I did not know much about Hinduism, apart from the fact that they worship multiple gods and believe in reincarnation. Three concepts that helped me grasp who the Hindu people are would be, the four acceptable aims of life, the caste system, and the idea of karma. These three ideas helped me identify how the Hindu’s are supposed to live in their daily life and why they live a certain way. One bump I found in Hinduism is number of gods they have and worship. The Hinduism four acceptable aims of life, is something that really stuck to me. Learning this concept help me understand the different ways Hindus can live. I like how there is more than one acceptable way to live. Many religions I have come in contact with have one goal or aim for the entire religion, so seeing a religion with multiple acceptable paths of life is refreshing. This helped me grasp that Hindus are not all seeking enlightenment. I understand that Moksha is the ultimate goal, but it does not have to happen in one lifetime. This helped me understand that no every lifetime of a Hindu has to be lived seeking Moksha. For someone who does not believe in reincarnation, I like how people can spend different lives seeking different things and living different styles. …show more content…
Everyone has their place, no changes, no way out, this caste is their purpose for that lifetime. I believe that everyone has a purpose and things happen for a reason, so I can make a connection with that and the fact whichever caste you are born into is your purpose for that life. This too, along with the four acceptable aims, helps me understand that there is more to Hinduism than just reaching Moksha. There are different stages, aims, and levels of life, collectively they all help me see a bigger picture of Hinduism; live every life the best a person can, trying to reach their full
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.
free from the cycle of rebirth. However, under this religion moksha can only be attained is one 's
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.
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).
Hinduism believes in the reincarnation or rebirth of souls. They believe that souls are eternal and divine and that death is only temporary.
Two of the most central ideas in Hinduism that are very important to my cultural identity in terms of my outlook on life and other people are reincarnation and karma. I believe that there is a cycle of death and rebirth, and depending on your deeds in your current life, you will be rewarded or punished in your next life. Eventually, every Hindu’s goal is to attain “Moksha” and break the cycle of life and become one with God. My belief in karma and reincarnation affects my everyday life because when I think about my situation or other peoples’ situation, I trace everything back to actions in our previous lives. My religion is the most important part of my life, and the values that it has taught me have stuck with me through times of joy and times of distress. My relationship with God is the most important one in my life, and it is the biggest part of my cultural identity.
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
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?
To get from South India to South Florida, normally, a person would need to travel roughly 15,117 km or 9,394 miles. Being that it is hardly just a hop, skip, and a jump away, members of the South Florida community, who are also a part of the Hindu community, desperately wanted a place where they could feel close to their motherland and yet remain near their newfound homes. To ensure this dream would become a reality, devotees gathered funds and support from friends and families to build what would later be known as the South Florida Hindu Temple. Interestingly, this temple, dissimilar to many others in the country, was built strictly from love and charity. All of the funds used to create the holy place
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.
Buddhism, as with any other religion, was created in a certain place at a certain time. Buddhism’s roots are formed in the idea that are part of the environment where it was created. One of the important areas of this religion was the valley of the Ganges River. This river runs west to east across most of the northern part of India. It was there that Buddhism first began and flourished. Later it would spread to the southern part of India. During Buddha, which was around 500 B.C. this area was undergoing a huge period of religious development.
Imagine a place entirely made of Turkish Limestone and Italian marble, a place of worship and serenity. BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is the full name of the Hindu Mandir I visited, it is located in Stafford also known as Houston, Texas. I visited BAPS because of the beautiful land mark it created. BAPS is a place of worship for people who practice and believe in Hinduism. Hinduism is approximately 5,000 to 10,000 years old. It is a religion that grows by enfolding new traditions. There are several field of Hinduism, but everyone picks only one. In Hinduism, the fallowers believe in the four gods and five goddesses, each one has an individual meaning and story. Causing each human individual to have a different connection with each of the gods.
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