Indra Research Paper

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.

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.

On the other hand, Indian goddesses such as Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, and Sita are central even in the patriarchal culture. Durga and Kali are even considered to be powerful and independent than the male deities, and they can easily dominate them (xvii). Hinduism seems to teach that goddesses are essential and does not necessarily imply sexual equality. Besides, female power, creativity, and authority in the religious domain do not necessarily suggest a higher female status. Indeed, sometimes the same text can contain an elevated goddess theology and a low estimate of women’s status.

Bindusara succeeded his father in 298 B.C. He continued his father's conquests by expanding the Mauryan power to central India. In 272 B.C., Ashoka took his father’s place. Ashoka was the most

Each Inari shrine is represented by the deep red, long rows of gateways or Toriji’s and usually has a fox incorporated in the shrines. There are around 2970 shrines dedicated to Inari spread throughout Japan, making Inari one of the most well known gods in Japan. There is a story of how the shrine originated, according to a story, “A God posing as a white fox appeared in the dream of a local fisherman, telling him to enshrine it in the area.”

The noble Gautauma Buddha conveyed, “Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” For centuries, Buddha’s teachings, such as this moral of rage leading to self-deprecation, has resonated with thousands of vexed souls including the eminent Mauryan Empire ruler from 269 B.C.E to 232 B.C.E, Ashoka Vardhana Maurya. As the third emperor of the world’s largest empire at its time, Ashoka was one of the first rulers to become a patron of Buddhism, enforcing the laws of the Dharma and instructing government officials to inscribe Buddhist edicts on rock pillars in various locations. After his military campaign of annihilating the independent feudal state of Kalinga,

Jihyae’s parents are missionaries served in Kazakhstan and China, and I have known her parents for more than 15 years. We had served in Kazakhstan together, and I had a privilege to witness their ministry and build the relationship with them since then. Her parents are devoted Christians serving Jesus in everyday life regardless of the hardship they experience, and they have been a good influence for people around them- including my family. I can confidently say that Jihyae is raised under strong Christian influence, and her parents are the biggest reason why Jihyae chose to further her knowledge in Christian education. While serving in both countries, Jihyae has been a great help for her parents as her parents had to leave their younger brothers to Jihyae while they are evangelizing. Her sense of responsibility has been developed through her position as the biggest of child. Jihyae has been a significant part of their ministry as she served the people her parents invited for evangelism, and even as a young girl, she has been a fellow-worker with her fervent prayers.

Hinduism is a very spiritualistic religion. It has been around for thousands and thousands of years. Hinduism originated within the Indus Valley Civilization and the Aryans. Hinduism may be seen as polytheistic but in its true nature it is actually monotheistic. It is explained that there are different gods for different aspects of life but there is essentially only one main god in the religion in Hinduism (32). That one main god is Brahman (33). Brahman is behind all of the gods. One aspect of Brahman is Krishna. This essay will be focusing on Krishna. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna reveals himself to be

Tantrism is based on hundreds of writings on the practices outside the elite Brahmin tradition. These tantras express central traditional Hindu ideas and practices (Carabajal ppt). The rise of Hindu reform movements attempts to renew Hindu spiritually and socially through their caste systems, superstitions, blessings and curses, and worship of images. Hinduisms rise of devotion, or bhakti, is the main way to show devotion to ones chosen god. This devotion reflects one’s deep love for their god. There are three main deities during this devotional movement: Shiva – God of destruction, symbolizing the removal of obstacles to salvation, Vishnu – God of life, protects and preserves the world by frequently incarnating in various forms to defeat enemies of humans and gods, Shakti and the Goddess – upholder of the universe, female power in the goddess representing creation, preservation, and end of the world (Carabajal

Hinduism is the oldest religions. The most interesting thing about Hinduism is that they have no specific founder or date of origin. Based on their beliefs Hindu’s are divided in to two casts. In the current world, there is still a big conflict about whether Hinduism is a monotheistic religion or a polytheistic religion. Because according to Hindus believe it’s one God with many different faces. This concept regarding Gods is accepted by some scholars, but not all of them. Hinduism has four sacred text Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Epics. The two most common sacred texts are the Vedas and Bhagavad Gita. The authors of all sacred texts are still unknown.

He is most detities in the Hindu pantheon. He listens to every prayer of the

The Mauryan Empire was one of the largest empires in history. An army full of soldiers and elephants, took over an entire continent because of a ruler named Ashoka, Ashoka wanted more than the land he could see around him. He wants the rest of India; he declares war on the the Kalinga Empire. Day and night the army scribes drew up battle to be delivered to Ashoka. “An army so disciplined is the army that charges its charge as one.” Ashoka wanted everything, without sharing. If I was a stria I would stay away because;

Although we do not know the exact time that Hinduism began, it is believed to be over 4,000 years old. There have been overlapping civilizations in India that may have molded the religion into what it is now (Kinnard 1). Around 2,000 B.C.E., located near the great Indus River, the Indus Valley Civilization, who worshipped many goddesses, may have been the very beginning of the shaping of Hinduism. Near the end of the Indus Valley Civilization around 1,500 B.C.E., a new society surfaced in India. Believed to be brought by the central Asian Aryans, the Vedic religion began (Kinnard). The Aryans’ practices included the sacrifice of animals and other offerings to their gods into a sacred fire. The gods they worshipped were mainly gods of nature such as the fire god and the plant god (flood). This era was the time of the Vedas, which are scriptures describing rituals to please the gods (Kinnard). Later, around 1,000 B.C.E., priests called Brahmins began to reject the materialistic ways of the Vedic tradition and began to adopt practices

The god Vishnu is the creator, and Shiva is the destroyer. One is not looked upon as better than the other. This shows the ultimate realism that the Hindu culture possesses. These are not the only gods in Hindu culture. There are many others and all have special skills and talents. The gods themselves also give birth to the idea of avatars, or the form of god when he or she comes to earth.

For example, Christians retreat to Churches, Muslims worship in mosques, Jews pray in temples, etc. But the significance of Hindu temples is the fact that there are only four “holy places”: “…[they] correspond to the four points of the compass and near which…Shankara established his four main centers” (Holy Places).