ABOUT HINDUISM
Information adapted from hindupedia.com
Both the origins of Hinduism and Hindu Civilization are in the mist of antiquity. Unlike every other religion, it was not founded by any specific person, nor is there a founding date. It's true name is Sanatana Dharma. What is known however, is that it is the oldest religion in the world and also one of the few which incorporated what we consider religion today along with all of the sciences (ranging from mathematics to astronomy to architecture) as part of its teachings. In modern terms, while Hinduism is considered to be a religion, it is in actuality a much broader set of teachings that cover everything useful in life. Thus far, it has been discovered that Hindu Dharma is at least 8,000 years old, but it is probably even older.
THE SPREAD OF HINDUISM
Hindu teachings were spread not just by Indian Hindus migrating and preaching outside of the Indian Subcontinent, but also by visitors to India who came for understanding Hindu spirituality. This latter section includes Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras, Orpheus and Plato, who had all returned to Greece and preached the concepts of karma, bhakti, gyana, reincarnation and moksha. Iranian philosophers such as Mani also visited India and later preached similar messages as the Greeks who had become Hindu.
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ORIGIN OF THE WORD HINDU
The most popular origin theory for the word Hindu is that it is a corruption of 'Sindhu' or rather, a sound shift that was later adopted in a number of indigenous dialects as well.
The Persians coined it (S is replaced by H in Persian) to refer to those that lived beyond the mighty Sindhu River. There are references in the Zend Avestha and Bem Riyadh to 'Hapta Hindu' (Land of Seven Mighty Rivers). However, the Persians never used the word Hindu to refer to the religion of these people.
The real and ancient name of India is referred to as 'Bharatha Varsha'. There are numerous Vedic references in the Puranas, Mahabharata and other texts as well as common usage within the country and is agreed to by scholars.
OVERVIEW OF KEY IDEAS
Goal
Simply put, the goal of Sanatana Dharma is Moksha, liberation. It aims at mukti for every individual, and all the methods it prescribes are towards that goal. There are four goals of life to fulfill which one should work - Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. That is, Righteousness, generation of wealth/production, fulfillment of desires and salvation. The first three are means to the last--Moksha.
Premises
According to Sanatana dharma, each being is potentially divine. Realization is about unveiling the divinity. God, who created the universe, is not different from it - He exists unmanifest, but the entire creation is also a part of Him. He exists essentially, in each particle and phenomenon of creation.
Each being, through its cycles of birth and death, is evolving towards the same goal, according to Sanatana Dharma.
The 6 Schools of Philosophy
Nyaya
Vaisheshika
Sankhya
Yoga
Uttara Mimamsa
Purva Mimamsa (Vedanta)
These differ in whether there is a "creator-God" different from the eternal, what causes binding and what causes liberation etc, but they all have a common stand, e.g. there is an eternal spirit, indwelling presence (Purusha), who is actually liberated, but appears to be bound by the play of Nature (Prakriti). They are also common in that their goal is liberation. They all advocate righteousness and devotion as means to liberation, though they suggest different methods. They are also common in that they take Veda as the authority.
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VEDAS THROUGH THE AGES
The knowledge of the Vedas is eternal. They were heard by the Rishis multiple times over multiple ages. The Vedas were passed through an oral tradition and eventually written down. Significant portions of the Vedas were destroyed and insertions were made with the intention to distort. The current dating of the Vedas is purely based on dating the linguistics of when it was written down. This is why many of the dates may not make sense to Hindus.