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Hinduism Project
Veena Jaipradeep, Sana Baig, Simran Dhal, Mariel Barnett,
Sunita Wassan
The Gods
 Hinduism has thousands of gods, but there are three
main gods.
 Worship can be divided into 4 main sects:
 Shavism- Shiva is worshiped.
 Vaishnavism: Vishnu is worshiped.
 Shaktism: the female goddesses are worshiped.
 Smartism: Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesh, Murugan and
Surya.
Bhrama
The Creator
Shiva
Vishnu
The
Preserver
The Destroyer/
Transfoermer
Three Main
Gods
Saraswati
Bhrama’s wife
Knowledge,
music and art
Lakshmi
Parvati
Vishnu’s wife
Shiva’s wife
Wealth and
prosperity
The Divine
Mother
Prayed to on
Diwali
Three Main
Godesses
Other Important Gods
Ram(a)
Incarnation of Vishnu
Main character of Ramayana
He was banished to the forest and later dueled
Ravana.
The holiday Diwali is celebrated when he and his
wife, Sita (as well as his brother) returned home, this
represented the victory of good over evil.
Hanuman
Was loyal and helped Ram in Ramayana.
Other Important Gods
Ganesh
Son of Shiva and Parvati
Wisdom and Intellect
Krishna
Incarnation of Vishnu
He is childish and playful
He was the charioteer of Arjun in
Mahabarat, and helped them win
the war. His teachings to Arjun
compose of the holy book, the
Bhaghvad Gita
Basic Beliefs
 One supreme creator (can be or not associated with Bhrama)
 Belief in the four vedas
- rig: the book of mantra
-sama: the book of song
- yajur: the book of ritual
-atharva: the book of spell
 Belief in karma, the way one makes their own destiny
 Belief in reincarnation until moksha, once reaching the highest
potential a soul can achieve, is reached.
Basic Beliefs
 Brahmacharga: the knowledge and character during
school years
 Grastha: the middle years, is focused on worldly pursuits
and pleasures such as marriage, family and career;
 Vanaprastha, when one's children reach adulthood, is a
time of increased focus on spiritual things
 Sanngasu, in the last years of life, one may abandon the
world entirely for a life of contemplation.
How the followers Practice
the Religion
 The followers of Hinduism usually take part in rituals and
practice that include small statues or pictures of the gods.
Most people have shrines in their homes that they can pray
near
 A common ritual that many Hindus take part in is poojas.
Poojas are religious rituals that include praying to the gods
when doing anything, from eating, bathing or to a major event
in one’s life such as a wedding. Many people complete their
poojas at their home shrine.
 Hindus also have temples for any auspicious occasion. It is
very common to have shrine in the family’s house, but it is not
required to go to a temple every week.
The major rituals/holidays
of the religion
 Hindus celebrate many different holidays, along with the birthdays
of the gods and goddesses. All dates of the holidays are according to
the position of the moon.
 Diwali- the date depends on the moon, so it changes every year, but
it usually falls in October or November. Diwali is the festival of
lights. It is also known as the Indian new year. This holiday five days
consists of candle lighting, fireworks, Indian sweets, and music.
 It celebrates the day Ram and his wife Sita came home from fighting
Ravana. The people of the villages lit candles in the night because it
was a new moon, so that they could find their way home.
Holidays
 Raksha Bandhan aka Rakhri- when the full moon occurs in
August. It is a sibling holiday when sisters tie bracelets
(traditionally gold and red) on their brothers’ wrists to
celebrate their relationship. Usually the brother gives the
sisters gifts or money
 When a sister ties a rakhri on a brother's wrists that means
that they have the responsibility to protect her.
 Holi: (the day after the full moon in March)-celebrates the
beginning of spring and is one of happiness.
 Hindus attend a bonfire and throw colored powders at each
other, which is why it is also known as the Festival of Colors.
Holidays
 Mahashivratri (14th day of the dark half of March)- Hindus
spend the day fasting and meditating, worshipping Shiva, and
visit temples dedicated to Shiva They give offerings such as
fruits and home cooked food.
 Other holidays:
 Navratri- 9 days of celebration till the 10th day when Ravana
is killed, which is Dassera- Sept/October. People usually fast
during this time.
 Dassera- celebrates Ram’s victory over Ravana- Sept/October
 Rama Navami- celebrates Lord Ram’s birthday, April
Women’s Role
 Limited freedom, dependent, and their main purpose is to
nurture children, and shape them into what they are to
become.
 “Her father protects (her) in childhood, her husband protects
(her) in youth, and her sons protect (her) in old age; a woman
is never fit for independence.” -Manusmriti 9.3
 They worshipped many female goddesses.
 Women= embodiment of mother nature Shakti
 Goddesses face troubles too, and represent the struggles and
discrimination of women long ago.
