HINDUISM.pptx

Oldest and most complex of all
world religions. Hinduism has no single
founder, no single scripture , and no
commonly agreed set of teachings.
Writers and Religious scholars often
refer to Hinduism as a “way of life” or a
“family of religions.”

This symbol is a sacred syllable
representing Brahman, the impersonal
absolute of Hinduism- omniponent ,
omnipresent , and the source of all manifest
existence.
Aum or Om

Is the first god in the hindu
Triumvirate called “trimurti”
or the “triune god”. The
trimurti consists of three
god who are responsible for
the creation, upkeep, and
destruction of the world.
Bhramana’s job was creation
of the world and all
creatures. He is the creation
god in hindu belief.

Is the second God in
the hindu triumvirate or
trimurti Vishnu is the
preserver and the
protector of the universe.
His role is to refum to the
earth in troubled times
and restore the balance
of good and evil.

Is the third god in the
triumvirate. Shivas role is
to destroy the universe in
order to re create it. Known
as the Most powerful god in
Hindu pantheon

The term Hindu originated from the Persian
word hindu(in Sanskrit sindhu) which means
“river”. It also refers to the people of the Indus
Valley the indians (Bowker 1997). The name
Hinduism was given in the nineteenth century
to describe the wide array of belief system in
India. Hinduism was orginally known as “Arya
Dharma” or the “Aryan Way”.

The earliest known origin are found in the
Indus Valley Civilization (before 2000 BCE)
with which shares some religion practices
including rituals, beliefs, and goddesess
worship. Although Hinduism believes in one
supreme Being, it is condisidered polytheistic
because its concept of god:

Aryan conqueros moved to the Indus
valley and brought with them their set of
belief that eventually mingled with the
religion of the natives and based on oral
texts known as VEDAS. This Vedic
literature, was chiefly composed at the
time the Aryans had already settled in
India and blended with the natives. They
began to settle into cities while local
leaders started organizing small kingdoms
for themselves (Hopfe 1983).

Firstly, the Aryans brought with them a
polytheistic religion similar to that of other Indo-
European peoples. The sun, the moon, and the
storms are personified in reference to the
pantheon of gods and goddesses worshipped by
aryans .
Certain Fundamental Assumptions About
The Aryan Religion

Secondly, sacrifice was the principal
form of worship to the aryan gods.
Offering to gods include animals and
dairy products perform on altars in
open spaces. Since aryans were
nomadic, they had no temples(Hopfe
1983). In general, Hinduism has Pre-
Aryan and Aryan elements that date
back to ancient times.

The sacred writing of Hindus
are categorized into two, the
shruti and smiriti.

Shuruti literally means “that which is heard”.
They are regarded as eternal truths that we are
passed orally until the beginning of the present age
wherein there came the need to write them down
(Bowker 1997). The four collections of texts of the
VEDAS from the shuruti are considered primary
sources and the most authoritative texts of the
Hindu faith. Other writings that form part of
shuruti include the Samhitas, Brahmanas,
Upanishads, and a few Satras.

The Vedas are the earliest known sanskrit
literature from the Brahamanic period to Oldest
scriptures of Hinduism. The earliest hymns may
have been written around 2000 BCE or before the
arrival of the aryans in the Indus Valley area.
Hindus believe that the texts were received by
scholars direct from God and passed on to the next
generations by word of mouth. Vedic texts called
“shuruti” which means “hearing”. For hundreds, or
maybe even thousands of years, the text were
passed on orally.

THE FOUR VEDAS
1. The Rig Veda is the most important
and oldest book that dates back to
around 1500 BCE to 1200 BCE. Apart
from being the oldest work of literature
is an Indo- European languange, it is
also the oldest living religious literature
of the world. (Parrider, 1971). It is the
collection of thousand hymns and more
than thousand verses dedicated to the
aryans pantheon of gods.

2. Yajur- Veda or the “knowledge of rites” is the
second book. Composed between 1200 BCE to
1000 BCE, this book is a compilation of materials
recited during rituals and sacrifices to deities.
3. Sama- Veda or the “knowledge of chants”. Dating
back almost the same time as the Yajur Veda, this
book is a collection of verses from the basic hymns
recited by priests during sacrifices.
4. Artharva- Veda or “knowledge given by the sage
Atharva”. This book contains rituals used in homes
and popular prayers to gods. It contains numerous
spells and incantations for medical purposes and
magical aids to victory in battle among others.

