With its origins in the Vedic civilization[1] it has no known founder,[2][3] being itself a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions. It is the world’s oldest existent religion,[4][5] and has approximately a billion adherents, of whom about 905 million live in India and Nepal.[6] This places it as the world’s third largest religion after Christianity and Islam. Other countries with large Hindu populations include Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

Hinduism contains a vast body of scriptures. Divided as revealed and remembered and developed over millennia, these scriptures expound on theology, philosophy and mythology, providing spiritual insights and guidance on the practice of dharma (religious living). Among such texts, the Vedas and the Upanishads are the foremost in authority, importance and antiquity. Other major scriptures include the Tantras, the sectarian Agamas, the Purāṇas and the epics Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa. The Bhagavad Gītā, a treatise excerpted from the Mahābhārata, is sometimes called a summary of the spiritual teachings of the Vedas.[d]
In Hinduism, the purusharthas are the canonical four ends or aims of human life.[1][2][3] These goals are, from lowest to highest:

Kāma - pleasure or love
Artha - wealth
Dharma - righteousness or morality
Moksha - liberation from the cycle of reincarnation
Historically, the first three goals, dharma, artha and kama, were articulated first (Sanskrit: trivarga), and the fourth goal, moksha, later (Skt.: caturvarga). In living tradition, the notion of the four purusharthas represents an holistic approach to the satisfaction of man’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

There is a popular correspondence between the four purusharthas, the four stages of life (Skt.: āśrama: Brahmacharya [student life], Grihastha [household life], Vanaprastha [retired life] and Sannyasa [renunciation]) and the four primary castes or strata of society (Skt.: varna: Brahmana [priest/teacher], Kshatriya [warrior/politician], Vaishya [landowner/entrepreneur] and Shudra [servant/manual labourer]). This, however, has not been traced to any primary source in early Sanskrit literature.

Classical Hindu thought accepts two main life-long dharmas: Grihastha Dharma and Sannyasin Dharma.

The Grihastha Dharma recognize four goals known as the puruṣhārthas. They are:

kāma: Sensual pleasure and enjoyment
artha: Material prosperity and success
dharma: Following the laws and rules that an individual lives under
moksha: Liberation from the cycle of samsara[38][39]
Among these, dharma and moksha play a special role:[39] dharma must dominate an individual’s pursuit of kama and artha while seeing moksha, at the horizon.

The Sannyasin Dharma recognizes, but renounces Kama, Artha and Dharma, focusing entirely on Moksha. As described below, the Grihasthi eventually enters this stage. However, some enter this stage immediately from whichever stage they may be in.
In whatever way a Hindu defines the goal of life, there are several methods (yogas) that sages have taught for reaching that goal. A practitioner of yoga is called a yogi. Texts dedicated to Yoga include the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and, as their philosophical and historical basis, the Upanishads. Paths one can follow to achieve the spiritual goal of life (moksha, samadhi, or nirvana) include:

Bhakti Yoga (the path of love and devotion),
Karma Yoga (the path of right action),
Rāja Yoga (the path of meditation) and
Jñāna Yoga (the path of wisdom).[40]
An individual may prefer one yoga over others according to his or her inclination and understanding. For instance some followers of the Dvaita school hold that Bhakti (”devotion”) is the only practical path to achieve spiritual perfection for most people, based on their belief that the world is currently in the age of Kali yuga (one of four epochs part of the Yuga cycle).[e] Practice of one yoga does not exclude others. Many schools believe that the different yogas naturally blend into and aid other yogas. For example, the practice of jnana yoga, is thought to inevitably lead to pure love (the goal of bhakti yoga), and vice versa.[f] Someone practicing deep meditation (such as in raja yoga) must embody the core principles of karma yoga, jnana yoga and bhakti yoga, whether directly or indirectly.[40][41]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism