Ganesh An Elephant-Headed God In The Hindu Religion

In India there are six orthodox schools of philosophy which recognize the authority of the Vedas as divine revelation, and they generally function as pairs - Nyaya and Vaishesika, Mimamsa and Vedanta, and Samkhya and Yoga. Those who did not recognize this authority were the Jains, Buddhists, and materialists. Even in India where spiritual ideas dominate the culture there were some who were skeptical of those ideals and held to a materialist view of the world; they were called Carvaka, and their doctrine that this world is all that exists is called Lokayata.

Another distinction between Hinduism and Buddhism is their concepts of deity. Although Hinduism claims to be a monotheistic religion, worshiping only Brahma Nerguna, Hindus worship 33 million other gods that are aspects of Brahma Nerguna. Some of the most common gods or aspects are Ganesha, Vishnu, and Shiva. Ganesha is the god of good luck, Vishnu is the god of families, health, and children, and Shiva is the destroyer. Buddhism has different branches that seem to contradict its original teachings. Some Buddhists worship Buddha, while the remainder of Buddhist think of Buddha as just a man and follow his teachings.

* As the prince asked Lord Krishna on whether he should kill for the war, Krishna used the arguments above and more to show that there would be transcendence and so on, and when a person is “killed”, his or her spirit would just throws away its worn-out body and enters a new one.

The word Hindu has evolved from being the word the Persians used for the Indus River in 500 BC to the accepted name for the primary religion of India this name was originally given by foreign rulers and ultimately used by Europeans in the 1500's as the official name of the religion. History plays an important part of Hinduism because new developments reinterpret an update past practices rather than end them. The Hindu religion is broke down into three periods the Vedic period, the Upanishadic period, the classical period, and the devotional period.

Govinda admires his eyes and sweet voice as well as his grace movements and thoughts. Govinda truly admires his friend, hoping to follow in Siddhartha’s footsteps.

Mohandas Gandhi is one of the most popular and influential figures in the world. His political work, religious beliefs, values and morals captivated millions internationally. His path to become such a respected person is shaped by his religion and experiments occurred throughout his life. His relationship to food becomes a powerful fixation that allows him to form a greater connection to God as Truth, while leading him to express controversial disagreements during certain health issues.

Hinduism is considered by many to be the oldest religion in the world that is still in practice today. Followers of the Hindu religion, called Hindus, make up the third largest religion in existence. Hinduism is mostly a polytheistic religion, meaning that most Hindus believe in many gods and goddesses, although some sects of Hinduism do believe that there is one supreme deity. Hindus traditionally have four life goals: moksa, dharma, artha, and karma. Like most religions, Hinduism has spread to the West. With this expansion of religion comes the use of sacred religious gods and symbols in Western pop culture. Many times, the use of Hindu religious symbols by non-Hindu Westerners is culturally appropriating and unnecessary. However, other times what some consider to be culturally appropriating is not so at all to others.

Hinduism is a religion that is difficult to define. No one can say who the founder is, or connect it to a certain place or time. So in order to understand Hinduism, we follow a coherent set of assumptions upon which people base their lives; otherwise defined as the Indian Worldview.

Vishnu, to his worshipers, is all-powerful and supreme. He is believed to be to god from whose navel a lotus sprang giving birth to Brahma, the creator. Vishnu created the universe by separating the heavens and the earth and has rescued it on a number of occasions. As Hopfe and Woodward state “Vishnu is known as a god of love, benevolence, and forgiveness (Hinduism 94).” “ In some incarnations, he has come as a man.” (94). The third popular god is Brahma, the creator of the world.

What elements of earlier belief systems do you see integrated into Hinduism? What were the external conditions (environmental/societal/political/economic etc.) which gave rise to the origination of Hinduism? What was it about this time period? Location? Population?

Hindus are extremely respectful and prideful people with many strong core beliefs. These beliefs have been passed down through the ages in The Ramayana. Throughout this epic poem, Rama, his family, and many others exemplify what it means to be Hindu. Rama is considered to be a perfect Hindu and follows all aspects of Hinduism flawlessly. This includes following duty, honor, responsibilities based on a person’s place in society, and most important to Rama, family. In the epic The Ramayana, family is portrayed as the most important aspect to the Hindu belief.

In Loving Krishna the narrator, Allen Moore, walks the audience through the rituals and beliefs involved in devotion to the supreme lord, Krishna. Krishna is first compared to the color of endless space. He is then said to be “The supreme divinity, the maintainer of the universe through endless cycles of creation and destruction. He is the embodiment of love, the creator of all knowledge, conquer of all suffering.” He is obviously held to the up most respect and taken very seriously. The devotion, and expression of love is crucial, and embodied in the daily practices of millions.

Dissimilar to Christianity, Hinduism is portrayed as a family of beliefs. “Hinduism unites the worship of many gods with a belief in a single divine reality” (Molloy, 75). Hinduism can be compared to that of the Ganga Ma, a significant river in the Indian culture. Comparing it with the river saying that it flows and gains momentum. The Hindus have four very important life goals; kama or pleasure, artha or economic security, dharma or social and religious duty, and moksha or complete freedom. While Hinduism consist of more than one god, individuals tend to focus on a particular god. Three gods are particularly central in the life of Hinduism. The three gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, represent creation, preservation, and destruction. (Molloy, 75).

The word Agni came from the word “ngni” it is prot-indo European word for fire. Agni, also known as the fire god, was one of the most important deities’ god to the Hindu’s. They made about two hundred hymns which mean songs or poems and he is the only god that has that many hymns. (Naylor). He was considered the fire god because he was in every living thing and the fire that was in our stomachs. What this meant was that when we felt hungry he was the cause of it and was the one to digest our food. Agni is a witness of everyone’s actions both good and bad, he also is present in important events in Hindu ceremonies such as weddings and in the birth or death rituals and, he knows everyone’s thoughts. It is said that the fire god has two heads, three to seven tongues, three legs, seven arms and he rides a ram. One of the heads means immortality and the other is the symbol of life, his tongues lick up the mess from the sacrifices. His three legs have their own main appearance which is the sun, lightning

First of all, Krishna was born in jail where his mom Devaki and his dad Vasudeva was put into jail by king Kamsa for the fear of being destroyed or killed by the eighth child of Devaki. Krishna, the incarnation of Vishnu, he is worshiped as the eighth avatar of the god Vishnu. Every sibling of Krishna was killed by Kamsa, but Krishna survived from being killed. Vishnu appeared before Devaki and Vasudeva, and told them he would return to earth by being born as their child and will rescue them.