The origin and meaning of the words Hindu and Hinduism are related to the Sindhu river. To understand the meaning of Hinduism, we first need to know the origin and meaning of the word Hindu. The terms Hindu and Hinduism are relatively new compared to the history of Hinduism. As you know, Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion and dates back to at least 5000 years. In ancient times, its name was Sanatan Dharma or just Dharma. It was not a religion but a way of life. There is no word “Hindu” in the Sanskrit language.
Origin and Meaning of the Words “Sanatan Dharma”:
Thousands of years back, when humans developed intelligence, they started thinking about their surroundings. The questions like “Who am I?” and “How did this world come into existence?” started to bother them. Before the word Dharma came into existence, the word used for it was “Rit” which means the way the universe unfolds or things behave.
The word “Rit” was replaced by Dharma. “Dhar” means which holds together. Therefore, Dharma is something that holds together intellect, material things, emotions, etc. It is the universal law underlying the correct behavior and social order.
As these laws are not temporary but eternal, Dharma was replaced by Sanatan Dharma, which means “eternal law”.
Origin and the Meaning of the Words Hindu and Hinduism:
The Origin of the Word Hindu:
It is believed that Persians were the first people to use the term Hindu. In the 6th-century BCE inscription of Darius I (an Iranian king), the Punjab region (called Sapta Sindhu in the Vedas) is called Hapta Hindu in Zend Avesta. Sindhu was the prominent river in India at that time. Sindhu means “the large body of water”. The word Sindhu was hard to pronounce for them. They could not pronounce the word “S” correctly. Therefore, they started to use the word Hindu replacing “S” with “H” for the land surrounding the Sindhu River. Hence, it was a geographical term first.
The Origin of the Word Hinduism:
After the term Hindu became popular, the Arabs started calling the Indian subcontinent Al-Hind. The geographical term became the identity of the people, and the people living around the Sindhu river being addressed as Hindus. Then the place where they live got the name Hindustan. The word Hindustan was particularly used by Muslim rulers. The tradition continued in the British era also. With the increasing presence of Islam and Christianity in India, the word Hindu became a religious term more than a geographic term.
The word Hinduism is an English word where -ism means “a distinctive practice, system, or philosophy, typically a political ideology”. One of the accepted views is that the “ism” was added to the word Hindu in the early part of the 19th century by English writers to denote the culture and religion of the high-caste Brahmans. The word Hinduism was soon adopted by the Hindus themselves, as a term that encompassed their national, social and cultural identity.
Are the Terms Hindus and Indians the Same?
The Greeks also had difficulty pronouncing Sindhu. They called the Sindhu River as Indus River. Therefore, the land surrounding it is called India, and the people living there are called Indians. The terms Indos for the Indus River as well as “an Indian” are found in Herodotus’s Geography.
Therefore, both the terms Hindus and Indians mean the same thing, i.e., the people living in the vicinity of Sindhu River.
Controversies Related to the Word Hindu:
1. A Persian dictionary, titled “Lughet-e-Kishwari”, published in Lucknow in 1964, gives the meaning of the word Hindu as “chore [thief], dakoo [dacoit], raahzan [waylayer], and Ghulam [slave].
I could not confirm this but even if it is true, the dictionary is comparatively new and the same meaning is not found in old dictionaries. Therefore, this meaning has no value.
2. The word “Hindoo” is derogatory because it means “a racehorse”.
3. Many orthodox Hindus object to using the word Hinduism. They prefer to call themselves Sanatan Dharmis instead of Hindus. They believe the name Hindu is given by the conquerors and has no connection with Dharma.
4. In 2015 in reply to an RTI query by Neemuch resident Chandrashekhar Gaur, the Indian Government said it does not know the definition of the word Hindu.
Conclusion:
In summary, we can say that the meaning of the word Hindu is “the people living in the vicinity of Sindhu River” and Hinduism means “the culture and philosophy of the people living in the vicinity of Sindhu River”.
Although Sanatan Dharma is the real name, there is nothing wrong with the word Hinduism also. It is short and easier to pronounce. It is like the nickname of Sanathan Dharma.
Reference: https://web.csulb.edu/~cwallis/100/worldreligions/hinduism.html