Hello, my name is Uttsavkumar, and I am 14 years old. I am a Hindu and this page will explain Hinduism.

Hinduism originated in India at around 1500 BCE, the religion has no real founder but it is believed that Gandhi was a strong influence on the religion. The sacred scriptures are the Vedas and the Gita. These books are based on the past of Hindus as many wars have been fought and many were won by the Hindus. These are told in the Gita and are shown under the heading of the Mahabharat. "Bharat" means India and "Maha" meaning war of, so many Hindus would know this story as it is told in the temple or Mandir. There is no real leader of the Mandir; you go in there to worship yourself the god that you need to worship. The story of the Mahabharat is not so much a story but a poem of the past, it was written in sanskrit which is the ancient language of India, during the 9th century. The Mahabharat, as mentioned already, is found in the Gita, this is probably the most important part of the Gita as it records the sight of the great lord Krishna.

The Mahabharat has a large influence on Hindu life as it contains important teachings and words of wisdom that Hindus follow.

One of our main beliefs is not to eat beef. This is because we see cows as being a sacred animal. The lord Krishna, as a child, had looked after this animal and so as Hindus we choose not to eat beef and protect that animal in India. Some Hindus do not believe in this and choose to eat the meat of a cow. But it is said in the Vedas that, "Meat cannot be obtained without harming creatures ... shun the meat". This means that some Hindus do not eat meat at all and choose just to eat fruit and veg.

Shrine

Another belief is based around worship; this is the belief of having to remove your shoes before entering the Mandir, as to wear shoes in front of a God is disrespectful. When you enter a Mandir you are on holy ground (of the Gods). Not all Hindus choose to worship in a Mandir, you could worship within your own home. I am one of those, I have a shrine as shown. In many homes this is usually placed within the living room. This is because this is where everyone will be at one point or the other. Each person must either change into slippers or remove their shoes. Each morning I pray to the lord Ganesh. He is the God of good fortune and luck. I pray to him because I believe that by praying to him I will be successful in the school day.

We also believe that there are many Gods but really there is only one as all are the descendants from the great God Brahman, the supreme God. Not all of these gods are actually worshipped as mostly, we only worship the main gods.

Hindu Symbol

Being a Hindu is very different to being a part of another religion as there are many parts to the religion. If you are a Punjabi, South Indian or Gujarati, etc. you will have a different way of life based on your parents' upbringing. I myself am a Gujarati and so follow that way of life.

If you belong to this religion you are expected to follow these rules:

1. Do not eat beef
2. No sex before marriage
3. Remove shoes before entering the Mandir
4. Pray every morning unless there are restrictions, e.g. bad health

These are not all the rules but these are the ones that I have to follow at the moment. The amount of rules that you must follow gets larger as you get older. I don't find these rules hard to follow because I understand how they work.

I am proud to be a Hindu, as it doesn't actually have many life changing laws that I have to follow. There may be a few when I get older, such as having to fast when the date is stated in the Hindu calendar (which is a lunar calendar).

One of the reasons I like the religion is actually the main festival which is called Diwali. This is the festival of lights. It is the celebration of the lord Rama's return from rescuing his wife, the goddess Sita. This story is told in the books of the Ramayan.

The other festival being Raksha Bhandan, where the girls tie a silk string on the wrist of their brother. This ensures their protection and the girls also receive a gift of either money or an object of value, sometimes jewellery.

There are many other festivals but the best is and always will be Diwali as it is the gathering of all the family and is the biggest celebration of the Hindu year.

Here are some pictures that are found around the house and are explained below.

This is a picture of the Ramayan which is where the lord Ram is blessing a person on the water.

This is a picture of the Mahabharat with Arjun the warrior in the chariot and lord Krishna driving it.

This is a picture of Krishna as he steals ghee out of pots as a child.