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Nivedya P T
The Vast Heritage of the Different Sects of Hinduism
When most people think of Hinduism, they think of the Hindu pantheon's many gods and goddesses. Although the Hindu pantheon is vast, not all Hindus worship all of the gods. Hinduism began to become sectarian in the fifth century CE. The majority of practising Hindus are members of a Hindu denomination or sect, which is a minor subset of a larger tradition. Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism are the most well-known and have the largest followings of these sects. The cults are usually centred on bhakti, or devotion to a single deity. Lord Vishnu is God for Vaishnavites. God is Siva for Saivites. Goddess Shakti is supreme for Shaktas. The choice of Deity is left to the devotee for Smartas, the liberal Hindus. Each has tens of thousands of temples, guru lineages, religious leaders, priesthoods, sacred books, monastic communities, schools, pilgrimage centres, and sacred literature. They have a vast collection of art and architecture, as well as philosophy.
Published in Nov 2021
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