• At first, the Aryans and the other civilization in India practiced their own religions.

• The Dasas were the other major civilization living in India at the time

• The Dasas and the Aryans clashed and fought with one another.

• Eventually, the Aryans and the Dasas intermingled

• Their seperate forms of religions fused into one.

• New religious ideals were formed

• The Aryans’ + Dasas’ beliefs = Hinduism

• Hinduism is a collection of religious beliefs that developed slowly over a long period of time in India around 1700-1100 BC. *NO founder has been traced

Vinayagar

Hanuman

• Hindus share a common worldview.– Religion is a way of liberating the soul from

illusions, disappointments, and mistakes of everyday existence.

• Sometime between 750 and 550 B.C., Hindu teachers tried to understand and explain the hidden meaning in the Vedic hymns

• Remember the Veda?

• The teachers’ interpretations were written down in a book called the Upanishads

Adi Shankara

• The Upanishads are written dialogues or discussions betweens students and teachers.

• The dialogues between the students and teachers explain how people can achieve freedom from desires and sufferings.

• This achievement is known as moksha • A state of perfection

• Atman (the human soul)

• Brahman (the uniting soul)

• When a person fully understands the relationship between atman and Brahman, this is when they achieve PERFECT understanding

– PERFECT understanding= Moksha

God Kali

• Three Paths to achieve Moksha:– Path of right thinking

– Path of right action

– Path of religious devotion

*A sadhu is person who has given up their

life to achieve Moksha*

• Moksha does not usually come every lifetime.

• Sometimes it takes multiple lifetimes before a spirit reaches the PERFECT understanding

• Hindus believe in Reincarnation– Reincarnation is basically a Rebirth

– An individual soul or spirit is born again and again until moksha is achieved.

• Reincarnation is affected by karma

• Karma is the soul’s good or bad deeds.

• It follows one’s soul from one reincarnation to another.

• It influences specific life circumstances, such as being born into castes.

• Hinduism has changed greatly over the last 2,500 years.

• The word soul Brahman has the personalities of THREE GODS

• Brahma = The Creator

• Vishnu = The Protector

• Shiva = The Destroyer

• Devi (a mother Goddess) has become more important.

Devi Bhrama

Vishnu Shiva

• Hindu ideas about karma and reincarnation has strengthened the caste system

*Remember the social order system?*

• Whatever social class you were born into depended on your karma in a past life.– If you lived a good life, you were born into the wealthier class

• Ex: Merchant or warrior

– If you lived a bad life, you were born into the bottom classes • Ex: Untouchables

• Hinduism and the caste system determined:– What a person ate

– Cleanliness

– And who you could associate and talk with

April 2008