Hindu Teachings

Hindu Teachings

Most text quotes from Living Religions by Mary Fisher.

Slides done by Bud Hollowell, Ph.D.

There are some slides that require a lengthy oral presentation to offer more explanations. You may

need to go online to get more information and clarity.

Overview• Harappan civilization & Vedic religion

• The Upanishads & the luminous self

• Reincarnation & karma

• Bhakti and the Puranas

• Krishna & The Bhagavad-Gita

• The Four Paths to God

• Major philosophical systems

“Truth is one; sages call it by various names.”

Rig Veda, 2,500 B.C.

Indus Valley 2,500BC Aryan Invasion Theory Vedas

All Hinduism has three common themes…

• Deep roots in the Vedas and appreciation for the direct personal experience of the truth with meditation

• Ethics is central to orderly social life. Suffering is attributed to the law of karma.

• But the ultimate cause of suffering is ignorance of the true nature of things.

The Vedas

• Rig Veda - world’s oldest known scripture

passed orally for thousands of years

• Vyasa credited for recording the Vedas in 3,000 B.C. ( probably written in 1,500 B.C.)

• Upanishads are last of the Vedas and are teachings of highly realized masters

“Beginning from non-being when nothing existed, not even water nor death, that One breathless breathed by itself. At first this All was concealed by darkness and formless chaos, but by heat that One came into existence. Thus arose desire, the primal seed and germ of Spirit. Sages searching in their hearts discovered kinship with the non-existent. A ray of light extended across the darkness, but what was known above or below? Creative fertility was there with energy and action, but who really knows where this creation came from? For the gods came after the world's creation. Who could know the source of this creation and how it was produced? The one seeing it in the highest heaven only knows, or maybe it does not.”

Rig Veda X:129.

“In the beginning there was Existence alone—One only, without a second. He, the One, thought to himself: Let me be many, let me grow forth. Thus out of himself he projected the universe, and having projected out of

himself the universe, he entered into every being. All that is has its self in him alone. Of all things He is the subtle essence. He is the truth, He is the Self, And that…THAT ART THOU.”

Chandogya Upanishad

Philosophy of the Upanishads

• Reincarnation – we live many lives

• Karma – what we sow we reap

• Social Duties – sacrifice for orderly living

• The Kali Yuga – 4,000,000 year cycles

Your Comments…

The Kali Yuga period is described as,

“…when society reaches a stage where property confers rank, wealth becomes the only source of virtue, passion the sole bond of union between husband and wife, falsehood the source of success in life, sex the only means of enjoyment, and when outer trappings are confused with inner religion…”

Great Hindu Epics

• The Ramayana – the play of good and evil through the human incarnations of Vishnu

• The Mahabharata – the story of the Bharata family ruling India

• The Bhagavad-Gita – the divine instructions of Krishna to Arjuna before a great civil war

Kuruksetr

a

The Bhagavad-Gita

Krishna

“I am the Self… seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle and end of all beings.”

Arjuna

The perfect warrior, and a devotee and friend of Lord Krishna.

Arjuna Confused By Sorrow

“I can find no means to drive away this grief which is drying up my senses. I will not be able to destroy it even if I win an unrivalled kingdom… I shall not fight.”

Arjuna Asks For Teachings

Karma Yoga -- Work

Bhakti Yoga -- Devotion

Ghyana Yoga -- Study

Raja Yoga -- Science

Karma Yoga of Work

“Considering your specific duty as a Ksatriya, you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting on religious principles…”

“Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat—and, by so doing, you shall never incur sin.”

Bhakti Yoga of Devotion

“The wise, engaged in devotional service, take refuge in the Lord, and free themselves from the cycle of birth and death by renouncing the fruits of action in the material world.”

“A true yogi observes Me in all beings, and also sees every being in Me. Indeed, the self-realized man sees Me everywhere.”

Ghyana Yoga of Study

“Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot…”

“As the embodied soul continually passes in this body from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.

“Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead.”

Raja Yoga of Science

“There are others who, enlightened by sacrificing their material possessions in severe austerities, take strict vows and practice the yoga of eightfold mysticism, and others study the Vedas…”

Eightfold Mysticism of Raja Yoga

Samadhi

Yama

Niyama

Asana

Pranayama

Pratyahara

Dharana

Dhyana

Vivekananda

Yogananda

“It is true that Christ lived in India during most of the eighteen unaccounted for years of his life…”

“…the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krishna, and to subdue it is, it seems to me, more difficult than controlling the wind.”

“What is the destination of the man of faith who does not persevere…” Mind is

restless

Arjuna asks…

Krishna Reveals Himself

Arjuna says to Krishna:

“You are the original Personality, the Godhead. You are the only sanctuary of this manifested cosmic world. You know everything, and You are all that is knowable.”

“My dear Krishna, O Infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy, and I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instruction.”

The War Begins…

Krishna of the Puranas

• Myths of ancient times – 1000 CE.

• This material universe is only one of millions of material universes

• Each is like a bubble created and destroyed as Vishnu breathes in and out

• Krishna is depicted as a much loved young cow herder boy

Four periods in the life of a Hindu male

• 1-25 years a student to a teacher

• 25-50 house holder stage

• 50-75 detach from society

• 75 onward a sannyasin completely detached

The Guru

Mantras

Great Goddess Durga

Goddess Durga with ten arms holding weapons to vanquish the demons who threaten the dharma.

Goddess Kali

The black mother Kali, the destroyer, the divine in its fierce form. Kali is the destroyer of evil, the destruction force used for transformation. She cuts away to the truth.

Shiva Lord of

the Dance

Shiva is one of the three aspects of deity: Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer.

Vishnu

Vishnu exists as the Creator and also within every being as our soul, our Supreme. He also enters or descend to our world in the form of Avatar whenever his presence is needed.

Indra King of the Gods

Contemporary Hindus

Your Comments…

“Truth or God is One.

Our Real nature is divine.

The purpose of our life is to realize the One in our own soul.

There are innumerable spiritual paths, all leading to this realization of divinity.”

Ramakrishna Movement

NotesThese slides are designed to accompany an oral presentation that compliments the book “Living Religions” written by Mary Pat

Fisher and published by Prentice-Hall. The serious student would benefit greatly by using this book as an excellent additional

source of information.

Anyone duplicating this free presentation by One World Insight for educational purposes should be aware of copyright laws protecting some of the words and pictures and perform due

diligence to use them appropriately.

Please keep our URL at the bottom of the slides so the serious student can go to our web site to do additional research.