Nowadays most of the people are just considering Hinduism or Sanathana Dharma as a religion. But actually Hinduism touches almost every aspect of a human life. It clearly defines what to do in a particular stage of life. Human life is divided into mainly 4 Ashramas and clearly assigning duties to be done in particular stage:
- Brahmacharya or the period of studentship
- Grihastha or the stage of the householder
- Vanaprastha or the stage of the forest-dweller or hermit
- Sannyasa or the life of renunciation or asceticism
The cultural values have equal importance in Hinduism. Also it teaches how to live a perfect life through its vast collection of books like Vedas, Updanishaths, & Puranas.
Ayurveda & Yoga are some of the examples which deals with health. It also includes many scientific subjects. Vedic mathematics, Astrology, Vasthushasthra, & Geography are some examples. It also teachings about protecting nature. Also, Hinduism is hiding many scientific facts in most of its rituals and sacraments. Many discoveries of modern science were previously discovered by Rishis and Yogis. Religions don't handle all these subjects, they typically focus on worshiping Gods or following particular rituals according to the holy books.
Another thing to notice is that Hinduism does not have a founder. It does not have a single holy book, but it does have a lot of texts which are considered important and those texts discussing a variety of topics.
Christianity - Jesus - Holy Bible
Islam - Allah - Holy Quran
Buddhism - Buddha - Tripitaka
Hinduism - ? - ?
Hinduism does have the method of worshiping Gods, but we need to keep in mind that every culture naturally covers the religious aspects too.
Even though it includes religious aspects, can it be considered as only a religion? Can it be considered as religion like Christianity, Islam or Buddhism? Or, is it a culture which was followed in particular region India and then spread across the world as a religion?