The Basics of Hinduism

1
The Basics of Hinduism
Patel Style

• Introduction to Siddhartha
• Academic English IV

2
The Vedas

• Massive holy book of Hinduism
• Written in Vedic, an ancient form of Sanskrit
• Collection of four different books

3
Rig Veda

• Most important Veda
• Collection of 1,017 hymns, arranged in 10
  sections

4
Sama Veda

• Mostly a collection of hymns taken from the Rig
  Veda.
• The difference is that the Sama Veda is notated
  with with melodies so that rather than chanting
  these hymns, one can sing them

5
Yajur Veda

• Yajur Veda hymns are used specifically for
  certain types of sacrifices, not just for singing
  and chanting

6
Atharva Veda

• The most practical of all the Vedas
• It contains hymns for a variety of useful
  purposes including regulating weather and curing
  diseases

7
The Upanishads

• Philosophical portion of the Veda, written as
  prose rather than in the form of hymns
• Although there are 108 of them, 11 are the most
  important
• Example Chhandogya Upanishad

8
The Caste System

• There are four classes of Hindu society

9
Kshatriyas
MOTIVATED BY POWER
10
Vaishyas
MOTIVATED BY MATERIAL OBJECTS
11
Brahmins
MOTIVATED BY KNOWLEDGE
12
Shudras
UNMOTIVATED PEOPLE