Hinduism

Overview

• The world’s oldest religions

  • compilation of many traditions and philosophies

    • Defined as a religion that has Sraddha

      • loosely translated as faith

      • Vedas - most important scriptures in Hinduism

• Henotheistic/polytheistic religion believed to have originated in the Indus River (NW)

  • Term Hinduism

    • given by others to indicate who lives across it

    • followers of Hinduism call their religion Sanatana Dharma

      • eternal law

    • sometimes called Vedic religion

• Has no founder; different POVs

• Indus Valley Civilization

  • 2 major cities

    • Mohenjo-Daro

    • Harappa

  • Dravidians

  • did not develop due to contact with Sumer and Egypt

  • evidence of seals, rituals, figurines, depicting Shiva

• Vedic Period

  • Aryans

    • development of Indus Valley Culture

  • when Vedas were composed

    • Vedas

      • ancient Sanskrit text

      • preserved oral traditions of Hinduism

• Epic, Puranic, Classical Age

  • composition of different pieces

    • Dharma Sutras - human conduct

    • Dharma Shastras - laws and customs

    • Puranas - legends and lores

  • two important epics

    • Mahabharata

      • epic poems about the activities of Krishna

        • God of protection, compassion, tenderness, love

        • avatar of Vishnu

    • Ramayana

      • epic about the ideal man Rama (avatar of Vishnu) and ideal woman Sita

  • emergence of traditions

    • denominations

    • temple worship and and bhakti (devotion)

Core Beliefs

• Sacred Texts

  • believers think that there are revelations that were heard and scriptures that recorded these

  • Bhagavan gave them to rishis or sages

    1. god, the ultimate reality

  • there is no singular author; it is a compilation

  • There are 2 categories

    1. Shruti

       • Hindu sacred writing and product of divine revelation

         • Vedas 

           • are the oldest part of the shruti, and have 4 collections of scriptures

           • Rig Veda

             1. general knowledge; longest part of Vedas

             2. mentions gods that inspired worship via sacrifice

             3. Brahmin/priests, perform these rites

           • Sama Veda

             1. knowledge of upasana (worship)

                • originator of Indian classical music

           • Yajur Veda

             1. knowledge of karma

           • Atharva Veda

             1. knowledge of science and other miscellaneous stuff

         • Upanishads

           • written dialogue

           • make understanding of Vedas easier

           • loosely translated as “to sit down closely”

           • includes terms like Brahman, Atman, maya, karma, samsara, moksha 

    2. Smriti

    • Those that are remembered 

    • Explains practical applications of eternal principles described 

    • Manu-smriti (laws of Manu) 

      • One of the authoritative codes of Hinduism 

        1. Explains four stages of life and division of labor

        2. Manu is thought to be a great rishi 

    • Ayurveda 

      1. Medicinal science 

    • Gandharva veda 

      1. Musical science 

    • Shilpa Shastra 

      1. Mechanical science 

    • Niti Shastras 

      1. Rules and regulations

• Brahman

  • God is thought of to be absolute 

  • God as light, as energy (no personality, forms, features)

  • Individuals are limited anf under the influence of the maya 

    • World, illusion; one should always try to seek God 

• Karma

  • Cause and effect of what one does

  • Result of one's actions in life can be carried over to the next, affecting your fortune based on what you did

  • Samsara 

    • All living things have atman, a piece of Brahman (ultimate reality) 

    • Belief that life is a long journey back to the creator, interrupted by death for the person’s own good to continue the journey in another body 

    • If you die with good karma, they will be reincarnated into something better than previous life 

• Purushartha 

  • Dharma 

    • Religious and moral law governing individual conduct 

      • Like our 10 commandments 

    • Truthfulness, non-injury, generosity, other virtues 

    • Types: 

