The origin of Hinduism

How did Hinduism come to be? The word ‘Hindu’ is of Persian origin and means something from the land by the Indus River, ‘India’. The word ‘Hinduism’ was used outside the Indian subcontinent, and came to mean: all the traditions, philosophies and rituals that come from that region. Many Indians themselves prefer to call it “Sanatana Dharma” - the eternal law - and by this they mean not only the religion but also the traditions that have shaped the development of their society. So how did the thing we most usually call Hinduism come to be?

There was no person - no Jesus or Mohammed or Buddha - who founded Hinduism. Instead it originated in the meeting of two cultures. Here, by the Indus River we find one of the cultures. If we jump back in time, that is. In the 26th century Before Common Era the Indus Valley Civilisation develops here.

The area this culture inhabits is larger than that of Egypt or Mesopotamia at this time. Not very much is known about the Indus Valley Civilisation. But one important thing discovered by archaeologists is that the people living here were very good at building water pipes and drains, several thousand years before any other culture figures this out. Every house has a drain of its own to take away the water. In one of the cities there is also a huge, complex bath construction.

But no-one has managed to decipher texts written by this civilization, so it’s not known whether the baths were used for religious rituals or if the people here just really liked to be clean. The archaeologists also found some seal -stamped pictures showing small figures. This figure sits with crossed legs, perhaps in meditation, so some archaeologists believe this to be an early version of Shiva, although others say that we can’t really know this. The Indus Valley Civilization is at its height between 2600 and 1900 BCE. And at some time around 1500 people of another culture come here from Central Asia: The Aryans.

The Aryans bring their language and their gods, including a sun deity, and they consume an intoxicating drink that they believe makes them immortal. The Aryans also bring their social system. They are separated into three groups: priests, nobility and warriors, and workers. Eventually the Indus Valley Civilisation and the Aryan culture blend together. Following this is a period when ideas are assembled about, for instance, how priests are to behave, and how rituals are to be performed.

These ideas are passed on by word of mouth, and eventually are written down in books. This collection of books is called ‘The Veda’. And this time period the Vedic period. Besides traditions and rituals, in The Veda there are also books about mythology and philosophy. The gods mentioned in Vedic mythology are different from the later gods of Hinduism.

They are symbols of nature or abstract concepts. The three most important are rain and war - Indra, fire - Agni, and an intoxicating drink consumed as a sacrifice - Soma. So Vedic religion differs from later Hinduism. But in some parts of the Veda things are mentioned that will become central concepts in Hinduism: how reincarnation works, how one is supposed to get off the wheel of rebirth - Samsara - by seeing through illusion – Maya – to reach freedom - moksha. Concepts like duty - dharma –and how one’s action in one life affects other lifetimes - karma - are also discussed in The Veda.

These ideas are the beginning of what eventually becomes Hinduism, or Sanatana Dharma.