It was during the Vedic period that Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma became systematized as a religion that preached order and purpose to the cosmos and human life. It is world's third largest religion after Christianity and Islam. "Hinduism" is derived from a Sanskrit word that means "dwellers by the Indus River." There is no single founder or founding incident of Hinduism. It grew out of cultural and religious changes in India. The Hindu belief is that gods or divinities can take many forms, but all form one universal spirit called Brahman. The three most important representations of Brahman are Brahma, the creator of the universe, Vishnu, the preserver of the universe, and Shiva, the destroyer of the universe. The Hindu belief involves reincarnation
