Hinduism and it's origin

According to historians, the origin of Hinduism dates back to 5,000 or more years.
The word "Hindu" is derived from the name of River Indus, which flows through
northern India. In ancient times the river was called the 'Sindhu', but the
Persians who migrated to India called the river 'Hindu', the land 'Hindustan' and
its inhabitants 'Hindus'. Thus the religion followed by the Hindus came to be
known as 'Hinduism'.

It was earlier believed that the basic tenets of Hinduism were brought to India by
the Aryans who invaded the Indus Valley Civilization and settled along the banks
of the Indus river about 2000 BC. However, this theory has now been proved to be a
flawed one and is

According to scholars, the evolution of Hinduism may be divided into three

periods: the ancient (6500 BCE-1000 AD), the medieval (1000-1800 AD), and the
modern (1800 AD to present). Hinduism is commonly thought to be the oldest
religion in the history of human civilization.

This great Trans-Himalayan river has an astonishing length of 2900 km. Rising in
south-western Tibet, at an altitude of 16,000 feet, Sindhu enters the Indian
territory near Leh in Ladakh.The river has total drainage area of about 4,50,000
square miles, of which 1,75,000 square miles, lie in the Himalayan mountains and
foothills.

The river's name comes from Sanskrit word 'Sindhu'. It is mentioned in the Rig
Veda, the earliest (c. 1500 BC) chronicles and hymns of the Aryan people of
ancient India, and is the source of the country's name. Words like Hindu,
Hindustan and India have been derived from Sindhus and 'Indus', the name given to
Sindhu by foreigners.

Shakespeare divided life into "seven ages". In Hinduism, human life is believed to
comprise four stages. These are called "ashramas" and every man should ideally go
through each of these stages:

�The First Ashrama - "Brahmacharya" or the Student Stage

�The Second Ashrama - "Grihastha" or the Householder Stage
�The Third Ashrama - "Vanaprastha" or the Hermit Stage
�The Fourth Ashrama - "Sannyasa" or the Wandering Ascetic Stage

Hinduism is essentially an Indian phenomenon. It is the dominant faith of India,

practised by over 80% of the population. Since religion is a way of life in India,
Hinduism forms an integral part of the entire Indian tradition.

It is not easy to define Hinduism, for it is much more than a religion in the
Western sense. According to some scholars, Hinduism is not exactly a religion.
Also known to practitioners as Sanatana Dharma, which means everlasting or eternal
religion / truth / rule, Hinduism can best be defined as a way of life based on
the teachings of ancient sages and scriptures like the Vedas and Upanishads. The
word 'dharma' connotes "that which supports the universe" and effectively means
any path of spiritual discipline which leads to God.