Download Hinduism

Hinduism
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Roots of Hinduism
• For most of the past 2000 years,
Hinduism has been the main religion in
India
• The word Hinduism means “the religion of
the people of India”
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Evolution of Hinduism
• Born in the Indus River Valley around 2500 B.C., but strengthen around
500 B.C., as Indians adapted to town life and beliefs about began to
change
• No single founder or sacred text; teachers called gurus
– Vedas (hymns, poems, epic poems)
– Puranas (vast collection of Indian literature about a wide range of
topics particularly myths, legends and other traditional lore)
• Most complex religion in the world
-- Why are we born? How should we live?
– Countless gods and goddesses
– system of rituals, cults, institutions, practices, and doctrines
• Though believed by many to be a polytheistic religion, the basis of
Hinduism is the belief in the unityWHofC2everything
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Beliefs About God
•
Hindus may have different practices but
they share a common beliefs about the
nature of the soul, and of life and of God
• the Upanishads (Hindu scriptures) contain two beliefs
that are the heart of Hinduism:
1. one supreme cosmic consciousness, spiritual
force known as God called Brahman; all gods and
goddesses are forms of Brahman
2. every person is born with a soul which is a form of
Brahman
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Brahman
• “God is one, but wise people
know it by many names” – key
proverb of Hinduism
• Brahman – the all-powerful and
unchanging spiritual force of
the universe
• Too complex for most to
understand so they worship a
variety of gods that give a form
to it.
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Beliefs About God
• Hindus may have different practices but they share a
common beliefs about the nature of the soul, and of
life and of God
• The Upanishads (Hindu scriptures) contain two beliefs
that are the heart of Hinduism:
1. one supreme cosmic consciousness, spiritual
force known as God called Brahman; all gods and
goddesses are forms of Brahman
2. every person is born with a soul which is a form of
Brahman
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Main Hindu Gods
• Brahma – the creator
• Vishnu – the Preserver
• Shiva – the destroyer
Brahma
Shiva
Vishnu
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Beliefs About Life
• The Upanishads (Hindu scriptures) teach important
Hindu beliefs about life
• When people die, most will undergo reincarnation
• Hindus have four goals, but not everyone will achieve
all these goals in one lifetime. The goals are:
1. dharma—doing what is right or your duty, including
the rule of ahimsa avoiding doing harm to any
living thing; following dharma brings good karma;
violating dharma results in bad karma
2. striving for wellbeing or earning a livelihood
with dignity
3. experiencing pleasure but seeking nothing but
pleasure leaves one feeling empty
4. moksha or liberation from reincarnation
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Hinduism
• The purpose of life is to realize that we are
part of God and by doing so we can leave this
plane of existence and rejoin with God
– Achieved by the cycle of birth, life and death
• One's progress towards enlightenment is
measured by his karma.
• This is the accumulation of all one's good and
bad deeds.
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Reincarnation
• Your karma determines
what form you take in
your next life.
• Selfless acts and thoughts
as well as devotion to
God help one to be
reborn at a higher level.
• Bad acts and thoughts
will cause one to be born
at a lower level – animal
or object
• Moksha is freedom from
suffering of cycle of
death and rebirth
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Dharma
• The religious and moral
duties of an individual.
• Your duty varies according to
class, occupation, gender, or
age.
• Karma & Dharma insure the
social order by supporting
the caste system
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Caste System
• consists of four major social categories:
– Brahmin
• highest rank and act as the priests and spiritual and intellectual
leaders of Hindu society
– Kshatriya
• the rulers and warriors who protect and promote the material wellbeing of society
– Vaishya
• farmers, merchants, and others who contribute to the economy
– Sudra
• the workers and servants who supply the menial labor for the upper
three ranks.
• Another class, the "untouchables”
• Excluded from all aspects of society!
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Brahmins—
thinkers/knowers
Ksatriya—doers
Vaisya—provide
food for the belly
Sudra—do the work
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Effects of Caste System
• Limited freedom and rights—born into class (varnas) and
acceptance of fixed place in society
• Limits jobs—born into occupation
• Rigid, hereditary membership into birth caste
• Marriage only among member of same caste
• Personal contact with other castes restricted
• Untouchables (dalits)—had to do undesirable (dirty) jobs
and could never be near other classes (varnas)
• System organized the people and gave social order
• Gave stability to society
• Part of Hindu religion
• Higher classes privileged from birth
• Higher classes had lots of opportunities, became
wealthy
• Job and skill specialization
• Members of a caste relied on each other for support
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Ahimsa
• Key moral principle of Hinduism
• Means non-violence
• All people and things are aspect of Brahman
and should be respected.
– Cows worshipped by some in India
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Jainism
• Extreme form of
Hinduism
• Emphasizes meditation,
self-denial, ahimsa
• To avoid killing anything –
carry a broom to sweep in
front of their feet
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