India - Truth alone triumphs

1. Presented by: Ambassador of India to Chile
Susmita Gongulee Thomas
“There are as many
ways To god as There
are men”

2. “In religion and culture,
India is the only millionaire!
There is only one India, the
land of dreams and romance.
The one land all men desire
to see, and having seen once,
by even a glimpse, would not
give that glimpse for the
shows of all the rest of the
globe combined. India is the
cradle of the human race,
the birthplace of human
speech, the mother of
history, the grandmother of
legend, and the great
grandmother of tradition.
Our most valuable and most
instructive materials in the
history of man are treasured
up in India only.”
-Mark Twain

3.  5,000 year old ancient civilization
 325 languages spoken – 1,652 dialects
 18 official languages
 29 states, 5 union territories
 3.28 million sq. kilometers - Area
 7,516 kilometers - Coastline
 1.1 Billion population.
 5600 dailies, 15000 weeklies and 20000
periodicals in 21 languages with a combined
circulation of 142 million.
 GDP $576 Billion. (GDP rate 8%)
 Parliamentary form of Government
 World’s largest democracy.
 World’s 4th largest economy.
 World-class recognition in IT, bio-technology
and pharmaceuticals.
 Largest English speaking nation in the world.
 3rd largest standing army force, over 1.5Million
strong.
 2nd largest pool of scientists and engineers in
the World.

4. Desert (West)
Mountains (North)
Beaches (South)
Plains (East) Volcanic Plateau
(Middle)

5. Punjabi Hindi
Sanskrit
Marathi Bengali
Kashmiri
Kannada
Gujarati Assamese
Tamil
Oriya
Urdu
Malayalam Telegu

6. Hinduism-about 82% Islam- about 12%
Zoroastrianism-about 0.01%
Sikhism-about 2% Christianity-about 2.5%
Jainism-about 0.5%
Zionism –about 0.0005%
Buddhism- about 0.7%

7. • Hinduism is generally regarded as the world's oldest
organized religion. Hinduism is mainly alive in India.
• It is the dominant faith of India, practised by over 82%
of the population.
• Since religion is a way of life in India, Hinduism forms an
integral part of the entire Indian tradition.
• Definition: It is not easy to define Hinduism, for it is
more than a religion in the Western sense.
• Uniqueness: Hinduism can never be neatly slotted into any
particular belief system.
• Origin: According to historians, the origin of Hinduism
dates back to 5000 or more years.
• Basic Tenets: Hinduism lacks any unified system of
beliefs and ideas.
• Scriptures: Two types of sacred writings constitute the
Hindu scriptures: heard (sruti) and memorized (smriti).
• Gods & Deities: Hinduism believes that there is only one
supreme Absolute called Brahman, but it does not
advocate the worship of one particular deity.

8. Uniqueness and Spread:-
• Hinduism differs from Christianity, Islam, and most
other religions in that it does not have a single
founder, a specific theological system, a single system
of morality, or a central religious organization headed
by an organization or individual. It consists of
"thousands of different religious groups that have
evolved in India since 1500 BCE.”
• Hinduism is today the world's third largest religion,
after Christianity and Islam. It claims about 762
million followers - 13% of the world's population. It is
the dominant religion in India, Nepal, and among the
Tamils in Sri Lanka. There are 766,000 Hindus in
2001 in the US. Statistics Canada estimates that
there are about 157,015 Hindus in Canada. It is a
growing religion.

9. • Hinduism is a henotheistic religion. It
recognizes a single deity, and views
other Gods and Goddesses as
manifestations or aspects of that
supreme God.
• Henotheistic and polytheistic
religions have traditionally been
among the world's most religiously
tolerant faiths.

