Download Who is My Neighbor 10-17

Who is my Neighbor?
A study of
world religions
October 17,
2012
First Baptist Church of Pittsburgh
Week 2: What is a Cult? OCT. 10 - Megan
• Scholarly vs. Popular Definition
• Common Traits
• Examples
Week 3: Hinduism Brief History OCT. 17 – Megan (Kittie will contribute TM
materials)
• Vedas
• Shaivas, Vaishnavas, Goddess followers
• Beliefs & Practice
Week 4: Buddhism OCT 24 – Megan
•
•
•
•
•
Brief History
Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana
4 Truths, Eight-fold Path
Mahayana Sects (Zen/Chan, Pure Land, etc.)
Beliefs & Practice
Week 5: "Minor" Religions OCT. 31 - Megan
•
•
•
•
•
Zoroastrianism
Sikhism
Jainism
Taoism
Shinto
Week 6: Judaism NOV. 7 – Kittie
•
•
•
•
Brief history
Ancient vs. Modern
Orthodox vs. Reformed
Beliefs and Practices
Week 7: Christianity NOV. 14 - Kittie
• Brief History
• Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Other
• Beliefs & Practice
NOV 21 – NO CLASS, BREAK FOR THANKSGIVING
Week 8: Islam NOV. 28 - Kittie
•
•
•
•
Brief History
Four pillars
Shiite vs. Sunni
Sufism
Week 9: New Religions (post 1800) DEC. 5 - Kittie
•
•
•
•
•
Mormonism
Jehovah's Witnesses
Scientology
Neo-Paganism/Wicca
Various New Asian Religions
Week 10: Overview/Summary: What Does All This Mean for Christians?
 Hinduism is the 3rd largest religion (1st and 2nd are Christianity
and Islam, respectively)
 Countries with the greatest proportion of Hindus (as of 2008)
per Wikipedia:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Nepal 86.5%
India 80.5%
Mauritius 54%
Guyana 28%
Fiji 27.9%
Bhutan 25%
Trinidad and Tobago 22.5%
Suriname 20%
Sri Lanka 15%
Bangladesh 9.6%
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Qatar 7.2%
Réunion 6.7%
Malaysia 6.3%
Bahrain 6.25%
Kuwait 6%
United Arab Emirates 5%
Singapore 4%
Oman 3%
Belize 2.3%
Seychelles 2.1%
 There are three Hindu temples in the Pittsburgh area:
 Balaji Temple in Penn Hills
 Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Monroeville
 Hindu Jain Temple in Monroeville (below)
From the Vedas to the present
 Term dates from the Muslim conquest of India c. 13th-
16th centuries CE.
 Jizya – tax levied by Muslim rulers on non-Muslims;
non-Muslims referred to as ‘Hindus’ collectively, i.e.
someone native to India
 Term continued to be used by the British during their
occupation of India
 More of a collection of religious practices native to the
Indian subcontinent than a single, coherent religion
 Oldest Hindu texts
 Composed between 1500 and 1000 BCE
 Consists of four books:
 Rigveda – hymns for sacrifices to deities
 Yajurveda – ritual mantras for sacrifices
 Samaveda – hymns to be sung during libations to deities
 Atharvaveda – spells, incantations, and some hymns
 Also known as ‘Vedanta’, the end of the Vedas
 Each one associated with one of the Vedas
 Proposed dates for composition range from 1200 to 600
BCE
 Passed down orally
 108 canonical Upanishads
 More continue to be written
 Philosophical and metaphysical
 Hindu devotionalism
 Experienced tremendous growth during the medieval




period
Strongly associated with Vaishnavism
Emphasizes personal experience over liturgy and ritual
Spread by poets of all castes
Influenced other religious traditions in India, including
Sufism, Sikhism, Christianity, and Jainism.
 International Society for Krishna Consciousness
(ISKON), also known as Hare Krishnas
 Bhakti movement centered on Krishna, an avatar of
Vishnu
 Shirdi Sai Baba movement
 Started in the 19th century during Shirdi Sai Baba’s life
 Considered a sort of Hindu saint
 Seen by some Hindus as an incarnation of Krishna or
Dattatreya
Castes, Duties, and Stages of Life
 First mentioned in the Purusha Sukta in the Rigveda
 In Hindu mythology, all things were created from the
body of Purusha, a transcendent cosmic being who
sacrifices himself to create all things
 The four castes (varnas) come from different parts of
Purusha:
 Brahman (priest caste) comes from his mouth
 Kshatriya (warrior caste) comes from his arms
 Vaishya (merchant caste) comes from his thighs
 Shudra (worker caste) comes from his feet
 Term comes from Sanskrit meaning "ground",