Each Vedas consists of four main parts the
Mantras, Brahamanas, Aranyakas, and
Upanishads. Mantras are hymns and chants for
praising god. Brahamanas are explanations of
the Mantras with detailed descriptions of the
sacrificial ceremonies related to them.
Aranyakas are meditations that explicate their
meaning.

Upanishads or secret teachings transcend
rituals to elucidate the nature of universe
and human’s connectedness to it. The many
teachings embedded in the Upanishads are
called Vedanta and these are terming with
spiritual truths.

UPANISHADS
Literally translates as “sitting down near” or
“sitting close to” as it implies listening intently
to the mystic teachings of a spritual teacher
who has fully understood the universal
truths. It could also mean “brahma-
knowledge “ whereby ignorance is totally
eliminated. Within these amazing collection
of writings that were transmitted orally
through generations.

The great Indain nationalist and philosopher
Sri Aurobindo described the Upanishads as
the “supreme work of the Indian mind”.
Varrying the length from one page to over
fifty pages,all fundamental eachings and
concepts about Hinduism are found in these
profound treatises such as karma (action),
samsara (reincarnation) Moksha (nirvana),
Atman (soul) and Bhraman (absolute
almighty).

Smiriti
Literally means “that which has been
remembered”. Most of these text are sectarian in
nature and considered of lesser importance
compared to shruti, such as stories and legends,
codes of conduct for the society and guidebooks for
worship. The great epics Ramayana and Mahabrata,
which contain the philosophical poem Bhagavad
Gita are part of smriti. These are national epics of
India and considered to be sacred texts of the masses
where they draw their values and ideals (Brown
1975)

The great epics Ramayana and Mahabrata,
which contain the philosophical poem
Bhagavad Gita are part of smriti. These are
national epics of India and considered to be
sacred texts of the masses where they draw
their values and ideals (Brown 1975)

The Ramayana, translated as the “story of
rama” or “rama’ journey”, is a sanskrit epic
poem written by the poet Valmiki consisting
of 24,000 verses in seven books and 500 cantos.
This great epic was written between 200 BCE
and 200 C.E. Central to the story is Rama, a
prince who was born in Ayodhya.

In the epic you find out about his wife sita
and his battle with the demon ravana. Rama
kills ravana and reunites again with sita. They
return to Ayodyha and rama crowded as ideal
king. Rama and sita are the epitome of perfect
man and woman. Ravana symbolizes ambition
and greed resulting in cosmic disorder and
degradation of women and family.

It composed around one hundred thousand
verses making it the world’s longest poem. The
Mahabrata tells of a great struggle among the
descendants of a king called Bhrata, a name
used by many Indians to mean
“india”(Coogan,2005). Two families are at
war, the Pandavas, who represent good and
the Kauravas who embody evil (Brown,
1975).

About 100,000 couplets and 1.8 million
words in total, this poem is about four times
longer than the Ramayana, eight times longer
than the Bible. Along with the Bible and
Q’uran, the Mahabrata ranks in importance
among the sacred writings of various world
religions. It is an epic vision of the human
condition, such as intrigue, romance ,
duplicity, moral collapse , dishonour , and
lamentations

A celebrated episode within the Mahabrata
is the Bhagavad Gita( or simply Gita) which is
translated as “ The lord’s Song”. Considered
as one of the holliest books by the Hindus , the
Gita is a 700 verse narrative of a dialogue
between the Pandava prince Arjuna and the
guide-Cousin krishna. The Gita instructs any
person that any person that one may reach
god through devotion, knowledge, or selfless
action (Coogan, 2005).

Humans must do their duty or dharma
whatever it may be and whatever results it
could produce. The Gita is considered the
layman’s Upanishads because the difficult
teachings of the Upanishads are presented
here in a manner that commoners can
understand.

1.Devotion to the Trimurti
2.Routes to Moksha

• “Three forms” which is the Brahma the creator, Vishnu
the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer.
• Brahma receives the least attention among the
trimurti. Infact there are only 2 temples
dedicated to him in India. (Hophe,1983). He is not
worshipped in the same way as other gods,
because he has done his task and will not come to
his own until the next creation of the universe. (
Bowker, 1997). Brahma has four heads and eight
hands.

