World Religions Vocab Themes

1. The Human Condition

Humans are considered to be undergoing the cycle of samsara, and can only break that cycle through becoming unified with their Atman. The physical world is considered to a part of maya, meaning that it is an illusion, and part of breaking the cycle of samsara is for one to recognize this illusion and transcend it. Humans can be in different Gunas, or states of mind, which affects their progression through samsara and ultimate release from the physical world. There are three gunas, Tamas which is laziness, Rajas, which is greed, and Sattva, which is clarity. If a person dies in Tamas or Rajas, they will usually be born into lower castes or as animals, but if a person dies in Sattva, they would be reborn into a higher caste.

2. Achieving Salvation

Achieving salvation in Hinduism means the release from samsara through moksha, through liberation from the physical world and the illusion of the physical world. Most Hindus work to accomplish this through practicing one of the four forms of yoga. Through practicing Jnana Yoga, Hindus seek to achieve moksha through study. Bhakti yoga involves devoting oneself to a specific deity to reach mosksha. Karma yoga involves restricting one’s actions in order to attain moksha. Also, Ashtanga yoga involves pushing one’s physical limits in order to break free from the consciousness of the physical world in order to connect with one’s atman.

3. Concept of God/ Deities

In Hinduism, Brahman has three distinct characteristics that are portrayed through three different deities that compose the trimurti. Brahma is the maintainer, Vishnu is the sustainer, and Shiva is the destroyer. These deities have manifested themselves on earth through avatars such when Vishnu appeared as Krishna and Rama. Humans can experience darshan, which is the sight of vision of one of these deities and it is believed that experiencing darshan will bring one good luck, although it does not occur often.

4. Sacred Texts/Doctrines

The largest sacred texts in Hinduism are the Vedas which are Shruti literature because it was passed down through oral tradition. The Upanishads are also very important Hindu texts because they are the texts that first begin to elaborate on the doctrines and major beliefs of the religion. The other type of Hindu literature is Smirti literature, which is literature based on memory such as the Ramayana or the Bhagavad-Gita.

Hinduism Parts 4 and 5

Part 4: Doctrine and Scripture

1. Shruti- The Upanishads and Vedanta Sutras:

Shruti is one of the two divisions of Hindu literature meaning information that has been heard, and is usually considered to be universal truth. The Upanishads are philosophical texts in Hinduism that are thought to be lessons given by gurus to their students, which people think marks the beginning teaching using the Vedas. They contain information on some of the most important doctrines in Hinduism such as Atman, reincarnation, karma, Brahman, and how to achieve liberation. The Vedanta Sutras are a way to create a system for teaching the Upanishads that were created by the sage Vyasa by using different proverbs or anecdotes to teach the Upanishads. Most people cannot understand the Upanishads or Vedanta Sutra without guidance from smriti.

2. Smriti- The Bhagavad-gita:

Smriti is defined as knowledge that has been remembered, it is supplementary to shruti and can change over time. The Bhagavad-gita is a part of the Mahabharata and details a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna who sit on a chariot on a battlefield between the two armies. Arjuna seeks the guidance of Krishna after he sees some of his friends and family members on both sides of the battlefield and does not want to fight against them. Krishna tells him that he is associated their bodies with their Atmans, which are two separate entities. Krishna explains that the atman and the body are different things and explains how one can reach enlightenment through the different types of yoga. He also talks about God and how the soul is confused by the three gunas. The Bhagavad-gita is important to Hinduism because it is like a summary of the major concepts of Hinduism.

3. Smriti-Dharma Shastras: The Dharma Shastras contain the laws and codes of conduct related to Hinduism. These laws concern three main subjects: codes of conduct, civil/criminal law, and punishment or atonement to God. The most important one is the Manu Smriti, which was written by Manu who was a demigod and the first person to come up with laws. It establishes the duties of Hindus specifically relating to the varnas and ashrams. The Dharma Shastras establish moral and civil laws, which are the basis for Hindu society and how Hindus live their everyday lives.

Part 5: Denominations and Practice

1. Vaishnavism: Vaishnavism is a one hindu denomination that worships God in the form of Shiva. There are four main branches but the two main focuses of Vaishnavism are personally associating with God through Bhakti, and worshipping different avatars of Vishnu such as Krishna or Rama. Vaishnavism claims to have existed for millions of years, but it experienced a revival in the twelfth century when bhakti became more popular.

2. Shaktism: Shaktism focuses on worhsipping the godess Devi, who is Shiva’s official consort. Devi takes many forms such as Parvati, Durga, and Kali which are all worshipped in Shaktism. Shaktism bases a lot of its doctrine and ideology from Shaivism since Shiva is seen to represent the male and Shakti is seen to represent the female. Specifically, Shakti doctrine emphasizes that there is a difference between matter and spirit but also a creative potential in within matter. Shaktism was probably passed down through cultural customes and through Shaivism but is a prominent part of the larger Hindu community today.

