Hinduism - Loudoun County Public Schools€¦ · The Vedas are four collections of prayers, magical...
Transcript of Hinduism - Loudoun County Public Schools€¦ · The Vedas are four collections of prayers, magical...
HINDUISM
Everything You need to know
The World and India After the Indus River Valley◦ Indo-Europeans begin migrating
- - Migrated from mid Europe to all over Europe
◦ Hittites attacked Mesopotamia (Fertile Crescent)
◦ Aryans invade Indus River Valley
◦ Aryans change everything about Indus society
Foundations of Hinduism
◦A collection of religious beliefs
◦Cannot be traced to a single founder.
◦The ideas that shapeHinduism formed overtime, as the cultures of theAryans blended with thenon-Aryans in India
◦Beliefs of Hinduism reinforcedthe caste system
◦ Spread out along major trade routes
throughout Asia
◦Mahabharata
◦ Story of the early Aryans and their struggles
◦ 106,000 verse poem, longest poem ever
◦ Sacred writings: Vedas and Upanishads
Aryans & Vedas
◦ Semi-nomadic people who crossed the
mountains into the Indus Valley around 1500 BCE
◦ Left almost no
archaeological
record, but their
sacred literature,
the Vedas, left a
fairly reliable
picture of Aryan
life.
Vedas
◦ The Vedas are four collections of prayers, magical spells, and instructions for
performing rituals.
◦ The most important collection is the Rig
Veda and it contains 1028 hymns, all of
which are devoted to Aryan gods.
Upanishads
◦ Hindu teachers tried to interpret and explain the
hidden meaning of the Vedic hymns. This leads
to the Upanishads.
◦ Upanishads: written as conversations between
student and teacher (upa-near, ni-down, shad-to
sit)
◦ Purpose: to understand Vedas and discussion of
how to achieve moksha (freedom of suffering
and desires—a state of understanding all things)
The Caste System
◦ The Aryans (meaning “the nobles” in their
language) called the people native to
India the dasas (meaning “dark”)
◦Aryans were pastoral people and
counted their wealth in cows
◦Dasas were town dwellers who lived in
community protected by walls.
◦ According to Indian Tradition, the four major
castes emerged from the mouth, arms, legs, and
feet of Perusha (the first human being).
◦ Perusha is identified with the creator god
Brahma. The
body part
indicated the
dignity and role
of the caste that
emerged
from it.
UNTOUCHABLES
Hinduism
◦Atman – The individual soul of a living
being
◦Brahman – The world soul that contains
and united all atmans.
◦ The interconnectedness of all life is a basic
concept in all Indian religions.
Namaste◦ “I bow to the divine in you”
◦All things on earth are considered
to be part of Brahman (the
Supreme Cosmic Spirit): everyone
and everything has something of
the divine in them.
Key Characteristics (according to the SOLs)
◦Rigid caste system in religious
law based on one’s occupation
◦Belief in many gods BUT these
many gods are all forms of
Brahman
◦ Hinduism is polytheistic/monotheistic
◦Reincarnation: rebirth based on
your karma
Main Gods
◦3 main gods of Hinduism
◦ Brahma- the creator
◦ Vishnu- the protector
◦ Shiva- the destroyer
◦When a person understands the
relationship between atman and
Brahman, that person achieves perfect
understanding (moksha) and a release from life in this world.
◦ This understanding does not normally
happen in one lifetime, but the process of
reincarnation (rebirth), an individual soul or spirit is born again and again until
moksha is achieved.
◦Karma: the knowledge that all
thoughts and actions result in future
consequences
◦Do good dharma to get good karma
◦Dharma: the right thing to do in any
situation—how one should act
◦Karma influences life circumstances like
◦Caste one is born into
◦ State of one’s health
◦Wealth or poverty
New Religions Arise
◦Period of speculation reflected in the
Upanishads lead to the rise of two
other religions
◦ Jainism
◦Buddhism (Talk about another day)
Jainism◦ Mahavira, the founder of Jainiam, was born
around 599 B.C.E. and died around 527 B.C.E.
◦ Believed that everything in the universe has a
soul and should not be harmed
◦ Monks carry the doctrine of nonviolence to its
logical conclusion
◦ Wear masks to avoid hurting insects accidently
◦ Sweep their paths
◦ Believers in Jainism tend to work in the areas of
trade and commerce
◦ Make up some the wealthiest communities in
India today.
Buddhism
Founding◦ Founded by Siddhartha
Gautama, who grew up as a
Hindu in a part of India that is
present-day Nepal
◦ Born a rich prince, he
discovered suffering after
leaving his palace and
exploring the neighboring town
◦ He devoted his life to searching
for:
◦ Enlightenment: search for religious
truth and wisdom
◦ An end to suffering
Spreading of Buddhism
•Buddhism became a
major religion when
Ashoka sent
missionaries from India
to China and other
parts of Asia
Key Characteristics (based on the enlightenment of Buddha)
◦4 Noble Truths
◦ Everything in life is suffering and sorrow
◦ The cause of all suffering is the selfish desires of
people
◦ The way to end all suffering is to end all desire
◦ The way to overcome all desire and attain
enlightenment is to follow the Eightfold Path, or
the Middle Way between desires and self-
denial
Eightfold Path
◦Like a staircase—those seeking
enlightenment must master one step
at a time
Eightfold Path
◦ Right View – Know the truth
◦ Right Intention – Free your mind of evil
◦ Right Speech – Say nothing that hurts others
◦ Right Action – Work for the good of others
◦ Right Livelihood – Respect life
◦ Right Effort – Resist evil
◦ Right Concentration – Practice Meditation
◦ Right Mindfulness – Control your thoughts
◦By following the
Eightfold Path, one
could reach total
enlightenment, or
Nirvana, which
was Buddha’s
word for the
release from
selfishness and
pain.
Different Buddhas