Experiential
The main experiential element of Hinduism is moksha. Moksha is, formally, the liberation from samsara. Samsara is the endless cycle of reincarnation and rebirth. However, moksha involves many experiences that are not easily explained. It is a complete liberation from the self, or atman, and the liberated individual becomes one with everything. The person becomes one with Brahman, or the eternal essence of reality. This complete liberation from the self is the main experiential element of Hinduism, however, another is samadhi. Samadhi is a trancelike state in which self-consciousness is lost, and the mind is absorbed into the ultimate reality. This state is the goal of the eight steps of Yoga in the Hindu faith. This experience is a complete separation from the individual and entering into the eternality of the Brahman. Finally, there are many individualized experiences involved with worshipping and relating to the various deities of the Hindu faith. Since there are over 330 million deities, there is always one that a person relates to, and often, that person choses to worship that particular deity. Therefore, Hindus often have specific experiences involved with worshipping those deities. These are the major experiences of the Hindu faith.
Mythic/Historical
Much of the mythical aspect of Hinduism is made up of stories of the 330 million gods and goddesses. one such story comes from the Mahabharata and is known as the Bhagavad-Gita, or the song of Krishna. In this story, a great warrior, Arjuna, is about to enter a battle, but is resistant knowing that he will have to kill family and friends. The god Krishna appears to him and tells him that it is his duty, his dharma, to fight and that it would be evil for him to not do so. Finally, Krishna convinces him to enter into battle. This story is an illustration of how caste determines dharma, since Arjuna was a part of the kshatriya class which determined that it was his duty to fight. Additionally, a figure who makes up much of the more recent history of Hinduism is Mahatma Ghandi. Ghandi changed Hinduism as well as India as a whole through nonviolence and civil disobedience. He fought to gain independence and fought against the rigid caste system in India. He led large numbers of Indians in nonviolent protest and became a powerful religious leader. In 1948, he was assassinated by a Hindu extremist just after achieving independence from British rule. However, even though he is dead, his principles and insights live on and continue to guide Hindus in India. Finally, a major part the history of Hinduism in the recent centuries has been the conflict between the Hindus and Muslims. The conflict escalated when the Muslim community forced the partitioning of India to form the Muslim homeland of Pakistan. This resulted in the killing of many Hindus and Muslims alike, including Ghandi. Another recent confrontation occurred in Ayodhya, where a Muslim mosque stood on the site where the avatar Rama was believed to have been born. Three hundred Hindus stormed the mosque and destroyed it. These violent outbreaks still occur today, and now that both countries have nuclear capabilities, the outbreaks could be much more devastating.
Doctrinal
One central doctrinal belief of Hinduism is that of monism. Monism is the doctrine that states that all reality is made up of one essence. In Hinduism, that one essence is the Brahman. This is the central belief of Hinduism and is the basis of the goal of the faith: to become one with everything, or to separate oneself from the finite and become infinite. Another doctrinal aspect of Hinduism is the intertwined belief of samsara and moksha. As stated before, samsara is the endless cycle of reincarnation and moksha is the liberation from that cycle. These beliefs are also central to the Hindu faith. Another doctrinal aspect of Hinduism is karma. Karma is what determines how one will be reincarnated. It is the law of cause and effect: the actions one takes will effect their karmic record, and thus, their next life. Maintaining a good karmic record is essential to moving forward in the next life. Finally, another doctrinal aspect of Hinduism is Sankhya, which is a system of Hindu philosophy and an approach within jnana marga, or "the path of knowledge," which assets that reality comprises two distinct categories: matter and eternal selves. All of these things are examples of doctrinal aspects of Hinduism.
