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Hinduism is the dominant religion, or way of life, in South Asia, most notably in India and Nepal. Although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is a family of linked religious cultures bound by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, pilgrimage to sacred sites and the questioning of authority. It includes Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism among others, each with an interwoven diversity of beliefs and practices.〔〔Lance Nelson (2007), An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies (Editors: Orlando O. Espín, James B. Nickoloff), Liturgical Press, ISBN 978-0814658567, pages 561-563〕 With approximately one billion followers, Hinduism is the world's third largest religion by population, after Christianity and Islam. Hinduism has been called the "oldest religion" in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as ', "the eternal law" or the "eternal way"〔; ; 〕 beyond human origins. Scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions,〔; ; 〕 with diverse roots and no founder. This "Hindu synthesis" started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE, after the Vedic times. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings (ahimsa), patience, forbearance, self-restraint, compassion, among others.〔〔PV Kane, (Samanya Dharma ), History of Dharmasastra, Vol. 2, Part 1, pages 4-5; Alban Widgery, (The Principles of Hindu Ethics ), International Journal of Ethics, Vol. 40, No. 2, pages 232-245〕 Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include (but are not restricted to), the four ''Puruṣārthas'', the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma (ethics/duties), Artha (prosperity/work), Kama (emotions/sexuality) and Moksha (liberation/freedom);〔Bilimoria et al. (eds.), ''Indian Ethics: Classical Traditions and Contemporary Challenges'' (2007), p. 103; see also John Koller, Puruṣārtha as Human Aims, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Oct., 1968), pp. 315-319〕〔Gavin Flood (1997), "The Meaning and Context of the Puruṣārthas", In The Bhagavadgītā for Our Times (Editor: Julius J. Lipner), Oxford University Press, pages 11–27, ISBN 978-0195650396〕 ''karma'' (action, intent and consequences), ''samsara'' (cycle of rebirth), and the various Yogas (paths or practices to attain moksha).〔Klaus Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism, Third Edition, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791470824, pages 173-180〕 Hindu practices include rituals such as puja (worship) and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals, and occasional pilgrimages. Some Hindus leave their social world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa (ascetic practices) to achieve moksha.〔A Bhattacharya (2009), Applied Ethics, Center for Applied Ethics and Philosophy, Hokkaido University, ISBN 978-4990404611, pages 63-64〕〔Andrew Fort and Patricia Mumme (1996), Living Liberation in Hindu Thought, ISBN 978-0-7914-2706-4〕 Hindu texts are classified into Shruti ("heard") and Smriti ("remembered"). These texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga and agamic rituals and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Agamas.〔RC Zaehner (1992), Hindu Scriptures, Penguin Random House, ISBN 978-0679410782, pages 1-7〕〔Klaus Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism: Third Edition, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791470824, pages 46-52, 76-77〕 ==Etymology== The word ''Hindu'' is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word ''Sindhu'', the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent (modern day Pakistan and Northern India). According to Gavin Flood, "The actual term 'Hindu' first occurs as a Persian geographical term for the people who lived beyond the river Indus (Sanskrit: ''Sindhu'')", more specifically in the 6th-century BCE inscription of Darius I (550–486 BCE).〔Arvind Sharma (2002), (On Hindu, Hindustān, Hinduism and Hindutva ) Numen, Vol. 49, Fasc. 1, pages 2-3〕 The term 'Hindu' in these ancient records is a geographical term and did not refer to a religion. Among the earliest known records of 'Hindu' with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text ''Record of the Western Regions'' by Xuanzang,〔 and 14th-century Persian text ''Futuhu's-salatin'' by 'Abd al-Malik Isami. Thapar states that the word ''Hindu'' is found as ''heptahindu'' in Avesta – equivalent to Rigvedic ''sapta sindhu'', while ''hndstn'' (pronounced ''Hindustan'') is found in a Sasanian inscription from the 3rd century CE, both of which refer to parts of northwestern South Asia.〔Romila Thapar (2004), Early India: From the Origins to A.D. 1300, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520242258, page 38〕 The Arabic term ''al-Hind'' referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was itself taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term ''Hindū'', which refers to all Indians. By the 13th century, ''Hindustan'' emerged as a popular alternative name of India, meaning the "land of ''Hindus''". The term ''Hindu'' was later used occasionally in some Sanskrit texts such as the later Rajataranginis of Kashmir (Hinduka, c. 1450) and some 16th- to 18th-century Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava texts including ''Chaitanya Charitamrita'' and ''Chaitanya Bhagavata''. These texts used it to contrast Hindus from Muslims who are called Yavanas (foreigners) or Mlecchas (barbarians), with the 16th-century ''Chaitanya Charitamrita'' text and the 17th century ''Bhakta Mala'' text using the phrase "Hindu dharma". It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as ''Hindus''. The term ''Hinduism'', then spelled ''Hindooism'', was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, and cultural traditions native to India.〔Will Sweetman (2003), Mapping Hinduism: 'Hinduism' and the Study of Indian Religions, 1600-1776, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 3-931479498, pages 163, 154-168〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hinduism」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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