Hinduism — Definition

Definition

Hinduism is a diverse family of religious and philosophical traditions with historical connections to Vedic learning, ritual, devotional practice, sacred narratives and regional communities. It has no single founder or uniform institutional authority governing every form of practice.

Concepts such as dharma, karma, samsara and moksha provide important lines of inquiry, but their meanings and relationships are interpreted differently across schools. A historical account distinguishes texts, philosophical arguments and lived customs.

It can explain how traditions developed and interacted without presenting a theological claim as an experimentally established fact or treating every community as identical.