HINDUISM

Everything You need to know

The World and India After the Indus River Valley◦ Indo-Europeans begin migrating

- - Migrated from mid Europe to all over Europe

◦ Hittites attacked Mesopotamia (Fertile Crescent)

◦ Aryans invade Indus River Valley

◦ Aryans change everything about Indus society

Foundations of Hinduism

◦A collection of religious beliefs

◦Cannot be traced to a single founder.

◦The ideas that shapeHinduism formed overtime, as the cultures of theAryans blended with thenon-Aryans in India

◦Beliefs of Hinduism reinforcedthe caste system

◦ Spread out along major trade routes

throughout Asia

◦Mahabharata

◦ Story of the early Aryans and their struggles

◦ 106,000 verse poem, longest poem ever

◦ Sacred writings: Vedas and Upanishads

Aryans & Vedas

◦ Semi-nomadic people who crossed the

mountains into the Indus Valley around 1500 BCE

◦ Left almost no

archaeological

record, but their

sacred literature,

the Vedas, left a

fairly reliable

picture of Aryan

life.

Vedas

◦ The Vedas are four collections of prayers, magical spells, and instructions for

performing rituals.

◦ The most important collection is the Rig

Veda and it contains 1028 hymns, all of

which are devoted to Aryan gods.

Upanishads

◦ Hindu teachers tried to interpret and explain the

hidden meaning of the Vedic hymns. This leads

to the Upanishads.

◦ Upanishads: written as conversations between

student and teacher (upa-near, ni-down, shad-to

sit)

◦ Purpose: to understand Vedas and discussion of

how to achieve moksha (freedom of suffering

and desires—a state of understanding all things)

The Caste System

◦ The Aryans (meaning “the nobles” in their

language) called the people native to

India the dasas (meaning “dark”)

◦Aryans were pastoral people and

counted their wealth in cows

◦Dasas were town dwellers who lived in

community protected by walls.

◦ According to Indian Tradition, the four major

castes emerged from the mouth, arms, legs, and

feet of Perusha (the first human being).

◦ Perusha is identified with the creator god

Brahma. The

body part

indicated the

dignity and role

of the caste that

emerged

from it.

UNTOUCHABLES

Hinduism

◦Atman – The individual soul of a living

being

◦Brahman – The world soul that contains

and united all atmans.

◦ The interconnectedness of all life is a basic

concept in all Indian religions.

Namaste◦ “I bow to the divine in you”

◦All things on earth are considered

to be part of Brahman (the

Supreme Cosmic Spirit): everyone

and everything has something of

the divine in them.

Key Characteristics (according to the SOLs)

◦Rigid caste system in religious

law based on one’s occupation

◦Belief in many gods BUT these

many gods are all forms of

Brahman

◦ Hinduism is polytheistic/monotheistic

◦Reincarnation: rebirth based on

your karma

Main Gods

◦3 main gods of Hinduism

◦ Brahma- the creator

◦ Vishnu- the protector

◦ Shiva- the destroyer

◦When a person understands the

relationship between atman and

Brahman, that person achieves perfect

understanding (moksha) and a release from life in this world.

◦ This understanding does not normally

happen in one lifetime, but the process of

reincarnation (rebirth), an individual soul or spirit is born again and again until

moksha is achieved.

◦Karma: the knowledge that all

thoughts and actions result in future

consequences

◦Do good dharma to get good karma

◦Dharma: the right thing to do in any

situation—how one should act

◦Karma influences life circumstances like

◦Caste one is born into

◦ State of one’s health

◦Wealth or poverty

New Religions Arise

◦Period of speculation reflected in the

Upanishads lead to the rise of two

other religions

◦ Jainism

◦Buddhism (Talk about another day)

Jainism◦ Mahavira, the founder of Jainiam, was born

around 599 B.C.E. and died around 527 B.C.E.

◦ Believed that everything in the universe has a

soul and should not be harmed

◦ Monks carry the doctrine of nonviolence to its

logical conclusion

◦ Wear masks to avoid hurting insects accidently

◦ Sweep their paths

◦ Believers in Jainism tend to work in the areas of

trade and commerce

◦ Make up some the wealthiest communities in

India today.

Buddhism

Founding◦ Founded by Siddhartha

Gautama, who grew up as a

Hindu in a part of India that is

present-day Nepal

◦ Born a rich prince, he

discovered suffering after

leaving his palace and

exploring the neighboring town

◦ He devoted his life to searching

for:

◦ Enlightenment: search for religious

truth and wisdom

◦ An end to suffering

Spreading of Buddhism

•Buddhism became a

major religion when

Ashoka sent

missionaries from India

to China and other

parts of Asia

Key Characteristics (based on the enlightenment of Buddha)

◦4 Noble Truths

◦ Everything in life is suffering and sorrow

◦ The cause of all suffering is the selfish desires of

people

◦ The way to end all suffering is to end all desire

◦ The way to overcome all desire and attain

enlightenment is to follow the Eightfold Path, or

the Middle Way between desires and self-

denial

Eightfold Path

◦Like a staircase—those seeking

enlightenment must master one step

at a time

Eightfold Path

◦ Right View – Know the truth

◦ Right Intention – Free your mind of evil

◦ Right Speech – Say nothing that hurts others

◦ Right Action – Work for the good of others

◦ Right Livelihood – Respect life

◦ Right Effort – Resist evil

◦ Right Concentration – Practice Meditation

◦ Right Mindfulness – Control your thoughts

◦By following the

Eightfold Path, one

could reach total

enlightenment, or

Nirvana, which

was Buddha’s

word for the

release from

selfishness and

pain.

Different Buddhas