Somebody asked me what is Hinduism and who are Hindus?
I said :

This is the crux of Hinduism. It is not a religion. Hindu is the one who respects Budhha, Mahabir Pun, Gurunanak, Krishna, Ram and you name it all. The freedom to meditate and get to know you and your creator is the essence of Hindu way of life. Out of which freedom, many different methods known to us through enlightened gurus and in time political influences made them into religion and different faith. Even today we have so many SAdhgurus and enlighten being, and if it was ancient times they would also have been made new gods. This is the crux.