BRAHMA chief consort is
Saraswati the goddess of
science and
wisdome.Brahama’s vehicle is
a swan or goose which
symbolizes “KNOWLEDGE”

• VISHNU primary concern
humanity itself. The
creation is withdrawn to a
seed whenever he sleeps
but rises again
• As he wakes up. He is
worshipped I various
forms of his incarnations
or avatars.
• Vishnu has four arms and
a dark complexion. The
Blue color in his body.

• Vishnu consort is
Lakshimi, the
goddess of
fortune.
• Seated on a lotus
between two
elephants with
their trunks
raised above her.

• Shiva the destroyer,
god of death ,
destruction and
disease.
• God’s of dance,
vegetable , animals
and human
reproduction.

Shiva has many consorts that
express his characters. The Most
Terrifying is KALI wearing a
garland of Human skulls, tearing
the flesh of sacrificed victims and
drinking blood. Kali is the subject
of intense devotion and also kali is
the ferocious form of consorts
Durga and Parvati. Durga is a
powerful goddess created from
the combined forces of the anger
of several gods. However, Parvati
the daughter of the sacred
mountain Himalaya and goddess
of love, fertility, and devotion.

Moksha refers to the ultimate goal
of Hindu believer. Every soul dies and
is reborn anew in new form (this
cycle is called samsara).

1. Karma (action)
Karma is action. Usually good or bad actions
that affect society. For Hindus karmic actions in the
past affect us today and our actions today affect our
soul’s future.
2.Moksha (nirvana)
The goal in Hindu life is to somehow get back to
Bhraman. If a Hindu can do this they will be freed
from cycle of life and death. This is called Moksha.
You can achieve moksha by realising your oneness
to Bhraman. Hindus pray “Lead me from the unreal
to the real”

3. Atman (soul)
Belief in an immortal individual soul. In
Hinduism soul’s are known as Atman. Action of the
soul while in a body have effects on that soul’s next
life. When you die your soul moves to another
body. This is called transmigration. The kind of the
body to the soul is determined by karma.
4. Samsara (reincarnation)
The cycle of birth and rebirth.

Within every human is an eternal soul or
Atman that is being reborn many times and in
various forms in accordance to the moral law
of karma. A soul may escape the cycle of
rebirth and attain moksha. This particular
liberation can be achieved through four yogas
that involve a system of practices aimed at
producing spritual enlightment.

The word yoga is derived from the root
word yuj which translates as “to yoke” or “to
join”. The philosophy of yoga was developed
by the sage Patanjali who lived in the second
century. He is considered as the “father of
modern yoga” as he codified the teachings of
yoga in his Yoga Sutra (Hophe 1983}

For all Hindus, there are four desirable goals
of life or purushartha. These are dharma (the
appropriate behaviour} , artha (the pursuit of
legitimate wordly success} , karma (the pursuit
of legitimate pleasure} , and moksha ( release
from rebirth}. By faithfully performing duties
in social and family life, this involves one
person pursuin artha or appropriate wordly
prosperity and material well being.

A person must also rightfully satisfy the
demand for enjoyment and pleasure or
karma. In all gods, one must be guided by
rightneousness of dharma toward
achieving moksha. A person who
achieves moksha while in life is free soul
or jivan- mukta.

•Jnana Yoga
•Bhakti Yoga
•Karma Yoga
•Raja Yoga

• The way of
knowledge.
• The path of
knowledge
,wisdom ,
introspection , and
contemplation.

• The Way of Love
• The path of
devotion ,emotion
, love , compassion
and serve to God
and others.

• The way of work
• The path of action,
service to others,
mindfulness, and
remembering the
levels of our being
while fulfilling our
actions or karma in
thw world.

• The way of meditation
• The path of meditation
that directly deals with
the encountering and
transcending thoughts
of the mind.

Hindu scriptures state that there are 330
million gods or devas. These include
manifestations of natural phenomena, evil
forces, and even illnesses. Others are
venerated humans or town deities. Hindu
worship or puja involves images (murtis} ,
prayers (mantras} and diagrams of the
universe (yantras}.

Integral to Hindu worship are the sacred
images and temples believed to house
and represent the deities. These images
can be revered in homes or temples with
a host of intermediary priests, holy men,
and religious teachers.

