The profound love of knowledge/wisdom ("ology") that epitomizes Hinduism and its Yogic lifestyle permeates all aspects of life. Within Hinduism (though the English "ologies" do not always adequately describe their Sanskrit counter-part and the Sanskrit principles can overlap), one can research: eschatology and ontology (vedanta), etymology (samskrita), etiology (karma) epistemology (naya), cosmology, biology and anthropology (dharma), physiology (ayurveda and hatha yoga), pulmanology (pranayama), neurology (kundalini), psychology (chakras), sociology (purusarthas), philosophy (shad darsanas), theology and soteriology (classical yoga), cosmology and even astrology (jyotish), to name a few.

Hinduism is sometimes referred to as "The Mother of all Religions." With a thorough exposure to Hinduism one can understand, appreciate and even enjoy the many subsequent religions that have emerged throughout history. All the spiritual/religious elements found within Hinduism can also be found within every other religion. This fact is due to the universal nature of spiritual/religious experiences as well as the direct and indirect influence that Hinduism has had on subsequent religious traditions.

Directly, Hinduism has "given birth" to the Buddhist, Jain and Sikh religions, and, indirectly, through ancient traders and philosophers that interacted with those from the land of Bharat (India). Though the majority of the Hindus live in India, today Hindus can be found around the world. There are Hindu temples in every major city and countless Satsang (devotional) groups.

Though the majority of Hindus are "Indian" and of course all the original Hindus were from India, Hinduism is now a world religion to which anyone can belong. There are brown, black, and white skinned Hindus. There are brown-eyed and blue-eyed Hindus. Interestingly and contrary to myth, many Hindu "Indians" belong to the Caucasian race.

Like any other religion, Hinduism is about spiritual awakening and a relationship with the Divine. Hindus view this Divine source in many (indeed, infinite) ways; as an absolute "something" beyond conceptualization; as an energy that flows through all things; as the light within and without illuminating all of creation; as pure sound; as an experience of love, joy and bliss; and as a very personal spiritual being that can be male, female and male/female, to name a few.

With such an omnipresent, ecumenical view, Hindus necessarily respect all spiritual/religious traditions and seek to find the common spiritual ground that is the foundation of all the great religions. This great tolerance does not mean that the Hindu condones any religious tradition that seeks to exclude those of other religions, but, like a compassionate mother, Hinduism understands the slow maturing process of spiritual awakening.

The highly cultured lifestyle that is Hinduism is inseparable from the everyday life of the Hindu. Hindus begin the day in prayer, or puja, and end the day in the same way. And, throughout the day, Hindu principles guide the life of every sincere Hindu. Over the centuries, Hinduism has sparked great cultural advancements. Spiritual Love, that is the cornerstone of the Hindu Faith, manifests in classical Indian music and dance and in the highly developed arts of sculpture and painting that adorn the magnificent Hindu temples. The voluminous prose and poetry inspired by the Hindu faith is of epic proportions. And the courteous, humble and reverent lifestyle that Hinduism has inspired, throughout the ages, is reflected in the high moral standards of the Hindus. From the simplest expressions (simply chanting Aum) to the most complex flights of the intellect and emotions, Hinduism glorifies it all.

Of course, with time comes decay, and the thousands of years of civilization and all that comes with it, corruption, foreign invasion and natural disasters have taken their toll on the land of India as well as the character of many Hindus. Such decay is inevitable in any society. One has only to look at the decay that has taken place in America in only two hundred years to see this reality.

Today, Hinduism is becoming more recognizable in the West as more Hindus migrate. Many, who were non-Hindus, have begun adopting and converting into Hinduism. For decades, the Hindu spiritual/religious disciplines of Classical Yoga (Karma, Bhakti, Raja and Jnana) have been widely accepted by many the world over. The Hindu principles of Vegetarianism, Karma and Reincarnation are also widely accepted beliefs. The Hindu belief that Spiritual-Reality is within everything and everyone (hence the Sanskrit/Hindu greeting "Namaste"), just waiting to be uncovered, has appealed to many seekers of Truth whether or not they have openly declared themselves to be Hindus. In all times and especially these times of extreme fundamentalism and "new-age universalism," Hinduism has a great message for the whole world: Follow your chosen religion and realize it is a way and not the way.

