Hinduism Research Paper

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.

People are born into the caste of their parents and are not allowed to cross into another one. They are also expected to marry in the same caste. The unequal distribution of money, influence, pain and suffering are seen as a natural consequence for ones previous actions, both in this life and in previous lives. Hindus can be reborn at a higher level through pure acts, good thoughts and devotion. They can also be reborn at a lower level through bad deeds. It is even possible to be reborn as an animal. Arizona State University (2004) lists the five social castes. They are: Brahmins (priests and academics); Kshatriyas (military); Vaishyas (farmers and merchants); Sudras (peasants and servants); and Harijan (outcasts or untouchables).

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?

After a profound spiritual realization, the Buddha gathered many followers. He organized them into a community that fundamentally reshaped religious, social, and political structures. Hinduism is a perpetually evolving collection of an astounding array of philosophical, ritual, and devotional traditions. There is no founder, and there is no fixed moment of origin. Hindus often refer to their religion as "sanatana

Hinduism is an Indian phenomena, it is difficult to define, and difficult for the outsiders to understand some of the unusual religious, philosophical and cultural beliefs. It is according to Huston Smith, the…” least dogmatic and most diverse of all religions…” because of the belief that there is a ‘flowing though’ cycle where in samsara ones is born, lives, suffers, dies and is re-born over and over until the ‘moksha’ occurs. This spiritual liberation is achieved by yoking oneself to God then one may reach Atman: the real self that is separate from the physical body. It is unchanging, eternal and a sign of the soul and spread throughout all the parts of and in the earth. This is the God that cannot be understood or always known yet Hindus are encouraged to relate to the God they know best.

Srivastava is 37 years old. She grew up in India and has been a Hindu all her life. She grew up surrounded by Hindus. Before Neelam I had met only a few other Hindus, yet I never really got the chance to ask and learn more about Hinduism. After the short unit in class, I wanted to learn more about it. Hinduism is a very interesting religion and, after having learned more about it, has similarities to Christianity that we might not put much thought into.

Samsara is an endless life progression that incorporates life, death and reincarnation and has followers seeing for freedom from the cycle (Ryan, 1999). Within the Hindu faith, samsara is believed to be a theme that life is based on an illusion that individuals are autonomous beings instead of acknowledging that there is a connection between an individual and reality. Through this illusion, individuals act in a way that not only will generate karma, another theme of Hinduism, but that will maintain the cycle of actions leading to reincarnation based on those actions. When the follower grasps the unity between all, they will have the potential to end the cycle of samsara and obtain moksha, which is the liberation of the continuous reincarnation cycle (Dehejia & Dehejia, 1993). Within the Hindu belief, samsara is considered to be highly undesirable amongst followers because of its erratic nature and their unawareness of how their actions from this life or previous lives will affect their

Karma is one of the beliefs in the Hinduism religion. It is the law of cause and effect. It’s the belief that explains the importance of each living. The law of karma governs what happens to people’s souls after death; when a person dies, their soul is reborn in a new full body. Souls were rewarded or punished for the good and bad they have gone; If people lived well, they might be born into a higher class. But if they lived badly, they could be born in a lower class, or even be reborn as an animal in their next life. According to these beliefs, people’s social class reflected on what they had done in their past

Then there is also the side to the Upanishads concept that all religions have which is making most followers believe that their teachings are the only truth and want to preserve their truth. This is dangerous because it leads to a set in stone way of thinking that causes there to be inequality and discrimination within the religion. One specific part of the Upanishads that leads to this type of one truth mindset is karma. In the Supreme Teaching section of the Upanishads it states that depending on what a person does in their life they either “become good” or “become evil” (Mascaró 140). This is in reference to reincarnation, but is a dangerous way of thinking because it may lead people to believe that a person’s situation of living is justified because they deserve it, even if they are in a very difficult living condition. People who believe that they deserve it will feel the need to let the ones who need help the most to fend for themselves because of this way of thinking that they deserve whatever obstacles and difficulties come their way. Therefore, creating the caste system. The caste

A person must understand that good deeds are done because they are right, not because there is going to be a reward for completing it. If a person does good deeds for no rewards, that is when good karma is presented in their life. The last path to reaching salvation in Hinduism is Jhana Yoga. Jhana Yoga means the path of wisdom. Atman and Brahman connection is taught in this path. A person must understand their relationship and understand the scriptures. Hinduism offers many choices to its followers on the path of self-realization. Buddhism has no specific God while Hinduism has a God for everything. Hinduism has a caste system in which people are born into and cannot move out of, Buddhism believes that everyone is equal and that anyone can change their life for the good or bad and break out of the caste system. The Buddha rejected all systems of class or hierarchy, instead he made everyone responsible for their own faith and salvation. Buddha believed that through self-effort Nirvana could be reached in one lifetime, regardless of one’s position in society. Hindus believe in an everlasting soul (atman) that is reincarnated more-or-less intact from birth to

The ancient religion of Hinduism centers around a person’s inner thoughts, understanding of the truths of the world, and knowledge of the self in relation to their connection to the Gods. Connecting to atman, or the self, is a center part of the religion especially through meditation and the four yogas, where a person must discover the truth in them and in atman and their dharma, or their purpose in the world. The mind is a source of knowledge and contains all of the thoughts that Hinduism is trying to either free people from or encourage them to pursue. Hindus are supposed to free themselves from desire and thoughts focused on the singular self and look towards a broader understanding of the self that extends infinitely outside of their body and mind. Hinduism’s

Hinduism works with the caste system in which the order from lowest to highest is the untouchable, the peasant, the merchant, the warrior-noble, and the priest. People don’t choose their caste they are simply born into them and they can only move up or down by having their souls reincarnated. People follow the caste system in hopes they will reach moksha after Brahmin or priest which is the highest class in the caste system. In addition, the Upanishads insist that deep down we are all parts of a single divine reality or Brahman. “Often the term Brahman refers to the experience of the sacred within nature and the external universe, while Atman refers to the experience of the sacred within oneself.”(Molloy 84) “When insight and kindness the pain of rebirth ends; limitations of individuality are gone and only Brahman remains.”(Molloy 86) Moksha is attaining the spiritual form of the soul or Brahman.

The Hindu religion and culture is a very complex subject. The Hindu religion combines rich ethnical and standard beliefs. We will take a closer look and try to understand the Hindu religion and culture. The Hindu religion is the oldest religion of the five major religions, which are Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism (Major World Religions, 2006). The Hindu religion began to develop about 4.000 years ago in India, but it there was no single founder or system of belief (Major World Religions, 2006). There are many diverse and various Gods in the Hindu religion. One of the most important beliefs is the theory of karma, which holds that all beings, human or animal have karma which determines which soul is for which body and

The word `Hindu' originally meant `those who lived on the other side of the river Indus (in Sanskrit, Sindhu)'. Alternate names for the people following the religion can be `Vaidikas', followers of the Vedas, or `Vedantists', followers of the Vedanta. So, let us have a brief overview of the Vedas.

Hindu’s believe in a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth also known as samsara. This cycle they believe is controlled by what they call karma. They believe that each time they are reborn they are born again as a hire being than there last form on earth. This is because of karma. If in a person’s life they perform, think, and desire only good things than when death comes they