Pd4Hinduism_D

= **All About Hinduism!! ** =

 **Founder** : There is no single founder of Hinduism. But it grew out of all of the beliefs in the many gods. There was no beginning in this religion and has been around for the longest amount of time.

 **Leaders** : The main religious leader is Gandhi. He saw himself as an orthodox Hindu. He was born in 1869, and died in 1948. Gandhi fought against the caste system, which was a system showing different ranks in people. The ranks went like this, at the top were Brahmans which were priests and scholars, next were Kshatriyas which were the rulers and warriors, next were Vaisyas which were the merchants and professionals, and finally, were Sudras which were laborers and servants.  **Place of Worship** : The place of worship is in a Mandir, which is a temple where they worship. They also might worship in a home, temple, or road side shrine. **Where is began**: No one knows where Hinduism exactly started, but it is said that it started in the India Valley. Today, Hinduism is practiced in India.

 **Beliefs** : Hindus believe in the unity of everything. They have basic beliefs about divinities, life after death, and personal conduct. The 4 main beliefs are Karma, which means "deed" or "act", Samsara, which means the natural process of birth, death, and rebirth, Moksha, which is how the Hindus want to reach this, like heaven, and Dharma, which stands for the ultimate moral balance of things.

 **Gods and Goddesses** : Hinduism has many gods and goddesses, but the main three are Kali, who is the goddess of destruction, Lakshmi, who is the goddess of wealth, and Sarasvati, who is the goddess of knowledge.

**Sacred Writings** : The sacred writings are called "shastras" or holy books. They contain writing about the gods. The Vedas are the oldest scriptures which have four Hindus texts.

**Religious Practices** : The Hindus believe that certain gods live in madirs, which are temples. Also, every day , priests wash and dress statues and bring them food. Most homes have a shrine devoted to a divinity chosen by a family.

**Religious Festivals** : Three religious festivals are Dasera, Diwali, and Holi. Dasera is celebrated in honor of the Mother Goddess. Diwali is the most important, which means "group or row of lights". Holi is a spring festival, which lasts five days.

The main symbol of Hinduism is "Om", which is repeated many times during meditation. The symbol looks like this.
 * Symbol ** :

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