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Hinduism
The Origins of Hinduism
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Unlike other religions, Hinduism was not
founded by a particular individual. It is the
product of the various peoples that have
occupied the region of India through time.
Some have described it as more of a way of life
than a religion.
Two groups of people laid the foundation for
Hinduism, the Indus Valley civilization and the
Aryans.
The Arrival Of The Aryans
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Around 1500 BCE, thousands of people, known as
Aryans, migrated into India from the northwest,
destroying the Indus Valley civilization.
They came from central Asia, spoke an early form of
Sanskrit and settled near the river Sindhu and later, the
Ganges river.
Aryan religious thought flourished between 1500 and
500 BCE. It was contained in a collection of hymns,
ritual texts and philosophical works called Vedas, and
are considered Hinduism’s earliest sacred writings.
The earliest Veda is Rig-Veda, which constitutes the
earliest record of sacred knowledge on Hinduism.
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Create a “Big Ideas” Chart in your
notebook. Title: Hinduism
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For each “Big Idea” leave room to take notes.
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Your “Big Ideas” are:
 Origin
 Deities
 Beliefs
 Practices/Caste
System
Be thoughtful and detailed when taking
notes.
Ask questions if you are confused or
need clarification
Today’s Objective:
I
can analyze the origin,
deities, beliefs, practices,
and caste system of the
Hindu Religion.
Smart Start
1.
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3.
4.
What group of people created the
religion of Hinduism?
Why did they do this?
How old is the Hindu religion?
How big when compared to the other
religions in the world?
Language & Traditions
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Traditions were passed
down verbally for
centuries because there
was no written language
People sang songs &
recited epics = long
poems celebrating their
heroes
Texts eventually written
down in Sanskrit
The Vedas
Priests called Brahmins
collected hymns, poems,
prayers, and rituals into
holy books known as
Vedas
 Brahmins performed
rituals and sacrifices,
which gave them power
and wealth
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The Upanishads
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Upanishads = religious
writings compiled by
anonymous thinkers
 All
humans have a soul =
The Atman
 All
souls are part of 1 eternal
& universal spirit = Brahman
 Goal in life = union with the
Brahman = liberation or
moksha
Atman
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The human soul or spirit.
It is the part of ourselves that is identical to
Brahman, the universal soul.
A Hindu’s goal in life is to reunite the atman
with the Brahman.
The atman is eternal and immortal! When one
dies, the atman lives on, shedding one body to
enter a new one.
Hindu Gods
Gods and Goddesses: worshiped 330 million
different gods and goddesses.
Brahman: Hindus believe in one god who takes
on the personality and manifests into about
330 million different gods.
?
 Is
Hinduism monotheistic or
polytheistic? Explain.
Holy Trinity
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Brahma, Vishnu, and
Shiva are known as
the “Holy Trinity” or
most powerful gods.
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The Holy Trinity
represents Brahman
and
manifests/changes
into different gods
and goddesses.
Brahma
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Creator of the
universe.
Has four faces and sits
on a lotus.
He holds a book,
beads, and water pot.
Not as widely
worshipped as Shiva
and Vishnu.
Vishnu
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Preserver of the universe, a loving and forgiving figure who
brings salvation.
Four arms in which he holds a conch shell, a discus, a lotus and a
mace. His vehicle is a divine eagle.
Vishnu has many avatars, incarnation or manifestation of a deity
in human form, and appears on earth in the form of an animal or
human to conquer evil.
Hindus believe that one of his incarnations was of Siddartha
Gautama, the founder of Buddhism.
His companion is Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth,
happiness and good fortune. She is often depicted
rewarding worshippers with gold.
Shiva
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He is the destroyer and restorer of the universe and is
associated with creative energy.
He is considered a great yogi, a spiritually involved
individual who practices meditation.
His vehicle is a bull.
He is also depicted as Nataraj, the god of dance and is
shown holding a drum, serpent and sacred fire in his
hands while performing the dance of creation.
He holds water in his hair from the sacred Ganges
river.
Parvati, his wife, is the mother goddess. She is
worshipped as Shakti or female energy. She is portrayed
riding a tiger with many weapons in her hands.
Ganesha – son of Shiva and Parvati,
remover of all obstacles. Elephant
head, human body.
What about the goddesses?
Devi – the feminine divine
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Brahma’s female
counterpart is Saraswati.
She is the goddess of
learning and the arts,
often depicted holding a
book and a musical
instrument called a
veena. She gets around
on a peacock or a swan.
Wife of Brahma
What about the goddesses?
Devi – the feminine divine
Lakshmi, goddess of good fortune,
wife
of Vishnu
What about the goddesses?