Women’s Role
 Roles of woman that is married: dasi- servant, mantrihelper, mata- mother, rambha- lover.
 They couldn’t: inherit or own property, study texts or
participate in sacrificial rituals, and were almost treated
as the lower class (Shudras).
 Sati- widows had to sacrifice themselves in their
husband’s funeral pyre
 In theory: women have privileges, exalted as a goddess;
in reality: miserable lives of servitude
The Major Texts
 Mostly written in Sanskrit
 The Vedas- the first texts, about three millennia old. There are four:
contain songs, prayers, and spells.
 Upanishads- tales told by gurus that teach lessons to the youth.
 Ramayana- tale of god Rama saving his wife Sita from the demon
king Ravana.
 Mahabharata- a tale of war between families, in which the Pandavas
were victorious. Lord Krishna has a major role in it.
 Bhagavad Gita- a very important part of the Mahabharata. It is
equivalent to the Bible for Christianity.
The Religion's Missionary/Outreach until
600 C.E


The Gupta Empire from 320 to 550 CE was controlled by
Hindu priests. With this, they brought back Vedic practices
to their position, and most likely influenced the citizens of
this period with Hinduism--but the citizens were never
forced to join.
Although they were religiously tolerant of other religions
like Buddhism and Jainism, they granted large land slots
to Brahmin priests and built elaborate temples for worship.
The origin and
cultural diffusion
of the religion
until 600 C.E.



Hinduism originated in the Northern region in approximately
6500 B.C.E.
There isn’t a specified set date of when Hinduism was created
because it is a series of traditions that have been evolving from
the Indus Valley era to the Vedic age with Buddhist and Jainist
influences.
However, Hinduism in its vitality becomes prevalent with the
creation of the Vedas during the Vedic period by Brahmin
priests from northern India.
Major Contacts with other
religions until 600 C.E.
 Both Buddhism and Jainism were implemented in India
before 600 C.E. Jainism emphasized the holiness of the
life force animating all living creature. Mahavira was
known to his followers as Jina, “the Conqueror”. He and
his followers practiced strict nonviolence.
 Buddhism centered on the individual. It did not reject
the existence of gods but it denied their usefulness to a
person seeking enlightenment. The important aspect was
living one’s life with moderation, in order to minimize
desire and suffering, and searching for spiritual truth
through self-discipline and meditation.
Similarities and differences in
relation to other religions
 Hinduism believed in reincarnation. The Brahmin priests
taught that every living creature had an immortal essence: the
atman, or “soul”. Separated from the body at death, the
atman was later reborn into another body. In Egypt, a similar
idea of afterlife was practiced. They believed in afterlife and
made extensive preparations for safe passage to the next world
and a comfortable existence once they arrived.
 Also in Hinduism, the gods were forces of nature similar to
Greek gods, with numina, divine forces in nature. For
example, Varuna is the lord of the sky and Agni is the force of
fire. Greek gods such as Poseidon, God of the Sea, and
Apollo, God of Light. Apollo is similar to the sun god Surya
in Hinduism.
Similarities and differences in
relation to other religions
 A difference is that sacrifice was less central and there was
more opportunity for direct contact between gods and the
individual worshiper. In Mesopotamia, they believed that gods
sought nourishment from sacrifice and feared their gods,
believing the responsible for the natural disasters that occurred
without warning in their environment, and sought to appease
them; this differs from the Hindu belief.
 Another difference is in Hinduism there are several ways of
worship such as special knowledge of sacred truths, mental
and physical discipline, or extraordinary devotion to the deity.
In Olmec society, the only way to have contact with the gods
was through the ruler. Shamans were individuals who claimed
the ability to make direct contact with supernatural powers.
Works Cited
Baker, Matt. "Hindu Gods & Goddesses." Chart of Hindu Gods &
Goddesses. N.p., 08
Jan. 2013. Web. 14 Sept. 2014.
BBC News. BBC. Web. 13 Sept. 2014.
Das, Subhamoy. "What You Need to Know About the Vedas,
India's Most Sacred Texts." About Religion. About.com,
n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2014.
The Earth and Its People: A Global History. 5th ed. Print.
"Hindu Rituals and Practices." Religion Facts. ReligionFacts, n.d.
Web. 14 Sept. 2014.
Works Cited
"Hinduism." - ReligionFacts. Web. 12 Sept. 2014.
"Nine Beliefs of Hinduism." Basics of Hinduism. KAUAI'S
HINDU MONASTERY, n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2014.
"Traditional Status of Women in Hinduism." Traditional
Status of Women in Hinduism. Web. 13 Sept. 2014.
"URI Kids :: World Religions." URI Kids :: World Religions.
Web. 13 Sept. 2014.