Hindu Religious TraditionsHinduism is by far the oldest major world religion still in use today. Not only has it survived countless attacks, but it has also thrived and remained virtually unchanged over the past 2,500 to 3,000 years. "The Aryans are said to have entered India through the legendary Khyber Pass, around 1500 BC. They mixed with the local population and assimilated into the social framework. The Aryans had no writing, but they developed a rich tradition. They composed the hymns of the four vedas, the great philosophical poems which are at the heart of Hindu thought” (The Aryans and the Vedic Age, 2004, par. 2). their methods of worship which were initially transmitted orally. In order to transmit these long stories orally, they had been put into rhymes and hymns. The first book of the Vedas, the Rig Veda, consists of 1028 hymns to various deities. Books began to join the Rig Veda in the entire Vedas Books such as Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda showed that Aryan culture was changing the way it viewed its gods, as well as the way they viewed themselves. themselves. The final addition to the Vedas of the classical period, the Upanishad, was added around 800 BCE. This is where terms like samsara, moksha, dharma and karma first appeared in scripture. “In Hinduism, salvation is achieved through the spiritual unity of the soul, atman, with the ultimate reality of the universe, Brahman. To achieve this goal, the soul must obtain moksha, or liberation from samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Through these basic teachings, Hindus believe in reincarnation, which is influenced by karma (worldly actions resulting from the consequences of previous actions). actions) and dharma (performing one's duty in life)” (Teachings and Beliefs, 2004, par. 1). The idea of ​​samsara is roughly that of reincarnation. All souls are trapped in a cycle of life, death and rebirth. The goal of each of these souls is to escape the cycle of samsara and obtain moksha. Moksha is a reincarnation with a god. In recent Hinduism, the moksha you get is that of the god of your choice, or the one you worship as your protective deity. The terms of dharma and karma are the tools we must use to obtain moksha and escape samsara..