Hindu
1. Hindu is the main religion in India. 80% of the people are Hindu in this, the world’s second
most populated country.
2. The Hindu religion originated several thousand years ago. There is no one founder such as
there is with Christianity (Jesus) or Islam (Mohamed).
3. The Hindu beliefs are based upon ancient writings called the Vedas which are written in
Sanskrit, an ancient language of India. It made up of four collections of poems, rituals and
other sacred texts. Another sacred text is the Bhagavad-Gita. In this text Vishnu takes the
personality of Krishna, a chariot driver. Krishna discusses the meaning of life, duty, and
devotion to god.
4. Hindus believe in one Universal Spirit, but that God has several manifestations in thousands
of gods and goddesses. The belief in many gods is called polytheism.
5. The three primary gods are:
a. Brahma the Creator
b. Vishnu the Preserver
i. Krishna is a main incarnation of this god who is celebrated in the George
Harrison (Beatle) number one song of the early 70’s “My Sweet Lord”)
c. Shiva the destroyer (Not necessarily seen as bad)
6. The one supreme spirit is the only true reality. All living things have a soul which comes
from that spirit. Souls should seek to get free of the physical body that holds them captive
so that they can reunite with the Universal Spirit.
7. Life is a cycle: birth, life, death repeated continually (wheel of life or mandala) until one is
able to escape this body.
8. Reincarnation is the belief that the soul is reborn into a new body again and again until it
reaches perfection and is freed to join the Universal Spirit.
9. How you come back is determined by your previous life. If you are good, you will come
back in a higher life-form. If you are bad you will come back as a lower life-form. This is
called the Law of Karma. The actions in this life determine how you will come back in the
next.
10. The goal is to get better and eventually to escape the physical body and be at one with the
universe (Nirvana in Buddhism)
11.Yoga is a practice of meditation which focuses on escape from the physical to the spiritual.
12. There are four recognized levels of human life. These are called castes. Until 1948, castes
were segregated (separated) by law. The main levels (Castes) are:
a. Brahmin- priests
b Warrior
c. Merchants and Farmers
d. Servant
13. A lower level of people were known as the Untouchables (Gandhi called them Harijans or
children of God.)
Another form of belief in India is Sikhism which is found mostly in Northern India.
15. In recent years people of the Hindu faith have come to America.
16. Many Hindus are vegetarians due to their belief of reincarnation which indicates that
animals may be the incarnation of humans from a previous life.
17. A religious leader in Hinduism is called a Guru.
18. The place of worship is called a Mandir. There is no set day of worship, but often Hindus
gather on Sundays.
19. The Ganges River is seen as sacred. Many Hindus take ritual baths symbolizing cleansing
there.
20. Gandhi was a famous Hindu who led India to independence through non-violent resistance
to British rule. He based his non-violence on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. He used
strikes, boycotts, marches, etc. but not violence to convince the most powerful nation on
earth to give them independence. These technique were later used by the American Civil
Rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
21. A major festival in India is Diwali or the Festival of Lights. It likely began as a harvest by
lighting candles and lamps.estival, and it celebrates the beginning of the year
14.