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Hinduism

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions, originating in India over 5,000 years ago. It is polytheistic, believing in many personal deities but also an impersonal ultimate reality called Brahman. Hindus believe that atman, the soul, is identical to Brahman but trapped in the cycle of samsara through continual rebirth due to karma from past actions. The goal of Hindu practices is to be released from this cycle and reunite with Brahman, achieving moksha. There are four major yogas or paths to achieving this: karma, jnana, raja, and bhakti yoga.

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Marrie Antoinette
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94 views17 pages

Hinduism

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions, originating in India over 5,000 years ago. It is polytheistic, believing in many personal deities but also an impersonal ultimate reality called Brahman. Hindus believe that atman, the soul, is identical to Brahman but trapped in the cycle of samsara through continual rebirth due to karma from past actions. The goal of Hindu practices is to be released from this cycle and reunite with Brahman, achieving moksha. There are four major yogas or paths to achieving this: karma, jnana, raja, and bhakti yoga.

Uploaded by

Marrie Antoinette
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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One of the oldest religions of humanity

The religion of the Indian people


Gave birth to Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism
Tolerance and diversity: "Truth is one, paths are
many"
Many deities but a single, impersonal Ultimate
Reality
A philosophy and a way of life focused both
on this world and beyond
No particular founder
Indus River Valley Civilization >5000 years ago
Aryans enter 4000 - 3500 years ago
Vedic Tradition 3500 2500 years ago:
rituals and many gods (polytheism)
sacred texts (Vedas)
social stratification (caste system)
Upanishads (metaphysical philosophy) 2800
2400 years ago
Vedic Tradition develops into Hinduism
Shruti (heard) oldest, most authoritative:
Four Vedas (truth) myths, rituals, chants
Upanishads - metaphysical speculation
Plus other texts
Smriti (remembered) the Great Indian Epics:
Ramayana
Mahabharata (includes Bhagavad-Gita)
Plus others
One impersonal Ultimate Reality Brahman
Manifest as many personal deities
True essence of life Atman, the soul, is
Brahman trapped in matter (That art thou)
Reincarnation atman is continually born into
this world lifetime after lifetime (Samsara)
Karma spiritual impurity due to actions keeps
us bound to this world (good and bad)
Ultimate goal of life to release Atman and
reunite with the divine, becoming as one with
Brahman (Moksha)
Respect for all life vegetarian
Human life as supreme:
Four stations of life (Caste) - priests &
teachers, nobles & warriors, merchant class,
servant class
Four stages of life student, householder,
retired, renunciant
Four duties of life pleasure, success, social
responsibilities, religious responsibilities
(moksha)

The Four Yogas - seeking union with the divine:
Karma Yoga the path of action through
selfless service (releases built up karma
without building up new karma)
Jnana Yoga the path of knowledge
(understanding the true nature of reality and
the self)
Raja Yoga the path of meditation
Bhakti Yoga the path of devotion
Guru a spiritual teacher, especially helpful for
Jnana and Raja yoga
Bhakti Yoga is seeking union with the divine
through loving devotion to manifest deities
In the home (household shrines)
In the Temples (priests officiate)
Puja making offerings to and decorating the deity
images
Darsan seeing the deity (not idol worship)
Prasad taking the divine within your own being
through eating of food shared with the deity
the major gods of the Hindu Pantheon
Brahma, the creator god
the major gods of the Hindu Pantheon
Vishnu, the preserver god
Incarnates as ten avatars (descents) including:
Rama (featured in the Ramayana)
Krishna (featured in the Mahabharata)
(Each shown with his consort, Sita and Radha, respectively)
the major gods of the Hindu Pantheon
Shiva, god of constructive destruction
(the transformer)
Appears as Shiva Nataraj,
lord of the dance of creation
and with his wife, Parvati, and son Ganesha
(the elephant headed remover of obstacles)
Devi the feminine divine
Saraswati, goddess of wisdom, consort of
Brahma
Devi the feminine divine
Lakshmi, goddess of good fortune, consort
of Vishnu
Devi the feminine divine
Parvati, divine mother, wife of
Shiva
Devi the feminine divine
Durga, protectress
Kali, destroyer of demons
Plus about 330 million other deities
All these deities are but
Manifest forms (attributes
and functions) of the
impersonal Brahman
Hinduism is about recognizing the all pervasiveness of the divine
The Hindu Universe: Lots of information on Hinduism and the
Hindu community on-line and around the world. Includes chat
rooms and message board forums - www.hindunet.org
The Virtual Hindu Temple: Contains some interesting and useful
pages including: Discover Hindu Gods & Goddesses and
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT HINDUISM. Also
contains a gallery of deity images and a collection of links to
Hindu sacred texts online and other sites related to Hinduism -
www.rajdeepa.com/vmandir/vmandirindex.htm
Hinduism for Schools provides basic, introductory info to teach
primary and secondary level students about Hinduism -
www.btinternet.com/~vivekananda/schools1.htm

Created by Laura Ellen Shulman

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