Yet Hinduism was a 19th-century British invention. Even the word Hindu itself is of non-Hindu origin. It was first used by the ancient Persians to refer to the people living near the River Indus (Sindhu in Sanskrit).

Origins of Hinduism Unlike other religions, Hinduism has no one founder but is instead a fusion of various beliefs. Around 1500 B.C., the Indo-Aryan people migrated to the Indus Valley, and their language and culture blended with that of the indigenous people living in the region.

Hinduism originated from Aryan beliefs and focuses on the journey of the atman to know the Brahman and escape the earthy cycle of reincarnation. However, in terms of practices, Hinduism features things such as yoga, devotions at temples, and festivals, among many other things.

A. Hinduism was originally called Sanathana Dharma, which means righteousness forever. The Persians, who invaded India in the sixth century BC, gave Hinduism its name from the root word Indus.

The Vedic Religion was the historical predecessor of modern Hinduism. The Vedic Period refers to the time period from approximately 1750-500 BCE, during which Indo- Aryans settled into northern India, bringing with them specific religious traditions.

1. India gave the world its first university – Takshashila University. As early as 700 B.C., there existed a giant University at Takshashila, located in the northwest region of India. It had 300 lecture halls, laboratories, a library and a towering observatory for astronomical research.

Most scholars tend to believe that Abraham lived (if he really did), around 1950 BCE. This puts his lifetime about 500 years after the beginning of the civilization that gave rise to Hinduism. Therefore, we can say that Hinduism predates Judaism.

Simply put, “The Mahabharata,” one of India’s two major Sanskrit epics, is staggering. At about 100,000 stanzas, it is 15 times longer than the Bible and eight times as long the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey” combined.

In ancient Egyptian Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten and proclaimed to be the one “true” Supreme Being and creator of the universe. In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, the names of God include Elohim, Adonai, YHWH (Hebrew: יהוה‎) and others.

One of the oldest known religious texts is the Kesh Temple Hymn of ancient Sumer, a set of inscribed clay tablets which scholars typically date around 2600 BCE.

The Rigveda Samhita

Hinduism does not just have one sacred book but several scriptures. The Vedas scriptures guide Hindus in their daily life. They also help to preserve the religious dimensions of family and society.

The Vedas

Most reference books list Hinduism as the oldest world religion. This is probably because Hinduism has the oldest recorded roots, which lie in Dravidianism. Dravidianism is estimated to have been practiced around 6,000 to 3,000 BCE and as such predates the Sumerian, Egyptian, and Babylonian cultures.

And there are some historical positions that link the Hindu civilization to the Egyptian civilization. ‘Egypt’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Ajap’, which symbolizes Lord Roam as the most illustrious forebearer of the Aja clan. (Aja was the grandfather of Lord Rama).

No. There are many older cultures – the Sumerian culture of Mesopotamia, with cities such as Uruk, (after which Iraq is named), Ur, Nippur, Jericho and Babylon are 8000 years old. Canaanites have inhabited the middle east for centuries before the first Hindu.