"suppressed", "crushed", or "broken to pieces".
Also known as ‘untouchables’, considered outside the
caste system
Historically held jobs that were considered ritually
unclean, i.e. anything involving animal products, such
as butchers and leatherworkers
Discrimination against Dalits is prohibited under the
Indian Constitution.
Some converted to other religions en masse as protest
 ‘Sub-castes’
 Hundreds of jatis for every varna.
 Indian surnames often indicate a jati.
 Provided social support structure
 Historically endogamous (married only within the
group)
 Today, inter-caste marriage is on the rise
 Thus talk of jatis and other historical groups are slowly
becoming irrelevant
Ashram
 Brahmacharya (student)
 Age 5-27
 Grihastha (householder)
 Age 27-54
 Vanaprastha (retiree)
 Age 55-81
 Sannyasa (ascetic)
 Age 82+
Purusartha
 Dharma
 Duty, righteousness
 Artha
 Financial prosperity
 Kama
 Pleasure
 Moksha
 Spiritual liberation,
detatchment
Terms, Sects, and Worship
 Samsara – lit. “continuous flow”, the cycle of birth, life,
death, and rebirth
 Reincarnation – belief that the soul is born into a new body
after death, the nature of which is determined by karma
 Moksha – liberation, the only way to exit samsara; results in
oneness with Brahman or entering a sort of heaven,
depending on the school of thought.
 Karma – “action” or “deed”, cause and effect of one’s
actions, good or evil. One accumulates karma through
thoughts, words, and actions performed or instructed to
others to perform
 Dharma – law, duty, righteousness; encompasses
proper behavior and the natural order of things
 Atman – the soul
 Brahman – the absolute God, or ‘all-soul’; either a
personal God or an impersonal entity depending on
the school.
 Ahimsa – non-violence; sometimes interpreted to
require vegetarianism
 Vaishnavism
 Worship Vishnu as their primary deity
 Popular avatars of Vishnu include Rama
(hero of the Ramayana) and Krishna (of the
Mahabharata)
 Ascribe special importance to the Baghavad
Gita
 Shaivism
 Worship Shiva as their primary deity
 Avatars include Virabhadra, Bhairava,
Sharabha, Durvasa, and Nataraja (at right)
 Most popular form of Hinduism in Nepal
 Widespread throughout India and
Southeast Asia
 Often worshipped in the form of a lingam,
a cylindrical stone
 Shaktism
 Worship Devi (lit. ‘the Goddess’)
as their primary deity
 Popular forms:
 Durga (at right) – fierce warrior




goddess
Lakshmi – goddess of wealth and
prosperity
Saraswati – goddess of knowledge,
music, art, and science.
Sita – wife of Rama
Kali – goddess of time and change
 Ganesha
 Elephant-headed god
 Revered as “Lord of Obstacles”,
“Lord of Beginnings”, and
“Remover of Obstacles”
 Worshipped during major life
changes such as changing jobs,
moving, major purchases or
business ventures
 Non-sectarian deity (i.e.
worshipped by all the major
sects)
 Surya
 Solar god
 Worshipped at dawn
 Depicted riding a chariot
drawn by seven horses
 Several temples dedicated to
him
 Means ‘worship’
 Performed daily in the home; more elaborate puja is
performed in temples.
 Example of a puja ritual (from Wikipedia):
 Avahana (“invocation”). The deity is invited to the ceremony





from the heart.
Asana. The deity is offered a seat.
Padya. The deity’s feet are symbolically washed.
Water is offered for washing the head and body.
Arghya. Water is offered so the deity may wash its mouth.
Snana or abhisekha. Water is offered for symbolic bathing.
 Vastra (“clothing”). Here a cloth may be wrapped around the









image and ornaments affixed to it.
Upaveeda or Mangalsutra. Putting on the sacred thread.
Anulepana or gandha. Perfumes and ointments are applied to
the image. Sandalwood paste or kumkum is applied.
Pushpa. Flowers are offered before the image, or garlands
draped around its neck.
Dhupa. Incense is burned before the image.
Dipa or Aarti. A burning lamp is waved in front of the image.
Naivedya. Foods such as cooked rice, fruit, clarified butter,
sugar, and betel leaf are offered.
Namaskara or pranama. The worshipper and family bow or
prostrate themselves before the image to offer homage.
Parikrama or Pradakshina. Circumbulation around the deity.
Taking leave.
 Possibly dates back as far as the 3rd millennium BCE,
based on the depictions of a cross-legged man found
on seals in the Indus Valley
 Tied to meditation
 Three types of yoga listed in the Baghavad Gita:
 Karma yoga: The yoga of action.
 One must surrender the ownership of one’s action.
 Bhakti yoga: The yoga of devotion.
 One must devote oneself to the deity in order to become
closer to them.
 Jnana yoga: The yoga of knowledge.
 One must distinguish between the temporal and the eternal.