Definitions

Hindus- people who are Hindu

Dharma-Duty

Artha- to provide for their family

Karma- your actions in this life will affect your next life after your death. Anything living things non- human will automatically have bad karma and if you have really bad karma, you might drop out of human form.

Moksha- is to break samsara and merge with Braham.

Brahmans- the priest and teacher

Kshatriya- the nobles, warriors, rulers and soldiers.

Vaishyas-, farmers and skilled workers.

Sudras- servants and unskilled workers.

Sari- a long piece of brightly coloured

material wound and pleated over the waist

Nehru-a special collar for traditional men clothing

Principal of ahimsa- forbid killing living things and all living things

should be cared for

Beliefs in HinduismHindu has many different and interesting beliefs. First, Hindus think Hindu follows the basic teaching and it is

and always will be correct. They believe in many god and goddesses but they mainly believe in a supreme spirt called Braham. Hindus believe that every god and goddesses represent a characteristic of Braham and he is everywhere and in everything. They believed that he is the creator who created all but also a destroyer who takes lives and we should always ask for his help. Everyone is believed to have their own dharma. For example, everyone should take care of holy people, elderly , children, and animals, protect the safety of themselves and others, spare money, clothes and food for people in need and plant trees, especially trees that are for medicine and food. There are four goals in life for Hindus, to do their dharma to the best of their ability, artha, Karma, enjoy good things in life and moksha. Anything non- human will automatically have bad karma and if you have really bad karma, you might drop out of human form. They believe there is samsara. The dead’s soul is reborn into a new body. They believe that life doesn’t start at birth or end at death and your atman or soul flow from birth, through life and to death. The ultimate aim is to gain moksha. A good rebirth is believed to be like a vacation for your soul but a bad rebirth is like going to jail. Hindus are usually cremated after death because it helped the soul leave the body sooner. Cows are very important in Hindu culture. To them cows are sacred and never harmed or eaten. They believe that if cows are cared for, the people will be happy and peaceful so cows are sometimes prayed to daily and allowed to roam free in the streets. Many Hindus are vegetarian because of the principle of Ahimsa. Hindus think that everyone should live a simple life and don’t use up all of earth’s resources. Also, never use more resources like oil, coal or wood than they can replace and polluting the environment is very bad. There are a lot of Hindu beliefs and stories that agree with modern science. They both think that the universe started billions of years ago, nothing existed before the creation of the universe, the universe started as a single round object and the universe is still growing and develop. Additionally, some scientists believe that there are many universes and the universe might shrink into nothing and then reborn and so does the Hindus. Hindus believe that universes have different regions like the heavenly planet, earthy realm and lower region. Lastly, Hindus are separated into four main groups called castes. The castes are called the Brahmans, Kshatriya, Vaishyas and Sudras. There are people who aren’t part of any castes; they are called the Dalits or the untouchables. The Dalits will have to work unpleasant jobs like works with dead animals. Today, many Hindus think the caste system is wrong. Hinduism is a religion with many different beliefs.

Interesting Facts

- Flowers mean good luck and happiness

- If a wife dies before her husband, she would be wearing red bridal clothes at her funeral.

Did You Know…?

Yoga is believed to help with the unity with Braham

Key Ideas

- Braham is a supreme being that is everywhere and in everything

- Everyone has their own dharma

- There are four goals in life: do dharma ,arthas , have good karma and reach moksha

- Believe in reincarnation and the samsara

- 4 main castes: Brahmans, Kshatriya, Vaishyas and Sudras.

- Women wear sari with different colours and decorations

Clothing in Hinduism Hindus have very beautiful clothing and decorations. Hindu women wear sari. They wear underskirts and short

blouses under the sari. Sari is also draped over the shoulders. Sometimes women would wear sari with their tummy shown but they never show their legs. Hindu men wear normal pants with long tunic. However, traditionally they would wear loose pants, a jacket with button down the front and a Nehru. At weddings, the bride would wear a red sari with gold thread, but sometimes she would wear red and white one. She would also wear special jewelleries, body decorations, herbs, henna oil and eye make-up. They also wear a veil to cover their faces. The groom would a scarf draped over his shoulder with a long white tunic, but sometimes he might wear ivory or beige. They also wear turbans with garlands of flowers as decorations. Most of the decorations are for women, for example, married women wear a spot on their forehead red bindi and widowed or single women wear black ones. They also paint henna patterns with henna oil for special occasions. Hennas are painted on hands, arms and feet. They usually take hours to paint and have to wait for the patterns to dry form the oil. Henna is also known as mehndi hands. At a funeral, people are usually wearing white. The body is decorated with flowers and sandalwood. Traditional Hindu clothing is very interesting with different decorations and colours.

A diagram of the caste system

A bride wearing a red sari.

A groom in his wedding outfit

HINDUISM

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jesiwagle.wordpress.com November 2nd ,2015

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