Devi – the feminine divine
Parvati, divine mother,
wife of Shiva
What about the goddesses?
Devi – the feminine divine
Durga, protectress
Kali, destroyer of demons
Cycle of Rebirth
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Believed in samsara =
reincarnation/rebirth of the soul
Soul passes through many lifetimes
and continues until spiritual
liberation = moksha
Karma = how a person lives in this
life determines what form the person
will take in the next life
Liberation achieved through a life of
prayer, strict self-denial, and rejection
of all worldly possessions
Reincarnation
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Hindus believe that the soul does not die with the body
but enters another body to carry on its existence.
This endless cycle of rebirth is called samsara.
Maya is a word used to describe the temporary and
imperfect nature of the physical world. Hindus believe
that all life is caught in this cycle of birth, death and
rebirth.
The goal of Hindus is to achieve moksha, liberation of
the soul from the endless cycle of rebirths into this
world , by uniting the atman with the Brahman.
Karma
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Karma is the totality of one’s actions in life, and it
determines the form the individual will take when he or
she is reborn.
Bad Karma will result in rebirth at a lower station in life
or as a lower form of life, such as an animal.
Good Karma will result in rebirth at a higher station in
life, which is closer to attaining salvation.
Therefore, in order to achieve salvation, Hindus must
work their way up the ladder of existence, by trying to
secure rebirth at a higher level. This is what led to the
caste system.
The Caste System
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Divides humanity into four classes or varnas,
which people are born into according to the
Karma they have accumulated in previous lives.
Brahmins – priests, religious teachers. Goals are
knowledge and education. Have duties such as
performance of rituals and sacrifices, pursuit of
the arts, sciences, ethics and religious study and
research and training. Must have highly
developed intellect and discipline.
What caste is this? Why?
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Kshatriya – warriors and rulers. Their goal is
political power and diplomacy. They work in
government, law and order and protection from
foreign invaders. They should possess physical
strength and courage, as well as governing skills.
Vaishya – merchants and farmers. Their goal is
wealth and commerce. They should manage
wealth and trade with other societies. They
should possess management and entrpreneurial
skills.
Sudra – servants and laborers. They have manual
skills, provide service to other castes and have
the ability to acquire particular skills.
What caste does this picture
represent? Why?
What caste is this?
What caste is this?
The Untouchables
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A fifth group, outside of the four varnas, are called the
untouchables.
They engage in what is considered “unclean practices”
such as tanning leather, removing dead animals or
washing toilets. They were degraded by the nature of
their work and lived separately from those in the other
castes.
Today, India’s charter of rights and freedoms bans
discrimination based on caste. President K.R.
Narayanan is a member of this fifth caste, popularly
known as dalits.
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For some Indians, untouchables are less than
human.
Recently, five dalits were lynched near New
Delhi after a rumour spread that they had killed
and skinned a cow, revered as sacred in India.
An autopsy was conducted on the cow - none
were done for the the dalits - which confirmed
the story their friends told - the cow had died of
other causes and they were skinning it legally.
Dharma
This is how Hindus refer to their religion. It means a
code of moral and religious duty.
 The concept of Dharma is related to the duties and
obligations of the individual and is considered essential
to the welfare of the individual, family and society.
 There are two kinds of Dharma:
Sanatana dharma, eternal religion, refers to universal
values and principles that apply to all people, regardless of
religion, nationality, age, sex or profession.
Varnashrama dharma, which concerns the specific
duties of each individual with respect to age, sex and
status in society.

With your group of three, create a web
highlighting the key components of Hinduism.
 Write Hinduism in the middle of your web
with a picture.
 Use your organizer that you filled out while
taking notes to complete your web.
 Connecting to the word Hinduism should
be the concepts: Deities, Beliefs, Origins,
and Practices/Caste System.
 Connecting to every concept should be
an example of the concept and an
explanation as to what it is and why it is
important to Hinduism.
Web
Beliefs
Deities
Hinduism
Hinduism
Origins
Practices/
Caste
System
Today’s Objective:
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I can analyze the origin, deities,
beliefs, practices, and caste
system of the Hindu Religion.
3: Three facts you learned
2: Two facts that surprised you.
1: One question you have.
Hindu Women
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According to “The Laws of Manu” written 2000 years
ago, women are to be honored and provided for, while
at the same time subordinate and dependant on men.
Divorce is not encouraged but allowed.
More and more Hindu women are working outside the
home, changing tradtional gender roles.
Indira Ghandi was prime minister of India from 1966
to 1977 and again from 1980 until her death in 1984.
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit became the first woman
president of the United Nations in 1953.
Hindu Practices, Rituals Symbols
and Festivals
Practices and Rituals
Hindus usually practice their religion at home, first
purifying themselves with water, usually by taking a
bath.
