Wednesday, November 18, 2009

What was hindu religion called before it got the name?

What I am told is Persian people gave this name by pronouncing "Sindhu" river Hindu (like slang).





Is that true? If so, what was Hindu religion called before Persians came to India?





Thanks and Happy Diwali!

What was hindu religion called before it got the name?
The proper name is Sanatana Dharma as it came to be known. The religion originated in India and was spread by sages. In the Rig Veda the Human contemplation about who or what is God begins and gradually a concept is developed accross vedas and upanishads.


There was no name to differentiate it since there was no pre-existing philosophy. It was a way of life and Hindus assumed all others they came accross in India to be Hindus aswell. There is some mention in some texts of coming accross Mlecchas or outsiders and wondering what should be their role in society. Later as we all know their were various battles and invaders and hence a self identity of being different developed.


The Hindus called the Persians (Parsis) Asura whilst they called themselves Ahura. The Hindus were known to them as Daevas and called themselves Devas. Some ancient battles with them led to Parsis labelling the dark forces in Zorastrianism as Daevas from which later the word Diabolos entered greek and was derived from there into other monotheistic faiths. Similarly the Daevas potrayed the Asuras as the dark forces in their texts!


The "H" in Persian was Pronounced "S" in India. Hence the Parsis called the Sindhu river Hindu and it came to be associated with those that lived by that river aswell!
Reply:Even Jesus embraced Buddism and NOT the present form of HINDUVTA that is uncompromising and ridden with discontent and violence just for selfish earlhly GAIN! Report Abuse

Reply:"Hindu" is not really religion! Hinduism is a way of life, a way of thinking, a mix of a few cultures! There were, and there are castes, -- in ancient times, based on duties assigned/performed in the society, in current times, based on traditions or inherited customs in the family line and quite a few castes are grouped under Hinduism! Hindu religion, as such, is a nomenclature derived in relatively recent times in history!
Reply:Hinduism is a religion that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as Sanātana Dharma (सनातन धर्म) by its practitioners, a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law."





Hindū is the Persian name of the Indus River, first encountered in the Old Persian word Hindu (həndu), corresponding to Vedic Sanskrit Sindhu, the Indus River. The Rig Veda mentions the land of the Indo-Aryans as Sapta Sindhu (the land of the seven rivers in northwestern South Asia, one of them being the Indus). This corresponds to Hapta Həndu in the Avesta (Vendidad or Videvdad 1.18)—the sacred scripture of Zoroastrianism. The term was used for those who lived in the Indian subcontinent on or beyond the "Sindhu". In Islam the Arabic texts - al-Hind (the Hind) also refers to 'the land of the people of modern day India'


हिन्दू एक फ़ारसी शब्द है । हिन्दू अपने धर्म को सनातन धर्म या वैदिक धर्म कहना बेहतर समझते हैं। ऋग्वेद में कई बार सप्त सिन्धु का उल्लेख मिलता है -- वो भूमि जहाँ आर्य सबसे पहले बसे थे। संस्कृत में सिन्धु शब्द के दो मुख्य अर्थ हैं -- पहला, सिन्धु नदी क नाम, जो लद्दाख़ और पाकिस्तान से बहती है, और दूसरा, कोई भी नदी या जलराशि। ऋग्वेद की नदीस्तुति के अनुसार वो सात नदियाँ शायद ये थीं : सिन्धु, सरस्वती, वितस्ता (झेलम), शुतुद्रि (सतलुज), विपाशा (व्यास), परुषिणी (रावी) और अस्किनी (चेनाब)।






Reply:Friend,





HINDUISM is not the correct name, and the word HINDU has has come because of the River SINDHU.





It is called as not as a RELIGION AT ALL.It is the way of living in a Dharmic way.





It is named as SANATANA DHARMA.





The eternal truths that have been heard in meditative state by Maha Rishis .So it is called the SRITI (The HEARD ONE ).The Rishis heard the vedic verses in their Meditative state and remembered them and passed on to posterity.





One gentleman has called this Sanatana Dharma by a vulgar name,it is his ignorance.





If there is any religion that is PERFECT AND COMPLETE in all aspects, and that accepts all religions as true and lead to HIM, that which preaches the knowledge and the path to realise HIM in multiple ways, IT IS THE SANATANA DHARMA,WHICH IS UNIVERSAL DHARMA NOT CONFINED TO ANY PLACE OR COUNTRY.
Reply:The word 'Hindu' is derived from 'Indus' as the civilization of Indus (the area)was called by this name( Indus valley Civilization) and thus the word 'Hindu' evolved from Indus.Hindu is word of Greek origin or rather derived from that indirectly





Actually the name is 'Sanatana Dharma' It means eternal religion/principle
Reply:Yes this is true that Sindhu (Indus), is called as Hindu.


Before Persians invaded India (Hindustan).broadly there were two religions:- Sanatana Dharma, and Islam. The Jainism,Buddhism,Chirtianity,etc were also present as minor religions. Sikhism was also born in Mughal times.


The term Hindu then indicated normal residents and civilians of India, which included followers of many non Islamic and Christian religions.


SO WE CAN SAY AS SUCH IN PAST THERE NEVER EXISTED ANYTHING LIKE HINDU DHARMA


Supreme Court of India has also said Hinduism is no religion, it is the way of living.