10. Categorizing the religion of Hinduism is somewhat confusing:
• Hinduism has commonly been viewed in the west as a polytheistic
religion - one which worships multiple deities: gods and
goddesses. Although a widespread belief, this is not accurate.
• Some have viewed it as a monotheistic religion, because it
recognizes only one supreme God: the panentheistic principle of
Brahman, that all reality is a unity. The entire universe is seen
as one divine entity who is simultaneously at one with the
universe and who transcends it as well.
• Some view Hinduism as Trinitarian because Brahman is
simultaneously visualized as a triad -- one God with three
personalities: Brahma the Creator who is continuing to create
new realities.Vishnu, (Krishna) the Preserver, who preserves
these new creations. Whenever dharma (eternal order,
righteousness, religion, law and duty) is threatened, Vishnu
travels from heaven to earth in one of ten incarnations. Shiva,
the Destroyer, is at times compassionate, erotic and
destructive.
• Rightly speaking, Hinduism is henotheistic; it recognizes a single
deity, and recognizes other gods and goddesses as facets,
forms, manifestations, or aspects of that supreme God.

11. Lord Maheswar or
Brahma- the Creator Shiva- the Destroyer
is the first god of the Vishnu- the is third of the trinity
trinity. He is the Preserver is the of Hindu Gods.
incarnation of the second of the
Supreme Brahman. trinity.
•The Supreme Power has three aspects: Creation, Preservation, and
Destruction.
•Hinduism has given each aspect a face and legends for people to understand
these powers.
•Each Aspect has numerous manifestations.
•But they all represent the same Supreme Power.

12. • Matsya (fish)
• Kurma (tortoise)
• Varaha (boar)
• Narasimha (man-lion)
• Vamana (dwarf)
• Parasurama (the
warrior with an axe)
• Rama: kills Ravana
• Krishna
• Buddha: Hindus
consider Buddha as an
incarnation of Lord
Vishnu and accept his
teachings, but do not
directly worship him.
• Kalkin (a man on a white
horse)- Future

13. This religion is called:
• Sanatana Dharma, "eternal religion,"
• Vaidika Dharma, "religion of the Vedas,"
• Hinduism -- the most commonly used name.
• Various origins for the word "Hinduism" have been suggested:
It may be derived from an ancient inscription translated as:
"The country lying between the Himalayan mountain and Bindu
Sarovara is known as Hindusthan by combination of the first
letter 'hi' of 'Himalaya' and the last compound letter 'ndu' of
the word `Bindu.'" Bindu Sarovara is called the Cape Comorin sea
in modern times.
• It may be a Persian corruption of the word Sindhu (the river
Indus)
• It was a name invented by the British administration in India
during colonial times.
• The classical theory of the origins of Hinduism traces the
religion's roots to the Indus valley civilization circa 4000 to
2200 BCE.

14. Sacred texts:
• Hindu sacred texts are perhaps the most ancient religious texts
still surviving today. Some appear to be millennia older than the
Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) which conservative
Christians date to circa 1500 BCE and liberal scholars date to
circa 900 BCE.
• The primary sacred texts of Hinduism are the Vedas:
• The Rig Veda,
• Sama Veda,
• Yajur Veda
• Atharva Veda
Then in addition there are:
• The Upanishadas
• The Ramayana.
• The Mahabharata
• The Bhagavad Gita
• The Brahmanas, the Sutras, Puranas, and the Aranyakas.

15. Rig Veda - Knowledge of Hymns, 10,859 verses
“There is only one truth, only men describe it in different ways.“
Yajur Veda - Knowledge of Liturgy, 3,988 verses
Sama Veda - Knowledge of Classical Music, 1,549 verses
Ayur Veda - Knowledge of Medicine, over 100,000 verses
Upanishads deal with Vedic philosophy; form the conclusions of each of the
Vedas. "They tell us how the soul (Atman) can be united with the ultimate truth
(Brahman) through contemplation and mediation, as well as the doctrine of
Karma-- the cumulative effects of a persons' actions." They teach:
Jyotisha – Astrology and Astronomy.
Kalpa – Rituals and Legal matters. Dharnur Veda – Science of Archery and
Siksha – Phonetics. War.
Aitareya – Creation of the Universe, Man Mundaka – Discipline, Faith and warning of
and Evolution. Ignorance.
Chandogya – Reincarnation, Soul. Sulba Sutra – Knowledge of Mathematics
Kaushitaki – Karma. Yoga Sutra - Knowledge of Meditation
Kena – Austerity, Work, and Restraint. Kama Sutra - Knowledge of Love and Sex

