Six unmasked myths on Hinduism

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions and the third one in the world after Christianity and Islam. According to statistics, Hinduism reached  over 1 billion followersglobally. It is a religion which is not based on a certain holy book or on the teachings of a founder.Naturally, this spiritual concept created many myths about its dogma, history and gods.

1stMyth:There are 330 million Hindu gods and, therefore, people usually perceive Hinduism as a polytheist religion. However, there is only one Supreme Being which cannot be fully understood. Those who follow Hinduism are encouraged to create a very personal relationship with God. The three most important Hindu deities are Brahma – the creator;Vishnu – the keeper and Shiva – the one who destroys.  

2ndMyth:The Hindus pray to an abstract God and not to an idol. Yet, they will rather follow a physical representation of God which helps them concentrate on their prayers and meditation. For instance, somebody who has recently opened their own business might pray to Ganesh, the elephant god, which is the symbol of success.

3rdMyth:Hindus pray to cows. Those who practice Hinduism do not necessarily pray to cows, but rather think that every part of the creation and life is holy. The Hindus believe that every living being has a soul. It is, however, true that the cows enjoy a special place in the Hindu society, because they are perceived as maternal symbols.

4thMyth:Every Hindu is vegetarian. However, in reality, the majority of the Hindus eat meat, but a certain 30% of them follow the fundamentalist principle of ahimsa (nonviolence) and thus, refrain from eating meat products.

5thMyth:Women are subordinated in Hinduism. As a fact and in contrast to other religions such as Hinduism and Islam, Hinduism knows a feminine form of certain deities. Hindus pray to the goddess Shakti, the feminine figure of God’s energy. There are also the goddess Saraswati (the goddess of wisdom) and Lakshmi (the goddess of prosperity) . However, because of culture rather than religion, Indian women cannot be equal to men.

6thMyth:Karma is fatalist. Whereas Hinduism is concerned, every single physical and spiritual action automatically has an impact on a person’s life. Thus, each person is able to create their destiny through their own actions. In Hinduism, one final’s objective is to have karma which will set the spirit free and thus, it will be reborn.