Hinduism is one of the oldest if not thee oldest of the worlds great religions. There is speculation that Hinduism traces back thousands of years before Christ, perhaps as far back as 7000b.c. There is not a whole lot of concrete evidence to support these early development theories. We do get substantial evidence of early Hinduism with the coming of the Indo-Aryan people to the Indian Subcontinent (check out posts "Foundations part 1 & 2").Around 1500bc the Vedic culture including its religion began to exert some influence in the fading Indus River Civilization. The early Vedic religion was an animistic religion centered around sacrifices and sharing the sacrificial meal with each other and with the many gods. Elaborate 
sacrifices were offered to different Vedic gods or devas and forms of these rituals continue to this day.
The Vedic deities of the Indo-Aryans bare many similarities to those of the pagan and animistic deities of early Western Europe. One of the Vedic gods, the sky god Indra, comes from the same root word as Zeus. The Vedic religion was based on the strong oral tradition of the Aryans and was was later written down in the Rig Vedas.
The Vedas are the holy books of the Hindus, the earliest of which are the Rig Vedas which were written around 1200b.c. to 1000b.c. They were composed in Vedic Sanskrit and make up the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. The Rig Vedas are a compilation of the oral traditions of the Vedic people. They are a written record of hymns and songs to the earth and celebrations and sacrifices to their gods who were anthropomorphism's of forces in nature. A more philosophical focus began to develop
around 700 BC, with the Upanishads and development of the Vedanta philosophy. More on these later.
The Rig Vedas include their own account of the creation of the world. Prajapati, who is the first god, was sacrificed to himself by younger gods and out of his body the whole universe was made. Each of Prajapati's body parts turned into different groups of people. From this the Indian people thought of themselves as belonging to one of the four castes. So it would seem the whole caste system has its roots with the Aryan people even though it is deeply embedded in the Hindu worldview.
sacrifices were offered to different Vedic gods or devas and forms of these rituals continue to this day.The Vedic deities of the Indo-Aryans bare many similarities to those of the pagan and animistic deities of early Western Europe. One of the Vedic gods, the sky god Indra, comes from the same root word as Zeus. The Vedic religion was based on the strong oral tradition of the Aryans and was was later written down in the Rig Vedas.
The Vedas are the holy books of the Hindus, the earliest of which are the Rig Vedas which were written around 1200b.c. to 1000b.c. They were composed in Vedic Sanskrit and make up the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. The Rig Vedas are a compilation of the oral traditions of the Vedic people. They are a written record of hymns and songs to the earth and celebrations and sacrifices to their gods who were anthropomorphism's of forces in nature. A more philosophical focus began to develop
around 700 BC, with the Upanishads and development of the Vedanta philosophy. More on these later. The Rig Vedas include their own account of the creation of the world. Prajapati, who is the first god, was sacrificed to himself by younger gods and out of his body the whole universe was made. Each of Prajapati's body parts turned into different groups of people. From this the Indian people thought of themselves as belonging to one of the four castes. So it would seem the whole caste system has its roots with the Aryan people even though it is deeply embedded in the Hindu worldview.
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