Hinduism Research Paper

1. What practical steps could be taken to build a relationship with a follower of this worldview who might be a co-worker, neighbor, etc?

The main focus of Buddhism is that the faith centers on correct understanding of human nature and ultimate reality, The Buddha was also called the Enlightened One, he taught that the way to eliminate suffering begins with understanding the true nature of the world. He rejected speculation about such matters as God, the nature of the universe, and the afyterlife, urging his folloers to focus instead on the Four Noble Truths by which they can free themselves from suffering. “We do not believe that this world is created and ruled by God.” The disbelief in God does not make Buddhism an atheistic religion. The Buddha rejected the concept of the atman, or soul. In

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.

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.

Hinduism is known as the world's oldest religion. According to ISKCON Educational Services (2004), it is hard to construct a timeline because Hinduism has no identifiable human founder or specific origin in history. It is so old that its past goes into pre-history. It is extremely diverse with the Hindu people being more interested in the meaning of events than in providing first hand records. There is also no clear-cut divide between history and myth.

The question of origin- In order for us to completely understand Hinduism, we must first understand that this a philosophical system of beliefs. To give a definite origin of Hinduism would be very hard to address because there are no known origins. There are no beginning points or a name of a founder. Hinduism can be traced all the way back to around 1500 B.C in what we now call India and has a lot of different beliefs, philosophies and views that contradict each other. All Hindus believe in one God, a supreme being known as Brahma. Brahma is an entity believed to live in every single facet of reality and existence throughout the whole universe. Brahma is both impersonal and unknowable and is often believed to exist in three separate forms: Brahma, the Creator, Vishnu, the Preserver, and Shiva, the Destroyer.

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.

Hinduism - stands for the faith and the way of life most of the people who live

Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world; but it is generally thought to be the world?s oldest organized religion. The Hindu religion has a lot of different traditions so it has the reputation of featuring freedom of practice and beliefs. A good example of this would be that Hindus ?recognize a single deity, and view other Gods and Goddesses as manifestations or aspects of that supreme God;? but there are atheists in the Hindu religion. Some ex-Hindus explain that atheism is accepted but only to the point that you will not be socially shunned for professing non-belief in a god. It is important to know what Hinduism does not have. It does not have a single founder; a single holy text like the Bible or Koran; a single concept of deity (as mentioned above; a single system of morality; a central religious authority or a specific theological system; nor do they have any concept of a

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?

The Hindus believe in Vedas, Upanishads and Brahmans to be the highest religious authorities. According to the Hinduism, Brahma is considered the unchanging reality in this world and beyond it too. It also cannot be elaborated upon. “The essence of the higher Hinduism is pantheism, the belief in the unity of being. According to this, everything that exists is Brahma, the Absolute and Eternal, the Supreme Spirit which pervades the universe, and is the soul of all man as well as the world at large” (O’Malley). There is no record that the Brahma is the highest power unlike Bible, which is God-breath and written though God’s Holy Spirit guiding the authors. The lesser authorities include the epic poems, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Mahabharata includes the Bhagvad-gita. Also, the highest caste of Hinduism called the Brahmans is considered authorities. Hindus do not believe that God, himself revealed these authorities unlike Bible, which does.

November 19, 1997 By Jordan Bruins Buddhism/Hinduism Comparison Report Hinduism is the oldest known religion and is very rich with literally hundreds of gods, symbolistic rituals and beliefs. It is believed to have been established around 1500 B.C. but no one person founded Hinduism as it evolved over a long period of time. Buddhism on the other hand has a definite founder, Siddhartha Gautama who is otherwise known as the Buddha or Enlightened One who lived from 565 to 483 B.C. Both these religions originated in India. Siddhartha Gautama was a Hindu who found Hindu theology lacking and after years of searching for truth created a religion now known as

Hinduism originated in India over four thousand years ago. The India-based religion lacks an individual founder. In the beginning, the term “Sanatana Dharma” erupted; but Sanatana Dharma soon transformed to “Hindu” after Islamic invasions occurred: “the Muslim invaders pronounced H for I” (Patheos), thus, the inhabitants along the Indus River were called “Hindus” as a result. The primary goal Hindus hope to achieve is to become reincarnated – thus reaching closer and closer to the state of nirvana every Hindu is called to with each transformation after death.

Hindus have to be patient in their religion to achieve their peacefulness. Hindus are also known to be very friendly. Having such characteristics would greatly empower our whole society no matter what religion someone is from.

I chose to go to a Hindu temple because this is something I did not know anything about, and because of the movie “Slumdog Millionaire” I was interested to know more about the culture and especially religion of people from India. Hinduism is the main religion in India, so that was my first choice. Before I went to the temple, I made sure that I would not look like a retard when I’m there. I informed myself online to see if there are special rules for clothing or rituals that I should have known about before. As I informed myself I learned that Hinduism is the third biggest religion on earth, only Islam and Christianity are bigger. Most Hindus believe that being dead or alive is something that repeats like a circle. From what I know, the Hindus believe that there is one “Ishvara” which in translation means that he is the highest god. They believe that he has other gods serving him. The most important god is the Brahman because in their belief he is the “pneuma” and he is known as the creator and handler. What they believe in Brahman is close to what we believe about our god.