Hinduism

1. INTRO TO HINDUISM

2. ORIGINS
•Hinduism is the
oldest religion
•Began in India
(Indus River
Valley) circa
4000 BCE

3. • world's third largest religion
• India
• oldest and most complex of all world religions.
• The term Hindu originated from the Persian word hindu (in Sanskrit
sindhu) which means "river."
• the people of the Indus Valley the Indians
• originally known as "Arya Dharma" or the Aryan Way.“
• Aryans brought with them their set of beliefs based on oral texts known as
Vedas.
Historical Background

4. gods and goddesses Personifications or Attributes
Indra Leader of the devas or gods; the lord of heaven in Hinduism; god of rain
and thunderstorms
Agri god of fire; messenger of the gods
Adityas sun-gods
Mitra deity for honesty, friendship, contracts and meetings
Varuna god of the water; god of law of the underwater world
Ushas deity of dawns
Savitr solar deity
Rudra deity of wind or storm
Pushan solar deity; god of meeting
Brihaspati deity and religion
Dyaus Pita sky god; father sky
Prithvi mother earth
Surya chief solar deity; the sun
Vayu lord of the winds
Apas water
Parjanya thunder and rain

5. BELIEFS
• Truth is eternal.
• There is one world
soul/god called Brahman.
All gods and goddesses
are extensions of the one
world soul.
• The Vedas are
sacred texts.
• Hindus believe that their
purpose on earth is to
find their Dharma.

6. Trimurti

7. BELIEFS
• All souls are immortal. All souls
have atman, which is the
connection to the universe.
• Karma is the good and bad a
person does in this life, which
determines their fate in the next
life.
• Hindus believe
in reincarnation, the idea that
after death the soul is born again
in a new physical form. This is also
called transmigration.

8. Brahma
• receives the least attention among
the trimurti.
• only two temples are dedicated to
him in India and he has no cult of
devotees.
• Has four heads and eight hands.
• His chief consort is Saraswati, the
goddess of science and wisdom.
Brahma’s vehicle is a swan or goose
which symbolizes knowledge.

9. Vishnu’s
• preserver,
• god of love, benevolence, and forgiveness
• primary concern is humanity itself.
• the creation is withdrawn to a seed
whenever he sleeps but rises again as he
wakes up.
• He is worshiped in various forms of his
incarnations or avatars. Based on mythology,
Vishnu has appeared on earth in nine
different forms and will come a tenth time
to end the present era or kalpa, to bring the
world to an end, and then recreate it.

10. In Hindu sacred writings, Vishnu is depicted as
having four arms and with a dark complexion.
His most popular manifestation is Krishna who is
blue, the color of infinity and plays the flute.
Vishnu’s consort is Lakshmi, the goddess of
fortune, who us seated in a lotus between two
elephants with their trunks raised above her.
Both Vishnu and Lakshmi ride the eagle mount
or kite Garuda, the symbol of the sky and the
sun. The snake in Garuda’s claws represents
water.

11. Incarnation Form Attributes
Matsy fish Saved humanity and the sacred Veda texts from flood
Kurma turtle Helped create the world by supporting it on his back
Varaha boar Raised the earth out of water with his tusks
Narasimha half-man, half-lion Destroyed a tyrant king
Vamana dwarf Subdued king Bali, a powerful demon
Parshurama brahmin Destroyed the warrior class
Rama man Rescued his wife Sita and killed the demon Ravana
Krishna man Told the epic poem Bhagavad Gita to the warrior Arjuna
Buddha man The enlightened man
Kalki horse Yet to come to earth

12. Shiva
• destroyer and the god of death, destruction, and
disease.
• god of dance, vegetable, animal, and human
reproduction.
• In Hindu belief, death is but a prelude to birth, hence,
the god of death is also the god often revered through
the lingam, the male energy surrounded by the yoni,
the female source of energy (Bowker 1997).

13. BELIEFS
• The Caste System
divides Hindus into
four categories
based on their
karma and
dharma.

14. BELIEFS
• Moksha is freedom from
the cycle of life and
death.
• Follow your Dharma,
which is determined by
your Karma, in order to
achieve Moksha.
• River Ganges is sacred.
Many Hindus make
pilgrimages to the
Ganges.

15. Routes to Moksha
From the Upanishads, one may find the three principal
and inter-related doctrines within the Indian religion.
These are the following:
1. Every soul dies and is reborn anew in new form (this
cycle is called samsara).
2. One's deeds have an effect in this or a future life.
3. One may escape the weary round of death and birth.

16. The Four Yogas Practices
Jnana Yoga
(the way of knowledge) The path of knowledge, wisdom, introspection, and
contemplation.
Bhakti Yoga
(the way of love) The path of devotion, emotion, love, compassion,
and service to God and others.
Karma Yoga
(the way of work) The path of action, service to others, mindfulness,
and remembering the levels of our being while fulfilling our
actions or karma in the world.
Raja Yoga
(the way of meditation) The path of meditation that directly deals with the
encountering and transcending thoughts of the mind.

17. Four desirable goals or areas of life or
Purushartha.
1. dharma (appropriate behavior)
2. artha (the pursuit of legitimate worldly
success)
3. kama (the pursuit of legitimate pleasure); and
4. moksha (release from rebirth).

18. Holidays
Holi is the "Festival of
Colors." It is celebrated
in the spring.
Diwali is the "Festival of
Lights." It is celebrated in the
fall.
VIDEO: Diwali
VIDEO: Holi

19. Festivals per Month
Month Name of Festival Significance
January Lohri Celebrated in the Punjab, this marks the end of the winter
February Pongal-Sankranti A feast held in south India to celebrate the rice harvest
March Holi The national celebration of Spring and the New Year
March Shivaratri A national honoring of Shiva; Worshippers fast during the
day, and an all-right vigil is held at Shiva temples
April Sri Vaishnavas An honouring of Vishnu and his consort Sri
May Rathyatra The birthday of lord Jagannath
August Janmashtami The birthday of Krishna
September Dusserah A celebration of the triumph of good over evil
September Ganesh Chaturthi The birthday of Ganesh
October Diwali A national celebration in honor of Rama and his concert

20. Lohri
Pongal-Sankranti
Holi

21. Four Principal Denomination of Hindu Faith
• Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smartism
• These are sometimes referred to as the
denominations of Hinduism, and they differ in the
primary deity at the center of the tradition
• Share pervading beliefs concerning Karma, Dharma,
Reincarnation, and other Hindu concepts and
philosophy.

22. Vaishnavism
Lord Vishnu is God for the
Vaishnavites, especially in
his incarnation Krishna and
Rama. Adherents have
multitudes of saints,
temples, and sacred texts.

23. Shaivism
Lord Shiva, the
Compassionate One, is
God for the Saivites.
Followers of Shaivism
value self-discipline and
philosophy. They Worship
in temples and practice
yoga.

24. Shaktism
The Goddess Shakti is
supreme for Shaktas.
She is the divine
mother and assumes
many forms, be it a
gentle one or a fierce
diety. Believers use
chants, magic, and
yoga to summon
cosmic forces.

25. Smartism
For the Smartas,
devotees are left to
choose their own deity in
one of six manifestations
namely, Ganesha, Shakti,
Vishnu, Surya, and
Skanda. Smartas are
known as liberals as they
embrace all major Hindu
gods.

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