16. Two major divisions within Hinduism:
• Vaishnavaism: which generally regards Vishnu as the ultimate deity
• Shivaism: which generally regards Shiva as the ultimate deity.
• In addition, many rural Hindus worship their own village goddess or an
earth goddess.
• Hindus believe in the repetitious Transmigration of the Soul. This is
the transfer of one's soul after death into another body. This produces
a continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth through their many
lifetimes. It is called samsara.
• Karma is the accumulated sum of ones good and bad deeds. Karma
determines how you will live your next life. Through pure acts, thoughts
and devotion, one can be reborn at a higher level.
• Eventually, one can escape samsara and achieve enlightenment.
• Bad deeds can cause a person to be reborn as a lower level, or even as
an animal. The unequal distribution of wealth, prestige, suffering are
thus seen as natural consequences for one's previous acts, both in this
life and in previous lives.

17. • Hinduism has a well deserved reputation of being highly tolerant
of other religions. Hinduism says:
"Ekam Sataha Vipraha Bahudha Vadanti"
"The Truth is One, Different Sages Call it by Different
Names"
• Hindus organize their lives around certain activities or "purusharthas."
• These are called the "four aims of Hinduism," or "the doctrine of the
fourfold end of life." Men can find God in two ways:
A. Those who live in the world or "samsara." as a normal humans form the
"pravritti,“. Their three goals are:
• 1. Dharma: righteousness in their religious life. This is the most
important of the three.
• 2.Artha: success in their economic life; material prosperity.
• 3. Kama: pleasure; sensual, sexual, and mental enjoyment.
B. Those who renounce the world or "samsara." are "nivritti,". Their main
goal is:
• 4. Moksa: Liberation from "samsara." This is considered the supreme
goal of mankind through meditation, yoga, daily devotions, public
rituals, and puja, a ceremonial dinner for a God.

18. 5 PRINCIPLES
1. God Exists: One Absolute OM.
One Trinity: Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwara (Shiva)
Several divine forms
2. All human beings are divine
3. Unity of existence through love
4. Religious harmony
5. Knowledge of 3 Gs: Ganga (sacred river), Gita (sacred
script), Gayatri (sacred mantra)
10 DISCIPLINES
1. Satya (Truth)
2. Ahimsa (Non-violence)
3. Brahmacharya (Celibacy, non-adultery)
4. Asteya (No desire to possess or steal)
5. Aparighara (Non-corrupt)
6. Shaucha (Cleanliness)
7. Santosh (Contentment)
8. Swadhyaya (Reading of scriptures)
9. Tapas (Austerity, perseverance, penance)
10. Ishwarpranidhan (Regular prayers)

19. Manipuri
Mohiniattam Bharatanatyam
Devadasi

20. "Man must have an original cradle land whence the
peopling of
the earth was brought about by migration.
As to man’s cradle land, there have been many
theories but the
weight of evidence is in favour of Indo-Malaysia.”
"If there is a country on earth which can justly
claim the honour of having been the cradle of the
Human race or at least the scene of primitive
civilization, the successive developments of which
carried into all parts of the ancient world and even
beyond, the blessings of knowledge which is the
second life of man, that country is assuredly India.“

21. "In India today,
we have a lady born a Catholic (Sonia Gandhi)
stepping aside so a Sikh (Manmohan Singh)
could be sworn in by a Muslim president (Abdul Kalam)
to lead a nation that's 82% Hindu.
I defy anyone to cite another country with such
diversity and tolerance to its political leadership."