Download WhICh3Sec3-Hinduism-2016

Ch3, Sec3-Hinduism
Great works of Indian religious
literature
• Hinduism does not have just one holy
scripture, like the Bible, but several.
Great works of Indian
religious literature
• Hinduism does not have just one holy
scripture, like the Bible, but several.
• Vedas: The Vedas are the oldest, and the
holiest, Hindu scriptures.
• There are 4 Vedas, of which the oldest is
the Rig Veda.
• The Vedas are collections of prayers and
hymns to the gods, composed orally by
the Indo-Aryans between 1500BC-1000BC
& passed down orally; eventually they
were written down in Sanskrit. They are
very poetic, and some parts are difficult to
understand.
UPANISHADS
• Upanishads: philosophical
writings that explain Hindu
thought, written beginning
about 700BC. They set forth
Hindu religious ideas more
clearly than the Vedas.
• They were passed down
orally at first, and then
written in Sanskrit.
Mahabharata
• Epics-long poems based on historical or
religious themes
• Mahabharata- a very long Hindu epic
about a war between two sets of cousins,
5 good brothers called the Pandavas, who
fight a way with their cousins, 100 evil
brothers called the Kauravas.
• It is an exciting story of heroes and
battles, but also contains philosophical
teachings about Hinduism.
• It represents the struggle of good against
evil.
BHAGAVAD GITA
• The Bhagavad Gita is a section of the
Mahabharata. It is the most famous
part, and often stands alone
• On the eve of the great battle, the
hero Arjuna is full of doubt, realizing
that he will be fighting his own
relatives.
• His charioteer is really the god
Krishna. Krishna reveals himself, and
explains to Arjuna the nature of the
universe.
Ramayana
• The Ramayana is another epic
story.
• It is about Prince Rama, and his
bride Sita. Sita is captured by a
demon and Rama rescues her.
• Rama and Sita became the role
models for men and women in
Hinduism.
CASTE SYSTEM
• As time went on, the caste system became more
elaborate.
• The four main varnas: Brahmins, Kshatryas,
Vaisyas, Sudras, were further divided into
subgroups called jati.
• A person was born into his caste, and could not
change it.
• People married and had their close social
relationships within their caste.
• Hindus believed that if a person of a lower caste
system lived a good moral life, doing his duty, he
would be reborn in a higher caste.
Caste system
• Below the 4 varnas, a fifth group, called the
Pariahs, or Untouchables developed.
• People avoided them, and they carried
clackers so others could get out of the way
• They did the lowest jobs, that were regarded
as unclean: skinning animals for leather,
cleaning sewers, etc.
• Today, the status of untouchability has been
abolished by law in India.
The parent religions
Judaism
• No historical founder
• No beginning date
• The scriptures were passed
down by word of mouth for
hundreds (thousands?) of
years before they were written
down
• Hebrew Bible composed
1500BCE-700’sBCE
• Hebrew Bible (Christian Old
Testament) written down
500’sBCE-700’sBCE
Hinduism
• No historical founder
• No beginning date
• The scriptures were passed
down by word of mouth for
hundreds (thousands?) of
years before they were
written down
• Veda’s composed 1500BCE?
• Vedas: written down
300’sBCE-500’sBCE.
Parent religions
Judaism
Hinduism
• There was nothing before God,
and there is nothing beyond
God.
• Evil is real, and it is the result
of human choices. God is
completely good. Humans
create evil.
• People only live once.
• The universe has been created
once.
• Beyond the Gods is an eternal
divine essence called Brahman.
All the individual Gods (as well as
our souls) are part of Brahman.
• What we think of as evil is really
more like a mistake. All mistakes
will eventually be corrected, in
this life or the next (or the next).
• When people die, they are
reincarnated.
• The universe has been created
and destroyed countless times.
Parent religions
Judaism
• Parent religion of
Christianity and Islam
Hinduism
• Parent religion of Buddhism
and Jainism.
HINDU BELIEFS
• Brahman: the divine essence that fills
everything in the universe. All the individual
Gods are part of Brahman.
• Atman: the essence of an individual person,
like a soul. The Atman is a little spark of
Brahman.
• Monism: term for the belief that all things (all
“real” things) in the universe are of one
essence, and this essence is the same as God.
Hindu beliefs
• Maya: the illusion of the world
around us. What we see around
us, the physical world, is an
illusion, that is, maya. We must
learn to recognize maya for what
it is.
• Reincarnation: rebirth in another
body, human or animal. If
someone lives a good moral life,
he will move up in the next life.
The whole cycle is called Samsara
Hindu beliefs
• Dharma: one’s moral duty in this present life.
• Karma: the good or bad spiritual force created by
a person’s actions, that follows you into your next
life. If you fulfill your dharma, you get good
karma, and move up in the next life. If you live an
immoral life, you may move down.
Hindu Beliefs
• Ahimsa: non-violence,
especially to all animate
beings
• Moksha: liberation of
the cycle of rebirth,
achieved when the soul
has achieved perfection,
and is reunited with
Brahman.
Hindu Gods
• The three most important
Hindu Gods are:
– Brahma, the creator;
– Vishnu, the preserver;
– Shiva (Siva), the destroyer.
All are part of Brahman, the
single divine essence.
• Sometimes Brahma is
thought of as all three;
sometimes Vishnu is
thought of as all three;
sometimes Shiva is thought
of as all three.
– Brahmin-a member of the highest caste (human)
– Brahman-the single divine essence
– Brahma-the individual God, usually thought of as
a member of the Hindu trinity.
Other Hindu Gods
• Ganesha-Elephant
deity riding a mouse.
• Durga-Mother
Goddess
• Shiva as
Nataraja, Lord
of the Dance
• Avatar: an
incarnation of a
deity
Hindu Beliefs
• Some people consider Hinduism polytheistic,
because if has many Gods
• Some people consider Hinduism monotheistic,
because all the Gods are part of the single
divine essence, Brahman
• Perhaps it is best to say Hinduism is monist,
which means that it believes that everything
in the universe (all really real things) are part
of the same divine essence).
Hindu religious practices
• Yoga-mental and
physical exercises to
free the mind of
thoughts about the
body
• Bathing in the Ganges
River
• Respect for all
animals, especially
cows
• Vegetarianism: many
Hindus are
vegetarians