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Hinduism
The Evolution of Hinduism
1) Vedic Religion – a) Vedas, b) Brahmins c) Agni
– the god of fire, Indra – the storm god.
Axial age 800 BCE – 200BCE
2) Philosophical Hinduism – a) rebirth, b) moksha
– liberation, c) Brahman – Absolute reality, c)
Upanishads
3) Devotional Hinduism – Worship of the Hindu
gods
The Medical Model of Religion
Williams James The Varieties of Religious
experience (1902)
1) There is a problem
2) What the problem is
3) There is a solution
4) The Solution
The Hindu version of this Model
1) The Problem is rebirth (samsara). Our
ignorance and selfish desires are why we keep
getting reborn (Karma)
2) The solution is to stop being reborn by getting
rid of our ignorance and selfish desires
(Moksha)
Attempted solutions
The Way of Pleasure
The Way of Worldly Success
The Way of Moral Duty
Moksha
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The Problem is the ego. We see ourselves as
separate and finite beings
In reality we are not the finite, fragmented egos,
we are “atman.” We are one with “Brahman”
Realizing our true nature is the key to genuine
liberation from the cycle of “samsara.”
Brahman
Infinite Being (Sat), Infinite Consciousness (Chit),
Infinite Bliss (ananda).
Brahman is reality itself at it's most fundamental
and ultimate level.
Paths to Brahman
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Jnana Yoga – Knowledge
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Bhakti Yoga – Love
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Karma Yoga – Good works
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Raja Yoga – Physical exercises
Hindu gods
Tridevi
Ganehsa
Bhakti Devotional Hinduism
• Pick your favorite God and serve them with love
and devotion (Krishna, Lakshmi, Ganesha,
Rama, Shiva)
• Puja – Take an image of the God, feed, bath,
clothe, make an offering to, and finally engage
in eye to eye contact with it.
• Dances, poems, story-telling, and Holy-days
(Diwali, Holi, Ganesa Chaturthi)
Great Bhakti Stories
1) Mahabharata –
1b) Bhagavad Gita
Arjuna, Dharma (duty)
2) Ramayana – Diwali
Rama, Sita, Hanuman, Ravanna
3) Krishna’s stories