Hinduism is an astoundingly diverse tradition as indicated by the
name Hindu itself. Hindu is not the personal name of a founder nor
is it descriptive of a central belief or practice. “Hindu” is the Iranian
variation for the name of a river that Indo-Europeans referred to as the
Sindhu, Greeks as the Indos, and British as the Indus. Those who lived
on the territory drained by the Indus were derivatively called Hindus.
They did not necessarily share a uniform religious culture and, today,
the Hindu tradition reflects the astonishing variation in geography,
language, and culture across the Indian subcontinent and beyond. It
helps to think of Hinduism as a large, ancient, and extended family,
recognizable through common features, but also reflecting the uniqueness
of its individual members. Necessary generalizations will not be
misleading if there is attentiveness to this fact of diversity