India.. One of the oldest civilizations of the world - Sanskrit is undoubtedly the most ancient language still in use and the Vedas were written around 1200 B.C. The most ancient of them, The Rigveda was supposed to have been composed around 2000 B.C. and was orally passed on from generation to generation. It was finally given the shape of scripture around 1200 B.C. and other three Vedas, Samveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda were somewhat contemporary. During the second millenium B.C., Aryans came to India from central Asia. They along with southern Dravidians, developed Hinduism through combined religious practices. The Vedic Scriptures were completed around 1000 B.C. and this gave the first loose framework to the religion. Literally, Vedas mean Divine Knowledge constitute the foundation of Hindu philosophy.
The Upnishads are contained within the Vedas and delve into the metaphysical nature of the Universe and the soul.
Basically the religion postulates that we will all go through a series of rebirths or reincarnations that eventually lead to MOKSHA the spiritual salvation which frees one from the cycle of rebirths. With each rebirth you can move closer to or farther from eventual moksha. The deciding factor is your KARMA which is literally a law of cause and effect. Bad action during your life lead to bad karma which ends in a lower incarnation. Conversely if your deeds and actions have been good, you will reincarnate on a higher level and be a step closer to eventual freedom from rebirth.
Dharma or the natural law defines the total social , ethical and spiritual harmony of your life. There are three categories of Dharma , the first being the eternal harmony which involves the whole universe. The second category is the dharma that controls castes, the relaton between castes and behaviour appropriate to individuals within castes. The third dharma is the moral code which an individual should follow.
The Hindu religion has three basic practices. They are puja or worship, the cremation of the dead and the rules and regulations of the caste system. There are four main castes: the Brahmin or the priest caste; Kshatria or soldiers and governers; the vaisyas , the tradespersons and farmers; and finally the sudras or menial workers and artisans. These basic castes are then subdivided into a great number of lesser divisions.
Sometimes the westerners have trouble understanding Hinduism principally because of a wide variety of gods and goddesses and related auspicious beings. They can be identified from one another simply by their pictorial representations. The one omnipresent GOD usually has three physical representations: Brahma, The Creator; Vishnu is the Preserver; and Shiva is the Destroyer and Reproducer. Most temples are dedicated to one or the other of the gods, but curiously there are very few temples of Brahma - perhaps just two or three in all India. Most Hindus profess to be either Vaishnavites (devotees of Vishnu) or Shivaites (devotees of Shiva). The cow is of course the sacred animal of Hinduism. A guru is a spiritual guide who suggests what path you should follow for your spiritual development towards moksha. A sadhu is an individual on the spiritual search. They have renounced their family lives, their work and all their physical belongings and lead a simple life, depending on Bhiksha(begging) for their living. Many sadhus are completely genuine in their search, but others are simply beggars following a more sophisticated way for gathering money.
Talking of gods, there are subtle differences between an incarnation, a manfestation and an aspect. Brahma the creator has created the universe and his next job will be for the next creation after the present creation is completely eliminated. Vishnu the preserver is taking care of the present creation so he takes incarnations to save the saints and kind people from demons and re-establish dharma whereever it has suffered losses due to demonish activities and to kill demons. Out of total of ten incarntions of Vishnu, nine have already taken place and the tenth is yet to come.
Vishnu is the preserver and also plays role in the original creation of the universe. In certain pictures, Vishnu is shown sleeping on the cosmic ocean on a coiled bed of a huge serpent, called Shesh Naga, and from his naval appears a lotus with Brahma sitting on it. This is the origin of Brahma himself, who creates the universe.
Vishnu has four arms and can often be identified by the symbols he holds - The conch shell of Shankha, the disc like weapon calle Chakra, the stick like weapon with a heavy head called Gada and lotus flower called Padma. Vishnu's Shakti (his better half) is Lakshmi the beautiful goddess of wealth and prosperity.
Vishnu's 10 incarnations include :
> Matasya, the fish
> Kurma, the tortoise
> Varaha, the boar
>Narsingha, half-man and half-lion
> Vamana , the dwarf
> Parshuram, a war-like brahman
> Rama, the personification of a perfect man
> Krishna, the fun loving cowherd, who gave Bhagvad Gita to the world.
> Buddha, an apostle of non-violence
The tenth incarnation is yet to come which will be in the form of Kalki. Riding on white horse, Kalki will be in volved in mass-killing of demons and demonish minded people who are among us. They pose and civilized citizens but are involved in all kinds of dirty inhuman activities for their selfish gains.

The time span of the world is divided into four parts :

1) Satyuga, the time of Matasya, Kurma, Varaha etc.,
2) Tretayuga, the time of Lord Rama,
3) Dwaparyuga, the time of Krishna
4) Kaliyuga, Buddha came in the early phase and kalki will appear in the end of the kaliyuga.


