The word Hinduism comes from a Persian word that connects to the Sindhu or Indus River in northwest India. The word Hindu was first used by Arabs, Persians and Afghans in the 14th century. Hinduism is the oldest living religion and is extreme in India. Other names known for Hinduism are “Sanatana Dharma” which means eternal religion and “Vaidika Dharma” which means the religion of the Vedas. It does not have a founder or date of origin like Christians or Islam do. Hinduism does not focus on one set of doctrines. There are 330 gods among Hindus but they are not considered polytheistic. They believe that they have only one god, Brahman, but that all other gods are representations of Brahman in many ways. Hinduism is also called the religion of freedom because this religion allows the greatest freedom of faith and worship. Hindus have different beliefs, concepts, texts, festivals and many things, as do other religions. The different aspects of Hinduism can be further discussed through Hindus' beliefs in the laws of karma and dharma, reincarnation, liberation and non-violence or ahimsa. The Hindu belief that dharma helps nourish the flowers, makes the sun star and the moon shine. It is a power that helps control society as a whole. Dharma is also explained as fulfilling the duty of life. The main purpose of dharma is to help a person's soul come closer to God and it also gives the promise of securing world joy and eternal blessing. Practicing dharma can make people happy, strong, and can help them lead a well-disciplined life. Dharma makes people moral and righteous. These are... middle of paper... elements of dharma that we must fulfill in this life. Karma is what we do in this present life. The Lord punishes or rewards us according to each person's dharma. Reincarnation was the most interesting belief in Hinduism. I was surprised to find out. Being reincarnated according to the karma we did in the past life is so surprising. Breaking free from this cycle of birth and death is liberation or also known as moksha. Obtaining moksha is the main goal of every Hindu's life. It is not easy to obtain moksha until we live a pure and perfect life in this world. Non-violence or ahimsa does not harm any living being. They believe that doing ahimsa is wrong and can have bad consequences in the reincarnated life. Being vegetarian is a good way to maintain non-violence. Overall it was good to know the main beliefs of Hinduism..