MONDAY/TUESDAY

Do Now:On this day in history in 2003 Fred

Rogers, of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, died. What was your favorite tv show as a small child? Who were your favorite characters?

TITLE: THE ORIGINS OF HINDUISM

Do Now

Origins of Hinduism Lesson

Hindu Skit

AGENDA

Students will read a Hindu story and write a script for a skit which will be performed on Thursday

OBJECTIVE

Rewrite this on the left side of your notebook

in your own words

Hinduism: the religion of the peoples of India

Brahmanism: the Vedic age religion which refers to a single spiritual power which lives in everything

Guru: thinkers and teachers of religious ideas

Brahman: one supreme God

VOCABULARY

For this entire week we will be looking closely at the religion of Ancient India: Hinduism

Today: we will look at the origin or start of Hinduism

Wednesday: we will look at the belief system of Hinduism

Thursday/Friday: we will look how Hinduism spread and became a major religion.

ROAD MAP

For more than 2,300 years, Hinduism has been the major religion of India.

The word Hinduism means “the religion of people of India.”

ROOTS OF HINDUISM

The Vedas are India’s oldest religious texts

Priests memorized the Vedas and passed them on orally, later they were written down

The Vedas contained hymns to many gods and rituals designed to keep the gods happy

They also included sacrifices and the god of fire, Agni, would “eat” the sacrifices offered to the gods

VEDIC AGE BELIEFS AND PRACTICES

Scholars called the Vedic age religion Brahmanism

Brahmanism was a religion ruled by priests and rituals.

Their “sacred” knowledge gave the Brahmins great power and influence in Indian society

Only Brahmins, or priests from the highest caste, could perform rituals.

BRAHMANISM

About 500 B.C. the ways of worship began to change.

Old gods became less important and some people began to doubt that carrying out the rituals perfectly was not as important.

They began asking questions like “Why are we born? How should we live? What happens when we die?

THE EVOLUTION OF HINDUISM

To answer the questions, Gurus left their homes and spent their days thinking and talking about religious ideas

Some were written down in the Upanishads

UPANISHADS

These writings introduced 2 core beliefs of Hinduism

The belief that there is 1 supreme GodOther gods are just different forms of this god

Every person is born with a soul that is part of BrahmanThe soul is known as atman

UPANISHADS

These new ideas became two great epic poems, the Mahabharata and Ramayana

The Mahabharata and Ramayana explained Hindu religious ideas to all people and set the standard for how to live

MAHABHARATA AND THE RAMAYANA

The Mahabharata contains over 100,000 stanzas making it the longest poem

The best loved section is the Bhagavad Gita or “Song of the Lord”

MAHABHARATA

Hindus believed that people are born wanting four basic things.

All four goals are desirable, but not all people achieve all of these goals in a lifetime.

FOUR GOALS OF LIFE

1.Pleasure: People begin their lives by wanting pleasure

This may be very simple such as eating or a deeper pleasure such as falling in love or having a family

4 GOALS OF LIFE: PLEASURE

2. Success: gaining fame, wealth, or power, or becoming important in the community

4 GOALS OF LIFE: SUCCESS

3. Dharma: Hindus believed in living an ethical or moral life

They must fulfill the duties assigned to their caste to the best of their abilities

People who do not follow their proper dharma threaten the social order.

4 GOALS OF LIFE: DHARMA

The Bhagavad-Gita, says “it is

better to do one’s own duty

imperfectly than to do another's well.”

4. Moksha is the release from life where a person’s soul is united with the universal soul

A persons soul, Atman, and the Brahman become one

They believed becoming one with god meant the end to suff ering, pain, fear and want.

4 GOALS OF LIFE: MOKSHA

You will be divided up into small groupsI will give you a traditional Hindu story which you need to read and then write a short skit to teach the rest of the class the message

Each group member must have a speaking part

Be sure to include all the charactersEach skit should only be about 3 min long…We will present these on Friday!

HINDUISM SKITS

WEDNESDAY

Do Now:

TITLE: BELIEFS OF HINDUISM

Create a compare/contrast diagram to show what you already know about Hinduism, we will add to this throughout the week. . We will complete the right half next week after we learn about Buddhism.

Students will understand the basic Hindu beliefs and how karma influenced their place in the religion

OBJECTIVE

Rewrite this on the left side of your notebook in your own

words

Do NowBeliefs of Hinduism Lesson

Karma Project

AGENDA

Reincarnation: the rebirth of a soul in a new body

Karma: the sum of a person’s actions and consequences, words and thoughts

VOCABULARY

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/india/religion/hinduism.htm

Hindus believed that few people can achieve moksha in one lifetime

They also believed that when most people die, their souls are reborn in a new body

They can be reborn in a higher or lower class and can even be reborn as an animal or insect

REINCARNATION

OR

The Bhagavad-Gita states“As a man discardsWorn-out clothesTo put on newAnd different one,So the embodied self (soul)DiscardsIts worn-out bodiesTo take on other new ones.”

How a person is reborn is determined by the law of Karma

Hindus believed that bad karma would bring rebirth in a lower class

Good karma brought rebirth in a higher class

Based on your behavior, attitudes and thoughts, where do you think you would be reborn…higher or lower and why?

