This document provides information about a spring 2014 Hinduism course taught by Professor Deepak Shimkhada. It includes the professor's contact information, information about accessing course slides, an overview of key Hindu concepts like Dharma and symbols of world religions. It also summarizes Hindu scriptures, concepts of divinity, philosophical schools, and the concepts of samsara and karma in Hinduism. Key terms are defined and major Hindu gods and their consorts are described along with their functions.

1. Spring 2014
Professor Deepak Shimkhada, Ph.D.
Email: dshimkhada@gmail.com
Office hours: by appointment

2. SLIDE LINK
www.slideshare.net
Username: dshimkhada
Password: kalki3050

3. HINDUISM
Hinduism claims no founder, no seminal event, no
creed, no one textual authority.
This agelessness gives it a tremendous range of
expressions—from sensual to philosophical to ascetic.
It also accounts for its breadth of tolerance for variety of
understanding and practice expressed in the axiom
“Paths are many, truth is one.”

4. What’s Dharma?
Dhārayati dharma
What sustains is Dharma
Duty, law, justice, moral conduct, one’s nature, the
best possible course.
Way of living a virtuous life with emphasis on
proper conduct & behavior.
Sanatana Dharma = eternal law/religion

5. SYMBOLS OF WORLD’S ORGANIZED
RELIGIONS
Christianity (cross), Judaism (Star of David), Hinduism (the letter Om), Islam (Crescent Moon and Star), Buddhism
(Wheel), Shinto (torii), Sikhism (Khanda), Baha’I (Star) and Jainism (the hand standing for protection from Ahimsa)

6. Adherents or followers as of year 2000 census
Christianity 2.1 billion
Islam 1.3 billion
Secular/Atheist/Irreligious/Agnostic/Nontheist 1.1 billion
Hinduism 900 million
Buddhism 708 million (see also Buddhism by country)
Chinese folk religion 394 million
Primal indigenous ("Pagan") 300 million
African traditional and diasporic 100 million
Sikhism 23 million
Juche 19 million
Spiritism 15 million
Judaism 14 million
Bahá'í Faith 7 million
Jainism 4.2 million
Shinto 4 million (see below)
Cao Dai 4 million
Zoroastrianism 2.6 million
Tenrikyo 2 million
Neo-Paganism 1 million
Unitarian Universalism 800,000
Rastafari movement 600,000

7. The Vedas (the books of wisdom)
The Four Vedas
1) Rig
2) Sama
3) Ajur
4) Atharva
Believed to have existed from the beginning of time.
Preserved by creator God Brahma during the dissolution,
and then given to humanity when the world was
recreated.
Eternal = Sanātana

8. Saraswati River is mentioned in the Veda many times,
but not Indus.
Controversy of the myth of Aryan invasion
Conventional theory vs. new theory proposed by David Frawley (read his article)
(Hand out Fire Sacrifice article)

9. Shruti = that which is heard
Vedas and Upanishads = Shrutis
Smriti = that which is memorized
Sacred scriptures (Puranas; the
Epics—the Mahabharata and the
Ramayana—are classified as Itihasa =
history) authored by Rishis are Smritis.

10. Hierarchy of the Hindu pantheon
Brahman
(Tat)
Brahma
creator
Vishnu
Preserver
Shiva
Destroyer
Brahma Loka
Higher gods
Deva Loka
Lower gods (Deva)
Indra
King of gods
Soma, et al.
Agni
330 million gods
Varuna, Vayu, Surya, et al

11. While in deep meditation, the Rishis heard
the verses of the Vedas and “channeled”
them to other Brahmans (Brahmins) for
preservation.
Oral transmission, passed from teacher to
disciple.
Example of bringing several Brahmins to
complete a Veda.

12. Not to be confused between
1. Brahman and Brahmaṇa
2. Dharma and adharma
3. Shanti and ashanti
4. Himsa and ahimsa
“A” and “Na” change the words into a negative meaning

13. Vedas were orally transmitted.
Oral transmission, not written down, using
elaborate mnemonic system of preservation.
Verse in metric system, ideal for memorization,
each chapter committed to memorization by
each Brahmin.

14. VEDAS, CONTINUED
Emphasis on accuracy
Language of Veda: An archaic form of Sanskrit.
Rig Veda, a collection of 1017 hymns to a wide
assortment of gods arranged in 10 sections believed
to have compiled by Rishi Vyasha before 1500 BCE.

