 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
 < 11,500 (2020); 0.1% of total population | |
| Religions | |
| Hinduism Majority: Vaishnavism Minority: Shaivism | |
| Languages | |
| Sanskrit (sacred) Hebrew, Arabic, English, Russian, French, Amharic, Tigrinya and other languages of Israel |
| Hinduism by country |
|---|
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| Full list |
Hinduism in Israel refers to the Hindu population in Israel. In 2020, about 0.1% of Israel's population were Hindus. [1]
A group of devotees is living in Katzir-Harish. Another Vaishnava community is in Israeli settlement in west bank in israeli-occupied territory of Ariel. It is spearheaded by Jagadish and his wife, Jugala-Priti, and serves a growing community of devotees from Russia who immigrated to Israel to escape the severe economic oppression in the CIS. Jugala-Priti joined the ISKCON center in Tel Aviv, in 1996 guided by Gunavatar and Varshabhanavi. [2]
Hindus are able to practice freely in the country. This is notably shown by the celebrations of Krishna Janmashtami. Plays are staged revolving around stories of Krishna's childhood, besides singing and dancing. The event is accompanied with a feast of 108 dishes, a number that has come to be identified as pious by the faithful. [3]
The organisers said they were inspired by Kumbh and started the event in Israel three years ago. Many of the visitors at the festival have been to India or are planning to visit. A number of youngsters could be seen taking Yoga classes and attending Hare Krishna lectures. Long queues were to be found outside the Indian ‘dhaba’ serving boiled rice and lentil soup. Middle aged couples, draped in Indian clothes, strolled the beach, young boys and girls drew circles on the soft sand while others surfed the morning sea. [4]
A Sai Organisation was officially established in Israel in 2001. [5]
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The center is a branch of Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre International, founded by Swami Vishnudevananda, a direct disciple of Sri Swami Sivananda, of Rishikesh, India.
The center opened in 1971 and since then the center has been the largest and most comprehensive school in Israel for the study and practice of classical yoga in all its branches, including:
Since 1971, their activities have expanded significantly and more centers are now operating in the following cities
Thousands of Israelis have been trained as yoga teachers on behalf of the international organization and are working and teaching throughout the country.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Hinduism:
Bhakti yoga, also called Bhakti marga, is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on loving devotion towards any personal deity. It is one of the three classical paths in Hinduism which lead to moksha, the other paths being jnana yoga and karma yoga.
Siddha Yoga is a spiritual path founded by Swami Muktananda (1908–1982). According to its literature, the Siddha Yoga tradition is "based mainly on eastern philosophies" and "draws many of its teachings from the Indian yogic texts of Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism, the Bhagavad Gita and the poet-saints." The present head of Siddha Yoga is Gurumayi Chidvilasananda.
Swami Sivananda Saraswati, also called Swami Sivananda, was a yoga guru, a Hindu spiritual teacher, and a proponent of Vedanta. Sivananda was born in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of modern Tamil Nadu, and was named Kuppuswami. He studied medicine and served in British Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism.
Hinduism has been spread in Russia primarily due to the work of scholars from the religious organization International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and by itinerant Swamis from India and small communities of Indian immigrants. While ISKCON appears to have a relatively strong following in Russia, the other organizations in the list have a marginal presence in this country. There is an active Tantra Sangha operating in Russia. According to the 2012 official census, there are 140,010 Hindus in Russia, which accounts for 0.1% of the population of Russia.
Krishna Janmashtami, also known simply as Krishnashtami, Janmashtami, or Gokulashtami, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. In certain Hindu texts, such as the Gita Govinda, Krishna has been identified as supreme God and the source of all avatars. Krishna's birth is celebrated and observed on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the dark fortnight in Shravana Masa. According to the purnimanta tradition), Krishna's birth is celebrated on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the dark fortnight in Bhadrapada Masa.
Satchidananda Saraswati, born C. K. Ramaswamy Gounder and known as Swami Satchidananda, was an Indian yoga guru and religious teacher, who gained following in the West. He founded his own brand of Integral Yoga, and its Yogaville headquarters in Virginia. He was the author of philosophical and spiritual books and had a core of founding disciples who compiled his translations and updated commentaries on traditional handbooks of yoga such as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Bhagavad Gita for modern readers.
Vishnudevananda Saraswati was an Indian yoga guru known for his teaching of asanas, a disciple of Sivananda Saraswati, and founder of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashrams (ISYVC). He established the Sivananda Yoga Teachers' Training Course, possibly the first yoga teacher training programs in the West. His books The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga (1960) and Meditation and Mantras (1978) established him as an authority on Hatha and Raja yoga. Vishnudevananda was a peace activist who rode in several "peace flights" over places of conflict, including the Berlin Wall prior to German reunification.
Sivananda Yoga is a spiritual yoga system founded by Vishnudevananda; it includes the use of asanas but is not limited to them as in systems of yoga as exercise. He named this system, as well as the international Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres organization responsible for propagating its teachings, after his guru, Sivananda with the mission 'to spread the teachings of yoga and the message of world peace' which has since been refined to 'practice and teach the ancient yogic knowledge for health, peace, unity in diversity and self-realization.'
Hinduism in Mongolia is a minority religion; it has few followers and only began to appear in Mongolia in the late twentieth century. According to the 2010 and 2011 Mongolian census, the majority of people that identify as religious follow Buddhism (86%), Shamanism (4.7), Islam (4.9%) or Christianity (3.5). Only 0.5% of the population follow other religions.
There is relatively little history of active practice of Hinduism in Romania, although many prominent Romanian thinkers have had an interest in Hindu thought, and since the Romanian Revolution of 1989 there have been some converts through the work of International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Hare Krishna devotee provide free food for life program and other cultural festivals around the country. Every year Hare Krishna devotee organise Rath Yatra of Lord Jagganath and thousands of people participate in the Rath Yatra.
Hinduism was first introduced by Sindhi settlers who migrated to Ghana after India was divided in 1947. It was spread to Ghana actively by Ghana's Hindu Monastery headed by Swami Ghananand Saraswati and by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Hinduism is one of the fastest growing religions in Ghana.
Hinduism in Poland is a minority religion. Hinduism has spread to Poland through ISKCON since 1976. First groups of Polish devotees were established in Warsaw and Wrocław. The first Polish Hindu temple was established in 1980 in Czarnów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Main ISKCON temple is New Ramana Reti Temple in Mysiadło.
Hinduism in Greece has a small following. On March 1, 2006, the Greek government passed a law allowing cremation. This law was welcomed by the Indian community in Athens. In 2012, there were about 20,000 Hindus in Greece.
Sahajananda Saraswati was the spiritual head of the Divine Life Society of South Africa, and its founder in that country.
The reception of Hinduism in the Western world began in the 19th century, at first at an academic level of religious studies and antiquarian interest in Sanskrit.
Hindu denominations, sampradayas, traditions, movements, and sects are traditions and sub-traditions within Hinduism centered on one or more gods or goddesses, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti and so on. The term sampradaya is used for branches with a particular founder-guru with a particular philosophy.
Indians in Israel consist of those who identify as Jewish and those who identify as other categories of Indian. In 2023 there were approximately 85,000 Jews of Indian origin, while around 18,000 to 20,000 Indian nationals are employed in Israel.
