This document provides an introduction to world religions, beginning with an overview of major religions to be covered which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Islam, Shinto, early African religions, Judaism, Confucianism, and Taoism. It then discusses various definitions of religion before providing more details on the origins and beliefs of Hinduism, including its concepts of Brahman, Atman, karma, samsara, and the paths of moksha. The summary concludes with some common questions and answers about Hindu beliefs and practices.

1. Introduction to World Religions
Class One

2.  Hinduism
 Jainism
 Buddhism
 Islam
 Shinto
 Early African Religions
 Judaism
 Confucianism
 Taoism

3.  What are your definitions of Religion?

4.  Defining the word "religion" is fraught with difficulty.
Many attempts have been made. Most seem to focus
on too narrowly only a few aspects of religion; they
tend to exclude those religions that do not fit well. As
Kile Jones wrote in his essay on defining religion:
 "It is apparent that religion can be seen as a
theological, philosophical, anthropological, sociological,
and psychological phenomenon of human kind. To
limit religion to only one of these categories is to miss its
multifaceted nature and lose out on the complete
definition."

5.  Some exclude beliefs and practices that many people
passionately defend as religious.
 Some definitions equate "religion" with "Christianity," and thus
define two out of every three humans in the world as non-
religious.
 Some definitions are so broadly written that they include beliefs
and areas of study that most people do not regard as religious.
 Some define "religion" in terms of "the sacred" and/or "the
spiritual," and thus require the creation of two more definitions.
 Sometimes, definitions of "religion" contain more than one
deficiency.

6.  Barnes & Noble (Cambridge) Encyclopedia (1990):
 "...no single definition will suffice to encompass the
varied sets of traditions, practices, and ideas which
constitute different religions."
 Webster's New World Dictionary (Third College
Edition):
 "any specific system of belief and worship, often
involving a code of ethics and a philosophy."

7.  The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1990):
 "Human recognition of superhuman controlling power
and especially of a personal God entitled to obedience”
 Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary:
 "a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with
ardor and faith."

8.  William James: "the belief that there is an unseen
order, and that our supreme good lies in harmoniously
adjusting ourselves thereto."
 Alfred North Whitehead: "what the individual does
with his own solitariness."
 Jerry Moyer: "Religion is a system of beliefs by which a
people reduce anxiety over natural phenomena
through some means of explication.“
 Paul Tillich: "Religious is the state of being grasped by
an ultimate concern"

9.  Clifford Geertz defined religion as a cultural system:
 "A religion is a system of symbols which acts to establish
powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and
motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a
general order of existence and clothing these
conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the
moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.”
 Karl Marx: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed
creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of
soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people."

10. Religion is any specific system
of belief about deity, often
involving rituals, a code of
ethics, a philosophy of life, and
a worldview.

11.  The origin of religion can generally be traced to the
Ancient Near East and classified in three basic
categories: polytheistic, pantheistic and
monotheistic.
 Atheism is really a modern belief that resulted from
the "Enlightenment" period of the 18th century.

12.  Polytheism (a belief in many gods)
 Originated with Hinduism in about 2500 BC. Hindu
beliefs were recorded in the Bhagavad Gita, which
revealed that many gods were subject to a supreme
Brahman god.
 Polytheism was also the religion of many other ancient
cultures, including Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, Greece
and Rome.

13.  Pantheism (a belief that all is God)
 The belief that the universe itself was divine was typified in
the Animism beliefs of the African and American Indian
cultures, the later Egyptian religion under the Pharaohs,
and Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism in the cultures
of the Far East.
 Pantheism is the principle that god is everything, and
everything is god. Therefore, nature is also part of god. We
must be in harmony with nature. We must nurture it and
be nurtured by it. Humankind is no different than any
other animal. We must live in harmony with them,
understand them, and learn from them, focusing on the
relationship between humankind and the elements of
nature.

14.  Monotheism (a belief in one God)
 Foundation of the Judeo-Christian-Muslim line of
religions, which began with a man named Abraham in
about 2000 BC.

15.  c. 2000 BC: Time of Abraham, the patriarch of Israel.
 c. 1200 BC: Time of Moses, the Hebrew leader of the Exodus.
 c. 1100 - 500 BC: Hindus compile their holy texts, the Vedas.
 c. 563 - 483 BC: Time of Buddha, founder of Buddhism.
 c. 551 - 479 BC: Time of Confucius, founder of Confucianism.
 c. 200 BC: The Hindu book, Bhagavad Gita, is written.
 c. 2 to 4 BC - 32 AD: Time of Jesus Christ, the Messiah and
founder of Christianity.
 c. 32 AD: The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
 c. 40 - 90 AD: The New Testament is written by the followers of
Jesus Christ.
 c. 570 - 632 AD: Time of Muhammad, who records the Qur'an as
the basis of Islam.

16. History and Beliefs

17.  Founder: None
 Creed/Doctrine: None
 Sacred Texts: The Vedas (bodies of knowledge), The
Brahmanas, The Aranyakas, The Upanishads, The
Mahabharata, The Ramayana, The Code of Manu, The
Puranas and The Yoga Sutras
 Summary: God is both within being and object in the
universe—and transcends every being and object; the
essence of each soul I divine; and the purpose of life is to
become aware of that divine essence.
 The many forms of worship ritual and meditation in
Hinduism are intended to lead the soul toward direct
experience of God or Self

18.  Polytheistic - one which worships multiple deities: gods and
goddesses.
 Monotheistic religion, because it recognizes only one
supreme God: Brahman, that all reality is a unity.
 Trinitarian because Brahman is simultaneously visualized
as a triad:
 Brahma, the Creator
 Vishnu, (Krishna) the Preserver and
 Shiva, the Destroyer
 Henotheistic religion -- a religion which recognizes a
single deity, but which recognizes other gods and goddesses
as facets or manifestations or aspects of that supreme God.

