Hinduism is different from the ancient Sanatana Dharma, which follows 4 Vedas.+

A great majority of Hindus are not in contact with their religious history; therefore, they believe their inherited beliefs to be the ultimate truth.

People of India are sentimentally and emotionally involved with their inherited religion, which is meant for the ignorant populace. They think it is irreligious to think or speak that their religion is not the ancient Vedic religion or Sanatana Dharma.

People from the West think Hinduism is Sanatana Dharma or the Vedic religion, but it is not so.

If one seeks the truth of his existence, then he must know that Santana Dharma or Vedic religion has nothing to do with Hinduism, to realize that the Vedic truth is that Atman is Brahman (God in truth).

Hinduism is based on myths and thus, people of India are unaware of the facts of their inherited religious history.

The Vedic Culture and Vedas are complete in themselves, but Hinduism, which is a non-Vedic belief system with all rituals and conduct oriented practices, has been contributed largely by the orthodox priests to suit their convenience!

Hinduism is not a religion; it is the way of life of Indian people with different caste, creed, culture, tradition, and ideology of different parts of India under a single roof.

Origin of the word 'Hindu.':

Swami Vivekananda says: - The word Hindu is a misnomer; the correct word should be a Vedantin, a person who follows the Vedas.

The word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan and Sanskrit word Sindhu, which means "a large body of water", covering "river, ocean". ... The term 'Hindu' in these ancient records is ethno-geographical and did not refer to a religion. The Arabic equivalent Al-Hind likewise referred to the country of India.

Many scholars and historians have concluded that the word 'Hindu' was coined by the ancient invaders who could not accurately pronounce the name of the River Sindhu. According to Sir Monier Williams, the famous Sanskrit lexicographer, the words 'Hindu' and 'India' evidently do not possess...

Interestingly, the word "Hindu" came into existence because of the mispronunciation of a Sanskrit word by the ancient Persians some 3000 to 4000 years ago. The word "Hindu" is not a Sanskrit word. It is not found in any of the thousands of native dialects and languages of India. Neither is it a religious word. It is a secular word...

Hindu means nothing. The terms Hindu and Hinduism were given by the Irani and Persian people, who couldn’t pronounce Sandhu, so they called people on the opposite side of the river Sandhu, as HINDU & Hinduism were given by the Britishers.

In Reality Hinduism is different from the ancient Sanatana Dharma, which follows 4 Vedas...

The word 'Hindu' has no meaning, actually. Hindu is derived from the word Sindhu in Sanskrit, the historical local name for the Indus River.

The word 'Hindu' occurred first as a Persian geographical term for the people who lived beyond the river Indus. Hindu was a geographical term and did not refer to a religion.

Dharma is a very complex word. The concept of dharma is verily the core of our religion. In fact, the right name for our religion is 'Santana Dharma', which means 'Eternal Dharma'.

The word 'Hinduism' has become a common word in the modern world. The real fact is that words like Hinduism, Hindu, etc., never appear in any of the ancient scriptures! So, to know our religion, the first step is to know what dharma means.

That is the reason today, the majority of scholars say that the word Hinduism is a misnomer.

The correct word should be Santana Dharma, the eternal religion, or the Vedic Dharma, the religion of the Vedas.

Hinduism incorporates a vast pantheon of deities, some of whom are manifestations or combinations of others. Most of the deities worshipped by Hindus are Puranic-based. Puranic Gods are non-Vedic Gods with form and attributes.

In the Vedas, bar non-Vedic Gods because the Vedic God is Athma. Today's popular devotion centres around the major deities of Shiva, Vishnu, and the Goddess

Max Müller says: ~ "The religion of the Veda knows no idols; the worship of idols in India is a secondary formation, a degradation of the more primitive worship of ideal gods."

In the Vedas, God has been described as ~

In the Yajurveda – Chapter 32: God Supreme or Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. He cannot be seen directly by anyone. He pervades all beings and all directions. Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul or Spirit) is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman, the ‘Self’. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

The Hindus indulge in non-Vedic practices barred by the Vedas, introduced by the different founders of the different sects of Hinduism at different times, whereas the Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma is ancient and has no founder.

Thus, to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the seeker has to realize that his inherited religion is adulterated in the past, and it becomes a great obstacle in realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Hinduism is based on mythology and thus, people of India are unaware of the facts of their inherited religious history.

The Vedic Culture and Vedas are complete in themselves, but Hinduism, which is a non-Vedic belief system with all rituals and conduct-oriented practices, has been largely contributed to by the orthodox priests to suit their convenience!

The word Hinduism is a misnomer. Sanatana Dharma has nothing to do with Hinduism. Santana Dharma, the eternal religion, or the Vedic Dharma, the religion of the Vedas.

Remember:~

It looks like the creator creation theory is also borrowed from the Abrahamic religion, and on the base new belief system has been introduced, giving it a Vedic outlook and propagating all non-Vedic rituals and worship by someone in the past.

The vast ocean of Vedic religion or Santana Dharma was consistently steady and calm for a very long period. It appears that, as a consequence of the rage of the Buddhist revolution, it got suddenly disturbed and flowed down to us in disorder.

Even today, Vedic religion or Santana Dharma has not recovered from the onslaught of Buddhism and Jainism and is not able to settle in people's hearts in its original form in the same old measure.

The Buddhist influence is seen in a great measure in the Vedic philosophy, which is followed by the majority of Indians. Thus, it is clear that Vedic religion or Santana Dharma has not retained its original form, but has been influenced by other religions that have undergone a sea change. Thus, the influence of Buddhism on Santana Dharma is extraordinary.

Even Kumarila Bhatta, who fought with great heroism for the revival of the Vedic religion, was so much influenced by Buddhism that he established for the first time in the country, an atheist Vedic religion or Santana Dharma. There is no room for any doubt to assert that the Kumarila Bhatta School was influenced by atheist Buddhism because the school, which is based on the validity of the Vedas and rituals, refutes the existence of God.

Sage Sankara endeavored towards establishing Vedic religion, overthrowing Buddhism. But even he was not able to avoid the influence of Buddhism. The influence of the revolutionary atmosphere of Buddhism has reappeared in the Advaita of Sage Sankara.

Sage Sankara's inability to revive the Vedic religion that flourished before the Buddhist revolution in its pure form is discernible.

A Hindu idol or deity or temple has nothing to do with the Vedic religion. Vedic people ate beef. The Hindu practices of idol worship and temple worship ban beef-eating, which was introduced many centuries later.

As per the researchers, the two faiths, the Hindu belief system has drifted miles away from the Vedic faith so that the two seem to be two distinct faiths. It is not difficult to discover that there is no noticeable continuity of Hinduism from the Vedic religion or the Santana Dharma.

The distinctive characteristics of the Hindu belief system cannot be traced in the Vedic literature. Besides, although the Vedas are revered as sacred texts, there are many people in India who do not know what ‘belief in the Vedas’ means. In most cases, the acquaintance of the Hindus with the Vedas is limited to the few hymns that are recited in temples and household liturgies.

Gods and Goddesses worshipped in India today are non-Vedic Gods. Such Gods and Goddesses cease to exist without the dualistic illusion. Whatever belongs to the dualistic illusion is bound to be a falsehood.

Hinduism is based on myths, and thus, people of India are unaware of the facts of their inherited religious history.

The Vedic Culture and Vedas are complete in themselves, but Hinduism, which is a non-Vedic belief system with all ritual and conduct oriented practices, has been contributed largely by the orthodox priests to suit their convenience!:~ Santthosh Kumaar