INTRODUCTION TO HINDUISM Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian subcontinent.

Hinduism is known to its followers as Santana Dharma (a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law"), amongst many other expressions.Hinduism is is formed of diverse traditions and has no single follower. In a very broad sense Hinduism is a way of life. From time immemorial indigenous religious consciousness has continuously enriched it. It has been influenced by the aspirations and needs of the human society from time to time. It embraces the indigenous religions of India which have been modified almost continuously with the development of ideas and the needs of local communities. As a result Hinduism is a mixture of sects, cults and doctrines which have had a profound effect on Indian culture. In Spite of this diversity, there are few of its aspects which do not rely in some way or the other on the authority of Indian religious literature the Vedas, the Epics and the Puranas.Hinduism is often known as the "oldest living religion". SECTS OF HINDUISM Hinduism is divided into a number of sects. The four most widely followed sects are :

Shaivism : worship of lord Shiva.

Vaishnavism : Worship of lord Vishnu or his associated avatars like Rama, Krishna, etc.

Shatism : Worship of Skati or Devi - The hundu divine mother. Smartism :It is a liberal or nonsectarian denomination of the Vedic Hindu
religion which accept all the major Hindu deities as forms of the one Brahman. The term Smarta refers to adherents who follow the Vedas and Shastras. Only a section of south Indian brahmins call themselves Smartas now. HINDUISM AND WATER The worldwide practice of Hinduism encompasses a wide variety of beliefs. However, a prevailing belief that is shared by most, if not all, Hindus is the importance of physical and spiritual cleanliness and well-being... a striving to attain purity and avoid pollution. This widespread aspiration lends itself to a reverence for water as well as the integration of water into most Hindu rituals, as it is believed that water has spiritually cleansing powers. Holy places are usually located on the banks of rivers, coasts, seashores

and mountains. Sites of convergence between land and two, or even better three, rivers, carry special significance and are especially sacred. Sacred rivers are thought to be a great equalizer. For example, in the Ganges, the pure are thought to be made even more pure, and the impure have their pollution removed if only temporarily. In these sacred waters, the distinctions imposed by castes are alleviated, as all sins fall away. Every spring, the Ganges River swells with water as snow melts in the Himalayas. The water brings life as trees and flowers bloom and crops grow. This cycle of life is seen as a metaphor for Hinduism. Water represents the "non-manifested substratum from which all manifestations derive"and is considered by Hindus to be a purifier, life-giver, and destroyer of evil. Milk and water are symbols of fertility, absence of which can cause barrenness, sterility leading to death. Temple Tanks are an essential part of every large Hindu temple. Every village/town/city has a temple with a sizable water tank. Conventional beliefs hold that the water of a temple tank is holy and has cleansing properties. It is an unwritten rule to take a dip in the temple tank before offering prayers to the presiding deities, thereby purifying oneself. In actuality, the tanks serve as a useful reservoir to help communities tide over water scarcity. Water in India is largely dependent on the monsoons. In case the rains fail, people can look to these temple tanks to fulfill basic water needs. These days, the tanks are mostly found in a state of neglect. They are either dried up or poorly maintained, which leads to contamination. Water is very important for all the rituals in Hinduism. LORD SHIVA Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a sage at Mount Kailash. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the Supreme God. In the Smarta tradition, he is regarded as one of the five primary forms of God. Lord Shiva is usually worshipped in the abstract form of Shiva linga. In images, He is represented as a handsome young man immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon Apasmara, the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja, the Lord of the dance, goodness, humility, and every good quality a human should have. It is said that He looks like an

eternal youth because of his authority over death, rebirth and immortality. NANDI Nandi or Nandin or Nandi Devar , is universally supposed to be the name for the bull which serves as the mount (Sanskrit: vhana) of Shiva and as the gate keeper of Shiva and Parvati, and in Hindu mythology. Also, he is the chief guru of eight masters including Patanjali and Thirumular[1]. Temples venerating Shiva and Parvati display stone images of a seated Nandi, generally facing the main shrine. There are also a number of temples dedicated solely to Nandi. But the application of the name Nandin to the bull (Sanskrit: vabha) is in fact a development of recent centuries, as Gouriswar Bhattacharya has documented in an illustrated article entitled "Nandin and Vabha" The name Nandin was earlier widely used instead for an anthropomorphic deity who was one of ivas two door-keepers, the other being Mahkla. The doorways of pre-tenth-century North Indian temples are frequently flanked by images of Mahkla and Nandin, and it is in this rle of ivas watchman that Nandin figures in Klidsas poem the Kumrasambhava. SHAIVISM shaivism (Sanskrit: , aiva patha) is the oldest sect of Hinduism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas," and also "Saivas" or "Shaivites," revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer, revealer and concealer of all that is. Shaivism is widespread throughout India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, mostly. Areas notable for the practice of Shaivism include parts of Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. It is considered to be one of the oldest sect of Hinduism, whose antiquity is said to be rooted in the prehistoric traditions of ancient India, dating back to the Indus Valley civilization (5000 BC) or even earlier.The early Vedic Indians worshipped an aspect of Lord Siva, known as Rudra, whom they both feared and revered. In the later Vedic period some Upanishads emerged, such as the Svetasvatara Upanishad and the Katha Upanishad, in which Lord Siva was depicted as the highest Supreme Brahman. By the time the Puranas were composed, Lord Siva was recognized as a part of Hindu Trinity and His worship became popular in many parts of the Indian subcontinent. Both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata mention Lord Siva as a prominent Hindu god. Many prominent rulers of ancient India such as the Chalukyas, the Kushanas, the Guptas, the Barasivas, the Satavahanas and the Cholas were ardent

worshippers of Siva. THE SHIVA LINGA: The Lingam is a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva used for worship in temples. An interpretation suggests that the Lingam represents the beginningless and endless Stambha pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva. According to another interpretation, the Lingam has also been considered a symbol of male creative energy or of the phallus. The lingam is often represented with the Yoni, a symbol of the goddess or of Shakti, female creative energy. The union of lingam and yoni represents the "indivisible two-in-oneness of male and female, the passive space and active time from which all life originates".The lingam and the yoni have been interpreted as the male and female sexual organs since the end of the 19th century by some scholars, while to practising Hindus they stand for the inseparability of the male and female principles and the totality of creation. it has three parts. The lower part represents Brahma. The middle part, which is octagonal in shape, represents Vishnu. The upper part, which is cylindrical in shape, represents Rudra and is also called Pujabhaga since it receives the actual offerings of milk and other substances.