History

The Islamic Invasion

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Islam was dominant under the Mughal Empire, which had been encroaching on the subcontinent since the 8th century. Sikhism emerged in the Punjab. The East India Company, whose arrival coincided with the fall of the Mughal Empire, confronted Hinduism with Western and Christian approaches.

Neo-Hinduism

Various religious and social reform movements developed from India`s encounter with Europe in the 19th century. Within Hinduism, the tradition of widow burning and the caste system were now also discussed and questioned. The Hindus now also began to see themselves as a unit, which was not the case before. With the beginning of Neo-Hinduism, people strived to be independent. The Christian missionaries in India were able to come to terms with their own religion rather than converting to Christianity. The translation of Sanskrit into English in printed form made it possible for the traditional written material to be viewed by a broader public in India as well.

At this time several organizations formed. The Brahmo Samaj was founded in Calcutta in 1828 by Ram Mohan Roy. He developed a monotheistic approach and saw in the absolutely formless Brahman the supreme being, the only true God. The Arya Samaj was founded by Dayanada in 1875 in Mumbai. He wanted to separate Hinduism from later influences, such as B. freeing the Puranas, which he regarded as falsifications. He regarded only Veda as the source of revelation, rejecting the caste system and polytheism. Both organizations aimed at social reforms, but rejected the worship of images.

Swami Vivekanada founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897, which is based on Christian missions. His goal was to spread the teachings of Vedanta globally, which he considered the culmination of all religions.Ramakrishna, his teacher, believed that the diversity of religions was only apparent, since they all proclaimed the same truth. Before the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, he presented Hinduism as a world religion. Hinduism was presented outside of India for the first time on this occasion.

Mahatma Ghandi`s non-violent resistance to independence caused a stir in the western world and sparked greater interest in Hindu traditions here as well.