7 Ancient Hindu Traditions that Have and Haven’t been Passed Down Generations

Hinduism, a religion followed majorly by the Indians, is the third-largest religion in the world. It is one of the oldest religions and is actually an amalgamation of many diverse lineages. Although the Hindu religion is widespread throughout the world, it certainly has borne the effects of geology. Yet the basic synthesis remains and certain customs and traditions have lasted the effects of time as well as space.

1. Greetings

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A Hindu is instantly recognized by his greeting when he joins his hands to say Namaste. Namaste is not only a Hindu culture anymore, but it is also a global phenomenon. Even the non-Hindus will greet a Hindu with a Namaste. The customary Hindu Greeting, in essence, means “I bow to you”. This tradition has not only been passed down to generations it has penetrated many ethnicities.

2. Staying With Family

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In western culture, the moment a child turns 18, he leaves his parents’ house to live independently. 

But in the Hindu culture specifically, a child on becoming an adult continues to live with his family. He does not move out of his paternal home. The ideology behind this is that while he was young the parent took care of him and then its the child’s duty to take care of the parents. This tradition is ongoing even today. Most Indian families stay under the joint family system.

3. Arranged Marriage

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According to Hindu customs when a child is of marriageable age the parents start looking out for a prospective partner for him or her. For Hindus, it is believed that marriage is not just the union of two individuals. It’s the uniting of two families of the same caste. The arranged marriage concept is prevalent even today. Also, the child is comfortable with the idea of an arranged marriage as he puts more trust in his parents’ ability to seek the right partner for him.

4. Celebrations

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The Hindus celebrate many festivals with great zeal. They celebrate festivals like Holi Diwali Janmashthami, Sankranti, Onam etc. just to name a few. Not only entire families celebrate the festivals together, but they are also celebrated by the entire country. Generation after generation the festivities, the traditions have been observed and followed. Migration has not affected these traditions. A Hindu may be living anywhere in the world, he will celebrate the Hindu New Year by celebrating Diwali.

5. Saree

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The Hindu Woman’s identity, her attire, the Saree. The most graceful clothing.  A saree has been worn in different styles in different states. But the essence of the six-yard fabric remains the same and its popularity growing worldwide. Passed down to generations, today the Saree has found its way into boardrooms too.

6. Learning Of Language

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Though Hindu traditions are well passed over from parent to child there are certain heritages that got lost in time and are now struggling to survive. These were not passed down as effortlessly for e.g. Sanskrit, the original Hindu language is a perfect example. Our ancestors knew the language well, but the following generations were influenced by western culture. Hence they spent their energies in studying foreign languages while Sanskrit slowly died. Today a conscious effort is made by schools to revive Sanskrit.

7. Martial Arts

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Hinduism is rich in culture, has its own line of martial arts like Kalarippayattu, Thang-Ta, Lathi, Kathi Samu etc. These are some very old forms of Martial arts rich in culture from their respective states. But unfortunately, there are not many takers of Indian Martial arts. It’s dying a quick death. The Government recognizes this loss of cultural heritage as a teething problem and is making efforts which are proving effective in reviving the Indian Martial arts.

These Ancient traditions hold the heart and soul of Indians