Is Hinduism Relevant Today Essay

Hinduism is a religion with a rich history. Hinduism has adapted and changed over the centuries, in order to still be meaningful and needful of people. All religions must change. As people change so must religion, in order to stay relevant. When this happens usually old forms of spirituality within a religion will pass away, and new forms will take its place. Few of the many different religious paths of Hinduism have been lost, instead they have been added to, or changed, or new aspects have been added that has made Hinduism the tapestry it is today. Hinduism can be traced back to The Vedas, a collection of scared hymns. Later the Upanishads added new understandings to the Hindu religion, and finally the bhakti approach opened spirituality to shudras and women.

Made even before writing, they were carried orally by rishis, before being written down by the middle of the first millennium BCE. The Vedas were written over a period of more than 800 years (Fisher, 75). The Vedas were not written by humans, rather they are Shruti texts that have been revealed to mortals. This is why they are as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago, they are thought to transcend human time (Fisher, 75). During the Vedic stage spirituality revolved around a polytheistic view, Hindus worship many different gods. There was also a materialistic sense, a focus on material concerns. Hindus used priests to teach them the ways, and to perform rituals and sacrifices. These rituals could be for a sick family member. The priest would read the Vedas and would know what rituals and sacrifices to perform to improve the health of the family