Generally regarded as world

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Origins of Hinduism

• Generally regarded as worlds oldest religion
• 3rd largest religion approx. 15 of World pop.
• Majority live in India (950,000,000)
• Also, Nepal, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Tamil
  population of Sri Lanka
• Hindu comes from a Persian geographical term
  Hindus
• (Indus valley river basin) Pakistan

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Origins of Hinduism

• What makes Hinduism Unique?
• No Individual Founder
• Not founded by one particular individual
• Sacred history is about the foundations of the
  religion not the founder
• Evolved over thousands of years
• Absorbed and assimilated many cultural ideas,
  rituals, practices and beliefs over 1000s of
  years
• Polytheistic?
• Reincarnation
• Caste System

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Origins of Hinduism

• Indus Valley Civilization
• aka Harappan Civilization
• Modern day Pakistan
• Located 1,00 km along the Indus river
• 3000 2500 BCE
• one of the world's earliest urban civilizations
• Comparable to
• ancient Egyptians - Nile
• Sumer - Tigris and Euphrates
• Agriculturalists (Planters)

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Origins of Hinduism

• Indus Valley Civilization - Harappan Civilization
• Early Town Planners
• Drainage and sewers
• Evidence of Religious worship
• Reverence for water bathrooms in homes and
  public bathing areas in city centers
• Purifying elements of water
• Houses for worship
• Stone sculptures and amulets
• early representations of Hindu Gods
• Mother goddess Parvati
• Fire altars animal sacrifices
• Emphasis on mother earth

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Great Bath Mohenjo-Daro
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Origins of Hinduism

• Aryans Noble ones
• Sanskrit - arya meaning
• Noble'
• 2000 500 BC
• Arrived from central Asia and eastern Europe
• Migrated to area around Ganges
• Pastoralists
• Domesticated animals

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Origins of Hinduism

• Aryans Noble ones
• Tribal headed by chiefs
• Society divided into 3 classes (warriors, priests
  and herders)
• Early caste system
• Spoke early form of Sanskrit
• Created poems, ritual and philosophical texts
• Vedas (early sacred writings)
• Rig Veda
• Earliest record of sacred knowledge
• Focus on gods of sacrifice and praise
• Agni - God of fire
• Varuna God of the sky
• Indra God of the atmosphere
• Link between Gods and Humans
• Atman human soul breath of human life

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Categorizing Hinduism

• Categorizing the Hindu belief system can be
  confusing
• POLYTHEISTIC Worship of multiple deities
• MONOTHEISTIC One supreme God
• principle of Brahman - all reality is a unity
• PANTHEISTIC All reality is connected and share
  a common essence
• Water analogy
• TRINITARIAN Brahman is visualized as a trinity
  
• one God with three persons
• Brahma (the Creator)
• Vishnu (the Preserver
• Shiva (the Destroyer)
• Similar to Christianity

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Part 2
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Hindu Concept of God

• The ultimate aim of all Hindu thought is to
  attain the universal soul or divine wisdom
  called
• BRAHMAN

Understood through outward contemplation of the
universe known in two ways
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Hindu Concept of God

• Nirguna - Without qualities
• everything, everywhere, infinite and eternal
• Impersonal
• The ultimate soul of the universe
• discoverable through contemplation beyond the
  mind
• Saguna - With qualities
• Creative power of the universe
• personal
• Foundation of the phenomenal world (Reality)
• Can be worshipped as a deity or deities

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Hindu Concept of God

• ATMAN Eternal self
• The ultimate reality within us
• The Human soul, eternal and immortal
• Understood through inward contemplation of the
  self (yoga, prayer)
• Goal of Hindus is to reunite the atman with the
  Brahman
• All reality is one
• BRAHMAN is ATMAN
• ie water analogy

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HINDU TRINITY
Preserver
Destroyer
Creator
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Part 3
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Key Concepts

