"HINDUISM as a faith is vague, amorphous, many sided, all things to all men. It is hardly possible to define it, or indeed to say definitely whether it is a religion or not, in the usual sense of the word. In its present form, and even in the past, it embraces many beliefs and practices, from the highest to the lowest, often opposed to or contradicting each other." Hinduism is better known as Brahmanism, since the word `Hindu' is of Islamicate Persian origin. There were essentially 2 types of faith in ancient India. Firstly, those which accepted the Vedas and superiority of the Brahmin caste (these are referred to as `astika' or orthodox) and consist of 6 schools. These are collectively referred to in ancient inscriptions as `Brahmana', which is rendered as `Brahmanism'. This category includes Vaishnavas, Vedists (`vaidikas'), Vedantists, etc. Then those who opposed casteism and the Vedas; these are referred to as `Sramana' or `nasika' (heretic). This last category includes Buddhists, Jains, Shaivas, Tantrics, Atheists (Carvaks), etc. During the course of history, the `nastikas' (Charbak) have been almost wholly exterminated from India by systematic persecution at the hands of Brahmanists
