MOST OF HISTORY: THE FIRST HUMANS

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Growth and Development of World Religions
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Growth and Development of World Religions

• Explain how world religions or belief systems
  grew and their significance.
• Hinduism
• Judaism
• Buddhism
• Christianity
• Islam

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Five of the worlds major faiths and ethical
systems emerged establishing institutions,
systems of thought, and cultural styles that
would influence neighboring peoples and endure
for centuries.
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Hinduism

• Religion based on the belief that humans and
  animals reincarnate
• Reincarnation Come back to the Earth many times
  in different forms.

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Hindu Origins

• Hinduism underwent a change that transformed it
  into a popular religion of salvation
• Hinduism was initially very complex
• Changes eventually resulted in a faith that
  addressed the needs of ordinary people

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Hindu Epics The Mahabharata and the Ramayana

• The great epic poems the Mahabharata and the
  Ramayana show how Hindusim developed its values
• Both poems began as nonreligious stories told
  about the great epic age of classical Indian
  history (1500-500 BC)
• The brahmins revised both and created a major
  roles for Hindu Gods

Ramayana
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• These groupings of writings is called the Vedas
  
• Religious writings
• songs of praise
• Laws and rules

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Hindu Beliefs

• The soul does not die with the body, but is
  reincarnated at death.
• The caste system demands certain
  responsibilities the duty of shudras was to
  serve, of vaishyas to work, of brahmins to learn
  the scriptures, and of kshatriyas to govern and
  fight
• Individuals have social responsibilities
  failure to fulfill caste duties is in fact a sin,
  but if you follow these standards you are brought
  spiritual rewards

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• Caste System Divides people into classes based
  on wealth
• What you do in one life will affect what caste
  you are born into in another life.

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Hindu Ethics

• As represented in the Bhagavad Gita, only by
  active participation in the world and the meeting
  of caste responsibilities was it possible to
  attain salvation
• humans should not become emotionally involved in
  their actions, but should concentrate on the
  actions alone, with no thought of their
  consequences
• This led to the emergence of four specific aims
  of human life

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Four Principal Aims of Life

• Obedience to religious and moral laws (dharma)
• The pursuit of economic well-being and honest
  prosperity (artha)
• The enjoyment of lifes pleasures (karma)
• The salvation of the soul (moksha/nirvana)
• A proper balance of the first three aims would
  help individuals attain moksha/nirvana

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• Hindu Gods
• Polytheistic Believe in more than one God
• What you do in this life affects the who you are
  in the next life, so live your life as the gods
  would want.

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Hindu Male Gods

• Principal Hindu gods are Vishnu, Shiva and Devi
• Vishnu evolved into a father-god who works
  continuously for the welfare of humanity
• Shiva a powerful god who represents the cosmic
  force of change, and the reconciliation of the
  extremes and opposites of violence and other
  forces

Shiva
Vishnu
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Hindu Female Gods

• The wives of Vishnu (Lakshimi) and Shiva
  (Parvati) are powerful goddesses, stemming from a
  worship of female gods as early as the Indus
  culture
• Devi a supreme Goddess, both tender mother and
  ferocious warrior wears a necklace of skulls and
  rides into battle on a lion
• She represents the creative power of the universe

Lakshimi and Vishnu
Dancing Devi
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Growth in the Popularity of Hinduism

• Hinduism gradually replaced Buddhism as the most
  prominent religion in India.
• Hinduism attracted popular support from the
  wealthy
• Guptan emperors and their supported Hinduism
• In India today Hinduism (and even the more recent
  faith of Islam) have completely eclipsed Buddhism

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Hinduism Today

• Most Indian Hindus today are devout followers of
  either Vishnu or Shiva, although there are
  thousands of Hindu gods, and animals like the cow
  are also considered as sacred
• Hinduism possesses no Bible or Koran nor does it
  have a single personal founder like Mahavira or
  Buddha
• There is no precise body of doctrine people are
  Hindu basically if they observe the rules of
  their caste

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• Most Hindis live in India and Southeast Asia
  today
• Ganges River Sacred place
• Scatter human and animal ashes

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