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Hinduism हिंदुत्व

The Origin of Hinduism Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world. It originally came from many diverse, ancient religious traditions of India (such as the Aryans). This religion is polytheistic, so that means they worship many gods. Where you live in India depends on how you practice that religion The caste system* is an important part in Hinduism. Hinduism is based off their “holy books”, The Vedas. The Vedas are ancient sacred Hindu hymns or verses composed in Sanskrit**. *caste system: a system in which you are born into your social class. You don’t marry anyone outside of your class and you take the occupation of what your parents did. **Sanskrit: the ancient sacred language of the entire India

The Vedas: Ridveda, Upanishads, and Brahmanas o Universal spirit(Brahman) and individual spirit(atman) are the same substance, as sparks are the same as fire o The atman will at some point unite w/ the Brahman o The Brahmanas sets out rules for Brahmins, also contains procedures for sacrifice and worship o The Upanishads tell about a lot of the beliefs o From Upanishads: concept of Life cycles - There are 3 Stages 1 st stage, brahmacharya, youthful time of studies and celibacy 2 nd stage, ranaprastha, reflection outside the demands of everyday life 3 rd stage, sannyasin, total immersion in mediation in preparation for death and ideally for moksha( union w/ Brahman)

o Temples are a very important part in the way the Hindus worship. o They didn’t generally attract or seek, converts outside of India. But southeast Asia had an exception. o They have several sets of principles: Caste, dharma, karma, life stages, samsara and moksha. -They represent the order in universe and individual life -Things are taught from guru(teacher) to shishya(student)

The Meenakshi Temple, located in the holy city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, is dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consorts.

*Turning Points* There were many turning points in the religion of Hinduism. One of the turning points was when the book of Bhagavad was written. This book told about everything in Hinduism. It helped other people learn about the religion and helped others practice the religion correctly. Some of the crucial events that affected this religion was the spread of it. The religion rotated all around the world and more empires like the Gupta empire began to use it in their everyday lives.

*Significant Decision* Treating women differently ( not murdering them) Caste system isn't used as much as it used to be. putting in a new leader with different ideas.

* Consequences from their decisions* After changing the way they treated women, more people began to use Hindu practices more and more everyday. The consequences weren't that severe some men didn’t agree with the changing of how to view women but they didn’t retort.

*Important changes as it spread* Some of the important changes as the religion spread was how many people began to worship Shiva and all the other Hindu gods/goddess’s. Women had gained independence and honor. From Hinduism people were inspired and some how began coming up with ideas that evolved into the religion of Buddhism.

Brihadishwara Temple, located in Thanjavur and is dedicated to the worship of Shiva.

Hinduism is an ever evolving religion, one that stays true to its roots, but also adapts to changes in society and the world around it. In ancient times, one was only Hindu if they were born in India, or were of Indian descent. Today… Now, there are approx. 885 million followers of the various sects of Hinduism, over 1.1 million of those worshippers live right here, in the United States of America.

Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world, aged approx. 6,000 years, and that it has been able to stand strong over this extensive period of time is truly remarkable. Hinduism, as previously stated, has not changed too much, except for becoming more lenient to people of non-Indian descent becoming part of this religion. Cont’d…

The Ellora Cave Temples are located 30 kilometers away from the city of Aurangabad. It features statues of Shiva, Parvati, Rama, and various other Gods and Goddesses.

Above: A statue of Sita, wife and Consort of God Rama.

Kali, Goddess of Death. Shiva, Lord of Destruction.

**This video features a brief glimpse of Sanskrit writing, and shows a statue of Lord Shiva and his mistress, Kali.**

Goddess Lakshmi, revered for her beauty. Lord Krishna, Honoured lover and warrior.

**Clip shows Raj comparing Sakina’s beauty to a mural of Lakshmi.**

Lord Vishnu, protector and banisher of bad luck. Lord Rama, personification of Virtue, Reason, and Chivalry.

**Video shows a young boy dressed as God Rama, holding a bow and arrow in his right hand.**

Video clips from ‘Tomb Raider: Underworld’, ‘Saawariya’, and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Photos from deviantART.com and Google image search.