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Early Hinduism
Written and Designed by: Isaac McClanahan
India
• I have traveled from Great Britain to India
to find facts about Hinduism for my
journal. I visited almost every temple along
the Ganges Rriver and asked the monks if
they could explain their religion to me.
Hinduism
I talked to the monks and they explained that Hinduism is one of the
oldest religions in the world and is believed to have had it’s beginnings
in the Indus River Valley around 8,000 years ago in what is today,
Pakistan. Hinduism has no specific founder and includes many sacred
texts. The oldest being the Vedas. The ancient peoples of India also
wrote other stories such as two great epics known as, the Mahabharata
and Ramayana.
Hinduism cont.
The Vedas
The Ramayana
Two sacred texts in Hinduism
The Importance of the Ganges
river
• They explained to me what their most sacred site is, and they said
the Ganges River. The Ganges River to the Hindus is a sacred,
and terrestrial home of the goddess Ganga. People from all over
the subcontinent make pilgrimages to temples, shrines, and other
religious sites along its shore. Bathing in the Ganges is a purifying
ritual that is thought to wash away one’s sins. After death people
find it opportune to have their ashes scattered in the river after
being cremated.
Ganges river cont.
Origins of Sanskrit
They also told me about their old written language Sanskrit. Sanskrit is
believed to have been introduced by ancient peoples who call
themselves “Aryans” (or noble ones). Sanskrit’s first written record
is located in the Rig-Veda. Sanskrit is divided into two categories, the
most ancient being Vedic Sanskrit (1500-200 BCE) and Classical
Sanskrit (500 BCE- 1000 AD) The great Indian epics, the Ramayana
and the Mahabharata were originally written in Sanskrit.
Sanskrit cont.
Hindu Gods
• They also told me about some of their gods two of which are Krishna and
Radha. Krishna is one of the most important and one of the most widely
worshipped gods in all of India. Some traditions within Hinduism
acknowledge Krishna at the Supreme Being. In the middle ages the love
between Krishna and the cowgirl Radha inspired a rich devotional literature
still treasured by communities of all kinds today.
Hindu Gods cont.
Varanasi
• They even told me about one of their most sacred cities, Varanasi. Veranasi
is the holiest of India’s sacred cities. Varanasi’s mythical status within
Hinduism has attracted religious seekers and pilgrims since antiquity.
Veranasi was previously known as Benares and Kashi (“city of light”),
Varanasi is referenced in the Vedas and the Mahabharata. Hindus believe that
if they die in the city it will liberate them from the cycle of death and rebirth.
The name Varanasi comes from the rivers, Varuna and Asi, that join the
Ganges River here and the city is the most celebrated pilgrimage destination
in all of India
Varanasi
Picture Website URLs
http://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/gallery/photos/4.html#hinduism
http://www.lawisgreek.com/why-the-vedas-are-an-important-part-of-hindu-law
http://spiritualmessenger.forumotion.com/t393-the-ramayana-part-1
http://deltas.usgs.gov/rivers.aspx?river=ganges
http://yogaoffbroadway.com/2013/02/04/to-om-or-not-to-om/
http://blogheykrishna.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-legend-of-radha-krishna.html
• http://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/gallery/photos/9.html