Hinduism

Daleen Daigdigan
Josephine Lozada
Keint Gerrian Mahumas
 Historical
Background
Hinduism is
oftentimes considered
as the oldest and most
complex of all world
religions.
Hindu belief may have
begun around third
millennium B.C.E
Hinduism had no
identifiable founder
The term Hindu originated from
the Persian word hindu (Sanskrit
sindhu) Which means “river”.

The name was given in the

nineteenth century to describe the
wide array of beliefs in India.
Hinduism was
originally known as “
Arya Dharma” or the
“Aryan Way”.
As early as 3000 B.C.E
there were already
thriving civilizations in
India such as those
discovered in the ancient
Punjab City of Harappa
and Mohenjo-Daro.
Archaeologists
discoveries:
Statues and Amulets
Images of fertility gods and
goddesses
Figures in lotus position
Between 1750 and 1200
B.C.E Aryan conquerors
moved to the Indus Valley
and brought them their set of
beliefs
Amalgamation of beliefs
happened (Classical
Hinduism)
Vedas- oral texts
that contain their
set of beliefs.
Proofs:
First, Aryans brought
with them a Polytheistic
religion similar to Indo-
European people.
Secondly, sacrifice was
the principal form of
worship to the Aryan
gods.
Aryans were nomadic.
Sacred
Scriptures
The sacred text of
Hinduism has been
passed down throughout
generations by way of
music, recitation, dance,
and drama.
Sanskrit has been the
language earliest
writings.
The sacred writings of the
Hindus are categorized into
two classes:
Shruti
Smriti
SHRUTI
-literally means, “that which
is heard”.
- regarded as eternal truths
that are passed orally until
there came a need to write
them down.
Writings that form part
of Shruti:
Samhitas
Brahmanas
Upanishads
A few sutras
Vedas are sacrificial
hymns compiled from
an earlier oral tradition.
oVedas means
“knowledge” or “ sacred
lore”
 RIG VEDA
• is the most important
and the oldest book that
dates back in 1500
B.C.E to 1200 B.C.E
Gods and Goddesses Personification or
Attributes
Indra Leader; lord of heaven; go of
rain and thunderstorms
Agri God of fire; messenger of the
gods
Adityas Sun-gods

Mitra Deity for honesty, friendship,

contracts, and meetings
Varuna God of the water;god of law of
the underwater world
Savitr Deity of dawns

Rudra Solar deity

YAJUR-VEDA
•“knowledge of rites”
•A compilation materials
recited during rituals
and sacrifices to deities.
SAMA-VEDA
•“knowledge of chants”
•This book is a collection
of verses from the basic
hymns recited by priests
during sacrifices.
ATHARVA-VEDA
•“knowledge given by
the sage Atharva”
•Seldom used in
solemn ceremonies
•It contains numerous
spells and incantations
used for medicine
purposes
Each Vedas consist of four
main parts:
Mantras
Brahmanas
Aranyakas
Upanishads
Mantras
- Are hymns and chants
for praising god.
Brahmanas
- are explanation of the
Mantras with detailed
description of sacrificial
ceremonies related to
them.
Aranyakas
- are meditations that
explicate their
meaning.
Upanishads
-secret teachings
transcend rituals to
elucidate the nature of the
universe and the
connection of it to humans.
UPANISHADS
•“sitting near” or “sitting
close to”
•Teachings about universal
truths
•“brahma-knowledge” where
ignorance is totally
eliminated.
 The great Indian
nationalist and philosopher
Sri Aurobindo described
Upanishads as the
“supreme work of the
Indian mind”.
Varying in length from
1-50 pages all the fundamental
concept about Hinduism such as:
karma(action), samsara
(reincarnation), moksha (nirvana),
atman (soul), Brahman Absolute
Almighty)
SMRITI
- literally means “that
which has been
remembered”.
-considered of lesser
importance compared to
shruti.
Ramayana
-A Sanskrit epic poem written by
Valmiki consisting of 24,000 verses in
seven books and 500 cantos.
- Written between 200 B.C.E and
200 C.E
- Wherein Rama is the incarnation of
Vishnu.
Mahabharata
- composed of around one
hundred thousand verses
making it as the world’s
longest poem.
- Written around 500 B.C.E
- Krishna is the incarnation of
Vishnu
Bhagavad Gita
-A celebrated episode of
Mahabharata
- Translated as ‘the Lord’s song”.
- Considered as one of the holiest
books by the Hindus
- It is a 700-verse narrative of
dialogue.
 Beliefs
and
Doctrines
The Hindu faith offers its
followers many paths to
salvation.
Gods and Goddesses are
worshipped in their temples.
Bhakti stands for soul’s
longing and clinging to god.
Devotion
to the
Trimurti
Central to Hinduism is
Brahman who is the
ultimate reality, one and
undivided.
-Trimurti stands for
creation, preservation and
destruction.
Brahma
-Has four heads and
eight hands.
-Brahmas vehicle is a
swan which symbolizes
knowledge
Vishnu
-known as god of love,
benevolence, and
forgiveness
-Depicted to have four
arms and with a dark
complexion.
Shiva
-god of death,
destruction and disease.
-god of dance,
vegetable, animals and
human reproduction.
Samsara- rebirth
Karma- one’s deeds has an
affect on his or her future
life.
Atman- eternal soul.
In accordance to the moral
law of karma.
Routes
to
Moksha
A soul may escape
the cycle of rebirth
and attain moksha.
This particular
liberation can be
achieved through the
Four Yogas that
produces spiritual
enlightenment.
Yoga
-is derived from the root word
yuj, which means “to yoke” or “to
join”.

