This document provides an overview of a course on Understanding the Religions of India taught in spring 2014. It introduces some key concepts in Hinduism such as dharma, the Vedas, avatars of gods like Vishnu and Shiva, and philosophical schools like Samkhya. It also discusses the concepts of samsara, karma, various Hindu time cycles, and introduces some other Indian religions briefly. The instructor is Deepak Shimkhada and it provides contact information and online resources for the course.

1. LDT3001/4001
UNDERSTANDING THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA
SPRING 2014
CLAREMONT LINCOLN UNIVERSITY
PROFESSODEER
DEEPAK SHIMKHADA, PH.D.
EDEEPAK SHIMKHADA,PH.D.
EMAIL: DSHIMKHADA@GMAIL.COM
OFFICE HOURS: BY APPOINTMENT
TEACHING ASSISTANT
JAMIE MILLS

2. LECTURE LINK
www.slideshare.net
Username: dshimkhada
Password: kalki2050

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
Brahman and Brahmaṇa
Dharma and adharma
Shanti and ashanti
Himsa and ahimsa
A and na change the words into a negative

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

23. 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.

24. • 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)

25. Brahma
Saraswati
Vishnu
Lakshmi
Shiva
Parvati
Parvati

26. • 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

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

28. Krishna
Radha-Krishna

29. Saraswati

30. 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.

31. Sampradayi (Sectarian) marks, Tilaka

32. Two main centers of Indus Valley Civilization

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

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

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

38. Ardhanarisvara
Androgynous form
of Shiva
Auspicious
Inauspicious

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

42. 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

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

44. 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?

45. • Nirguna Brahman
• Saguna Brahman

46. 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.

47. 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.

48. • 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.

49. Example of a placid lake

50. Purusha and Prakriti
• Self/spirit/consciousness vs.
matter/Nature/manifest reality
• Perceiver and perceived, seer and seen
• Unmanifest and manifested
• Manifest world is not unreal

51. 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.

52. • 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)

53. • Prakriti is a cause of other things
• 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

54. • Prakriti is female/earth, material or tangible aspect of Purusha,
the unseen being.
• 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.
• Evidence of teleological structure in Nature

55. • 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

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

57. 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

58. • 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.

59. 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

60. • 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 Satyayuga (1,728,000) years.

61. • 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.

62. 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

63. STAGES OF LIFE (ASHRAMA)
There are 4:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Brahmacharya Brahmachari
(celebate/celibacy—student)
Grihastya (householder)
Vanaspratha (retirement, forest dweller)
Sanyasa –Sanyasin (renouncer)

64. PURSUIT OF LIFE
There are 4:
•
•
•
•
1. Dharma
2. Artha
3. Kama
4. Mokshya

65. 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.

66. 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.

67. Sacred Tulsi plant in front of
a
Hindu house

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

73. Jagannatha Temple in Puri, Orissa, Ratha Yatra

74. 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

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

77. Kedarnath Temple dedicated to Shiva in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

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

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

82. Chandeswari temple, Kathmandu, Nepal

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

90. Brahma in Pushkar, Rajasthan

93. Kamakhya, outside of temple

94. Chidambara temple

121. Brahma
Saraswati
Vishnu
Lakshmi
Shiva
Parvati

122. 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.

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

124. Radha-Krishna

125. Ganesha

126. Cham
Cham Museum Danang - Central Vietnam

127. … 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)

128. Mt. Kailash—the abode of Shiva

129. Durga as
Mahishmardini
Durga

131. Goddess Siddha Lakshmi with Kali

132. Yakshi

135. Goddess Ganga (Ganges River)

138. Lunar cycle of the Goddess (PMS?)

139. Painting
of Kali
by
James
McPartlin

140. 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

142. HINDU TEMPLE
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)

143. 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

144. 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

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

149. Nagushi temple, Goa

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

151. 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.

155. Hindu temple of Greater Chicago

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

158. Ritual bathing in Banaras

164. MAKING OF AN ICON
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

165. 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