Abstract This paper is an in-depth examination of the Hindu religion using different texts and sources that have been written on the subject. Some of the different texts the author looks at are the Hindu Vedas, the great Hindu Epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and the Upanishads, often acknowledged as part of the Vedas. The author then shows how the different elements of these texts come together to form the basis of the teachings of the Hindu religion.
From the Paper "Finally, as a concept perhaps both partly Hinduistic and yet completely separate it is possible to look at Jainism. In this religion a soul, or Jiva, is attributed to every object- animate or inanimate. Karma is extent, but seen as the cause for pain- it is the accumulation of wrongdoing, which must be cleansed through righteousness before one can leave the earthly abode. Jainism practices the worship of many Hindu gods, which are believe to bestow temporal blessings (Sources 57) upon them, yet they also represent a fundamental atheistic component in their rejection of a one God which created the universe, affirming natural law as sufficient explanation."