The syllable OM, which represents the supremacy of
Brahman, is chanted at the beginning and end of
prayers and scripture readings. Called Japa,
worshippers chant the names of deities as well as sacred
phrases called mantras. This is a mantra that Hindu’s
chant to greet the sun……..
“ I meditate on the brilliance of the sun; may it
illumine my intellect.”
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Worship at home involves a shrine that serves as an
altar for worship. Called puja, it is a form of
thanksgiving in which offerings are made to deities. It
has 16 steps and ends with a lamp called an arati waved
around the altar while prayers and hymns are recited.
You can eat the offering, called prasad, as it is
considered a gift from the deity. Sometimes, on special
occasions, a priest, usually from the Brahmin caste,
performs a ceremony called Homa, which involves
burning the offering in a fire.
Worship in a temple is not a requirement nor is it
necessity. Usually they are for festivals and special
functions. Arati and prasad are shared and they treat
images of deities with baths, adornments and
processions. Temples also teach children classes on
Hindu prayers and hymns, called bhajans.
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The Sacred Cow
“Holy cow” is an expression that refers to Hinduism’s
reverence of cows. They see the cow as an
manifestation of all that is good and precious.
They see the docile way of a cow as the result of its
being a vegetarian. They aspire to the same lifestyle.
Yoga and Mediation
Yoga in the strict Hindu sense means yoke, or the
atman at union with the Brahman.
To achieve this union with God, meditation is
necessary. You control your breathing, concentrate on a
single object, sound or idea, until you are in a deep
meditative state and are experiencing the divine
presence.
The real experts are the swamis, or holy men of India,
who have dedicated their lives to meditation
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Pilgrimages or journeys to holy places are important
to Hinduism.
Hindus strive to visit, at least once in a lifetime, the
holy city of Varanasi.
It is believed that the holy Ganges River fell from
heaven to give life to people and provide food.
Varanasi is located along the west bank of the river and
the first thing pilgrims do is bathe in the river to cleanse
themselves of sin.
One of the holiest cities in the world, it is also sacred
because it is the birthplace of Tirthankara
Parsvanatha, a spiritual teacher of Jainism and Buddha
gave his first sermon their and started the sangha or
community of monks
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Some of the many symbols in Hinduism include the
swastika, which represents good luck and well being,
the lord of the dance which we have already seen and
forehead marks called tilak which represent the third
eye of wisdom.
Women wear red dots on their foreheads called bindi,
which shows they are married and should be treated as
such.
Festivals include:
Diwali, the festival of lights, from the end of October
to early November.
Holi, a spring festival celebrated in March.
Mahashivaratri, day before the new moon in February.
Navaratri, spring and autumn.
Sacred Writings
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Hindus have over 200 books that are considered sacred
texts. They were written between 15000BCE and
1500CE.
Scriptures are classified as either shruti or smriti.
Shruti is knowledge that is revealed or discovered by
the seers of Hinduism. This wisdom is contained in the
Vedas.
Smriti is human made literature or knowledge that is
remembered.
The four Vedas are considered the oldest and
most authoritative Hindu scriptures:
Rig-Veda – comprises 1028 hymns contained in
ten books, that praise the ancient deities.
Yajur-Veda – a priest’s handbook for the
performance of fire sacrifices.
Sama-Veda – melodies, chants and tunes for the
singing of hymns.
Atharva-Veda – magical formulas, chants, spells
and charms.
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Each Veda contains……..
Mantras, psalms of praise.
Brahmanas, prose manual for priests on
prayer and ritual.
Aranyakas, forest books for saints and
hermits.
Upanishads, philosophical commentaries that
appear at the end of each Veda.
Ramayana
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Written in Sanskrit about 200 BCE, there are about 26 different
versions, and 24,000 verses.
It is the story of prince Rama, who is worshipped as the
seventh avatar or incarnation of the god Vishnu.
Rama was exiled to the forest for 14 years so that his brother,
Bharata, could be king. His wife, Sita, and his other half-brother,
Lakshmana, followed the prince into exile.
Sita was kidnapped by the evil Ravana. A battle ensued where
Rama, assisted by Hanuman, king of the monkeys, defeated
Ravana, rescued his wife and returned triumphantly to his
kingdom.
The story represents the constant struggle between good and
evil, where good eventually wins.
Hinduism in Canada
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There are approx. 300,000 Hindus in Canada.
Most live in the greater Toronto area.
Came to Canada from India, Sri Lanka, Guyana,
Trinidad and England.
Most Hindu priests in Canada are from Guyana.
Sermons, lectures and other discourses are
delivered in the language particular to each
group.