The Hindu scriptures consist of the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavadgita, and several smaller works. They are written in Sanskrit and were composed in or near India. Contrary to popular belief, Sanskrit is a language similar to, and closely related to, English. Coupled with the fact that the people groups among which Hinduism arose are tribes whose origins are the same as the origins of the European tribes (who later became Germans, Frenchmen, Spaniards, etc.), it is to be seen that Hinduism is closely related to Wester Culture, even though it is often mis-understood as a product of Eastern Culture. Hinduism's “westernness” can be more clearly seen when it is compared, e.g., to the native religions of Japan, which are more truly “eastern.”
Tukaram, a revered Hindu saint, wrote:
Guard me, O God, and O, controlThe Hindu scriptures say:
the tumult of my restless soul.Ah, do not, do not cast on me
The guilt of mine iniquity.My countless sins, I, Tuka, say,
Upon thy loving heart I lay.
The sage chooses what is good, the dull-witted what is pleasurable.Hinduism is essentially polytheistic, and in this way is similar to Greek, Roman, and Norse mythologies. As noted above, Hinduism is culturally and linguistically a sibling to the Greek, Roman, and Norse languages and cultures.
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