Hinduism Parts 2 and 3

Part 2: Practice

Step 1:

1. Karma Yoga: Karma Yoga recognizes that selfish actions limit the soul to the physical world, and therefore one’s actions should not be driven by selfish needs or wants. To practice Karma Yoga, one needs to have their actions be driven by a greater cause, with the ultimate goal of having all of one’s actions serve God.

2. Jnana Yoga: Jnana Yoga focuses on limiting and reducing one’s actions to promote knowledge and wisdom. People who practice Jnana Yoga emphasize education to promote knowledge and freeing the body from desires that hide one’s Atman. The main goal of Jnana Yoga is to achieve liberation through knowledge and freeing oneself from physical limitations.

3. Astanga/Raja Yoga: This type of yoga is an eight-part process that is based on the teachings of Pantanjali, a Hindu sage. This process makes the people who practice this type of Yoga obtain eight main types of mystic powers by overcoming physical and mental limits. By reaching these goals, one can focus on leaving the physical world through focusing on God within one’s Atman.

4. Bhakti-Yoga: Bhakti-Yoga is the type of Yoga that most Hindus follow in order to be released from Samsara, and focuses on worshiping the murti, spiritual development, and specific practices like pilgrimages in which one worships a personal god. Bhakti-Yoga is also a blend of most of the other types of yoga because it focuses on knowledge as well as liberation. The main goal of most people who follow Bhakti Yoga is to completely devote oneself to the personal deity that he or she worships.

Step 2:

1. The Trimurti: The Trimurti is a method of understanding God through his three main qualities, creating, sustaining, and destroying. The Trimurti uses the three principle deities of this world, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva to portray these qualities. Brahma is the creator who controls Raja-guna and is usually not specifically worshipped by Hindus. Vishnu is the sustainer of the universe who controls Sattva-guna and is usually worshipped in the form of Rama or Krishna. Shiva is the destroyer who controls Tama-guna and is in control of the destruction of the universe.

2. The Murti: Murti is a sacred image and worshipping these images helps Hindus connect and develop their relationship with God. The Murti is like a middleman for people to communicate with God through because most people cannot communicate with God directly, so He appears in the Murti that they worship. This means that Murti are not just a physical form of God, but can also be a spiritual form of God to those who have developed their relationship with him. Also, there are specific regulations for creating Murti that are in Hindu scriptures. Hindus do not view the Murti as a form of idolatry because it is done out goodness, instead of evil desires.

3. Puja- Ritual Worship: Puja refers to worship specifically of the Murti. Each denomination (sampradaya) of Hinduism has different regulations for Puja, but it usually involves bathing and dressing the Murti and offering items to it and later offering food to the Murti. Puja can be performed at home or in a temple where it is performed more elaborately. It is seen as an act of devotion to god or the specific deity that the Murti symbolizes.

Step 3:

1. Holi: Holi occurs in March and celebrates the defeat of the evil king Kiranyakashipu by Narashimha (a form of Vishnu) after he tries to kill his son by having his sister, Holika take him onto a pyre to burn him alive. Instead, Holika begins to burn and the King’s son forgives her dedicating a festival to commemorate her death. Holi begins by burning fires to symbolize the burning of Holika and to dispel evil spirits. Then there is a part of the festival in which everyone throws colors or colored water at each other.

2. Ganesh Chaturthi: This festival occurs in August and/or September and celebrates when Ganesh was born. The festival lasts for eleven days in which intricate Murtis of Ganesh are made which the people worship in large, intricately decorated tents. It is believed that during this festival Ganesh is present on earth for all those who are devoted to him.

Step 4:

1. Varanasi: Varanasi is located on the Ganges river south of Delhi and is one of the oldest cities in the world. Varanasi is a pilgrimage site because Hindus believe that if someone dies or is cremated there, they have a better chance or breaking free from samsara and achieving moksha. People transport corpses from all over India to be cremated in Varanasi and sometimes the loved ones of the dead come to scatter their ashes in Ganges to help the soul achieve liberation.

2. Mathura and Vrindavana: Mathura is an ancient city in India and is famous for being where Krishna was born. It has a main temple called Keshava Deo Mandir where many people come to worship Krishna and Radha. Mathura is part of a larger area called Vraj that consists of other holy sites and sacred forests. Vrindavana is the village that Krishna lived in and many people who worship Krishna live the end of their lives in Vrindavana because they want to return and be connected to Vishnu after death.

