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Hinduism Complex and Overlapping • No single founder • No single sacred text • No single start-date – Hinduism probably began to form when Aryans combined their religious beliefs and gods with the gods of the Indus civilization – Later people added their own gods, beliefs, and traditions Brahman • One underlying force – “God is one, but wise people knowit by many names” – Everything is part of an unchanging, all-powerful spiritual force called brahman – The various Hindu gods giver concrete form to brahman – Each god can take many forms Most important gods • • • • Brahma: The Creator Vishnu: The Preserver Shiva: the Destroyer Shakti: powerful goddess that is both kind and cruel; a creator and a destroyer Brahma Vishnu Shiva Shakti Sacred Texts • Hindu teachings recorded in the Vedas • Upanishads: section of the Vedas that answer questions related to Hinduism • Bhagavad-Gita: literary work that represents Hindu beliefs Main Beliefs • Atman: every person’s essential self (either the same as brahman or a form of brahman) • Ultimate goal of existence: achieve moksha (union with brahma) • To achieve moksha, people must free themselves from selfish desires, because selfish desires keep them away from brahman • Most cannot achieve moksha in one lifetime, which is why they get many chances… More Main Beliefs • Reincarnation: belief that a soul is reborn after death into another bodily form • Soul can be reborn into any sentient (thinking) being – Can be a human or an animal – Can’t be a plant, because a plant can’t make selfish or unselfish decisions • In the new body, the soul keeps working toward moksha • Dharma: religious and moral duties of an individual… if it’s followed, progress can be made towards moksha More More Main Beliefs • A person comes closer to moksha by obeying the law of Karma • Karma: actions of a person’s life that affect his or her fate in the next life • All existence is ranked Brahman – Bad karma leads to Being reborn at a Lower level! - Good karma Leads to a higher Level! Humans Animals Plants Rocks Hinduism Today • Most Hindus are vegetarians… why? • Many Hindus are nonviolent (all people and things are forms of brahman and must be respected) • One of the most famous Hindus was Mohandas Gandhi, who lead a nonviolent protest against British rule in India. He’s often referred to as “Mahatma,” which is a Hindu word meaning “Great Soul” • About 14% of the world today follows Hinduism… that’s 950 million people!