Download THE HINDU TRINITY

Analyze the Hindu gods
Gods Name
Describe the
picture: What do
you see? What
objects are in the
picture?
Details about this
god.
What is this God in
charge of? What
can this God do?
Questions you have
about the God(s)
Shiva
Brahma
Vishnu
Ganesh
Hanuman
Information that I have learned and can use for a DBQ Essay
DBQ TASKS:
 Describe at least 3 beliefs, customs of Hinduism and why they would attract new
followers to the religion
 (For at least 2 of the beliefs mentioned) Explain how those beliefs shape the lives of
Hindus
Hindu Gods
What is
positive?
What is negative?
-Too many Gods
-Hindus don’t have to worship
every God
-Hindus can worship all the
Gods or just one of them
-Hindu Gods look like humans
and animals
-Some Hindu Gods are Male and
some are Female
HANDOUT 6: HINDU GODS AND POLYTHEISM
1. Hinduism: Unlike Most major religions, Hinduism has no single founder and no
single sacred text. Instead, it grew out of the overlapping beliefs of the diverse
groups who settled in India. The process probably began when a group called the
Aryans added the gods of the Indus Valley people to their own. Later people brought
other gods, beliefs and practices. As a result, Hinduism became one of the world’s
most complicated religions, with countless gods and goddesses and many forms of
worship existing side by side. Despite this diversity, all Hindus share certain basic
beliefs. Brahman is one of the complicated beliefs, in which Hindus worship
thousands of gods. Each god is part of a single supreme force called Brahman.
Hindus believe that only a few people can truly understand Brahman, which is
nameless, formless, and unlimited. The many gods of Hinduism give Brahman a
concrete form that is more understandable to the average person.
2. The Hindu Trinity
Brahma: The Creator Brahma
is
considered the mystical creator, the supreme
presence or God. Many Hindus believe that
all other gods originate from Brahma. His
four faces stand for the four corners of the
universe. He holds a sacrificial ladle (big
spoon), the four Vedas, a jar of holy water
from the Ganges River (A river in India), and
a necklace of prayer beads. Like all Hindu
gods, he sits upon a Lotus throne.
WHO IS BRAHMA?
Vishnu: The Preserver
“Whenever the Sacred Law fails, and
evil raises its head, I (Vishnu) take
embodied birth. To guard the good, to
root out sinners, and to establish Sacred
Law, I am born from age to age.”
(Bhagavad Gita IV, 6-8)
Followers of Vishnu worship him as the
preserver, greatest of the gods. His role
is to maintain a balance between good
and evil powers in the universe. In
order to do this, Vishnu returns to earth
in different forms, both animal and
human. Tradition holds that there are
ten Avatars, incarnations, linked to
Vishnu. However, only Rama and
Krishna remain the focus of worship
among Hindus.
Avatar=when a higher being/god
Who is
Vishnu?
SHIVA THE DESTROYER
Shiva is worshipped as the destroyer or
purifier. Like Vishnu, Shiva appears in many
different forms throughout Hindu legends.
However, the most widely know is that Shiva
Nataraja, is the Lord of Dance.
Shiva dances in a halo of fire representing the cycle
of birth and death. As he dances, he crushes the
dwarf, the demon of ignorance. In his right hand,
he keeps rhythm beating a drum, while in his left
hand he holds the flame of destruction, purification,
and renewal. His other hands are in position of
blessing or refuge. Around his arms and neck he
wears deadly snakes. Finally, Shiva is a symbol of
sexual power and union. This is demonstrated by
femal earring on his left ear and the male on his
right.
Answer in your notes do not copy questions.
1. What is this figure doing?
2. What might this dance symbolize?
3. Why might Shiva dance on the dwarf of ignorance?
4. How would you describe Shiva in your own words?
Since Brahman is such a complicated topic we will look at the
following passages which describe this Hindu concept:
4) The immortal self is the sun shining in the sky, he is the breeze blowing in
space, he is the fire burning on the altar, he is the guest dwelling in the house; he
is in all men, he is in the gods, he is in the ether, he is wherever there is truth; he
is the fish that is born in water, he is the plant that grows in the soil, he is the
river that gushes from the mountain he , the changeless reality, the illimitable!
Question: Where is Brahman? Site examples from the reading to support your
answer.
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5) None beholds him with the eyes, for he is without visible form. Yet in the
heart is he revealed, through self control and mediation. Those who know him
become immortal. When all the senses are stilled, when the mind is at rest, when
the intellect wavers not then, say the wise, is reached the highest state. This clam
of the senses and the mind has been defined as yoga. He who attains it is freed
from delusion.
Question: How do people come to know Brahman? Site examples from the
reading to support your answer.
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