Hinduism
Instructions: Take turns reading the sections out loud. When you see the arrow symbol, stop and discuss what you just read.
Hinduism is the major religion of India. It has about 950 million followers. Although most Hindus live in India, Hindu literature and philosophy have influenced people throughout the world.
Hinduism represents a diverse group of beliefs, practices, and texts that have developed over thousands of years. Many Hindus claim that their religion has been practiced for longer than any other religion in the world.
One central belief is in Brahman, the universal spirit behind everything. Brahman is the force behind all other deities who each represents an aspect of Brahman’s being. Every Hindu has his or her favorite gods or goddesses, and they often have shrines dedicated to worshipping their gods in their homes.
Hindus worship many gods, called divinities. Hindus believe that even though the divinities appear in separate forms, they make up one all-powerful spirit called Brahman. The most important divinities include (1) Brahma, who created the world, (2) Vishnu, who keeps the world safe, and (3) Shiva, who will destroy the world. Shiva's wife—the goddess of birth and death, called Durga, Kali, Parvati, or Uma—is also an important divinity.
Another important belief is that of reincarnation, or the rebirth that every living thing (plants, animals, and humans), must go through. The ultimate goal of Hindus is to reunite their souls with that of Brahman like a drop of water is absorbed into the ocean after the rain. Being one with Brahman is called moksha (liberation), and those who reach this state are free from being reincarnated over and over again. Hindus call the cycle of rebirth from which they wish to escape samsara.
Early in India’s history, there was a mixing of two different peoples: the Aryans, a nomadic group who came to India from Central Asia and the Dravidic people who were native to the Indus River valley. This mixing of people led to a new social order. To secure their status, the Aryans put into effect new social and religious rules. These rules allowed only Aryans to occupy the higher social classes—such as priests, warriors and landowners. Under this system, people were divided into four hereditary classes, known as castes. The lowest level of society, the untouchables were completely outside the caste system.
Caste lines were rigid and based on birth. Under the caste system, people lacked all social mobility (the ability to change social classes). People were not permitted to marry outside their caste. Untouchables performed the lowliest tasks, such as handling dead bodies or sweeping streets. Although the caste system has been officially outlawed in modern India, it still affects people today. Most of India’s poor belong to lower castes and they lack the education to pursue job opportunities which would help them move out of a life of poverty.
The law of karma determines life. According to karma, a person will only achieve a better place in his next life if he makes good choices and lives morally in this life. Unkind acts may mean hardships next time around. The Hindu belief in karma means that we create our own future circumstances. Only accumulating good karma would allow someone to move up in the caste system, and that would only happen in the next life. There are still some people in India who believe that if people are poor or they suffer from a disease or natural disaster that it must be because of bad choices or bad actions in a previous life.
Finally Hindus believe in ahimsa that is a Sanskrit term meaning non-violence. Many Hindus follow vegetarian diets because of this belief and it also influenced the non-violent methods of protest organized by Gandhi against the British colonization of India.
Typically, Hindus worship as individuals or families, not as large communities. Many religious observances, called puja take place at home. Most homes have a shrine devoted to a deity or deities chosen by the family. The husband or wife usually conducts the daily family worship. Some important ceremonies are performed at home, including rituals of thanksgiving and rituals connected with such life events as pregnancy and childbirth. Sometimes a family member conducts these rituals, and sometimes a priest visits the home to perform them.
Individuals and families also visit temples to worship deities. Most Hindu temples have many shrines. Each temple recognizes one deity as central. Each shrine portrays a form of a deityin a sculpted image. Priests perform rituals (puja) in which they invite the divine being (Brahman), who is everywhere, to reside in the images. Hindus treat these images as special guests. Priests wash and dress the images and bring them food daily. Hindus do not consider this idol worship, because the deities are believed to actually inhabit the images.
Hindus venerate (have deep respect for) holy people, both living and dead, who have achieved special spiritual status. Some may be gurus (spiritual teachers) who have developed deep spiritual understanding. Others may be yogis (people who practice yoga) who have gained spiritual power through asceticism (strict self-discipline). Hindus who venerate gurus or yogis sometimes disagree about who is a true guru or yogi.
The Vedas are the oldest Hindu scriptures. “Veda” means the “book of knowledge” and they provide the guidelines on how to worship the gods through hymns, sacrifices, songs and melodies, and spells and curses. The Upanishads are also important Hindu scriptures. They are an amazing collection of writings, which are so ancient that they were originally passed down orally. It is here that we find all the fundamental teachings that are central to Hinduism — the concepts of "karma" (action), reincarnation, "moksha" (nirvana), the "atman" (soul), and "Brahman". Finally, there is theBhagavad-Gita which is a Sanskrit poem consisting of 700 verses divided into 18 chapters. Most Hindus regard it as their most important text since it contains a synopsis of their key beliefs.