Hinduism

Founding

• No single founder• No single sacred text– Vedas – primary text containing hymns, incantations, and recitations

– Upanishads – collection of philosophical texts

– Bhagavad Gita – one of the Upanishads; considered the best summary of Vedic thought

• Grew out of a combination of various groups:– Ancient religion of the Indus River Valley

civilization + Brahmanism of the Aryan invaders

Brahman

• God is one, but is known by many names• Everything in the universe is part of the

unchanging, all-powerful force called Brahman• Brahman is too complex for most people to

understand• People worship gods that give a concrete form

to Brahman

Gods

• One “god” (Brahman) represented by millions of deities

• Monotheistic or Polytheistic?• Guru – spiritual guide

Brahma the Creator

Vishnu the Preserver

Shiva the Destroyer

Life• The ultimate goal of a

Hindu is to attain moksha, or union with Brahman

• Since this usually takes more than one lifetime, Hindus believe in reincarnation (“transmigration of the soul”)

• Reincarnation: rebirth of the soul in another bodily form

Other Beliefs

• Karma: Your good or bad deeds affect your future, and the future of those around you

• Dharma: religious duties that help one acquire merit for the next life

• Ahimsa: nonviolence – another key principle of Hinduism

Diwali

• Festival of Lights– Four days of celebration in late Fall/early Winter– Largest holiday for Hindus

Holi

• Celebration of Light– Welcoming the Spring (March)

Caste System

• All existence is ranked:– Brahman– Humans– Animals– Plants– Things

• This leads to the creation of a social Caste System in India

Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama

• Hindu from the foothills of the Himalayas

• Born around 566 BCE into a royal Kshatryia family

• Raised in a lavish, protected environment

The Buddha• When he saw for the first

time a sick person, an old person, and a dead person he left a happy married life to discover the realm of life “where there is neither suffering nor death”

• Meditated for 48 days in one place and he believed he understood the cure for suffering and sorrow

The Four Noble Truths

• The heart of Buddhism1. All life is full of suffering, pain and sorrow.2. The cause of suffering is the desire for things

that are really illusions, such as riches, power, and long life.

3. The only cure for suffering is to overcome desire.

4. The way to overcome desire is to follow the Eightfold Path.

The Eightfold Path

• Right views• Right aspirations• Right speech• Right conduct• Right livelihood• Right effort• Right mindfulness• Right contemplation

Dharma Wheel

• The goal of Buddhists is to reach enlightenment, or nirvana, which means union with the universes and release from the cycle of rebirth

Branches

• The Buddha’s teaching spread from northern India and was gathered into the Tripitaka

• Two schools of thought:– Theravada Buddhism: closely follow Buddha’s

original teaching– Mahayana Buddhism: made following Buddhism

easier for ordinary people

Holidays• Vesakha – The Buddha’s birthday (first full moon in May)– Public holiday– People attend temple to hear sermons, practice meditation

and honor the Buddha with various ceremonies

Buddhism in India

• Hindus incorporated the Buddha into their religion, making the Buddha another Hindu god (an “avatar” of Brahman)

• Because of this, Buddhism declined in India but is popular in many other Asian countries

Percentage of cultural/nominal adherents of combined Buddhism with its related religions (according to the highest estimates)

Hinduism vs. Buddhism

• Similar:– Karma– Dharma– Moksha– Reincarnation

• Different:– Buddhism rejects the priests of Hinduism, the formal

rituals, and the caste system– Buddha urged people to seek enlightenment through

meditation

Jainism

• Origins traced to the Indus River Valley civilization of 3000 BCE

• Stress spiritual independence and equality of all life – strict vegetarianism and respect for all living things

• Ahimsa (nonviolence) and self-control are vital for attaining moksha (realization of the soul’s true nature)

• Like Buddhism, it arose as a protest against the ritualism of Hinduism

Sikhism

• Founded in 1469 CE at a time when India was being torn apart by castes and religious factions

• Grew out of a combination of Hinduism & Islam

• Respect all religions; one God and many paths• God = Truth (“SatNam”)• Located primarily in the Punjab region