HINDUISM
ORIGINS
•Product of Aryan invasions 1700 – 1200 B.C.E.
•Indus Valley is believed to have a lot to do with gods and
ceremonies
•Also believed that Aryans absorbed the culture
•Remarkable ability to assimilate tribal gods into mainstream
deities
•Ten percent of Indian population are regarded as tribal's
•Sacrifice was more dominant than personal prayer
•Caste system can be traced back to original texts
•Deals with specific territory, India
CENTRAL BELIEFS
• Not as many dogmas are other religions
•Lots of flexibility and variety in belief system
•Same sacred texts
•Same basic beliefs and orientations
•Introduction of new texts evolved Hinduism, lifestyle,
beliefs and practices
•Important changes from place to place
•Not very many changes as it moved
•Caste system changed
MAJOR GODS
•Brahma – The creator god, whose four heads and four arms
represent the four Vedas ( scriptures), castes, and yugas (ages
of the world).
•Ganesh – The elephant –headed god, bringer of good luck.
•Kali – Shiva’s fierce consort – the goddess of death – is
shown as a fearsome, blood-drinking, four-armed black
woman.
•Krishna – The eighth avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu, depicted
with blue or black skin. He is honored for his skills as a lover
and a warrior; with his consort Radha.
MAJOR GODS
Rama – The personification of virtue, reason, and
chivalry; with his consort Sita, revered for her
loyalty.
•Shiva – God of destruction, whose dancing in a circle
of fire symbolizes the eternal cycle of creation and
destruction.
•Sitala – Mothers traditionally pray to this goddess to
protect their children from sickness.
•Vishnu – The preserver, a kindly god, who protects
those who worship him, banishes bad luck, and
restores good health.
MAJOR TURNING
POINTS
•When the Rigveda was written – It brought along the caste
system
•The introduction of Krishna – The supposed tribal god who
gained national recognition and is now nationally worshiped
•Around the seventh century B.C.E. – When personal prayer
replaced sacrifice to the gods
•As the religion spread across India – since the religion has a
lot of flexibility one village can represent a lot of different
things that another village may not, such as the caste system.
CURRENTLY PRACTICED
Stages of life
•brahmacharga, which takes place during the school years, is focused on acquiring knowledge
and developing character;
•grastha, the middle years, is focused on worldly pursuits and pleasures such as marriage, family
and career;
•vanaprastha, when one's children reach adulthood, is a time of increased focus on spiritual
things;
•sanngasu, in the last years of life, one may abandon the world entirely for a life of
contemplation.
Some people become “Holy Men”, they give up all physical possesions and devote themselves to
one specific god or practice.
CURRENTLY PRACTICED
Ayurveda – special practice that involves natural healing
•There is three places of worship in the home, temple, or on a
street –side shrine
•In festival time they dress a statue and bathe it then carry it
around
•There are many festivals that take place throughout the year,
many are to represent gods
•Each family goes through different rituals in the morning,
consisting of multiple offerings to the gods that they
represent
WORKS CITED
http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/religionet/er/hinduism/HTIME.HTM
http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/practices.htm