• MOKSHA "to let loose, let go"
• Refers to liberation or release
• Type of Salvation
• It is the liberation from Samsara
• the uniting of ATMAN (human soul) with
• BRAHMAN (ultimate soul)
• is ultimate goal of a Hindu

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Key Concepts

• SAMSARA - "continuous flow"
• - endless cycle of reincarnation
• Wheel of rebirth
• Soul is recycled until Moksha is achieved
• Idea is to move higher towards salvation

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Key Concepts
bad things happen to good people because they
deserve it

• KARMA - concept of "action" or "deed"
• totality of ones action in life
• Basic belief of cause and effect (all actions
  have a consequence)
• Determines form you will take when you are reborn
• Good actions good karma and higher station in
  next life

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Key Concepts

• DHARMA - that which upholds, supports or
  maintains  natural law
• code of moral and righteous duty
• Personal responsibilities of the individual
• Ones actions are essential to the welfare of
  individual, family and society
• focus on helping others not personal cravings
• 2 types
• Sanatana universal values applied to all people
  regardless of religion, race, age, sex etc
• Varnashrama - specific duties of people with
  respect to religion, race, age, sex and class
  (Caste)

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Sources Of Guidance
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Sources Of Guidance

• Divine revelation sacred scriptures
• Sacred Tradition passed on culturally
• Leaders - practices / examples and role modeling
  of wise people in society
• Conscience individual thoughts / beliefs

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Dharma ? Karma ? Samsara
? Moksha
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Reincarnation

• derives from Latin, incarnare "to make
• flesh" 
• literally meaning, "entering the flesh again
• religious or philosophical concept that
  the soul or spirit, after biological death,
  begins a new life in a new body
• may be human, animal or spiritual depending on
  the moral quality of the previous life's actions
• Often, this is a new human
• if the individual has accumulated a bad balance
  of Karma, they may return as an animal

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Ahimsa -

• Doctrine or philosophy of non-violence towards
  all living creatures
• Jains
• Hindus

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Part 4
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Accordingly, those who are of pleasant conduct
the prospect is, indeed, that they will enter a
pleasant womb. Either the womb of a brahmin, or
the womb of a kshatriya, or the womb of a
Vaishya. But those who are of stinking conduct
here the prospect is, indeed, that they will
enter a stinking womb, either the womb of a dog,
or the womb of a swine, or the womb of an
outcaste. Chandogya Upanishad 5.10.7)
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Caste System

• Foundation
• Merger and implementation of 2 social structures
• 1. Varna Class
• Caste Colour
• Indigenous inhabitants Indus Valley of people
  were darker in colour
• Aryans lighter skinned - Central Asia and Europe
• - Aryans thought it important to prevent
  intermingling

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Caste System

• 2. Jati Birth
• Each Hindu belonged to one of the over 2000 Jatis
  (communities)
• The Jatis were grouped into 4 Varna (social
  classes)
• Characterized by exclusivity in
• Marriage - normally took place within the same
  Jat
• Eating
• Occupation - A person's Jat determined the range
  of jobs or professions from which they could
  choose.

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Caste System

• Foundation
• Based on Hereditary
• People once were able to move from one Varna to
  another
• 500 BCE (approx) - system became rigid
• a person was born into the Varna and caste of
  their parents, and died in the same group
• Karma determines your caste identity
• KARMA ? CASTE ? DHARMA

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Priests, scholars and academics
Rulers and military
Farmers, landlords, merchants
Peasants, servants, in non -polluting jobs
Outcastes, Harijan - Children of God
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The Caste System today

• Caste system was abolished by law in 1949
• Work of Gandhi
• Still has power in rural settings and upper
  castes
• Called them Harijan Gods children
• Government initiative / programs to promote
  economic social rights
• Illegal under the Indian constitution
• Kumari Mayawati
• Indian politician - former Chief Minister
  of Uttar Pradesh
• Headed the Bahujan Samaj Party, which represents
  the Bahujans or Dalits
• Sworn in as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for
  the fourth time in 2007
• Defeated in the state elections in 2012

