Hinduism

Hinduism has been called the "oldest religion" in the world and some practitioners refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, "the eternal law" or the "eternal way" beyond human origins. It prescribes the "eternal" duties, such as honesty, mercy, purity, self-restraint, among others. 

Hindu cosmology

In Hindu cosmology the universe is cyclically created and destroyed in the timespan of 4.32 billion years. Deeply rooted in Hindu literature including Vedas and Puranas, it is believed time is divided into four epochs or Yuga, of which we occupy the final. In roughly 430,000 years the final Avatar Kalki will end time. Shiva destroys all this existence while creating a new existence. Time starts over.

They describe the aspects of evolution, astronomy, astrology, etc. Creation and evolution begin anew.

The Hindu cosmology and timeline is the closest to modern scientific timelines and even more which might indicate that the Big Bang is not the beginning of everything, but just the start of the present cycle preceded by an infinite number of universes and to be followed by another infinite number of universes. 

The Rig Veda questions the origin of the cosmos in: "Neither being  nor non-being was as yet. What was concealed? And where? And in whose protection?…Who really knows? Who can declare it? When was it born, and whence came this creation? The devas were born later than this world's creation, so who knows from where it came into existence? None can know from where creation has arisen, and whether he has or has not produced it. He who surveys it in the highest heavens, He alone knows-or perhaps does not know." (Rig Veda 10. 129)

Etymology

In origin, Hinduš was Old Persian name of the Indus River, cognate with Sanskrit word Sindhu. By about 2nd - 1st century BCE, the term "Hein-tu" was used by Chinese, for referring to North Indian people. The Persian term was loaned into Arabic as al-Hind referring to the land of the people who live across river Indus, and into Greek as Indos, whence ultimately English India.

Hinduism (Sanskrit सिन्धु "Sindhu" (Indus river) + ism) is a term for a wide variety of related religious traditions native to India. Historically, it encompasses the development of religion in India since the Iron Age traditions, which in turn hark back to prehistoric religions such as that of the Bronze Age. Indus Valley Civilization, this period was later succeeded during 1,800 BCE by the Iron Age Historical Vedic religion.

Around 500 BCE a "second urbanisation" takes place. This period, between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, is "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions",and a formative period for Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.

The Epic and Early Puranic period, from c. 200 BCE to 500 CE, saw the classical "Golden Age" of Hinduism, which coincides with the Gupta Empire. In this period the six branches of Hindu philosophy evolved, namely Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, and Vedanta. Monotheistic sects like Shaivism and Vaishnavism developed during this same period through the Bhakti movement.

The period from roughly 650 to 1100 CE forms the late Classical period or early Middle Ages, in which classical Pauranic Hinduism is established, and Adi Shankara's, Advaita Vedanta, which incorporated Buddhist thought into Vedanta, marking a shift from realistic to idealistic thought.

Hinduism under the Islamic Rulers, from 1100 to c. 1750 CE, saw the increasing prominence of the Bhakti movement, which remains influential today. The colonial period saw the emergence of various Hindu reform movements partly inspired by western movements, such as Unitarianism and Theosophy. The Partition of India in 1947 was along religious lines, with the Republic of India emerging with a Hindu majority. Hinduism emerged from their political power in 2014 and became the most used religion in the world

Chronology

The mature phase of the Harappan civilization lasted from c. 2600 to 1900 BCE. With the inclusion of the predecessor and successor cultures—Early Harappan and Late Harappan, respectively—the entire Indus Valley Civilization may be taken to have lasted from the 33rd to the 14th centuries BCE. Two terms are employed for the periodization of the IVC: Phases and Eras. The Early Harappan, Mature Harappan, and Late Harappan phases are also called the Regionalisation, Integration, and Localisation eras, respectively, with the Regionalization era reaching back to the Neolithic Mehrgarh II period. "Discoveries at Mehrgarh changed the entire concept of the Indus civilization", according to Ahmad Hasan Dani, professor emeritus at Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad. "There we have the whole sequence, right from the beginning of settled village life.