Seyorni said:
Moses makes a good point, Beckysoup. Among Hindus it is currently fashionable to refer to the religion as Sanatana-dharma.
It is not just currently fashionable, when the first world religious conference was held early in the 20th century. Swami Vevakananda used the word Sanatana-dharma for Hindusim. It is not something new. The name is as old as the religion but not many outside religion knew it untill now when most indians want to break completely from their colonial past. They prefer using the name sanatana-dharma.
Seyorni said:
What a "Hindu" actually is is unclear..
It means Sindu. The persians cant pronounce Sindu in their language.
Seyorni said:
Hinduism is a bizarre collection of disparate ideas and folklore collected from dozens of cultures over thousands of years. It has no official canon. (this is not meant as criticism, btw -- I am Hindu myself).
One scholar, in desperation, defined a "Hindu" as anyone who didn't object to the designation..
It is true to most part but sanatana-dharma has a official canon and they are called the Vedas and Bagavad-Gita or better know as Gita. I think you do not know any Indian language (this is just my guess but could be wrong
so if you are from India my appoligies) since you have no idea of their history and culture.
Not much is known about the Indian culture in the west because their is no effort by any to study it. A big part about learning the culture and religion is in learning the language. But by that i mean not like learning spanish to get extra grades but learning to think in it.
Seyorni said:
There are, however, certain core concepts that underlie the designation "Hinduism," and may be thought of as definitive.
There is nothing definitive in the word Hindusim. It is a name given by the British and not mentioned in any of the Vedas or the Gita.
Hope this is useful in expanding your knowledge in on sanatana-dhrama
You dont have to be of that religion to learn more about it but just respect for the people who follow it is enough to teach you more about it.