Hinduism
Hinduism
• One of the world’s oldest religions
– Over 3,000 years old
• No single founder
– Formed from the beliefs of the diverse
groups who settled in India
• Original people of the Indus valley
• Aryans
Origins
• Developed from the
Vedas
– 3500 – 2500 years ago
– Polytheism
• rituals and many gods
– Sacred texts
– The Caste System
Braham
• One universal spirit
• Appears as many different gods
– This gave people a concrete way to
worship and understand an impersonal god
Atman
• The individual soul
of human beings
Moksha
• Ultimate goal of
Hinduism
• Union with the
universal spiritual
force (Brahman)
– Release from worldly
cares and difficulties
• Atman + Brahman = Moksha
Reincarnation
• Sometimes called
Samsara
• Atman is reborn
into the world
after death
• Continues until
union with the
Brahman
Dharma
• Spiritual and moral duties that must
be followed
Karma
• All of the deeds of a
person’s life
• Allows people to continue
towards Brahman
• Goods deeds
– Reincarnated into a higher
castes
• Bad deeds
– Reincarnated into a lower
caste or stuck in the same
level
Sacred Texts
• Vedas
• Upanishads
– Nature of the
world and meaning
of life
• Ramayana and
Mahabharata
– Epic poems
– Discuss importance
of following dharma
Hindu Gods
• Brahma
• The god of creation
Hindu Gods
• Vishnu
– The preserver god
• Appears as ten
different avatars
Krishna with his consort Radha ;
appears in the Mahabharata
Shiva
• God of destruction
• Constructive
destruction
Shiva with his wife, Parvati, and his
son Ganesha
How Ganesha got his Elephant
Head
• Parvati (Ganesha’s mom) told him to
stay outside her bath and allow no
one to enter
• Shiva arrived, and because he had
been away for a long time, Ganesha
didn’t recognize his dad
• When Ganesha refused to allow Shiva
to enter, Shiva cut off his head
• Parvati refused to allow Shiva into
her bedroom unless Ganesha was
returned to life
• Shiva took the head from the next
animal to appear, and restored
Ganesha to life with an elephant’s
head
All of the many Hindu
deities are
manifestations of the
spirit Brahman