Download File - Mrs. Jackson`s Classes 2013-2014

Hinduism Outline:
I.
Founder:
A. When was it started? C 2000 B.C.E
B. Why was it created? It started out as the religion of ancient people known as the Aryans.
The Aryans philosophy, religion, and customs were recorded in their sacred texts known as
the Vedas. The texts were then handed down by teacher to students. Later after, they were
actually written down and presented. Evidence shown that Hinduism is the world's oldest
living religion. But the exact way of creation cannot be determined but people have a pretty
good idea.
C. Where did it first originate? How did it expand early on? India. The Aryans sacred texts
were taught by teacher to students and expanded starting in school from teaching by being
written down and presented.
D. What was going on in this area of the world at that time? In 2000 BCE the civilization of the
Indus Valley was declined. The Kurgan culture spread to eastern Europe and northern Iran.
II.
Who are the major leaders/prophets of this religion?
A. What are their roles? Hinduism differs from Christianity and other monotheistic religions in
that it does not have:
- A single founder
- A specific theological system
- A single concept of deity
- A single Holy text
- A single system of morality
- A central religious authority
- The concept of a prophet
B. What are the names of the God(s) of this religion? How are they viewed? What are they
like? Most forms of Hinduism are henotheistic religions. They recognize a single deity, and
view other gods and goddesses as manifestations or aspects of that supreme god.
C. What is the role of the God(s) They believe they have gods for almost everything; sun,
earth, water, sky, etc.
III.
What are the basic beliefs of this religion?
A. Codes for living/rules? They have a strict code of conduct with 10 restrictions and 10
observations. Basic rules like don’t cheat, don’t steal, don’t lie, and others like what they can
and can’t eat and when they can eat it. They are allowed to eat on regular hours. They
aren’t allowed to eat meat, eggs, or fish and they can only accept food that have been
offered.
B. What practices should followers abide by? Followers should abide by the code of conduct I
mentioned above.
C. What are the holy days/important dates? Importance? What do followers do on these
holidays? Hindu holidays:
- Holi: Festival of Colors
- Rama Navami: birthday of Lord Rama
- Krishna Jayanti: birthday of Lord Krishna
- Raksābandhana: renewing bonds between brothers and sisters
- Dassera: victory of Rama over demon king Ravana
- Forty days of penance, July to August. This is forty days of time from the ruler to give
their reply. During this time, men cannot shave, they can’t wear any new clothing, no
sleeping on bed only on floor, and soap and oils could not be used. The Hindu prayed to
their river God to come and help them as well as fasting and singing songs in the praise
of the God. During this time, men went and stayed with other men.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
D. What is the holy book(s) for the religion? How is it used? Hindu’s main holy book is
Bhagavad-Gita, they also have a few other books Ramayana, and Veda.
E. Name and describe the important symbols of the religion. What do they represent?
- Aum: represents 3 worlds, 3 gods, and 3 sacred Vedic scriptures
- Lotus: represents beauty and non-attachment
- Trishula: emblem of the god Shiva
What are the divisions/sects/denominations/branches of this religion?
The main denominations of Hinduism are Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism.
These four denominations may share rituals, beliefs, and traditions, but each denomination
has a different philosophy on how to achieve life's ultimate goal, Atma Jnana (selfrealization). There are also smaller denominations, and newer movements
Are the roles for men and women in this religion different historically? Women had to throw
themselves on their husband’s funeral pyre, is a pile of burning wood for the dead body, if their
husband died before them. Women also lived outside and were not allowed inside the house
with the men. Girls would train themselves to become complete scholars and youthful, then
look into marriage. Parents would gift their daughter with intelligence and the power of
knowledge when she leaves for husband's home.
A. Do gender roles differ today in this religion? Today, women are not allowed to wear a bindi
or a sari after their husband dies. Men express their love by grooming his wife between the
fourth and seventh months of pregnancy. They also welcome the newborn with blessings by
placing ghee, which is butter made from the milk of a buffalo or cow used in Indian, and
honey on the newborns tongue.
What is the view of afterlife?
Their view on afterlife is that you are reborn over and over again till you do not have any more
karma. After you get rid of your Karma you are released and then you do not rebirth again
How and where has this religion spread over time? Hinduism and Buddhism exerted an
enormous influence on the civilizations of Southeast Asia and contributed greatly to the
development of a written tradition in that area. About the beginning of the Common Era, Indian
merchants may have settled there, bringing Brahmans and Buddhist monks with them.
828,000,000 follow Hinduism
Timeline of important historical events. Why?
- 5th cent. BCE: Buddhism and Jainism founded in India. This just added more religions to
the area and taught other traditions.
- 2500–1500 BCE: The Indus River Valley civilization developed. This was the start of
practicing of Hinduism.
- 1000–300 BCE: The Brahmanas and Upanishads are written and added to the original
Vedas. This is just some more texts added to the Hindu text.
- 326 BCE: Alexander the Great brings his army and the influence of Greek civilization into
the northernmost regions of India. The Indian Mauryan Empire is created to counter this
Greek invasion of culture and ideas.
- 400–500 CE: Hinduism returns as the dominant religion of India. Temples and
monuments are built to honor Hindu ideas, gods and beliefs. This event expanded the
religion and its beliefs.
What current issues are taking place today with this religion?
A. Have any crises taken place recently that can be correlated back to this religion?
X.
- Poverty
- Role of women
- Child marriage
- Sati
- Polygram
- The dowry system
Interesting Information:
A. (Jamie)
- Word Hinduism is from the river Sindhu which was pronounced by Persians as Hindu,
The region of the Indus valley is called Hindustan, and the religion of the Indus valley is
called Hinduism.
- Hindu’s believe that after life you rebirth again and again.
- Hinduism is the oldest religion among the existing larger religions.
- Temples are the places where hindu’s worship and many people have rooms in their
houses for worship.
- Buddhism, Jainism, Sikkhism originated from Hinduism, all these religions share lots of
common philosophies
- Cows and elephants are the main two animals.
- Fully blossomed Lotus flower is used a symbol of enlightenment, also as the symbol of
open heart
- Touching water is accepted as spiritual, it is believed that the water has positive
vibrations and also the ability to pass it on.
Sources:
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Hinduism.html
"Library." Hinduism Origins, Hinduism History, Hinduism Beliefs. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
http://www.uri.org/kids/world_hind_basi.htm
"URI Kids :: World Religions." URI Kids :: World Religions. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2014.
http://www.ancient.eu.com/india/
"India." Ancient History Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2014.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism.htm
"HINDUISM: The World's Third Largest Religion." HINDUISM: The World's Third Largest Religion. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.
http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/holidays.htm
"Hindu Holidays & Festivals." Hindu Holidays and Festivals. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
http://www.ramakrishnananda.com/en/our-mission/hinduism-code-of-conduct/
"Hinduism Code of Conduct." :: Prabhuji Official Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/symbols/lotus.htm
"The Lotus Symbol in Hinduism." Lotus. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.
http://genderrolesinreligion.blogspot.com/2013/04/hinduism-3rd.html
"Gender Roles/Women in Religion." : Hinduism (3rd). N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalio
"Chalio." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 Jan. 2014. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_rights_of_women_in_history#Hindu_law
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.