Ethical
The main ethical aspect of Hinduism has to do with dharma. Dharma, for the most part, defines how an ethical Hindu ought to act. Dharma is defined as ethical duty based on the divine order. Following ones dharma is vital to achieving moksha and to enhancing ones karmic record. Dharma is probably the most important ethical proponent of Hinduism. Another ethical aspect of Hinduism is Ahmisa, which essentially means that since all living things are part of one essence, to hurt another would to be hurt oneself. Ahmisa defines moral action when it comes to how Hindus are to treat one another. They are not to wrong one another or hurt one other, since the other person is part of the same divine essence. They are all one. Therefore, one must follow their ethical duty inscribed by dharma and not wrong one another since they are of one essence.
Ritual
One of the most common rituals in Hinduism is that of the puja. A puja is a ritual that is performed to worship or honor a particular deity. It usually involves the lighting of incense, various offerings of things like fruit or flowers, and other ritualized actions. All of these actions are directed at a small shrine to the god or goddess usually in the household of the worshipper. However, some forms of ritualized worship is performed in Hindu temples. The ritual of puja as well as others fall under bhakti marga, or "the path of devotion." Some of the other rituals include ritual bathing, and sometimes, village-wide communal worship ceremonies. The worship of these material representations of deities, such as during pujas, may seem to be idolatry, however, it is not. Hindus do not worship the image itself, but the god or goddess it represents. Finally, there are many rituals involved with Hindu holidays such as Diwali. During Diwali, Hindus light of fireworks, make rangolis, bake various sweets, create henna designs on women's hands, and various other ritual actions.
Social
The defining social element of Hinduism is the caste system. There are four castes: brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra. The brahmin are the priests and the highest class. The kshatriya consists or warriors and administrators. Next, the vaishya is made up of producers like farmers, merchants and artisans. Finally, the shudra is composed of servants and laborers. One is born into their caste and it is very hard to move up in class. Hindus believe that the better life you live, the higher caste you will be born into in the next life. The caste system is also closely intertwined with dharma in the Hindu faith. One must adhere to the responsibilities of their caste in order to perform the ethical duty prescribed to them within their dharma. This was shown in the Bhagavad-Gita. In recent history, leaders like Ghandi have fought against the strict caste system and fought for better treatment of lower castes and outcastes. The caste system has become less rigid, however, it still very much exists and still defines Indian society.
Material
There are many material things involved with the Hindu faith. One of which being the clay figurines used in rituals like the puja. These figurines help guide Hindus in worship to the deities they represent. Many of the other objects used in puja are also part of the material dimension of Hinduism, such as the flowers, fruit, incense, and other materials used for the rituals. Another sacred part of the material dimension is the Ganges River. This river is very holy to the Hindu people. They believe that one who bathes in the river is cleansed and purified. The dead are sometimes even set adrift in the river. Yet another material aspect of Hinduism are cows. An important part of the bhakti marga approach is the veneration of cows, which are thought to be quite sacred to the Hindu people. Additionally, all the sacred texts such as the Vedas and Brahmanas comprise part of the material aspect of Hinduism. Finally, Hindu temples are also a component of the material dimension. These temples serve as a place of worship where various rituals are performed.
True and Holy
There are several aspects of the Hindu faith that may be considered true and holy and that Catholics can learn from. The first true and holy aspect of Hinduism is how Hindus treat puja. They treat as almost an activity, or something that they must put time aside for each day. Christians often have a tough time treating prayer in this way. Many Christians often just pray when they have time, instead of forming their day around prayer. Another true and holy aspect of Hinduism is the similarity of deities in Hinduism to patron saints in Catholicism. Hindus worship various gods and goddesses, however, since these gods and goddesses are all part of brahman or the one essence, they are essentially just worshipping that divine essence. In the same way, patron saints are patrons of various things, and we pray to them about those things, but we are simply praying to those saints to intercede for us to God, we aren't worshipping or praying to the saint himself/herself. Finally, another true and holy aspect of Hinduism is the faith's openness to other faiths and ideas. Catholicism often has a tendency to be quite close-minded to other traditions, however, Nostra Aetate states that we ought to be open to other faiths and try to seek truth and holiness within them. So in that way, the openness of Hinduism is true and Holy.