Download Hinduism Doctrines

Hinduism Doctrines
Keys to Understanding Hinduism
Identify and describe the key developments of Vedic religious practice and
its impact on Modern Hinduism
Explain how the doctrines of Hinduism affect Hindu religious practice.
Vedic religious practice
 Modern Hinduism may have parts of religions
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practiced by native peoples- male and female deitiesprocreation a focus
Vedas- Body of Knowledge- Originated by 1500 to
1000 BCE- Passed down orally
Vedas are a liturgy manual (concerned with rituals,
hymns, incantations) not a narrative (storyline) like
the Bible
Rig Veda- oldest
Praises and implores the blessings of the devas
(earth gods and deities of the sky and celestial
realm.)
Vedas
 Samhitas: earliest
Praise and worship of deities
 Brahmanas
 Directions for sacrifices
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Affirm God is immanent and transcendent, and prescribe ritual worship, mantra
and devotional hymns to establish communication with the spiritual world.
 Aranyatas
Writings of people meditating in forest
 Upanishads
 Spiritual masters explain personal transformation in ritual
process
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Outline the souls evolutionary journey, provide yogic philosophical training and
propounds the realization of man’s oneness with god as the destiny of all souls.
Priestly rituals example
 Vedic worship centered around the fire
sacrifice- Offerings
 Priests use: verbal formulas, sacred chants,
sacred actions
 Concerned with ritual purity- (example- eating salad
in a restaurant)
 Caste system
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0ctalomHi
g
Brahman and Atman
 Brahman-breath behind all existence
 “one”
god
 Atman-subtle self within themselves
 We are all atman and are a part of
Brahman
Brahman
Atman
Bhakti
 Difficult to pray to the abstract depictions of an
impersonal deity from the Upanishads so many
Hindus worship changes to bhakti worship.
 Bhakti- Intense devotion to a personal
manifestation of Brahman.
 The epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, and the
Puranas represent god as a person or human-like
deities, and aid in this form of worship.
 Evaluate why Hindus would desire personal experiences with
their deities.
 Assess why Hindu worship of Brahman is broken into many
aspects/deities and how this impacts their worship.
Reincarnation
 Soul leaves the dead body and enters a
new one
 Countless rebirths (reincarnations) but
same soul
 Birth as a human is precious and rare
opportunity to advance/reach
enlightenment
Reincarnation
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_
EWwzFwUOxA
 What do you think about the
possibility of this boy having a
former life?
Karma
 Action and the consequences of action
 Every act or thought shapes our future
 Shaped by what we have done in past
 Lasts into subsequent lives
 Sow/reap
Castes
 Brahmins- Priests, carefully trained and
maintain high standard of purity
 Kshatriyas- nobility, kings, warriors, vassals
 Vaishyas- economic specialists, farmers and
merchants
 Shudra- manual laborers and artisans
 Untouchables
 How could a caste system develop out of the doctrines of
reincarnation and karma? (beliefsactions)
 Draw a conclusion as to why the caste system is still in
existence today.
Samsara and Moksha
 Goal is not good life but escape from
samsara
 Samsara- karma run wheel of birth-deathrebirth
 Moksha- liberation from space, time, matter to
oneness with Brahman, escape from
samsara
 Takes many lifetimes
Review Questions
 Identify and describe the key
developments of Vedic religious
practice.
 Analyze how Vedic religious practice
affects modern day Hinduism?
Sacrifices, rituals, etc..
 Explain how the doctrines of Hinduism
affect Hindu religious practice.
 Describe the caste system.
Homework
 HOMEWORK:
 Complete Essential Questions 3-5, 18-
19, 26-28; and Read, summarize and
give explanation in class on Hindu gods
and idol worship articles
 Extra credit
1. http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_caste.asp
2. Faith Life article: “Looking to physics for proof of the
soul.”