In the early 1990s, Nepal was formerly the world’s only constitutionally declared Hindu state. Later following the movement for democracy in early 2006 and the breaking of King Gyanendra's power, the Nepali Parliament amended the constitution to make Nepal a secular state. In the context of the religion in Nepal, according to the 2001 census, 80.6% of Nepalese are Hindu, 10.7% percent are Buddhist, 4.2% are Muslim, 3.6% are Kirat (indigenous religion), 0.5% are Christian, and 0.4% are classified as other group. However, there is Religion harmony and tolerance in Nepal. Many of the people regarded as Hindu in 1981 census could, with as much justification, be called Buddhists. In fact, Hindus worshipped at Buddhist temples and Buddhist worshipped at Hindu temples has been one of the principal reasons adherents of the two dominant groups in Nepal have never engaged in any overt religious conflicts. Because of the dual faith practices or mutual respect, the difference between Hindus and Buddhist has been in general very subtle and academic in nature.

The two major Religions in Nepal are:

• Hinduism

• Buddhism

In addition to Hinduism and Buddhism, a very small minority of Nepalese adheres to Islam and Christianity. Muslims and Christians believe and practice in much the same way as their counterparts in the western and other countries.

Hinduism
Hinduism is the oldest and one of the major religions of the world. It is the faith practiced by the majority of Nepalese, peoples of India and Indonesia, and Millions of Indians who have migrated to other countries. History of the Hindus goes back to 5000 years. However, Hindus believe that their religion has no beginning or end. Hinduism is not the religion established by a single person but it is a growth of ideas, beliefs and rituals. The basis of Hinduism lies in the four Vedas, the most ancient scripture. The Vedas are considered to be the nucleus of Hinduism. The Hindus regards that the Vedas are symbolic of the forces or power of nature.

In Nepal, there are five main Sects of Hinduism:-

     1.Vaishanavas
     2. Shaivas
     3. Shaktas
     4. Ganapataya
     5. Saurapathas

1. Vaishanavas:
Vaishanavas are those Hindus who worship Lord Vishnu as the supreme deity. Vishnu is worship by them in one of his incarnation. They worship Laxmi, the consort of Vishnu and Garud as the Vehicle of Vishnu. In Nepal, there are some strict Vaishanaves also. No animal sacrifices are made in any ritual connected with worship of Vishnu. Vaishanaves believe in the sanctity and inviolability of life. In Kathmandu, there are four famous temple of Vishnu called four Narayans.
            1. Ichangu Narayan
            2. Bishanku Narayan
            3. Changu Narayan
            4. Shekh Narayan

Another well known Vaishanavas temple and icon are Muktinath and Budhanilkanta.

 2. Shaivas:
This Sect is older than Vaishanavism. Shaivites worship Lord Shiva as the Supreme Being. They believe that the other gods of Hindu trinity Vishnu and Brahma are allies of Shiva. They believe Jnana (knowledge) as the unmistakable way of getting salvation. According to then a Jnani one who has knowledge needs to follow strict moral laws, as true knowledge is in itself a mean to safeguard against moral lapses. The followers of this Sect worship Shiva and his cinsort, Pravati, other Gods such as Ganesh, Kumat, Nandi (vehicle of Shiva) are also worshipped.

Various manifestations of Lords Shiva such as Bhairav, Virbhadra etc are forms, which have been created by lord Shiva for the destruction of demons, and these forms are worshipped by the followers of this Sect. God of destruction is also god of procreation. Therefore, the most popular form of Shiva is the ‘lingam’ the symbol of male organ and the ‘yoni’ the symbol of female organ. In Nepal, Shaivas are the most popular Sect of the Hinduism and the most famous temple of Shiva is Pashupatinath. The other places of pilgrimage related to Shaivism are Gokarneshow Mahadev, Indreshor Mahadev at Panauti and Gosainkunda lake etc.

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