The Origins of Hinduism

Hindu Beliefs• Hindus believe that there is a

universal spirit called Brahman who created the universe.

• Brahman is made up of many gods and goddesses.

• Three of the major Hindu gods are:

Brahma (creator)Siva (destroyer)Vishnu (protector)

Reincarnation

• When a person dies they come back as another living being,

this is called Reincarnation.

• If they did enough good deeds and had good karma, then they could come back as an animal.

• If they did mostly bad deeds then they had bad karma and may come back as a bug or rat.

• With reincarnation, the goal is to live over and over again until one is good enough to have his/her spirit join the great universal spirit.

The most sacred animal to a Hindu is the COW.

Remember:

a person’s soul, “atman”

joins the “Brahman” (universal spirit)

this is called the “Moksha”

What did this mean for Indian Society?• Society was very stable. • Since complaining about

one’s position in society built bad karma, people did not try to change their position and at least made the appearance of being happy.

• In traditional Hindu society, women were viewed as inferior to men, and therefore had fewer rights.

Divisions of Indian SocietyIn early history, the divisions

were called: Varnas

They were:Brahmins - priests Kshatriyas - warriorsVaisyas - farmers,

craft makers, and merchants

Sudras -servants

…divisons…

Later in history, the name changed to castes,

Castes were based on birth, wealth, and occupation.

Today, the caste system is very much apart of Indian life and culture.

Rules of the Castes• A person is born into their caste,

and will remain in that caste for their whole life.

• They do not socialize with those outside of their caste.

• They may not marry outside of their caste.

• Their job is based on what their father does for a living.

• If you broke a caste rule you could be banned from your home and caste thus making you an “untouchable”.

Brahmins

Kshatriyas

Vaisyas

Sudras

Untouchables• Untouchables are the lowest

of the low.• This is where we get the

word, “out-cast”• People viewed them as

contaminated.• Untouchables had the worst

jobs such as sewer cleaners and disposers of dead animals.

Here, you can seeThis Indian manis giving the ladiessome food, but will drop it to them to make sure he doesn’t touch them.

…untouchables…

Today, most the world views the caste system as inhumane, especially towards the untouchables.

Many times they die at an early age from starvation and disease.

Brahmanism

• Brahmanism was the religion of the Aryans.

• Brahmanism was based on the Vedas.

• Brahmanism was a polytheistic religion that developed from Hindu beliefs.

.

Jainism• Jainism was founded by

Mahariva

• Jains live by four principals:

Injure no lifeTell the truthDo not stealOwn no

property

• Jains and many Hindus are vegetarians since they believe souls can come back as animals.

“Live and Let Live”is the slogan of the Janis today.

This traditional idollooks very similar to the Buddhist idols that developlater.

…so remember…

Hinduism

Brahmanism

Jainism