Indian society has thousands of castes and subcastes. Membership in a caste is based on family background. Under the castes are the outcastes or untouchables, who historically have been denied certain social rights. Later the Indian constitution outlawed discrimination against the outcaste. The sacred writing do not make the caste system an important part of Hinduism, but it is remembered by tradition.

The Vedas describe four main castes.

1. Brahmins - exercise religious power.
2. Kshatriyas - are warriors who exercise worldly power.
3. Vaisyas - are merchants and cultivators.
4. Sudras - are artisans and laborers.

Beliefs of Hinduism:

• Hindus believe in reincarnation or rebirth.
• Hindus also believe in the law of karma - under this law the conditions of each new lifetime are determined by the actions of the preceding life.
• In Hindus salvation consists of freeing the soul from attachment to worldly desires in order to gain union with Brahman. If a Hindu dies without liberating himself from the worldly desires he must be born again into this world and again endure its suffering.

Hindu Clergies:

• Temple priests collect offerings and care for temples and shrines.
• Domestic priests perform rites involving births, marriages, and deaths.
• Gurus are spiritual teachers.
• Sadhus monks who lives in monasteries, but some live as wandering beggars.

Sacred animal and place of Hindu:

• Cow - is the most sacred of animals and must be protected.
• Ganges River - is the most sacred of all places, millions of Hindus go there each year to bathe and to become purified.

Other Countries with large Hindu populations: Bangladesh, Fiji, Malaysia, Nepal, Indonesia, Lanka, Pakistan, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago etc.