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Thousands of years before the term Hindu or Hinduism came into existence, the term ‘Sanatana-dharma’ finds reference in Veda the oldest literature in the world. The duties as mentioned above can be classified into Sanatana-dharma and Varnashrama-dharma. Varnashrama-dharma identifies the economic and social duties of human beings.
Sanatana-dharma consists of duties which are typically spiritual in nature. It refers to atman or spirit and thus cannot vary from person to person. Sanatana-dharma is very difficult to define objectively. However the emphasis is on eternal inclination of human beings. This, according to Rishis, is universal and beyond life and death and has nothing to do with one’s belief system. It prescribes the eternal duties that human beings should follow irrespective of birth root. These duties are honesty, purity, non-violence, self-restraint etc.
in short, sanatan dharma is a cultural etiquette and set of values which permeated spiritual, philosophical, physical and social spheres of life far before any of the religions cropped up.
The term Hindu does not find mention in ancient literatures like Vedas and Puranas. It has been coined by Persians to mean people living beside the river Sindhu. Basically Hindu means the people living in a particular geographical territory, i.e. Indians living beside Sindhu river. When Greek conqueror Alexander invaded this part of the world, Greeks used the term Indu instead of Hindu to denote people living in this territory.
Also according to another mythology, hindu is a misnomer introduced by Mughal invaders. They called the people living east of the river Sindhu, for Hindus instead of Sindhus, because they couldn’t pronounce the S properly.
Hinduism also called Sanatana Dharma (“eternal spiritual path”) began about 4000 years ago in India. It was the religion of an ancient people known as the Aryans (“noble people”) whose philosophy, religion, and customs are recorded in their sacred texts known as the Vedas. These texts were initially handed down by word of mouth from teacher to student. It was not until much later that they were actually written down. Archeological evidence from the Indus Valley civilization of northwestern India helps to establish Hinduism as the world’s oldest living religion
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