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Sachinbhai Patel
Dr. Michael Stanton
Ant 121
November 9 2014
Hinduism
Religion allows people to live better lives. It always affects the people or society in one way or another. One of the religions is Hinduism. According to (Hindu Online 2010) “Hinduism is one of the oldest religion and spiritual tradition in the world, Hinduism is often compared with a giant banyan tree in its shade a thousand faiths bloom. Hinduism has never been a creed with a set of beliefs, but rather a culture and way of life.” However, the demand for a clear, unambiguous definition of religion has become ever more insistent with the rise of more fundamentalist voices in many religious traditions. When I think about it I never have really given any thought to what
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Hindu Deities (gods) The Hindus believe the universe is populated with many gods. These gods behave much as humans do and are related much like humans are. This view is very similar to the ancient Greek theories. The supreme gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are often viewed with the relations they have with female deities. The females are called Shakti. The gods are ranked by how closely they are related to the supreme gods. All the gods have duties but the supreme gods control the destiny. “Each god has its own part of the year when it is worshipped and own style that it gets worshipped in. Some view Hinduism as Trinitarian because Brahman is simultaneously visualized as a triad one God with three persons: Brahma the Creator who is continuing to create new realities. Vishnu, (Krishna) the Preserver, who preserves these new creations” (Tejomayananda 1993). 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. However, many rural Hindus worship their own village goddess or an earth goddess. She is believed to rule over fertility and disease and thus over life and death. The priesthood is less important in rural Hinduism: non-Brahmins and non-priests often carry out ritual and prayer there. “Karma and Rebirth A popular belief in Hinduism is Transmigration of souls, or samsara. Samsara is the passage of a soul from body to body as determined by the force of one 's actions, or karma. The strict karma theory specifies that a person 's type of birth, length of life, and life experiences are determined by one 's previous acts. 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
In the chapter on Hinduism in Philip Novak’s book The World’s Wisdom the section titled “The Transmigration of the Soul” describes the Hindu concept of reincarnation, the wheel of life, and ultimately becoming one with god. The lines in this passage very concisely describe the Hindu concepts of Brahman, Atman, Samsara, Karma, Maya and Moksha (Molloy). I believe that these concepts are at the core of all of the expressions of the Hindu religion; which makes understanding this paragraph the key to having a basic understanding of the Hindu religion.
Hinduism and Buddhism There are many religions that are practiced around the world, especially in Asia where there are eight different religions being practiced. In the country of India, Buddhism and Hinduism are the main religions that are practiced today. Buddhism and Hinduism were both founded in Asia, but they were founded by two different people and practiced in two different ways and languages. Buddhism is a living tradition that is passed down from teacher to student as a set of instruction and techniques for sanity and brilliance in the inner self and the world. Hinduism is more based on the thoughts and attitude about one’s everyday life, and reflects in his actions.
The Question of Origin: Hinduism believes everything has been in existence and is a part of numerous gods. In (Foundation of Indian Psychology Vol.2 Pg.116) the text Hinduism is a treasury of spiritual laws discovered by different people in different times of life. Over the centuries the Hindus beliefs are not literally interpreted by the scriptures and there ethics are derived from them.
Hinduism conceives the whole world as a single family that deifies the one truth, and therefore it accepts all forms of beliefs and dismisses labels of distinct religions which would imply a division of identity. It is the belief that animals and human castes were created
Other than a religion, Hinduism is a way of life through philosophy that is mostly concerned with spirituality and enlightenment. The impracticality of the Hindu religion comes from the Vedas. Vedas are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu religion that are considered to be a straight ...
In this term paper I will be comparing and contrasting Buddhism and Hinduism. Comparing both Hinduism belief, sacred text and overall view of how the world SHOULD be. Hinduism and Buddhism are two of the most influential and complex religions around the world. Both religions have similar philosophies and originated in India before 500 B.C. Both are among the top five major religions being practiced in today’s world. Hinduism ranks as the third most popular organized religion and is much older than Buddhism. Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, or Lord Buddha, who considered himself a Hindu before being called to his path and attaining enlightenment, and therefore given this fact, it follows that Buddhism share many similarities and some very distinct differences in certain doctrinal sacred texts, ideals, practices, and beliefs of Hinduism.
