1. Religions of South Asia

2. Hinduism

3. Hinduism 800,000,000 followers Oldest living religion 8,500 years old.
Mainly in India

4. Roots of Hinduism Grew out of the ancient Aryan Vedas
No specific founder
Polytheistic/Monotheistic - debate

5. Hinduism Gods
Each god represents different aspects of Brahman (an unchanging, all-powerful spiritual force)
Brahma – Creator
Vishnu – Preserver
Shiva – Destroyer
Countless more gods

6. Foundation of Hinduism
Reincarnation - endless cycle of life.
When the cycle of rebirth thus comes to an end, a person is said to have attained moksha, or salvation from reincarnation.

8. Foundation
Dharma – duties in life; the correct understanding of reality in its teachings

9. Foundation Karma is the value of all life’s actions.
Good karma – reborn higher
Bad karma – reborn into suffering, or a lower caste.
"I am the owner of my karma . I inherit my karma. I am born of my karma. I am related to my karma. I live supported by my karma. Whatever karma I create, whether good or evil, that I shall inherit." The Buddha, Anguttara Nikaya V.57 - Upajjhatthana Sutta

11. Caste System
Comparable to class structures in other countries

12. Caste System Determined by birth -- same as your parents
Dictated your occupation, choice of spouse

13. Caste System
The “four orders of human beings”

15. Caste System
The Untouchables/Dalits were people who did not belong to any caste; impure

16. Caste System Outlawed in 1949
But it remains an ingrained social structure, particularly in rural India.

17. A random sampling of headlines in mainstream Indian newspapers:
"Dalit boy beaten to death for plucking flowers"; "Dalit tortured by cops for three days"; "Dalit 'witch' paraded naked in Bihar"; "Dalit killed in lock-up at Kurnool"; "7 Dalits burnt alive in caste clash"; "5 Dalits lynched in Haryana"; "Dalit woman gang-raped, paraded naked"; "Police egged on mob to lynch Dalits".

18. "Dalits are not allowed to drink from the same wells, attend the same temples, wear shoes in the presence of an upper caste, or drink from the same cups in tea stalls," said Smita Narula, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, and author of Broken People: Caste Violence Against India's "Untouchables."

19. India's Untouchables are relegated to the lowest jobs, and live in constant fear of being publicly humiliated, paraded naked, beaten, and raped with impunity by upper-caste Hindus seeking to keep them in their place. Merely walking through an upper-caste neighborhood is a life-threatening offense.

20. Sacred Place
Ganges River is sacred; used for spiritual cleansing, funeral rites, and other Hindu rituals.

21. Sacred Cow
The cow is also sacred, and many Hindus will not eat beef.

22. Buddhism

23. Buddhism
Origins are in South Asia.

24. Buddhism
Founded 600 B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) a high-caste Hindu

25. Buddhism

26. Buddhism
360 million world-wide

27. Sikhism
10 gurus of Sikhism

28. Sikhism
Northern India
Combines Hindu and Muslim beliefs

29. Sikhism Believe in one God God can be known through meditation
Everyone has equal status in the eyes of God
No caste system
Men do not cut hair