Over 760 million people follow the Hindu faith across the world. The third largest religion in the world, Hinduism differs from Christianity and Islam because it does not have a single founder, one core belief system or a centralised structure.

For many Hindus, their faith is older than humanity and represents the sanataan dharma or the eternal way of life developed on the Indian sub-continent over three millennia.

There is no single doctrine or practice binding Hindus. Across the world, Hinduism has adapted and at times absorbed external influences. Dharma, meaning tradition and duty all at once, is one of the few core Hindu beliefs. The second is samsara, or the repetitious transmigration of souls in a cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth.

Karma is the accumulated sum of one's good and bad deeds and the determinant of how one will live his next life. One can be reborn at a higher level through pure acts, thoughts and devotion, while bad deeds may lead to a lower rebirth, even as an animal. The unequal distribution of wealth, prestige and suffering are thereby seen as a natural consequence for acts in this and previous lives. Samsara also unites all beings into a fellowship of the living and commands an equal respect of high and low beings, human and animal.

Hindus worship various gods and goddesses, including three main gods - Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the destroyer) - who are regarded as three dimensions of one omnipotent God. To many Hindus, all religions are equal, different only their approach to a core truth.

Hinduism is a pursuit of truth, and Hindus believe the truth was divinely revealed to the early sages and recorded in scriptures called Shruti. The Vedas (Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yqjur Veda and Atharve Veda) contain hymns, mantras and rituals of worship.

Worship is vital to most Hindus, many of whom build shrines for family worship in the home. Worship is predominately individual and making an offering to God and maintaining a view of the deity. One must undergo a ritual cleansing and remove all leather items from the body, including shoes, before worship. Hindu temples are not for congregational worship, but rather are the dwelling places of single gods or goddesses.

Recorded information on: Hindu Sabha and Shree Krishan Mandir