Download What is Hinduism?

Introduction
to South Asia
A look at cultural influences
on contemporary literature
India
The name India comes from the Sanskrit word
sindhu which was used to identify the ancient
civilization in the Indus Valley.
This word became sinthos in Greek and then
sindus in Latin.
Corrupted to indus (means river), it was
applied to what constitutes today's Pakistan.
Subsequently, it was again modified to India
to refer generally to the land of river basins
and clusters of peoples from the Indus River
in the west to the Brahmaputra River in the
east.
India
India, the world's seventh largest country, has an area
of 1,269,340 sq. miles which represents 2.2 percent of
the total land area of the planet (57,900,000 sq mi).
India has an estimated population of 1,095,351,995 as
of July 2005 (17% of the world total), the world's
second largest country in population after China.
There was an increase of 19,100,000 people from
2002 to 2003.
In 2000, India had 1,002,100,000 people, while in
1920 the population of the country was
250,000,000.
The population of the country quadrupled in 80 years.
The Ganges-Brahmaputra and Indus River systems are
crucial lifelines for hundreds of millions of people.
Principal Cities of South Asia
Mumbai (Bombay)
11,914,398
Delhi
9,817,439
Karachi
4,901,627
Kolkata (Calcutta)
Bangalore
4,580,544
4,292,223
Chennai (Madras)
Dhaka
Ahmadabad
3,515,361
Hyderabad
3,449,878
4,216,268
3,637,892
Lahore
2,707,215
Poona (Pune)
Kanpur
Lucknow
2,540,069
2,540,069
2,207,340
Nagpur
2,051,320
Faisalabad
1,104,209
-
2,000,000
4,000,000
6,000,000
8,000,000
10,000,000
12,000,000
14,000,000
Languages
India has many, many languages. In 1947, the Indian
subcontinent had 550 princely states, 900 separate
dialects and 15 major languages.
The two major linguistic families are the IndoEuropean and the Dravidian. Languages that are
members of the Indo-European family are spoken in
the central and northern parts of the country, and
languages that belong to the Dravidian family are
spoken in southern India.
Dravidian languages are spoken by about 25 percent of
the Indian population. They include Telugu, Tamil,
Kannada, and Malayalam.
Today India has fourteen official languages including
____________________________________________.
Culture
Southern Asia Is marked by strong cultural
regionalism.
Division is largely based on religious differences
between Moslem dominated and Hindu
dominated regions.
The ______________ is the most important river
of South Asia. It is the most sacred of all rivers
to the Hindus, and provides water to a major
urban area along its course, including Kolkata
(Calcutta) in India and Dhaka in Bangladesh.
The Hindustan holy city of _______________ is
located on the Ganges.
Religions
Hinduism_______
Muslim ________
Sunni 9.0%
Shiite 3.0%
Christian 2.3%
Protestant 1.1%
Roman Catholic 1.0%
Sikh 1.9%
Buddhist 0.8%
Jain 0.4%
Zoroastrian 0.01%
Other 1.3%
What is Hinduism?
One of the oldest religions of humanity
The religion of the Indian people
Gave birth to _________, _________,
_________
Tolerance and diversity:
“________________________________"
Many deities but a single, impersonal
Ultimate Reality
A philosophy and a way of life – focused
both on this world and beyond
Hinduism
This system of beliefs forms the cultural basis of
the Indian society, which is highly stratified.
The _________________ is an integral part of
Hinduism. A ___________ is a hereditary social
group limited to persons of the same rank,
occupation, etc., and having distinctive mores.
_________________ in Hinduism is the
individual duty of each person. Dharma is
related to the rigid social order of India (caste
system), since the caste to which one is born in
determines the duty that must be followed.
Caste System
Four broad castes exist in Hindu Society:
1. ________________ : are the teachers,
religious leaders, and scholars.
2.________________ : political leaders and
warriors.
3. ________________ : are engaged in trades
or farming.
4.________________ : are the lowest class
and provide services to support the society.
The Untouchables
Each of these four broad groups is broken down
into subgroups whose relative status is dependent
upon their extent of ritual purity (avoidance of
contact with unclean objects).
Those dealing with death or decaying materials were
in the lowest classes of the shudra.
At the very bottom of the order are the
untouchables (_________), so called, because in the
past (and among many Indians today) it is believed
that they would contaminate others’ ritual purity if
there was any personal contact between them.
Untouchables lived in separate communities, had
separate wells for water, and in the 19th century,
were prohibited from using roads used by other
castes.
How did Hinduism begin?
No particular founder
Indus River Valley Civilization >5000 years ago
Aryans enter 4000 - 3500 years ago
Vedic Tradition 3500 – 2500 years ago:
rituals and many gods (polytheism)
sacred texts (Vedas)
social stratification (caste system)
Upanishads (metaphysical philosophy) 2800 –
2400 years ago
Vedic Tradition develops into Hinduism
What are the Sacred Texts?
