dharma acting righteously and fulfilling one's duties , artha money, prosperity, or wealth Because of its long tradition, its links to social status and its integration with cultural activities, Hinduism has had an enormous influence on Indian society.

It is not only a religion, but also a way of life for Indians. Works Cited Chopra, P. Religions and Communities of India. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities, Welcome to India Theodore, ed. Sources of Indian Tradition.

New York: Columbia UP, Finegan, Jack. India Today! Louis, Missouri: The Bethany Press, Religious Tolerance Organization Sharma, Arvind, ed. Our Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers, Weber, Max.

The Religion of India. Illinois: Glencoe, Due to the fact that Hinduism does not require followers to accept any one idea, the religion is much more cultural rather than creedal. The Hinduism religion has a belief of reincarnation, meaning that after one dies they are reborn.

When it comes to the Hinduism diet there are varying beliefs. Due to a lack of scriptural documentation there are varied ideologies. Some Hindus are purely vegetarians, whereas others only eat non-vegetarian foods on Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays, Chathurthis, Ekadashis and celebrations of festivals.

Daily Life Hinduism continues to thrive in modern-day India. Islam in India Islam is the second most followed religion in India, influencing the country's society, culture, architecture and artistry. Sikhism in India Originating in India, Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that promotes devotion to a formless God. Jainism in India Jainism also originated as a countermovement that opposed some of the teachings and doctrines of early Hinduism.

Christianity in India Christianity is the third most followed religion in India, mostly concentrated in the far south and Mumbai.

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