>>20717383Those tantrik traditions more heavily influence what he have in India today. The system of authoritarian guru control etc.
Then there were the Bhakti revivals of the Middle Ages. This revivals, and the schools produced by them, are still around today and are generally about 500 years old. This is what most people consider Hinduism.
But there are all sorts of patchworks and things surviving from different eras.
You will find smarta family guru traditions based on later attempts to revive more ancient traditions of dharma shastras.
You will find tantric gurus. You will find Yogis. You will find Advaita Vedantists. You will find Bhakti Schools. You will fine those trying to revive ancient Vedic sacrifice.
The sects of India more or less operate as cults, like you have cults in the US such as the Branch Davidians or Scientologists. They have a lose connection to each other taking inspiration from the same historical culture, while sometimes referencing similar literature's, but they are not one unified religion.
It is nothing like Christianity or Islam, which is derived from one book and one founder.
