Hinduism

Hinduism is NOT a
polytheistic religion
At the center of everything is Brahman

Brahman is the Absolute Reality

The ONE TRUTH
Brahman is eternal, omnipotent,

omniscient, omnipresent, and ultimately

indescribable in human language

Hinduism
Brahman Nirguna
Supreme Reality
The Absolute without qualities

Brahman Saguna
Brahman revealed
Brahman made flesh
Each Hindu is permitted and encouraged

to choose or invent a form of Brahman

that satisfies his/her personal spiritual
cravings

Hinduism
Three main incarnations of Brahman
Brahma (creator)
Vishnu (preserver)
Shiva (destroyer)

Hinduism
Brahma (creator)
4-headed, 4 arms, red skin; holding a cup, a book of

prayers, a spoon, and the Vedas; seated on a lotus

Unlike other incarnations does not carry a weapon
Hindu tradition sustains that the universe exists for
one day of Brahma.
At the end of this day (lasting, by human
measurements for four billions years) the whole
universe is dissolved.
At this point, Brahma rests for one night, just as
long as the day. This process repeats for such 100
years, a period that represents Brahma's lifespan.
After Brahma's "death", it is necessary that another
100 of his years pass until he is reborn and the
whole creation begins anew.

Hinduism
Vishnu (preserver)
Peace loving, with steadfast principles of
order, righteousness, and truth
Vishnu emerges to preserve these principles
when these values are under threat
10 avatars of Vishnu: Matsyavatara (fish),
Koorma (tortoise), Varaaha (boar),
Narasimha (the man lion), Vaamana (the
dwarf), Parasurama (the angry man), Lord
Rama (the perfect human of the Ramayana),
Lord Krishna (the divine diplomat and
statesman), and the yet to appear 10th
incarnation called the Kalki avatar.

Hinduism
Shiva (Destroyer)
King of the Dancers
This cosmic dance of Shiva symbolizes the cosmic cycles of

creation and destruction, as well as the daily rhythm of

birth and death
Shiva is 'Shakti', Shiva is power, Shiva is the destroyer, the
most powerful god of the Hindu pantheon
Shiva dissolves in order to create, since death is the
medium for rebirth into a new life
Shiva is two opposite things: archetypal ascetic and
archetypal dancer. On the one hand he is total tranquillity,
absorbed in the void of the Absolute, where all distinctions
merge and dissolve, and all tensions are at rest. But on the
other hand he is total activity- lifes energy, frantic,
aimless and playful.

Hinduism
Atman
the World Soul, from which all individual

souls derive, and to which they return as

the supreme goal of existence
every object of creation (not limited to
humans)

atman
the individual self, known after

enlightenment to be identical with Brahman

Immortal
It is the atman that is reincarnated

Hinduism
SACRED TEXTS
Vedas - "the accumulated treasury of
spiritual laws discovered by different
persons in different times
rituals concerning hymns for sacrifice
Rigveda
Yajurveda
Samaveda
Atharvaveda

Upanishads
constitute the core teachings of Vedanta
concerned with the self-realisation by which
one understands the ultimate nature of
reality

Hinduism
Bhagavad Gita
Krishna counsels Arjuna on the greater idea

of dharma or universal harmony and duty

true enlightenment comes from growing
beyond identification with the 'False Self,' so
that one identifies with the truth of the
Atman

Ramayana
"Rma's Journey
tells the story of Lord Rma, whose wife Sita

is abducted by the demon king of Lanka

the epic explores themes of human
existence and the concept of dharma

Hinduism
Hinduism has no central doctrinal authority and many practising

Hindus do not claim to belong to any particular denomination

Denominations differ in the god with whom they
identify with and worship
Samskara (Sacraments)
Naming of the child

10-12 days after birth

Upanayana (initiation)
8-12 years of age (usually boys only)
Vivaha (wedding rites)
Usually last 3 days (union between families)
Antyes ti (funeral rites)

Cremation

Tarpan
2 week celebration/remembrance of ancestors

Hinduism
The Caste System (Varnas)
Brahmin "scholarly community," includes the

priests, scholars, law specialists, ministers, and

diplomats
Kshatriyas "high and lower nobility" includes kings,
noblemen, soldiers, and administrators.
Vaishyas mercantile and artisan community"
includes merchants, shopkeepers, businessmen and
farm owners.
Shudra - "service-providing community" includes
mostly manual and farm labourers.

Dalit (untouchables) either a lower class

of Shudra or outside the caste system all together.
Typically performed unclean tasks such as butchers,
leather workers, morticians, streets sweepers, etc.
Harijan was a term for untouchable, coined by
Mahatma Gandhi, which means Children of God

Hinduism
Reincarnation
to be made flesh again

Samsara
Endless circle of birth, life, death, and rebirth
Worn out garments/ Are shed by the body:/ Worn out
bodies/ are shed by the dwellers (Bhagavad-Gita)

Moksha
Liberation from Samsara

Karma
Moral law of cause and effect
if we sow goodness, we will reap goodness; if we sow
evil, we will reap evil

Dharma
the religious and moral doctrine of the rights and
duties of each individual
the regulatory moral principle of the Universe

Hinduism
Three paths
may take a thousand lifetimes to attain moksha
pleasure (goods, wealth, success)
renunciation (service, protection)
liberation/ moksha (release from the finite, the
restraints)

Philosophies of life
Ahimsa (Non-violence)
respect for all life because divinity is believed

to permeate all beings, including plants and

non-human animals

Truth is one; sages call it by different names

All religions are different paths to the same destination