(What others have said:)

India, land of religions, cradle of human race birth place of human speech, grandmother of legend, great grandmother of tradition.- Mark Twain

The Hindu teaching, through its clouds of legends, has yet a simple and grand religion, like a queenly countenance seen through a rich veil. It teachers to speak truth, love others and to depose trifles.- Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I read the Bhagavad Gita and reflect on the Divine creation of this universe, everything else seems superfluous. We owe a lot to the Hindus. - Albert Einstein

I am convinced that everything has come down to us from the banks of the Ganges. - Voltaire

India was the mother land of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages; she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, of much of our mathematics; mother of self-government and democracy. - Will Durant (American Historian)

Yoga as a science of achieving this transformation of finite men into the infinite One, has to be recognized as something intrinsically Hindu. - Mircea Eliade (famous Romanian philosopher and religious historian)

Devoid of intellectual discernment are those Europeans who want to convert and civilize the Hindus. - Friedrich Nietzsche

What extracts from the Vedas I have read fall on me like the light of a higher and purer luminary. - Henry David Thoreau

The following is a very brief summation of the many terrorist attacks on Hindus and against the Hindu/Yogic religion. These attacks continue in many forms to this day. Along with continued attacks by Muslim and Christian extremists against Hinduism, there is the concerted effort to completely divorce; i.e., steal the many sacred Yoga teachings from Hinduism and the Hindus. With this simple overview, one may come to realize why the Classical Yoga Hindu Academy is so firm in challenging all those who are participating in the unethical and insulting practice of misrepresenting the Yoga/Hindu teachings, teachers, practices and rituals. The sad history of killing and stealing from others their land, cultures and religions is well-documented and unfortunately continues to this very day. Of course, a similar timetable could be detailed concerning many indigenous cultures around the world who have been prey to arrogant invaders.

300 ~ Alexander the Greek invades North India.

450 ~ Hephtalite (Chinese) invade North India.

565 ~ Turks and Persians invade North India.

712 ~ Muslim invasions into India begin.

1017 ~ Muslims take over Mathura (reported birthplace of Krishna) and build a Mosque.

1024 ~ Muslims kill 50,000 Hindus at Somanath Siva Temple and build a Mosque.

1185 ~ Muslims conquer the Punjab & Lahore.

1193 ~ Muslims conquer Delhi.

1200 ~ By this time, Muslims have taken over the whole of North India destroying at least 60,000 Hindu Temples and erecting approx. 3,000 Mosques.

1296 ~ Muslim invaders move into South India.

1300 ~ By this time, Muslim invaders have conquered all the way to the tip of South India (Cape Comorin) and build a Mosque.

1510 ~ Portuguese Catholics invade Goa (SW India).

1528 ~ Muslims destroy Lord Rama's birthplace at Ayodhya and erect a shrine (Masjid).

1619 ~ Catholic Christians invade Jaffna in Sri Lanka and destroy many Hindu Temples.

1761 ~ 200,000 Hindus are killed by Afghan Muslim extremists.

1764 ~ The British (under the Anglican Church) invade India defeating Muslims in Bengal.

1803 ~ British capture Delhi and subsequently take control of all India.

1837-1917 ~ British institute a form of slavery in the indentured servant system where Hindus were sent to do manual labor in the British colonies.

1906 ~ Dutch Christians invade and kill many Hindus in Bali.

1947 ~ India finally gains independence from its British/Christian masters though Christian missionaries still actively seek to convert Hindus in India and around the world.

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circa 1960's ~ So-called "yoga" (divorced from its Hindu roots and taken out of its classic context of the many, progressive forms of yoga) is made popular in the Western world.

2000 ~ By this time, so-called "yoga" becomes a mainstream "American exercise business." Spurious "certifications" are sold and "Yoga personalities" emerge (complete with sexual and financial scandals). Hindus teaching and practicing yoga are suppressed (and often ridiculed) by the media and those in the (often lucrative) "yoga business."

1. India has never invaded any county.

2. India invented the number system and algebra, trigonometry and calculus.

3. The world's first university was established in India, Takshila in 700 B.C.E.

4. Sanskrit is the Mother of all European languages.

5. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans.

6. India was the richest country on earth until the time of the British invasions.

7. The Art of Navigation was born in the river Sindhu 6000 years ago.

8. When most cultures were still nomadic, the Indus Valley was fully developed.

9. Though Hindus have been besieged by Christian and Muslim zealots, Hindus have never sent out missionaries to try and convert (and certainly not to destroy) others from their religion into Hinduism.

10. "Caste" is actually not a part of Hinduism. "Caste" is a Portuguese word and was used to describe the Hindu social stratification known as Varna. All societies have "caste" in one form or another and also misused in one form or another. Interestingly, all the invaders into India set up their own caste system with the Indians at the bottom! Identical to the European invasion upon the Native Americans, the British, for example, under the auspicious of the Church of England deemed Indians second class citizen in their own country.

It is important to note that Indians did little outside exploration because they did not have to! Everything was within Bharat/India which is precisely why explorers/invaders from Alexander to Columbus (who, of course never got there) "set sail" for Mother India. The history of invasions into India is fully documented. Nobody wants to conquer a poor nation. Jai Bharat Mata and Sanatana Dharma/Hinduism: The Religion of Classical Yoga.

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