15. Sama is a selection of hymns taken from the Rig with a basic difference. The
hymns are melodious so that one can actually sing rather than chant.
Hymns from the Ajur are used for certain types of sacrifices ritualistic in form.

16. Atharva is practical. It contains magical formulas for a variety of useful
purposes, e.g. attracting lovers, subduing enemies, curing diseases, regulating
weather, etc.

17. THE VEDAS, CONTINUED
Samhita = collection, hence Vedas are a collection of 4
Samhitas (i.e. 4 Vedas)
Each Veda consists of three additional parts, viz.
Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads.

18. Samhita
Samhita
Rig Veda
Brahmanas
Sama Veda
Upanishads
Ajur Veda
Brahmanas
Aranyakas
Atharva Veda
Upanishads
Aranyakas
Brahmanas
Upanishads
Aranyakas
Brahmanas
Upanishads
Aranyakas

20. THE SO-CALLED CASTE SYSTEM (CHATUR
VARNA)
Mahapurusha
(Universal man)
Brahmana
Brahmin
Kshetriya
Vaishya
Shudra
Untouchables=Bhangi, Chamar, etc. (Harijans)
Varna = color/skin color/profession based on aptitude

21. The four castes (Chatur Varna, jat (jati) all came out of Mahapurusha’s body
Mahapurusha
Brahman
Head
Head
Profession
Warrior, ruler, royalty
Warrior, ruler, aristocrat
Kshetriya
Shoulder
Shoulder
Profession
Merchant, trader, farmer
Merchant, officer, farmer
Vaishya
Thigh Thigh
Shudra
Feet
Feet
Profession
Priest, teacher
Profession
Tailor, musicians, blacksmith
The untouchable
Harijan, Dalit

22. Caste is difficult to digest even for some
non-progressive Hindus.
My anecdote
It obviously is most troubling for the non-Hindus,
especially those who belong to the Abrahamic traditions.
How it was explained in the Vedic scriptures and how
it was practiced by the later Hindus, and how it is today
viewed and treated is another matter.

23. Not rigid as it sounds
Able to negotiate
Rules are there, but they can be broken
depending on situation
Manusriti by Manu (The Law Codes of Manu,
codes of conduct for the followers of Sanatana Dharma)

24. Brahma
Saraswati
Vishnu
Lakshmi
Shiva
Parvati
Parvati

25. Vahana = animal vehicle
Avatara = incarnation
Rupa = manifestation
Mudra = hand gesture
Asana = sitting/standing posture
Sansara/samsara = phenomenal world
Mokshya = liberation, freedom, release from
samsara, salvation

26. AVATARA
Vishnu’s 10 incarnations
Purpose: Yada yadahi dharmashya glanirbhavata Bharata,
abhyudhnamasya dharmasya tadatmanam srijam mahyem
1.
2.
3.
Fish (Matsya)
Non-human
Tortoise (Kurma)
Boar (Varaha)
4.
Man-lion (Narasimha)and underdeveloped human
Half-human
5.
Dwarf (Vamana)
6.
Parasurama
7.
Rama
Fully human
8.
Krishna
9.
Buddha
10.
Kalki (Messiah)

27. Krishna
Radha-Krishna

28. Saraswati

29. Three major Hindu gods and their functions:
Brahma creates (architect)
Vishnu preserves (tenant)
Shiva destroys (demolisher)
Each god has a female counterpart called Shakti
(energy)
A male god is not complete without his shakti;
in her absence, he is like a bulb w/o electricity.
Shiva will be Sava (a corpse) without the presence of
his energy, Parvati.

30. Sampradayi (Sectarian) marks, Tilaka

31. Two main centers of Indus Valley Civilization

32. The so-called proto-Shiva
Shiva as Pashupatinath

33. Shiva in meditation
At Mt. Kailasha
Located in Banglore

35. “Only when Shiva is united with Shakti does he have the power to create.”
Saundaryalahari by shankaracharya
Shiva w/Parvati
Shiva w/Parvati

37. Ardhanarisvara
Androgynous form
of Shiva
Auspicious
Inauspicious

38. Superstructure/shaft=linga
Ithyphallic Siva
Base=Yoni

41. The composition & meaning of OM
Past
Past
A
U
M
OM
Brahma
Present
Vishnu
Future
Shiva
The sound of OM is followed by a silence, and the silence is
reconnected with the sound, hence completing a full circle. Om is
composed of three letters, and yet it's not a word. The unique aspect
of Om is that it is monosyllabic. It is considered to be the sound of
creation, hence it's primordial.
Copyright © 2004 by Deepak Shimkhada, Claremont, California

42. What is Samsara?
Field of action
Every action has an equal reaction
Karma is based on the idea of action and
its consequence
Samsara

43. UPANISHAD
Atma(n)=self
Brahman=Absolute being, ultimate reality,
essence of everything.
Brahman is formless, can’t be seen, can’t be described,
can’t be measured, it’s fathomless. And YET it’s
everywhere.
Is it dark matter?
Is it God?
What is it?

