FrontPage: NNIGN

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FrontPage: If you could be reborn, what would you like to come back as?

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FUNNY, OFFBEAT HOLIDAYS IN

FEBRUARY4 Thank a Mailman Day

9 Toothache Day

13 Get a Different Name Day

14 National Organ Donor Day

15 Singles Awareness Day

22 International World Thinking Day

23 International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day

24 National Tortilla Chip Day

28 Public Sleeping Day

28 National Tooth Fairy Day

Hinduism

Basic Beliefs and History

An Overview of Hinduism

An Overview of Hinduism

•One of the most widely practiced religions in the world

–700 million followers, 1 in 8 are Hindu

An Ancient Path

Basic Hindu Beliefs

• Brahman– Name Hindus give to the single

supreme force• Complex, nameless, formless, unlimited• Other gods Hindus worship are part of this

force

– Main other gods include:• Brahma - Creator• Vishnu – Preserver• Shiva - Destroyer

Basic Beliefs: Reincarnation– Rebirth of the soul in

various forms; could be anything

– Goal is to “get it right”; moksha – freeing of the soul from body to unite with Brahman

**Hindus believe people are born again and again until

they achieve moksha

Basic Beliefs: Karma

• Idea that everything you do affects your position in the next life

• Also, your present situation is a result of your past lives

Law of karma:

Good actions = Good Karma = better next life

Basic Beliefs: Caste system

– Developed from the four Aryan social classes

– Person born into caste, stays for life

**Hindus believe you must perform your dharma, or the duties of your caste, to improve your caste position in the next life

Sacred Texts

• Vedas: contain eternal truths– Originally developed by

the Aryans

• Upanishads: help to explain the ideas contained in the Vedas

• Epics – Ramayana, Mahabharata– Contain various Hindu

ideas