ABSTRACT
Unlike Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Hinduism has evolved without reference to one great leader or teacher, or to a special book or a single god. It has developed over several thousand years, changing forms and practices with time. It is more flexible in its organisation than the other main religions in allowing members of the Hindu faith to worship a single god, several gods, or none at all. Holy scriptures, festivals and rituals differ from place to place. There is a universal belief through the idea of Karma that the way people live in this life affects their next life, into which they will be reborn, rather than their situation and rewards in the next world. The prospect is that those who have done well will be reincarnated in an upper echelon of society, while those who have lived badly will be reborn in a low caste or will even become animals.
