Beliefs may not always be correct!!

Being an ancient religion, Hinduism now is plagued with many wrong and false ideas about it. These probably arose over time because people did not always adhere to the proper sources of knowledge. Interpretations and re-interpretations have given birth to a lot of confusion and misconceptions.

It is natural to unknowingly approach Hinduism with foreign notions of God, soul, heaven, hell and sin in mind. We translate Brahman as God, Aatma as soul, Paap as sin, Dharm as religion, but these are more than the mere interpretations and drawn similies. To obtain a true understanding of sacred writings, such as the Upanishads, one must read them on their own terms and not from any other perspective.

The most obvious misconception about Hinduism is that we tend to see it as a religious faith. To be precise, Hinduism is a way of life, a Dharm. Dharm does not mean religion; it is the law that governs all action. Hinduism was not founded by one person, it does not have a core doctrine, there is no central authority, it does not require followers to accept any one idea, and no one can agree on when or even where it began. Hinduism is essentially a conglomeration of diverse religious, philosophical, and cultural ideas, beliefs and traditions. It is characterized by the belief in reincarnation, one absolute being, the law of Karm, a path of righteousness and liberation from the cycle of births and deaths.