Today’s Schedule- 4/23/14

• CNN Student News– 25.1 Vocab Check

• 25.1 Reading Quiz (4 questions)• Current Event Presentations• Finish Ganges River/Hinduism Video• PPT: Hinduism• HW:

-Nothing due tomorrow

HINDUISM

Introduction

• India is a secular country• 80% of population practice Hinduism– Third most practiced religion in the world

• Cannot be traced to a specific person or historical event

• Evidence of its practice dates back to 4,000 BCE– Making it the oldest of the major living religions

Purpose• Everyone has the same goal– To achieve an understanding that all beings are the same– Achieving this is to understand Brahman

• To achieve this understanding one should meditate to get in touch with ones inner Atman (soul)– Often done through yoga

• Anyone can be a Hindu

Gods/Goddesses

• Main gods of the Hindu faith– Brahma is the creator– Vishnu is the preserver– Shiva is the destroyer

• There are millions of gods and goddesses in the Hindu faith– People are encouraged to worship whichever god/goddess

helps them achieve Brahman

Other Popular Gods

• Ganesha– Lord of all living beings

• Buddha• Krishna• Ram• Why so many?– Reincarnation

Beliefs• Reincarnation– That one is reborn into a new life after death– Hindus anticipate many lifetimes, so they do not experience the

urgency to get it all right in one lifetime

• Dharma– One’s duty or path– Is determined by determined by gender, caste, and stage

of life• Karma– Belief that every action produces an effect– It has nothing to do with judgment of people or gods but

it is the natural consequence of an action

Caste• The caste system seems to have

emerged during the Aryan settlement as a way of maintaining social order

• All people were divided into hereditary castes– Brahmin – Priests and teachers– Kshatriya – warriors– Vaishya – producers (farmers,

merchants, artisans)– Shudra – servants and laborers

Untouchables• An additional category of “outcast” exists– For all those who are deemed outside of the social

system– This group includes the “Untouchables” who only

recently began to enjoy legal rights due to the work of Gandhi• He renamed them “God’s beloved”

OTHER RELIGIONS

Islam

• Largest minority religion in India

Sikhism

• Combination of Muslim belief in one God with the Hindu belief in reincarnation and karma

• Preaches equality of all people– Rejects caste system

Jainism• Attempt to conquer one’s dependence on the

material world– Some don’t even wear clothing

• Prohibiting from harming life– Some walk with a broom and facecloth