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Hinduism
Do Now:
What do you know about Hinduism?
Hinduism
 Has no single founder or sacred text
 Grew out of beliefs of the many diverse
groups that entered India
 Hinduism is a complex religion that has
many gods and goddess
 People worship Hinduism in many ways
but share the basic beliefs
Gods
 Hindu thinkers believed
everything in the universe
was part of an unchanging allpowerful spiritual force called
Brahman.
 Hindus thought Brahman was
to complex of an idea for most
people so they worship gods
that are like the Brahman idea
 The most important Gods are
Brahma, the creator; Vishnu,
the Preserver; Shiva, the
Destroyer.
 Each god can take many
forms, human or animal and
each had a family
Goal of Life
 Hindus believed each person has an essential
self or atman
 The ultimate goal of existence was achieving
moksha or union with Brahman
 In order to reach moksha individuals must free
themselves from selfish desires that separate
them from Brahman.
 Moksha cannot be met in one lifetime so
Hindus believed in reincarnation, or the rebirth
of the soul into another bodily form.
Karma and Dharma
 A person can come closer to reaching moksha
by obeying the law of karma
 Karma refers to all the actions of a person’s life
that affected his or her fate in the next life.
 All existence is ranked. Humans are the
closest to Brahman, then animals, plants and
objects like rocks and water.
 Dharma is the religious and moral duties of an
individual.
 Duties allowed a person to acquire merit for the
next life.
Independent Work
1.
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2.
Identify the name of each Hindu god:
The Preserver
The Destroyer
The Creator
What is the ultimate goal of existence
for Hindu believers?
3. How does a Hindu meet moksha or
union with the brahman?