ABSTRACT
Hindu Beliefs and Writings Hinduism is o* en called a way of life, which is true but not very helpful. & ere is no founder or single doctrinal text, like the Qur’an, the New Testament, or the Buddha’s sayings. Hinduism developed in part from the religions of the Indus civilization, which may have included the cult of Shiva, still a dominant Hindu god. & e Aryans brought their own tribal gods, including the war god Indra and the + re god Agni (compare Latin ignis , “+ re,” and English ignite ), but by the time the + rst texts, the Vedas, were written down, many centuries later, Vedic religion was already a mixture of Harappan, Aryan, and Dravidian (southern Indian) elements. & e Dravidian element probably included the god Krishna, one of many manifestations in human form of Vishnu the creator; Krishna represents gentleness and compassion and is always shown and spoken of as “the dark one,” colored blue or even black-hence the guess at Dravidian origin.
