Hinduism

1
Hinduism
SHIVA
BRAHMA
VISHNU
2
A Few Facts and Figures

• No unique philosophy
• No founder or central teacher
• No one deity (330 million of them) in the
  strictest sense of the word

• Over 800 million Hindus
• 13.7 of the worlds religious population is
  Hindu
• 99.2 of all Hindus live in Asia
• The majority live in India and Nepal (the only
  Hindu nation in the world)
• Large minorities in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and
  Pakistan

3
1. What does Hindu mean?

• The Persian word for the Indus River is how we
  get the word (in Sanskrit it is Sidhu.)
• 2. Indigenous Term Sanatana Dharma or Eternal
  Duty

4
3. The Hindus were Indo-Aryian peoples who lived
on the Indus Plain and in the Ganges Valley.
5
(No Transcript)
6
4. The ancient people called their Religion the
Vedic Religion after the Vedas, which are the
source books of the Hindu Faith and Philosophy.
7
5. The Vedas are believed to date from between
3000 B.C. to 1000 B.C. Hinduism absorbed ideas
and ideals from other religions.
8
1 I Laud Agni, the chosen Priest, God, minister
of sacrifice,The hotar, lavishest of wealth.2
Worthy is Agni to be praised by living as by
ancient seers.He shall bring. hitherward the
Gods.3 Through Agni man obtaineth wealth, yea,
plenty waxing day by day,Most rich in heroes,
glorious.4 Agni, the perfect sacrifice which
thou encompassest aboutVerily goeth to the
Gods.5 May Agni, sapient-minded Priest,
truthful, most gloriously great,The God, come
hither with the Gods.6 Whatever blessing, Agni,
thou wilt grant unto thy worshipper,That,
Angiras, is indeed thy truth.7 To thee,
dispeller of the night, O Agni, day by day with
prayerBringing thee reverence, we come8 Ruler
of sacrifices, guard of Law eternal, radiant
One,Increasing in thine own abode.9 Be to us
easy of approach, even as a father to his
sonAgni, be with us for our weal.
9
6. Hinduism is a religion and a way of life.
Rituals or ceremonies accompany everything a
Hindu does.
10
7. Hinduism had divided society into divisions or
classes called Castes. The caste system was
developed in the Vedas. Today there are four
major castes.
11
Varna (Social Hierarchy)
Brahmins
Kshatriyas
Vaishyas
Shudras
Pariahs Harijan ? Untouchables
12
8. Each of the four main castes had a special
function or duty.
13
A. The highest caste is that of priests and
scholars (teachers) called Brahmans.
14
B. Second comes the Kshatriyas. They are the
rulers and warriors.
15
C. Below them are the Vaishyas, the merchants,
farmers and artisans.
16
D. The lowest caste are the Sudras, the workers,
whose duty is to serve the higher castes.
17
9. Outside of these four casts are those who are
not in a caste or Outcasts or Untouchables. They
perform the work that the others consider unclean.
18
The Caste System
Brahmins
WHO IS
Kshatriyas

• The mouth?
• The arms?
• The legs?
• The feet?

Vaishyas
Shudras
What is a JATI?
(by occupation)
19
10. Final Notes on Caste

• Dvija or twice-born
• Upper three castes
• They can study the Vedas

• Social Order
• Mlechcha or untouchables are outside of the
  system
• Renamed harijan or children of God by Gandhi

20
11. Hinduism has many forms of worship. The do
agree that holy people have discovered different
ways to God. Most hold the following basic
beliefs
21
A. Unity of all things in the world. 12. There is
one spirit that runs through everything in the
world, plants, animals, and humans. This unifying
spirit is called Brahman.
22
13. Unity with Brahman is reached through Yoga,
which teaches self-control and concentration.
23
Spiritual Disciplines

• Yoga
• Yug yoke or union
• State of living in the divine
• Four Paths

24
1. Bhakti Yoga

• To Share
• Most common path
• Path of Devotion or Love

• Ishta
• Mantra
• Japan

channeling emotional energy into one's spiritual
practice
25
2. Jnana (Jyana)Yoga

• Path of Knowledge
• Way of Wisdom
• Intellectual Orientation Spiritual Insight

• Who am I?
• Neti-Neti
• not this, not this

26
3. Karma Yoga

• Path of Selfless Action
• Putting yourself to work helping others without
  any thought to your own reward
• Every act part of the divine that we all share