44. Nirguna Brahman
Saguna Brahman

45. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF HINDUISM
Dvaita (two), dual, duality
Samkhya (Sankhya)
Purusha (Male), and Prakriti (Nature, i.e. female)
Advaita (no two), non-dual, non-duality
Shankara
Brahman (neither male nor female)
When Purusha comes too close to Prakriti, the
equilibrium of the three gunas is disturbed, effecting
Prakriti to manifest into multitudes of elements.

46. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE GODDESS
Three Gunas
1. Sattva (goodness, purity, harmony, centering),
2. Rajas (activity, energy, motion, passion)
3. Tamas (dullness, inertia, going out of balance)
When Prakriti is activated,
unfolding of creation takes place.
The diverse forms of Samsara are
manifestations of Prakriti.

47. Once the gunas cease to be effective,
Prakriti returns to its original state of equilibrium.
And Purusha and Prakriti are once again separate from
each other, like the lotus flower withdrawn from the
mud.

48. Example of a placid lake

49. Purusha and Prakriti
Prurusha=Self/spirit/consciousness
Perceiver, Seer, Unmanifest
Prakriti=Matter/Nature/manifest reality
Perceived, Seen
Manifest or material world is not unreal
Hence Parakrit is false
What is real is Purusha

50. Samkhya: Reasoning for Dualism
Samkhya literally means “enumeration.”
By analyzing and classifying, things can be
discriminated from each other, and finally they
can be enumerated, identified and qualified.

51. Purusha is eternal, unchanging, inactive, conscious &
ontologically identical w/ultimate truth.
Prakriti is distinct from Purusha, it’s eternal as Purusha,
but is eternally changing, active and unconscious.
Prakriti is characterized by three gunas (qualities): sattva
(goodness, purity, harmony, centering), rajas (activity,
energy, motion, passion), and tamas (dullness, inertia,
going out of balance)

52. Prakriti is a cause of all things that are felt by the five
senses.
The original source of the world of experience is closely
related to the concept of nature.
In samkhya the effect is logically linked with the cause.
Hence the nature of causality and a particular cause is an
inherent feature of the material world.

53. Prakriti is female/earth, material or tangible aspect of
Purusha (the unseen being, Atman).
Purusha is male/sky, spiritual or intangible aspect of
the being.
In Samkhya, Purusha and Prakriti are equal,
but independent in their roles. They complement
each other and work in harmony like the Yin and
Yang, Shiva and Parvati.
Evidence of teleological structure in Nature.

54. Some instinct of Purusha directing in the design of
Nature, the way in which the things are arranged as in
teleology.
Prakriti playing part in the phenomenon of nature of
material cause
Purusha without Prakriti is inactive while Prakriti
without Purusha is undirected
Without Purusha there is no soteriological release from
the material body, i.e. Prakriti

55. They have to work together to be able to operate
in the world, and neither could be the source of
the other.

56. SAMSARA & KARMA(N)
Vedic concept of heaven.
This is where gods live.
In the Upanishad, heaven isn’t the goal.
Liberation, mokshya is.
Liberation from birth and rebirth (samsara)
The wheel of life
Transmigration—84k life cycles

57. Maha Yugas
The smallest cycle. A maha yuga is 4,320,000 human years. Each maha yuga
is subdivided into the following four ages:
Satya Yuga (also called Krita Yuga)
This first age is 1,728,000 human years. Also known as the Golden Age or age of
Truth. The qualities of this age are: virtue reigns supreme; human stature is 21 cubits;
lifespan is a lakh of years, and death occurs only when willed.
Treta Yuga
This second age is 1,296,000 human years. Also known as the Silver Age. The
qualities of this age are: the climate is three quarters virtue and one quarter sin; human
stature is 14 cubits; lifespan is 10,000 years.
Dvapara Yuga
This third age is 864,000 human years. Also known as the Bronze Age. The qualities
of this age are: the climate is one half virtue and one half sin; lifespan is 1,000 years.
Kali Yuga
The fourth and last age is 432,000 human years. Also known as the Iron Age. This is
the age in which we are presently living. The qualities of this age are: the climate is
one quarter virtue and three quarters sin; human stature is 3.5 cubits; lifespan is 100 or
120 years.