Shiva is creator and destroyer so its important to keep on His good side. Shiva is often represented by the phallic lingam, symbolic of his creative role. The symbol often seen in Shiva's hand is a trident (Trishool). Shiva rides on the bull Nandi and his matted hair is said to have Ganga, the goddess of the river Ganges in it. The Shiva is also called the Natraja, The Cosmic Dancer whose dance shook the cosmos and created the world. Shiva's home is Mt. Kailash in the Himalayas. He has various manifestations including peaceful Pashupati and destructive Bhairab. Usually His fearsome side is handled by Shakti.
Shakti or the goddess is the consort of Hindu gods. She is far more than just a companion. A Shakti often symbolises certain parts of god's personality, so while Shiva is the god of both creation and destruction, it is often His Shakti (Parvati) manifesting as Kali or Durga, who handles the destructive business for killing demons. She is also the energetic and dominant partner in their sexual relationship, and Shakti has come to mean any goddess in her energetic and dynamic mode.
Shiva'sShakti is Parvati, the beautiful and She is the dynamic element in heir relationship. Just as Shiva is also known as Mahadev, The Great God, so She is Mahadevi, The Great Goddess. Just as Shiva is often symbolised by the phallic lingam, so Parvati's symbol is yoni, representing the female sex organ. Their relationship is a sexual one and it is Parvati who is the energetic and dominant partner.
Brahma, despite his supreme position, appears much less often than Shiva or Vishnu. He has four arms but he also has four heads to represent his all seeing presence. The four Vedas are supposed to have been emanated from his four mouths.

Talking of Hindu Gods, Ganesh with his elephant head is probably the most easily recognised of the gods and also the most popular. Ganesh is the god of prosperity and wisdom.His parents are Shiva and Parvati and he obtained his elephant head due to his father's notorious temper. Once Shiva returned after a few years of meditation. His wife was pregnant before he left, but he completely forgotabout it during meditation. On his return he found his wife in the bed with a young man(his son Ganesha). Out of fury and without giving a second thought, he chopped off his son's head with a shrap edged weapon. He was then forced by Parvati to bring their son back to life. but could only do so by giving him the head of the first living creature he saw, and that happened to be an elephant. Ganesha has a great importance in Hinduism. He is to be worshipped first of all, before other gods, may it be his own father. He is Vighna-Harta (remover of obstacles) from the path of his devotees. His vehicle is a divine rat.
Hanuman is the monkey god, the important character from Ramayana, who came to the aid of Rama and helped to defeat the evil Rawana and release Sita(rama's beloved wife) from his grasp. Hanuman's characteristics are trustworthiness and alertness.
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THE WORLD TREATS WITH RESPECT A MAN WHO IS BRAVE. NEITHER FAME, NOR VICTORY, NOR POPULARITY CAN BE ACHIEVED THROUGH COWARDICE. ( From Valmiki Ramayana)

In the Vedic literature, frequent references of bow and arrow are found. Rudra (The most ancient god of hindu pantheon is the first perceptor of science of archery. In the later period he is associated with Shiva, the Lord of destruction), has been eulogised as the killer of his enemies. According to Atharvaveda and Samveda, the horse-chariot, corslet,and bow and arrow constitute the war-like equipment of a kshatriya (person belonging to the knightly caste). Rudra has been praised as the holder of a golden bow. In the Vedic literature occur such words as ishu-dhanva (bow and arrow), ishu-dhanvina (the holder of bow and arrow) and adhijya-dhanva (bow fitted with string) etc.
Originally even the gods had no intimate acquaintance with the percepts of warfare. This deficiency was one of the causes of their defeat at the hands of devils (asuras) in many a war. Then Mahadeva, The Lord of Lords (also known as Rudra and Shiva) called the Saint Vashishta and dictated a miniature veda called Dharurveda (literally the science of archery) which is exclusively devoted to the indian mode of warfare in general and bows and arrows in particular. This treatise was regarded so sacred that only the brahmans (preistly class) and the kshatriyas were permitted to learn it. Similarly the robbers, thieves, cowards and persons of bad characters were not allowed admittance to the study of this science. Only the virtuous people could learn it for the welfare of masses and for the defence of their religion, caste, self and country. It was beleived that a single dharurdhar (archer) can maintain law and order in a village as a single lion rules the entire forest.

It was here that every god and goddess was provided with a weapon. Thus Shiva was armed with a trident (trishool), Vishnu with a quoit (chakra), Indra with a vajra (thunderbolt) and so on. Gradually the bow and arrow became all the more important and in the later vedic period (1500 B.C to 1000 B.C.) it was considered a projectile par excellence (uttam). It was considered so precious that the bow and arrow and quiver, which the warrior was holding at the time of his death (if he died in the battle field) or those vbery dear to him in his life time were cremated with him. An arrow was first placed in the right hand of the dead knight and then removed as the last act of the funeral rite, and finally burnt together with the body. Every god and soldier, every brahman and kshatriya, and in fact every youth physically and mentally fit and not belonging to the lower caste was expected to learn this science. When a disciple qualified the examination, he is supposed to present to his master (guru), one bow and three arrows as dakshina (fee given as a token of reverence).