Hindus believe that when a soul expires, it acquires rebirth in a new body. This cycle is called samsara. To be set free from the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth one must discover their true nature in order to be with the Brahman in Nirvana. In figure G a picture of a Cambodian statue of the A.D. 900 of Brahma meditating is presented. Nirvana is a state where pain, worry and the outer world do not exist. When a person in Hindu religion has bad Karma, they must take rebirth multiple times. The sacred source of all existence is divided among three gods. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer. All three contribute to a person’s life and death and afterlife. In figure H a picture of a Vishnu sculpture is shown, and in figure I a picture of a sculpture of Shiva is
Hinduism is easily the oldest major world religion that is still in use today. It has not only survived countless attacks but has also thrived and has changed little to none in the last 2500-3000 years. "The Aryans are said to have entered India through the fabled Khyber Pass, around 1500 BC. They intermingled with the local populace, and assimilated themselves into the social framework. The Aryans did not have a script, but they developed a rich tradition. They composed the hymns of the four vedas, the great philosophic poems that are at the heart of Hindu thought" (The Aryans and the Vedic Age, 2004, par. 2).
Different religions, different ways, and one aim of maintaining religious identity. Hinduism and Judaism, two of the world’s biggest religions, are seemingly completely unalike. With differences such as their views of afterlife, death and birth Hindus believing in rebirth and “oneness” with Brahman, and Jews believing in a world to come, focusing more on God’s image, never really mentioning what happens after death. Yet when you take a closer look into both religions you find some similarities. Both religions’ rituals focus on the same things, they may be celebrated differently but the meaning behind the celebrations and the meaning behind some of their symbols are the same, and their purposes help people maintain their identity and keep the traditions of their cultures strong.
Essentially it is hard to define Hinduism as a religion or a philosophy. It contains so many cultures, philosophical systems that make itself complicated. Besides it has so many Gods and Goddess. We can convey that this state is the reflection of complex society in Indian, people from different races, geographic areas. Whereas it would be seen as a complication, there is a constant ritual with the spiritual of Hinduism.
Religions have always played a vital role between humans and its society especially in terms of what is good and proper in the society. In modern world, people have become increasingly dissociated from religion and spirituality.
Now that we have covered the social classes what are the main point of the belief system, well they have several principals that almost all Hindus believe in The three-in-one god known as "Brahman," which is composed of: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (the Destroyer). The Caste System. Karma. The law that good begets good, and bad begets bad. Every action, thought, or decision one makes has consequences good or bad that will return to each person in the present life, or in one yet to come. Reincarnation. ls also known as "transmigration of souls," or "samsara." This is a journey on the "circle of life," where each person experiences as series of physical births, deaths, and rebirths. With good karma, a person can be reborn into a higher caste, or even to godhood. Bad karma can relegate one to a lower caste, or even to life as an animal in their next life. Nirvana. This is the goal of the Hindu. Nirvana is the release of the soul from the seemingly endless cycle of rebirths (Beliefs). These five central beliefs are what makes up the Hindu religion.
Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion and was originated in the Indian subcontinent. Is rare that a big religion like Hinduism don’t have a single founder, religious organization, specific theological system and don’t even a system of morality, but it is a religion that has evolved over thousands of years. Hinduism has a diverse body of cultural and philosophical practices. Hinduism consists of belief and tradition. The most recognized belief and traditions of the Hinduism are Karma, Dharma, Samsara and Moshka. Hindu people don’t believe in violence, but they do believe in prayers, honesty, truth, austerity, celibacy and penance. The Hindu scriptures are collectively referred to as the Shashtras. The Hindu scriptures were initially passed on orally from generation to generation until finally ancient scholars wrote them down; mainly in the Sanskrit language that was the prevailing language of the time. Some of the Hindu scriptures are the Shruti and Smritis. The Shruti primarily refers to the Vedas which represent eternal truths revealed to ancient sages but some other Hindu individuals associated the Vedas with a God or a powerful person. The Smritis are all of the other text different than the Shruti. The most know of the Smritis are the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Although the Hindus worship a large pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, they believe in the one Supreme Power that manifests itself in various forms.
Religion itself can mean many different things and is interpreted differently by each group of people. The literal meaning of the word “religion” is “a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects.” Religion is divided into different secs such as Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc. Although religion is aimed to unite people and bring them together, I believe there are certain aspects that divide people or make them “different” from everyone else. The factors that have caused religion to divide are war and violence, the caste system, and rituals.
Hindu mythology has interesting theories on how the Earth was created and the reincarnation of people, Hinduism is very different to many other mythologies and has some unique key features that make it stand out from the rest. History tells that there are over 330 million gods in Hindu mythology. There are six main gods in Hinduism. Hindu’s have an interesting belief of what happens to them after death, the afterlife Hindus believe in must be met by accomplishing a goal. Hinduism is a unique belief in many gods, the life cycle and reincarnation of its people.