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The world Hindu originally was the Persian rendering of the Indian word Sindhu-the Sanskrit name of the river Indus. The Persian name Hindu must have come into being in the 6 th century B.C. when the territory round Indus formed part of the Persian Empire. But the name disappeared from India, with the exit of the Persians. It came back to India, centuries later, with the Muslim invasions from the north – west.
At that time, however, the word Hindi simply meant Indian and had no religious connection. Subsequently, under the Mughal emperors, the word assumed a religious tint and under the British it came to be applied exclusively to the people, who followed the age-old religion of India.
The basis of Hinduism lies in the four Vedas of the Aryans. The word is derived from vid, to know. The Vedas are known as sruti, or that which is heard or revealed. The orthodox Hindus think that the Vedas are anandi, without a beginning. Others believe that the Vedas were revealed to ancient rishia (sages).
The Rigveda is the earliest and the most important of the four Vedas. It is the oldest scripture in the world having been composed in the third millennium B.C. it consists of over 100 hymns. Each Veda is divides into mantras (hymns), Brahmans that explain the mantras.
When the Aryans came to India, they encountered a highly civilized people- the Dravidians - the builders of the civilization of the Indus Valley. They defeated the Dravidians and probably enslaved them.
The mainstay of popular Hinduism is the later Vedic literature, which consists of the puranas (old stories) and itihasas (epics). There are 18 purans. Some purans are believed to date back to the pre-Christian era. But many are believed to have been written between the 3 rd and the 7 Th centuries A.D. The itihasas or epics are two – the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The imprimatur or theological sanction for pja is found in the Bhagavad-Gita Gita, which is the bedrock of modern Hinduism. When Buddhism rose as a challenge to orthodox Hinduism, Hinduism reacted by sanctifying the Buddha as an avatar (Incarnation) of Vishnu. Similarly, the Jain idea of non-violence or non-injury to living things appealed to many people as a gospel of mercy.
From time to time, Hindu reformers have sprung up, brilliant intellects and devout ascetics like Sansaracharya (8 the century A.D.),
Ramanuja (12 the century) and Madhwa (13 th century)-who have not merely restored popular faith but also countered heretical or fissiparous tendencies, by a re-interpretation of Hindu philosophy and reformation of Hindu practices, to meet the demands of the times.
Modern Hinduism may be dated from the days of Sri Sankaracharya, more than 1000 yrs. Ago. He is by far the greatest of Hindu reformers. He purged Hinduism of many evil cults and practices. Ramanuja (12 th century) and Madhwa (1238 A.D.), the next great reformer, they modified Sankara's philosophy. The renovation of Hinduism started by this great trio of South India and continued by a number of Saints and Sagas in the rest of India. The most famous leader of the Mission was Swami Vivekanand, carried the message of Hinduism to far off countries like USA. The Ramakrishna Mission stands for social and religious reform, based on the ancient culture of India.