The philosophy of Yoga came

from sage Patanjali who is
considered as the “Father of
Yoga.”

Jnana Yoga (The way of Knowledge)
Bhakti Yoga (The way of Love)
Karma Yoga ( The way of work)
Raja Yoga ( The way of Meditation)
Practices
The path of knowledge, wisdom,
introspection and contemplation
The path of devotion, love, emotion,
compassion, and service to God and
others.
The path of actions, service to others,
mindfulness and remembering the
levels of our being while fulfilling our
actions of karma in the world
The path of meditation that directly
deals with the encountering the
transcending thoughts of mind.
For all Hindus,
there are four
desirable goals of
life.
These are:
 Dharma ( Appropriate
behavior)
 Artha ( The pursuit of
legitimate worldly
success).
Kama (the pursuit of
legitimate pleasure)
Moksha ( release from
rebirth)
 Worship
and
Observances
Hindu scriptures states that
there are 330 million gods.
Integral to Hindu worship
are the sacred images and
temples believed to house
and represent the deities.
As a form of worship,
Hindus do Prasad or gift
offerings.

Vital to Hindu worship is

darshan, that pertains to
seeing and being in a
presence of a deity.
Festivals
Holi
- signifies the victory of
good over evil and
is celebrated as a day of
spreading happiness and
love. The festival is also
celebrated as thanksgiving
for good harvest.
Dusserah
-celebrates the Hindu god Rama's
victory over the demon king Ravana and
the triumph of good over evil. The epic
Ramayana tells the story of the Lord
Rama who wins the lovely Sita for his
wife, only to have her carried off by
Ravana, the demon king of Lanka.
Diwali
 - is the five-day festival of
lights, celebrated by millions of
Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the
world. The festival, which coincides
with the Hindu New
Year, celebrates new beginnings and
the triumph of good over evil and
light over darkness.
The City of Varanasi, also called Benares
, is the most important and the most sacred
pilgrimage site in India, an is considered
as the home of Shiva.

Other popular sites include Kurukshetra

(the place of great war in Mahabharata).
Ayodhya ( the old capital of Rama) and
Mathura ( Krishna’s birthplace)
Subdivisions
Followers of Hinduism vary in their set of
beliefs and practices, including reverence to a
particular god. Presently, there are four
principal denominations within the Hindu
faith.

1. Shaivism
Lord Shiva, the compassionate one, is God for
the Saivites. Followers of Shaivism value self-
discipline and philosophy. They worship in temples
and practice yoga.
2. Shaktism
The goddess Shakti is supreme for Shaktas.
She is the divine mother and assumes many
forms, be it gentle one or a fierce deity.
Believers use chants, magic, and yoga to
summon cosmic forces.
3. Vaishnavism
Lord Vishnu is God for the Vaishnavites,
especially in his incarnations Krishna and
Rama. Adherents have multitides of saints,
temples and sacred texts.
4. Smartism
For the Smartas, devotees are left to
choose their own deity in one of six
manifestations namely, Ganesha, Siva,
Shakti, Vishnu, Surya and Skanda.
Smartas are known as liberals as they
embrace all major Hindu gods.
Selected
Issues
Hinduism
and
Women
 Even though the Manusmriti or
the “Laws of Manu” states that
women should be honored in
Hindu society, women have always
been considered inferior to men in
all aspects of life.
A woman’s life revolve around the men
in her life, to be taken care of her father
in childhood, by her husband in her
married life, and by her sons in old age.

Thus, women are relegated to performing

household chores and are expected to
become loyal to her husband even after
their husbands die.
In traditional society,
women are expected to
perform ‘sati’ or
‘suttee’.
Wherein widowed women
are expected to jump on
the funeral pyre of their
husbands.
Caste System
- is one of the major
distinguishing feature of Indian
culture that still affects the
modern-day society.
 Brahmins
Kshatriyas
Vaishyas
Shudras

Untouchables
The Brahmins are the caste from
which Hindu priests are drawn,
and are responsible for teaching
and maintaining sacred
knowledge. The caste system has
evidently been more flexible, in
terms of appropriate work
for Brahmins, than one might
expect.
Traditionally,
the kshatriya constituted the
ruling and military class.
Their role was to protect their
interests by fighting in
wartime and governing in
peacetime.
Hindu religious texts
assigned Vaishyas to traditional
roles in agriculture and cattle-
rearing, but over time they came to
be landowners, traders and money-
lenders. Therefore making it their
responsibility to provide sustenance
for those of higher class, since
they were of lower class.
The Sudras are the lowest rank
of the Caste System. They are
normally artisans and laborers.
That of a Sudra is the serving of
twice-born, agriculture and
cattle-breeding and trade,
profession of artisans and court-
bards”