HINDUISM

 Hinduism is a collection of religious beliefs that developed slowly over a long period of time.
 Considered as the world’s oldest religion (founded around the 15th – 5th century BCE)
 Hindus believe that their religion helps you free your soul from the sadness, disappointments, and mistakes
of everyday life.
THE BIG THREE
 There are hundreds of different Hindu Gods, and not all Hindus worship all the Gods. Here are the three
major Gods in Hinduism:
 Brahma: The Creator
 Vishnu: The Protector
 Shiva: The Destroyer
HOLY TEXTS
 Vedas (1700-500BC) - Sacred scriptures, treasure vault to wisdom and knowledge. Hymns, ritualistic
songs, incantations, charms and curses.
 Upanishads (750 to 550BC) – Sequel of the Vedas which is more focused on spiritual enlightenment.
BRAHMAN
 The Ground of all things
 Supreme being
 The Universal Soul
ATMAN
 The higher aspect of what we understand as “soul” (the real self)
THE THREE BODIES IN HINDUISM
 The Physical body - the human body that breathes, eats and moves.
 The Astral/Subtle Body - not a physical or material thing but it is made up of subtle elements that the eyes
cannot see (mind, emotions)
 The Causal body - a combination of the physical and astral bodies. It records our past thoughts, habits and
actions in all their state of existence and carries the spirit of the person from one life to another upon
reincarnation.
THE FIVE KOSHAS (SHEATHS) IN HINDUISM
 ANNAMAYA - physical sheath that composes the outer layer. It’s sometimes referred to as the food
sheath.
 PRANAMAYA - is the vital energy, breath, or life force sheath.
 MANOMAYA - this layer includes thought forms, mental activity, and awareness of thoughts. Getting in
touch with this kosha involves looking at your perceptions and mental patterns. (mind, emotins)
 VIJNANAMAYA - known as the awareness or wisdom sheath, it allows you to develop a deeper
awareness and to see reality for what it is. Thought of as “the mind beyond the mind,” this kosha is
connected to your deeper and more subtle layers of thoughts.
 ANANDAMAYA - the anandamaya kosha is referred to as the bliss body. It’s the deepest and subtlest of
all layers — so much so that some people even say you can’t use words to describe it. Instead, it must be
felt and experienced.
WHAT IS THE TRUE SELF?
 The real self (atman) is distinct from the temporary body.
 The true self is the soul. The soul is an atomic particle of consciousness, which at the present moment is
covered by the psychic and physical layers that are projected.
 You are not your mind, you are not your body.
 The world, including man is but a “maya” – an illusion, appearance, reflection of Brahman.
MAJOR BELIEFS
 Reincarnation- this is the concept that the soul is immortal, and all life forms are reborn into a new entity
after death.
 Karma - if you do good deeds, good things will happen in your life. If you do bad deeds, bad things will
happen to you in life.

FOUR GOALS OF LIFE IN HINDUISM

 Dharma: be a good, virtuous, moral person.
 Kama: seek happiness, pleasure, emotional fulfillment (love, friendship, community).
 Artha: earn material prosperity: money. (This allows you and your family to live a secure life).
 Moksha: the final aim, seek freedom from ignorance, spirituality, and self-knowledge. (self-realization)

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER SELF-REALIZATION?

 You can solve all the day-to-day problems with equanimity.
 You will not be affected by any worries or miseries.
 Neither the intent to hurt nor the lingering of annoyance will be present in the anger after Self Realization.
 Fearlessness and independence arise in those who have attained the Self.
 After Self Realization one becomes impartial. One is not partial to the mind, body and speech and that is
why they can see their own mistakes.
 The Caste System is a system
where people are born into
certain social classes, and they
CANNOT change their social
class. Your social class is
determined by Karma: if you are
a good person you will be born
into a higher social class in your
next life.

BUDDHISM
 A faith that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (“the Buddha”) more than 2,500 years ago in India.
With about 470 million followers, scholars consider Buddhism one of the major world religions. Puts its
emphasis on tranquillity and inner peace.
SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA
 According to legend, he was a Hindu prince who renounced his position and wealth to seek
enlightenment as a spiritual ascetic, attained his goal and, in preaching his path to others, founded
Buddhism in India in the 6th-5th centuries BCE.
 He discovered that desire was the root cause of human suffering.
 Suffering happens because humans seek permanence on impermanent things.
HINDUISM: IMPLICATIONS TO EDUCATION

 Generate superior human character as a whole, intelligence and wisdom are accentuated.
 Learning does not limit itself in learning of facts and figures, but emphasizes in developing wisdom by
forming a connection between mind, body and spirit.
 This is different from dominant Western view of learning which seeks cause-and-effect relationships with
the worldly phenomena
 Learning by heart
 Methods of debate, discussion, speculation and argument were salient features of education 
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
 Life is suffering
 There is a cause to our suffering
 There is an end to suffering
 The end to suffering is contained in the eight fold path.

IMPLICATIONS TO EDUCATION

 Aims at a personality transformation into a highest form of humanity through ethical, intellectual and
spiritual perfection. 
 The major aim of Buddhist education is all round development of child’s personality. This includes his
physical, mental, moral and intellectual development. The other aims of Buddhist Education are to make
a free man, a wise, intelligent, moral, non-violent & secular man.