Step 5:

1. Upanaya-Initiation: This ceremony symbolizes that a boy has been recognized as part of his Varna, or social level. Hindus view this rite of passage as a second birth for the boy on which he beings to develop his relationship with God, find his spiritual identity, and accepts a spiritual teacher and the Vedas as his symbolic parents. In the ceremony, the boy’s head is shaved and he is bathed and given new clothes to wear. He also receives a jenoi, which is a sacred thread that all men wear for their entire lives after this ceremony. Sometimes, the boy’s spiritual teacher will give him a spiritual name to replace his birth name and the boy vows to study the Vedas and follow certain rules of the faith.

2. Antyeshti-Funeral Rites: Most Hindus retire into the third stage of their life, which is called Vanaprastha in which they focus more on their spiritual progress before they die. Funeral Rites play a large role ending not only this stage in their life, but their entire life. In Hinduism, there are not many differences between how funeral rites are preformed in different denominations and usually involve cremating the dead, unless it is a small child or saint, who are buried. Hindus cremate bodies in order to allow the spirit to detach from that specific physical body and move onto its next life. There is also a mourning period of thirteen days to allow family members to grieve and allow the departed soul to move onto its next body. The ceremony itself consists of bathing the body and dressing it in fresh cloths, placing flowers around the body, and putting a few drops of water from the Ganges River in the mouth of the deceased. Then the body is carries to be cremated where the eldest son of the deceased lights the fire and verses are read from Hindu scripture.

Step 6:

1. Describe the concept of Dharma: Dharma means religious duty and has two parts: Sanatana-Dharma and Varnashrama-Dharma. Sanatana-Dharma is the souls natural desire to serve God, and is more closely related to spiritual concepts than Hindu lifestyle. Varnashrama-Dharma is an individual’s duties that are correlated with his or her place in society and spiritual stage in life. It is mainly concerned with social matters, and teaches Hindus to accept that there are many paths toward liberation allowing for acceptance of diversity. There is also a third part of Dharma, called Sadharana-Dharma, which is the set of moral codes that all Hindus live by. Dharma combines all of these three concepts to live a life that coincides with the natural laws that are listed in scripture in which one can spiritually grow and flourish.

2. Explain the purpose and meaning of the Varnas: There are four Varnas, or social/economic classes that each contains their own set of duties for members of that specific Varna. The first Varna is the Shudras, which consists of Artisans and workers. The Shudras should take pride in their work, provide their services for other, follow the general moral code, and marry. The second Varna is the Vaishyas, which consists of businessmen and merchants. The duties of the Vaishyas are to protect animals, create wealth, care for their workers, trade ethically, and pay taxes to the Kshatriyas. The third Varna is the Kshatriyas, who are the ruling class. They are supposed to protect society, and show strength in terms of force and moral character to act as an example for the rest of society. The fourth Varna is called the Brahmanas and consists of priests, teachers, and intellectuals. They provide spiritual education and leadership, and shape the moral character and development of society.

3. Explain the purpose and meaning of the four Ashrams: An Ashram is a spiritual stage of life that each person goes through in their lifetime, although not everyone goes through all four. The first Ashram is called Brahmacari, in which one usually moves away from home to grow spiritually by living a simple life, serving the guru, studying the Vedas, and developing the ideal qualities of a Hindu. The second Ashram is called Grihasta in which one gets married and starts a family and is required to support the family, and teach the children spiritual values. The third Ashram is called Vanaprashta, in which one can stop thinking about family responsibilities and begin to focus more on spiritual responsibilities. The fourth Ashram is called Sannyasa, which is mainly only for Brahmanas. In Sannyasa, the man leaves his family and wanders until his death living the last part of his life fully devoted to God.

Part 3: Expressions of Faith

Step 1: Practice

Hindu Symbolism:

Symbolism is used in Hinduism to simulate things that cannot be understood in earthly terms because they occur on a higher level of consciousness. Symbols are used in all aspects of Hinduism, such as using the Murti and Puja displaying sacred symbols in one’s home in order to bring about good luck. The most is important Hindu symbol is the Aum (“Om”) symbol. It signifies many different things, especially the three levels of consciousness that all humans know: waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. The symbol as a whole signifies the fourth state of consciousness, in which one is aware of his or her spiritual identity. Hindus consider religious symbols the embody God, and therefore each symbol is sacred.

Step 2: Lifestyle

Caste and Untouchability: Untouchables are considered to be the fifth Varna, which consists of everyone who is not born into one of the four other Varnas. Untouchables were ostracized from village life and had to do work that was considered to be below the other castes such as sweep or be crematorium attendants. The Bhakti movements during the middle ages were the first to oppose the Caste System. Other people such as Gandhi have opposed the Caste System, including Ranji Ambedkar, an untouchable who was allowed to study law and promoted an Indian society that did not rely on castes. People still debate over what the purpose of Castes should be in Indian society even though all Indian citizens were granted equality in the Constitution of 1950.