What do Hindus believe?

No. Hinduism has no founder, no single sacred book that all Hindus treat in the same way and no central authority that defines doctrine. The word “Hindu” itself was first used by outsiders for the peoples beyond the Indus river, and the modern label “Hinduism” groups together traditions that developed over thousands of years.

Many Hindus prefer the term Sanatana Dharma, often translated as the eternal way or eternal order. Within this broad tradition there are devotional communities centred on Vishnu, Shiva or the Goddess, philosophical schools, regional and village traditions, and modern reform movements.

Many Hindu traditions speak of Brahman, the ultimate reality underlying everything. How Brahman relates to the world and to personal gods differs between schools.

In Advaita Vedanta, Brahman is one without a second, and the apparent difference between the self and ultimate reality is ultimately unreal. In devotional traditions such as Vaishnavism and Shaivism, God is personal: Vishnu or Krishna, Shiva, or the Goddess Devi is worshipped as the supreme being. Many Hindus worship several deities while understanding them as forms or aspects of one divine reality. Describing Hinduism simply as polytheistic misses this; describing it simply as monotheistic misses its diversity.

Atman is the true self, eternal and distinct from the body and mind. According to widely shared Hindu teaching, the self passes through many lives in a cycle of birth, death and rebirth called samsara.

Karma means action and its consequences. Actions shape future experience in this life and in future lives. Karma is not usually understood as fate imposed from outside but as the moral law of cause and effect.

Moksha is liberation from samsara. Schools describe it differently: as realizing the self’s identity with Brahman, as loving union with or eternal service of a personal God, or as the self’s isolation from matter. Hindu teaching describes several paths, often summarized as the paths of knowledge (jnana), devotion (bhakti) and action (karma yoga).

Dharma is one of the most important and hardest to translate Hindu concepts. It can mean cosmic order, duty, righteousness, law and the right way of living.

Traditional texts describe dharma as varying according to a person’s stage of life and social position, while also teaching universal virtues such as non-violence (ahimsa), truthfulness, self-control and compassion. Hindu tradition often lists four goals of life: dharma, artha (prosperity), kama (pleasure and love) and moksha.

Hindu scriptures are commonly divided into shruti, “what is heard,” and smriti, “what is remembered.” Shruti includes the Vedas and the Upanishads, regarded as revealed and authoritative by most orthodox traditions.

Smriti includes the epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, the Puranas and law texts. The Bhagavad Gita, part of the Mahabharata, is among the most widely read Hindu texts. In practice, many Hindus know their tradition through stories, devotional songs, temple worship and family practice more than through direct study of the Vedas.

No. Worship, called puja, may take place at a home shrine or in a temple and often involves offerings of flowers, light, incense and food to a deity’s image. Pilgrimage, festivals such as Diwali and Holi, meditation, chanting and yoga are also important for many Hindus.

Practice varies by region, family, caste community and sectarian tradition. A Vaishnava household in Gujarat, a Shaiva temple community in Tamil Nadu and a Hindu family in London may observe very different calendars and customs.

They share the goal but not one description of it. Advaita teachers describe liberation as recognizing that the self was always Brahman. Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita teachers describe a real distinction between the self and God and see liberation as loving communion with God. Yoga and Samkhya traditions describe it differently again.

The variety of paths is often seen within Hinduism as a strength: different people are suited to different disciplines.

Very much. Hinduism includes strict ascetics and householders, philosophers and village devotees, vegetarian and non-vegetarian communities, and traditions that accept or reject caste distinctions. Modern movements such as the Arya Samaj, the Ramakrishna Mission and ISKCON have reinterpreted Hindu teaching in different ways.

The caste system is historically associated with Hindu society, but many Hindu teachers and reform movements have rejected caste discrimination, and it is illegal under the Indian constitution.

Many Hindus believe in an ultimate reality called Brahman, worshipped through one or many divine forms; in an eternal self that is reborn according to karma; in dharma as the right way to live; and in moksha as liberation from rebirth. These shared ideas are interpreted very differently by the many traditions that make up Hinduism.