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Part 5
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• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
• born - October 2, 1869 Porbandar, Gujarat
• Often called
• Gandhiji - ji sir (title of respect)
• Mahatma Great Soul
• Bapu father
• One of the most influential figures in the 20th
  century
• Well respected Hindu spiritual and political
  leader
• Fought discrimination against Indians and Blacks
  in South Africa
• Lead and negotiated independence of India in 1947
• Led to Partition of India and Pakistan
• Opposed social injustice of Hindu society (ie.
  untouchables)
• Led to caste system being outlawed

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• Developed a method of political action called
  Satyagraha
• based on
• Satya - truth
• Dharma - duty
• Moksha - spiritual liberation
• Ahimsa - non-violence
• prepared to die but not kill for these principles
• Promoted - nonviolence / noncooperation / civil
  disobedience
• To ultimately achieve change
• Used fasting as a means to do this
• Tolerant of all religions
• Used Bhagavad-Gita, New Testament and Koran to
  fight discrimination

Religious principles
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• Assassinated in 1948
• Hindu fanatic, Nathuram Godse
• who opposed his program of tolerance for all
  creeds and religion
• was against Gandhi's personal teachings of
  extreme nonviolence
• Saw Gandhi's repeated tactic of "fasting unto
  death" on many issues as sabotage against the
  interests of Hindus
• Felt Gandhi was giving into Muslim interests in
  ways that seemed unfair and anti-national
• blamed Gandhi for the Partition of India

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Gandhi -1982

• Directed by Sir Richard Attenborough
• knighted in 1976
• Stars Sir Ben Kingsley
• born Krishna Pandit Bhanji
• Won 8 Academy Awards including
• Best Picture
• Best Director
• Best Actor in a leading role
• Cinematography
• 300,000 extras hired for the funeral scene
• Kingsley was thought to be Gandhis ghost by
  locals

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Characters - political

• Kinnoch
• An Indian, a Muslim, and a wealthy businessman
• supported Gandhis efforts to gain equality for
  Indians living in South Africa
• Pandit Nehru
• friend of Gandhis
• an important leader of the independence movement
  in India
• first prime minister of India after independence
• Vallabhbhai Patel
• Early supporter of Gandhi
• Became deputy Prime minister under Nehru
• Mohamed Al Jinnah
• leader of the Muslims in India, joined Gandhi in
  supporting home rule, or independence from
  Great Britain
• first president of Pakistan
• Jan Christian Smuts
• Minister for Indian Affairs in South Africa

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Characters - family and friends

• Charlie Andrews
• Englishman and Christian minister
• supported Gandhi in South Africa and later in
  India
• Walker
• American reporter for the New York Times
• Kasturba Gandhi
• wife and life-long companion
• they were married at the age of 13
• Mirabhen
• came to India to join Gandhis movement
• became like a daughter to Gandhi
• Margaret Bourke-White
• famous American photographer
• documented Gandhis later life in photographs.

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Hindu Festivals

• Holi
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vuICndkgbYIA
• Diwali
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vHrrW3rO51ak

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• Place this salt in the water. In the morning
  come unto me.
• Then he did so.
• Then he said to him That salt you placed in the
  water last evening please bring it hither.
• Then he grasped for it, but did not find it, as
  it was completely dissolved.
• Please take a sip of it from this end, said he.
  How is it?
• Salt.
• Take a sip from the middle, said he. How is
  it?
• Salt.
• Take a sip from that end, said he. How is it?
• Salt.
• Set it aside. Then come unto me.
• He did so, saying, It is always the same.
• Then he said to him Verily, indeed my dear, you
  do not perceive Being here. Verily, indeed, it is
  here.
• That which is the finest essence this whole
  world has that as its self.
• That is Reality. That is Atman.
• That art thou, Svetaketu.
• source A Source Book in Indian Philosophy edited
  by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles A. Moore