Hinduism is not an organized religion, but rather a compilation of hundreds, even thousands, of smaller belief systems. Perhaps this is why Hinduism seems so complex to outsiders, who devised the term "Hindu," meaning "of India," in an attempt to describe the culture.

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Through many different rituals of devotion, or puja, Hindus acknowledge the Divine as a complement of opposites: the synergy of the Divine Masculine (Purusha) and the Divine Feminine (Prakriti) that maintains the balance of all existence. Fire, for example, a masculine element, is balanced by water, a feminine element. Hindus, like the women pictured here, honor both each morning with prayers to flowing water and the day's first rays of sunlight.

Hinduism's complexity stems from the many forms of three primary deities: Shiva, Creator and Destroyer of all Existence, Vishnu, Protector or Preserver of the Universe and Shakti, the Divine Feminine. Each sect views its deity as the "Supreme Personified Godhead," surrounded by a mythology that includes the texts, rituals and social and cultural observances. Depending on their needs, worshippers may appeal to many different deities, but all acts of devotion have the common goal of summoning the universal force known as the Absolute Divine.