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Hinduism
World Religions
Chapter 3
Many Rivers to One Ocean
• Holy man Shri
Ramakrishna
• Emphasizes harmony
and tolerance
• Tolerance of other
faiths
Hinduism
• Beginnings date back to 2000 BCE
• No specific origin, rather consider the origin of tradition
• Origins linked to India
• Over 10,000,000 followers worldwide
• Most Sacred Text: Rig Veda
Hinduism
• 20th Century famous
Hindu Mahatma
Gandhi
• Revered Christianity
• Sermon on the
Mount one of his
favorite religious
texts
Worldly Realms and Divine
Beyond
• Hinduism has a much different perspective of reality
• Universe, human beings, and the divine
Liberation: Returning to the
Sacred Source
• Salvation through liberation is the ultimate goal
• Might not occur in one lifetime
• Hindu belief in reincarnation
• Hindu term for liberation- moksha
• Release from ordinary, finite limited realm
• Moshka means “release” in Sanskirt
The Divine: One Ultimate
Reality, Many Masks
• Hinduism perceives nature of the divine differently than
Christianity
• Believe that all reality is essentially one thing- monism
• God
• Universe
• Human beings
Monism: All is Brahman
• Monism is a doctrine
• Westerners:
• God is held to be both creator of world, but above and independent
of it
• Analogy of Monism:
• Rivers, lakes, droplets of rain share same essence
• Monists- all forms of reality share a common essence
• Brahman
Brahman
• Brahman is ground of existence and the source of the universe
• Only discoverable through profound contemplation
• True nature not revealed on the surface of things
• Impersonal
• Described in ancient texts (Upanishads) as neti, neti
• Not this, not that
• Brahman is beyond the reach of human perception and
thought
• Pure spirit
Upanishads
• Teach that ultimate reality can be understood through inward
contemplation of the self
• Ultimate reality within Atman
• The eternal Self
• Fundamental discovery of the Upanishads
• Brahman and Atman are one in the same
• Brahman is Atman; all reality is one
Polytheism
• The divine is thought ultimately to be one essence
• Yet believe in many gods and goddesses
• 330 million traditionally
• Regards gods and goddesses as extensions of one ultimate
reality
• Humans need accessible points of contact for the divine
• Each has personal characteristics
Hindu Cosmology
• Cosmology: an explanation regarding the nature of the
universe
• Hindu:
• Before considering what the universe is, must look at why the
universe is
Cycles of Creation
• Time and creation and ongoing axles
• Universe goes through long periods of creation and
destruction- repeats endlessly
• Evolves over and over again
Reincarnation
• Each individual is created and recreated until reaching moksha
• Doctrine (samsara) “wheel of rebirth”
• Individual recreated from one life form to another
• Most aspects of a personality not through to be transmitted
• Individuals cannot remember past lives
Reincarnation
• Occurs on all levels of
existence and other
worlds
• Human, animal and
some plants as well
• gods, goddesses,
titans and ghosts
• Wheels will continue
until moksha is
achieved
• Death a defeat?
Law and Order: Divine
Principles in the World
• Karma and dharma connect the divine world
• Principles form the crucial link between realm of samsara and
divine source
• By providing a basis for a moral life in this world, karma and
dharma penetrate the earthly spiritual significance
Karma
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Functions hand in hand with samsara
Determines the nature of reincarnation
Literal interpretation means “action” or “deeds”
Best understood as moral law- cause and effect
• Every action produces an outcome that is justified by the action’s
moral worthiness
• Permeates realm of samsara
• Karma secures a high degree of justice
Dharma
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Ethical duty based on the divine order of reality
Hinduism’s closest equivalent to our term of religion
Complete rule of life
Hindus look to four sources when seeking guidance about
dharma:
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Divine revelation
Sacred tradition
Practices and examples of those wisest in society
Conscience
• Strive to fulfill desires, limited by dharma
• Much in common with Christian unconditional love
Hindu Society
• Dharma is connected to social order
• Determines gender, caste, stage of life
• Women- obedience towards men
Caste System
• Division of society
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Brahmin
Kshatriya
Vaishya
Shudra
Caste System
• Caste system origins came from differences in skin color
• Aryan Invasion 2000 BC
• Control on gender:
• Men- occupation
• Women- who they can marry
• Outcasts
• Includes “untouchables”
• Based on heredity
• Karma justifies the caste system
Four Stages of Life
• Four stages of life, each with specific duties
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Student
Householder
Forrest Dweller
Sannyasin
Four Goals of Life
• Liberation from samsara is spiritual perfection
• Moksha is the ultimate goal of life
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Kama
Artha
Harmony with Dharma
Bliss of Moksha
Three Paths to Liberation
• Three great paths to moksha
• For the Active: Karma Marga
• For the Philosophical: Jnana Marga
• Vedanta
• Sankhya
• Yoga
• For the Emotional: Bhakti Marga
Yoga
Types of Yoga
Gods and Goddesses
• Deities form the heart of Hindu’s mythical dimension
• 330 million gods and goddesses
• Important triad:
• Brahma the creator
• Vishnu the preserver
• Shiva the destroyer
Avatars
• Incarnation or living
embodiment of a
deity, generally
Vishnu, who is sent
to earth to fulfill a
divine purpose
• Relationship
between the avatar
and the deity is
illuminated in the
Bhagavad-Gita
Bhagavad-Gita
• Acknowledges the
path of works and
path of knowledge
• Tends to favor the
path to devotion
• 700 verse scripture
Daily Devotion
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Households
Village
Holy places
Cow veneration
Modern Hinduism
• Contemporary Issues
• Caste System
• Women
• Hindus and Muslims
• Modern Hindu in India