BAPS Chino Hills Hindu Religious & Cultural Center



































Swaminarayan, Pramukh


Chino Hills Hindu Mandir

BAPS Hinduism

Hinduism, the world's oldest living religion, is not just a faith, but a way of life, one that is shared by about 800 million people, or one-sixth the world's population. While its knowledge is believed to be eternal, scholars have estimated the religion's roots to be at least several thousand years old.

Philosophically, the faith advocates selfless devotion to God, within the disciplines of righteousness and under the guidance of a pure and divine guru, or spiritual teacher, as a means of reaching God.

The Hindu faith holds dearly a belief system that encourages unity and brotherhood amongst all humankind by stressing that the whole world is one family. The open-minded thinking Hinduism brings about stretches across borders that commonly divide and, instead, promotes unity in diversity, a direly needed concept in today's troubled world.

Of the world's many nations, India, the birthplace of Hinduism, is one of the few that has never initiated war, which makes the nation an extremely rare case in human history. India's peaceful nature, as its people attest, is in part due to Hinduism, the country's majority religion, which is deeply committed to non-violence and peaceful living amongst all of God's creatures. For, Hindus believe God resides in each and every living being, and so all life is considered to be sacred.

Hinduism believes all religious paths lead to an ultimate reality – one, true God that humankind shares alike but worships in unique ways, whether the Hindu way, the Christian way or in any other way chosen.

And, God being compassionate, all people are treated equally by the Divine, and whether religious or not, Hindus consider all people to be God's beloved children.

As a way of life, Hinduism encourages its followers to love their neighbors, to live in peace and celebrate diversity. The religion shuns violence, promoting the whole world as one family, and attempts to bring the world's religions and beliefs under one banner – that of mutual understanding, tolerance and compassion.