Schools of Hinduism

Hinduism encompasses many movements and schools fairly organized within Hindu "sects". A sect is a denomination that shares a common ground of beliefs but embraces many different schools inside its philosophical branches.

The many schools and diverse movements of Hinduism trace their origins from as far back as three thousand years to only a few decades. Most are the natural evolution and reinterpretation of old Vedanta and Yoga precepts. Hinduism is recognized as a very dynamic religion, accepting and continuously transmuting new influences from inside and outside with equal ease and remarkable lack of conflict.

The presence of different schools and sects within Hinduism should not be viewed as a schism. On the contrary, there is no animosity between the schools. Instead there is a healthy "cross-pollination" of ideas and logical debate that serves to refine each school's understanding of Hinduism. It is not uncommon, or disallowed, for an individual to follow one school but take the point of view of another school for a certain issue.

** See the List of Hindu Sects.
** See the Contemporary Hindu movements.

Hinduism, as most other major religions, has a great number of schools. The most important are listed below, under the sect in which they find greater expression:

chools in Vaishnavism

** Gaudiya Vaishnavism (includes ISKCON, the Hare Krishna movement), adheres to the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Gaurangacharya)
** Srivaishnavism or Sri-Vaishnava Sampradaya, adheres to teachings of Ramanuja
** Vishistadvaita includes Udhava Sampraday to which also Shree Swaminarayan Sampraday belongs to all adhere to teachings of Ramanuja,
** Dvaita or Brahma Sampradaya, adheres to teachings of Madhva
** Ramanandi Sampraday, adheres to the teachings of Ramananda
** Shree Swaminarayan Sampraday adheres to teachings of Swaminarayan can be considered a branch of Vashistadvaita
** Pushtimarg Sampraday or Rudra Sampradaya, adheres to the teachings of Vishnuswami/Vallabhacharya
** Kumara Sampraday, adheres to teachings of Nimbarka (Nimbarkacharya)
** Mahapuruxiya dharma or Asomiya Vaishnavism, adheres to the teachings of Srimanta Sankaradeva
** Krishna Pranami Sampraday, adheres to the teachings of Devachandra Maharaj
** Advaita adheres to teachings of Adi Shankaracharya

chools in Shaivism

:main|Shaivism

** Saiva Siddhanta, adheres to the teachings of Tirumular/Sundaranatha (Nandinatha Sampradaya, the monistic school) or of Meykandadeva (Meykandar Sampradaya, the dualistic school)
** Adinath Sampradaya or Siddha Siddhanta, adheres to the teachings of Gorakhnath and Matsyendranath
** Siva Advaita, adheres to the teachings of Nilakantha (Srikantha) and Appayya Dikshitar
** Kashmir Shaivism, adheres to the teachings of Vasugupta and his disciplinic lineage, including Abhinavagupta
** Pasupata Saivism, adheres to the teachings of Lakulisa
** Veerashaivism or Lingayat Dharma, adheres to the teachings of Basavanna

chools in Shaktism

:main|Shaktism

chools in Smartism

** Advaita Vedanta

chools in Javanese Hinduism

** Agama Hindu Dharma

Philosophical Concepts

"Major schools and movements of Hindu philosophy:"
** Nyaya
** Samkhya
** Vaisheshika
** Purva mimamsa

** Yoga:
** Hatha yoga
** Integral Yoga

** Vedanta (Uttar Mimamsa):
** Advaita Vedanta
** Vishishtadvaita, or qualified monism.
** Dvaita, or strict dualism.
** Achintya Bheda Abheda

External links

* [http://www.ssvt.org/Education/Hinduism%20FAQ.asp#What%20are%20the%20different%20schools%20of%20Hinduism?%20What%20is%20their%20basis%20to%20be%20called%20different%20schools%20of%20Hinduism?%20Are%20they%20important%20to%20understand?|Different Schools of Hinduism]