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Hinduism

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... one truth or not, unless indeed, we let a particular faith simply ... Indeed, one can reach God if one follows any of the paths with wholehearted devotion. ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Hinduism


1
Hinduism
  • We cannot know whether there is only one truth
    or not, unless indeed, we let a particular faith
    simply state the matter for us and secondly,
    even if there is only one truth, there are many
    ways that lead to it.
  • Swami Agehananda Bharati

2
A Few Facts and Figures
  • No unique philosophy
  • No founder or central teacher
  • No one deity (330 million of them) in the
    strictest sense of the word
  • Over 800 million Hindus
  • 13.7 of the worlds religious population is
    Hindu
  • 99.2 of all Hindus live in Asia
  • The majority live in India and Nepal (the only
    Hindu nation in the world)
  • Large minorities in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and
    Pakistan

3
What does Hindu mean?
  • The Persian word for the Indus River is how we
    get the word (in Sanskrit it is Sidhu.)
  • Indigenous Term Sanatana Dharma or Eternal
    Duty

4
Sri Ramakrishna (19th century teacher)
  • God has made different religions to suit
    different aspirations, times and countries. All
    doctrines are only so many different paths but a
    path is by no means God (Gods)self. Indeed, one
    can reach God if one follows any of the paths
    with wholehearted devotion. One may eat a cake
    with icing either straight or sidewise. It will
    taste sweet either way. As one can ascend to the
    top of a house by means of a ladder or a bamboo
    staircase or a rope, so diverse are the ways and
    means to approach God, and every religion in the
    world shows one of these ways......
  • People partition off their lands by means of
    boundaries, but no one can partition off the
    all-embracing sky overhead. The indivisible
    sky surrounds all and includes all. So it is
    in all ignorance people say, My religion is the
    only one, my religion is the best. When a
    heart is illumined by true knowledge, it
    knows that above all these wars of sects and
    sectarians presides the one indivisible,
    eternal, all-knowing bliss.

5
No One Hinduism
  • Classical or Brahamanic Hinduism favors elite,
    educated men
  • Many variations in deities worshiped and
    practices of faith

6
A Little History
  • Dravidian People
  • Native to Region
  • Harappan Civilization
  • Advanced Urban Areas in Indus Valley
  • 2500-1500 BCE
  • Many figurines and seals survive

7
Vedic Religion
  • Mixture of a new cultural influence with
    traditional forms
  • Vedas
  • Scriptural texts
  • Sanskrit
  • vid or to know

8
Vedas
  • Four Parts To a Veda
  • Samhitas
  • Main Body
  • Oldest Part
  • Hymns of Praise
  • Brahmanas
  • Manuals about ritual
  • Aranyakas
  • forest texts
  • Quite esoteric
  • Upanishads
  • Near sitting
  • Spiritual Teaching
  • Four Vedas
  • Rig-Veda
  • Sama-Veda
  • Yajur-Veda
  • Artharva-Veda

9
Two Basic Types of Literature
  • SHRUTI
  • Oldest Texts
  • Heard by wise ones or rishis
  • Recited for centuries by pupils for their
    teachers and thus preserved
  • SMIRTI
  • 500 CE or later
  • Remembered tradition
  • Often collections of either
  • Dharma (obligations, duties, laws)
  • Itihasa (how it was or epic literature)

10
Itihasa
  • Mahabharata
  • Worlds Longest Poem
  • Bhagavad-Gita
  • Book 6
  • Song of the Adorable One
  • Krishna is the subject

11
Core Concepts -- Brahman
  • To Be Great
  • Nirakara and Nirguna
  • Without form and without attributes
  • Sakara and Saguna
  • With form and with attributes
  • Sat
  • Reality itself
  • Chit
  • Pure consciousness
  • Ananda
  • Bliss

12
More Key Ideas
  • Atman
  • Originally breath or soul
  • Universal spirit
  • Jiva
  • Our individual self
  • More like the western concept of a soul
  • More common in Jainism
  • Prakriti
  • Physical matter
  • Maya
  • magic or trick
  • illusion

13
Samsara
  • Wheel
  • Continuous cycle of birth/death/rebirth
  • Humans are trapped our goal is moksha or
    liberation

14
Karma and Reincarnation
  • Karma
  • To Do
  • Deeds, Works
  • The sum total of an individuals desires,
    thoughts, feelings, and actions.
  • Actions Produce Consequences
  • Reincarnation
  • Taking on bodily form again
  • Not necessarily human
  • Based on your karma

15
Ashramas Life Stages
  • Bramacharya
  • Grihastha
  • Vanaspratha
  • Moksha
  • sannyasin

16
Four Life Goals
  • Artha
  • Kama
  • Dharma
  • Moksha

17
Castes
  • Brahmins
  • Priests, philosophers
  • Kshatriyas
  • Warriors, nobles
  • Vaishyas
  • Farmers, Merchants
  • Shudras
  • Laborers, Artisans

18
Bhagavad Gita 1811
  • the duties of the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas
    and Shudras have been fixed according to the
    qualities arising from their inherent natures.
    The natural duties of a Brahmins are serenity,
    self-restraint, religious austerity, ritual
    purity, forgiveness, uprightness, spiritual
    knowledge, and belief in God. The natural duties
    of a Kshatriya are bravery, splendor, fortitude,
    dexterity, courage in battle, and the exercise of
    authority. The natural duties of a Vaishya are
    agriculture, cattle-rearing, and trade. In the
    same way, rendering work through service is the
    natural duty of a shudra.