Shruti (“_______”) – oldest, most authoritative:
Four Vedas (“truth”) – myths, rituals, chants
Upanishads - metaphysical speculation
Plus other texts
Smriti (“___________”) – the Great Indian Epics:
Ramayana
Mahabharata (includes ________________)
Plus others
What do Hindus believe?
One impersonal Ultimate Reality – ___________
Manifest as many personal deities
True essence of life – _______________, the
soul, is Brahman trapped in matter
Reincarnation – atman is continually born into
this world lifetime after lifetime (____________)
___________ – spiritual impurity due to actions
keeps us bound to this world (good and bad)
Ultimate goal of life – to release Atman and
reunite with the divine, becoming as one with
Brahman (_______________)
How does Hinduism direct
life in this world?
Respect for all life – vegetarian
Human life as supreme:
___________ “stations” of life (Caste) priests & teachers, nobles & warriors,
merchant class, servant class
____________ stages of life – student,
householder, retired, renunciant
____________ duties of life – pleasure,
success, social responsibilities, religious
responsibilities (moksha)
Trimurti (Hindu Trinity)
Each is a manifestation of the divine
Brahman
Brahma
Vishnu
Shiva
Who do Hindus worship? –
the major gods of the Hindu Pantheon
Brahma, the creator god
Brahma is the creator of the universe and all
living beings are said to have evolved from
him. Brahma is depicted as red in color with
four heads, bearded faces, and four arms.
His hands hold a kamandalu, his bow or a
rosary, a sacrificial ladle, and the Vedas.
Brahma is sometimes depicted as sitting on
a lotus. The four Vedas are said to have
originated from his head. The four castes
are also believed to have originated from
Brahma.
Who do Hindus worship? –
the major gods of the Hindu Pantheon
Vishnu, the preserver god
Incarnates as ten _________ (descents) including:
_______________ (featured in the Ramayana)
_______________ (featured in the Mahabharata)
(Each shown with his consort, Sita and Radha, respectively)
Who do Hindus worship? –
the major gods of the Hindu Pantheon
Shiva, god of constructive destruction
(the transformer)
Appears as Shiva Nataraj,
lord of the dance of creation…
and with his wife, Parvati, and son Ganesha
(the elephant headed remover of obstacles)
What about the goddesses?
Devi – the feminine divine
___________, goddess of wisdom, consort of
Brahma
What about the goddesses?
Devi – the feminine divine
___________,
of Vishnu
goddess of good fortune, consort
What about the goddesses?
Devi – the feminine divine
___________,
of Shiva
divine mother, wife
What about the goddesses?
Devi – the feminine divine
___________,
protectress
__________,
destroyer of demons
Plus about 330 million other deities
All these deities are but
Manifest forms (attributes
and functions) of the
impersonal Brahman
And we too are manifest forms
of God!
“We are not human beings
having spiritual experiences;
We are spiritual beings
having a human experience!”
Hinduism is about recognizing the all
pervasiveness of the divine
Helpful terms to know:
NAMASTE: Namaskar or Namaste is the most
popular form of greeting in India. It is a general salutation
that is used to welcome someone and also for bidding
farewell. While doing namaste, both the palms are placed
together and raised below the face to greet a person. It is
believed that the right hand represents higher nature, and
the left and denotes worldly or lower nature.
BINDI: is derived from bindu, the Sanskrit word for dot .
It is
usually a red dot made with vermilion powder which is worn by
women between their eyebrows on their forehead. Considered a
symbol of Goddess Parvati, a bindi signifies female energy and is
believed to protect women and their husbands. Traditionally a
symbol of marriage, it has also become decorative and is worn
today by unmarried girls and women as well.
Helpful terms to know:
Ahimsa - _____________________________________
Ashram - spiritual community
Dharma - duty, religious and social duty, balanced
approach
Guru - _______________________________________
Karma - cosmic moral law of cause and effect
Mantra - _____________________________________
Maya - illusion
Puranas - legends that focus on creation and the
origins of the gods
Explore Hinduism on the Web:
The Hindu Universe: Lots of information on Hinduism and the
Hindu community on-line and around the world. Includes chat
rooms and message board forums - www.hindunet.org
The Virtual Hindu Temple: Contains some interesting and useful
pages including: Discover Hindu Gods & Goddesses and
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT HINDUISM. Also
contains a gallery of deity images and a collection of links to Hindu
sacred texts online and other sites related to Hinduism www.rajdeepa.com/vmandir/vmandirindex.htm
Hinduism for Schools provides basic, introductory info to teach
primary and secondary level students about Hinduism www.btinternet.com/~vivekananda/schools1.htm
SOURCES:
Shulman, Laura Ellen. “What is Hinduism?”
Hinduism. 14 Oct. 2003. Northern Virginia
Community College. 06 Dec. 2005
<http://www.nv.cc.va.us/home/lshulman
/Rel231/lectures/hindu/intro.htm>.
Constantinou, Stavros. “South Asia.” Geography
200. Ohio State. 06 Dec. 2005
<http://www.mansfield.osu.edu/~sconstantinou
/geography200/>.