20.  Vishnu, (Krishna) the Preserver, who preserves
these new creations.
 Whenever dharma (eternal
order, righteousness, religion, law and duty)is
threatened, Vishnu travels from heaven to earth in one
of ten incarnations.

21. Shiva, the Destroyer, is at times compassionate,
erotic and destructive.

22.  URBAN HINDUS
 Most urban Hindus follow one of two major divisions
within Hinduism:
 Vaishnavism: which generally regards Vishnu as the
ultimate deity
 Shivaism: which generally regards Shiva as the ultimate
deity.

23.  RURAL HINDUS
 Many rural Hindus worship their own village goddess
or an earth goddess.
 She is believed to rule over fertility and disease -- and
thus over life and death.
 The priesthood is less important in rural Hinduism:
non-Brahmins and non-priests often carry out ritual
and prayer there.

24.  For Hindus, which specific god or goddess you worship
doesn’t matter much, because all are just visible
expressions of the one ultimate unseen reality:
BRAHMAN

25.  Atman is the inner self, the ‘soul’ that is reincarnated.
Atman is the part of god in every living thing.
 The purpose of life is to unite Atman with Brahman

26.  Hindus believe in the
repetitious Transmigration
of the Soul. This is the
transfer of one's soul after
death into another body.
 This produces a continuing
cycle of birth, life, death
and rebirth through many
lifetimes.
 This cycle is called samsara.

27.  Karma is the accumulated
sum of ones good and bad
deeds.
 Karma determines how
you will live your next life.
 Through pure
acts, thoughts and
devotion, one can be
reborn at a higher level.
Bad deeds can cause a
person to be reborn as a
lower level, or even as an
Animal/insect.

28.  The main goal for those who renounce the world is:
 Moksa or liberation from "samsara," This is uniting
Atman with Brahman. Moksa is considered the
supreme end of mankind.

29.  Building good karma: The Way of Action
 Fulfill your responsibilities, be honest and fair, treat
others with compassion.
 Building good karma: The Way of Devotion
 Intense dedication to worship of a god
 Offerings are given to assist the poor
 Other activities include daily devotions, public
rituals, and puja, a ceremonial dinner for a god.
 Building good karma: The Way of Wisdom
 Meditation is often practiced, with Yoga being the most
common. The goal of meditation is to help break-
through the Maya and to seek Brahman.

30.  Method of keeping us in control of
our body, mind and actions
 One must master these four types of yoga
 Jnana yoga – the path of knowledge
 Bhakti yoga – the path of devotion
 Karma yoga – the path of action
 Raja yoga – the path based on control of one’s actions and thoughts
 Having learnt these, the body can be detached from the
soul.
 Achieve union with the supreme self or God.
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31.  According to Mahatma Gandhi, love, sacrifice
and truthfulness leads to comfort and pleasure
in everyday life.
 Gandhi’s use of nonviolence was a strong weapon in
achieving India’s independence
 Pluralism
 Hinduism promotes not only tolerance and respect for differences
in belief and religion, but also acceptance of those paths as
legitimate
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32.  Hinduism has a deserved reputation of being highly
tolerant of other religions.
 Hindus have a saying: "Ekam Sataha Vipraha Bahudha
Vadanti," which may be translated: "The truth is
One, but different Sages call it by Different Names"

33. 1. Why does Hinduism have so many Gods?
 Hindus all believe in one Supreme God who created many
Gods, highly advanced spiritual beings, to be His helpers
2. Do Hindus believe in reincarnation?
 Yes, we believe the soul (without body) is immortal and takes
birth again and again. (samsara)
3. What is Karma?
 Karma is the universal principal of cause and effect. Both good
and bad karma not only decide our fate (sorrow and happiness)
in the present life, but also in future life.
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34. 4. Why do Hindus worship the cow?
 By honoring this gentle animal, who gives more than she
takes, we honor the creatures as well.
5. Are Hindus idol worshipers?
 We worship God through the image so that we can commune
with Him and receive His blessings.
6. Are Hindus forbidden to eat meat?
 Hindus teach vegetarianism as a way of life to not hurt living
creatures.
7. Do Hindus have a Bible?
 Our “Bible” is called the Veda which means “wisdom” and
which reveals the word of God.
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35. 8. Why do many Hindus wear a dot near the middle of
their forehead?
 It represents a divine sight and shows that one is a Hindu.
9. Are the Gods of Hinduism really married?
 It is true that God is often depicted with a spouse in traditional
stories, a symbol of love between husband and wife.
10. What about caste and untouchability?
 Caste is the hereditary division of Indian society based on
occupation (priests, warriors, business people, and workers).
The lowest caste, untouchables, suffer from discrimination. It is
now illegal in India.
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36.  Women and Men: must cover
arms and legs
 One should remove shoes
before entering the main
sanctuary
 You sit wherever you wish on
the floor
 Priests conduct the service
 Silence is expected from all
present during the
ceremony, except during
chanting.
 The Bhagavad-Gita is used
during many services