58. CONCEPT OF TIME IN HINDUISM
Hinduism is the only religion that postulates the idea
of life-cycles of the universe.
It suggests that the universe undergoes an infinite
number of deaths and rebirths.
Four time cycles: Satya (Krita), Treta, Dwapara, Kali

59. The Hindu Time Cycles is equal to 4.32 billion years, a
"day of Brahma" or one thousand Mahayugas,
measuring the duration of the world (scientists estimate
the age of the Earth at 4.54 billion years).
Each Kalpa is divided into 14 Manvantara periods,
each lasting 71 Yuga cycles (306,720,000 years).
Preceding the first and following each Manvatara period
is a juncture (Sandhya) the length of a Satya-yuga
(1,728,000) years.

60. Two kalpas constitute a day and night of Brahma.
A "month of Brahma" is supposed to contain thirty
such days (including nights), or 259.2 billion years.
According to the Mahabharata, 12 months of Brahma
(=360 days) constitute his year, and 100 such years
the life cycle of the universe.
Fifty years of Brahma are supposed to have elapsed,
and we are now in the shvetavaraha-kalpa of the
fifty-first; at the end of a Kalpa the world is
annihilated.

61. HINDU UNIVERSE
“Hinduism is the only religion in which the time
scales correspond... to those of modern scientific
cosmology.
Its cycles run from our ordinary day and night to
a day and night of the Brahma, 8.64 billion years
long, longer than the age of the Earth or the Sun
and about half the time since the Big Bang.”
- Carl Sagan

62. STAGES OF LIFE (ASHRAMA)
There are 4
1.
2.
3.
4.
Brahmacharya (celebacy, student)
Grihastya (householder)
Vanaspratha (retirement, forest dweller)
Sanyasa (renouncer)

63. PURSUIT OF LIFE
There are 4
1. Dharma
2. Artha
3. Kama
4. Mokshya

64. ATMA(N)=SOUL
Because the defiled Atma is subject to negative
thoughts and unfulfilled desires, it wants to return to
the world to fulfill them by taking another body.
If the soul is pure, untouched by any desires, it will be
set free to return to the universal soul (Para-Atman)—
which is luminous, pure & unstained—from which it
originally came from.

65. Atma(n)=soul
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SOUL WHEN THE BODY DIES?
Because the soul is trapped into an individual’s
body, it is colored or stained by the individual’s
negative thoughts and desires.
Thus, when the
material body dies, the soul (Atman) is not
allowed to set free from the Samsara.

66. Sacred Tulsi plant in front of
a
Hindu house

68. Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur, also known as
Rajarajeswaram, India's largest temple and part of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site "Great Living Chola
Temples.

72. Jagannatha Temple in Puri, Orissa, Ratha Yatra

73. The Subrahmanya temple at Saluvankuppam, near Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu. The brick
shrine dates to the Sangam period and is one of the oldest Hindu temples to be unearthed

75. Chennakesava Temple of Vishnu at Belur,
Karnataka, India

76. Kedarnath Temple dedicated to Shiva in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

77. The tower (gopuram) of the Kapaleeswar Temple, a
complex in Chennai, Tamil Nadu

78. Hindu temple in Bali, Indonesia, designed as an open-air space for conducting rituals

81. Chandeswari temple, Kathmandu, Nepal

85. Janaki Mandir of Janakpur, a center of pilgrimage where the wedding of Rama and Sita as
vivaha festival is re-enacted

89. Brahma in Pushkar, Rajasthan

92. Kamakhya, outside of temple

93. Chidambara temple

120. Brahma
Saraswati
Vishnu
Lakshmi
Shiva
Parvati

121. Three major Hindu gods and their functions:
Brahma creates (architect)
Vishnu preserves (tenant)
Shiva destroys (demolisher)
Each god has a female counterpart called Shakti
(energy) and is given an animal vehicle to travel.
A male god is not complete without his shakti;
in her absence, he is like a bulb w/o electricity.
Shiva will be Sava (a corpse) without the presence of
his energy, Parvati.

