Download GEOGRAPHYS The World and Its People Historical Atlas of

GEOGRAPHYS The World and Its People
Glencoe & McGraw-Hill
Historical Atlas of Religions
Karen Farrington
Discovery Channel (Streaming videos)

Introduction

History

Tenants

The word Hinduism simply refers to the term “India”
and the wide variety of religious traditions and
philosophies that follow.

The worlds 3rd largest religion with approximately
one billion followers concentrated mostly in India.

Hinduism is a collection of thinking past down for
thousands of years initially by word of mouth and
then eventually written.
Current form starts in India
around 1500 B.C.
 Hard to define
 Polytheistic (sort of)
 Brahman – the supreme
spirit divided into 3 (or
more) Devas (gods)
 Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva

Hinduism contains a hierarchy of gods that
are known and recognized by the core of
its followers, but they are very accepting of
any and all gods.
 It is not uncommon for a Hindu to
encounter a god they have not heard of; in
fact, when asked how many gods there are
in Hinduism, a common answer is nine
hundred million: one for each Hindu.


Brahma
› the Hindu god (deva)
of creation

Not the same as
Brahman
Vishnu
 The maintainer and preserver

Shiva
 The destroyer or
transformer

Atman – the soul or true self is indistinct
from Brahman
 Caste – your place in the social
structure
 Karma and Reincarnation – your
actions in this life affect the caste you
will be born into in your next life after
you are reincarnated
 Moksha (nirvana) – loss of individuality
to become completely reunited with
Brahman

4 Castes or “varnas”(really 5)
 1st) Brahmins – teachers, scholars,
priests
 2nd) Kshatriyas – kings and warriors
 3rd) Vaishyas – agriculturists and
traders
 4th) Shudras – service providers and
artisans
 5th) Dalits - untouchables




This cycle refers to action, reaction, birth, death,
and rebirth as a continuum. Reincarnation.
To truly escape this cycle one must realize one’s
eternal relationship with God or Brahman.
Eventually one will realize their atman, soul, is
identical to the Brahman, the supreme God.
To do this Hindus must have correct prayer and
worship, behave in a moral way to ones self, family
and society, and follow three principle paths:
devotion, action, and knowledge.
Hindu practices
generally involve
seeking
awareness of
God and
sometimes also
seeking blessings
from Devas
 Many shrines
and icons

Shruti – ancient
texts such as the
Vedas
 Smriti – epics
such as the
Bahgavad Gita

Hindu religion is based
on their scriptures
called the Vedas.
Hindu’s believe the
Vedas were
composed by
Brahma (God) himself
at the creation of the
world.
 According to the
Vedas the human
soul is a portion of the
supreme ruler.

 Dharma: Fulfilling one’s purpose in life, this
usually refers to someone’s occupation
 Artha: pursuit of wealth and prosperity.
 Kama: pursuit of marriage.
 Moksha: The ultimate end of every Hindu's
life is moksha, which can be understood in
a variety of ways: liberation from rebirth,
enlightenment, Self-realization, or union with
God. This is considered to the be the
highest purpose of life, although very few
can achieve it.
This entails surrendering to a personal
god or goddess and putting
unquestioned faith in the Brahman.
 The final goal is to break the cycle of
Samsara.

Literally translates into “work” or “deed”
 Many Hindus see it as the moral law of
cause and effect.
 What you do in this life, whether it be
physical actions or moral beliefs, will
effect what happens to you in the next
life.

Knowledge learned from guru about the
nature of Atman, Brahman, and the
universe.
 This knowledge will break the bonds of
attachment to the material world,
leading to liberation.

Much of the worship takes place at home
and is a part of everyday life.
 Individuals create a shrine of their God or
Gods of choice and perform mantras, or
prayers, expressing their devotion to God.
 Visiting temples to worship is not an
obligation, in fact it is common for followers
to only attend temple for festivals or special
events.

Major Celebrations:
• Largest religious festival in the world in the
Kumbh Mela in India. 70 million attend
• Diwali – Festival of lights in October or
November. Believe Shiva…reincarnated as
Rama returned after his exile and people
lite their houses to celebrate his victory
over evil.
• Holi – celebrates the
victory of truth over
falsehood (dance and
music). During
harvest time.