Most Hindus worship individually involving
mantras or vibrating sounds that summon the
deity and the prasad or gift offerings. Vital to
Hindu worship is darshan the pertaininng to
seeing and being in the presence of deity. In
temples, ceremonies may be in the form of
offering a flame, milk or honey, and even
reciting chants and music. While worship may
be undertaken any day of the week. Thursday
is considered to be the most opportune day.

Hindus celebrated a number of festivals
that are based on the Hindu calendar and
often related to seasonal changes. Main
festivals include Holi, Diwali, and Dusserah.
The Diwali or “festival of Lights “ is Indias
biggest and most important holiday of the year
held in October or November that is similar to
the Christmas holiday of the Christians.
Indian lights outside their homes to
symbolize the innder light of the that
safeguards the people from evil forces.

The Diwali or “festival of Lights “ is Indias
biggest and most important holiday of the
year held in October or November that is
similar to the Christmas holiday of the
Christians. Indian lights outside their
homes to symbolize the innder light of
the that safeguards the people from evil
forces.

• Month of September
• A celebration of the triumph of good
over evil, in honor of Durga of Rama
• Month of March
• The national celebration of spring and New
Year

• Festival of Lights
• Month of
December or
November

• Month of
March
• The national
celebration of
spring and
New Year

• Celebration of
the triumph
of good over
evil in Honor
of Durga or
Rama

Subdivisions
Followers of Hinduism vary in their set of
beliefs and practices, including reverence to a
particular god. Presently, there are four
principal denominations within the Hindu
faith. These are Shaivism, Shaktism,
Vaishanism, and Smartism. It is important to
note, however that while these gods have
different names. Hindus all worship one
supreme being.

Each set has its own religious leaders,
sacred text, schools and temples. While
there is indeed variety and key
differences among sects, adherents of
these denominations share the
pervading beliefs concerning karma,
dharma, reincarnation, and other key
Hindu concepts and philosophy.

Shaivism
Lord Shiva, the Compassionate One, is God for
the salvites. Followers of shaivism value- discipline
and philosophy. They worship in temples and
practice yoga.
Shaktism
The Goddess Shakti is supreme for Shaktas. She
is divine mother and assumes many forms, be it a
gentle one or a fierce deity. Believers use chants,
magic, and yoga to summon cosmic forces.

Vaishanism
Lord Vishnu is God for the Vaishavites, especially
in his incarnations Krishna and Rama. Adherents
have multitudes of saints, temples, and sacred text.
Smartism
For the Smartas, devotes are left to choose their
own deity in one of six manifestations.; namely
Ganesha, Siva ,Shakti , Vishnu, Surya, and Skanda.
Smartas are known as liberals as they embrace all
major Hindu gods.

Hinduism And Women
Even though the Manusmriti of the “ Laws
of Manu” stated that women should be
honored in Hindu society, woemn have always
been considered inferior to men in almost all
aspects of life.

A woman’s life revolves around the men in her
life, to be taken care of by her father in
childhood, by her husband in married life,
and by her sons upon old age. Thus, women
are relegated to performing household chores
and are expected to become loyal to their
husbands, even after their husbands die.

In traditional society women are expected to
perform sati or sutee wherein widowed
women expected to jump on the funeral pyre
of their husband to prove their loyalty and
help save the soul of their husband in the
afterlife. In spite of the fact that sati was
already demolished by the British in India,
these are still cases of sati being reported in
modern times.

Caste System
The Caste System in one major
distinguishing feature of Indian culture that
still affects modern-day society. A system of
social class composed of the Bhramanas,
Ksatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras ,
opportunities are based upon family origin.
One person belong to a caste by being born
to parents of that particular caste (Hopfe
1983).

The Caste System begin to divide into
thousands of castes that are sometimes
based on occupations. A person’s diet ,
vocation , and residence , are dictated by
the caste where he or she belongs.

The most deplorable group are those persons
that do not belong to any group– those that
are disparagingly called as “outcast” or
“untouchables”. Also known as dalits, they are
highly ostracized in the society. They perform
the most menial of jobs, such as street
sweepers, latrine cleaners , and handlers job of
the dead.

These jobs received the lowest wages and
have the most appaling living conditions. The
teachings of Hinduism can be justified the
status of the outcastes. Their present
condition may have been caused by their
accumulated karma from the past. By
fulfilling their duties and accepting their
dharma, they may be born to a better caste in
their next lives.

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