Hinduism Traditions
Branches, Denominations, Sects, Cults

    There are thousands... Hinduism is a federations of religions, or a religious anarchy in action... it is the jungle of religions and sects...

There are 3 kinds of divisions of  Hinduism:

1- The first one:

   It is just more "devotional" than theological: One's "favorite deity" tends to classify the school of thought and rituals: Vedism (the Veda gods), Brahmanism, Vaisnavism (Vishnu), Shavism (Shiva)... hundreds of Denominations...  

    Contemporary Hinduism is now divided into four major divisions:
        - Vaishnavism, devotees of Vishnu
        - Shaivism, devotees of Shiva
        - Shaktism, worships Shakti, the Divine Mother, "tantric" Hinduism uses ritual sexual intercourse to unite with the sexual power of the goddess Shakti, with magic spells, divinations...
        - Smartism, accept and worship all major forms of God, (Ganesha, Siva, Sakti, Vishnu, Surya and Skanda). Following a meditative, philosophical path, the denomination is generally considered to be liberal and non-sectarian.
    One may consider themselves a Shakta (a devotee of Shakti), a Shaiva (a devotee of Shiva), and a Vaishnava (a devotee of Vishnu) all at the same time Many gods of Hinduism

    - Vishnu is very popular, in its ten avatar manifestations, specially the last 3 ones: Rama, Krishna, Buddha... and the one to come, Kalkin.
     The "Symbionese Liberation Army", associated with the Patty Hearst kidnapping and sixties radicalism in the US chose as its symbol the 7 headed cobra, a manifestation of Vishnu.

    - Shiva is a most popular god in India, and the one who attracts most devotion: As "Nataraja", the lord of dance with 4 arms, wanders naked about the countryside on his white bull Nandy, overindulging in drugs, and encouraging starvation and self-mutilation. As "Bhairava", is the patricidal god of terror using his father's skull for a bowl. As "Ardhanarisvara", has an androgynous, hermaphrodite sexual image.
    The sanctuaries of Shiva always feature a big "lingman", the stylized erect penis which symbolizes his rampant sexuality.
    The wives of Shiva are very popular: "Shakti", encourages orgies, temple prostitution, and annual sacrifices; she originated "sutee", with the widow throwing herself into the fire of her husband funeral... its manifestation as "Kali" is the most sinister and bloodthirsty, and most popular: She stands on a beheaded body, wearing a necklace of human skulls... there are today reports of 100 human sacrifice murders every year in India in honor to Kali.

    - Krishna and Rama are favored by all... and, of course, Ganesha the elephant and Hanuman, the monkey-god, the guardian spirit of the villages
 

2- The second division of Hinduism:

    It is due to the chosen way of Yoga or Meditation:
    Buddha chose "the middle way"; Transcendental Meditation or Zen choose their own way... some choose the emotional "Bhakti" way, others overemphasize the use of "mantras" or "koans"... "tantric" Hinduism uses ritual sexual intercourse to unite with the sexual power of the goddess Shakti, with magic spells, divinations, Spiritism...

3- The third division of Hinduism:

    It comes from anyone who writes a commentary of the Vedas or the Gita who becomes a head of a new denomination, and there are now over 1,000 famous commentaries of the Gita alone, without counting the not so famous ones... and any "guru" or "swami" or "shadu" can start a new original Denomination at any time...

    Hinduism is the jungle of religion!... One writer stated, "It rejects nothing. It is all comprehensive, all tolerant, all complaint"... but it is not true!... Muslims are very badly treated in India, just because they are Muslims!... even the Sikhs, who try to unite Hindus and Muslims, are hated by Hinduism... in India there is practically no Buddhism, because it does not accept any of the gods... and the Governmental policies of India render Hinduism a virtual state-religion, thwarting Christian missionary efforts. If a Christian dares to criticize Hinduism, he is treated as dirt!... it is tolerant only when someone accepts their way of life!.

    Gandhi once wrote: "A man may not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu"... and it may be true, but any Christian youngster who enters into Hinduism, either through Yoga or Hindu anti-meditation or through any of the thousands of cults and denominations, he or she will spend all his money and life in the jungle of Hinduism, and he may  stop being a Christian, excommunicating effectively himself from the Church, may be for most of the only life he or she has on Earth...

Eastern Cults

Hindu Festivals
Index of Cults and Religions
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