122. Only when Shiva is united with Shakti does he have the power to create - Saundaryalahari
Shiva w/Parvati
Shiva w/Parvati

123. Radha-Krishna

124. Ganesha

125. Cham
Cham Museum Danang - Central Vietnam

126. … Vishnu became infuriated, and Shiva, too, with furrowed brows
and twisted faces. Then from Vishnu's face, filled with rage, there
came forth a great fiery splendor (tejas), and also from the faces of
Brahma and Shiva.
And from the bodies of all the other gods, Indra and the others,
came forth a great fiery splendor, and it congealed into a single
form. A stupendously fiery mass like a flaming mountain the
gods saw there, filling the firmament with flames. That matchless
splendor, born from the bodies of all the gods, came together in a
single place, pervading all the worlds with its luster, and it became
woman. -Devi Mahatmya (2.8 - 12)

127. Mt. Kailash—the abode of Shiva

128. Durga as
Mahishmardini
Durga

130. Goddess Siddha Lakshmi with Kali

131. Yakshi

134. Goddess Ganga (Ganges River)

137. Lunar cycle of the Goddess (PMS?)

138. Painting
of Kali
by
James
McPartlin

139. The composition & meaning of OM
Past
A
U
M
OM
Brahma
Present
Vishnu
Future
Shiva
The sound of OM is followed by a silence, and the silence is
reconnected with the sound, hence completing a full circle.
Om is composed of three letters, and yet it's not a word. The
unique aspect of Om is that it is monosyllabic. It is considered
to be the sound of creation, hence it's primordial.
Copyright © 2004 by Deepak Shimkhada, Claremont, California

141. Sanctum of a temple
Garbha griha (womb chamber)
Dark and small
No windows
Having only one opening like the
womb of a woman
Pradkshina (circumambulation)
Clockwise
Eastern orientation (from where the sun rises)

142. PLAN OF A HINDU TEMPLE
ARCHITECTURE
A temple is the abode of god(s)
Designed after the shape of a tall mountain so that it can be
seen from distance
Points to the heavens
Gods descend from the heavens to the earth
Stands on a sacred ground
Must have presence of water for purification
Hence, ideally built on the banks of a river, sea, ocean, or lake.
If there is no source of water, then water is brought to the
temple precinct

143. TEMPLE
It may be dedicated to one god, but a devotee would
find other gods as well since many Hindu gods are the
manifestation of one God, i.e. Brahman
A devotee announces his arrival by ringing the bell
hung in front of the temple door
Like ringing a door bell when we visit a friend’s home

147. Prambanan, ( also known as Lorojonggrang Temple ) in Indonesia
dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva

148. Nagushi temple, Goa

149. Elevation of
the Khandesvara temple in Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, Central India

150. From ancient times Hindu sages meditated in the Himalayan caves. (The
Sanskrit term is guha.) Upanishads refer to caves as shelters where yogis
practice, and also use cave imagery in depicting the presence of the sacred in
the human heart.
The sacred is "the primeval one that is hard to perceive, wrapped in mystery,
hidden in the cave, residing within the impenetrable depth.“ Normally our
attention is drawn to the world around us, but "entering the cave of the heart,
one sees the one who was born prior to heat and waters, the one who has seen
through living beings." The nature of this consciousness is described in the
Upanishads as Being, Awareness, Consciousness, and Bliss—sat-chit-ananda.
Though beyond description, people describe it as "large, heavenly, of
inconceivable form; yet it appears more minute than the minute.
It is farther than the farthest, yet it is near at hand; it is right here within those
who see, hidden within the cave of their heart." In the Upanishadic view the
All—the One—is found in the secret recess, in the cave in the heart. There one
finds the inner core of sacred being, the Atman (Self) which is one with
Brahman (infinite formless consciousness). To experience this inner light and
be established in it is the goal, mokshya, of a Hindu.

154. Hindu temple of Greater Chicago

156. Hindu temple on the bank of the Ganges River
in Varanasi (Benaras/Banaras)

157. Ritual bathing in Banaras

163. Making of the image
Eye opening ceremony
Consecration (prana pratistha, infusing life into the
image)
North Indian vs. South Indian temple style
Nagara (N. Indian w/Shikhara) vs. Dravida (S.
Indian) w/gopura(m), vimana(m)
Assembly hall

164. HINDU TEMPLE
N. Indian is based on square plan, whereas Dravida is
based on assembly hall (mandapa) and a tall gateway
(gopura)
South Indian type is more elaborate and is planned as a
city than the North Indian temple