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Hinduism, is the major religion of India claiming about 85% of the population. This religion developed over about 4,000 years and has no single founder or creed. It consists of an extensive variety of beliefs and customs. The ancient texts suggest four main classes (caste) of Hindus:
1. The Brahmins (or priests)
2. The Ksatriyas (or warriors/rulers)
3. The Vaisyas (merchants/farmers)
4. The Sudras (peasants/labors)
A fifth class the untouchables, includes those whose occupations require them to handle impure objects. The status of women in Hinduism has always been unclear. They are considered a symbol of the divine but treated as lesser beings. Traditionally women were expected to be servants to their husbands and have no separate interest. Recent movements within Hinduism have succeeded in changing this situation.
The city of Banaras, India has more than a thousand places to pray including temples for people who belong to the Hindu religion. Most Hindu temples have many shrines where the Hindus go to pray. Each temple has a main shrine for one important god or goddess. The three most important gods of Hinduism are Siva, Brahma and Vishnu with Siva being the most popular.
About a million Hindus visit the holy city of Banaras every year, coming from all over India. In this ancient city of pilgrimage, the bathing travelers are the main attraction. Before praying in the temples pilgrims go down the ghants or stairways into the Ganges River. They believe that by bathing in the river, it will wash away all their transgressions. Even the ailing and crippled dip into the water in hopes of being cured.
Each day people flock to the ghants to worship and submerge into the water. Centuries old tradition of offering puja to the rising sun is still maintained today. One tradition all Hindus still believe is that if their dead bodies or ashes are placed in the river, the Ganges will carry them to eternal blissfulness.
Hinduism is different from Western religion in that it suggests commitment to an ideal way of life known as Dharma. Classical Hinduism is the belief in transmigration of souls, or samsara, the passage of a soul from body to body as determined by their karma. Karma theory states that one's type of birth, length of life and kinds of experiences in his or her life are determined by ones previous acts.
Recent developments of Hinduism indicate a movement away from traditional practices such as suttee, where a widow commits suicide at her husband's funeral, the old caste system of cataloging people and karma and rebirth.
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