Founding Story:
About 83% of the people of India call themselves Hindus. Hinduism evolved over many hundreds of years. One of the earliest civilizations sprang up in India, sometime around 4000 B.C. Two dark-skinned people known as the Dravidians and Nagas established a well developed culture in the Indus River Valley. At the Indus River Valley they were told if they bathe in the valley at least once a year will wash away the bad Karma. The civilization that grew up in the Indus Valley may been superior to the civilization that appeared about the same time in Mesopotamia and Egypt. An artifact found at the ruins of Mohenjo- Daro and Harappa were clay statues of Gods and Goddesses that Hindus worship today. The civilization had roots that sprang up in the Indus Valley more than 6,000 years.
Classification:
Hindus worship thousands of Gods. Each Hindu is free to choose his or her favorite. All Hindus share certain broad ideas.
Key Figures:
Gandhi's act of civil disobedience would eventually help convince the British to give up their prized colony, which was given the independence and partitioned into India and Pakistan.
- Gandhi called for a protest and then was arrested by the British as well as other protest leaders.
- He then called for a campaign and named it the "Non-Cooperation" campaign. Indian children were withdrawn from schools, public offices resigned, and the Indians boycotted the legal system.
- In 1948, Gandhi was shot to death by a Hindu fanatic who was upset at Gandhi's toleration of Muslims.
Religious Authority:
Hinduism has no precise beginning and no founder. There is only one holy book, but there are many sacred texts written in Sanskrit. The Vedas is one of the four ancient books of hymns. The oldest Hindu texts are the Vedas. The Vedas were compiled between 1200 and 1000 B.C, but they weren't written down til 1400 A.D. The first and most important is Rig-Veda. It is made of hymns and poems praising the 33 Aryan god and goddesses. The other three Vedas are Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda, and the Atharva-Veda. The Yajur-Veda contain prayers and instructions to priests. The Sama-Veda contains melodies and chants. The Atharva-Veda is a book of spells, charms, and magic formulas. The Upanishads were written later by Hindu priests and teachers called gurus. They refer to students and others sitting around wise men, and listening to teaching in the form of stories. Today, the Mahabharate and Ramayana are beloved and more popular than the Vedas and the Upanishads. The Mahasbarata isthe longest poem ever writeen. It tell the story of a war between two tribes, The Bhagavad-Gita is the most important part of Mahabhararta, which is a discussion about life and the right way to live it. The Ramayana follows the adventure of Rama and his wife Sita.
Belief about the afterlife:
When people die, their souls are reborn into new bodies. Each time a person is reincarnated, they move up or down in the social order, depending on how they lived their life. Each time a person lives a good life, they receive good karma and they move up the caste system. Each time they receive bad karma for not living a good life they go down on the caste system. Karma is one of the natural laws of the mind.On the caste system they start off as untouchables then become Sudras, then they become Vaishyas, then Kshatriyas, and lastly they become Brahmins. After they past the Brahmins life they will make it to Nirvana and that is the whole point. The untouchables are even lower than the Sudras. They were called this because people in the upper varnas believed they would become defiled or polluted to be untouched. The Sudras are at the bottom of the social orders. They were thought to come from Brahma's feet. Sudras means "slave". The Vaishyas are made up of the merchant class. The Hindu scriptures stated that they came from the thighs or the lap of Brahma. The Kshatriyas are made up of the rulers and warriors. The Hindu scriptures say that the Kshatriyas were made from the arms of Brahma. The Brahmins are the top class. The Hindu scriptures taught that they were made from Brahma, the chief Hindu God. This could take thousands of years to accomplish. They create their own destiny through thought and action.
Goal of Religion:
To Hindus, every living creature has an Atman (soul). Their goal of the religion is to try to escape the endless cycle of rebirth and death to purify one's soul. The goal of every Hindu is to achieve moksha. Moksha is not a place the soul goes to when it has overcome all evil and desire. Trying to reach this goal can take many lifetimes. Once the rebirth cycle is over for that soul it then is in Nirvana. This is where the soul becomes part of one great soul which is called Brahman. . This is when Atman merges or reunites with Brahman.
Concept of a Higher Power:
All Hindus believe in Brahman. Brahman is not a god, it is a supreme spirit that appears everywhere and is a part of everything thing. Brahman is neither a male or female, doesn't have human form, and doesn't have any human characteristics. Since it has no form, Hindus has created many gods and goddesses which are believed to be objects or body parts that include or contain something from Brahman. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva make up the Trimurti. Vishnu and Shiva are the most important because they believe after Brahma created the world he had little to do with what happened to earth. Vishnu is worshiped more than any other god because Hindus believe he has came to earth a number of times to protect it from danger. Siva is an interesting god. He is frightening but also kind. He destroys the world as well as wars and diseases . He is also a creator that replaces the old things he has destroyed.
Rules/Guidelines for Daily Life:
They worship their god or goddess everyday. Hindus don't believe in violence and respect the aspects of Brahman. Therefore they are vegetarians because they believe that all living things have a soul or spirit that exists in everything. This is why Hindus believe that it is wrong to hurt or kill an animal. Hindus believe in dharma, which means they have to behave or set right or wrong behaviors of each social class to receive good karma. A person is not able to marry or socialize with a person outside his or her caste system. A person must the wear clothes that represent their caste. One caste system must speak to a different caste system in a specific way depending on where they are located on the caste system. One caste system cannot eat food that was made from another caste. A good Hindu may worship at home and in the mandir (temple) any number of times a day. When at home and i the mandir people take their shoes off as a sign of respect and make worship in front of murti (statue of the god or goddess they worship).
Key Holidays:
- Holi is the start of spring and celebrates new life. Families and communities come together. They throw paint at people and celebrate the good overcoming evil. When they light the fire at Holi it purifies anything evil. It is the thought of an image of a god you can see.
- Diwali is a bunch of candles lit. You need to have light in your life to see anything and move anywhere. This celebration celebrates light over darkness.
- Once a year, siblings celebrate the relationship between their brothers and sisters, which is called Raksha Bandhan.
Holy Sites and Symbols:
The symbol swastika is a ancient symbol that represents a cross with bet arms and the sun. This sign is for good luck and peace. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Germany turned this symbol into the exact opposite or the real meaning. In Sanskrit, the swastika means "bringing health." The arms represent paths to Brahman. The central idea is to show that everything in the universe comes from a single source. Another symbol is the Om which represents the sound of Brahman, and it is the symbol of the Hindu religion. The Hindus say this symbol when they begin and end their prayer. They also say it when hymns are sung and when holy verses are chanted. Puja (worship) may take at a shrine i the home as well as in a Hindu madir.
Sects and Branches:
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