19
Final Notes on Caste
  • Social Order
  • Mlechcha or untouchables are outside of the
    system
  • Renamed harijan or children of God by Gandhi
  • Dvija or twice-born
  • Upper three castes
  • They can study the Vedas

20
Spiritual Disciplines
  • Yoga
  • Yug yoke or union
  • State of living in the divine
  • Four Paths

21
Bhakti Yoga
  • To Share
  • Most common path
  • Path of Devotion or Love
  • Ishta
  • Mantra
  • Japam

22
Jnana Yoga
  • Path of Knowledge
  • Way of Wisdom
  • Intellectual Orientation Spiritual Insight
  • Who am I?
  • Neti-Neti
  • not this, not this

23
Karma Yoga
  • Path of Selfless Action
  • Putting yourself to work helping others without
    any thought to your own reward
  • Every act part of the divine that we all share

24
Raja Yoga
  • Raj reintegration
  • Path of Stillness
  • Samadhi or union with the divine is your goal
  • Sadhanas or practices
  • Date back in time
  • Coherent system finally developed by 2nd century
  • Pantanajalis sutras or threads (196 total
    eight steps)

25
First, the body
  • The body is full of energy (kundalini)
  • Seven chakras or circles. They move energy
  • Must move energy through the body in order to
    reintegrate and reach higher consciousness

26
Chakras
  • Mooladhara or base
  • Swadishthan or sacral
  • Nabhi (Manipura) or solar plexus
  • Anahat, Anahata or Heart
  • Vishuddhi or throat
  • Agnya or brow
  • Sahasara or crown 1000-petal lotus

27
Step One
  • Yamas
  • Self-control
  • Five Abstentions
  • Ahimsa or non-injury
  • Satya
  • Bramacharya
  • No Greed
  • No Theft

28
Step Two
  • Niyamas or observances
  • 5 observances
  • Cleanliness
  • Contentment
  • Self-Control
  • Studiousness
  • Contemplation of the Divine
  • Works with step one
  • Clears your visual field by removing you from
    concerns of this world

29
Step Three
  • Asanas or posture
  • Most common is the lotus (padmasana)
  • Align chakras for good energy flow

30
Step Four
  • Pranayamas or breath control
  • Prana is life energy
  • Three basic types of breath
  • Clavicular
  • Thoracic
  • Deep Abdomina

31
Step Five
  • Pratyahara or sense control
  • Learning to control all of the data you see,
    hear, smell, taste, and touch

32
Step Six
  • Dharana
  • Steadying the Mind
  • Working to Focus on One Thing
  • Mantras again are helpful as are ishtas
  • Yantras linear image

33
Step Seven
  • Dhyana
  • Meditation
  • Start Experiencing Loss of Self

34
Step Eight
  • Samadhi
  • Sam with
  • Adhi divine or Lord
  • Higher Consciousness or Illumination

35
Hindu gods and goddesses
  • 33 gods/goddesses in the sacred texts (more if
    you count the names)
  • 33 koti devas
  • Koti can mean kinds or types
  • Koti can also mean 10,000,000
  • 330 million
  • Trimurti or Triple Form
  • Brahma
  • Vishnu
  • Shiva
  • Most Hindus
  • Vaishnavites
  • Saivites
  • Saktas

36
Vaishnavites
  • 580 million adherents
  • Third only to Roman Catholics (1,030,000,000) and
    Sunni Muslims (940,000,000)
  • Typically with four arms on the serpent Shesha
    with consort Lakshmi
  • Avatars or descents 22 mentioned only 10 really
    key

37
Saivites
  • 220 million followers
  • Fifth (Eastern Orthodox Christians are fourth at
    240 million)
  • Symbolizes asceticism
  • Mahadeva or Great god
  • Spouse is Parvarti

38
Saktas
  • 50 million worship goddesses
  • Durga is the great goddess
  • Kali is the destroyer of evil
  • Also Parvarti, Uma
  • Tantras (sacred texts) help explain the feminine
    and stress the need for unity between the male
    and the female
  • Union of a lingam and yoni

39
Mohandas Gandhi
  • 1869-1948
  • Satyagraha or reality force
  • Mahatma or Great Spirit

40
Final Notes -- India
  • 1,065,070,607
  • 0-14 years 31.7
  • 15-64 years 63.5
  • 65 years and over 4.8
  • 2.5 worlds land 15 of the worlds population
  • 1.44 growth rate
  • 15 million people added each year
  • Median age is 24
  • Life expectancy is 65
  • Most women average 2.85 children
  • Literacy
  • definition age 15 and over can read and write
  • total population 59.5 male 70.2 female
    48.3
  • Religion
  • Hindu 81.3, Muslim 12, Christian 2.3, Sikh
    1.9, other groups including Buddhist, Jain,
    Parsi 2.5

41
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