What is Hinduism?

1
What is Hinduism?

• One of the oldest religions of humanity
• Not a uniform, easy to compartmentalize religion
  but all have their roots in the Vedas (Holy
  Scriptures)
• The religion of 80 of India
• Influence on other Indian religions - Buddhism,
  Jainism, Sikhism
• Tolerance and diversity "Truth is one, paths are
  many"
• Many deities but a single, impersonal Ultimate
  Reality
• A philosophy and a way of life focused both on
  this world and beyond

2
How did Hinduism begin?

• No particular founder
• Indus River Valley Civilization gt5000 years ago
• Aryans enter 4000 - 3500 years ago
• Vedic Tradition 3500 2500 years ago
• rituals and many gods that are manifestations of
  one supreme god --- HENOTHEISM
• sacred texts (Vedas)
• social stratification (caste system)
• Upanishads (metaphysical philosophy) 2800 2400
  years ago
• Vedic Tradition develops into Hinduism

3
Basic World View of Hinduism

• The universe is one.
• Even though going through surface changes and
  cycles, its ultimate nature as expression of the
  divine does not change.

4
God or Ultimate Reality

• Brahman, the one Mind or Life, is the one
  reality.
• It expresses itself in all that is like a flame
  taking many shapes.
• All the Hindu gods and souls of everything are a
  part of Brahman.

5
Origin of the World/Destiny of the World

• The world goes through endless cycles of creation
  and destruction but has no real beginning or end.

6
Origin and Destiny of Humans

• The individual has no known beginning.
• It goes through countless lifetimes.
• The nature of a lifetime depends on karma
  (actions) of a previous lifetime.
• A series of lifetimes continues and may include
  episodes in heavens and hells.
• Finally, one transcends karma through
  God-realization (moksha liberation from the
  cycle).

7
Revelation or Meditation between the Ultimate and
the Human

• The Vedic scriptures
• Brahmin priesthood
• Gods and god-realized Saints as expressions of
  the One
• Following ones guru as spiritual guide

8
Practical What is Expected of Humans? Worship,
Practices, Behavior

• To follow dharma (social order) through rituals,
  behavior, and righteous deeds
• If one is ready to seek moksha, or liberation,
  one should practice yoga, meditation, or devotion
  under the guidance of a guru

9
Sociological What is the relationship between
Hinduism and society?

• The caste system
• Temples as places of the worship of gods
• Holy men
• The family
• The brahmin priesthood

10
Laws of Manu

• Guidelines for how Hindus should live
• Not always followed by Hindus

11
What are the Sacred Texts?

• Shruti (heard) oldest, most authoritative
• Four Vedas (truth) myths, rituals, chants
• Upanishads - metaphysical speculation
• Plus other texts
• Smriti (remembered) the Great Indian Epics
• Ramayana
• Mahabharata (includes Bhagavad-Gita)
• Plus others

12
What do Hindus believe?

• One impersonal Ultimate Reality Brahman
• Manifest as many personal deities
• True essence of life Atman, the soul, is
  Brahman trapped in matter
• Reincarnation atman is continually born into
  this world lifetime after lifetime (Samsara)
• Karma spiritual impurity due to actions keeps
  us bound to this world (good and bad)
• Ultimate goal of life to release Atman and
  reunite with the divine, becoming as one with
  Brahman (Moksha)

13
How does Hinduism directlife in this world?

• Respect for all life vegetarian
• Human life as supreme
• Four stations of life (Caste) - priests
  teachers, nobles warriors, merchant class,
  servant class (Also the untouchables)
• Four stages of life student, householder,
  retired, renunciant
• Four duties of life pleasure, success, social
  responsibilities, religious responsibilities
  (moksha)

14
Caste System

• Hindus are divided into different groups
  associated with religious purity
• Hindus are born into a caste and cannot rise
  beyond it accept through reincarnation into a
  higher caste.
• Good karma Reborn into higher caste Reaching
  moksha

15
Brahmins Priestly caste
Kshatriyas Warrior Caste
Vaisyas Skilled workers, merchants, minor
officials
Sudras Unskilled workers
16
(No Transcript)
17
What are the spiritualpractices of Hinduism?

• The Four Yogas - seeking union with the divine
• Karma Yoga the path of action through selfless
  service (releases built up karma without building
  up new karma)
• Jnana Yoga the path of knowledge (understanding
  the true nature of reality and the self)
• Raja Yoga the path of meditation
• Bhakti Yoga the path of devotion
• Hatha Yoga physical purification
• Guru a spiritual teacher, especially helpful
  for Jnana and Raja yoga

18
How do Hindus worship?

• Bhakti Yoga is seeking union with the divine
  through loving devotion to manifest deities
• In the home (household shrines)
• In the Temples (priests officiate)
• Puja making offerings to and decorating the
  deity images
• Darsan seeing the deity (not idol worship)
• Prasad taking the divine within your own being
  through eating of food shared with the deity

19
Who do Hindus worship? the major gods of the
Hindu Pantheon
Brahma, the creator god
20
Who do Hindus worship? the major gods of the
Hindu Pantheon
Vishnu, the preserver god
Incarnates as ten avatars (descents) including
Rama (featured in the Ramayana)
Krishna (featured in the Mahabharata)
(Each shown with his consort, Sita and Radha,
respectively)
21
One version of the Universe with Vishnu and Brahma

• Vishnu slept over the ocean on a great serpent
  made up of the remains of the last universe
  before this one was formed
• A lotus grew out of Vishnus navel and Brahma
  appeared
• Brahma defeated the imps (demons) of chaos and
  made the world
• Then, Vishnu got up and seated himself in the
  highest heaven with his consort goddesses
  Lakshmi (Fortune) and Bhu-Devi (the Earth).
• The serpent arched his hoods over the divine
  sovereign to make a canopy. The lesser gods
  attended him.

22
Who do Hindus worship? the major gods of the
Hindu Pantheon
Shiva, god of constructive destruction(the
transformer)
Appears as Shiva Nataraja,lord of the dance of
creation
and with his wife, Parvati, and son Ganesha(the
elephant headed remover of obstacles)
23
Shiva as Nataraja
24
Dwarf Representing Ignorance
25
What about the goddesses?Devi the feminine
divine
Saraswati, goddess of wisdom, consort ofBrahma
Hindus consider cows sacred because they may be a
representation of Devi.
26

• Oxen and bulls were sacrificed in Ancient India
  and the meat consumed.
• Even then, milk-producing cows were considered
  sacred.
• Rigveda (a holy scripture) refers to the cow as
  Devi and even Aditi (mother goddess)
• Practical too cows provide milk, browned butter
  for lamps, and dung for fuel

27
(No Transcript)
28
What about the goddesses?Devi the feminine
divine
Lakshmi, goddess of good fortune, consortof
Vishnu
29
What about the goddesses?Devi the feminine
divine
Parvati, divine mother, wife ofShiva
30
What about the goddesses?Devi the feminine
divine
Durga, protectress
Kali, destroyer of demons
Plus about 330 million other deities
31
All these deities are but Manifest forms
(attributes and functions) of the impersonal
Brahman
32
And we too are manifest forms of God!
We are not human beingshaving spiritual
experiencesWe are spiritual beingshaving a
human experience!
Thou Art That
Hinduism is about recognizing the all
pervasiveness of the divine
33

• I am proud to belong to a religion which has
  taught the world both tolerance and universal
  acceptance. We believe not only in universal
  tolerance, but we accept all religions as true.
  As different streams having different sources all
  mingle their waters in the sea, so different
  paths which men take through different tendencies
  various though they appear, crooked or straight,
  all lead to God.
• --- Swami Vivekananda