Hinduism Essay Research Paper HinduismTable of ContentsIntroduction

Hinduism Essay, Research Paper

Hinduism

Table of Contents

Introduction Page 1

Hindu Beliefs

A. Hindu GodsPage 1

B. Life Before and After DeathPage 2

C. The Caste SystemPage 2

Rituals of Life in Hinduism Page 3 & 4

Worship

A. Daily ObligationsPage 4

B. Daily RitualsPage 4

C. PujaPage 5

D. Yoga Page 5

Hindu Holy Books

A. VedaPage 5

B. Laws of ManuPage 5

C. The EpicsPage 6

PilgrimagePage 6

Shivarati Page 6 & 7

Introduction

Hinduism – stands for the faith and the way of life most of the people who live

in India.

Hinduism is such an ancient religion that it had many types of beliefs

and religious practices. Around 1750 BC Aryan invaders from central Asia

settled in North – West India and introduced their own religious ideas.

Slowly the Hindu came to accept the idea of the existence of an eternal

supreme being. They called this being, Brahman. Hindus also worship different

gods which individually represent one particular aspect of Brahman. The most

popular one of the lesser gods are Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver),

and Shiva (the destroyer)

Hinduism has no founder. It is a religion that has slowly developed over a

period of time.

Hindu Beliefs

Hindu Gods

The Hindus have four gods Brahman, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. There

main god is Brahman. He is the origin and the sustainer of all life, and the

goal of all things. He is eternal and omnipotent and only he is real. They

believe that Brahman is so great that he cannot be explained in human words

because all humans are imperfect and Brahman is perfect.

Shiva

Shiva is usually depicted with six arms each one representing a

different function to preform. He is known as the destroyer and restorer of

life, symbol of the reproductive force of nature, philosopher and sage. He has

a third eye which signifies wisdom or higher consciousness. He has a blue

throat which is a result of him swallowing a full cup of mans sins. Worship of

Shiva includes fertility rites and veneration of the symbols of male and female

sex organs. Most Hindus imagine Shiva as being in deep meditation high in the

Himalayas. Shiva is the ultimate god who holds in divine tension the

preservation and destruction of the cosmos, both its birth and death. At times

he is portrayed as the great ascetic. He is often depicted as the reconciler of

dualities such as good and evil, eroticism and asceticism, his creative energy

is depicted in the Lingam and Yoni. Shiva is frequently shown in loving union

with his consort Parvati (another form of the great goddess)

Shiva devotees are called Shaivites, and devotion usually takes the form

of Yogic practice. Shiva is often pictured, in one of the best known religious

images from India, as the lord of the cosmic dance. Shiva “LORD OF THE DANCE”.

He is surrounded by flames (energy of the universe) and snakes (representing

creative power). His upper right hand is holding a drum (to beat the rhythm of

the time) while the upper left hand holds a flames (element of destruction).

His second right hand is raised for blessing, while his second left hand points

to the raised left foot (symbolizes release). The right foot treads on a dwarf

that represents ignorance and spiritual blindness.

Life Before and After Death

A Hindu believes and hopes that eventually his soul will join with

Brahman. They welcome death as a step towards gaining this everlasting union

with him. They believe that their souls were never born and therefore never

dies, but it moves on from one body to another. This movement form one body to

another in the cycle of birth death and re-birth is called reincarnation. This

belief that a person will be born again following the death is linked with the

law of karma. They also believe that the type of existence a person will

experience in the next life depends on the good and bad karma built up in the

previous life.

The white cows are considered holy because they believe that they are a

symbol of “atman”, which means the soul in all living things.

The Caste System

A caste is a group of people with a particular place in society. Hindu

people are born into their caste, wether high or low, they must accept their

place without question. This means that a person can only be born a Hindu. To

maintain purity Hindus can only marry within their caste, they can only eat with

members of their caste, and the men follow occupation of their caste which are

passed from father to son.

The difficulty that arise by the observing the caste system is that

there are a large group of people who are classified as being outside of the

caste system, some examples of this are untouchables and outcastes. These

people are among

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