1. Sanatana dharma 

   1. The term Hindus call their religion 

      1. Eternal dharma that governs all hindus regardless of status

      2. Eternal duty towards god 

2. Varnashrama dharma 

   1. Considered by some Hindus as outdated, but still widely practiced by Hindus in India 

   2. Dharma is based on social class in the varna (caste system) 

      1. Brahmins - teachers and priests 

      2. Kshatriyas - warriors and leaders 

      3. Vaishyas - merchants, traders, farmers 

      4. Shudras - manual workers, laborers 

      5. Dalits - untouchables 

   3. All Hindus aims to be Brahmins

   4. Dalits cannot achieve this since status is based on birth 

• Kama 

  • Love, desire, pleasure 

  • Can be gained from other pleasures, but mainly derived from sexual pleasures 

    • Natural part of human instinct 

  • Kama Sutra 

• Artha 

  • Prosperity; pursuit of wealth through careers, skills, health, etc

  • Do not be attached to material wealth 

• Moksha

  • To be saved 

  • Break free from Samsara (cycle of birth-death-rebirth)

    • Samsara has you reincarnating into different bodies as part of the ultimate journey

    • You’ve reached the end of the journey 

  • Total freedom from pain and suffering

    • The mind is said to be the cause of suffering 

• Henotheistic Nature 

  • Brahman controls the universe through three major qualities known as the Trimurti 

1. Brahma - creator; will of God 

   1. Least worshipped since it is believed he was cursed by Shiva because he turned materialistic 

2. Vishnu - preserver; believed to have incarnated during various events to destroy evil and re-establish righteousness

   1. Reincarnations are called avatars 

3. Shiva - destroyer; believed to periodically destroy the world when evil has prevailed so that it may be recreated in its purest form 

• Female aspects of Brahman 

  • Known as the divine mother or Shakti 

1. Saraswati - consort/wife of Brahma 

   1. Used for gaining knowledge via rosary beads, books, music 

• Lakshmi - consort of Vishnu 

• Parvati - consort of Shiva 

Some Aspects

• Sacred Places and Purja (worship) 

  • Ganges River

    • Personification of Goddess Ganga 

      • Goddess of purification and forgiveness

    • Bathing in the river on certain times causes the forgiveness of sins and helps with salvation 

    • Some believe it should be done at least once in a lifetime 

  • Sapta Puri

    • Seven holy pilgrimage sites 

      1. Ayodhya - where Rama was born 

      2. Mathura - where Krishna was born

      3. Haridwar - where Vishnu imprinted his feet on a rock 

      4. Varanasi - most holy; favorite city of Shiva

      5. Kanchipuram - different Hindu temples 

      6. Ujjain - where Shiva triumphed over a demon king 

      7. Dwarka - where Krishna migrated to from Mathura 

• Believes that making a pilgrimage to all places, they will attain moksha 

• Hindus can worship whoever deity they want

  • Most households have a shrine 

  • Communities built temples 

    • Mandir is the temple and Hindu place of worship 

      • Reflects the human body 

      • Outer - shrines

      • Insider - deities 

• Festivals 

  • Diwali 

    • Festival of lights

    • Celebrated in other Indian subcontinent religions like Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism 

    • Victory of light over darkness; good over evil 

    • Lord Rama (avatar of Vishnu) defeated Ravana 

  • Holi

    • Festival of colors

    • Triumph of Vishnu over Hiranyakashipu 

    • Others believe that Krishna fell in love with Radha, a milkmaid 

      • He was embarrassed of his blue skin 

      • Playfully coloring her face during a game 

Demographics 

• Denominations vary on who they worship the most 

1. Shaivism 

   1. Worships Supreme God as Shiva 

   2. Follows a satguru (enlightened one) and does Yoga to be with Shiva 

2. Shaktism

   1. Worships the Supreme as the Divine Mother/Shakti 

   2. Uses chants, magic, holy diagrams, yoga, and rituals to call forth cosmic forces and awaken power within the spine 

3. Vaishnavism 

   1. Worships the Supreme as Lord Vishnu and his incarnations, especially Krishna and Rama 

4. Smartism 

   1. Worships the Supreme in one of six forms 

      1. Ganesha

         1. Has an elephant head and four arms

         2. for good luck

      2. Siva

      3. Sakti

      4. Vishnu

      5. Surya

         1. Sun deity 

      6. Skanda

   2. Liberal/nonsectarian because they accept almost all Gods