Hinduism - Funk & Wagnalls New World EncyclopediaHinduism , religion that originated in India and is still practiced by most of its inhabitants, as well as by those whose families have migrated from India to other parts of the world (chiefly East Africa, South Africa, Southeast Asia, the East Indies, and England). The word Hindu is derived from the Sanskrit word sindhu (“river,” more specifically, the Indus); the Persians in the 5th century bc called the Hindus by that name, identifying them as the people of the land of the Indus. The Hindus’ own definitions of their community are “those who believe in the Vedas” (see Veda ) or “those who follow the way (dharma) of the four classes ( varnas ) and stages of life ( ashramas ).”