Reply me for any clarification.



Reply:There was no particular name, because, in the beginning there were no other religions to differentiate. It was just a way of life, that is why no one established 'Hinduism'. This 'religion' is mother of all other so called religions.
Reply:i think it is from the region of India called indus valley or smething. hindus refers to people that live there since they were predominatly the same religion so they decided to call themseleves hindus





i could be wrong.
Reply:Before the advent of Vedic religion or Sanatana Dharma, Hinduism was called as SANMARGAM meaning pure and divine path. After this divine path got corrupted it became to be known as Sanatana Dharma or the Vedic religion.
Reply:hinduism has been evolved from arya dharam, also called as sanatan dharam.....arya dharam is considered to be the oldest religion
Reply:most Hindus will call call their faith "Sanatan Dharma", rather than Hinduism


but i don't really know why people today call them Hindus you might have to get someone to answer that one
Reply:It was Hindutva. (Hinduism in English) in Sanskrit.
Reply:Hyndava (haindava Dharma)Dharma.
Reply:No one knows the real name, but Shripathi Krishna Acharya told correctly.
Reply:Sanatan dharm...
Reply:The real name is sanatan dharma....
Reply:There is a misconception that the Krsna consciousness movement represents the Hindu religion. In fact, however, Krsna consciousness is in no way a faith or religion that seeks to defeat other faiths or religions. Rather, it is an essential cultural movement for the entire human society and does not consider any particular sectarian faith. This cultural movement is especially meant to educate people in how they can love God.


Sometimes Indians both inside and outside of India think that we are preaching the Hindu religion, but actually we are not. One will not find the word Hindu in the Bhagavad-gita. Indeed, there is no such word as Hindu in the entire Vedic literature. This word has been introduced by the Muslims from provinces next to India, such as Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and Persia. There is a river called Sindhu bordering the north western provinces of India, and since the Muslims there could not pronounce Sindhu properly, they instead called the river Hindu, and the inhabitants of this tract of land they called Hindus. In India, according to the Vedic language, the Europeans are called mlecchas or yavanas. Similarly, Hindu is a name given by the Muslims.


India's actual culture is described in the Bhagavad-gita, where it is stated that according to the different qualities or modes of nature there are different types of men, who are generally classified into four social orders and four spiritual orders. This system of social and spiritual division is known as varnasrama-dharma. The four varnas, or social orders, are brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya. and sudra. The four asramas, or spiritual orders, are brahmacarya, grhastha, vanaprastha, and sannyasa. The varnasrama system is described in the Vedic scriptures known as the Puranas. The goal of this institution of Vedic culture is to educate every man for advancement in knowledge of Krsna, or God. That is the entire Vedic program.


When Lord Caitanya talked with the great devotee Ramananda Raya, the Lord asked him, "What is the basic principle of human life?" Ramananda Raya answered that human civilization begins when varnasrama-dharma is accepted. Before coming to the standard of varnasrama-dharma there is no question of human civilization. Therefore, the Krsna consciousness movement is trying to establish this right system of human civilization, which is known as Krsna consciousness, or daiva-varnasrama--divine culture.


In India, the varnasrama system has now been taken in a perverted way, and thus a man born in the family of a brahmana (the highest social order) claims that he should be accepted as a brahmana. But this claim is not accepted by the sastra (scripture). One's forefather may have been a brahmana according to gotra, or the family hereditary order, but real varnasrama-dharma is based on the factual quality one has attained, regardless of birth or heredity. Therefore, we are not preaching the present-day system of the Hindus, especially those who are under the influence of Sankaracarya, for Sankaracarya taught that the Absolute Truth is impersonal, and thus he indirectly denied the existence of God.


Sankaracarya's mission was special; he appeared to reestablish the Vedic influence after the influence of Buddhism. Because Buddhism was patronized by Emperor Asoka, twenty-six hundred years ago the Buddhist religion practically pervaded all of India. According to the Vedic literature, Buddha was an incarnation of Krsna who had a special power and who appeared for a special purpose. His system of thought, or faith, was accepted widely, but Buddha rejected the authority of the Vedas. While Buddhism was spreading, the Vedic culture was stopped both in India and in other places. Therefore, since Sankaracarya's only aim was to drive away Buddha's system of philosophy, he introduced a system called Mayavada.


Strictly speaking, Mayavada philosophy is atheism, for it is a process in which one imagines that there is God. This Mayavada system of philosophy has been existing since time immemorial. The present Indian system of religion or culture is based on the Mayavada philosophy of Sankaracarya, which is a compromise with Buddhist philosophy. According to Mayavada philosophy there actually is no God, or if God exists, He is impersonal and all-pervading and can therefore be imagined in any form. This conclusion is not in accord with the Vedic literature. That literature names many demigods, who are worshiped for different purposes, but in every case the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, Visnu, is accepted as the supreme controller. That is real Vedic culture.


The philosophy of Krsna consciousness does not deny the existence of God and the demigods, but Mayavada philosophy denies both; it maintains that neither the demigods nor God exists. For the Mayavadis, ultimately all is zero. They say that one may imagine any authority--whether Visnu, Durga, Lord Siva, or the sun-god--because these are the demigods generally worshiped in society. But the Maya
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