Hinduism is one of the oldest religions originating in India over 1500 BCE. It is a diverse set of traditions that believes in reincarnation and working to achieve moksha or liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Hindus worship many gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and see them as aspects of the single divine Brahman. They follow dharma or righteous living and believe one's karma or accumulated actions affect their situation in future lives. Key practices include yoga, following gurus, and pilgrimages to holy sites like the Ganges river. The caste system and festivals like Diwali are also important parts of Hindu traditions.

1. HINDUISM

2. Introduction to Hinduism
There is only one God, but
endless are his aspects and
endless are his names

3. What is Hinduism?
• A philosophy and a way of life – focused both
on this world and beyond
• Tolerance and diversity: "Truth is one, paths are
many"
• One of the oldest religions of humanity dating
back to 1500 BCE

4. What is Hinduism?
• A religion that began in India.
• The religion of the Indian people
• Gave birth to Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism
• There are 750 million Hindus in the world
today.

5. Location of Hindus
The vast
majority
of Hindus
live in
India and
Nepal

6. Origins: The Aryans
• An Indo-European people.
• Migrated to India in about 1500
BCE from the Caucus Mountains.
• Brought the Vedas.
• No single founder-combination of
beliefs

9. Sacred Texts
• Vedas and Upanishads
• Rig Veda: Hinduism’s oldest text
nearly 4000 years old

10. Goal of Hinduism
• Moksha: release or liberation from the
endless cycle of rebirth (reincarnation).
• Infinite bliss and
awareness
• United forever with
the divine

11. Reincarnation
• Samsara: constant cycle of rebirth.
• Death is not final for Hindus they expect to
be reborn many times.
• People may be reincarnated at a higher or
lower level of existence depending on their
karma from their present life.
• People may be reborn as plants or animals or
they may be elevated to a higher caste as a
human.

12. Karma & Dharma
• Karma: Total of good and bad actions a
human soul carries with it from life to life.
• Karma determines all the particular
circumstances and situations of one’s life.
• Dharma: system of rules and values that
Hindus follow in their everyday life
• Atman

13. Festivals and Holy Days
• No set day of the week is holy-each days has its
possibilities
• Religious festivals may be solar or lunar-lunar
is preferred
• There are 125 special days in the Hindu year
with Diwali being an extra special celebration.

14. Diwali-Festival of Lights

15. Caste System:
Four major castes
• Brahmin: priests
• Kshatriya: warriors and administrators
• Vaishya: farmers, merchants, teachers, artisans
• Sudras: servants, laborers
• Untouchables lived outside the caste system.
Their presence was considered harmful.

17. Places of Worship
Hindu temples exist but Hinduism is
usually practiced in the home where
there is usually a shrine dedicated to a
favored deity

18. Shrines

19. Temples

20. The Ganges River
Falling from Its source of Vishnu’s feet onto
Shiva’s head and out from his hair, the water of
the Ganges is sacred enough to purify all sins.

22. The Major Gods Of Hinduism
Brahma:
the creator god
Vishnu:
the preserver god
Shiva: god of destruction/
transformation so that new
can be created

23. Sacred Cow of India
• Milk holds a central place in religious rituals.
• In honor of their exalted status, cows often
roam free.
• A citizen can be sent to jail for
killing or injuring a cow.

24. Banaras - Hindu’s Holy City
• Pilgrims come from all over to bathe in the
Ganges.
• Countless Hindus come to die
• 1500 temples, most of them devoted to Shiva.
• It is a gathering place for the religiously learned
and their disciples.

25. What are the spiritual practices of
Hinduism?
• Yogas: seeking union with the divine
• Guru: a spiritual teacher

26. Gandhi: The Father of India
• For Gandhi, social concern was
deeply rooted in his conviction
of the sacredness of life.
• Gandhi believed that human
beings should strive to live as
simply as possible since
overindulgence often meant
that others may have to do
without their basic needs.
• Gandhi was assassinated by a
Hindu fanatic on January 30,
l948 as India was gaining its
independence.

27. Shudras
Vaishyas
Kshatriyas
Brahmins

28. Ms Stewart’s Rhyme
If you follow dharma then you will have
good karma the maybe in one of your lives
you will achieve nirvana!

30. What do Hindus believe?
• 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)

31. ‘’GROUP 5’’
~KIRBY A. ASUBAR
~MILLER A. GADITANO III
~ZANDRO B. SALLOMAN
~SOFIA PAGHUBASAN