LAW OF KARMA

Hinduism lays out 3 paths to moksha

They may choose to follow only one or up to 3 at a time

They would spend their entire life trying to reach moksha

3 PATHS TO GOD

This was traditionally chosen by Brahmins

1. Way of Knowledge: they must fully understand atman and Brahman

3 PATHS TO GOD: WAY OF KNOWLEDGE

2. Way of Works: carrying out religious rituals and duties which would improve their karma

This path was chosen most by HindusThey offered prayers and food to the gods

at temple ceremonies They do good deeds without expecting anything in return

The Bhagavad-Gita says “he who does the tasks dictated by duty, caring nothing for the reward of the action”

3 PATHS TO GOD: WAY OF WORKS

Also known as the path of love3. Way of Devotion: People achieve moksha by devoting themselves to loving God

The Bhagavad-Gita suggests that the way of devotion is superior to the other ways

People on this path may repeat their god’s name all day long or present gifts at their god’s temple

3 PATHS TO GOD: WAY OF DEVOTION

You need to finish writing your skit today. Use the rest of the time to practice.

For HOMEWORK: you need to practice your part so you don’t let the rest of your group down

You will be graded individually for this so you need to do your part

SKIT PRACTICE

THURSDAY/FRIDAY

Do Now

On this day in 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established. Write about one of the following:

Your favorite camping, hiking or backpacking trip.Where you would like to go camping, hiking or backpacking

TITLE: SPREAD OF HINDUISM

Students will understand the spread of Hinduism and how it became a major world religion

Rewrite this on the elft side of your notebook in your own words

OBJECTIVE

Do NowSpread of Hinduism Lesson

Skit final practiceSkit presentation

AGENDA

Pilgrim: someone who travels to a shrine or sacred place

VOCABULARY

Because the subcontinent of India is in a vast region, many people belonged to different ethnic groups

These ethnic groups all had their own language, rulers and religion

Still, most adopted Hinduism

HOW HINDUISM SPREAD

Hinduism is very flexible and easy to adapt

People did not have to give up their old deities or ways or worship

Instead, they would just add them on to the deities and rituals of Hinduism

THE GROWTH OF HINDUISM IN INDIA

Hindus also did not form organized groups or worship together

They prayed and made offerings at shrines in their homes or local temples

No matter where Indians went, they could easily carry the religion with them.

As Hinduism spread, different sects developed

Three Hindu sects attracted large numbers of followers and each followed a specific deity

VishnuShivaShakti

HINDU SECTS

Over time, Hinduism spread

Indian merchants set up trading posts throughout Southeast Asia. Wherever they settled, Hindu priest traveled with them

Also, migrating people from northern India took Hinduism in to Nepal

HINDUISM IN OTHER PARTS OF ASIA

Recently, Hinduism spread around the world and is practiced in about 150 countries

WORLDWIDE HINDU COMMUNITIES

Hinduism today is the world’s third-largest religion

More than 800 million people follow its faith

However, India is still the spiritual and cultural center of Hinduism

LEGACY OF HINDUISM

Hinduism has shaped Indian life

Placing flowers or food at a shrine is a daily ritual

Each year, the entire country takes part in Hindu religious festivals

RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS

Many rivers, mountains, rocks and forest are connected with legends of gods and gurus

The Ganges River is India’s holiest site

Each year thousands of pilgrims flock to the Ganges to bath in its waters

Some pilgrims believe the waters will wash away bad karma

Others believe it will heal diseases or a disability

Thinkers in ancient India asked questions about life and death that still concern Hindus today

Because the early Hindu texts were written in Sanskrit, that language became India’s first language of learning

INTELLECTUAL TRADITIONS

Hindusim inspired India's’ first great works of literature

Today, people all over the world still read the Mahabharata and the Ramayana

These epic poems are retold in comic books and movies!

AESTHETIC TRADITIONS

Hinduism also encouraged the development of arts

Hindu temples are designed around religious ideas

Detailed carvings of gods and goddesses decorate temple walls

Hindu temples are centers of art, music, and dance as well as places of worship.

You will have 30 minutes to create a comic strip which tells the importance and practices of Hinduism

You may choose to focus on the 3 paths to God, the 4 goals of life, the spread of Hinduism…there is a lot of freedom for creativity.

Your comic strip must have at least 6 colored pictures and captions.

Each group will present their skitWhile other groups are presenting you need to be quietly listening

If you are talking your grade will drop

Please talk loudly enough that everyone can hear you

PRESENT SKITS

You will receive a handout which will rate your group members

Give them a grade number and write a comment to tell me why you think they deserve that grade

EVALUATE PARTNER PARTICIPATION

Take out a blank piece of paper and label it like this:

Group Member’s Name:

Grade They Deserve:

Why they deserve that grade:

Group Member’s Name:

Grade They Deserve:

Why they deserve that grade:

Group Member’s Name:

Grade They Deserve:

Why they deserve that grade:

My Name:

Grade I Deserve:

Why I deserve that grade: