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Heritage of South Asia
Chapter 8 Section 1
Basic Hindu Beliefs
• Hinduism has no founder or formal church (not Unified)
• Sacred texts: (epics and holy books)
– Vedas – Contains eternal truths
– Upanishads – Helps explain the truths in the Vedas
– Ramayana – epic – Story of two brothers and their fight for the
throne. Main Idea Good Vs. Evil.
– Mahabharata – epic Tells about a 12 year war
• Brahman- each god is part of a single supreme force
• Main three Hindu gods are Brahma the creator, Vishnu the
preserver, and Siva the destroyer
• Believe in importance of harmony with nature (nonviolence)
“We are all part of one universal soul”
• Reincarnation – rebirth of soul, karma – a person’s deeds in
their current life or the next
Gods
• Brahman- each god is part of a single supreme force
• main three Hindu gods are Brahma the creator, Vishnu
the preserver, and Siva the destroyer
Brahman ब्रह्म
The word "Brahman“ means The Mundaka Upanishad says:
That supreme Brahman is infinite, and this conditioned Brahman is infinite. The
infinite proceeds from infinite. Then through knowledge, realizing the infinitude
of the infinite, it remains as infinite alone.
Vishnu the preserver விஷ்ணு
Bhagavad Gita describes Vishnu as the allpervading essence of all beings, the
master of—and beyond—the past,
present and future, the creator and
destroyer of all existences, one who
supports, preserves, sustains and governs
the universe and originates and develops
all elements within.
Siva the destroyer
Hindus believe his powers of
destruction and recreation are
used even now to destroy the
illusions and imperfections of this
world, paving the way for
beneficial change. According to
Hindu belief, this destruction is
not arbitrary, but constructive.
Shiva is therefore seen as the
source of both good and evil and
is regarded as the one who
combines many contradictory
elements.
Hinduism and the Caste System
• Born into a specific
caste system for life
• You are born into a
caste as a result of
karma
• Each caste has their
own dharma or duties
• Hindus believe in a
brighter future based
on how they behave
morally
Buddhism
• Siddhartha Guatama (a.k.a. the Buddha) sought
enlightenment to end human misery
Buddhism
The Four Noble Truths
1. Suffering is universal
2. Cause of suffering is desire
3. To end suffering they must destroy
desire and obtain nirvana, the
conditioning of wanting nothing
4. The only way to end desire is to follow
the Noble Eightfold Path
Noble Eightfold Path
Buddhism
• Buddha believed in reincarnation, denied the belief in gods,
organized religion (priests etc.) and rejected the caste system
Spread of Buddhism and Other Religious
Traditions
Spread by mouth and written in the
Three Baskets of Wisdom
The Baskets of Teachings are handed down over the centuries from
teacher to pupil.
Basket of Discipline (Vinaya Pitaka), which deals mainly with the rules
and regulations of the Order of monks and nuns
Basket of Discourses (Sutta Pitaka) which contains the discourses
delivered by the Buddha to individuals or assemblies of different ranks
in the course of his ministry.
Basket of Ultimaten Things (Abhidhamma Pitaka) which consists of the
four ultimate things: Mind (Citta), Mental-factors (Cetasikas), Matter
(Rupa) and Nirvana (nibbana).
Spread of Buddhism and Other
Religious Traditions
• Buddhism splits into Theravada and Mahayana
• Theravada Buddhists stressed a monastic life into achieving
nirvana (Ceylon, Burma, and Thailand) Buddha is not their god
• Mahayana spread to China, Tibet, Japan, and Korea and they
worshipped Buddha as a god
Spread of Buddhism and Other
Religious Traditions
• Mahavira founded Jainism, which stressed harmony
and not hurting any living creature
• Jains are strict vegetarians
Spread of Buddhism and Other
Religious Traditions
• Sikhism is the combination of Hinduism and
Islam