27
4. Raja (Dyana )Yoga

• Raj reintegration
• Path of Stillness
• Samadhi or union with the divine is your goal
• Sadhanas or Popular HinduismMargas (paths)
• practices
• Date back in time
• Coherent system finally developed by 2nd century

• Pantanajalis sutras or threads (196 total
  eight steps)

28
Popular HinduismMargas (paths)
29
14. Ahimsa The belief that it is wrong to hurt
any living thing. This is often called
nonviolence. We are all part of the same spirit.
30
15. God exists in many forms.
Hindus worship many gods that represent
different sides of Brahman.
31
The gods appear in various forms. They often have
more than the human number of arms and heads.
32
(No Transcript)
33
16. Vaishnavites

• 580 million adherents
• Third only to Roman Catholics (1,030,000,000) and
  Sunni Muslims (940,000,000)
• Typically with four arms on the serpent Shesha
  with consort Lakshmi
• Avatars or descents 22 mentioned only 10 really
  key

34
17. Saivites

• 220 million followers
• Fifth (Eastern Orthodox Christians are fourth at
  240 million)
• Symbolizes asceticism
• Mahadeva or Great god
• Spouse is Parvarti

35
18. Saktas

• 50 million worship goddesses
• Durga is the great goddess
• Kali is the destroyer of evil
• Also Parvarti, Uma
• Tantras (sacred texts) help explain the feminine
  and stress the need for unity between the male
  and the female

Union of a lingam and yoni
36
Hindu Gods GaneshaShivaVishnuHanumanBuddhaKri
shnaArdhnarishwaraBrahma
Hindu goddesses LakshmiDurga KaliGangaMayaSar
aswati
37
19. HINDU TRINITY

• Brama -- The Creator
• Lord Brahma symbolizes the aspect of the Supreme
  Reality that brings forth the creation. For this
  very reason, Hindus call Lord Brahma the Creator
  of the universe.
• Vishnu The Preserver
• Vishnu is the embodiment of mercy and goodness,
  the self-existent, all-pervading power that
  preserves the universe and maintains the cosmic
  order Dharma.
• Shiva The Destroyer
• Shiva represents essential goodness.

38
Brahma The Creator God
39
Vishnu Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the
universe, advised Indra to acquire the divine
nectar of immortality by churning the great sea,
Ksheer Sagar, with a huge mountain and a giant
serpent. But the demons also insisted on taking
part in the exercise.
40
ShivaDestruction and Fertility
41
19. Reincarnation or Rebirth
After death you are born again as another living
creature. After many lifetimes you are purified
and reach nirvana.
42
20. Nirvana
A state of happiness where there is absolute
freedom from earthly cares and problems. Release
from the cycle of birth and rebirth.
43
21. Karma
The great spiritual law of the universe. It is a
record of the deeds or actions done in life.
Where the soul goes for rebirth depends on your
karma.
44
Karma will reward a good person by being born in
a higher position. A bad person will be born in a
lowly position.
45
22. Work without worrying about results.
Do your best and not worry about success or
failure. The results should be surrendered to god.
46
23. Holy Writings
The oldest are the four Vedas. The language of
these scriptures is Sanskrit. The most
important is the Rig-Veda.
47
(No Transcript)
48
They consist of stories and epic poems. The most
famous is the Ramayana, which tells the story of
the hero-god Rama.
49
Other sacred writings are the Upanishads and the
Bhagvada Gita, which is part of the Mahabharata,
an epic poem about war between two royal families.
50
O Krishna! you praise renunciation of actions and
also the pursuit (of them). Tell me determinately
which one of these two is superior. The Deity
said Renunciation and pursuit of action are both
instruments of happiness. But of the two, pursuit
of action is superior to renunciation of action.
He should be understood to be always an
ascetic 3, who has no aversion and no desire.
For, O you of mighty arms! he who is free from
the pairs of opposites is easily released from
(all) bonds
51
Itihasa

• Mahabharata
• Worlds Longest Poem
• Bhagavad-Gita
• Book 6
• Song of the Adorable One
• Krishna is the subject

52
24. Holy Places
The Ganges is the most important of the holy
rivers in India. Pilgrims come from all over the
country to bath in its waters.
53
25. Bathing in the Ganges washes away the
impurities of sin. Those who die on the banks of
the river go to heaven.
54
Sacred River / Sacred Cows
55
(No Transcript)
56
26. Mohandas Gandhi

• 1869-1948
• Satyagraha or reality force
• Mahatma or Great Spirit