Hinduism

Religions of India
 What is Hinduism?
• One of the oldest religions of humanity
• The religion of the Indian people
• 3rd largest religion in the world today
• Gave birth to Buddhism
• Tolerance and diversity: "Truth is one, paths are
many"
• Many deities but a single, impersonal Ultimate
Reality
• A philosophy and a way of life – focused both on
this world and beyond
 How did Hinduism begin?
• No particular founder
• Indus River Valley Civilization >5000 years ago
 Where did it come from?

• Hinduism came from

the mixture of Aryan
and Indian cultures
• Aryans also
introduced the caste
system to India – an
important aspect of
Hinduism
 The Vedas
• Hindu Sacred Writings
• Contains four books
• All written in Sanskrit
• Veda means “knowledge”
1. Rig Veda: The oldest and
most important of the
four Vedas. Contains
hymns about their
mythology
2. Sama Veda consists
mainly of hymns about
religious rituals
3. Yajur Veda contains
instructions for religious
rituals
4. Atharva Veda consists of
spells against enemies,
sorcerers, and diseases
 • The most important
written language of
Ancient India 
• The oldest form of
Sanskrit is Vedic
Sanskrit that dates
back to the 2nd
millennium BCE
• One of the oldest, if
not the oldest, of all
attested human
languages

Sanskrit
 What do Hindus believe?
• One impersonal Ultimate Reality – Brahman
– Manifest as many personal deities
• True essence of life – Atman, the soul, is Brahman
trapped in matter (“That art thou”)
• Reincarnation – atman is continually born into this
world lifetime after lifetime (Samsara)
• Karma – spiritual impurity due to actions keeps us
bound to this world (good and bad)
• Ultimate goal of life – to release Atman and reunite
with the divine, becoming as one with Brahman
(Moksha)
 Soul

• Every person is born

with a soul
 Karma and Reincarnation
• Reincarnation is the belief that the soul repeatedly
goes through a cycle of being born into a body,
dying, and being reborn again in a new body.
• Karma, a force that determines the quality of each
life, depending on how well one behaved in a past
life.
• Hinduism says we create karma by our actions on
earth. If you live a good life, you create good
karma. If you live a bad life, you create bad
karma.
Brahma
• The god responsible for the
creation of the world and all
living things
• The first god in the Hindu
triumvirate
Vishnu
• The god that preserves and protects the
universe
• The second god in the Hindu triumvirate
Shiva
• The god that destroys the
universe in order to
recreate it
• The 3rd god in the Hindu
triumvirate
 Devi
• The goddess that fights to restore dharma
• She embodies all aspects of womanhood
Krishna
• The god of compassion,
tenderness and love
• One of the most popular and
widely revered among Indian
divinities
Lakshmi
• The goddess of wealth and
purity
• She is the wife of the great
god Vishnu and the pair is
often worshipped in tandem
as Lakshmi-Narayana
Saraswati
• The goddess of learning
• who represents education,
creativity, and music
• The wife of the creator, Brahma,
and helped him form and
finalize his creations
 What is Reincarnation?

• The rebirth of the soul

• If you are a faithful
follower of Hinduism you
will be born into a higher
position in the next life
• If you are not you will be
punished – born into a
lower position
Hindu Caste
System
 Law of Karma

• Karma - The effect of your

actions in this and previous
lives
– Determines how a person is
reborn
• Bad deeds = rebirth into lower
caste, even as low as an animal
• Good deeds = rebirth into a
higher caste
 4 goals of Hinduism
• Goal 1 – dharma (duty)
– Do the jobs related to your caste, age or position in life
– Avoid harming living things (ahimsa)
• Goal 2 – strive for well-being
– Make a good living
– Raising a family
– Being honest, trust-worthy, honorable
• Materials do not bring true happiness
• Goal 3 – pleasure
– Physical - eating good foods, taking a hot bath
• Seeking nothing but pleasure can leave you feeling empty
• Goal 4 – moksha (freedom from reincarnation)
– Your soul is free from want, fear and pain
– Your soul becomes one with Brahman’s
 How to achieve moksha
• Knowledge
– To understand one’s soul and how it relates to
Brahman
• Works
– Carry out religious rituals and duties to improve karma
– Do good deeds without expecting praise or
recognition
• Devotions
– Path of love
– Devote yourself to loving God
• Worship one of Hindu god/goddesses
–Repeat name all day long
–Make offerings at temples
–Travel to holy sites
 Impact of Hinduism

• Spread
– 80% of today’s people of
India are Hindu
• Growth
– In ancient times – many
rulers, languages, religions
– Hinduism was flexible
• Accepted worship of new
gods
• Didn’t have to give up old
religion
• Kept old traditions
 Traditions, Beliefs, symbols
• Ganges River
– Physical form of a goddess
– believe the waters can wash away bad karma and
cure disease
• The Cow
– symbolizes all other creatures
– generous, taking nothing but water, grass and grain
• gives and gives and gives of its milk, as does the
enlightened soul give of his spiritual knowledge
– vital to life, the sustainer of life, for many humans
• Diwali
– from the Sanskrit word Dīpãvali, meaning "row of
lights“
– lasting five days
– for many, Diwali is also New Year's Eve
Mahatma Gandhi called untouchables Harijans
(“Children of the God Hari Vishnu,” or simply “Children
of God”) and long worked for their emancipation.
However, this name is now considered condescending
and offensive. The term Dalit later came to be used,
especially by politically active members, though that
too occasionally has negative connotations. The
official designation Scheduled Caste is the most
common term now used in India. Kocheril
Raman Narayanan, who served as president of India
from 1997 to 2002, was the first member of a
Scheduled Caste to occupy a high office in the country.
 Religion
• Founded upon
revelation
• Concerned with
morals
– Morals are absolute.
– Have to do with
person- to-God
• Concerned with
“supranature”
• Miracles are a part
• Goal is to find God
• Arthur A. Custance, p. 29.
Philosophy
• Founded upon reason
• Concerned with ethics
– Ethics are relative.
(School of Morals?)
– Are person-to-person
• Not concerned with
nature, but with
“metanature” (science
concerned with nature)
• Miracles are irrelevant
• Goal is to find truth
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